I've made a few small changes to the story. One, Mosskit started the story at 5 moons old instead of one half moon. Two, the story is now in first-person. I'm going through each of the chapters and editing them to be like this.
Enjoy the story and please review!
"Mosskit, you will now be known as Mosspaw. Your mentor will be..." Branchstar's eyes scanned the crowd, searching for a worthy mentor for me, "Lilypool."
My littermates got their mentors too. Cloudpaw had berry heart, having chosent so study medicine, Graypaw received Cinderlight, and Daisypaw was lucky enough to get the Clan deputy, Brambletail.
Lilypool was an... interesting character. She was so full of positive energy, but it got her into trouble quite often. now that she was older and wiser, hopefully I would become a decent warrior.
My mentor approached me. "My first apprentice! How exciting!"
"Now Lilypool, don't get too excited. This experience can be a frustrating one if not done correctly." Finchpelt, Lilypool's brother, glared at her.
"But wait! More apprentices are coming tonight! Shellkit and Rosekit, please come forward." I winced as Shellkit purposefully stepped on my tail. Apparently he was angry because he would be made and apprentice after the kits who were born two days after him and his sister had been.
"Shellkit, you will now be known as Shellpaw. Finchpelt will be your mentor." Finchpelt? Finchpelt, who was nothing but nice to his Clan, paired with Shellpaw, the nuisance who treats everyone like crow-food? And then it hit me. Branchstar paired apprentices with warriors of opposite personality, seemingly to balance them out. He must think I was quiet and shy to pair me with Lilypool! Ugh!
"Rosekit, from this day forward, you will be known as Rosepaw. Fishsplash will mentor you.
"Now, the apprentice's den may seem quite full, but we're emptying it a little. Sharppaw, Grasspaw, Mothpaw, come forward." As the three excited apprentices bounced up to Branchstar, I couldn't help but marvel in how confident they seemed. They had their muzzles held high, their eyes gleamed with pride in theirselves, it was so hard to think that those cats are in the same position that I might be in one day. "Sharppaw, StarClan honors your determination and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior. You will now be known as Sharpwhisker.
"Grasspaw, StarClan honors your enthusiasm and bravery, and today, you will be known as Grassfire.
Mothpaw, you have shown compassion and bravery throughout training and from now on, you will be known as Mothfur."
The celebration that followed was short, and Lilypool rejoined me. "We're going with my brother and his apprentice to explore the territories!"
Shellpaw! Can't I get enough of him? Then again, Finchpelt has had multiple apprentices before, and Lilypool would probably much rather take advice from her brother, who she was comfortable with.
Mosspaw
"And this is Sunningrocks! On a warm Green-leaf day the sun feels so good on your fur!" Lilypool bounced around, showing Shellpaw and me the RiverClan territory. Occasionally, Finchpelt would butt in and point out a few things, such as the best place for fishing or the most dangerous swimming spot. Shellpaw and I ignored each other until he tripped me with his forepaw and kicked dirt in my face when I was down.
I opened my jaws to yell for Lilypool, but the light gray she-cat and her brother were out of sight.
"Shellpaw! Where in the name of StarClan is Lilypool and Finchpelt?"
Shellpaw looked around for his mentor, and when he saw no cat, he started pacing. "We're lost. Thanks to you, I will die out here, hungry, tired, and with the most idiotic mouse-brain alive!"
I don't know why, but his words made my eyes well up with tears. I collapsed on the soft sand of the river bank and buried my face in my fur. Shellpaw realized his mistake and sat down next to me, letting his cream pelt touch mine. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. Um... I turned to look at the cream apprentice and saw his eyes, a deep dark brown, full of concern and regret.
The moment was over all too soon. Lilypool and Finchpelt raced into the area and began yelling at once. What in the name of StarClan were we thinking, they would tell Branchstar what happened, there would be extreme consequences in store for us, everything I expected. I tried to interject, but Lilypool placed her tail on my mouth.
"We're going back to camp. When we get there, you two will be paying a visit to Branchstar."
Mosspaw
It seemed like moons before Branchstar let us into his den. His face was impassive, his eyes burned into our pelts with disappointment.
The three of us just sat there for a long time. I kept myself as far from Shellpaw as possible, and he did the same to me.
"Finchpelt and Lilypool told me you tow snuck off during your tour and they found you again flirting with each other. I want to hear your side of the story."
I beat Shellpaw to it. "We were just walking along the river when Shellpaw tripped me and kicked dirt in my face. Lilypool and Finchpelt kept walking, and we were lost so I sat down and staye put so our mentors could find me easier."
"I see."
Shellpaw looked back and forth between Branchstar and I, showing obvious but feigned disbelief in my side of the story. Branchstar ignored him and, once hea had decided upon the consequences, told us the verdict. "Mosspaw is not to blame. Shellpaw, your next lesson will be learning how to clean out the nursery. I will speak with Finchpelt and Lilypool about their responsibilities. Now, Leave my den!"
As soon as I was outside, I let out a snicker I had been holding in. A cream-colored paw swiped at my face but missed, infuriating me.
To make a long story short, Shellpaw and I will have matching notches in our ears for the rest of our lives.
