The following morning, Lilyspark was awoken by the sound of Sunstar's voice calling for a Clan meeting. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she rose out of her nest, stretching her back legs out behind her as she padded toward the den entrance. As she stepped out, she was met by Bluefur and Rosetail, who were both seated just outside the warriors' den.
"Hey, you two," Lilyspark greeted the two older warriors.
"Hey there yourself," Bluefur meowed, touching her nose briefly to her sister's. "Come on, let's head over to the meeting. Lionheart said he'd save a spot for us."
"Sure, okay," she agreed, glancing furtively over to where the golden-furred tom was sitting. To her relief, Lionheart was seated about as far away from Thistleclaw as possible, and she wondered if he had intentionally picked his spot to avoid the gray and white warrior. "Let's go, then."
As she followed Bluefur and Rosetail over to the clearing beneath the Highrock, Lilyspark wondered to herself what the meeting was for. When she sat down, however, she noticed Leopardfoot and Tigerkit sitting at the base of the Highrock. Tigerkit's fur looked as though it had been recently groomed and his tail was flicking about excitedly. With a start, Lilyspark finally realized what was going on; Tigerkit was about to start his apprentice training.
I wonder who his mentor is going to be, Lilyspark mused, glancing around herself at the other warriors. Not me, I haven't been a warrior long enough and I'm pretty sure Sunstar would have told me if he was going to pick me. Not Leopardfoot, I know Sunstar doesn't like picking parents as mentors. Not any of the other queens; they're busy with their kits. Huh...it could be any of the older warriors; none of them have apprentices to worry about right now.
"The time has come for Tigerkit to begin his training as an apprentice of ThunderClan," Sunstar meowed from his place on the Highrock. "Tigerkit, from this day forward until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Tigerpaw. I trust that you will train hard and become a warrior your Clan can be proud of."
Now, the moment of truth had arrived. Lilyspark looked around at her Clanmates again, trying to see if she could figure out who Tigerpaw's mentor would be. Unfortunately for her, nobody was giving away much of anything in their expressions.
"Bluefur," Sunstar meowed, and Lilyspark felt a thrill of excitement shoot through her. "You will be Tigerpaw's mentor. You have shown yourself to be a warrior of great courage and wisdom, and I trust that you will pass on all the skills you possess to your new apprentice."
"Of course, Sunstar," Bluefur meowed, dipping her head to the bright ginger tom. She padded forward and met Tigerpaw, who stretched his head up eagerly to touch noses with his new mentor.
"Tigerpaw! Bluefur!" The Clan cheered for the new mentor and apprentice duo.
Lilyspark joined in as well, pleased that her sister had gotten her first apprentice. Judging by the looks on her Clanmate's faces, they seemed to approve of Sunstar's choice as well. Only one cat didn't look happy at all. Thistleclaw was glowering at Bluefur, hatred, and jealousy clear in his yellow gaze. He didn't even bother to join in his Clanmates' cheering.
Guess he'll be waiting a bit longer, then, she thought to herself in satisfaction. Standing up, she padded over to Bluefur, brushing her nose against her sister's cheek. "Congratulations," she purred.
"Thanks, Lilyspark," Bluefur purred back.
"Be careful with that one, now," she joked. "He looks like he's going to be a pawful."
"I won't! I'm going to be the best apprentice ever!" Tigerpaw piped up, his eyes gleaming eagerly.
Lilyspark chuckled. "I'm sure you will."
"I'm glad Sunstar chose you," Rosetail meowed. "Imagine if he chose Thistleclaw to be Tigerpaw's mentor."
"Yeah...speaking of which, he doesn't look too happy, does he?" Lionheart noted, glancing over at the spiky-furred warrior.
"Does he ever?" Lilyspark joked, to which everyone else laughed loudly.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thistleclaw stand up and start walking toward their group, looking straight at her. Fortunately, Bluefur noticed this as well and skillfully maneuvered herself around Lilyspark so that she was blocking his path. Lilyspark saw Thistleclaw narrow his eyes slightly, but even he knew better than to keep pushing when Bluefur was around. He turned away and slouched off toward the warriors' den.
"Come on, why don't we show Tigerpaw the territory together?" Bluefur offered.
"Sure, okay," Lilyspark agreed, unable to hide her relief.
Tigerpaw's tail twitched excitedly. "Let's go! I want to see everything! Can we visit the Great Sycamore first?"
"Of course," Bluefur meowed, looking amused. "We'll go there straight away. Rosetail, look after Whitekit while we're gone."
"Don't worry, Bluefur. Whitekit will be safe with me," the tabby warrior promised.
Together, the three cats padded out of the camp, pausing occasionally as their Clanmates offered last-minute congratulations to Tigerpaw and Bluefur. As she stepped into the gorse tunnel after her sister, Lilyspark felt Thistleclaw's gaze burning into the back of her head. Feeling her pelt prickle uncomfortably, she ducked her head and quickened her pace, eager to put as much distance between herself and the gray and white tom as possible.
As it turned out, Tigerpaw was easily the most enthusiastic learner Lilyspark had ever come across. He listened intently to everything Bluefur told him, asking questions about each and every part of the territory. Other cats might have found it annoying, but Bluefur was patient and took time to explain every single one.
Most of the time, Lilyspark stayed silent, preferring to let her sister take charge of the tour. Occasionally, however, she would interject with comments of her own, which neither Tigerpaw nor Bluefur seemed to mind. When they got to Snakerocks, Tigerpaw proceeded to pepper her with questions about the fight against the dog that had taken place during her apprenticeship.
"Did it really happen? Did you really fight a dog?" he asked eagerly.
"Er...well, sort of," Lilyspark answered, glancing at her sister. "But I was a fairly new apprentice at the time, so it didn't go well."
"What happened?" Tigerpaw asked. "How did you end up fighting it?"
"I was on a hunting patrol with Bluefur, Adderfang, Smallear, and Thistleclaw–well, Thistlepaw at the time," she answered. "Thistleclaw kept messing with my hunt, scaring off every single piece of prey that I tried to catch."
"What did he do?" the brown tabby apprentice asked.
"He would shout out various false alarms, such as telling me that there was a beetle on my back, trying to distract me," Lilyspark meowed, scowling as she remembered the incident. "So when he finally called out an alarm that was real, I didn't believe him and kept hunting. By the time I realized that he was telling the truth, the dog was already standing in front of me, too close for me to be able to run away. I wasn't ready to take on a dog yet, but I didn't have much of a choice."
Tigerpaw's eyes widened. "So you really fought a dog?" he asked, looking at her in admiration. "You're so brave!"
"Not really," Lilyspark meowed, feeling rather uncomfortable. "I just did what anyone else would have done if they were trapped."
"Yes, you were, Lilyspark," Bluefur meowed gently. Her voice grew stern as she added, "But you're not to go fighting any more dogs, got that?"
Lilyspark stared at her. "Er, Bluefur...I'm a warrior now, I think I could handle a dog..."
"Don't care," was her sister's only reply.
Tigerpaw's eyes gleamed. "Someday, I'm going to be strong enough to fight a dog too."
"I'm sure you will," Bluefur meowed, flicking her apprentice over the shoulder. "And I'll do my best to prepare you. But that doesn't mean you should go looking for one. Dogs are dangerous, vicious animals. Most experienced warriors wouldn't stand a chance against one."
"Okay," Tigerpaw meowed, nodding furiously. "I won't go looking for one, I promise."
The tour of the territory took nearly all day. By the time they returned to the camp, the sun had started to set. Bluefur sent Tigerpaw off to have a piece of fresh-kill, promising to take him out for battle training in the morning. Despite her exhaustion, Lilyspark was pleased that her sister's first day of a mentor had gone smoothly. Tigerpaw was a promising young tom, and she felt certain that he would grow up into the strong warrior Leopardfoot had always dreamed he would be.
"Hey, you two," Lionheart meowed, padding over to them. "How was the tour?"
"Great," Bluefur meowed sincerely. "Tigerpaw's an inquisitive learner, that's for sure."
"I'm glad to hear it," Lionheart purred.
While Bluefur and Lionheart were busy talking about Tigerpaw's first day of training, Lilyspark found her eyes wandering around the camp, looking for any sign of Thistleclaw. It didn't take long to find him. He was sitting just outside the warriors' den, his eyes trained on her. As their eyes met, Thistleclaw flicked his tail slightly, beckoning her over with a greedy look in his eyes. Feeling a cold lump in her stomach, Lilyspark nudged Bluefur slightly, angling her ears toward the spiky-furred tom to get her point across.
Fortunately, her sister understood. "Come on, Lilyspark. Why don't we see if there's any fresh-kill left?"
"Sure," Lilyspark agreed. "Want to see if Moonflower will eat with us? I'm sure she'd love to hear how your first day as a mentor went."
"Alright, then," Bluefur meowed, nodding.
The two sisters walked over to the fresh-kill pile, selecting a thrush and a rabbit each before carrying their prey over to where Moonflower and Sunstar were sitting. Their mother looked up as they approached, her eyes lighting up when she saw them. Lilyspark settled herself down next to her mother, feeling herself relax as Moonflower's tongue rasped gently between her ears.
"How was the tour?" she asked.
"It was good," Bluefur answered, taking a bite out of her rabbit. "If Tigerpaw continues to show as much enthusiasm as he did today, he'll be a warrior in no time."
"Well, he has an excellent mentor," Moonflower purred. "Sunstar did well in choosing you."
"Of course," Sunstar meowed in a mock-offended voice. "You didn't think I would pick just anyone, did you?"
Lilyspark rolled her eyes, feeling the corner of her mouth twitch in amusement. Her parents were absolutely ridiculous sometimes. How was it that they had been together for seasons yet still acted like a couple of new lovebirds? She wasn't sure whether she found them sweet or absolutely disgusting.
"What about you, Lilyspark?" Moonflower asked, bringing her attention back to her mother. "How have you been doing lately?"
Her gaze was gentle and understanding. For a moment, Lilyspark hesitated, wondering if she should tell her mother about what had happened with Thistleclaw the previous day. If anyone deserved to know, it was Moonflower. Yet still, she hesitated. Thistleclaw hadn't done anything to hurt her yet; Bluefur, Rosetail, and Lionheart were making sure of that. As long as she stuck with them, she shouldn't have anything to worry about.
"I've been fine," she meowed finally, wondering all the while when the last time she had truly been fine had been.