"Foxfire," said a voice. The new medicine cat lifted his head. Sealwhisker! She stood right before him, her starry pelt glimmering. Joy coursed through the red cat's veins. His beloved had returned to him! But...

"Sealwhisker...why have you come?"

"To warn you. Foxfire, the chosen ones have come. One shall follow you. Beware the fox...that is not...a fox..." Her voice gradually faded, and so did she.

"No! Sealwhisker! Don't leave me..."

"Foxfire, what's the matter?" The cat's eyes flew open, and he saw Ravenkit staring curiously at him. "Erm...I have a stomachache from eating too much fresh-kill, so could you give me something for it?" mewed the black kit.

"Sure..." said the medicine cat, pulling out some watermint from a crevice. "Here you are." He rather liked the little kit, but from his enthusiasm at watching the warriors train, he probably didn't want to become a medicine cat apprentice.

"Thanks!" yowled Ravenkit, chewing and swallowing the perfumed leaves happily. "Oh, did you know that today's the day of Strawkit and Flarekit's apprentice ceremonies? I wish I could be an apprentice too, but I guess I can't...not old enough..."

"I'll come watch!" cried Foxfire excitedly. "It should be interesting."

"Flarekit and Strawkit are now six moons old, and ready to receive their apprentice names. Flarekit, from now on, until you have earned your warrior name, you shall be known as Flarepaw. Rosethorn, you are patient and steady. I ask you to mentor Flarepaw. You had a fine mentor in Flamewind, and I expect you to pass on these skills to Flarepaw." The deputy rose to her paws and touched her nose to Flarepaw's. The firey apprentice seemed calm, but her heart was pounding with excitement on the inside.

"Strawkit, from now on you shall be known as Strawpaw. It has been long since I took an apprentice, and I myself shall mentor you." Strawpaw ran excitedly up to Whitestar and touched noses with her. He would be mentored by the leader herself! What an honor!

The two newest apprentices leapt gracefully down from the Highrock, followed by their new mentors. Whitestar and Rosethorn beckoned to their new apprentices with their tails, and the two young cats followed.

"We are going to show you two the Clan boundaries."

"Sure!" mewed Flarepaw happily. She and Strawpaw exchanged excited glances.

"Now, this is the RiverClan border. RiverClan have sleek, shiny fur, and swim easily in the river. Their leader is the proud but kind Waterstar. He will not tolerate trespassers, but he doesn't mind mentors showing their apprentices the Clan boundaries." Flarepaw and Strawpaw glanced across the border. Pausing, Strawpaw opened his mouth and tried to smell out the individual cats. Whitestar chuckled.

"There is no need for that now, young Strawpaw. Simply remember their general scent." Strawpaw snapped his mouth shut, and the four cats continued on their way.

"Now, the WindClan borders. Cats of WindClan run swiftly and agilely over the hills of their territory. The leader of WindClan is the quick and fierce Falconstar. He does not really tolerate other cats...we'd better leave." As they walked on, Strawpaw found himself inching closer to Flarepaw, as if trying to protect her from any patrols that might be coming along. Why did he feel like this?

"Here is the ShadowClan border. It's said that a cold wind from the north blows over their hearts and makes them cold and hard. Clawingstar is their leader. There is a rumor that once, as the deputy, he killed a kit who was weak-strong enough to survive, but probably too weak to become a warrior. Others say he killed the former leader, Shadestar." Here, even Rosethorn was seen to shudder at those words. Whitestar gestured to a long, foul-smelling road.

"There is the Thunderpath. It forms much of the ShadowClan border, and deadly monsters roar along it..." Whitestar began.

"Let's leave, Whitestar. They have just been apprenticed. Technically speaking, we shouldn't even be showing them the borders yet." Rosethorn glanced at the two young cats. "I'm concerned for their safety."

"But at least they know," countered Whitestar. "They won't go and wander onto the Thunderpath like a stupid kit..."

"Oh, that makes it okay, then?" Rosethorn seemed angry and vicious, even flexing her sharp claws against the hard-packed earth. But Strawpaw recognized that they were only being playful, not really arguing-something he and Hobbes-Stripedfang had done so often-how many times now?

As they returned to camp, the two continued their friendly bickering. The two apprentices raised their eyebrows at each other. This had been going on for a pretty long time...even if it was just playful.

"Grownups," growled Strawpaw with a roll of his eyes. Flarepaw nodded in agreement.

When they reached camp, however, they found it in an uproar. "Ravenkit!" yowled Shadowpaw. "Ravenkit is gone!" Her eyes were wide with fear as she dove through the camp, desperately hunting down her lost kit. Whitestar's eyes widened with shock. She turned to the two frightened-looking apprentices.

"Strawpaw, Flarepaw, did Ravenkit say anything unusual to you two last night, or this morning?"

"No..." muttered Flarepaw, "not at all!"

"Yeah," agreed Strawpaw, "he just wished us luck with our new mentors."

"Wait!" cried Flarepaw. "He said something about showing that he could hunt, so he'd be made an apprentice earlier!"

"That means he left the camp!" yowled Shadowpaw in horror. "Oh, what to do, what to do?"

"First, Shadowpaw, calm down!" snapped Rosethorn. "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to get upset. Wrenkit needs you, so go back to the nursery and calm her. I will take care of finding Ravenkit myself, along with young Flarepaw here." She gestured to the apprentice with her tail, and Flarepaw followed obediently behind.

"Wait-" called Whitestar, but the pair was already out of earshot.

Quickly, the pair leapt over logs and splashed through rivers as they hunted for the lost kit. Just as they were giving up and thinking of returning, Flarepaw sniffed the air, her mouth wide open, and caught her younger brother's scent. It was faint and fading, but it was there.

"Rosethorn! I have a scent!" Upon hearing those words, the deputy spun around.

"Where?"

"That direction, towards the Thunderpath!" Rosethorn's jaw dropped and she raced off, followed closely by Flarepaw. If they were lucky, Ravenkit hadn't wandered onto it...

Go ahead, kill me for the cliffie. HA HA HA!

The end. Of my insanity, not the story, you silly person!