Chapter 3

Graypaw spent the entire sunhigh teaching Tigerpaw all about the Clan. His new duties as an apprentice, the apprentices' den, leader's den, elders' den, and nursery. Tigerpaw was unusually quiet as he took in all the information with admiration. The Clans were so organized! He expected their lives to be filled with exciting battles against predators and hunting for scraps, when in reality there were so many duties for them to fulfill. And even disappointingly, most of the boring duties were given to the apprentices.

The sun was sinking on the horizon when three new cats appeared in the clearing, one of them going to the medicine den, the other two going to Bluestar directly. Tigerpaw felt curious, and against Graypaw's protests, he approached the new cats, overhearing the discussion.

"They are hunting at Sunningrocks." It was a tabby, whose pelt was as bright as flames. His presence alone was overwhelming; Tigerpaw assumed this warrior had to be exceptionally strong. "Ravenpaw was wounded after a RiverClan warrior chased us off."

"I'm sorry, Bluestar," the other warrior spoke now. Tigerpaw looked at him next; his fluffy red tail was perhaps his most distinctive trait. He didn't seem as muscular as the other warriors he had seen—Lionheart, Whitestorm, or even the new flame-colored tabby—but he seemed intelligent, wise, and confident. "Perhaps, if we didn't retreat that night..."

"Don't say that, Redtail," Bluestar interrupted sternly. "You made the correct decision. We will find a way to recover Sunningrocks again."

"Sunningrocks?" Tigerpaw whispered to the gray apprentice, whose paws were ready to leave at any moment.

"Yes, it's part of our territory, but RiverClan took it a few days ago... can we leave now?"

It was too late though, for a pair of green eyes were looking directly at the two apprentices. "Is this the new apprentice?" the tabby tom meowed quizzically.

Bluestar nodded. "His name is Tigerpaw."

"Tigerpaw..." he echoed, lost in thought. Whatever he was pondering, it didn't last long. "Well, welcome to ThunderClan. My name is Fireheart, this is Redtail." He motioned with his tail to the tortoiseshell cat.

"And what are you two doing here?" Redtail interjected. "Graypaw, shouldn't you be training right now?"

"I—yes! I'm just showing Tigerpaw around."

The tortoiseshell gave them a soft gaze. "Well, off you go. Perhaps you could pay a visit to Ravenpaw while you're at it."

As the duo left, Tigerpaw eyed the two warriors. There were so many cats in the Clan, so many of them looked strong and fierce, for a moment he wasn't sure he would be able to prove himself to all of them. He shook that thought away almost immediately, however.

Graypaw sighed. "Redtail is our deputy," he commented. "He will become the next leader once Bluestar passes. We shouldn't be eavesdropping on our leaders, you know!"

"I was curious," Tigerpaw mewed defensively. "Besides, we didn't hear anything bad."

Graypaw let that one go as they were reaching the medicine den. He led the tabby inside, where the medicine cat and sick cats would be resting. A strong stench reached Tigerpaw's nostrils; herbs, roots, berries, they were lined up throughout the small cave. A beautiful tortoiseshell was walking around, sorting through them, while a much smaller black tom was resting.

"Hey Ravenpaw!" Graypaw greeted. "How are you?" Ravenpaw eyed both cats, but especially he looked at the tabby. "Oh, this is Tigerpaw. Tigerpaw, this is Ravenpaw, he's an apprentice too!"

"Oh... hello," Ravenpaw meowed, his ears flattening slightly. Tigerpaw waved his tail response. "I'll be fine. Some RiverClan apprentice attacked me from the rear, but Fireheart chased him off."

"You still have to rest," Spottedleaf commented. "Tell Fireheart you won't be able to train for some days."

A sigh of relief escaped the black tom's muzzle and he slumped more in his nesting. "Good," he murmured.

Tigerpaw's ears perked up. "Good?" he muttered in return. "What do you mean good? You won't be able to train!"

Ravenpaw shifted his paws nervously. "Well..." he stammered. "Uh, apprentice duties are hard so I just want to rest for a bit."

"As he should!" Spottedleaf appeared, her meow tinted with clear annoyance. "This den is too small for so many nosy cats. Now go." She stepped forward, making Graypaw and Tigerpaw to go backwards. When they were out of her den, she went in again.

Graypaw sighed. "That's Spottedleaf for you. She cares a lot for the sick."

The duo kept exploring through camp. At some point, when the sun was nearly gone from the sky, Tigerpaw heard a strong roar close-by... his belly. Thinking about it, he realized he hadn't eaten anything since he left his housefolk, wanting his next meal to be fresh-kill. The tour through ThunderClan territory took longer than expected, and he was already feeling dizzy and exhausted, not only his paws were protesting, but his mind was struggling to keep up with all the information.

Graypaw noticed, but as he had mentioned earlier, apprentices wouldn't be able to eat until all the elders were fed or his mentor stated otherwise. Tigerpaw growled internally, why would he have to wait for some weak cats to even take a bite? They didn't need the energy for hunting anyway!

The older apprentice led Tigerpaw to the fresh-kill pile. As he stared at the mice and birds lying there, his mouth began to water, yet Graypaw instructed him to grab something that looked tasty and follow him to the elders' den. He sunk his teeth into a plump sparrow, thin streams of blood running through his mouth, enticing him to sink his fangs deeper and taste the flesh. Tigerpaw quickened the pace, running past Graypaw whose eyes lit up seeing his companion's enthusiasm.

"Ah, hello, young cat!" When Tigerpaw stepped into the den, there was a friendly gray cat greeting him. "You must be the new apprentice. Welcome."

Tigerpaw dropped the sparrow with relief. "Thank you." He nodded politely to the elder.

Graypaw appeared to his side. "Hello, Smallear," he meowed, nodding as well, and dropped his own mice. "Hello to you too," he motioned to the other elders that were looking curiously from the shadows. From his greeting, they approached the apprentices, all keeping their friendly demeanor. Halftail, a brown tom with a short tail. Then Dappletail, a tortoiseshell with ruffled pelt. Finally, One-eye, a half blind, pale gray she-cat. Graypaw introduced them all in turn, dipping his head respectfully to them.

Tigerpaw was shocked to see them. All of them held in their bodies multiple battle scars. His respect for these cats grew as he imagined all the battles they've endured. Looking at Halftail, he suddenly felt very aware of his own tail lashing back and forth.

"Have you two eaten yet?" Smallear meowed. Graypaw shook his head, while Tigerpaw gave a quick glance to the sparrow he dropped then forced himself to stare at the elders. "Well, in that case, why don't you two share that sparrow? Would you mind?" he meowed to the other elders.

"Of corse not," Dappletail replied. "There's enough for all of us. Dustpaw and Sandpaw caught so much before."

Tigerpaw didn't wait, he sunk his teeth deep into the sparrow, the juicy flesh making him dizzy. Carelessly chewed on everything; the wing, feathers, bone, his belly still protesting against the lack of food.

"Thank you!" he meowed to the elders. "This is delicious!"

Graypaw purred. "Hey, don't be greedy!" The fluffy apprentice went to take a bite of the sparrow, but Tigerpaw flinched. He hissed instinctively and used his front paws to protect the prey. Graypaw stepped back, eyes wide.

It was One-eye who meowed. "Young Tigerpaw," she began, her friendly voice tinged with scorn. "Being a warrior means protecting your Clanmates with your life. We share the fresh-kill among every cat and make sure everyone has had their bite."

Tigerpaw dipped his head guiltily. "Sorry," he meowed, letting Graypaw eat. He wasn't happy to share the sparrow with anyone, but he knew that, in order to be a warrior, he would have to adapt to their rules.

Graypaw took a bite, chewing slowly with audible purrs.

Tigerpaw noticed a new scent in the air, rising above that of the older cats. Looking behind him, he noticed the cat from before, Redtail, coming for the two apprentices. Tigerpaw stood up, and nodded in greeting. This cat would someday become the leader of ThunderClan. Better not be on his bad side, he thought.

"Hello," the tom meowed, first addressing the elders. They greeted each other, showing equal respect. Tigerpaw took notice of this; even though Redtail was a deputy, he was showing them the same level of respect he would show a leader. However, when addressing the apprentice, he was much friendlier; like a father, almost. "Ah, this is our new apprentice, sorry we couldn't speak before. How are you adapting?"

"He's doing great!" Graypaw commented, after seeing a bit of hesitation on Tigerpaw's part. "I've been showing him around camp."

"Great job, Graypaw." The apprentice shifted his paws nervously. Strange to see the friendly apprentice being so shy, Tigerpaw thought. "We don't usually get kittypets as apprentices, Bluestar must have seen something in you. I will follow your progress with interest, young Tigerpaw."

"When can I start training?" Tigerpaw realized, while every apprentice had someone who could train him, he wasn't assigned a mentor yet. He recalled every warrior he had met so far, would he have a mentor for himself, or would he train together with the other apprentices?

Redtail seemed pleased. "You are quite hasty! Tomorrow at sunrise, you will train with Graypaw, Sandpaw, and Dustpaw."

"Will I have a mentor?"

The question caught the deputy off guard. "Well... Bluestar hasn't decided yet. Lionheart, Whitestorm and myself will be helping you for now."

"Maybe Fireheart will come too," Graypaw guessed. "Since Ravenpaw is in the medicine den."

Redtail nodded. "Indeed." Standing up and shaking the dust off his pelt, he continued. "You both should be going to sleep now. Since you're so excited, it's better if you rest early."

The deputy nodded a goodbye to the elders, which were already talking among themselves distractedly. Graypaw and Tigerpaw continued eating from the sparrow until they were full, and offered the leftovers to the elders. They accepted it thankfully, nodding their goodbyes as the young cats left the den.

The moon was rising in the air; the camp seemed different at night. Now most cats were in camp, already done with their duties. Bluestar was assigning groups for a night patrol as Redtail appeared to help her. Some warriors were taking bites from the fresh-kill pile and, as Tigerpaw noticed, many of them were sharing food, once again reminding him how different Clans were from his old kittypet life.

He followed Graypaw into another den, he introduced it as the apprentices' den. Two cats were already resting there; a dark brown tom and a pale tabby she-cat.

"Here comes the new apprentice!" the she-cat meowed, narrowing her eyes. She sniffed the air and grimaced in disgust. "Don't tell me I have to share a nest with that revolting kittypet stench!"

Tigerpaw blinked in surprise, then stared at the apprentice with narrowed eyes. He stepped inside, proudly, not taking his eyes off her. He could see she wasn't pleased by his reaction.

"Sandpaw!" Whitestorm poked his head into the den. "As my apprentice, I expect you to be more welcoming of our new Clanmate."

Sandpaw purred, staring at Tigerpaw still. "I'm sorry, Whitestorm."

"You aren't sorry at all," Tigerpaw commented with a low voice.

Sandpaw hissed in return.

"Sandpaw!" Whitestorm's voice was unusually stern now. "It's getting late, training starts early tomorrow. Go to sleep now, and please don't fight all night." He stared at Sandpaw especially, who nodded dejectedly. To Tigerpaw's surprise, he stared at him too. The tabby nodded; for now, he would have to get along.

As Whitestorm walked away, Graypaw led Tigerpaw into a nest made of moss and leaves. That spot was some tail lenghts away from Sandpaw, but close to another sleeping apprentice who was stretching lazily. The dark brown tom opened his eyes and yawned.

"Could you two keep it down?" he muttered. With a grunt, he rolled over and laid down facing the new apprentice. "Hey, I'm Dustpaw, by the way," he meowed, nodding to Tigerpaw. "You fought well today, with Longtail."

Tigerpaw scratched his muzzle, realizing the newly made scar that both Graypaw and Longtail made on it. It was rather vicious, he had to admit; even though the warrior was holding back, it was still enough to leave a mark. At the very least, he was able to impress a few of his new Clanmates.

"Oh, yes, thank you." He put his paw down and decided to lie down on his bed.

Dustpaw purred. "It would be interesting if they made Longtail your mentor, wouldn't it?" Tigerpaw blinked rapidly. Could that happen? He thought Longtail wouldn't like that. "I wonder who will it be."

"Bluestar seemed very interested in him," Graypaw commented after overhearing the conversation. "Being trained by the leader herself would be an honor!"

"As if Bluestar had time to deal with a kittypet!" Sandpaw commented with a soft hiss. Her defiant gaze stopped at Tigerpaw.

This time though, he ignored it. "That would be good," he meowed.

Sandpaw spat the ground, clearly offended, and turned her back against the three toms. Graypaw hissed into Tigerpaw's ear. "She's not usually this bad-tempered. Maybe she has a furball stuck?"

"Or she's jealous that Bluestar sees so much potential in me," he purred softly, making sure to not disturb the she-cat. Although he wanted her to hear it, his eyelids felt heavy now, and the long walk through ThunderClan territory was already weighing down on his body.

His denmates seemed to agree, as they curled up in their respective nests and were already snoring loudly. Tigerpaw purred and, with an image of himself as a strong warrior in his mind, he fell into a deep sleep.