"Mosskit, stop harassing your brother," Bluefur scolded, lashing her tail.
"He started it!"
"Did not!"
"He did too!"
"No, I didn't!" Stonekit objected.
Bluefur made her voice as stern as she could. "Stop fighting, both of you."
"But he started it!" Mosskit turned to her mother. "He swatted me first!"
"No I didn-"
"Keep arguing and you won't get to see Runningkit's and Mousekit's apprentice ceremony," Bluefur growled, and with that there was silence.
Bluefur thought that she was finally going to get a little peace and quiet when Mistykit suddenly pounced on top of Stonekit from out of nowhere, squashing him. The young tom let out a wail. Bluefur rounded on Mistykit, fixing her with a stern glare. "I was just playing," Mistykit protested. "It's not my fault he didn't move!"
Bluefur sighed. Her kits were certainly a pawful. In the moons that followed Thistleclaw's appointment as Clan deputy, life went on. Since leaf-bare had released its cruel grip on the forest, her kits had grown, although they still weren't as big as normal three moon old kits should be. Bluefur shoved back a pang of guilt. Although it wasn't her fault she hadn't been able to produce enough milk, those prey-poor moons in her kits' early life had made them small, and now that prey was running again, they still hadn't quite reached the size they should have been for their age. Featherwhisker reassured her that in another moon or two they would catch up to where they should be.
They were starting to develop their own individual personalities- as much as kits could, anyway. Stonekit was the serious one, Mistykit was perceptive, and Mosskit could be timid at times and a rambunctious troublemaker at others.
Bluefur often wondered if Oakheart was thinking of them. She hadn't been to a Gathering since the night she had told Oakheart she would bring their kits to him. Does he understand why I didn't come? She thought of him waiting alone, among the snow swept stones of Sunningrocks, for the kits he would never see.
Soon she heard the sound of Sunstar's voice calling the summons for the meeting. Herding her kits to a good spot in the clearing, Bluefur settled herself next to Whitestorm. Thrushpelt soon joined them, and the kits let out excited squeaks when the sandy brown tom arrived.
"Thrushpelt!" With a squeal Mosskit leaped onto Thrushpelt's back, which earned her a severe look from Bluefur.
"Not now, Mosskit," Thrushpelt chided her lightly. "The ceremony is about to start."
"Oh, right." Mosskit scrambled off his back and settled herself next to him, sitting up as straight as she could. Bluefur's whiskers twitched as she shared an amused glance with Thrushpelt.
The camp grew silent as Runningkit and Mousekit padded up to the Highrock, followed closely by their mother, White-eye, who sat down beside them.
"Cats of ThunderClan," Sunstar called. "It is time for White-eye's kits receive their apprentice names. Come forward, you two."
"Look, it's Runningkit!" Mosskit exclaimed as the brown tom was called up first.
Stonekit piped up, his high pitched mew echoing throughout the camp. "I wonder what his apprentice name will be." Bluefur directed a quietening hiss at her kits as the Clan mrrowed in amusement.
She could still hear Mistykit's much softer mew to her littermates. "Runningpaw, I bet."
The kits fidgeted throughout the ceremony, and afterward they crowded around Thrushpelt. Meeting Bluefur's gaze with a mischievous glow in his eyes, Thrushpelt let out a mock growl and fluffed out his pelt.
Bluefur was mortified that her kits had disrupted the beginning of the apprentice ceremony, but the clearing was so cheerful that she had a hard time being angry with them. This is how it should be, she realized, watching her three kits launch a joint attack on Thrushpelt. How could I have ever thought of giving them up?
More moons passed. Redtail and Willowpelt earned their warrior names, and Spottedpaw became Spottedleaf shortly after that. Bluefur had attended several Gatherings now since the birth of her kits, although she hadn't had the chance to speak to Oakheart there, and she wasn't entirely sure if she should anyway.
Bluefur was often brought back to the memory when all three of them had proclaimed that they wanted to be deputy. Stonekit seemed most likely to earn that title; he took the fact that they would soon be apprentices very seriously. It seemed like so long ago, with all the trouble her kits had gotten into in the meantime.
Like the time they had left the camp to hunt by themselves. Bluefur had been beside herself with worry until a patrol had found them at Snakerocks. Mosskit hadn't left her side for three days after the scolding they'd received; even Mistykit and Stonekit had been shaken. It hadn't hurt to emphasize that a snake could swallow a kit whole either.
Now though, her kits were growing up. Sunstar had just informed Bluefur that her kits' apprentice ceremony would be today, and now she was struggling to give Stonekit a good wash.
The blue-gray kit flailed, trying to escape, but it was hopeless. "Stop it, Bluefur! I'm six moons old; I can't have my mother grooming me!"
But Bluefur was in no mood to negotiate, the importance of the ceremony overweighing everything else. Her son couldn't show up to his apprentice ceremony looking like a ruffian! "You need to look your best," she replied between licks. "You're presenting yourself to the whole Clan."
"Why don't you ever clean Mosskit or Mistykit?" he asked sullenly.
Mistykit sniffed. "Maybe because we already do it ourselves."
Stonekit made a face at his sisters. Mosskit playfully batted him with a tiny paw. Even though many moons had passed, she was still the smallest in her litter. Bluefur hoped she would be able to keep up with her siblings during their training.
"I wonder who our mentors will be," Mosskit mewed thoughtfully.
Stonekit relaxed, having accepted that Bluefur was going to groom him. "I hope I get Thrushpelt."
"Thrushpelt can't be our mentor!" Mistykit exclaimed.
Stonekit scowled. "Why?"
"Because," Mistykit meowed, looking annoyed at Stonekit's obliviousness. She frowned, and Bluefur knew what her daughter wanted to say: He's our father. Bluefur felt the familiar pang of guilt at the unspoken words. Although the Clan had assumed that Thrushpelt was the kits' father, Bluefur had never confirmed it, even to her kits, and avoided the subject like it was crow-food. Bluefur didn't correct her kits when they referred to Thrushpelt as their father, and the few times they had asked about it directly, she only told them that Thrushpelt loved them very much and wanted what was best for them.
And he did- that was true. Thrushpelt loved them like they were his own.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting." Sunstar's summons echoed through the camp.
"This is it!" Stonekit squealed, forgetting his initial anger. He rolled from his side and up to his paws, bristling with excitement. He shook the dust out of his fur, and somehow the serious gleam in his eyes made him look older. Stonekit padded toward the foot of the Highrock, with Mistykit close behind. But Mosskit was still standing next to Bluefur.
"We- we'll still talk and everything, right?" her smallest daughter mewed, her eyes glimmering with worry.
Bluefur gave Mosskit a swift lick between the ears. "Of course we will," she reassured her. "I want to hear all about your training."
Mosskit nodded earnestly. "I'll tell you about it every day. I promise."
Cats were beginning to gather around the foot of the Highrock. "Go on." Bluefur nudged her daughter's shoulder. "I'll join you in a moment."
With one last glance filled with a mixture of anxiety and enthusiasm, Mosskit trotted into the crowd to join her siblings. Bluefur followed more slowly, making her way to the front of the group to settle herself a short way off from her kits. She caught Mosskit's eye, and nodded her reassurances as Sunstar began the ceremony.
"Mistykit, step forward." The blue-gray she-cat complied, looking up at the ThunderClan leader with a look of determination in her eyes. "Mistykit, from this moment until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Mistypaw." Sunstar glanced around the clearing, his eyes settling on one of the warriors. "Patchpelt," he meowed. "You will mentor Mistypaw. You received your training from Fuzzypelt, and you did an excellent job mentoring Whitestorm. Pass your skills on to this apprentice as well."
Patchpelt nodded solemnly and stepped forward to touch noses. Bluefur found herself nodding approvingly, pleased by Sunstar's choice.
Sunstar flicked his tail, beckoning the next kit forward. "Stonekit." The dark gray tom took a step closer to the Highrock. "Until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Stonepaw." The newly named Stonepaw seemed to expand with pride. "Lionheart, you will be Stonepaw's mentor. You are ready for your first apprentice, and I expect you to pass on all that you know to him." Stonepaw evenly met Lionheart's gaze as they formally touched noses.
Shifting her paws, Bluefur looked at Mosskit, who was now standing alone. Who would Sunstar choose to mentor her?
"Mosskit, from this day forward until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Mosspaw." Bluefur blinked. Sunstar was hesitating. He finally called out a name. "Sparrowpelt, you will mentor Mosspaw. Your skills have served our Clan well for many seasons. You already trained one great warrior and although she is no longer with us, she was a credit to you." Snowfur, Bluefur realized, feeling a pang of sadness that her sister would never get the chance to meet her kits. "I expect you can do it again with this apprentice," Sunstar finished.
Sparrowpelt lifted his head high, eyes gleaming, and stepped forward. Mosspaw readily touched her nose to her new mentor's, and the two cats padded over to join the other mentor-apprentice pairs.
"Mosspaw! Stonepaw! Mistypaw!" Bluefur raised her voice along with the rest of her Clanmates. She turned to Thrushpelt, a purr rising in her throat. She was very happy with all her kits' mentors, and Sunstar's mention of Snowfur had touched her greatly.
"I couldn't have hoped for better," Bluefur meowed. She lowered her voice to whisper in Thrushpelt's ear. "I was worried one of them was going to get Thistleclaw."
Rosetail appeared beside her. "What would be so bad about that?"
Bluefur nearly leaped out of her fur. Although her dislike of Thistleclaw wasn't a secret, she knew it wouldn't gain her any friends if she was openly badmouthing the Clan deputy. "Come on, Rosetail, did you have to sneak up on me like that?"
"And?" Tail flicking from side to side, Rosetail tilted her head, and Bluefur knew that the she-cat might use her comment as fuel for gossip.
"Everyone knows Thistleclaw and I don't get along. That's not really news." Shifting her paws, Bluefur glanced away.
"He is Clan deputy," Rosetail pointed out. "It would have been an honor for one of your kits to be mentored by him."
Bluefur felt the fur on the back of her neck rising. Thrushpelt seemed to notice it too, and brushed her flank with his tail to steer her away from an argument. "Look at them, they're already starting their training."
It was true. Mosspaw had started a nervous conversation with Sparrowpelt. The tom was mewing something, and Bluefur could hear the friendly tone of his voice even from across the camp.
Stonepaw's whiskers were twitching in amusement; it seemed that he was already getting along well with his mentor. Mistypaw was asking Patchpelt a question, and the black-and-white tom nodded patiently.
As though a silent signal had been given, Sparrowpelt, Patchpelt, and Lionheart padded one by one into the gorse tunnel, with Bluefur's three kits racing after them. Mistypaw and Stonepaw bounded through first, but before Mosspaw entered the tunnel she turned back, her eyes wide and anxious. Bluefur blinked encouragingly, and felt her fur warm when the anxiety in her daughter's eyes was replaced with resolve.
After Mosspaw's light gray tail had disappeared into the gorse tunnel, Bluefur turned her attention back to the rest of the clearing. Rosetail was now talking to Goldenflower and Swiftbreeze, their heads close together. Bluefur sighed. Even though Rosetail was Thistleclaw's sister, Bluefur wished the ginger she-cat wouldn't gossip about her words. The Clan was going to think she had openly declared herself Thistleclaw's mortal enemy by the time the news got around.