Inspiration spurt! :) Enjoy! For those of you in WI, are you going to watch the eclipse tonight? Its a Supermoon AND the eclipse is over us! :D

11

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather for a Clan meeting!" Squirrelstar called.

The new deputy, Berrynose, sat a little ways away, but he joined the other cats in the crowd. Whitewing's kits moved around excitedly.

"Palekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Palepaw. Your mentor will be Cinderheart. I hope Cinderheart will pass down all she knows on to you.

"Cinderheart, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Cloudtail, and you have shown yourself to be strong and loyal. You will be the mentor of Palepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Palepaw."

Palepaw touched noses with Cinderheart, beaming. Squirrelflight turned to Spottedkit.

"Spottedkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Spottedpaw. Your mentor will be Stargleam. I hope Stargleam will pass down all she knows on to you.

"Stargleam, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Thornclaw, and you have shown yourself to be strong and clever. You will be the mentor of Spottedpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Spottedpaw."

Spottedpaw touched noses with Stargleam, his green eyes sparkling. Stargleam wondered why she had been chosen instead of another cat to mentor Spottedpaw -who was she compared to others- but purred joyfully.

"Palepaw! Spottedpaw! Palepaw! Spottedpaw! Palepaw! Spottedpaw!" The Clan cheered out, welcoming the new apprentices.

The two sat joyfully, reveling in their new apprenticeship.

A while later, after Spottedpaw had gotten back to Stargleam, she studied him. He was still frail and his muscles weren't as strong as hers yet, so she would have to take it easy on him. However, they had to start somewhere, and boundaries were the perfect place to start.

"Cinderheart, do you want to show them the boundaries together?" she called out.

Cinderheart nodded, so the new apprentices, Stargleam, and Cinderheart walked out of the camp. Spottedpaw was bursting with evcitement, and Stargleam remembered her own first time outside the camp. Affection rose inside her for the apprentice.

Throughout the tour, the two new apprentices stared at everything they passed. Once, Stargleam caught Palepaw staring excitedly at a leaf fallen on the ground. Palepaw shook her head and looked at a tree instead. Both looked interested in all the places that were shown to them.

Enjoying the crisp air, Stargleam walked contentedly through the forest. Spotting a rustle in the bushes, she dropped down to the ground and crept towards the noise. She saw a very plump mouse scrabbling around. Pouncing, she killed it, and came back to the others with the mouse dangling between her jaws.

"That's a good mouse," Cinderheart meowed. Her eyes sparkled.

As they walked on, Stargleam saw that Spottedpaw was looking at her admiringly.

"You'll be able to catch prey soon," she promised.

By the time the four cats reached the training hollow, the two apprentices had slowed to a crawl.

"Let's go back to the camp now," Stargleam meowed. "You two look exhausted."

And they did. Their heads were slowly nodding, and they lifted their paws with great effort. There was no way they could have done anything more.

When they got back to camp, the two apprentices headed straight to their den, looking like they might collapse on their paws. Cinderheart chuckled.

"I've never seen a pair of apprentices so worn out before. Any more exhaustion and they would have fallen asleep walking!"

Stargleam purred with ameusment. "They did look a little tired, even for their first day," she admitted. "But they'll get used to it, right?"

Cinderheart nodded. "Of course."

Putting her prey on the fresh-kill pile, Stargleam walked off to the warrior's den, thinking about her first day as an apprentice. Had she been like that? Probably.

Lakepelt was dozing lightly, but woke up when Stargleam settled next to her.

"How was your first mentoring experience?" Lakepelt asked sleepily.

"It was alright. Spottedpaw and Palepaw looked ready to drop by the time we got back to camp. We only took them to see the boundaries."

"I bet they'll get used to it," Lakepelt mumbled.

"Yeah," Stargleam meowed. She settled comfortably into her nest, letting her thoughts wander. Rosethorn and Briarlight came in. Stargleam closed her eyes happily.