Chapter 4: Apprentice Initiation
"Alright newbies everyone get up!" Mistpaw's loud voice rang through the den.
"Come on fluffy, get up!" Drizzlepaw meowed, shaking Stormpaw awake.
"You too freckles!" Mistpaw shouted to Specklepaw.
Growling and grumbling Nightpaw, Specklepaw, and Stormpaw dragged themselves out of their nests. Yawning loudly Nightpaw flicked her ears, "Where's Fernpaw? I thought she was still an apprentice . . .?"
"I'm right here," a quiet voice came from the shadows in the corner of the den. Stormpaw peered into the gloom and noticed two green eyes staring at the rest of the apprentices.
"What do you want?" Specklepaw asked in a grumpy voice.
"It's time for your apprentice initiation!" Drizzlepaw declared.
"What's that?" Nightpaw's curious amber eyes stared at the two older apprentices with excitement.
"When an apprentice reaches the age of seven moons it is tradition that the older apprentices–or newest warriors if there are no apprentices–to take them out of camp and give them the test," Mistpaw exaggerated.
"Test?" Stormpaw tipped her head to one side.
"Yes," Drizzlepaw nodded. "Come on, we'll demonstrate. Initiation has been accomplished by all warriors; it proves you're a true RainClan cat."
"Follow us!" Mistpaw shouted with glee before racing through the wall of reeds.
Stormpaw, Specklepaw, Nightpaw, and Fernpaw exchanged mystified glances before running after Mistpaw and Drizzlepaw.
The older apprentices led them to a swampy area a decent ways from camp. "Get down and keep silent!" Drizzlepaw ordered in a very harsh whisper.
Obeying, the other apprentices got down and kept perfectly still. Seconds later, Mistpaw and Drizzlepaw were next to Stormpaw and Nightpaw, adjusting their stances and tails before returning to their hiding places.
After what seems like an hour Specklepaw finally spoke, "This is stupid!"
Suddenly a hissing noise filled the air. Stormpaw tasted the air and pricked her ears and listened to the sound of scales running over the grass. "Snake . . ." Drizzlepaw hissed.
"Watch Drizzlepaw," Mistpaw instructed.
Stormpaw peered above the grass and watched as the blue-gray tom took a position in the grass across from them.
Slowly a brown snake with white stripes and small beady black eyes slithered into the clearing. It kept low to the grass, moving fast and not showing any signs of awareness of the trap it had just entered.
Stormpaw gasped as Drizzlepaw leaped out of the bushes and the snake whipped around at the last second and moved like lightning, sinking its fangs into Drizzlepaw's shoulder.
The tom didn't even seem to take notice, he just dodged the next attack and got behind it before holding it down with one paw and biting open the neck with his teeth.
"Are you okay?" Fernpaw gasped with shocked wide eyes.
Mistpaw padded over to Drizzlepaw and gave his shoulder a sniff before snorting. "I'm fine, it doesn't hurt. This is a marsh snake and they aren't poisonous. The worst thing that could happen is my shoulder could be bruised but nothing serious," he assured.
"Your initiation is to catch a marsh snake and return to here before sunhigh," Mistpaw meowed happily.
"But only catch marsh snakes," Drizzlepaw ordered, his eyes growing serious. "If it doesn't look like this than avoid it because some of the snakes are poisonous."
Stormpaw nodded, "And you bite the back of the neck to kill them, right?" she asked.
Mistpaw and Drizzlepaw both nodded.
"Off you go! Begin! You have no time to waste lazy bones!" Mistpaw called to the younger apprentices who were already bounding away through the marshes. "Last one back has to clean the elders' den!"
o0o0o0o0o0o
Stormpaw stalked through the grass. She had done the right hunting position before but that was for catching thin street rats and baby sparrows, not lethal snakes.
Now she moved through the grass as quiet as she could be, tasting the air as much as she could, pricking her ears she paused mid-stride when the grass rustled in front of her a few fox-lengths away. Ducking low she took position behind some tall grass and felt her claws unsheathe.
A black snake came into view, weaving gently through the grass, making hardly any noise.
Crouching down low in the grass she patiently waited for the snake to slither past before taking a wide leap over her hiding place and she landed hard on the snake. Moving fast she slammed a paw down on its head to keep it from biting her then she sunk her teeth into its neck and snapped the head back.
She smiled, pleased with herself and carried her prize back to the clearing where everyone was waiting for her.
Her spirits sank Mistpaw and Drizzlepaw glared at her snake.
"You lost," Specklepaw wrinkled her nose, "and what is that? We were supposed to catch marsh snakes."
"B-but I thought this was a marsh snake . . ." Stormpaw stammered.
Drizzlepaw shrunk away from the snake as if he was afraid it would bite him, "That's a cottonmouth; their one of the most poisonous snakes in RainClan territory!"
"Are you sure it's dead?" Nightpaw whispered. "Or is it just unconscious?"
"Of course it's dead!"
"Lay it on the ground, Stormpaw," Mistpaw instructed quietly.
Obeying the fluffy gray apprentice dropped the body onto the ground and backed away from it a little. Mistpaw suddenly raced forward and used her claws to cut off the head of the snake, taking it she buried it in the dirt.
"The mouth still had the fangs and the fangs can contain venom even after the snake is dead so it's best to get rid of it before entering camp," she explained.
o0o0o0o0o0o
Sheepishly Stormpaw padded into RainClan camp and gave her snake to Mistpaw who took each of the snakes and laid their bodies on the stump where Smokestar had addressed the Clan.
"How was initiation?" Cloudspots voice spooked her.
"It was okay," the stormy-eyed she-cat mewed quietly.
"Then why do you sound disappointed? And don't say you're not because after being blinded I can detect lies in voice better than anyone else," the gray tom looked at her with his milky white eyes.
"I'm afraid I have frustrated Mistpaw and Drizzlepaw," she admitted, "all they wanted to do was have a nice apprentice initiation but then I accidentally caught a cottonmouth instead of a marsh snake."
She gulped, afraid of what Cloudspots might think but all he asked was, "Who lost?"
"I did," Stormpaw hung her head, "Speaking of can you tell Snowspirit I'm going to clean the elders den then I'll come hunting?"
"She already knows, little one," he rumbled before beckoning her with his tail.
"Are you really blind? You seem to see things better than most cats," Stormpaw asked.
"I've been blind since I was a kit . . . I was doing something I shouldn't have done," Cloudspots stated flatly, not bothering to explain the details.
Stormpaw nodded but then remembered he couldn't see her so she just mewed a quiet "alright".
"This is the elders den," Cloudspots flicked his tail to two hollow logs laying side by side. "Don't worry, the den isn't actually a log, we took out one side of both logs and placed then together so the den is expanded."
"I'll go ask Sweetwind to give us some moss we keep stashed in her den. Just clear out this old moss," he instructed before disappearing.
Stormpaw gulped and bounded into the elders' den, "Hello," she mewed quietly.
A black she-cat and a black tom stared back at her, forcing her to wonder if they were siblings. "I'm Stormpaw; I came to change the bedding?"
"Here let us move so you clear it out better," the black she-cat mewed.
Stormpaw brightened and once they had moved she started to carrying out the moss wads. "I'm Grassblade and this is Shadownight," the elderly she-cat meowed.
The gray she-cat smiled shyly, "I'm Stormpaw."
"Here, let me help you," Grassblade got stiffly to her paws and slowly started to pull out the moss that had already been used as bedding.
Stormpaw blinked gratefully at the she-cat and scraped the moss away with even more enthusiasm. When she had spoken to Specklepaw about the cats of the RainClan the arrogant she-cat had told her that the elders were quite mysterious cats and it was good to steer clear of them.
"You're not scary or rude. Do all cats not know this about you?" Stormpaw asked, blinking at the two elders with concern.
"Most cats don't bother to come in here. Mostly it's Cloudspots and occasionally there's that quiet apprentice who comes to clean our nests, deliver food, and sometimes she comes for a story," Shadownight mumbled.
"Fernpaw?"
The two elders nodded and Stormpaw couldn't help but think about the brown she-cat. Fernpaw was often the last to be noticed, she was silently forgotten in situations, she was always the first to wake and leave the den, and her nest was in the shadowy corner of the apprentices' den.
Suddenly a shadow fell across the den and Cloudspots voice echoed around the den, "Snowspirit wants to go training now, Stormpaw," he spoke quietly.
Stormpaw dipped her head respectfully to the elders before bounding after Cloudspots out of the den. "Who won the initiation?" she asked, trying to create conversation.
"From what I heard it was Fernpaw who was the first to return with her prey," Cloudspots allowed a smile to rest on his lips.
"Stormpaw we're going on a hunting patrol!" Nightpaw bounded over to her cheerfully, then leaning close to her sister she whispered in a low voice, "Drizzlepaw told me there's a Gathering in a few days. I guess it's like a huge meeting where all three of the Clans come! If we try hard maybe we can go."
The two she-cats stared at each other with excitement in their shining in their eyes.
Suddenly Nightpaw whipped around on her paws and raced towards the entrance of camp, "Last one to our mentors is a rotten maggot!" she looked over her shoulder and shot her sister a grin.
Stormpaw smiled gleefully and bounded over her sister.
Sorry guys, I try to update every day. Anyways any questions you want me to answer? I'm boreeed :P
P.S. Leopard Malika Marley Marilee: Stormyyy likes to talk in third person as well and she thinks that your reviews are awesome and random :3
~Stormyyyfeather
