A/U: I've decided to switch from Snowpaw to a different character for this story. This is because Sablepaw will be difficult to write about. Since he's going to...Well, I won't spill the beans just yet, but if I wrote about him, it would give away future chapters. Anyways, thanks everyone for your reviews. Thanks WildCroconaw for the name suggestion, you get a special edition Spottedpaw plushie ^^

-Chapter 9-

Pale rays of sunlight filtered through the apprentice's den, illuminating Spottedpaw's pelt. He opened his eyes slightly, aware that something had happened the night before. A queen had given birth, but she wasn't from the Clan that Coppershine had brought him to. He recognized her scent; it clung to her pelt like honey would to a fascinated kit. He was almost afraid to point it out though. The look on the other apprentices told him they too knew who she was.

Spottedpaw shook his pelt gruffly before emerging from the den. It's building had been finished soon after the Clan recovered from Lionclaw's ambush. The nursery was finished as well, thanks to him and Stormstar. He glanced around the clearing, searching for signs of the queen.

She'd given birth near the edge of the clearing. He picked up traces of her scent, and decided to follow it.

Tracking was the one skill that he'd always been good at. His mother, Lila, had taught him everything she knew. When it had been his time to leave her nest, he made sure that her memory lived on. Lila had been one of the greatest trackers he knew. His sister, Hickory, went on to live as a kittypet, despite what Lila had warned them. Hickory had never enjoyed living as a rogue. Spottedpaw knew from his memories that she would have preferred being pampered by Twolegs.

His tabby pelt blended in with his surroundings as he crept forward. With his ears flattened against his skull, he moved like a snake in the undergrowth. He could see the outline of another cat laying beside a she-cat. Kits wriggled around her belly as they suckled.

"Tracking are we?" Spottedpaw's eyes widened in alarm when he heard Stormstar's voice.

He whirled around to see the gray and white mottled leader staring down at him. "I-I." He looked down at his paws in embarrassment, and a purr rumbled in Stormstar's throat.

"I understand," he murmured. "Flowertail is looking after the queen. She hasn't woken up yet, and I doubt she won't until sunhigh."

Spottedpaw's whiskers twitched in understanding. He didn't know what it was like for a queen to give birth. He'd never been so lucky to find a she-cat who was willing to spend time with him. Even when he lived as a rogue near the Twoleg dump he'd spent most of his time alone. A few cats had passed by on occasion, but that was to feed themselves in between journeys of their own. He was used to acting like a loner. Living in the Clan helped bring out the most in his abilities as a hunter and fighter.

The apprentice turned around after Stormstar joined Flowertail. He knew that the leader would want to know the physical health of the queen.

Maybe I can ask those two apprentices where she came from, Spottedpaw thought as he returned to their den. Snowpaw was awake, eyes bright and alert as she gazed into the ferns that surrounded the clearing. Her ginger and white fur was sleek from a good grooming. He could see Sablepaw rising from his nest as the sun woke him up as well.

It surprised Spottedpaw that these two were related. Snowpaw was outgoing, in her own way. Sablepaw remained silent as he waited for his mentor to fetch him. He never said a word to any of the cats unless they asked him a question. Snowpaw would at least reply, if not gruffly. The two were complete opposites, despite their bloodlines.

"You two wouldn't know who that queen is, would you?" he asked as he approached.

"She's a SkyClan queen." Sablepaw's reply caught Spottedpaw off guard. "I think her mate's Lionclaw, but...she never confirmed it." The gray and ginger dappled apprentice met Spottedpaw's gaze, and a shiver went down his spine.

He watched as the younger cat rose to his paws and padded away. Snowpaw's fur bristled slightly while she listened for her brother's pawsteps to fade.

"He should never have said that," she murmured.

"What do you mean?" Spottedpaw stared at her in surprise.

"There's something...different about Sablepaw," she replied with a flick of her tail tip. "I can't decide what it is, but." She suddenly shook her head and glared at her paws. Spottedpaw nearly yowled in shock when he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. "He's not the brother I once knew. Something changed in him, and I wish it would go away."

The bitterness in her voice rose like bile. Spottedpaw stepped forward when he suddenly felt sympathy for her.

He knew what it was like to watch siblings change. Hickory had left around the same time he left. When she told him where she was going, he was too stunned to reply. His sister left without another word, leaving him behind.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's not your fault." It sounded like she was trying to swallow her pride. "Feathernose was only trying to protect us. If anything it's my fault for acting so stubborn."

Spottedpaw stared at her for a few heartbeats. He didn't know how good he had it until he left his mother behind. He wondered if Hickory felt the same way.

He wanted to reassure her in the best way he could. But no words of comfort could heal a wound that had formed over time. Only time itself could heal her heart.

"She's waking up!" Streamfur's yowl of alarm alerted every cat in the clearing.

Crowfeather had stopped giving orders by this point, and was looking at her through icy blue eyes. Squirrelflight and Leafpool emerged from the warriors' den, while Sablepaw only looked up from the prey he'd picked out. Spottedpaw exchanged a glance with Snowpaw before leading the way towards the center of the clearing.

The tortoiseshell queen staggered into the clearing, with one of her kits in her jaw. Another was held by Stormstar, while the third was carried by Flowertail. When the queen managed to reach the clearing, her shoulders slumped.

"Would you care to tell why you are here?" Stormstar asked in a gentle voice.

"I...I didn't want my kits to be raised by their father." She sounded distraught as she spoke. Her gaze was wary as she looked around at the gathered cats. "So I fled. But...my kits came prematurely."

A shudder ran down her spine. Stormstar nodded in understanding. He glanced at Crowfeather, who only lashed his tail. Coppershine stood beside Streamfur as the two she-cats glanced at each other. Only Sablepaw had a knowing look in his eyes. Even Snowpaw seemed to shrink back when the queen looked at the two apprentices.

"What makes you think we are willing to accept you and your kits?" Stormstar demanded.

"I'm sorry if we became a burden," she mewed quietly. "We'll leave if that is what you wish."

"We would never send a queen and her kits to their deaths," Flowertail suddenly meowed. "Would we, Stormstar?" She looked Stormstar straight in the eyes, and he finally nodded in agreement. "Your kits will be taken care of here, no matter what bloodline they carry."

Relief seemed to wash over the queen as the Clan accepted her. Spottedpaw understood her fear of not being accepted. He had wondered how the Clan could have accepted him so easily. Or how he could have accepted their way of life so easily.

Coppershine was good to me, he reminded himself. She reminded him of his mother, the way she acted around apprentices. Her attitude towards Stormstar told Spottedpaw that there was more than friendship between them. Yet he knew that it was a good thing. In reality he'd allowed himself to join the Clan, despite his fears of never living the life of a rogue. He knew that the life of a rogue could be difficult, especially during leafbare.

"Have you named them yet?" Coppershine asked when the queen was given a proper greeting from the Clan.

She nodded and began to point them out with her tail as they were placed at her belly. "This one is Brindlekit," she murmured. It was a little ginger she-cat, with white paws and a white-tipped tail. "The tom is going to be called Reedkit," she added. The tom was a black kit, with brown patches surrounding his back. He mewled the loudest out of all of them. "The last tom is Littlekit." She pointed her tail to the smallest of the litter, a tiny brown tabby.

"Brindlekit, Reedkit, and Littlekit." A purr rose in Coppershine's throat as she watched them move around at their mother's belly. "Good Clan names."

"Let all cats old enough gather around the Sandpile for a Clan meeting!" Stormstar had reached the Sandpile, and stood to greet his Clanmates.

Most cats had already emerged from their dens when Streamfur yowled the alarm. Spottedpaw remained where he was, unsure of what was happening. He wasn't used to the customs that Clans had. All he knew was that something important was about to happen.

"First off, I would like to welcome our newest members to RockClan," Stormstar began. He glanced down warmly at the tortoiseshell queen, whose tail was wrapped around her day-old kits. "Her kits will be treated like any other kit. I don't expect any cat to show disrespect towards them."

Murmurs of agreement rose from the gathered cats. Spottedpaw noted to himself that he himself had only just become an apprentice. He was still surprised that the Clan had accepted him so easily, especially since he had been a rogue at one point in his life.

"There is also something else that must be finished as well," Stormstar continued to speak after the Clan began to settle down. "An apprentice has past his training assessment the day before this queen was found. His ceremony was postponed until today." A look of pride lit within Stormstar's eyes when he looked at a shocked Spottedpaw. Embarrassment flooded through the young tabby as all eyes turned towards him. "I, Stormstar, leader of RockClan, call upon my warrior ancestors so that they may look down upon this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Spottedpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and defend this Clan, even with your life?"

Spottedpaw hesitated for a moment. He wasn't sure how to answer, but when Coppershine and Flowertail gave him nods of encouragement, he understood what Stormstar meant. "I do," he meowed confidently.

"Then by the powers of LightClan, I give you your warrior name. Spottedpaw, from this moment forward you will be known as Spottedfur. LightClan honors you for your courage and stamina, and we welcome you as a full member of RockClan."

Stormstar padded down from the Sandpile and rested his muzzle on the newly named warrior's forehead. For a moment he didn't know what to do, until a sudden thought occurred to him. Spottedfur gave his former mentor a lick on the shoulder, feeling a strange sense of wonder as the leader backed down. The gray and white mottled leader looked down at his former apprentice, and pride swelled within Spottedfur's chest.

It was the first time he'd ever felt like he belonged. Even in the dump he'd never really belonged there. The rats had become more of a nuisance than prey for him. He wanted to learn more about the ways of a warrior, and where Stormstar and the others had come from. All of that knowledge would soon come to him, as he grew older.

"Spottedfur! Spottedfur!" The Clan, though it was small, chanted his name. Spottedfur's ears flattened in embarrassment when the Clan seemed to observe his every move.

The tabby lifted his head when the Clan dispersed from the meeting. The sun had set by the time they were finished with ceremonies and announcing new arrivals. By now Spottedfur felt exhausted, but he knew from the stories he'd heard that there was one more thing to do.

I'm a new warrior, he thought. Warriors have to sit vigil. He glanced over towards the ferns that surrounded the clearing.

Just as he'd thought, Stormstar came up to him after most congratulated him. "Now you must sit vigil," he murmured.

Spottedfur nodded and trotted off towards an area with soft padding underpaw. He stared into the ferns, determined to prove that he was best suited for the job.

He was a warrior now, and one that even his mother could be proud of.