Snowstar leaped up onto the TallRock and addressed the clan, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the TallRock for a clan meeting," he called out to the clan as they sat below him at the base of the TallRock, the deputy Sharptail sitting next to the rock beside Frostrose. The five kits bounce happily toward the entrance of the nursery, being stopped by Blackclaw, "be presentable kits," she spoke a hint of laughter in her voice, "walk out like respectable kits, today is a big day for you," she mewed, their fur shining with cleanliness as they exited the nursery slower than before, "alright Blackclaw," Sunkit replied as he trotted out of the den behind the others, his fur shining like gold from being cleaned not long ago. As the five kits approached the TallRock with Blackclaw and Hawktalon behind them the clan made a pathway, letting them pass to the front, "Today we are joined here to present Shadekit, Stormkit, Frostkit, Sunkit and Smallkit to StarClan as apprentices as they have reached the age of six moons," Snowstar continued, his eyes shining, "Stormkit, please step forward," Obediently Stormkit stepped forward proudly as Snowstar continued, "from this day forward, until he earns his warrior name, this apprentice shall be known as Stormpaw, Hawktalon will be his mentor. Hawktalon, I trust you with training Stormpaw, I trust you will pass on all your knowledge and skill to this apprentice," Hawktalon stepped forward to touch noses with Stormpaw before they both stepped back to join the rest of the clan, "Shadekit, please step forward," he continued, "you are now eligible to become your eagerly awaited apprenticeship, so, from this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Shadepaw with Fallowtooth as your mentor. Fallowtooth, I trust you to train this apprentice and pass on all your strength and skill to this young cat," Fallowtooth stepped forward and touched noses with Shadepaw as they stepped back to stand beside Hawktalon and Stormpaw as Snowstar continued the ceremony, "Frostkit, please step forward," Eagerly Frostkit stepped forward, ready to become and apprentice, "Frostkit, you are now able to receive your apprentice now from becoming six moons old, from this day forward you shall be known as Frostpaw, until you earn your warrior name, your mentor shall be Sweetfern. Sweetfern, you had a great mentor in Spiritflare and I trust you to pass down all you learnt to Frostpaw," Sweetfern nodded and stepped forward to touch noses with Frostpaw as they stood beside the other apprentices, "Sunkit, please step forward, from this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Sunpaw, I see you having great potential as a strong warrior so I have decided your mentor will be Darkclaw, Darkclaw, train this young apprentice to learn all the strong techniques and skills," Sunpaw swallowed hard as Darkclaw stepped forward from the clan, the young apprentice was tempted to flee from his mentor but touched noses with him and stepped to the side, next to the other cats, "and finally, Smallkit, please step forward, it has been your decision to follow the path of a medicine cat, so, from this day forward your name shall be Smallpaw, your mentor will be Frostrose, you will travel to the MoonPillar on the night of the half moon," Smallkit touched noses with Frostrose and sat beside the TallRock with her," Snowstar watched over the clan as they called out the names of the new apprentices, "Stormpaw! Shadepaw! Frostpaw! Sunpaw! Smallpaw!" the loudest being Hawktalon's voice as he cheered for his motherless kits. As the clan returned back to the daily duties of the clan, the four apprentices came together as Smallpaw and Frostrose headed back to the medicine cat den, "hey Sunpaw, I feel really sorry for you, having Darkclaw as your mentor," Shadepaw mewed

"Yeah, he has the worst temper StarClan has ever seen," Stormpaw added
"he can't be that bad, come one, let's go ask them what we are doing today," Sunpaw mewed, trying to get his mind off of Darkclaw's bad temper, "ok," the other three apprentices mewed happily, trailing behind Sunpaw. Shadepaw stepped up beside Fallowtooth, "Fallowtooth, what are we doing today?" she asked as the others each asked their own mentors the same thing, "we're going to show you guys the territory borders, so you can learn the other clan's scents and the borders," Fallowtooth replied as the other three mentors and apprentices followed them out of the entrance. The first thing Shadepaw noticed when they left the camp was the harsh cold wind that blew through the territory, a wind only IceClan cats could withstand for a long period of time. As the patrol of apprentices walked through the territory Shadepaw noticed a faint familiar scent in the distance, "the scent you can probably smell now would be EarthClan's border coming up soon, each of the three clans has a different third of the forest, EarthClan has the warmer third, warmed by the sunlight through the thin trees, DarkClan has the darker, dense pine forest, that's why they are often darker pelted because they live in shadow, and us IceClan have the colder and more snowy terrain, that's why we have longer fur than the other clans," Hawktalon informed the apprentices, "yes, all very adapted aren't we," Darkclaw grumbled, obviously not happy about having extra duties, "Cheer up Darkclaw, just be proud of where you live, no other clan can survive in this climate," Fallowtooth mewed cheerfully as they continued through the territory, "What can you smell?" Hawktalon asked the apprentices, Stormpaw was first to reply, "I can scent a mixture of EarthClan's and IceClan's scent," he mewed
"So can I," Frostpaw added, "Is it the border?"
"Very well done you two, yes it is the border," Hawktalon replied as they traveled along the border, "we need to keep an eye on our borders, otherwise the other clans could attack us at any time," Fallowtooth mewed, "yes, very terrible if that happens," Darkclaw growled again unenthusiastically as Sweetfern rolled her eyes at the tom. As the cats travelled onwards Shadepaw's senses were filled with a strong mixed scent consisting of EarthClan, IceClan and a scent she didn't recognize, "Up ahead is ThreeStones, it's where our gatherings are held every moon," Sweetfern purred
"I wonder if we will go to the next gathering," Shadepaw mewed excitedly as Hawktalon laughed quietly, "you can bet the prey you catch up until the next gathering you will," he mewed grinning as a the unrecognizable scent became stronger, "is that DarkClan scent?" Frostpaw asked, screwing up her nose as they passed, "yeah must be," Stormpaw mewed in reply as they veered back into the forest, the rank scent fading away and into the distance, familiar territory coming back into view.

Shadepaw lay in front of the apprentices den, relaxing in the shade of a tall tree. Frostpaw lay beside her as Fawnpaw returned from hunting, carrying a young owl between her teeth. Shadepaw yawned as she crept inside the apprentices den with Stormpaw and curled up next to her brother and Frostpaw, falling asleep from the day.