Thanks to my readers who sent in characters!
Mapleleaf belongs to Rockbelly. He'll have more appearances, definitely.
Whitepool and Mothspots belongs to Penguin598
Applepaw, Breezepaw and Emberpaw are important characters so pay attention to them. More characters will be added progressively.
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"Dawnkit, you have been with us for six moons now, it is time for to become an apprentice," Waterstar yowled from the smoothed over stone that jutted out in the middle of camp. Dawnkit shook with anticipation as she sat below the clan leader. Her family was watching; her parent's faces beamed with pride as they watched their daughter.
Dawnkit then shifted her gaze towards Thunderkit, her brother. The little grey and ginger kit avoided his sister's eyes. Dawnkit was taken aback by this gesture. Her brother had been practically shunning her since she attacked him that day a quarter moon ago. Dawnkit had noticed that Thunderkit hadn't been as cheerful and energetic as he normally was. It seemed like his personality had drained from his body like a flash flood; it was fast and unexpected with effects that were hurtful.
Dawnkit shook her head a little. Now wasn't the time to think about that. She was going to be an apprentice today! Waterstar looked down at Dawnkit, her blue eyes shining with pride that seemed to glow like the sun on the river's edge.
"Dawnkit, until you receive your warrior name you shall be called Dawnpaw." Waterstar paused. "Your mentor will be Timberclaw. Congratulations!" Timberclaw bounded up to his new apprentice and touched her nose. Dawnpaw smiled, Timberclaw smiled back at her. This would be a promising apprenticeship.
"Dawnpaw! Dawnpaw!" The clan chanted. Dawnpaw blinked slowly, enjoying the warmth in her clan's meows. She could easily pick out Blackwing's mew from the rest of the clan's. The black pelted medicine cat was cheering the loudest for her. With a pang, Dawnpaw remembered what she had promised to Leafstep: she'd have to be a sister to Blackwing. I'll do my best for you Blackwing, I promise with all my heart.
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Dawnpaw padded out of the camp for the first time in her life, a few reeds scraped her fur as she brushed passed them. Timberclaw was a few steps ahead of her, looking back at his apprentice every few moments to make sure she was keeping up.
"We have lots to see, Dawnpaw. I want you to see the entire territory today." Timberclaw said as he walked over some smooth stones towards the river. Dawnpaw followed and trotted to where her mentor stopped and sat down. The grass felt cool under her tail and the breeze brought scents of the forest from across the lake.
"This is where we'll be hunting most of the seasons, in leafbare we'll be hunting on land."
Timberclaw trotted on, Dawnpaw soon found a good pace in her paws and easily kept up. Soon, the deciduous trees transformed into pines. Dawnpaw smelled the air and welcomed the tangy scents. Timberclaw stopped at a clearing right beside a huge, wooden twoleg bridge.
"This is the ShadowClan border. Smell their marker?" Timberclaw meowed. Dawnpaw wrinkled her nose; ShadowClan scent reminded her of frogs and a bit like the dirt place in the RiverClan camp. The silvery grey cat sneezed in an attempt to get rid of the scent in her nose. Timberclaw laughed. "I hated the scent the first time too."
"I can see why." Dawnpaw said irritation in her voice.
"Oh get over it," Timberclaw said with a playful smile, "No cat likes ShadowClan."
Oh, what if they're cats like us, Timberclaw? Suddenly, a mischievous thought spawned in Dawnpaw's mind. She rushed at Timberclaw and pushed him towards the lake. Her mentor yelped in surprise, landing in the blue waves with a splash.
"Hey, that's not fair. I wasn't expecting that." Timberclaw complained as he climbed out of the water. "Get in here!" Timberclaw wrapped his paws around Dawnpaw's shoulders and dragged her in the water! Dawnpaw struggled as her head was pushed under the water. Then, her face met the surface of the water. She sputtered and coughed. Dawnpaw glared at her mentor, his green eyes blazing with humor.
"That was cold water!" Dawnpaw wailed. Timberclaw laughed again.
"That was payback." He said with triumph. Dawnpaw started to smile and rushed at Timberclaw again. The two cats chased each other, smiling and laughing the entire time.
The rest of their tour of the territory was uneventful. Timberclaw showed Dawnpaw the WindClan border and some of their warriors. To Dawnpaw, they looked underfed and skinny. Since leaf fall was on its way, Dawnpaw felt uncomfortable looking at their thin frames. Timberclaw assured her that they looked normal and that WindClan always looked skinny. Dawnpaw didn't entirely believe him.
Soon the pair arrived back to camp. Their fur had dried, so no cat would assume they had pushed each other in the lake. Dawnpaw was exhausted. She didn't bother stopping to talk to any of her clanmates. Instead, Dawnpaw slumped into her nest and napped.
The sun waned across the sky, orange light filtered into the apprentice's den through the bushes. Dawnpaw blinked open her dark amber eyes. She jolted awake; amazed she slept for that long. Frantically, the silvery she cat looked around the den. Rainpaw was asleep in a den next to hers and so was Mistpaw. Dawnpaw noticed Mistpaw yawn and stretch. The blue-grey apprenticed arched her back reminding Dawnpaw of minnow swirling and flipping in the water. Mistpaw blinked and gazed back at Dawnpaw.
"You know there's a gathering tonight. You don't need to worry about sleeping; Timberclaw told me to tell you that he wanted you to rest up for later." Mistpaw mewed. Dawnpaw breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't missed anything important. Dawnpaw and Mistpaw then squeezed out of the den.
"I could go for a bass right now." Dawnpaw said wistfully thinking of her stomach.
"Me too, it'll be good to eat before the gathering." The two she cats grasped a striped bass fish and bit into the tender flesh. Bass were Dawnpaw's favorite. She liked the unique flavor of the fish and the creamier texture. Then, remembering why she was awake, Dawnpaw popped a question.
"What's it like at a gathering, Mistpaw?" Mistpaw stopped chewing her bit of the fresh kill. Her light amber eyes stared into Dawnpaw's eyes.
"Well, there are a lot of cats. Warriors from all the clans are there. You get opportunities to meet other cats," Mistpaw said before taking another bite of bass.
"Where you nervous at all?"
"Of course! It's only natural. Just make sure you don't spill out too many clan secrets."
The two cats finished off the fish and headed back towards the den. Dawnpaw didn't want to sleep though. She was much too nervous to even close her eyes. Lying back down in her nest, Dawnpaw forced her eyes closed and drifted off to a troubled nap.
The sun moved across the sky yet again. Sunset was soon upon RiverClan. Timberclaw had woken up his apprentice when Waterstar started to announce the participants for the gathering.
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Noises thrummed everywhere through the trees. Cat swam in a sea of pelts, meowing greetings and sharing tongues. The gathering was a friendly environment, much to Dawnpaw's surprise. At first she thought there would be fighting and fierce sneers. Timberclaw had told Dawnpaw that fighting wasn't allowed, but Dawnpaw couldn't help but think that the peace just wouldn't last.
Suddenly, Dawnpaw was shoved aside. The silvery apprentice yelped as she landed on her side in the moonlit grass.
"Hey, why'd you do tha-" Dawnpaw stopped midsentence to find a brown she cat about her age staring back at her. The brown apprentice had scars running up and down her forelegs, reminding Dawnpaw of little creeks that ran through RiverClan's territory.
"Watch it, fish-face!" The apprentice snarled at her. From the scent that clung to her fur, Dawnpaw immediately knew this she cat was from ShadowClan.
"Fish-face?" Dawnpaw mewed, pulling her ears back indignantly. She was somewhat embarrassed and hurt. No one had openly insulted her before. Then, another ShadowClan apprentice appeared by the brown cat's side. This time that cat was a male, about the same age as the two she cats. He had brilliant violet eyes in contrast to the brown apprentice's reddish amber eyes. The tom cat also had creamy white fur with ginger paws. Then Dawnpaw noticed that both of the cats had tails that were so long, they dragged on the ground behind them. Unable to wrap her mind around these strange cats, Dawnpaw burst out laughing.
"What were you doing Applepaw," The tom asked his clanmate, "You know that not everyone is going to hurt you here. Plus this is a good time to learn from this she cat."
"I know, Emberpaw, but so many cats have stared at me already. I thought she was going to insult me, so I fired first."
Dawnpaw stopped laughing. She sat in front of the two ShadowClan apprentices, eyes meeting theirs. The cream colored cat decided to speak first.
"Excuse my sister's rudeness. My name is Emberpaw." He said with his voice calm and cool.
"Just like my dad's name." Dawnpaw commented. Emberpaw smiled.
"He won't ever be as good of a warrior as me!" Emberpaw boasted. Dawnpaw almost felt ashamed over herself. The brown she cat spoke next.
"I'm Applepaw." Nervousness clung to her face as she meowed. Her tail wrapped around her paw instinctively.
"Applepaw?" Dawnpaw said the name out loud in wonder. It was a strange name for ShadowClan according to what Dawnpaw had been told. It was a strange name for any cat. Then, Applepaw's eyes sank to the floor in shame and disappointment.
"I knew cats would find me weird. I'm such a freak."
"N-no, I'm sorry." Dawnpaw received no response for a moment, so she changed the subject. "Are you going to be a warrior, Applepaw?"
"No, I'm training to be a medicine cat." Applepaw's eyes light up again.
"I'm teaching her every battle move I learn anyway." Emberpaw cut in. He wrapped his tail around his sister protectively. Dawnpaw remembered her own brother with a pang. Emberpaw and Applepaw would always have each other. Thunderkit would never want anything to do with Dawnpaw.
What would it be like to have a sibling like that, to share a bond no one else can have?
"Almost time for the leader's address."
A voice caught all the cats by surprise. Dawnpaw jerked her head around to see a silvery and black tabby she cat approach the trio. Scent told her nose that the newcomer was from ThunderClan, though she had a slim build that made her look almost like a WindClan cat.
"What's your name?" Dawnpaw asked. This ThunderClan cat looked a moon older than her. Her blazing blue eyes glimmered with experience in them.
"I'm Breezepaw. My mother named me after a WindClan cat from an old legend."
The four cats chatted until the leaders yowled from the great tree in the center of the island. WindClan's leader Goldenstar spoke first. Her green eyes gazed down at the cats attending the gathering.
"WindClan has two new warriors. They are Mothspots and Whitepool." Cats from all the clans cheered. Dawnpaw looked to her right to see a white she cat and a ginger tom duck their heads nervously as the clans welcomed them as warriors. That will be me someday. I'll be a warrior and the clans will welcome me too.
Now it was ThunderClan's turn. Spiderstar announced Breezepaw as a new apprentice along with a littler of kits that was born recently and an elder that retired. ShadowClan was up next. Falconstar perched himself on a higher branch.
"ShadowClan has two new apprentices, Emberpaw and Alphapaw. Mapleleaf, our medicine cat will have Alphapaw as an apprentice."
"I'll take you to meet my mentor after this, ok?" Alphapaw whispered to Dawnpaw. Falconstar leapt to a lower branch, allowing Waterstar to announce her clan's news.
"RiverClan has two new warriors, Timberclaw and Icepelt. We also have a new apprentice, Dawnpaw." The cats cheered on the names, Dawnpaw lifted her head proudly.
The leaders then began to gather up their clans. Dawnpaw, Emberpaw and Breezepaw followed Alphapaw to where Mapleleaf was standing. She introduced her new acquaintances to her mentor. Mapleleaf was a broad shouldered, dark tabby tom with green eyes. His eyes reminded Dawnpaw of Timberclaw's in every way. The ShadowClan medicine cat gazed at Dawnpaw fondly.
"Blackwing speaks highly of you, Dawnpaw." He said.
"She does?" Dawnpaw asked.
"Of course, you seem like a promising young cat. I've seen plenty of them."
Mapleleaf started off towards the other clan's medicine cats, leaving the apprentices to themselves. Emberpaw brought up an idea.
"Try to get here next gathering, everyone."
"Ok, let's promise to be friends." Breezepaw said cheerfully.
"I promise." Dawnpaw meowed. Then the four cats parted ways. But before Dawnpaw could move, Mapleleaf approached her again.
"Take care, Flight of Dawn." Suddenly, Dawnpaw was pushed into a memory of Blackwing saying the same words, her voice carrying an ancient and mystical air with her eyes shining like stars. Mapleleaf's voice carrying the same tone and his green eyes sparkled like emeralds in the moonlight.
"Don't forget what I said, Dawnpaw." Mapleleaf mewed and walked away with his clan.