Chapter 10
A paw prodded Laurelpaw in her shoulder. Stifling a moan, Laurelpaw raised her head and opened her eyes, to be met by an ocean-blue stare. The tom was awake, and staring at her.
"Hey, I'm Laurelpaw. What's your name?" Laurelpaw asked the tom. The tom blinked, then replied,
"I'm Rising. Where am I? I was traveling, and I came across a huge group of fighting cats! I tried to run away, but this cat attacked me, and I can't remember much after that.."Rising said. Laurelpaw blinked. Rising was an odd name.
"You're in SwampClan, one of-"Rising interrupted Laurelpaw.
"SwampClan? One of the four clans? Where's IslandClan?" Rising asked. Laurelpaw looked at him quizzically.
"What's IslandClan? There's only SwampClan, StoneClan, and ForrestClan living here. I've never heard of an IslandClan." She replied. Rising's tail lowered, and he looked downcast.
"Why do you ask? How do you know of the clans?" Laurelpaw asked him.
"A long time ago, one of my ancestors, Sunfall, was chosen by a StarClan cat to preserve his clan's legacy. He was given a prophecy, and was told to spread the ways of the clans. He became a rogue, and wandered until he found a place to settle. He tried to make IslandClan again, but some disease came, and the clan fell apart. His mate survived though, and all of his kits were taught to teach their kits his story and beliefs, and carry on his mission. My mother taught me about this, so once I was old enough to leave her, I left, and my paw steps were guided by StarClan to here." Rising finished speaking.
"Why don't you come with me to meet our leader and medicine cat." Laurelpaw mewed. She hauled herself to her paws, and turned to see Rising struggling to his paws also. He started to pad around the other sleeping apprentices to reach Laurelpaw.
"How's your neck doing?" Laurelpaw asked.
"It's a bit sore, and hurts when I turn my head, but it seems like it's healing really fast!" Rising replied. Laurelpaw turned and limped out of the den, and led Rising to Barkstar's den. The moon was starting to fade from the sky, and the dawn was slowly giving away to morning. Laurelpaw and Rising reached Barkstar's den, and asked permission before entering, to find Barkstar and Echowhisker sitting, tails wrapped around their paws.
"Rising woke up, so I brought him here." Laurelpaw said.
"Rising?" Echowhisker asked. Laurelpaw stepped aside to let Rising enter the den. At Barkstar's request, he told his story to Barkstar and Echowhisker. Barkstar was silent while Echowhisker asked him more questions about StarClan and his family. Echowhisker paused, and her eyes went blank as sunlight from the morning sun broke through the den entrance, and bathed Rising in golden light. Her eyes focused, and she asked Rising and Laurelpaw to exit the den for a few moments. Laurelpaw was able to catch a few words from their conversation, but she was unable to figure out why Echowhisker asked them to leave the den. Barkstar padded out of his den, head bent. His eyes found Laurelpaw and Rising sitting together a few tail lengths away.
"Rising, would you like to be accepted as an apprentice of SwampClan and be taught the ways of a warrior?" Rising looked at him with huge blue eyes.
"I could? Really? You'd have me?" Rising ducked his head, composed his thoughts, then said,
"Thanks, I'd be happy to accept your offer, and I'll try my hardest to become a warrior to be proud of. I am ready to receive my apprentice name now, as I am over six moons old." Barkstar nodded, then said,
"We'll have your ceremony when Echowhisker thinks you've recovered enough to train. Laurelpaw, you can show him around camp and teach him the warrior code. Let him meet the other warriors, elders, apprentices of SwampClan. If he is given any trouble, come to me. I'll make an announcement when most of the cats are awake." Laurelpaw bent her head, then turned and started to show Rising the camp.
"This is the apprentice's den, where you'll be sleeping. The other apprentices sleep in there also, and you'll meet them soon. We'll all be training to become warriors together. Over there is the warriors' den, where you'll sleep if you're a warrior. You've already seen Barkstar's den, and I don't think we're allowed in the medicine cat's den, as there is a sick cat in there now. The elders' den is where elderly cats rest after they get old in the service of their clan. The nursery is where queens rest before they have their kits and where they stay with their kits until they're apprenticed. Right now it's empty so we can check it out." Laurelpaw and Rising padded over to the nursery, and entered it. It was dark inside, and there was no moss on the dirt ground.
"It's much better when there's a queen and her kits in here. The kits are so adorable, and sometimes they'll pester you to teach you hunting or fighting moves. They'll have play fights, and sometimes worry the clan sick into thinking another clan is attacking." Laurelpaw grinned. "When I was a kit, my sister and I, Fernkit, pretended that ForrestClan was attacking. We had almost all of the warriors out of their nests and in the clearing ready to fight before you could say mouse."Rising grinned too, and together they padded out of the nursery and sat in the clearing, while Laurelpaw told Rising stories of clan life, taught him the warrior code, and told him about the other clans. They watched as the sun started to rise above the horizon, and one by one, cats emerged from their dens and watched silently.