Reminder: Longberry is Logan, Vigilpaw is Virgil, Snaketail is Deceit, Wolfkit is Remus, Patternheart is Patton, and Roarkit is Roman

"I can groom myself!" a kit's voice squealed, voice barely audible above the soft rumble of cats' voices that filled the camp. "I'm going to be an apprentice! I don't need my mother to lick down my fur!"

The she-cat hovering over the smaller russet tom didn't heed her son's words whatsoever. "Now, Roarkit, you don't want your fur to be sticking up for your apprentice ceremony and this is the last time I'm going to get to groom you like this. Just sit still, will you?"

"But my fur is fine! It's Wolfkit you should be grooming," Roarkit complained, shooting a glare over to his brother. Wolfkit squeaked, reeling back in surprise. He turned to look up at his father. Dapplefoot looked equally surprised as his son, blinking innocently at his mate. The action only made him look more guilty.

"Honestly Dapplefoot! I asked you to do one thing," Sunnybrook scolded affectionately. She lifted her head away from Roarkit, the kit jumping eagerly at the opportunity to escape the grooming session, and beckoned her other son over with her tail. "Is it really so difficult to groom your own son?"

"You know how Wolfkit's fur gets," Dapplefoot said goodnaturedly, nudging Wolfkit to run over to his mother. "No cat in the five clans could tame those tufts."

"Yeah," Roarkit agreed despite the fact he was complaining just a few heartbeats ago. "Even a LionClan warrior couldn't get his fur to stay down!"

"LionClan's not real," Wolfkit grumbled as his mother began lapping the fur atop his head. He tried not to shrink away from her but he couldn't help it. He was about to become an apprentice for StarClan's sake! Having his mother groom him was just plain embarrassing.

"They are too!" Roarkit argued.

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Whether or not those old stories are true, I'd be lion if I said even one of the legendary warriors of any of the Great Clans had any hope of keeping my little hunter's fur down," Dapplefoot joked. Sunnybrook groaned while Roarkit dramatically buried his nose under his paws but Wolfkit let out a quiet giggle. His father was funny.

"You're almost as bad as your brothers," Sunnybrook sighed affectionately.

Dapplefoot lashed his tail lightly, humor glowing in his eyes. "Hey! Even I have to admit that Patternheart's better at coming up with puns than me but Echopelt? Come on, I'm way funnier than him!"

"Echopelt understands that he can't always afford to be silly," Sunnybrook reminded before letting out a sigh and blinking at her mate affectionately. "But you and your brothers really light up the clan."

"Thanks, love," Dapplefoot purred, gently butting Sunnybrook's shoulder. He then turned his attention to Roarkit and began lapping his fur. "Now Roarkit's fur I can handle!"

"Only because mother got all the knots out already," Wolfkit muttered under his breath but he doubted his family heard him. Not that he minded. He loved moments like these. It was so typical of them. Dapplefoot making jokes, Sunnybrook scolding them, Roarkit being dramatic and talking about the clans of legend, and Wolfkit… Wolfkit…

Wolfkit didn't really know where he stood. He didn't know what kind of cat he was or what kind of cat he wanted to be. And that was okay! He was still young. He had the rest of his life to figure himself out. He was going to be an apprentice soon. That was the perfect time to figure himself out and he knew he'd be able to. Or at least that was what he told himself.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around the Highrock for a clan meeting!"

Vinestar's voice rang through the clearing, interrupting Wolfkit's train of thought and the family's tender moment together. Wolfkit pulled away from his mother and shook out his pelt, letting his fur fall back into its usual resting place, before scurrying after his brother to sit with their clanmates.

Wolfkit didn't know Vinestar all that well. He'd probably only spoken to him once or twice when he visited the nursery. Each time, Wolfkit had expected to be intimidated in the presence of the clan's leader but Vinestar wasn't like that at all. Everything about him screamed warmth and kindness. Anytime he spared him a glance, Wolfkit felt comforted and relaxed. His amber eyes were so soft and warm. Vinestar was tall and strong like the warrior he was but he didn't have a threatening bone in his body. He just seemed to radiate compassion. Oh, Wolfkit was sure that he wouldn't want to meet him on the battlefield but they were clanmates and he knew that would never happen. He was happy to have him as his leader.

Roarkit was wiggling with excitement, unable to contain himself. Wolfkit shouldered him sharply and quietly hissed for him to sit still. Today was the biggest day in either of their short lives and Wolfkit was sure both of them wanted everything to go perfectly.

Vinestar's gaze swept the clan. He glanced down at his deputy, Longberry, questioningly. The grey tom nodded once, confirming that everyone was there. Vinestar purred softly in response and looked back to the clan.

"Today I have the honor of welcoming two of our youngest into the ranks of our clan," Vinestar spoke. His eyes fell on Roarkit and Wolfkit. Wolfkit stiffened but he quickly relaxed under his leader's gaze. The leader flicked his tail, calling them over. "Roarkit, Wolfkit, step forward."

Wolfkit and Roarkit were on their paws in an instant, picking their way past their clanmates to stand before their leader. Wolfkit felt nervousness prickle in his belly but he forced it down. Now wasn't the time for that. He was going to get his name and mentor. He wasn't about to let a little bit of nerves ruin the moment. Afterall, Roarkit didn't look worried in the slightest.

Roarkit was practically glowing when Vinestar waved him over. The tiny tom bounced on his paws, crossing the distance between the two gracefully. For a heartbeat, Wolfkit wished he'd trip. Maybe that would knock some sense into his littermate. Wolfkit quickly shook his head. He didn't want to think like that. No matter how much he and Roarkit bickered, they were brothers and they loved each other. Not even those seemingly random thoughts that occasionally wormed their way into Wolfkit's mind could change that.

"Roarkit," Vinestar began, standing over the russet tom, "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 Roarpaw. Your mentor will be Patterheart. I hope Patternheart will pass down all he knows on to you."

Wolfkit blinked in surprise as Patternheart made his way to the head of the clan. He briefly pressed his nose to Roarpaw's shoulder fur in greeting before looking to Vinestar. Wolfkit hadn't expected Patternheart to be given an apprentice today. Not that there was anything wrong with that or anything. Wolfkit rather liked Patternheart. It was just that he was Dapplefoot's littermate and kin typically didn't mentor kin. Then again, Wolfkit didn't know how that rule worked. Maybe they were distant enough in blood for it not to count? Like most things, Wolfkit didn't know and he found he didn't care.

"Patternheart, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Wildheart, and you have shown yourself to be brave and kind hearted. You will be the mentor of Roarpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

"Of course," Patternheart said with a nod and turned to Roarpaw. He purred, his voice and gaze flooding with warmth. "I'm sure we'll get along great. I look forward to training you."

Wolfkit didn't quite catch Roarpaw's response but the two did the traditional gesture of touching noses to mark the start of their new relationship as mentor and apprentice. Patternheart whispered something to his new apprentice and the two backed off to the edge of the camp, still within the others' view but leaving room for the next pair to step forward.

"Wolfkit, step forward," Vinestar said and Wolfkit snapped to attention. He swallowed away any lingering anxious thoughts and padded forward to look up at his leader. Vinestar winked at him knowingly before addressing him and the clan once again. "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 Wolfpaw. Your mentor will be Snaketail. I hope Snaketail will pass down all he knows on to you."

Snaketail? Wolfpaw glanced over his shoulder to search for the warrior among his clanmates. He'd heard of him but never met him. Would he be a good mentor?

Snaketail pushed his way past his clanmates to stand at the front of the clan with Wolfpaw and Vinestar. He had a lithe but powerful build and yellow eyes that seemed to pierce Wolfpaw's soul when he looked at him. Wolfpaw expected himself to flinch under his gaze but he found himself standing up taller instead of shying away. Wolfpaw didn't know if that was what Snaketail wanted or not but the tom smirked at him before turning to Vinestar again.

"Snaketail, you are ready to take on an apprentice again. You did an excellent job training Vigilpaw. I'm sure he would have become a great warrior under your guidance if he had not chosen to follow the path of a medicine cat. You have shown yourself to be cunning and hard working, traits that have and will continue to serve you well. You will be the mentor of Wolfpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

"I'll do my best," Snaketail responded, turning to Wolfpaw. Wolfpaw peered at him for a moment. He had a strange way of speaking. It was casual and passive, more so than other cats. It grabbed Wolfpaw's curiosity. Snaketail suddenly leaned forward and Wolfpaw remembered they still had to finish the ceremony. He reached up and touched his nose to his before pulling away and padding off to join Roarpaw and Patternheart at the edge of the clan.

"I now welcome our newest apprentices to ThunderClan!" Vinestar declared, throwing his head back to yowl at the sky.

"Roarpaw! Wolfpaw! Roarpaw! Wolfpaw!"

Wolfpaw lifted his head slightly, happy to hear the clan chanting his name. He didn't quite preen like Roarpaw at the sound of his name but pride still flooded his body. He was finally on his way to becoming a ThunderClan warrior.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Patternheart asked as the four cats walked back into camp, stopping just inside the entrance. "I guess you could say our tour of the territory was-"

"Don't," Snaketail warned, tail curling.

"-a walk in the bark."

Roarpaw exchanged a glance with his brother. Wolfpaw looked as confused as he was, which was odd. Wolfpaw usually enjoyed their father and his littermates' jokes but this time he just looked lost as Roarpaw. Then again, both Wolfpaw and Roarpaw were incredibly tired. Roarpaw doubted he ever wanted to curl up in his nest anymore than he did now. The territory was so big! It would be a long time until his soft kit muscles were used to trekking across the whole thing but Roarpaw was looking forward to it. What adventures he would go on! He would be able to hunt for his clan or maybe he and Wolfpaw could explain some of the corners of the territory that they hadn't seen today or maybe one day they'd be able to-

Wait. Now wasn't the time to get caught up in his dreams for the future. Right now was the time to stare at his mentor in confusion. That pun made no sense.

"You know… Walk in the bark," Patternheart said as if that would explain it. "We were in a forest. With trees. That have bark on them. Like a walk in the park but we were in a forest."

"... What's a park?" Roarpaw asked slowly.

Patternheart gasped loudly. "You've never heard of a park?"

"Should I have?"

"It's a twolegplace thing," Snaketail explained, sounding bored. He glanced at his fellow warrior. "You stole that one from Echopelt, didn't you? I know that's one of his favorites."

"... Pawssibly."

Snaketail sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to be stuck with you until these two get their warrior names."

"You could always give us our assessment early," Roarpaw suggested hopefully.

"Nuh-uh. You two haven't even caught your first piece of prey. Don't go thinking about your warrior ceremony anytime soon. That's a long way off. Apprentices stay apprentices for at least eight moons, sometimes even a full season cycle. That's even longer than you two have been alive," Snaketail told him without looking away from Patternheart. "Don't get ahead of yourselves."

Roarpaw groaned dramatically. "That's so long!"

"We still have a ton to learn before then," Wolfpaw reminded. "It won't be that bad. I'm sure we'll… uh, have plenty of adventures before then."

Wolfpaw always knew how to lighten Roarpaw's mood. Energy flooded back into Roarpaw's body and he bounced up excitedly. "Right! These moons are going to be the best of our lives!"

"I can't believe he has so much energy," Snaketail muttered, shaking his head. "How does he bounce back so quickly?"

"I ask myself that every day," Wolfpaw murmured in agreement.

Patternheart didn't seem exasperated by Roarpaw's words. In fact, he seemed to match Roarpaw's energy. "That's the spirit, 'paw! But speaking of learning, we've still got a lot of daylight left so there's one more thing you two need to learn about before you go to your new nests for the night."

"What?" Roarpaw asked eagerly. "The Warrior Code? Or something more exciting? Is there some kind of danger at the border we must know if? A battlemove? Something better?"

"In your dreams," Snaketail snorted. "You're apprentices now."

"Yes. And?"

"You have new responsibilities."

"Yes. And?" Roarpaw questioned again, growing frustrated quickly. He glanced at his brother. The other tom looked equally confused before realization dawned on his face.

"Oh StarClan," Wolfpaw said aloud, eyes growing wide and round. "Don't tell me…"

"Apprentice duties!" Patternheart said cheerfully. He bounced around on his paws a bit, waving his tail excitedly. "You get to learn how to extract mouse bile and do ticks and make nests and gather moss and clean the dirt place and clean the nursery and-"

"Apprentice duties?" Roarpaw repeated, an expression of horror spreading over his features. "But that's-"

"Something every cat must do before becoming a warrior," Snaketail interrupted. He paused and glanced at Patternheart. "Or after they become a warrior if they want to though I don't know why."

Roarpaw and Wolfpaw gaped at Patternheart.

"You still do apprentice duties?" Roarpaw asked, bewildered. "Why?"

"Because I love ThunderClan! You've got to be kitting me if you don't think the less pretty parts of being a clancat aren't important. It's the little things that make the clan tick and if it wasn't for the cats who clean nests and take care of the kits and elders, the clan would have bracken apart a long time ago. Collecting moss isn't that bad and I know that the elders appreciate it so much when a cat comes by for the first time in a bile.Oh, and pulling thorns out of the moss means that the little kits in the nursery don't get hurt! Beleaf me, it is not fun to wake up and find a thorn in your nest. The clan doesn't have enough 'paws so-"

"Oh great StarClan. Stop," Snaketail interrupted, shaking his head. Roarpaw couldn't tell if he was actually annoyed or not. The warrior cleared his throat and looked at the two brothers. "Ignoring Patternheart's ch-"

"Pawtternheart," Patternheart interrupted with a giggle. "Get it? Pawtternheart? Like how apprentices are 'paws? And apprentices do… Okay, I'll stop now."

Snaketail stared at him for a moment with a look that could have been disbelief before shaking his head and continuing. "Ignoring Patternheart's chore puns, apprentice duties are important you've got to make sure you do them right or you'll just end up doing them over again. I think Hedgepaw and Hazelpaw are out hunting with their mentors but I asked Frostbark if Vigilpaw could show you two the tendrils."

"Vigilpaw does apprentice duties?" Wolfpaw questioned.

"But he's a medicine cat apprentice!" Roarpaw pointed out. "He's old enough to be a warrior."

"But he's not so he still does them," Snaketail retorted.

"Not as much as Hazelpaw and Hedgepaw though," Patternheart added. "He usually only does them if something needs to get done and the other two aren't around. With you two helping out, hopefully he'll be able to focus on his own training. Not that he needs it, he's already a great medicine cat, but you know what I mean."

"Fine," Roarpaw groaned. "I guess I can see why we need to do it. Where is Vigilpaw anyway?"

"He should be in the medicine den. I see Frostbark over there with Echopelt so chances are he's sorting herbs on his own," Snaketail told them, pointing with his tail.

"Oh! I need to go talk to Echopelt about something. I'll see you two tomorrow morning! We can start training then," Patternheart promised before darting away from the group's place by the camp entrance and joining the cats deeper within its walls, waving his tail goodbye. "Good luck with Vigilpaw you two!"

"Patternheart, wait! We need to- And he's gone," Snaketail sighed, shaking his head. "All three of them… Where do they get their energy? And now Roarpaw's inherited it. Please tell me you've got a few morsels of sense in you, Wolfpaw."

Wolfpaw sighed. "Unfortunately."

"Hey! Don't be such a downer," Roarpaw said, licking the side of his brother's face hurriedly. Wolfpaw pulled away, putting a paw on Roarpaw's shoulder to push him away. Roarpaw rolled back dramatically before pouncing on him, the two squabbling until Snaketail interrupted.

"Come on, you two. Focus," Snaketail told them, tapping his paw against the ground to get their attention. "You two need to learn all the routines and get your nests prepared before sundown so go on so go find Vigilpaw, will you?"

"Right. Sorry, Snaketail," Wolfpaw apologized, sitting up and licking his shoulder fur in embarrassment.

Snaketail sighed again. "Don't worry about it. 'Paws will be 'paws and it's your first day but let's avoid this type of behavior in the future, shall we? Well, I'm sure Patternheart will encourage it but we'll be taking your training seriously. Now, run along you two. Patternheart and I will see you in the morning."

"Sure thing, Snaketail!" Roarpaw said, nodding vigorously. Wolfpaw murmured words of agreement with less enthusiasm than his brother. That seemed to be enough for Snaketail though and he tilted his head ever so slightly to them before whisking away.

Wolfpaw and Roarpaw made their way to the medicine den once Snaketail left and Roarpaw suddenly realized that he was more tired than he thought. His muscles ached from overuse and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and take a nap but he wasn't about to show weakness in front of Wolfpaw and Vigilpaw. He was strong! He would keep walking with his head held high, no matter how much he wanted to rest it on his paws.

Wolfpaw lead the way, poking his head into the medicine den in search of Vigilpaw. "Vigilpaw? Are you in here? Snaketail said you would help us out."

Roarpaw didn't see anything in the den when he first poked his head in but he saw a dark grey figure slink out of the shadows in the back of the den after a few heartbeats. Faded violet eyes fell on the pair, pupils sharpening once they identified them. Roarpaw found himself caught up in the soft gaze for a few moments. The dark markings around the violet shapes made the color stand out in the most beautiful way. Briefly, Roarpaw wished his eyes stood out more against his pelt. Wolfpaw's green eyes always looked stunning against his russet and silver fur.

"Hey you two," Vigilpaw greeted, slipping out of the den. He hovered in the entrance, almost shyly, as he glanced between the two apprentices.

Being over twice Wolfpaw and Roarpaw's age, the other apprentice was much taller than the two but he still had a smaller frame compared to most cats. Roarpaw always thought it looked as though he was ready to curl in on himself but when he shared that thought with Wolfpaw, his brother had argued with him. He didn't quite understand Wolfpaw's reasons for looking up to cats like Vigilpaw or Echopelt or even the deputy Longberry. Roarpaw saved that kind of respect for warriors like Snaketail or Vigilpaw's brother Antpatch but Wolfpaw was a weird cat and Roarpaw was more than okay with that so he never brought it up again.

"What can I do for you?" Vigilpaw asked. "Snaketail and Patternheart wanted me to show you apprentice duties, right?"

"Right," Roarpaw said unenthusiastically. He tilted his head, peering up at Vigilpaw. "Any chance you know any good tricks to make them go faster? I'm going to be a great warrior. I don't have time to be cleaning."

"Unfortunately not," Vigilpaw said, dry humor in his tone. "Life doesn't have shortcuts, lazybones."

"I'm not lazy!" Roarpaw squawked indignantly. "I just want to focus on doing more important things. Like training! I'm going to be a great warrior like the cats in those stories that Echopelt likes telling."

"My mistake," Vigilpaw responded sarcastically. "You're lazy and your head's in the clouds."

"At least the clouds my head's in are nice ones," Roarpaw retorted. "Unlike you, storm cloud."

"How creative," Vigilpaw snorted, rolling his eyes.

"I don't like you," Roarpaw said, sticking his tongue out.

"Likewise."

"Chores won't be that bad," Wolfpaw assured his brother. "And it's important. A warrior serves his clan out on the battlefield and in camp. Even if we're not hunting or preparing for battle, we're helping our clanmates."

Roarpaw groaned. "Don't tell me you actually listened to Patternheart's punny little rant."

"Patternheart may seem silly sometimes but he's a great warrior. His heart's in the right place. A lot of cats lose sight of that," Vigilpaw told them. He shook out his pelt, herb remnants falling out of his fur and to the ground. "Now, who wants to learn how to extract mouse bile?"

"Come on, 'paw," Patternheart encouraged. "It's almost sunhigh! You don't have any excuse for tripping up this much. I know you can do it."

As the warrior said, it was almost sunhigh. The birds had long since given up on their morning song but a green-leaf breeze blew through ThunderClan's oaks, ruffling the leaves and keeping the air cool. Patternheart, Roarpaw, Snaketail, and Wolfpaw were in one of the training clearings for their first day of training. It was going well. Or at least it was for Wolfpaw.

Wolfpaw had taken to the hunter's crouch rather well. It had only taken a couple tries and a few tips from Snaketail for him to get it right and it hadn't taken long for him to be able to figure out how to tuck in his haunches correctly each time he tried. He was still having a bit of trouble with his tail but he was already farther along than either Snaketail or Patternheart ever could've expected so Snaketail had pulled him off to the other side of the clearing to practice his pounces.

Roarpaw, on the other paw, was having a bit of a harder time mastering the hunter's crouch. He'd gotten his paws placed right once but he couldn't seem to replicate it. His paws kept pushing themselves farther out, widening his stance like he was about to leap at another cat rather than a mouse or bird. If he was going to hunt, he needed to keep his paws closer to his chest.

Patternheart knew that Roarpaw understood that and he was trying his best, he really was, but his paws just didn't want to listen. It was like they had a mind of their own.

"Shift that paw more toward your chest and line up your hindpaw a bit more with that one," Patternheart instructed as Roarpaw tried to get his footing right.

"I know, I know," Roarpaw growled. Patternheart tilted his head at him. Roarpaw ducked his head, looking a bit guilty. "I'm sorry. I'm just getting frustrated. Wolfpaw got it so fast and I can't even get my footing right."

"Everyone learns at their own pace. From the ways your paws are looking, you might be better suited for fighting instead of hunting but this is still something you've gotta learn," Patternheart told him. "The hunter's crouch is the most basic move and you'll need it if you're going to learn any more and you've got to master it if you're going to join a hunting patrol any time soon."

"I know, I know," Roarpaw muttered, sitting down and shuffling his paws. Patternheart's heart reached out for him. He looked so dejected, like the usual spark he carried died. "And an apprentice has to hunt before taking from the fresh-kill pile."

Patternheart froze before quickly telling him, "Oh that's not something you need to worry about! You're a new apprentice. Apprentices don't usually start hunting for a quarter-moon. You don't think we let them starve for all that time, did you?"

Roarpaw shook his head. "I'm not worried about eating quite yet, Patternheart. I just feel like I should be getting this."

Patternheart spared a glance across the clearing to look at Snaketail, briefly wondering how the other warrior had gotten Wolfpaw to catch on so quickly. Snaketail was younger than him, only having had one apprentice before and that apprentice had switched paths after a couple moons so it wasn't experience that Snaketail had on him. Patternheart had trained cats before without any problems. Granted, all of them had taken a while to learn to hold the hunter's crouch properly. It was true that Roarpaw was having a rocky start but it wasn't anything that Patternheart didn't expect. Roarpaw was just getting more frustrated than most beginner cats would because Wolfpaw had already gotten the hang of it.

Patternheart watched Snaketail tell Wolfpaw to pause and watch him. The warrior dropped into a crouch and began explaining something to Wolfpaw as he tucked his tail down. Patternheart tilted his head thoughtfully. Snaketail was a great warrior and could be a bit short tempered at times but he never failed to amaze Patternheart with his patience when it came to training. Patternheart remembered when the younger tom was an apprentice. He never would have thought that the young cat who struggled so much to balance on his hind paws to become such a skilled fighter.

Patternheart tilted his head slightly, eyes focusing on Snaketail's paws. The stance they were held in looked unnatural for a heartbeat. It was the proper placing, of course, but Patternheart could tell that Snaketail was forcing it. Did Snaketail normally hold his paws wrong when pouncing? Then it dawned on him.

He broke into a ragged purr. How could he have missed it? It was so obvious!

Roarpaw seemed to take his purr the wrong way and flattened his ears defensively. "Hey! Don't laugh at me! I'm trying my best."

"I know you are, 'paw," Patternheart assured him. "I just remembered something. You want to hear a funny story?"

Roarpaw's expression brightened a bit and he dropped his uneven hunter's crouch to sit and look up at his mentor. "About what? Is it some cool story about some great warrior? Ooh, or a battle? Or one of the legendary big cats?"

Patternheart blinked a few times at Roarpaw's eagerness to hear a story. It amused him. His brother Echopelt always loved stories, especially the legends of LeopardClan. In the back of his mind, he recalled Roarpaw raving about LionClan at some point. He'd have to remember that he liked those stories. After all, Echopelt had told him plenty so he was sure he knew more than enough to satisfy Roarpaw's desire to hear them.

Patternheart shook his head at Roarpaw's question. "No, no legends today. I'm going to tell you a story about Snaketail."

"Snaketail?" Roarpaw questioned. Patternheart expected him to be disappointed but Roarpaw's eyes lit up and he jumped to his paws excitedly. "Awesome! He's such a great warrior! What are you going to tell me about? Some awesome catch he made? Or an enemy he defeated? Or-"

"No, no. None of that," Patternheart told him. "I'm going to tell you about when he was an apprentice. You see, he wasn't always a great warrior."

"You better not be telling him about the birch tree, Patternheart!" Snaketail yowled from across the clearing.

"I'm not!" Patternheart yowled back before ducking his head to whisper in Roarpaw's ear. He giggled softly. "I'm totally telling you about the birch tree, 'paw."

Roarpaw looked up at him, eyes begging to hear the story. "What happened?"

"It's not all that interesting of a story but it's a good one," Patternheart explained. "You never knew Snaketail's mentor but she was a great cat, had a lot of apprentices. She worked really hard with Snaketail but he couldn't quite grasp any of her lessons."

"Really? Snaketail?" Roarpaw questioned, reeling back slightly as shock flooded his features. "But he's one of ThunderClan's best warriors!"

"Well, he is now but back then he was probably one of the worst apprentices. Objectively, of course," Patternheart added quickly. To him, every cat was perfect and special in his or her own way. Even snarky little apprentices who couldn't catch a bird if his life depended on it like Snaketail was all those moons ago. "Anyway, when he was an apprentice for about three moons, his mentor thought it was time to start climbing trees. We're ThunderClan, afterall. SkyClan cats start a bit sooner but ThunderClan is never far behind. Climbing is in our blood."

"So what happened with the birch?"

"I'm getting there," Patternheart promised. "The two of them went to that big birch over by the WindClan border and Snaketail's mentor taught him how to dig his claws into the bark and showed him the best path up the trunk. When she thought Snaketail was ready, she told him to climb to the lowest branch. And do you know what Snaketail did?"

"He reached the top?" Roarpaw guessed.

"Nope!" Patternheart said. He purred, waving his tail behind him. "He didn't even make it halfway before falling."

"How?" Roarpaw asked, shocked. "I saw him climb a tree yesterday! He looked like a natural!"

"Well, he is now. But only because he worked so hard," Patternheart told him. "After he fell, his mentor thought he needed more time before trying again. But Snaketail wasn't about to give up. He kept going back to that tree and he tried and tried again. And do you know what he did?"

"He reached the top?" Roarpaw repeated though his voice lacked the certainty it had before.

Patternheart shook his head. "Nope. He just kept falling. And he kept going back. And do you know what he did?"

"You keep asking that," Roarpaw complained. "Just tell me already!"

"Snaketail realized that his mentor's lesson wasn't really working for him so he tried something new," Patternheart explained. "His mentor taught him now to find knots in the wood to get his footing and reach for the next place to hang onto. That just didn't work for Snaketail. Look at his build, he's a very compact cat. He doesn't really have the muscle to hold onto the trunk for very long. He realized that taking it slow just didn't work for him. When he climbed fast, he was able to get control of his momentum and climb better than a squirrel. Now, don't do that when you learn how to climb. It's a very difficult way to go about climbing and doing it is just asking to fall but Snaketail's a natural at it. He took something he didn't understand and made it his own."

"Wow." Roarpaw looked awed. "That's amazing!"

"I know, right?" Patternheart agreed. "Anyway, after that he realized that ThunderClan's traditional fighting style didn't work for him either. He can do it now, of course, but he found his own way first. You ever notice that he moves differently from other warriors? He keeps low to the ground and moves fast without wasting a lot of energy. That's why he's such a great warrior. He's got his own way of doing things and it works for him."

"He's such an awesome warrior," Roarpaw whispered. "So why are you telling me this?"

"Your paws don't want to stay where they need to be," Patternheart told him. "You hold them like a warrior ready to have a cat slam into him. It looks like hunting might not be your fortitude."

"But I need to learn the hunter's crouch! It's the easiest skill that a warrior knows!" Roarpaw protested. "I need to know it if I'm ever going to learn how to do… well, anything."

"Don't worry, I know," Patternheart told him, resting his tail tip on his shoulder. "But we've got to find what works for you. Your forepaws always want to go past your shoulders. If you're going to leap, your hind paws have to be lined up with them or you're going to trip and ram right into the ground."

"So I should hold them like this?" Roarpaw asked, dropping into a crouch. This time, he let his forepaws stay spread but he spread his hind paws as well. He lashed his tail a couple times to find balance before letting it go still. He could hold himself in this position no problem.

"Perfect," Patternheart told him. "Now, your paws are too far apart for you to control your jump. You build up your power in your haunches but your forepaws decide where you go. What do you think you should do to direct where you go?"

"Um… I could try leading with one paw?" Roarpaw suggested hesitantly. "My paws wouldn't hit the ground at the same time but I don't need to do that if I'm hunting. I could use one paw to push myself and the other to lash out."

"That sounds good," Patternheart told him. "Let's try that. Pretend I'm your prey."

Roarpaw shifted so he was back into a crouch. Patternheart ducked a bit, making himself an easier target. Roarpaw wiggled his haunches a bit before launching forward, landing on Patternheart's flank. His eyes lit up when he realized what he did and he broke into a purr. "Hey! I did it!"

"Good job, 'paw!" Patternheart purred. "Now let's try that again but let's try to keep your paws closer to you. It's the same thing, we're just going to push your paws back where they're supposed to be. We know you can pounce but you're not catching any prey like that."

"I know, I know. It just feels so weird holding my paws all close like that."

"Tell you what," Patternheart said. "If you can master the hunting crouch the way you're supposed to do it, we can try adapting your way into something we can use."

"I thought we were going to do that either way. Find my own way of doing it and all that."

"You didn't let me finish," Patternheart said in a teasing tone, gently thumping Roarpaw on the nose with the pad of one paw. "If you can get it down before the sun goes down, I'll teach you a battlemove."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really?" Snaketail called from the other side of the clearing just as Wolfpaw pounced on his tail. Snaketail quietly congratulated him before looking back to Patternheart. "Isn't it a bit soon for that? Apprentices usually don't learn battlemoves until at least a quarter-moon of training."

"I know," Patternheart responded, "but I think he could use something to look forward to. It'll just be a simple one. Like the forepaw slash! I learned that one before I was even out of the nursery."

"Yeah. Because Rushstalk was a terrible apprentice who doesn't have any sense of responsibility and didn't know any better than to teach a kit a battlemove. StarClan knows how he got a brother like Longberry. They're total opposites."

"Come on, plenty of kits learn the forepaw slash before they're out of the nursery. It's an easy move. A useful one but there's no harm in teaching it to them."

"Them? You want Wolfpaw to learn it too?"

"It wouldn't be fair if Roarpaw learned a new move and Wolfpaw didn't," Patternheart replied innocently.

"Hear that, Roarpaw?" Wolfpaw yowled, voice echoing across the training grounds and into the forest. "You better get the hang of that move for the both of us!"

Roarpaw stuck his tongue out. "You don't need another move! It's only our first day training and you're already onto stalking!"

"And he's never going to learn how to do it properly unless he keeps practicing," Snaketail grumbled, looking back at his apprentice. He waved his tail, shooing him away from him. "Let's go, Wolfpaw. Try again."

Patternheart purred at their antics before looking back to his own apprentice. "You heard that, Roarpaw? You better get this down!"

"I will, I will." Roarpaw nodded with a new vigor and dropped into a crouch, shuffling his paws so they were held closer to his body rather than the way they instinctively jutted out. "I'll get this!"

The afternoon was probably halfway over by the time Roarpaw made any significant progress but the young tom kept pushing himself despite the clear signs he was tiring. Patternheart couldn't be more proud. When he finally managed to pounce on him neatly after placing his paws in the right position, Patternheart had done as promised and taught him and his brother the forepaw slash. And that was when Patternheart realized that his earlier statement was wrong. He could be more proud.

Roarpaw and Wolfpaw were both reared up on their haunches, boxing at each other with sheathed paws. Neither had quite mastered the move. That was a lie. Neither had come close to even using the move. Right now, they were kind of just smacking each other with their paws. Not that it wasn't cute, Patternheart thought it was adorable, but it wasn't really what they were looking for.

"You're both leaning back too much," Snaketail told them. He sat on the opposite side of the brothers than Patternheart, his sharp eyes catching any mistakes either apprentice had. "You have tails. Use them. And stop waving your paws like that, Wolfpaw. They're not going to help you balance. Roarpaw, that's a good resting place for your paws but you're not on the defensive. Neither of you are going to hurt each other. Just try to attack."

Roarpaw lifted a paw with hesitance and Patternheart almost expected him to fall back when he lashed out. Instead, his swing arced perfectly and he hit Wolfpaw cleanly in the cheek with enough power to send the other tom crashing into the dirt floor.

"Wolfpaw!" Roarpaw squeaked, clearly surprised.

Wolfpaw sat up quickly, shaking dirt out of his already messy fur. His eyes were wide but not in shock. He broke into a purr and leaped at Roarpaw, knocking him over. "That was great, Roarpaw!"

"That was almost a perfect blow," Snaketail congratulated. He spoke slowly. Unlike Wolfpaw, he was clearly surprised. "Well done, Roarpaw."

"That's my 'paw!" Patternheart purred. "You caught on so fast! You're a warrior born!"

Roarpaw purred and pushed his brother off of him. "You mean it?"

"Don't feed his ego too much, Patternheart," Snaketail told him. "Both of them barely have the hunter's crouch down. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves."

Patternheart couldn't help but nod in agreement. Snaketail was right, of course. Roarpaw's apprenticeship had only begun and he was falling behind his brother just a bit but Patternheart saw great things for him and there was no way in StarClan that he wouldn't give it is all to make his new apprentice into the best warrior the five clans had ever seen.