Oriolekit blunk open her eyes. As the last of her dreams faded into fuzzy nothingness, she thought for a moment that she could see the shape of a dark, sleek tom standing over her, but the vision blinked out and in its place Oriolekit saw her mother.
"Good morning," Darkgaze whispered. Oriolekit could just make out her outline, smudged into vagueness by the warm dimness of the nursery. She had a paw raised where she'd been grooming herself. "Are you ready to get up?" she asked.
Oriolekit stood up and stretched, kneading her paws into the soft moss that made up her and her mother's nest. "Yes," she chirped as quietly as she could. "I want to go see Astertail, and I want to eat rabbit!"
Darkgaze's face tilted into a puzzled look as Oriolekit tried to bound by her. Darkgaze lifted her paw again to halt her movement and Oriolekit fell onto her haunches with a tiny "oof!"
"Now hold on," Darkgaze whispered. She was about to say more, when movement caught Oriolekit's eye and she turned to see Fawntail and her kits waking up. She immediately turned and ran over to them, pouncing on the moss in between Honeykit and Crowkit.
"Hi!" Oriolekit squeaked. She heard Fawntail purr gently. Crowkit yawned in her face.
"Hi," Honeykit mewed sleepily, his fur sleep-ruffled. "S'all the fuss?"
"It's morning! I think," Oriolekit mewed. It was impossible to tell without looking out the den at one of the small holes in the roof of the cave, but if everyone was waking up, that was a good sign.
"More sleep," Crowkit muttered, lying back down against her mother.
Fawntail's purr grew louder. "Oh, are you certain you want to sleep more?" she mewed. "Don't you remember what's happening today?"
Crowkit's ear flicked, and then she sat up. Oriolekit batted at her twitching tail as Crowkit mewed, "You're right!" Her sleepiness faded and she tugged her tail out of Oriolekit's reach.
"We're apprentices today!" Honeykit mewed, excitement growing in his voice. Oriolekit pushed down a wave of disappointment. She'd be all alone in the nursery until Briarflower, who looked like she was due any day, gave birth to her litter.
"That's right," Fawntail mewed. "Now come here." She caught Crowkit in her front paws and trapped her, rasping her tongue over her daughter's head to flatten her fur. Crowkit made a noise of distress, but didn't wiggle too much.
"When'll it happen?" Honeykit asked. "Now?"
"I'd think soon after we go to the antechamber," Fawntail mewed, pausing in her grooming. "But that's not until you're both presentable."
The antechamber! Oriolekit wiggled as she remembered. "Darkgaze! Let's go see Astertail!"
"Remember she had dawn patrol today!" Darkgaze mewed, but Oriolekit was already edging around the groggy Briarflower and then hopping out of the small cave that made up the nursery and bounding down the tunnel. Down further, the opposite way to the main chamber, was Batstar's den. Up ahead was the cave that made up Cactusleaf, the medicine cat's den. Oriolekit could hear her inside as she padded past, with Darkgaze right behind her.
"She should be back by now," Oriolekit tossed over her shoulder, confident. She didn't stop until the tunnel ended and opened up into the big antechamber of the cave system. She looked around, stretching herself onto her toes, searching for the pale outline of her other mother. She wasn't there. Disappointment pushed Oriolekit down flat on her paws. Darkgaze licked the top of her head.
"She'll be here soon," her mother assured her, and she was right; as soon as the words were out of her muzzle, a patrol appeared at the mouth of the cave, highlighted and obscured by the light shining behind them. One of them carried something large, blurring their shape further.
Oriolekit bounded forward and around the Turtle Steps pool. "Astertail!" she squealed, ducking under paws to get to her faster.
The bundle Astertail was carrying dropped to the cave floor with a thump as Astertail mewed, "Little bird!" She leaned down to lick Oriolekit over her head, much to her displeasure. Astertail looked up, purring, to touch her nose to Darkgaze's. "Hello," she said, warmth in her voice.
Darkgaze's mew echoed the warmth. "How was your patrol?"
"Uneventful, but I brought you something," Astertail mewed, and she nudged the thing she'd dropped.
"Is that a rabbit?" Darkgaze mewed, leaning to sniff it. "What a coincidence. Oriolekit woke up wanting rabbit."
"Then it's a good thing I caught it." Astertail picked it back up, and together she and her family moved out of the exit tunnel and sat against a wall. When she was settled, she set down the rabbit and tore it open for Oriolekit, who immediately bit off a piece.
"What do you think?" Darkgaze asked, pressed up against Astertail's side.
Oriolekit took a moment to get the bite down before she answered. "It's…" she considered, head tilted. "It's weird. But I like it!"
"Good," Astertail mewed, and she might have said more, but at that moment Fawntail and her kits appeared out of the tunnel that led to the nursery. Crowkit and Honeykit looked sleek and clean, if not a little annoyed. They headed over to Oriolekit and her mothers.
"Hey!" Crowkit mewed. "How- Oh, is that a rabbit?"
"Would you like some?" Astertail mewed. "I caught it while out on patrol, and Volepelt said I should share it."
"Yes, please," Crowkit mewed, but Honeykit declined.
"I'm so nervous," he confessed. "I couldn't eat a bite!"
"You should anyway," Fawntail mewed, behind them. "I expect your mentors will take you out immediately, and you don't want to be hungry while out."
"Do you know who our mentors will be?" Crowkit asked hopefully, moving back to let her brother eat a bit of the rabbit.
"Don't you want it to be a surprise?" Fawntail mewed, and though her kits begged, she didn't tell them.
Oriolekit snuggled into the space between her mothers. Crowkit and Honeykit would be fine; Larchpelt and Sedgestripe were both great, nice warriors. They'd make great mentors!
"When do I get to be an apprentice?" Oriolekit complained.
"You still have a few moons, little bird," Astertail mewed, amused. "But that'll come sooner than expected, don't worry." Oriolekit pouted. So far, the only part of the territory she'd seen was the dirtplace, and that didn't even have a good view!
She was stopped from complaining by a sudden hush over the cats in the chamber. Batstar stood in front of a tunnel Oriolekit had never been allowed to go through. Her ears twitched as she caught Fawntail frantically murmuring last-moment instructions to her kits.
"Follow me for the ceremony," Batstar mewed. His voice was grave. He beckoned to Crowkit and Honeykit, who immediately scampered around the Turtle Steps pond, followed closely by their mother. When they reached Batstar, he turned and disappeared into the tunnel.
Astertail leaned down to talk to Oriolekit. "The tunnel will be very dark," she mewed. "Follow us closely- One of us will keep their tail on you the entire time, alright? You must be very, very quiet, Oriolekit. This is important. Don't say anything at all until we get back here, okay?"
"Okay," Oriolekit mewed obediently. She'd heard about the ceremonies, but she'd never been old enough to go to one until now. They were very important.
Astertail and Darkgaze followed their clanmates as they funneled into the tunnel after Batstar and the others. True to their word, they kept their tails on Oriolekit at all times so she wouldn't fall behind.
The tunnel was no darker than the other she'd been in at first. But it gradually grew darker and darker until she couldn't see anything at all. She felt, with her whiskers and hearing, the echoes of their pawsteps in the tunnel, and knew, suddenly, when the tunnel ended and opened into a cavern. She couldn't tell how big it was, but it was obviously at least as big as the antechamber, to fit almost the whole Clan inside. The air inside the cave was almost heavy. It pressed in on her, and her breaths sounded louder than normal; she focused on that, keeping herself quiet.
She stopped when her mothers did, and wondered what was happening, though she didn't voice any questions. She was supposed to be very quiet, after all. She heard only the gentle pawsteps of her clanmates as they spread out, and then nothing. The silence stretched and pressed in on her ears, and then Batstar spoke.
"Your Clan's hearts beat with your own," he said. His voice was soft and breathy, but it carried easily through the still, heavy air. "Listen," he whispered, "Hear your Clan in you," and there was silence once more.
Oriolekit listened, though she knew the words were for Honeykit and Crowkit. A soft, even thrumming pulsed through the cave. Oriolekit pressed against one of her mothers, and felt their heartbeats match.
"Your name," Batstar breathed, cutting the silence once more. "Crowpaw. Your mentor. Larchpelt." A sudden whisper broke the silence. The sound came from everywhere at once. "Crowpaw," the whisper hissed. It was spoken only once, and then silence reigned again. A long, stretching moment passed, and then Batstar spoke again. "Your name. Honeypaw. Your mentor. Sedgestripe."
Again the whisper, buzzing through the air only once. "Honeypaw," Caveclan hissed. Moments passed, stretching so that the only thing Oriolekit heard was the thrum of Caveclan's heartbeats in the air.
Then, movement. Together, as one, Caveclan moved towards the exit. Astertail and Darkgaze swept Oriolekit up with them and back into the tunnel, and she stumbled through, awed, back into the antechamber.
She blinked rapidly in the sudden light, dim as it was. Darkgaze and Astertail seemed just as awed; their eyes were sparkling brightly. Oriolekit remembered the sound of their voice in the last whispers. Would she get the timing down to do that too, someday?
"That was so cool," Oriolekit whispered, sitting heavily on her haunches, out of the way. Crowpaw and Honeypaw seemed to echo the sentiment; their eyes were just as wide and sparkling. Larchpelt and Sedgestripe stood near them, next to their designated apprentice.
"I'm so proud of you two," Oriolekit heard Fawntail mew, when a little of the mystification that still held the Clan had faded. "Mind your mentors, okay?"
"We will," Crowpaw and Honeypaw chorused, their voices carrying a breathy quality. And of course they would! Oriolekit knew that.
"Let's go," Larchpelt mewed to his apprentice, and Sedgestripe beckoned to theirs.
"Good luck!" Oriolekit called after her two ex-denmates. They waved their tails at her as they started down the tunnel to Caveclan territory. "Teach me a battle move when you get back!" she added, hoping they could hear her. Oriolekit pouted for a moment after they left. "Do you think they will?" she asked her parents.
"They might be very tired when they get back," Darkgaze mewed gently. "They'll be learning a lot and won't have much time to play."
Oriolekit sighed, disappointed. "Even if Briarflower has her kits soon it'll be ages before we can play together," she muttered.
"Then it's a good thing you have us," Astertail said, amused. "How about Hop?" she suggested, meaning the game Oriolekit had played with Honeypaw and Crowpaw, where they jumped across the Turtle Steps.
"Yes!" Oriolekit mewed, squeezing out between her parents.
"Don't splash too much!" Darkgaze called after her. She took a moment to give her mate a nuzzle and a lick, and then let them go play, planning to finish off what was left of the rabbit.
The Turtle Steps Pond was useful in many ways. It served as a source of water in the dry moons, or when cats couldn't move too far from the caves, and kits learned to swim early on in it, just in case. In addition to that, it was also a source of amusement for Oriolekit.
She crouched, haunches in the air, and wiggled, eyes trained on a rock just a couple of pawsteps out into the water. She paused, considered, and then leapt forward, landing perfectly on the rock. Astertail mewed an encouragement and then jumped herself, bypassing Oriolekit and landing on a rock one ahead of her.
Oriolekit gasped in mock outrage and leapt again, trying for a rock further away than the one she'd jumped to first. And so it went, her and Astertail taking turns jumping from rock to rock. Sometimes Oriolekit would overestimate her abilities and land in the water, but it didn't matter. She'd haul herself back up on one of the Turtle Steps and shake herself off, then wait to jump again. A couple of times, Astertail splashed her and eventually Hop devolved into Splash.
They kept it controlled to avoid splashing any bystanders. Eventually Darkgaze intervened; Oriolekit was flagging, her eyes blinking. "It's time for a nap," her mother said gently, helping her out of the pool. Oriolekit protested, but her sleepiness was apparent.
"We'll play more later, little bird," Astertail promised, helping her mate dry Oriolekit off, and then Darkgaze was leading her back to the nursery.
Oriolekit fell asleep to the warm, rhythmic rasping of her mother's tongue.
