"Expectations"

Plumkit smiled nervously as she saw all the cats gathering below the Pinebranch. ShadowClan's leader, Molestar, was stop the branch, and looking down at all the loyal members of his clan. Today, Plumkit was six moons old, and was ready to be apprenticed. She couldn't be happier, but couldn't shake the feeling of dread that came over her when she glanced at her father, Applefang.

He had always pushed her to be a good warrior, ever since she first opened her eyes. He would frequently take her out to the lake behind Molestar's back and show her around the territory, especially the borders. He would always talk about how the other clans couldn't be trusted, and how she needed to be prepared for an attack at all times.

"The only clans you can trust are ShadowClan and StarClan. Sometimes you can't even trust your own clan, but StarClan can always be trusted. They reign supreme above even Molestar." He'd say, before bringing her back to camp before her mother noticed.

However, the part she hated the most was how he reacted when she told him she didn't feel comfortable sneaking behind her mother's back to learn how to be a warrior. Oftentimes he'd-

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Pinebranch for a clan meeting!" Molestar's yowl snapped Plumkit out of her thoughts and she turned to face the brown-and-white patched Tom.

"Plumkit, step forward," he summoned calmly. She got up, her paws trembling nervously at the thought of everyone looking at her. Feebly, she began pacing towards him.

He smiled reassuringly when she was close enough. He continued, "Plumkit, 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 Plumpaw! Your mentor will be Owlthorn. I hope she will pass down all she knows unto you."

He began calling Owlthorn up, and Plumpaw felt her nerves rise when she saw the light-brown Molly. Owlthorn was Molestar's daughter, given her name when he was still deputy. Her eyes sparked with authority, and she got her name by being the bossiest and most intimidating cat in the clan. Everyone thought she'd become deputy when Molestar took power, not due to her relation to him, but due to how she always took charge. Plumpaw knew Owlthorn would be just as intent as Applefang on making her a powerful warrior. It didn't help that Applefang was her mentor.

"Owlthorn, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Applefang, and you have shown yourself to be delegative and commited. You will be the mentor of Plumpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her." He announced, and Owlthorn padded closer to Plumpaw, not once breaking eye contact. Plumpaw froze.

"Well, are you just gonna stand there?" Owlthorn whispered under her breath. When Plumpaw didn't move, Owlthorn sighed in exasperation and touched her nose to Plumpaw's. Plumpaw broke from her trance when they touched. She felt flushed, and heard her clanmates calling "Plumpaw! Plumpaw!" before everything went dark.

Plumpaw groaned as she awoke in the medicine den, with a wet bunch of moss on her forehead. Blackpool, the medicine cat, was absentmindedly re-sorting herbs when she awoke, but looked over after he heard her groan. "Oh! Plumpaw! Are you okay? You fainted quite suddenly." He meowed, a hint of concern in his otherwise calm and gentle tone.

"Ye-Yeah, I'm f-fine.." Plumpaw mewed quietly, thinking back on the ceremony and how she froze. She felt so embarrassed, freezing in front of everyone when she was supposed to touch her nose to Owlthorn's in respect. Owlthorn even had to take matters into her own paw. She began to feel dizzy again, and started swaying. Blackpool quickly sprinted over to her and stabilized her before she fainted again.

"Oh dear, please don't stress yourself. We wouldn't want you fainting again.. the whole clan was worried when we saw you fall." He said, before Owlthorn poked her head in. "Is she up yet?" She asked, her hard voice monotone and her blue eyes emotionless. Blackpool nodded.

"Well, come on then. I need to show you around the territory." She commanded, then began padding out of camp without waiting for a reply. Plumpaw got up nervously, and began padding out of camp.

They began heading southwest, stopping at a patch of land, made of what appeared to be wood. "This is the Greenleaf twolegplace. Twolegs bring these big, odd monsters here and take them onto the lake. The end of it marks our border with RiverClan." She explained, and began padding to the edge of the wooden platform. "What do you smell?" She asked.

Plumpaw sniffed timidly. "I smell fish, and water.." she mewed, not meeting Owlthorn's eyes. "What you're smelling is RiverClan. They mainly eat fish, and are very fat and quite lazy. But that doesn't mean you should turn your back on them. They are adept at swimming and fighting in water. In a battle, don't let them chase you into a river or the lake. You'd be crowfood immediately." She meowed, a slight hiss in her voice.

With that, she began heading northeast, past ShadowClan's camp and towards a long and winding patch of dirt, smooth from countless moons of use. "This is the twolegpath. There are many in our territory, but this one marks our border with SkyClan. They're powerful climbers, and very skilled at hunting birds and fighting above the ground. Keep your eyes peeled and don't them catch you off guard." She growled.

"Don't we have a truce with SkyClan?" Plumpaw asked, tilting her head curiously. Owlthorn sighed and rolled her eyes. "Just because we're at peace now, doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared for an attack." She hissed, and began padding back to camp.

When they arrived at camp, Plumpaw noticed her father talking with her mother Shiningspark. She glanced at him, and they made eye contact. His eyes were filled with disappointment, and what looked like contempt. She felt he was mad at her for fainting during the ceremony.

She could feel her heart racing with panic, but was distracted when she heard a purr. A black Molly was padding towards her. It was Blackpool's sister, Crowpaw. She smiled at Plumpaw. "Hiya Plumpaw!" She purred, nuzzling the Molly.

Plumpaw felt her face flushing. "Oh, h-hi Crowpaw.." she mewed. "Wanna share some prey with me? I saw a deliciously fat mouse on the freshkill pile!" She replied. Plumpaw nodded and followed her to the pile.

When they had found a nice spot to sit, Crowpaw began talking about her latest crush, a dark grey Tom named Silverpaw. Plumpaw was distracted by how soft her voice was, and how her fur seemed to shine even at night. Her green eyes always glimmered with this otherworldly light when she talked about her crushes. Plumpaw wished she, or anyone for that matter, would talk about her like that.

"Plumpaw? Are you listening?" She asked, tilting her head. Plumpaw shook herself out of her trance. "huhwha?" She mumbled, confused. Crowpaw giggled. "I asked how your training was, silly." She explained.

"Oh, r-right. It was okay. Owlthorn showed me our borders with RiverClan and SkyClan.." Plumpaw answered, hoping Crowpaw hadn't noticed her staring. Crowpaw smiled. "That's good!" She meowed, before yawning.

"I'm tuckered out.. but I have to go hunting with Yarrowthroat and Willowtooth tonight. You should get some sleep though!" She mewed, before getting up and gathering with a cream-pelted Tom with a white throat and a silver Molly.

Plumpaw felt her face flushing, and quickly got up and padded to the apprentices' den, leaving the half-eaten mouse behind. She curled up in her new nest, and closed her eyes. A million thoughts tumbled around in her head. Thoughts ranging from the look on her father's face to her yearning for Crowpaw's heart to skip a beat like Plumpaw's does when they're together. After what felt like hours, she finally drifted into a light sleep.