Pale sunlight filtered through a gap in the driftwood, warming a small section of Poppypaw's fur, making the golden hairs glow even brighter. Poppypaw opened her eyes dreamily, gazing around the apprentice den. Otterpaw and Fawnpaw nestled close together – for littermates, they were exceedingly close. Poppypaw's brother, Sunpaw, was curled in his nest wedged in a small overhang, secure and in no danger of being trodden on. Poppypaw had picked an open spot on the sand, close to the outer wall, so she could hear the gentle crash of the waves lapping against the camp. She pulled herself to her feet, stretching, then padded over to Otterpaw and Fawnpaw.
"Fawnpaw," she whispered softly. Fawnpaw's tail shot out and slapped itself over Poppypaw's muzzle.
"I'm up, I'm up," she grumbled, getting up gingerly. Poppypaw touched her paw to Otterpaw's side. He blinked awake, looking up at her with his deep amber eyes.
"Coming," he gasped, shaking himself. Poppypaw smiled. Otterpaw was not a sunrise person. Neither, she thought with amusement, was her brother. Now for the fun part. She tiptoed over to Sunpaw's nest, putting her paws down carefully, as not to disturb him. She placed her muzzle a mousetail away from his ear, took a deep breath, and yowled as loudly as she could.
"Ahhh! Help! CaveClan is here! Run for your !" Sunpaw leapt a fox-length off the smooth sand, smacking his head hard on an overhead piece of driftwood.
"That is unnesscessarily stressful," he panted, flopping on his side. Poppypaw and Fawnpaw giggled.
"Come on!" insisted Otterpaw. "Today we get two new apprentices, remember? Swanstar is having Eaglekit and Seagullkit's ceremonies as soon as possible."
"I do not want to share a den with them," complained Sunpaw. "Remember when we were in the nursery with them, Poppypaw? It was like living with foxes!" Fawnpaw laughed.
"We'll have to make more nests," she said, gazing around. "But I guess we have enough room, since that boulder got moved."
"They are getting their own bedding, though," said Otterpaw emphatically. Poppypaw nodded vigorously. It had taken days to get her nest perfectly set up – the smooth kelp, downy feathers, dried seaweed, and rushes from the salt marsh.
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here for a Clan meeting!" Swanstar's voice bounced off the stone.
"Skunk!" grumbled Sunpaw. "I wanted to get some freshkill first." The four apprentices raced out to where Swanstar stood, the sunlight glinting off his glossy fur. The camp was arranged in layers – medicine cat den and warriors den closest to the water, then on the second level were the apprentices and nursery and elders, and then Swanstar's spacious den was at the very top, with a wide, flat rock that the Clan gathered at for meetings.
"Eaglekit, Seagullkit. You are six moons old and now ready to become apprentices." The kits, one light brown and stripey, the other patchy gray and white, quivered with excitement. "Seagullkit, from this moment until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Seagullpaw. Oceanbreeze, you are ready for another apprentice. Teach your wisdom and kindness to Seagullpaw." A slim silver she-cat stepped up to meet the quivering apprentice, touching noses with her.
"Eaglekit, from this moment until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Eaglepaw. Hawksoar, you are ready for your first apprentice. Twistedtail was your mentor – pass on the skills you learned from him to Eaglepaw." The two touched noses, the two tabbies looking eerily similar.
"Eaglepaw! Seagullpaw! Eaglepaw! Seagullpaw!" the cats chanted. Poppypaw could hear Sunpaw chanting "Eagledroppingpaw! Seagulldroppingpaw!" somewhere to her left, and struggled to muffle her laughter. It would be a looooooong six moons.