Swanpaw paced in front of her nest. The two apprentices were for sure going to come in here soon. It was sometime after sundown, and taking a small tour didn't take too long.
"Hi!" A small mew interrupted her thoughts. "I'm Blossompaw, who are you?"
"Oh, I'm Swanpaw! And this cat over here is my not-as-wonderful-but-still-good sister, Goosepaw!"
"The new apprentices are here, huh?" Goosepaw laughed. "Oh yes, I'm Goosepaw. How are you, Blossompaw?" Blossompaw lit up.
"I'm fine. It's absolutely wonderful becoming an apprentice, though it will be a tad hard. What do you think of it?" She flicked her tail in amusement.
"It's kind of hard, but if you work hard enough, listen to your mentor, and follow the rules, you'll be fine." Goosepaw smiled. "Just don't pick any fights, or it will end badly for you." Blossompaw nodded.
"Now where will I sleep? Is there a nest open?" She looked around curiously.
"Oh. There's a nest over there, directly in sight of the entrance." Swanpaw flicked her tail in the general direction.
"Thank you. We'll talk later."
"Yes, I'm rather tired as well. Sleep well." Swanpaw walked over to her nest, touching it up in a couple places, and finally laid down for the night.
Swanpaw woke with a pounding headache. For a heartbeat, she couldn't think of what she was supposed to do. Then she remembered that it was probably for the best if she went to the medicine cat den.
Walking over there, the cold night air made her think of heading back to the warmth of her nest, but her headache made her think otherwise. Well, as much as she could think with such a headache.
Looking inside the den, she saw that Shadowpaw was sorting herbs. "Hey." She whispered.
Shadowpaw leaped up instantly. "What, what? Oh, it's you, Swanpaw. What do you want?"
"I've got a headache." Shadowpaw walked over to their collection of herbs. While the medicine cat den was in direct sunlight for most of the day, the herbs were tucked safely away in a space between two rocks, away from anything that may damage it.
"Ah, feverfew." He pulled out a herb. "Eat this." Swanpaw didn't know exactly what it was, but she ate it anyway, trusting Shadowpaw.
"Now head back to your nest. You'll feel better by morning." With that advice in paw, she went back to the den.
Looking in, she saw her fellow apprentices, all sound asleep. There was Goosepaw, next to her nest; Cinderpaw and Pigeonpaw, farthest from the entrance; Dustpaw, opposite of Goosepaw; and Fernpaw, behind Goosepaw.
Directly in front of her were the two new apprentices, Blossompaw and Rainpaw. The moonlight fell down on them, making Blossompaw's fur shine. Next to her, Rainpaw seemed a tiny shadow.
Sighing, she curled up in her nest. Tomorrow would be their first day of training, and they would have to be ready. She and her sister were at two moons of this, while the others were all two moons ahead of her. They were used to this.
For those two, becoming warriors must seem so far away.