"Mom!" came a mewling cry. "Moooommm!" The cry was louder, and more insistent. "Wake up!"

"Great StarClan, how does she sleep so long?" came another, aggravated voice.

Scarletspirit lifted her head, blinking sleep from her eyes.

"Finally!" grumbled Mistykit, who was standing before her, her tail twitching.

"What?" Scarletspirit mewed indignantly, rising o her paws and stretching.

"We've been waiting for ages for you to wake up. The suns been up for moons!" growled Stripekit, his eyes rolling.

"No it hasn't," retorted Mistykit. "The sun rises and falls every day. It can't be up for moons."

"Oh be quiet, fussy-whiskers," grumbled Stripekit, flicking his ears at his sister. Mistykit curled her lip in a snarl, but relaxed as Scarletspirit finally asked them the question that she was waiting for.

"What's going on today that's got you all so excited?" mewed Scarletspirit, glancing around at each of her kits.

Redkit glowered at her furiously. "I can't believe you don't remember! Dawnstar told you yesterday afternoon!"

"What?" asked Scarletspirit, beginning to feel embarrassed.

"Our apprentice ceremony!" each of the kits yowled in unison. Their voices made Scarletspirit fully awake, and she looked around, surprised.

"Already?"

Stripekit glared at her. "Yes, already. Come on, let's go,"

The kits marched out of the nursery, their cleaned fur gleaming, their tails high. Just as they emerged from the den, and Sunblaze loped up beside his mate, Dawnstar leaped up to Highrocks and called for a Clan meeting.

"Who's mentoring them?" she asked him quietly, embarrassed that she had forgotten. Dawnstar is mentoring Redkit, now that Spruceleaf is a warrior, Drizzlepelt is mentoring Pinekit, Lionclaw is mentoring Stripekit, and well…" Sunblaze paused, with a glance at Mistykit, sitting proudly at the front of the crowd.

"Dawnstar didn't say who would mentor Mistykit."

A chill crept down Scarletspirit's spine, and she glanced anxiously at her mate, willing him to continue with an explanation.

"Why?" she prompted, worry gleaming in her blue eyes.

"I'm not sure. We'll have to wait and see, I suppose."

Scarletspirit nodded, but apprehension and concern pricked at her pelt, concern for her only daughter.

"We gather here today to welcome these four kits as new apprentices of ThunderClan," began Dawnstar, looking down on Scarletspirit's kits. They were wriggling with excitement.

"Redkit, please step forward. I expect you to train hard in the ways of the noble code of StarClan, and obey your mentor with all your strength. Do you promise this to me, and the Clan?"

"Yes," mewed Redkit, eagerly.

"Then let you be known as Redpaw. You will be mentored by myself."

Redpaw's siblings gasped in envy, gazing up at Dawnstar as she brushed her new apprentice's shoulder with her muzzle. Redpaw returned to his place in the crowd, his eyes shining.

"Pinekit, please step forward. I expect you to train hard in the ways of the noble code of StarClan, and obey your mentor with all your strength. Do you promise this to me, and the Clan?"

"I do," Pinekit said, nodding.

"Then let you be known as Pinepaw. You will be mentored by Drizzlepelt."

Pinepaw smiled and padded forward to tough noses with his new mentor.

"Stripekit, please step forward. I expect you to train hard in the ways of the noble of StarClan, and obey your mentor with all your strength. Do you promise this to me, and the Clan?"

"Yes, Dawnstar," Stripekit meowed.

"Then let you be known as Stripepaw. You will be mentored by Lionclaw."

Stripekit tried to contain his squeal of excitement, but instead it escaped as a half burp half screech. Pinepaw snorted. Stripe ducked his head in embarrassment. Lionclaw stepped forward, and touched noses with the apprentice.

"Mistykit, please step forward. The silver she-kit padded towards the Highledge, her tail curled. Scarletspirit held her breath, pressing against Sunblaze for support. The golden warrior pressed his nose against her cheek, calmly awaiting Dawnstar's words.

"Mistykit, you have requested that you be trained in the ways of a medicine cat," came Dawnstar's calm voice. A yowl of outrage came from the gathered cats.

"ThunderClan already has a medicine cat apprentice!" some cat yowled.

Dawnstar waited calmly until the voices died down.

"Waterwing has requested that she be allowed to join the elders. Her blindness has become very difficult. Bloomfrost is full medicine cat of ThunderClan now."

Murmurs of surprise, and some of discomfort, rippled through the crowd. Waterwing had been medicine cat before many of the warriors were born – even the elders seemed younger than the blue-furred she-cat. Also, medicine cats did not generally choose to join the elders – they worked until they joined the ranks of StarClan. It wasn't unheard of, but it was unusual.

"So that's why she saved Mistykit for last," muttered Sunblaze. His face was a mixture of pride and distress.

"She had hinted at this a few times, but I wasn't sure she was actually going to go through with it," meowed Scarletspirit, her eyebrows raised.

"Mistykit, do you promise to follow in the ways of StarClan, and stick to the path of a medicine cat?" meowed Bloomfrost, padding forward. She didn't look surprised. Scarletspirit guessed she must have known about this before the rest of the Clan.

"Yes," Mistykit sat proudly at the front of the assembly, grinning from silver ear to silver ear.

"Then let you be known as Mistypaw, medicine cat apprentice." Bloomfrost, her face a mask of stone, came forward and touched noses with her new apprentice. Mistypaw dipped her head to the gray she-cat as she padded away, and Bloomfrost flashed her a brief, kind smile.

"Congratulations, Mistypaw," mewed Scarletspirit, rubbing against her daughter as the young silver cat returned. Mistypaw purred happily, and blinked at her mother. "Congratulations to all of you," Scarletspirit meowed, nodding to her sons. They returned the gesture, then turned to their friends as the Clan chanted their new names.

"So you're back in the warrior's den now, hm?" asked Sunblaze, loping towards her after the rest of the Clan had dispersed.

"I guess I am," mewed Scarletspirit, with a hint of remorse.

"Do you miss having kits? It must be hard, to watch them grow and change so quickly."

"Yes. It was so nice, just sitting in the den watching them, and teaching them, and caring for them. I might miss it."

"Just a little?"

"Just a little."

Sunblaze grinned, and led her back to the warm warrior's den, where Goldbrook was sitting sharing tongues with her mate, Crowtail.

As Scarletspirit entered, the golden warrior looked up, and a small smile crept across her face. "I felt the same way when Rowanpaw and Rainpaw were apprenticed," she said, with a small chuckle. Crowtail nodded to Sunblaze - father acknowledging father.

"It feels strange, that's for sure. But I think that I'll be glad to be a warrior again. It's been far too long."

Goldbrook nodded and lowered her head again, her ears flickering back and forth.

"So, Scarletspirit, up for dusk patrol tomorrow? I promised Maplefang that I'd train Vinepaw tomorrow. We can go hunting before, if you like," meowed Sunblaze once they were settled. Scarletspirit nodded, excitement prickling her paws.

"That would be wonderful," she mewed softly, before sleep claimed her.