Chapter 3

A New Apprentice

"Aren't we a little young to start training?" asks Beetlekit. Typical Beetlekit! Ruining everything.

"You'll be six moons in three moonhighs. Plus, I don't want Storm to be the only one to become an apprentice tonight," explains Dawnstar.

"Let the ceremony begin. This is a proud day for Thunderclan, by naming apprentices we show Thunderclan will survive and remain strong. Lilackit, from now on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Lilacpaw. Duskfire, you are ready for an apprentice, you will be Lilacpaw's mentor. I know you will pass on your wisdom to Lilacpaw, and teach her the skills that will make her a brave warrior of Thunderclan," says Dawnstar. Lilacpaw and Duskfire touch noses.

"Lilacpaw, Lilacpaw, Lilacpaw!" the clan chants.

"Storm, from now on until, you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Stormpaw. Grosepelt, you are ready for an apprentice, you will be Stormpaw's mentor. I know you will pass on your courage to Stormpaw, and teach him the skills that will make him a brave warrior of Thunderclan," continues Dawnstar. Grosepelt and Stormpaw touch noses.

"Stormpaw, Stormpaw, Stormpaw!" shouts the clan. Here it comes!

"Lakekit, from now on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Lakepaw. Silverpelt, you are ready for an apprentice, you will be Lakepaw's mentor. I know you will pass on your strength to Lakepaw, and teach her the skills that will make her a brave warrior of Thunderclan," meows Dawnstar. Silverpelt and I touch noses.

"Lakepaw, Lakepaw, Lakepaw!" screams the clan.

Roseysky steps forward. "Cats of Thunderclan, as you know I will not be around forever. Therefore, it's time I took an apprentice. I have chosen a cat that is kind hearted, strong, stands out form the rest, and that I believe will make a great medicine cat. Your next medicine cat will be Beetlekit," says Roseysky.

"Beetlekit, from this moment on, you will be known as Beetlepaw, until you receive your medicine cat name. Beetlepaw, do you accept to be the apprentice of Roseysky?" asks Dawnstar.

"Yes, Dawnstar, I do," says Beetlepaw.

"Then, on the halfmoon, you must travel to Moonpool, to be accepted by Starclan before the other medicine cats," explains Roseysky.

"The good wishes of all Thunderclan will go with you," meows Dawnstar. Roseysky and Beetlepaw touch noses.

"Beetlepaw, Beetlepaw, Beetlepaw!" chants the clan. The clan meeting is dismissed.

Roseysky, Duskfire, Silverpelt, and Grosepelt gather around us. "So what are we doing first?" asks Stormpaw.

"You, Duskfire, Lilacpaw, and I will head towards the Shadowclan border," says Grosepelt.

"The rest of us will head towards the wind clan border. Even though Beetlepaw will be training as a medicine cat, we want him to train as a warrior to keep the clan to be strong," meows Roseysky.

We go our separate ways. "We're going to go down towards the lake to a spot where you will be doing some of your training," explains Silverpelt, "Everyone hush! Lakepaw, what do you smell?" She called me Lakepaw!

"It smells like a vole. I also smell a faint scent of rabbit," I answer.

"Good, anything else, Lakepaw?" asks Roseysky.

"I also smell a stale sent of a twoleg and their dog. Maybe about two to three moonhighs old," I say, just remembering that it is Newleaf.

"What about you, Beetlepaw?" meows Roseysky.

"Another patrol. It smells like Pinepaw, Flyingheart, Dawnstar, and Littlenose," states Beetlepaw.

"Great, very descriptive, and correct!" cheers Silverpelt.

"Pretty soon we will be at a place called Ancient Oak. It is the tree where you will be taught how to climb. It is also called Sky Oak," Roseysky continues.

We head through some trees and into a clearing. The clearing has a massive oak tree in the center of it. The oak tree looks like it was half-brunt from the middle up many, many moons ago. On the far right side, there is a stone.

"Well, this is Ancient Oak. The flame-colored stone, over there, was put there to help the legacy of the great leader, Firestar, live on. For when he died, his spirit was reborn into a new cat, because of all the good he brought to Thunderclan. His current form is of Flametail. May Starclan bless his name," says Roseysky, "You two are actually his kin. He was your great, great, great uncle." He would be that to me because Sootstorm (my father) is Whitewing's son, Whitewing is Cloudtail's daughter, and Firestar is Cloudtail's uncle.

"Now, let's head towards Windclan. From there, we will head back to camp. Com'on!" exclaims Silverpelt.

Now we head through some undergrowth, and we start to see less and less trees. "Stop!" commands Silverpelt, "We have reached the Windclan border. Be careful not to go in their territory." She marks the territory.

"She's darn right!" I hear a voice say behind me, "I am Cinderstar, the leader of Windclan, and you must be new apprentices in Thunderclan." I whip around. There, stands a massive light gray tom. There are two others, a dark brown tom and a tortoiseshell she-cat.

"This is Bearclaw (dark brown tom) and Lightstream (tortoiseshell she-cat)," Cinderstar says. They both nod.

"Hello, Cinderstar," says Silverpelt.

"I have come to warn you about a fox I have seen close to your border. I would keep an eye out," Cinderstar mews. He has an unusual high-pitched voice.

"Thank you, I will deliver the message to Dawnstar right away," Roseysky says, "Come on, you two! We need to tell Dawnstar quickly!" We race off into the forest after saying goodbye to the Windclan cats.

"Dawnstar! Dawnstar!" screeches Beetlepaw.

"What is it know?" groans Dawnstar.