Hello!
I'm back with the second chapter! Don't expect updates this often, I plan to try for two updates per week, but I felt like writing today. Also, have an extra long one this time- 1,945 words, not counting the author's notes! Well, long for me, I usually write about 1,000 words for a chapter. As always, please review! And thanks to the my two reviewers so far!
-Melissa
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs and ideas.
Dawnkit sat carefully outside the nursery. Amberstrike had just finished fussing over her, and her fur lay smooth and shiny. She had to force herself to sit still, when what she really wanted was to run around and yowl to the sky that she was about to be an apprentice.
Sablekit darted out of the den, and sat next to her sister. Her burnished golden fur, so much like Amberstrike's, gleamed in the sun. "Aren't you excited?!" she meowed happily. "We're going to be apprentices, finally!"
Dawnkit only nodded in reply. Yes, she was excited, very excited. But she also felt like a rock was in her stomach, dragging her down. Nervousness, yes, and something else? This doesn't feel right, She thought. Something's wrong about this, why am I not excited like Sablekit? What's WRONG with me? Becoming an apprentice is what I've been waiting for all my kithood!
Frostkit finally padded out of the nursery to join his sisters. Like the other two, his fur was spotless, and the white was almost blinding. The three kits instinctively pressed closer together, sitting in a tight line. Dawnkit could hear her brother and sister mewing about hunting and fighting skills.
"I'm going to be the best fighter this forest has ever seen!" Sablekit meowed proudly, and slashed a sheathed paw at her brother's shoulder.
Frostkit leapt out of the way, so her paw just barely grazed his fur. "And I'm going to be the best hunter!" He yowled in reply. Amberstrike poked her triangular head out of the den.
"Sit back down, you don't want to be all dusty for your ceremony." She ordered, but the kits could see the sparkle of laughter in her eyes as she withdrew back into the nursery.
Dawnkit twisted her ears towards the sound of pawsteps on rock, and looked up. Streamstar was padding up the High Ledge. The High Ledge was a rock ledge in the wall of the ravine, near Streamstar's den. A series of ledges led up to a bigger ledge that her den was on, but if you kept going, you could follow some more pawholds up to a huge ledge above her den. "Look." She murmured to her siblings, who spun around and gazed at Streamstar with wide eyes.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the High Ledge!" She yowled.
News of the ceremony had already spread through camp, and the cats pooled together in the clearing, meowing excitedly.
"We are here today to give three Clan kits their apprentice names," Streamstar began formally, her gaze resting on where Dawnkit, Sablekit and Frostkit sat by their mother. Sablekit leaned forward, her whiskers twitching with anticipation. An expectant hush fell over the Clan.
"Come forward." She commanded from above. Dawnkit padded into the center of the clearing, her siblings' pelts brushing her own.
"Eagleheart," meowed Streamstar. "You will be mentor to Sablepaw."
The large white tom walked up to the mottled golden kit and stood beside her.
"Eagleheart," Streamstar went on. "You mentored Sunstorm excellently, and she is a credit to the Clan. You are intelligent and brave, pass on all you can this young apprentice."
"Certainly," Eagleheart purred as he bent down and touched his nose to Sablepaw's. Sablepaw padded after her mentor, her steps bouncing with excitement, to the edge of the clearing.
"Dewleaf." Streamstar paused for a moment to study the young warrior. The delicate she-cat raised her head, her eyes sparkling with pride and defiance. "You will be mentor to Frostpaw."
Frostpaw nodded his head respectfully as his new mentor stood by him.
"Dewleaf," She continued, "this will be your first apprentice. Share your courage and skills with him. I know you will train Frostpaw well, but don't be afraid to turn to the senior warriors for advice."
Dewleaf's eyes gleamed once more with pride, as she bent to touch Frostpaw's nose with her own. Frostpaw purred loudly as he followed her towards the edge of the clearing.
"And finally, Duststripe." Streamstar mewed. "You will be mentor to Dawnpaw."
Dawnpaw! Dawnpaw thought excitedly as the handsome tabby tom padded up to her.
"Duststripe," Streamstar meowed again. "Dawnpaw will also be your first apprentice. You are clever and skilled, pass on all your knowledge to her. And don't hesitate to ask for advice."
"Of course." Duststripe promised as he touched his nose to Dawnpaw's. The silvery apprentice followed her mentor to the edge of the clearing as the Clan began to disperse, heading back to their duties. She stood by her littermates as her mentor spoke with the other warriors.
"Aren't you excited?! We're apprentices!" Sablepaw mewed, dancing around her brother and sister.
Frostpaw nodded in excitement, and crouched in front of Sablepaw. He leapt forward and pinned her to the ground, but she quickly slipped free. Dawnpaw watched them play. Why am I not as excited as they are? She wondered, puzzled. Yes, being an apprentice and having my apprentice name is great! But why does this feel wrong? Why do I feel like I shouldn't be here? The apprentice sighed softly. She couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong with her.
"Alright," Eagleheart meowed. "Sablepaw and Frostpaw, you two are coming with me and Dewleaf to explore the territory. Dawnpaw, Duststripe is going to take you to the training clearing, and you'll explore the territory later." The large tom turned and headed towards the camp entrance with Dewleaf, Sablepaw and Frostpaw bouncing behind them.
Dawnpaw watched her littermates leave, disappointed she wasn't going with them. She felt Duststripe's gaze on her. "I know you'd like to explore with your littermates," He mewed gently. "But I think we should work on some hunting skills first. That way, we can hunt and explore the territory at the same time. You can train with them tomorrow." The she-cat nodded, and followed her mentor out of the camp.
The training hollow was a sandy area near the camp. It was large, and the sandy ground was level and clear; perfect for training. Suddenly, Dawnpaw realized she hadn't seen any of the older apprentices. "Where are Stormpaw, Smokepaw, and Wildpaw?" She asked.
Duststripe purred in amusement. "They're hunting. Swiftclaw caught them sneaking out of camp last night, and set them to work."
Dawnpaw nodded again. "So what do I do?"
The tabby tom dropped into a perfectly balanced crouch. "This is the hunter's crouch. Try imitating it."
She dropped into a crouch, but it felt awkward. Duststripe shook his head, and adjusted her stance. She felt more balanced now, but it still felt wrong. Dawnpaw looked helplessly at her mentor.
He licked her ear. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. It's only your first day. Keep trying." He reassured her.
So the silver she-cat stood up, then fell into the crouch again. She froze with astonishment. She was carefully balanced. not leaning to either side, her tail swayed above the ground, and her muscles were tensed to spring. Crouching further down, she tensed her muscles just a bit more, and sprang. Dawnpaw soared through the air to land in on all four legs on top of a fern. Duststripe was wide-eyed with surprise.
"Well done!" He praised, still looking shocked. "Can you do that again?" She shrugged, and dropped into a hunter's crouch. It was not as balanced as the first time, but she still felt like she could leap successfully. She narrowed her eyes, staring at a flower, and then pounced. The apprentice landed spot on, the plant crumpling beneath her paws.
Duststripe had her practice crouching and pouncing for a little longer, then suggested they should go back to the camp and eat before exploring the territory. Dawnpaw followed him back into the camp, and picked a vole from the freshkill pile. As she lay near the apprentice den with it, she realized how tired and hungry she was from the training, but the freshkill was delicious, and brought her strength back. She slowly picked at the last bites, thinking about her training. Yes, it had been fun. And Duststripe said she had gotten the crouch down perfectly. But she still felt as if a rock was dragging her down, filling her insides with forbidding. She looked up at the sky once again. It was still light, but the first stars were starting to shine through. Why do I feel this way, StarClan? Why do I feel like everything is wrong, even when I'm doing it right? But the winking stars gave her no answers.
Duststripe padded over to her. "I think we'll save the territory for tomorrow, since it's getting late." He meowed.
"Ok. I'm tired anyway." She replied softly.
The tabby nodded. "You did very well today, by the way. I think you have the makings of a great warrior."
No, no, no, no! She felt like shrieking. I'll never be a warrior! It's all wrong! But she just thanked him for the praise, and swallowed the last bite of prey.
Dawnpaw watched the tunnel, waiting for Sablepaw and Frostpaw to return. Finally they did, treading slowly, their paws dragging the ground in weariness. "Hi Dawnpaw," Her sister mewed as she headed for the freshkill pile and grabbed a mouse.
"Did you see all of the territory?" She meowed, licking her sister's ear.
Sablepaw nodded excitedly. "It's so big!"
"Duststripe is taking me out to see it tomorrow. I learned the hunting crouch today." She informed her littermate.
The golden apprentice's eyes widened. "Show me?" She begged.
Dawnpaw purred in amusement, and dropped into the crouch. She tensed her hind legs, and pounced on her sister.
"Hey!" Sablepaw yelped, struggling out from under Dawnpaw. The two apprentices dropped into crouches, narrowing their eyes at each other. Dawnpaw swiped a sheathed paw at Sablepaw, but Sablepaw ducked easily, then leapt on top of Dawnpaw. The silver cat yowled and tried to slip out from her sister, but the other apprentice had pinned her firmly down.
"Ok, get off me!" Dawnpaw meowed in annoyance as her sister purred. Sablepaw leapt gracefully off her littermate, as she got to her paws and shook the dust of her fur.
"I'm going to sleep, I'm tired." She announced.
Sablepaw nodded. "So am I. I'll join you- as soon I've finished this mouse!"
Dawnpaw padded off into the apprentice's den. It was empty except for Smokepaw who was lying in a corner, grooming his sleek grey fur.
"Oh, hi Dawnpaw." The dark tom meowed cheerfully. "You can have the nest next to mine if you want, it's empty."
The silver cat nodded in thanks and curled up next to the older apprentice. I forgot to ask Amberstrike or Skycloud about the apprentice that fell, and became a medicine cat, Dawnpaw realized as she drifted off to sleep. I guess I'll ask them about her tomorrow. I feel almost...connected to her, even though I don't even know what her name was. I feel like she's the only thing that's right. Everything else is wrong. I don't feel like an apprentice warrior. I don't feel like I'll be a great hunter or fighter like Sablepaw and Frostpaw do. But as she fell asleep, her thoughts changed from puzzlement and confusion to an image of a smoky grey tom, his green eyes gleaming with amusement and affection.
Hope you guys liked it! The answer to the last chapter's trivia was Snowfur. This time-
Trivia: What color are Sandstorm's eyes?
Also, I need names for Sablepaw, Frostpaw, and Dawnpaw! Also need names for Wildpaw, Stormpaw, and Smokepaw! So, if you have any ideas, submit them in a review, and if I like them, I'll consider using them. Once I've narrowed it down to 2 warrior names for each apprentices, I'll post some polls on my profile to see which you guys, as the readers, like.
Ciao!