LightningClan
Leader: Graystar – white tom with gray paws; Mate: Roseheart - white she-cat with a reddish spot on her chest
Deputy: Wolfheart – black tom with icy blue eyes (Apprentice: Frostpaw); Mate: Daisylight - golden she-cat with amber eyes (Apprentice: Snowpaw)
Medicine cat: Amberleaf – ginger she-cat Apprentice: Sorrelpaw
Warriors: Darksnow – black tom with amber eyes (Apprentice: Shadowpaw); Mate: Lilypelt – yellow she-cat
Foxtail – reddish-brown tom; Mate: Mousefoot – pale gray she-cat (Apprentice: Lightpaw)
Stormclaw – gray tom (Apprentice: Applepaw) Mate: Nightmoon - black she-cat with dark blue eyes and white paws
Smokefoot - jet black tom with brown eyes; Mate: Silverheart - white she-cat with dark blue eyes
Lightningstrike - golden tom with amber eyes; Mate: Moonheart - brown she-cat with white paws, muzzle, tail tip, and dark blue eyes (Apprentice: Rustpaw)
Featherflash - dark brown and black tom; Mate: Spotfoot - sandy furred she-cat with black paws
Squirrelfoot (Apprentice: Flippaw) - black tom with ginger paws and green eyes; Mate: Sunstream - long-haired light golden she-cat with light blue eyes (Apprentice: Icepaw)
Foxeye - red tom with white underbelly, paws, and amber eyes; Mate: Grasswhisker - pale sandy mottled she-cat with pale green eyes; blind
Blazetail - white tom with fiery orange tail and green eyes (Apprentice: Silentpaw); Mate: Owlsight - dark grey tabby she-cat with yellow eyes
Browntooth - ugly brown tom with a snaggletooth; Mate: none
Cricketchirp - brown tabby tom with amber eyes; Mate: none
Goldengaze - white tom with golden eyes; Mate: none
Timberfur - Dark grey tom with forest-green eyes, white-tipped paws and striped tail; Mate: none
Swiftclaw - lean black tom with a long tail and yellow eyes; Mate: none
Thistlefang - large, white furred muscular tom with forest green eyes and light gray stripes; Mate: none
Pinefrost - reddish brown tom with white forepaw and green eyes; Mate: none
Jayflight - dark grey-blue tom with brown eyes; Mate: none
Lostear - dark ginger tabby tom with a fluffy tail, torn ears, and sky blue eyes; Mate: none
Fallenwing - black, thick furred tom with blue eyes; Mate: none
Stagfur - light brown tom with white spots; Mate: none
Blueclaw - handsome light brown tabby tom with long fur and dark blue eyes (Apprentice: Blackpaw); Mate: none
Springtail - pale gray tabby tom; Mate: none
Apprentices: Sorrelpaw – tortoiseshell she-cat
Applepaw - cream furred tom
Flippaw - light brown tabby tom with green eyes
Rustpaw - white she-cat with dark whiskers and green eyes
Silentpaw - burly long-furred black and white dappled tom with several scars; mute
Icepaw - pale gray she-cat with sky blue eyes and a white stripe running down her back
Blackpaw - black tom with blue eyes
Lightpaw - dark brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Queens: Daisylight – golden she-cat with amber eyes; Kits: Shadowkit (black tom with icy blue eyes), and Sunkit (golden she-kit with amber eyes)
Roseheart – white she-cat with a reddish spot on her chest; Kits: Frostkit (white tom), and Snowkit (pure white she-kit with only three legs)
Silverheart - white she-cat with dark blue eyes; Kits: Shykit (white she-kit with dark blue eyes), Dovekit (white she-kit with pale blue eyes; blind), Spottedkit (white tom with black spots and brown eyes), Darkkit (jet black tom with dark brown eyes)
Grasswhisker - pale sandy mottled she-cat with pale green eyes; Kits: Sandkit (sandy mottled she-kit with white tabby patches, half blind), Hawkkit (pale red tom with white paws and patches of sandy markings and amber eyes)
Elders: Snowyfeather - fluffy white she-cat
Raggedwing - long-haired brown she-cat with tangled fur and amber eyes
Mudstone - brown tom with dark stripe down his back
Prisoners: Yarrowheart - ragged grey tabby she-cat
Grunt - dark gray tom with yellow eyes
Cats Outside the Clan
Spiral - wiry ginger she-cat with spiraling golden stripes
Gingo - ginger tabby tom with golden eyes
A quarter moon later, Shadowkit was playing moss-ball with Darkkit and Spottedkit. He and Sunkit had made good on their commitment to start avoiding each other, though Shadowkit still felt as though she knew him best.
Shadowkit caught the ball out of the air as Darkkit flung it his way, landing on all four paws with the moss clamped firmly between his jaws. Spottedkit charged at him with an excited squeal and leaped onto his back.
The three friends were playing a game in which Darkkit and Shadowkit were bad rogues and Spottedkit was the heroic warrior that saved LightningClan. They were pretending the moss was a kit that Shadowkit and Darkkit were trying to steal.
"Gimme that kit, you rogue!" Spottedkit exclaimed, battering Shadowkit with his hind paws. "I am a LightningClan warrior! No one can best my strength!"
"Except for me!" Darkkit barreled into Spottedkit, knocking him off Shadowkit. "I have been to the Crystal Cave and was granted evil powers, like… um… making it night all the time!"
Spottedkit leaped backwards with pretend fear. "The power to make it night?" he repeated. "That's the worst power of all!"
"You think his is bad?" chimed in Shadowkit. "I can grab things with my mind!"
Spottedkit scrambled backwards even more. "Oh no!" He snatched up the moss and tore away as fast as his legs could carry him. "I have to get out of here!"
Darkkit and Shadowkit watched him retreat and yowled triumphantly. This was always part of their game: the bad guys think they win, and then the good guy comes in and defeats them with awesome new powers and saves everyone!
Shadowkit eyed Darkkit playfully. "Who else should we be evil at with our new powers?" He did his best to make his voice a deep, menacing growl, but it was too high-pitched to do much.
Darkkit's brown eyes gleamed. "We could sneak into the prisoner's den to teach them a lesson," he suggested.
Shadowkit grinned. The kits had a pretend camp that they mostly used to house pretend prisoners in. "Let's go!"
Together, the friends snuck into the little camp and leaped at the prisoners' den, tearing it apart with their small claws. "Take that! And that! And also that!"
Suddenly Darkkit was tripped by a white and black spotted paw, and Spottedkit leaped at Shadowkit, yowling, "I have been given the power to see in the dark and I have super speed!"
Of course, by that time Shadowkit and Darkkit were already laying on the ground, pretending to beg for mercy. "Oh please don't hurt us!" pleaded Shadowkit, squeezing his icy blue eyes shut.
"We'll never bother you again!" added Darkkit.
Spottedkit assumed a heroic stance. "I have won!"
"Would you kits be quiet?" hissed an annoyed voice. It was Roseheart, glaring at them from the nursery. As the leader's mate, she had the right to do such things. "Grasswhisker just had her kits yesterday, and she doesn't need the three of you rolling around and disturbing the peace!"
Shadowkit lowered his eyes. "Sorry," he muttered. "We'll be quieter."
"Good." She glared at them a moment longer, then vanished back into the darkness.
"Sorry everyone," said Shadowkit to Darkkit and Spottedkit. "I should have been more careful."
Darkkit shrugged. "It's okay, Shadowkit," he assured him. "We were done anyway."
"Yeah!" chimed in Spottedkit, glancing at the sun. "Mother will be calling for us to take a nap pretty s-"
"Darkkit! Spottedkit! Dovekit!"
Darkkit grinned. "See?"
Spottedkit laughed. "Told you! See ya later, Shadowkit!"
After the other toms left, Shadowkit didn't know what to do. He wondered briefly if he should check on Sunkit, but decided that she was fine. If she wasn't, wouldn't she have told him?
Yawning, the black tom trotted over to a small patch of sunlight and lay down. Napping seemed like a good idea right now.
He was dreaming about being bigger than a fox when something poked in the belly - hard. He groaned and looked up to find himself staring into Frostkit's fluffy face.
"It's about time you woke up," said the white tom. "I've been waiting forever." Frostkit's idea of 'forever' was three heartbeats at the most.
"What do you want?" grunted Shadowkit, pulling himself to his paws. As he stood beside his fellow kit, he couldn't help but note how different they were. He had long, muscled legs and short black fur with sharp icy blue eyes. Frostkit was his exact opposite, being rather short with long, white fur and wide amber eyes.
Frostkit blinked. "My father told me who he's planning on giving me for a mate," he said. Shadowkit felt a sinking feeling in his chest. "He also mentioned who you're going to get."
When Shadowkit didn't say anything, the white tom looked a bit outraged. "Don't you want to know?"
Shadowkit shrugged. "Sure, I guess."
Frostkit snorted. "You guess," he repeated. "Fine, I'll tell you. You're going to get Snowkit." He paused like he was waiting for a reaction.
Shadowkit wasn't surprised by this revelation. Even though she was missing a leg, she was very pretty. His father had even said that he was going to push for them to be together. "Who are you getting?" he asked, even though he already knew.
Frostkit's eyes gleamed. "Sunkit."
Suddenly he was slammed into the ground with Shadowkit on top of him. "If you hurt my sister," Shadowkit snarled, "if you do anything to make her feel bad, I swear I'll come after you with everything I have, and I will not show mercy."
Frostkit flinched away from Shadowkit's unnerving icy glare. "F-Funny," he stammered, "I was just about to say the s-same to you."
Shadowkit let him up with a lash of his tail. "Then let's make an agreement, okay?" he offered. "If you hurt Sunkit in any way, I get to scar you in the place I choose. And if I hurt Snowkit in any way, you get to scar me in the place you choose."
Frostkit was mostly relieved to be free of Shadowkit's claws. He didn't necessarily care all that much about his sister, but this way he knew Shadowkit would leave him alone. "Deal," he agreed, and that was that.
The following day, Shadowkit and Sunkit stood in front of their parents, who were making sure that they looked perfect, since today was the day of their apprentice ceremonies. Roseheart was doing the same for Frostkit and Snowkit. (Graystar wasn't there because he was the one performing the ceremony.)
Daisylight looked like she was going to burst with pride. "You look so handsome," she told Shadowkit. Addressing Sunkit, she said, "And you look very beautiful."
Shadowkit acknowledged her praise with a quick nod, but his attention was riveted on his father, who had yet to say anything.
Wolfheart looked at Shadowkit carefully. "He's a bit small," the black deputy finally said, "but he'll grow. If not, he'll just have to train harder."
Shadowkit felt Sunkit tense slightly and he knew that she was waiting for Wolfheart to comment on her. She wanted him to say something desperately, Shadowkit could tell, but Wolfheart turned and strode out of the den. Sunkit looked at the ground, hurt and disappointment flashing in her amber eyes.
"Hey," whispered Shadowkit, waiting for her to glance at him. "You look very pretty."
She managed a weak smile. "Thanks," she whispered back. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Graystar's deep voice boomed across the camp.
"Let all cats gather beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!"
Shadowkit felt adrenaline rush through his paws. He was so excited it was almost impossible to walk calmly out of the nursery, but he managed to do so. Sunkit walked a little behind him, and he thought he smelled a tinge of fear wafting from her pelt.
Frostkit and Snowkit both caught up quickly, Frostkit going straight to Shadowkit while Snowkit hund back to stay with Sunkit. The she-cats exchanged a swift bout of whispers, but quieted down almost immediately.
The kits made their way through the crowd of cats until they reached the bottom of the Tallrock, where Graystar waited patiently.
"Four kits," he began once they arrived, "are ready to begin their apprenticeships. Two of the kits are my own" -He glanced down approvingly at his offspring- "and two of them belong to Wolfheart."
Wolfheart nodded, icy blue gaze unreadable.
"They are the kits of your leaders," Graystar continued, "and so we have high expectations for them!"
Shadowkit gulped. High expectations just because he was the deputy's kit? How was that fair?
Graystar fixed his amber eyes on his son. "Frostkit," he said, "you have reached the age of six moons. By the power given to me by StarClan, I give you the name Frostpaw, apprentice of LightningClan. Your mentor will be Wolfheart."
Shadowkit shot his father a look of surprise, and in doing so he saw a flash of shock and fury on Wolfheart's face, swiftly masked over into an emotionless look. Clearly, the black warrior hadn't known about this.
"Frostpaw!"
"Frostpaw!"
"Frostpaw!"
Graystar waited for the cries to die down before continuing. "Snowkit, you have also reached the age of six moons. By the power given to me through StarClan, I give you the name Snowpaw, apprentice of LightningClan. Your mentor will be Daisylight."
Shadowkit decided that Graystar liked giving mentors heart-attacks as his mother's head snapped up, gaze filled with surprise.
"Snowpaw!"
"Snowpaw!"
There were fewer cries, but Shadowkit was sure to add his voice to the mix. Snowkit - Snowpaw - glanced at him gratefully.
Graystar gazed down at Shadowkit. "Shadowkit," he began, and the black tom felt a rush of adrenaline. "You have reached the age of six moons. By the power given to me through StarClan, I give you the name Shadowpaw, apprentice of LightningClan. Your mentor will be Darksnow."
Shadowpaw searched through the crowd until he found Darksnow. The black tom looked unsurprised, and he nodded at his apprentice. Shadowpaw then looked at Wolfheart, whose gaze had gone from annoyed to pleased. He had been the one to mentor Darksnow, and if he couldn't mentor his son, Darksnow was a preferable substitute.
Finally, Graystar looked at Sunkit. Shadowpaw was relieved to see something like approval in the white tom's eyes. "Sunkit," he said. "You have reached the age of six moons. By the power given to me by StarClan, I give you the name Sunpaw, apprentice of LightningClan. Your mentor will be Spotfoot."
Shadowpaw glanced at the sandy furred she-cat. He didn't know her very well, though he had heard rumors that she was expecting kits. He wondered why Graystar would appoint a pregnant she-cat to mentor his sister. Unless the rumors were wrong (which Shadowpaw highly doubted, since there was a slight bulge in her stomach area), Graystar would have to appoint a new mentor in a moon or so.
"Sunpaw!"
"Sunpaw!"
Shadowpaw was sure to add his voice to the mix, but was not the loudest to cheer. He didn't want to attract unnecessary attention from his father. Still, Sunpaw gave him a thankful glance, so he didn't feel bad.
When the meeting was over, Wolfheart went straight to Darksnow and started chatting with him quietly, glancing at his son occasionally as he did so. Shadowpaw decided to ignore this as cats came up to him, meowing congratulations.
Eventually, he heard Darksnow's deep voice shoo away the well-wishers. "Let my apprentice go." His voice was a rumble of amusement. "He does need to breathe sometimes."
He pulled his apprentice away from the crowd where Frostpaw was still enjoying the attention. "I suppose you want me to show you the territory?"
Shadowpaw nodded eagerly. "That would great, if you don't mind."
Darksnow eyed him gravely. "And if I do mind?"
Shadowpaw was at a loss for words. He had never considered the fact that his mentor wouldn't show him the territory. "Um… can you please show me around the territory?" he tried tentatively.
Darksnow threw back his head and laughed. "I'm joking! C'mon, let's get out of here before Frostpaw explodes with self-importance."
Feeling more than a little confused, Shadowpaw obediently followed his mentor out of the camp.