Chapter 10: A New Beginning
"I call upon my ancestors to make this apprentice become a warrior. He has been deemed worthy and has padded through fights, sadness, and loss. By the powers in me I will make him one of us. Slashpaw do you understand what your responsibility entitles you to do and will you uphold the Clan Lore?"
"I do!" Slashpaw meowed excitedly.
"Then by the powers in me you shall be called Slashheart. Make us proud, new warrior. Your brother is watching over you." Snapstar lowered his head onto Slashheart's and the new warrior licked his shoulder respectfully.
"Slashheart! Slashheart!" The Clan called in glee.
Slashheart was itching with embarrassment and excitement as his new duty as a warrior. His parents, Iceshine and Whitefoot stood by him proudly.
"Now onto another order of business..." Snapstar acknowledged. "We have 4 new kits to be apprenticed!"
The Clan screeched in joy. They haven't had that many apprentices in a very long time. The 4 very bouncy, willing to learn kittens were squirming next to Bloodtooth. He hissed at them quietly so Snapstar could continue with the ceremony.
"I call upon my ancestors and those to come to look down on this kit. He wishes to join us as an apprentice. He will certainly do well. You shall now be called Brackenpaw. Flamestone, he is your apprentice now. Teach him all you know and certainly make us proud."
"I will brother." Flamestone gently licked his "son" on the top of his head. Brackenpaw bumped noses with him awkwardly.
"I call upon my ancestors and those to come to look down on this kit. He wishes to join us as an apprentice. He will certainly do well. You shall now be called Littlepaw. Crowflight, he is your apprentice now. Teach him all you know and certainly make us proud."
"I will." She meowed as she touched noses with her son.
"I will be the best for you, daddy and Brackenpaw! I promise!" He whispered quietly.
"I'm sure you will my little one." Crowflight meowed.
"I call upon my ancestors and those to come to look down on this kit. She wishes to join us as an apprentice. She will certainly do well. You shall now be called Pebblepaw. Iceshine, she is your apprentice now. Teach her all you know and certainly make us proud."
Iceshine touched noses with Pebblepaw gently.
"And now onto our final apprentice!" Snapstar yowled. "I call upon my ancestors and those to come to look down on this kit. She wishes to join us as an apprentice. She will certainly do well. You shall now be called Specklepaw. Rougefoot, my son, she is your apprentice now. Take good care of her, teach her all you know and make us proud."
The beautiful speckled she-cat ran up to Rougefoot and touched noses with him quickly.
"Brackenpaw! Littlepaw! Pebblepaw! Specklepaw!" The Clan yowled.
"We are not done yet. We have a special ceremony. Shortleg... please come here."
The old brown tom hoisted himself up onto Snapstar's rock. "As you all know I am getting on in years and I will need an apprentice to help me out. This kit will be very helpful in the days to come and I know he will be a great medicine cat in my place. Shadowkit, please step forward. I, Shortleg, medicine cat of FireClan call upon those spirits that have guided us for countless moons. I wish to make this kit a medicine cat apprentice in honor of his passion for healing and learning. Shadowkit do you respect all rules that go along with becoming a medicine cat and heal as long as you live and let the ancestors guide you in the way of healing?"
"I do Shortleg." The black kit meowed.
"Then by the powers in me and in the ancestors you shall be called Shadowpaw!"
"Shadowpaw! Shadowpaw!" The Clan yowled.
"Also as you know," Snapstar began. "We have three new arrivals in the Clan! Berrykit, Brownkit and Sandkit, welcome to FireClan! As of now this meeting is dismissed." Snapstar ended and walked back into his den.
The crowd at the foot of the rock dispersed, melting back into the shadows of the night.
"So Rougefoot what are we going to do tomorrow!?" Specklepaw asked excitedly.
"Well, I was going to talk to Flamestone, Crowflight and Iceshine if we all wanted to go out together to explore the territory... But you have to behave."
"I promise I will Rougefoot! I'm going to go tell my sister!" She raced off, into the apprentices den.
Rougefoot shook his head and wandered over to the other three mentors. They were talking by the kill pile.
"Hey Rougefoot!" Flamestone meowed.
"Hey I was wondering if you all wanted to come out together and show our new apprentices the territory." Rougefoot suggested.
"We were just talking about that." Iceshine meowed.
"We should give them a little bit of rest. So maybe we should go out around Peak Sun." Crowflight meowed.
"Good idea," Flamestone agreed with his mate.
"I'll go tell them." Rougefoot meowed.
"See you tomorrow at Peak Sun." The three meowed.
Rougefoot pushed his way into the apprentices den. All of the apprentices were up and talking excitedly.
"Oh hi Rougefoot!" Specklepaw meowed.
"You all are going to come with us at Peak Sun. We will show you around the territory and Specklepaw if you behave maybe I'll show you how to hunt a little bit."
"Yay!" She screeched.
"Shh." Rougefoot hissed. "You don't want the whole camp woken up."
"Sorry Rougefoot." Specklepaw meowed.
"Now you all go to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."
"Yes Rougefoot," they all meowed in unison.
Rougefoot walked out of the apprentices den. He passed Slashheart who was quietly giving his vigil. Rougefoot nodded at him and then proceeded to his nest on the side of Snapstar's rock. He circled a few times and then went to sleep.
When Rougefoot woke up the next morning he was greeted by Specklepaw's blotched face. "Good morning sleepyhead." She meowed.
Rougefoot let out a screech in alarm and jumped backwards. His fur was puffed out and his back was arched.
Iceshine was rolling around on the dirt in laughter. Pebblepaw was also laughing.
Rougefoot let his spine unbend and his fur flatten. "Never," he swallowed. "Do that again."
"Aw fine you party pooper!" Specklepaw snorted.
"Go get the others it's almost time to leave." Rougefoot meowed.
Specklepaw dashed off to the apprentices den while Iceshine and Pebblepaw waited with Rougefoot. Soon after Flamestone and Crowflight arrived. When Specklepaw returned with Brackenpaw and Littlepaw they headed out into the forest. They first visited the Hollow, where most of the apprentices train. It was a nice, lush green stretch of grass. The place held haunted memories for Rougefoot, especially the time when he found Smokepaw slain by a fox. They then visited Moss Rock, a good place to find prey. It was Rougefoot's favorite thinking spot. They next showed the apprentices the Roaring Path and forbade them to ever go near it. They showed them the MoonClan border, then the Meeting Place, the UnderGround Spring and the EarthClan border.
"Be sure to get the scent of EarthClan and MoonClan in you. They are our enemies. Always remember that." Iceshine meowed.
Rougefoot swallowed quietly. He avoided the conversation.
"We don't have squabbles with SunClan so it's not as important. You'll learn their scent at the Meeting." Flamestone added.
Rougefoot noticed they were all tired. "How about we head on back to the camp and get some food?"
"That sounds pleasant." Crowflight meowed.
They slowly padded back to the camp. New spikes of grass were appearing from underneath the ground. New Leaf was just around the corner. The prey was running very well. Brambleleg and Blackwhisker had just brought home some food and the kill pile was packed. "Alright… go pick out your favorite piece." Rougefoot meowed at Specklepaw. All of the apprentices charged towards the kill pile with their mentors following behind. Rougefoot remembered back to when he was an apprentice. Squirreltrack was his mentor and he was a really quick and agile cat. It was always a challenge to battle train with him.
"Who were your mentors when you were apprentices?" Rougefoot asked casually.
Flamestone spoke first. "My mentor was Cindertail."
Crowflight spoke next. "My mentor was Grassfoot. That's how Flamestone and I met."
Iceshine was last. "My mentor was Bloodtooth."
"Cool." Rougefoot meowed. His apprentice was the first one done with her meal.
"Rougefoot can we pleaseeee go out hunting now?" She begged.
"I guess I have to take my apprentice out. I'll see you guys later." He meowed as he trudged off with Specklepaw.
He took her out to the Hollow. "Watch me." He meowed as he dropped into the Hunter's Crouch and quickly, but silently glided along the ground. "Now you try."
She crouched down but her tail was still sticking straight up and she looked unbalanced.
"Try evening out your weight on all four paws and put your tail down. Prey will smell you."
She did what she was told and she looked ten times better. "Is this better?"
"Yes! That's perfect. Now pretend that my tail is a piece of prey." He thumped his tail back and forth across the dirt.
Specklepaw approached silently and when she was in range of Rougefoot's tail, she sprang. She hooked onto his tail with sheathed claws.
"Very good. Remember mice can feel you before they see you and rabbits can smell you before they see you. So what do you think you should do for a mouse?"
"Light pawsteps?" She suggested.
"Exactly." He meowed. "Just like you were doing. What about a rabbit?"
"Quick, nimble pawsteps." She answered confidently.
"Good. Want to test your skills?"
"Really?" Specklepaw meowed excitedly.
"Sure. Go out by the MoonClan border and see what you can find."
"Won't you come with me?" She asked.
"I'll stay here and hunt in the trees. I want you to be alone. Show me how well you can do. But I'll be watching."
Her tail curled up in delight. "I won't let you down Rougefoot!" She meowed as she charged into the trees.
Rougefoot silently slid around the undergrowth, making sure Specklepaw didn't hear him. She was in the middle of a clearing, stalking a mouse who was busy nibbling on a seed. Her eyes were unblinking and her nostrils were flared. She quickly pounced and bit the mouse on the back of the neck. She then buried her prey and went out to search for more. Rougefoot then saw a raven peck at where Specklepaw had hidden the mouse. Rougefoot quietly skirted along the border of the trees. But before he could pounce, Specklepaw leapt out of the bushes and latched onto the raven's back. She smashed its skull before it could even let out a warning call. Rougefoot walked out into the clearing. "Great job!" He meowed at his apprentice.
"Thanks! But I still want to find more prey." She answered.
"Suit yourself. I'll meet you back here at Low Sun."
She flicked her tail to show that she heard. Rougefoot wandered into the bushes near the EarthClan border. He brought down a rabbit and two mice before trudging back to the clearing where Specklepaw had her prey.
She had brought down a small sparrow and a vole along with the raven and the mouse.
"You've done an amazing job with your first time hunting!" Rougefoot praised his apprentice.
"Thanks but I missed a mouse." She shrugged.
"Every cat can't catch every piece of prey. You're an amazing hunter nonetheless."
"Thanks!" She meowed as her tail curled up over her back.
"I'll give you tomorrow off. But let's help carry all of this prey back! Leafstream is probably starving!"
"She doesn't need all of this!" Specklepaw meowed jokingly.
"I know but still, let's get a move on. We can make two trips."
Specklepaw nodded and picked up the raven. Rougefoot dragged the three mice and the vole back into the kill pile. Before any cat could say anything they were back with the sparrow and the rabbit.
"You get some rest." Rougefoot meowed. "I'll take the rabbit to Leafstream."
Specklepaw yawned and with heavy paws trudged back to the apprentice's den where her sister was eagerly waiting.
Leafstream was curled up in a ball with her three kits beside her. Her head lifted up when she smelled prey. "Is that for me?" She meowed tiredly.
"No Leafstream I brought this rabbit in the nursery just so I could eat it. Of course it's for you!" Rougefoot joked.
She cuffed him over the ear.
"Ow! What was that for!?" He growled.
"Watch it." She stuck her tongue out at him.
He hissed playfully back. He leaned down and observed his brother and two sisters. Berrykit was a red and white splotched kitten similar to Mapleheart, Brownkit was a dark brown tabby and Sandkit was a sandy brown tom. He gently licked Sandkit's head. The small kit retaliated and hooked on to Rougefoot's nose. He gently removed the tom's claws and stepped away.
"He hates you already." Leafstream winked.
Rougefoot gently poked Sandkit in the stomach. He meowed in protest and opened his eyes for the first time.
Most kits were born with their eyes deep blue but Sandkit's eyes were turquoise.
"Hey guys!" Sandkit meowed. "I can see!" He looked up at Rougefoot. "Wh… who are you?"
"I'm your brother, Rougefoot."
"Whoa! You're huge! Is he really my brother Leafstream?"
"Yes, he is from my second litter." She answered.
"Berrykit! Brownkit! Open your eyes! Look how huge he is!"
Berrykit and Brownkit opened their eyes and looked at their brother for the first time. "Wow! Look at him!"
"Where are my other brothers and sisters if he is from the second litter?" Sandkit asked.
Leafstream grew silent and Rougefoot gently told the kits, "They went up with their ancestors."
"Why?" All three if them asked.
"I'll tell you when you get to be a bit older." Leafstream meowed.
"Aw!" wailed the kits.
"Can we go outside?" Berrykit asked.
"It's dark outside. I'll take you out tomorrow." Rougefoot promised.
"Fine!" Brownkit snorted.
Rougefoot dipped his head and walked back to his den. He curled up and fell asleep.