Yep! I actually wrote something without death in it! Go me!

"Nutpaw! Dustpaw! Slatepaw! Ashpaw!" All of ThunderClan cheered for the four new apprentices.

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Sagestep hissed to her friend Oatbreeze. "Kits being allowed to train at only three moons!"

Oatbreeze looked concerned too. "You should talk to Stonestar."

Sagestep scuffed the dirt. "I'm sure she knows best," she mewed quickly.

Nutpaw padded past them, her cream and brown pelt spiky with excitement. "I'm so glad I got Poppystrike as my mentor!" she declared, her brown eyes shimmering.

Dustpaw, a brown tabby she-cat, padded up to Oatbreeze. "I can't wait to start training!"

Sagestep swallowed hard. If these 'apprentices' started training… any number of bad things could happen.

Slatepaw, a black tom, was whispering to his sister Ashpaw, a black and gray she-cat.

Sagestep sighed and flicked her tail in the dust.

Milkshade, the deputy, popped out of the warriors den. "It's time to patrol the ShadowClan border!" she announced. "Poppystrike and Nutpaw, Oatbreeze and Dustpaw, Robinfern and Slatepaw, Icespring and Ashpaw."

"This is your chance to see the territory!" Icespring whispered to Ashpaw. Sagestep's fur bristled in alarm.

"ShadowClan has been hostile lately," Sagestep somehow found the courage to speak to Milkshade. "Patrolling their border with young apprentices could be dangerous."

Milkshade looked a little ruffled. "Are you questioning my authority?" she challenged.

Sagestep cowered. "No!" she squeaked hastily. Oatbreeze shot her a disappointed look.

"Let's go," Milkshade ordered, rolling her blue eyes.

Stonestar emerged from her den. "Milkshade!"

The white-pelted deputy whirled around. "Yes?"

"I think you should take Sagestep with you," the leader said craftily. "She hasn't been on a patrol in a while."

Sagestep glanced gratefully at Stonestar. The gray leader gave her a tiny nod, her silver eyes sparkling. Sagestep took a deep breath. She had to make sure Nutpaw, Ashpaw, Slatepaw and Dustpaw didn't get hurt. The she-cat followed Milkshade's patrol out of camp.


"Can we hunt?" Dustpaw's mew broke through the silence. Oatbreeze shook his head, his cream tail swishing back and forth.

"Not now, Dustpaw," he replied. "We have to finish this patrol."

"Patrols are boring!" Dustpaw moaned. She looked so tiny beside the other warriors, only a few moons old.

Sagestep caught the scent of a ShadowClan patrol. "We should go," she mewed urgently.

Milkshade huffed. "I'm the deputy here," she growled.

Sagestep ignored her, taking deep breaths to calm herself. Defying the Clan deputy wasn't a thing she did very often. "Anything we say or do could start a battle with ShadowClan!"

"And?" Milkshade kept walking.

"The apprentices are too small to fight full-grown ShadowClan warriors!" Sagestep protested.

"They're of age," Milkshade reminded her, padding towards the border.

Sagestep glimpsed movement in the pines. "STOP!" she yowled, but her mew rang out with that of a ShadowClan warrior's.

"Get off our land!" A tawny gold she-cat padded towards them, her teeth bared.

"We're on our own territory Sandyclaw," Poppystrike reminded her.

"ShadowClan has claimed this territory for our own," Sagestep recognized the deep mew of Ferretfoot.

"This is ThunderClan territory!" Milkshade snarled. Sagestep locked eyes with Oatbreeze. The four apprentices looked nervous.

Sagestep scooped up Ashpaw and started to head back to camp. "Where do you think you're going?" Milkshade asked angrily.

"They aren't ready for a battle!" Sagestep responded through a mouthful of Ashpaw's black and gray fur. Oatbreeze stood beside her, nodding. He scooped up Dustpaw and followed Sagestep back towards the camp.

Ashpaw and Dustpaw didn't struggle, they seemed relieved to get out of that situation. Poppystrike grabbed Nutpaw. "We're going too," she decided. Nutpaw sighed but let herself be carried back to camp.

Milkshade yowled in annoyance. "Stay here!" she told Robinfern, Icespring, and Slatepaw.

"This isn't safe," Icespring mewed. Robinfern picked up Slatepaw. "We're going too."

Milkshade yowled insults at them but made no move to stop them. The patrol, minus Milkshade, returned to camp.


"What is your proposal?" Stonestar mewed to Sagestep a moon later.

"Kits should be made apprentices when they reach the age of six moons," Sagestep suggested. "They are big enough to fight by then."

Stonestar blinked at her thoughtfully. "I think that's a brilliant idea," she agreed. "I'll tell the Clan now."

Sagestep beamed and nuzzled Oatbreeze. "We did it," she mewed.

"No, Sagestep. You did it," Oatbreeze told her.


The apprentices were twelve moons old now. Dustpaw was running in dizzy circles around her mentor, Oatbreeze. "I'm gonna become a warrior! I'm going to be a warrior!" she screeched in delight.

Nutpaw pounced on her sister, and they jumped up in down and ran all over the place together.

"They sure have a lot of energy!" Sagestep laughed. Oatbreeze chuckled.

"I'm sure our kits will too," he mewed lovingly.

Ashpaw paced in circles. "I'm so nervous!" she mewed to Nutpaw, her fur spiky with anxiety. "What if I forget what to say?"

Slatepaw laughed. "There's only one thing to say!" he reminded her. "I do!"

"What if I forget to say that?" Ashpaw gasped.

"You'll do fine," Icespring mewed to her apprentice. "I'm so proud of you!"

Slatepaw ran to sit under the High Ledge, Ashpaw and Nutpaw sprinting after him.

Dustpaw skidded into Oatbreeze. "Sorry!" she squeaked. "I'm just afraid I'm going to get a horrible name! Like Dustbelly or something!"

Sagestep smiled. "I'm sure Stonestar will pick a nice name for all of you."
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the High Ledge for a Clan meeting!" Stonestar called.

Dustpaw took a deep breath and rushed to join the other apprentices. "Ashpaw, do you promise to uphold and the code and protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"Yes!" Ashpaw blurted. "I-I mean I do!"

Stonestar smiled at her. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. From this moment on you shall be known as Ashwind. StarClan honors your determination and thoughtfulness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Ashwind dashed to her old mentor, Icespring. He said something to her that Sagestep couldn't hear. Sagestep watched them, happiness filling her heart.

"I do!" Slatepaw's confident mew caught her attention.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. From this moment on you shall be known as Slatefur. StarClan honors your bravery and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Sagestep watched with Oatbreeze as Nutpaw became Nutfoot, and then as Dustpaw became Dustheart. Oatbreeze touched noses with his former apprentice. "I'm so proud of you!" he whispered.

Soon the Clan's cheers rang out through the camp. "Ashwind! Slatefur! Nutfoot! Dustheart!"