I apologize for the almost-two-month delay between chapter 9 and chapter 10. x.x I wasn't in much of a writing mood for a while and it didn't help that drama in my personal life was occupying my mind. Hopefully chapter 11 won't be as long in getting posted.
Rain pelted the moorland, slicking Stormpaw's fur to her already-drenched body as she padded over the slick grass, her paws sinking into mud with every step. The kits racing ahead of her seemed unbothered by it; even when Featherkit slipped and got covered in mud he sprang back to his paws, shook his pelt and then bounded after the other kits.
"Is this a herb?" called Shadekit over the wind. Breezepaw and Foxpaw padded over to sniff it; after a heartbeat Breezepaw shook his head.
"It's just gorse," he told the she-cat discouragingly. "The only thing it's good for is cutting your pelt up."
Stormpaw, the two medicine cats, and all the SkyClan kits were out on a patrol, both to find herbs and see if they could pick any prey up. Stormpaw had doubted that the kits and the medicine cats would be able to find anything; she had caught a few pieces of prey, and through teamwork a few of the kits had managed to catch a squirrel, but the rain had started shortly after that and all the prey had retreated to their burrows. The prey is sensible, Stormpaw thought as she slogged through another puddle. We should be tucked into our dens too.
"Are we even going to find anything in this weather?" Stormpaw grumbled, flicking mud off her paws. "I would think the herbs would rot if you left them out like this!"
"We could dry them in the sun," Foxpaw suggested, looking up with bright eyes. Water streamed from her ginger fur; Stormpaw felt jealous that her pelt didn't hold water and wished the same was true of her own soaked fur.
Breezepaw shook his head. "We could," he answered, "but it's going to be too long before it stops raining, and they would rot faster. Stormpaw's right; we should wait until it's sunny out."
Thank StarClan! Any more water in her fur and she would turn into a fish. She turned away, first checking to make sure Breezepaw, Foxpaw and the kits were following, before bounding back in the direction of camp.
"Stormpaw?" Rainpaw padded from the camp entrance as she approached, his hears pricked with surprise. "What are you doing back so early?"
"The rain stopped us." Stormpaw padded into camp and under one of the unused gorse bushes; she shook her fur out before sitting down to lick the mud from her paws. "You can't get herbs very well when it's raining," she told Rainpaw. "They don't get to dry out and they end up rotting."
"You certainly know a lot about medicine for a warrior," Rainpaw meowed with amusement, padding over to her. "Are you thinking of becoming Breezepaw's apprentice?"
Stormpaw looked up from her licking. "Don't be silly," she meowed jokingly. "He's already got an apprentice. And besides, if I wanted to be a medicine cat apprentice, I would have said something to Mousefoot or Breezepaw by now!"
Rainpaw rolled his eyes and padded away, grumbling about the mud in his paws as he left. Stormpaw got up and followed him to the entrance of his den.
"Rainpaw," she meowed, "I have to talk to you."
Rainpaw turned and sat down, sheltered slightly by the branches of his den so that the rain didn't drip onto him. The den wasn't quite big enough for two cats, so Stormpaw stood outside, not wanting to sit down and get even more mud in her pelt. "What is it?" asked Rainpaw, tipping his head to one side.
"It's Heatherflower's kits," Stormpaw began. "They're almost ready to be apprentices. Today when we were on patrol a few of her kits caught a squirrel." She blinked as she realized that the patrol had forgotten the prey, buried on the moorland. "W-We forgot to bring the prey back," she stammered.
Rainpaw flicked his tail. "You can take a patrol to go recover it after this conversation's over. So you think the kits should be apprenticed?"
"They're not that much younger than me or Foxpaw, really," Stormpaw told him. "They don't have to be exactly six moons to be apprenticed - they just need to be around that age, right?"
Rainpaw nodded. "I think you're right, yes," he meowed, mulling it over. "We'll have the ceremony tomorrow." Stormpaw nodded her approval and turned to leave.
"Wait," Rainpaw called softly. Stormpaw turned around, tilting her head. What else did the SkyClan leader have to say?
"You'll be one of the mentors," Rainpaw told her. "We agreed on this when you became deputy. Which kit do you want to mentor?"
Stormpaw felt her fur grow hot. She didn't want to play favorites here; she'd rather Rainpaw keep it a surprise. "It doesn't matter to me," she responded.
Rainpaw nodded. "Alright, then," he meowed. "Off you go." He smiled good-naturedly as he flicked his tail, an indication that he wanted Stormpaw to leave. Stormpaw rolled her eyes and left the den.
"Cats of SkyClan! Gather here beneath the Tallhill for a Clan meeting."
Stormpaw couldn't help but grin as the cats of SkyClan emerged from their dens, heading toward the Tallhill where Rainpaw made his announcements. She purred as Heatherflower's kits tumbled from the nursery, their pelts dusty and unkempt. Upon spotting them, Creampaw rushed over and began licking them fiercely. The kits and Creampaw had developed a close bond when Creampaw had stayed with them in the nursery, despite the fact that Creampaw wasn't even a moon older than them. Well, it was good that they had a mother figure, at least; they were going to need someone to turn to if their own mothers were never going to return.
"Pinekit," Rainpaw meowed, beckoning the dark gray tom forward. He broke away from Creampaw's fierce licking and padded forward, his head and tail held high. "From this day forward, you will be known as Pinepaw. I will be Pinepaw's mentor."
Murmurs went up around the crowd, and Rainpaw flicked his ear self-consciously. "I know that it's probably better for the other warriors to get apprentices, rather than me," he added, "but I became leader without ever having an apprentice, and I would have needed one to become deputy. Just taking Stormpaw, Larchpaw and Creampaw out for training isn't quite enough." Stormpaw felt the familiar rush of embarrassment that she should be in the position of deputy when she was such a young, inexperienced apprentice, and it intensified as Wildpaw and Redpaw turned to look at her. She twitched her whiskers, unsure of how to act.
"Yellowkit," Rainpaw called, breaking the silence and relieving Stormpaw. The small golden kit stepped forward, shaking nervously. "Yellowkit, from this day forward you will be known as Yellowpaw." The newly-named Yellowpaw looked up at Rainpaw, eyes wide, as Rainpaw blinked down at her. "Your mentor will be Redpaw."
Phew, thought Stormpaw. Redpaw was a good choice for deputy; perhaps having an apprentice would enable him to become deputy later on. But that would only happen if something happened to me or Rainpaw. She shuddered at the thought; the warrior code said she was supposed to protect her Clan with her life if necessary, but at the same time she didn't want anything to happen to her or Rainpaw. Let's just hope it doesn't.
"Shadekit," Rainpaw called. The black she-kit padded forward, copying her brother. Her green eyes were shining as she looked up at the leader. "Shadekit, from this day forward you will be known as Shadepaw. Your mentor will be -"
"Wait!" called Shadepaw. Rainpaw stopped mid-sentence, his blue eyes wide with surprise. Stormpaw flicked her tail impatiently. What was so important that Shadepaw had to interrupt the ceremony?
"I want to be Breezepaw's apprentice," Shadepaw meowed, casting a glance over at the pale medicine cat. Foxpaw flattened her ears. "I want to be a medicine cat!"
Rainpaw shook his head; Shadepaw flattened her ears in distress. "Sorry, Shadepaw," Rainpaw answered, "but Foxpaw's already Breezepaw's apprentice."
"I know that," Shadepaw spat, her tail bristling. "But she's just a RiverClan kit! Why can't he have an apprentice in SkyClan too?"
Foxpaw hissed, baring her teeth. Breezepaw touched his tail to her side, looking worried. Rainpaw shook his head again.
"Not only would that be too much for one cat - and one who is not fully trained, at that - to handle, but SkyClan needs warriors far more desperately than it needs medicine cats. Breezepaw's not going to die for a long time yet, but we only have a pawful of warriors and few apprentices. I'm sorry, Shadepaw," he added as the young apprentice hissed in annoyance, "but that's the way it has to be. If Foxpaw goes back to RiverClan, and if we're lucky enough to have enough warriors that we can spare one, maybe you can talk to Breezepaw. But for now..." He broke off and looked directly at Stormpaw. "Stormpaw will be your mentor."
Stormpaw's heart sank. Mentoring an apprentice at her young age was going to be difficult enough as it was, without the apprentice in question being upset over not getting to be a medicine cat. Whatever, she thought. I can't really refuse her. She stepped forward, her paws heavy, and gently touched noses with her new apprentice. Shadepaw's eyes were smoldering angrily. Not that I can blame her, but I hope she doesn't stay like this. Then the touch was gone, and Shadepaw was retreating into the small crowd.
"Barkkit," Rainpaw called, addressing the last of the four kits. The tabby kit rushed forward, excitement in his amber eyes, and he flicked his tail restlessly as Rainpaw continued. "From this day forward, you will be known as Barkpaw. Wildpaw will be your mentor." The tortoiseshell apprentice stepped forward and touched noses; almost immediately Barkpaw began pacing in circles around his mentor, his whiskers twitching.
"What are we going to do today, Wildpaw? Hunting? Battle practice?" He hardly waited for an answer before he bounded away, almost leaving the camp before Wildpaw called him back, purring.
"Just wait and see," she meowed, turning away as Barkpaw followed, bouncing around. Realizing she needed to talk to her own apprentice, Stormpaw quickly jerked her head back to the crowd; Shadepaw was standing there, looking sullen.
"I wanted to be a medicine cat," she muttered. Stormpaw sighed.
"I know," she replied, locking gazes with the younger she-cat. "But there's nothing we can do about that right now. So instead of being so upset, can you try to make the best of it? For the sake of the Clan," she added quickly as Shadepaw glared at her.
"Fine," Shadepaw meowed grudgingly. "But I'm not going to like it."
"I know," Stormpaw said again. "I'll do all I can to make your apprenticeship make up for not getting to be a medicine cat, I promise."
Shadepaw looked up, sighing. "All right," she murmured. "So what are we doing today?"
Stormpaw twitched her whiskers. This was certainly going to be an interesting apprenticeship.
