A/N: And so it begins…

Chapter One

"Sparrowkit," a voice meowed in her ear, making it twitch as she turned away with a sleepy grumble, covering her nose with a paw. "Come on, Sparrowkit! Wake up!" Paws shoved at her shoulder and, with an irritated hiss, the napping Sparrowkit woke, swatting at the irritating tom that had been trying to get her attention. Gray eyes narrowed and still blurry from sleep, she rolled to her feet, her brown tabby coat blending with the shadows of the Nursery Den. Looking completely unbothered by her ire, her brother lifted his whiskers, blue eyes gleaming with amusement and excitement, the sun from the den opening making his golden coat shine brightly and shadowing his white chest blaze and white front paws.

"Sunkit," Sparrowkit groused, ears pinning back and to the sides a bit in consternation; the tom only chuckled at his sister's irritation.

"Come on, lazybones! Today's the day we become Apprentices!" He exclaimed, tail flicking excitedly as Sparrowkit finally released her ire and huffed in exasperation at her excitable brother, but she couldn't deny that his happiness was a relief to see. After their mother, Daisyheart, had finally succumbed to the weakness that had plagued her since their birth, Sunkit had been a shadow of himself. Sparrowkit had never been one for playing and running around being excited about nearly everything, but Sunkit had been, and to see him preferring to curl into a ball in their mother's nest rather than play in the Green-Leaf sunshine had been a grief of its own. Now, though, it was as if he'd never changed and, though her nap had been interrupted, Sparrowkit was glad to see it.

"Yes, mouse-brain," she sighed, ears straightening slightly as her brother squawked at her teasing. "I know what today is, don't worry." Whiskers lifting, she stretched and yawned, claws poking briefly out of her white paws, before she stood straight, tail flicking as she moved past her brother and out of the den, Sunkit quickly following.

Sparrowkit squinted her eyes against the sunlight, glancing up at the mostly-clear sky and seeing that it was almost sun-high, and that she had slept later than she had meant to. Shaking out her fur and stretching again, she yawned, before meandering after Sunkit as the gold-furred tom pranced towards the fresh kill stone, a relatively large, flat stone that rested against one of the three stumps. The small tom eagerly grabbed himself a field mouse and hopped back off the stone, turning and immediately digging into his meal. Sparrowkit huffed in amusement at him, and hopped up onto the stone to pick her own meal from what lay there.

"Finally awake, then, kit?" an amused mew asked; Sparrowkit looked up and found herself meeting the amused gold eyes of a calico queen with an all-black tail.

"Yes, Blacktail," Sparrowkit replied immediately, sheepishly. "How has your morning been?" she asked the female Warrior, earning a few mrts of amusement.

"Well enough, kit," Blacktail replied fondly, reaching into the fresh kill and hooking needle-sharp claws into a robin. "There are more Rogues about than usual, however, which is mildly concerning," the Warrior informed the kit, before glancing toward the Tallstump, where WhisperStar sat to speak with the Clan. "I shall see you and your brother soon, and maybe I'll be chosen as your mentor, hmm?" She lifted her whiskers and brushed her tail against Sparrowkit's shoulder affectionately, making the young brown tabby purr in agreement, before the Warrior scooped up her robin and leaped down from the stone, moving towards the Warriors den on the far side of the camp.

"Hurry up, Sparrowkit!" Sunkit mewed impatiently, and the she-cat huffed, glancing over the fresh kill before grabbing herself a small vole and joining her brother on the ground. Settling down next to him, she began to eat, ignoring Sunkit as the tom cleaned first himself, and then started on his sister.

"Hey there, you two!" a bright, happy voice meowed; Sunkit and Sparrowkit looked up at the same time, and purred in greeting to the young she-cat who had spoken, her green eyes bright and her gray coat thick and fluffy.

"Hello, Grasspaw," they greeted the apprentice warmly. Grasspaw had been helping them out since she become an apprentice one moon before, teaching them a few small tricks she had learned from her mentor, Robinheart, who was a pretty tabby queen with sky-blue eyes. Not major things, like fighting moves or anything of that sort, but things like how to walk on the pads of their paws to be silent, or make themselves small so that they could hide easier from prey and enemies alike. Simple things that kits could learn to better protect themselves on the chance of an attack.

"See you at sun-high!" The gray apprentice mewed, snatching up a thrush to take to the Nursery for either a hungry mother or one of the other, younger kits. Sunkit sighed longingly as she left, watching her go with half-lidded, slightly glazed eyes, making Sparrowkit roll her eyes.

"Come on, mouse-brain," she ordered, jabbing her brother in the side with a paw as she got to her feet, licking what remained of her meal from her whiskers as she did. "Moon over Grasspaw later. We should head for the Tallstump." Sunkit complained momentarily, but followed her quickly enough, soon taking the lead with his cheerful prancing while Sparrowkit sauntered behind him with an amused look in her gray eyes.

They made it in front of the Tallstump just in time for WhisperStar to leap up onto it. He gave a loud, croaking yowl, gaining immediate attention for the cats in the camp.

"Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Tallstump for a Clan Meeting," he declared, voice gravelly and harsh-sounding, breaking in random places. A white queen with red paws and a thick red plume of a tail with a white-tip, leaped up onto the smaller stump beside the Tallstump, her green-gold eyes narrow and sharp as she looked over the crowd of cats.

"Deputy Foxtail looks more irritated than usual," Sunkit murmured to his sister, and Sparrowkit could only nod.

"Ah, there you two are," a deep voice meowed behind them; the two kits looked over their shoulders to find a massive tom cat, his dark gray tabby coat tattered from the battle scars that poked through, and his front right fang broken. His yellow eyes where half-lidded, and his ears alert.

"Stonefang," the kits greeted in unison, bobbing their heads respectfully to the senior Warrior, who lifted his whiskers slightly in faint amusement.

"I had wondered if I would be forced to hunt you down for your own Naming Ceremony," the large tabby purred, before turning his yellow eyes to the Tallstump. Sparrowkit and Sunkit shared a look, before turning their attention back to their Leader as well. WhisperStar waited for the gathered cats to settle, before he spoke again.

"Today, we will be gaining two new apprentices," he called out, Foxtail setting her narrowed green-gold eyes on the two kits, her namesake tail flicking in obvious distaste, which Sparrowkit ignored with practiced ease as the Deputy had hated their mother for some reason, and that hatred had been passed on to her and her brother with Daisyheart's death. "May they grow into strong, brave Warriors, and may their mentors and StarClan guard them and guide their pawsteps." Caterwauls and yowls of approval rose from the waiting cats, quieting only when WhisperStar flicked his tail forward and down, over the lip of the Tallstump. He waited until they were all silent once more before he spoke again.

"Bring the two kits forward," he ordered, and Stonefang nudged them, making Sunkit stumble slightly besides Sparrowkit as she led the way through the crowd, leaping onto the shortest of the three stumps, on the opposite side of WhisperStar than Foxtail, Sunkit settling to sit beside her as the two of them looked out on their Clanmates. A shiver of excitement had her ears twitching and her claws digging lightly into the wood beneath her paws, but otherwise she was still.

"These two shall begin on their path to becoming Warriors this day," WhisperStar called out. "So, with the blessing of StarClan, I name them Sparrowpaw and Sunpaw!" Again, a cacophony of noise rose from the gathered cats, and Sparrowpaw found herself lifting her head in pride, purring as her brother wriggled in his spot. WhisperStar let the Clan cheer for a while, before he called for silence once more with the sharp movement of his tail. As they settled, he lifted his whiskers, gold eyes warm with pride.

"I shall now name their mentors," he called out, and Sparrowpaw took note of which cats straightened and which shrunk down, hoping she got a mentor who wouldn't be unhappy with her as an apprentice, or too harsh.

"Stonefang," he called; ears twitching sharply in surprise, the large gray tabby stepped forward. "You have guided and taught many apprentices, and they have all gone on to be Warriors MeadowClan can be proud of. I know I can trust in you to do so again, with Sunpaw as your apprentice." The Warrior nodded his head, and turned assessing, half-lidded eyes on the golden tom, who obligingly leaped down to greet his mentor, the two of them touching noses. Once Sunpaw had settled, sitting next to his massive mentor, WhisperStar nodded.

"Palestripe," he called; a relatively young tom stepped through the crowd, gold eyes bright and chin lifted proudly. His coat was pale yellow, with stripes that were just a hint darker, more orange than yellow, and a white blaze on his forehead. "You have proved yourself a loyal and strong Warrior these past eight moons," WhisperStar informed the tom seriously. "You have worked hard in everything you do. I trust you shall teach Sparrowpaw such determination and responsibility, as her mentor." Palestripe nodded his head respectfully.

"It would be my honor, WhisperStar," he replied, and Sparrowpaw wasted no time in leaping down from her perch, walking forward and touching noses with her mentor, pleased with his welcoming purr. As she took her seat next to him, WhisperStar looked over the gathered cats and nodded with approval.

"May StarClan watch over and guide us," he said seriously, and dismissed the Clan with a nod. Sparrowpaw immediately looked up at her mentor, ears perked curiously, and he tapped her on the head with his tail, purring.

"Come on, Sparrowpaw," he said gently. "Lets get you situated in the Apprentice Den, and then we'll start your training, alright?" Nodding her agreement, Sparrowpaw walked calmly behind Palestripe as he led her to the mentioned den. It had a wider opening than the Nursery, she absently noted as she slipped through, Palestripe waiting outside patiently for her to work out her own nest. Pupils widening in the darkened den, she peered around, taking in the floor, covered in a thin layer of dead grass, and the old and new nests of thicker patches of grass that left the ground around them bare.

With a thoughtful noise, she slipped through the den, nimbly avoiding nests, until she reached the very back, pleased to find it unoccupied. With a purr, she immediately began pushing the grass around her into a decent pile, climbing onto it and rolling in it, not only to mark it with her scent, but to also spread it in a specific way. Once satisfied, she rose, shook her fur out, and made her way quickly back out into the sunshine, ignoring Palestripe's amused look at her no-doubt dusty and proud appearance. Shaking that dust from her fur once more, she turned her gray eyes up to meet her mentor's, who purred warmly.

"Come on, Sparrowpaw," he said, standing and moving towards the tall grass that surrounded the camp. "Let's get started before it gets too late in the day, shall we?" Eyes lightening in excitement, pupils shrinking slightly, Sparrowpaw leaped after him, and the two slipped easily though the tall grass and moved deeper into the MeadowClan territory.

A/N: Short, yes, but it's just beginning. I ACTUALLY HAVE A PLOT MOSTLY WRITTEN OUT FOR THIS FIC GUYS!

8D

YAY~!

Review, please!