"Moonkit, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and train to protect this clan with your life?" Darkstar's deep, booming voice rang our across the clearing so loud Moonkit thought they could hear him over in Riverclan. She spotted a butterfly flutter past, but she stayed on the rock, paws rooted to the spot, not wanting every cat to think she was still a kit.
"Moonkit?" came Darkstar's voice again, quieter this time, bringing her attention back to the ceremony.
"Oh, yes," she stuttered.
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your apprentice name. Moonkit, from this moment on, you will be known as Moonpaw."
Was that an apologetic look on his face? She stared into his amber eyes, trying to read the expression showing in them, but he turned to look at the clan as they chanted her new name.
Moonpaw thought back to when she had watched Spiritpaw, Butterflypaw and Silverpaw's apprentice ceremony. She wasn't sure, but she thought she remembered the clan cheering slightly louder for them than her.
"Thornfur. Please step forward." Darkstar's voice rose above the chanting. Thornfur obediently stepped into the ring of cats.
"Thornfur, you are a strong and loyal cat, and I am placing my trust in you to pass these qualities onto this young apprentice." It felt strange, being referred to as an apprentice, rather than a kit. "You may leave."
Moonpaw bounded down the rock pile, trying to keep pace with Thornfur. She wondered why Darkstar chose him to be her mentor. Thornfur was a huge, bulky tom, with rippling muscles and a sleek, glossy pelt. He was almost undefeatable in battle, and he seemed to run as fast as the wind, whereas Moonpaw felt she was lacking in physical areas. She was a different kind of cat.
Then it hit her. Darkstar wanted her to develop the skills she would need to survive alone in the forest, and Thornfur possessed them.
If she needed to be trained by Thornfur, how worried was Darkstar about Moonpaw's future? Was it really that bad to be out there? All Moonpaw had known about hunting and fighting was, well, nothing. She had relied on Sundapple's milk and fetched food from the fresh-kill pile all her life, and had participated in no battles, not even a play-fight, as her littermates all died before they were even named.
Thornfur's call snapped Moonpaw back to reality. She hurried after him, through the entrance tunnel and out into the forest.
"This is the forest. The full extent of our home. Over there is the Shadowclan border, and there is Windclan." He pointed his tail first left, past a huge oak, then right. Trying to act as though this was her first time in the forest, she looked around, appearing curious, but really just looking for a safe hiding place.
She had a sneaking feeling she would need a really good one.