Chapter 33 The Second Apprentice
Two moons have passed since Lightclaw attacked Blossomkit and today was Blightkit, Blossomkit, Mudkit, and Deerkit's apprentice ceremony. Lightclaw came out of his den and headed towards the camp. Lightclaw entered the camp and saw Feathershine grooming Blossomkit and both she-cats saw Lightclaw and glared at him. Lightclaw glared back, but said nothing. He approached the fresh-kill pile and grabbed a slim squirrel. Lightclaw laid down and started eating it. When he was nearly finished, a yowl was heard and Lightclaw looked up.
"LET ALL CATS OLD ENOUGH TO CATCH THEIR OWN PREY, GATHER HERE FOR A CLAN MEETING!" Whitestar yowled.
Lightclaw quickly finished his squirrel, got up, than buried it. He approached the highrock and sat down. Cats had already gathered and were talking among themselves. Blossomkit and Blightkit were sitting in front of the crowd and were excited and overjoyed. Feathershine, Snaketooth, Icetuft, Daisypetal, and several other cats smiled proudly at them and Lightclaw couldn't help but share their excitement. Darkheart climbed onto the highrock and stood by Whitestar's side. Whitestar yowled and the clan fell silent and looked up.
"Today we have two new kits that are ready to be apprenticed. Blightkit and Blossomkit, step forward." Whitestar meowed.
Blightkit and Blossomkit stepped forward and each one had a glee of excitement on their faces.
"Blightkit, from this moment on, you shall be known as Blightpaw. Your mentor will be Icetuft." Whitestar announced.
Lightclaw was a little bit disappointed, he had hoped that he would be Blightpaw's mentor, as he got along with her and were both anti-slave cats. But maybe this had something to do with Lightclaw's punishment, his father warned that he had a punishment in mind, but he never told Lightclaw what it was. Blightpaw beamed as Icetuft stepped forward and touched noses with her, than sat down.
"Blossomkit, from this moment on, you shall be known as Blossompaw. Your mentor will be Lightclaw." Whitestar announced.
"WHAT?!" Snaketooth yowled.
Horrified and shocked yowls roared in the clan. Cats looked at each other, shocked to hear that Lightclaw would be Blossompaw's mentor, especially after he hit her. Blossompaw was horrified and Lightclaw was shocked. This was his punishment and considering what Blossompaw said about Darkpaw, this was her punishment too. Daisypetal stepped forward and looked at Whitestar enraged.
"Whitestar, you cannot be serious. Have you forgotten what Lightclaw did to my niece?!" She asked.
"I haven't forgotten, Daisypetal, but I also haven't forgotten what Blossompaw said to instigate it." He meowed
"So you're just going to let Lightclaw hit my daughter even more?" Feathershine asked.
"Of course not. If Lightclaw ever hits Blossompaw again, he will be punished severely." Whitestar warned.
Lightclaw nodded and approached Blossompaw. She was not pleased to have Lightclaw as her mentor and he was not pleased to have her as his apprentice. Lightclaw touched noses with her and both cats went back to the crowd and sat next to Icetuft and Blightpaw. Cats whispered and sneered at the idea of having Lightclaw mentor Blossompaw; even Icetuft, Blightpaw, Brightshine, Wolffang, and Cloudberry were concerned. The crowd quiet down as Whitestar stepped down to let Darkheart speak.
"Today we have two new kits that are ready to be apprentices. Deerkit and Mudkit, step forward." She meowed.
Both kits stepped forward.
"Deerkit, from this moment on, you shall be known as Deerpaw. Raccoonmask, you will be his mentor." Darkheart announced.
Raccoonmask was overjoyed and approached Deerpaw. He touched noses with him and sat down. Kinkfoot, Icetuft, and Sunpelt were pleased and Lightclaw was happy for his friend. Blossompaw scoffed in disgust.
"Mudkit, from this moment on, you shall be known as Mudpaw. Your mentor will be Flowershine." Darkheart announced.
Flowershine was ecstatic and approached Mudpaw. She touched noses with her, than sat down. Petalflower, Nettlespring, and Dustfoot were proud of Mudpaw, Deerpaw, and Flowershine, and Lightclaw was happy to see Flowershine have an apprentice. Darkheart stepped down and Whitestar stepped up.
"Blightpaw and Blossompaw, step forward." He meowed.
Both apprentices stepped forward.
"Blightpaw, from this moment on, Deerpaw will serve you and Blossompaw, from this moment on, Mudpaw will serve you." Whitestar announced.
Lightclaw looked at Blossompaw and saw a hint of a smirk. He hoped Blossompaw wouldn't do anything stupid otherwise he would kill her. On the other hand, he did notice Blightpaw looking pleased to have Deerpaw as her slave. Lightclaw wondered if they were starting to fall in love, like Hawkfrost and Ivypool.
"Meeting dismissed!" Whitestar yowled.
"BLIGHTPAW! BLOSSOMPAW! DEERPAW! MUDPAW! BLIGHTPAW! BLOSSOMPAW! DEERPAW! MUDPAW!" the clan cheered.
After a few minutes, the crowd dispersed, and cats started to head to their tasks. Blightpaw, Blossompaw, Deerpaw, and Mudpaw approached Icetuft, Lightclaw, Raccoonmask, and Flowershine.
"So, what do we do now, Icetuft?" Blightpaw asked.
"Well, we're going to give you a tour of the territory." He meowed.
"And then are we going to learn how to fight?" Blossompaw asked.
"No, we might do that tomorrow." Lightclaw meowed.
Blossompaw was annoyed and her fur was a bit bristled. Lightclaw wasn't happy about the reaction and was a bit annoyed. Icetuft could sense the tension and was worried that there would be a fight.
"Come on Lightclaw, we better get going before the sun goes down." He meowed.
Lightclaw didn't say anything and headed towards the entrance of the camp. Icetuft followed him and so did everyone else and they left camp. The group headed towards the unlucky tree and sat down.
"This here is the unlucky tree, it's a good hunting ground for apprentices to catch prey…" Icetuft meowed.
"But it's also a place where slave apprentices are caught eating prey that they've caught for their masters." Blossompaw interrupted.
She turned her head towards Mudpaw. Mudpaw flattened her ears, she felt threatened, and her fur bristled in fear.
"I know what I do if I caught my slave doing that." Blossompaw smirked sinisterly.
"Oh no you're not, Blossompaw! As long as you're my apprentice, you will not be treating Mudpaw like that in anyway. You'll be treating her with respect and dignity." Lightclaw hissed.
"I will certainly not! You're not in charge of how I treat my slave!" Blossompaw growled.
"Wanna bet on that?" Lightclaw growled.
Lightclaw and Blossompaw were barely touching noses. It was taking Lightclaw all he had to not loose his temper, but it wasn't easy. Flowershine, Deerpaw, Raccoonmask, Mudpaw, Blightpaw, and Icetuft were scared, tension was rising and each cat knew it would end in a fight. Thinking fast, Icetuft got in between Lightclaw and Blossompaw and looked at his niece.
"Blossompaw, you have to listen to your mentor, he's the one who's trying to help you become a true warrior of Lightclan. If you don't listen to Lightclaw, than you won't ever be a warrior." Icetuft scolded.
Blossompaw didn't say anything and just puffed. Lightclaw was annoyed and enraged by how much Blossompaw matched her parents personalities. If anything, Lightclaw might consider killing Blossompaw instead of Snaketooth; just to show him how it felt to loose someone he cares about. Icetuft headed towards the south border.
"Lets keep going everyone." he meowed.
Flowershine, Mudpaw, Deerpaw, Raccoonmask, and Blightpaw walked past Lightclaw and Blossompaw, each cat eyeing at them nervously. Lightclaw gave a cold glare and headed towards the south border with Blossompaw following a few feet behind him. This was not going to work out, Lightclaw was already having a tough time with Blossompaw and she didn't appreciate having Lightclaw as her mentor. If this kept going, Lightclaw might have to start killing cats more sooner than he thought.
A reviewer asked if I was okay and I'm happy to report that I am. I'm so sorry this chapter took longer than expected, I was at college and it's nothing like high school. I'm sorry this chapter took too long and I hope you enjoy it.