"Warriors of IceClan," Lionstar announced, flicking his tail, "it is time to make three young cats apprentices. Thornkit, Swiftkit, and Dappledkit, Snowflame's first litter, are now six moons old."

Lionstar's fur was a tawny color that gleamed golden in the sunlight. Scars ran down his muzzle and shoulder, and there was a tear in his right ear. This was a cat who preferred to fight his own battles, instead of making his warriors do everything for him.

Snowflame nosed us towards Lionstar. She acted indifferent on the outside, but she was standing up straighter, and her thoughts were shining with pride.

"Thornkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprentice. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Thornpaw. Your mentor will be Palefang. He will train you to become a formidable warrior," Lionstar said. His front fangs were unusually large, and even with his mouth closed, I could see them poking out from behind his lip.

Palefang strode forward. His pelt was a shade lighter than Lionstar's, but he had the same long teeth and overbite. Palefang was Lionstar's son, and he resembled him greatly. He even had a matching scar on his muzzle, which he had gotten from fighting the EmberClan leader, Rainstar.

"Palefang, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Frozenwhisker, and you have shown yourself to be fierce and loyal. You will be the mentor of Thornpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her." Is it too soon after Duststorm? Lionstar wondered to himself. Maybe I should give her another mentor. But Palefang is a capable warrior, after all. And it's to like I have a lot of cats to choose from; we've lost too many in battle recently. Over this stupid warrior with EmberClan.

That was interesting- Lionstar didn't like the war. I had never even considered that was possible. On the outside, he was as emotionless as Snowflame.

Is he trying to be strong for his Clan? I guessed. That was the impression I got from Snowflame- she tried to squelch every emotion because she was concerned what it'd do to us if we saw her emotional. But Lionstar didn't seem particularly worried about his cats' spirits. In fact, he seemed more self-conscious than anything. Even a big brute like Lionstar could fret about what other cats thought of him.

"Swiftkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Swiftpaw. Your mentor will be Hailclaw. She will train you to become a formidable warrior," Lionstar said, eying the crowd. Hailclaw stepped forward.

An apprentice! Another one! And then a darker part of her mind whispered, Hopefully this one will be better than Sparrowpelt.

Lionstar continued with the ceremony. My worry was getting stronger. I didn't want to be presented to the Clan! What if I messed up? I stood up straighter, wanting to look professional, then I wondered if that seemed like I was being rude and thought I was better than anyone else. I slouched down, but that didn't seem right either. What if the Clan thought I was being lazy? Nervously, I tried to find a middle ground between the two.

"Dappledkit," Snowflame hissed under her breath, "step up to Lionstar."

Oh no! I wasn't paying attention! I must've missed it when Lionstar called me up! I hobbled towards him shakily. Lionstar reached out his neck and touched his nose to mine.

"Junipercloud, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from me, and you have shown yourself to be clever and strong. You will be the mentor of Thornpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

I wasn't listening when he gave me my new name and announced my mentor, I thought worriedly. I'm a bad apprentice!

"Dappledpaw!" Snowflame cheered, breaking my train of thought. "Thornpaw! Swiftpaw! Dappledpaw!"

"Hooray!" a cat shouted. The voice had a greenish aura to it. I glanced down, meeting Hawkflight's eyes.

He's cheering for me.

Duh, Dappledpaw. He has to. It's your apprentice ceremony.

"Alright, guys," Hailclaw said once the cheering had died down. "Let's go to the ridge."

The ridge was where apprentices often trained. I had heard all about if from Hawkflight's mind. It was big and wide, close to camp, and very far from any borders, so it was a perfect place for apprentices to practice hunting and fighting stances.

"Good idea," Junipercloud said. "Let's teach them how to hunt."

We climbed down the ledge in single file and set out for the training ridge, Hailclaw in the lead and me taking up the rear. I wasn't sure whether to be excited or nervous. Finally I was an apprentice... but what did that really?