"At least try to look excited," Amberpelt scolded, grooming Silvershine's unkept fur. "C'mon, it's your first apprentice! You get to be a mentor! Isn't that great!?"
Silvershine said nothing, only let out a sigh.
"Silvershine, you're acting like a kit!" Amberpelt snapped. "Grow up! So you can't mentor Flavorkit, big deal! There's still time for me to tell Stormstar to change his pick. Then someone else can mentor Sunkit. Do you want that?"
Silvershine shook her head.
"Then act like it!" Amberpelt cuffed her ear.
Silvershine took a deep breath and sat up straight. She fought to keep her gloomy thoughts at bay, but despite her efforts, they crept back like dark clouds blocking the light of happiness from her heart.
Stormstar emerged from his den and ascended to the highrock. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highrock for a clan meeting." The summon was unnecessary as most of WindClan had already assembled.
Tigerstripe stood in front of the nursery with her three kits. Flavorkit bobbed up and down happily as her mother attempted to groom her messy golden fur. Patchkit clawed the ground anxiously.
Silvershine's gaze drifted over them and came to rest on Sunkit, who would soon be her apprentice. No clouds of depression could damper the excitement beginning to bubble inside her as she came to grips with the reality that she would soon be a mentor. Motion in the corner of her eye caused her to turn her head slightly. Flavorkit's constant fidgeting demanded attention, and it soon brought Silvershine's mood right back down again.
"It gives me great pleasure to promote these fine kits to apprentice-hood," Stormstar said. "Flavorkit, Patchkit, and Sunkit, come forward."
Flavorkit leapt forward and ran to the base of the Highrock and hopped in place. Patchkit was quick to follow, but attempted to look more dignified. Finally, Sunkit padded along behind them.
Stormstar bounded down from the highrock and stood in front of Flavorkit. "From this day forward, until she earns her warrior name, this apprentice shall be called Flavorpaw. Snowsoot,"
The white tabby she-cat stepped forward.
"You will mentor Flavorpaw," Stormstar went on, "you have a great sense of discipline and much experience to share with this apprentice. I know you'll teach her well."
Snowsoot bowed at the compliments then padded forward and stood behind Flavorpaw. "Ahem," she coughed.
Flavorpaw turned her head and looked at her new mentor, then spun around to face Stormstar again. She continued to look back and forth between the two cats for a good 10 heartbeats. "WHAT?!" she finally cried.
"Is there a problem?" Stormstar asked. Silvershine knew perfectly well that he knew what it was.
"Yea, there's a problem!" Flavorpaw exclaimed. "I'm not gonna listen to this meanie!"
Snowsoot half closed her eyes in annoyance, but said nothing.
"What about Silvershine!?" Flavorpaw asked. "I asked for Silvershine! I saw her go into your den yesterday! You asked her to mentor me, didn't you!?"
"That's none of your concern," Stormstar said.
"It is my concern!" Flavorpaw insisted. "It's about me! I want Silvershine as a mentor!"
"The leader's choice is final," Snowsoot hissed, "now behave!"
"No!" Flavorpaw insisted. "You're not my mommy! And you can't be my mentor! I won't listen to you!"
"Flavorpaw!" Stormstar growled.
"Make Silvershine my mentor right now!" Flavorpaw demanded, stomping in the dirt.
"Flavorpaw," Silvershine bounded forward from her place beside Cloudfrost. "Flavorpaw, stop." She stood at the Flavorpaw's side and brushed her tail down the young apprentice's back. "Calm down. Snowsoot is your mentor, you have to listen to her."
"B….but what about you?!" Flavorpaw looked up at Silvershine, tears welling in her eyes.
"I want to be your mentor too, believe me," Silvershine said, "but I can't. It's not what Stormstar decided, and we have to obey Stormstar. Now go touch noses with your mentor."
Flavorpaw looked over at Snowsoot, then bunched her hunches, leapt up, and collided, face-to-face, with Silvershine. "There, now you're my mentor!"
Silvershine staggered a bit, caught completely off-guard. "No," she said, regaining her composure. "Snowsoot is and that's final. Now do as she says, or you won't be able to go to the next Gathering."
"Wha!?" Flavorpaw's eyes widened. "N…no! I have to go! I have to go with you! We have to go together! Mentor and apprentice!"
"If you behave, we can still go together," Silvershine said, "but I will not be your mentor, got it? Now go on, or you'll be checking the elders for ticks while your littermates and I go have fun at the Gathering."
Flavorpaw tensed up and clawed at the ground. Finally, she took two long, leaping strides and faced Snowsoot, leaning forward to touch noses.
Snowsoot touched her nose to Flavorpaw's and then, nudging the apprentice with her tail, guided her back to sit among the other cats.
"Thank-you, Silvershine," Stormstar said with a nod.
"You're welcome," Silvershine sighed, watching them go. She rose to her paws and returned to her place.
"Now then," Stormstar stepped in front of Patchkit. "From this day forward, until he earns his warrior name, this apprentice shall be called Patchpaw. Cloudfrost."
The white tom beside Silvershine rose and stepped forward.
"You will mentor Patchpaw," Stormstar went on. "You are a strong and loyal warrior, and I know you will pass on all you know to him."
Cloudfrost and Patchpaw touched noses and returned to where Cloudfrost had sat before.
"And last but not least," Stormstar stood in front of Sunkit, "from this day forward, until he earns his warrior name, this apprentice shall be called Sunpaw. Silvershine."
Silvershine got up and stood beside Sunpaw.
"Although you are young and not Clanborn," Stormstar began, and Silvershine winced at the mention of her heritage, "you have proven yourself to be a greatly valued addition to our Clan, and I'm proud to have you mentor Sunpaw. You have persevered through difficulties that would have cause lesser warriors to quit, and you have learned and followed the Warrior Code as well as what some would call a 'true' WindClan warrior. As far as I can see, you are as true as they come, and I know you will teach Sunpaw to be the best he can be."
Silvershine felt a mixture of pride and embarrassment due to all the praise, but with a quick shake of her head, she was over it and she bent down to touch noses with Sunpaw.
"Congratulations," Canyonleaf bounded up to Silvershine's side as the other cats dispersed. "You got what you wanted!"
"Yea…" Silvershine sighed.
"Well, I mean you're a mentor," Canyonleaf said. "And you handled Flavorpaw so well! Better than mean old Snowsoot. Honestly, those two couldn't have been a worse match! What was Stormstar thinking?"
"Snowsoot knows kits," Silvershine admitted, "she knows discipline I guess. He said Flavorpaw needed discipline."
"Well she did a great job showing her knowledge!" Canyonleaf joked. "You would have been such a better choice!"
"Well, the word of the leader is final," Silvershine almost muttered. She definitely shared Flavorpaw's outrage, but at least she knew when to keep quiet.
"Um…" Sunpaw churned the ground nervously with his paws, not looking up.
"Oh, right," Silvershine said. "Let's go, you get to go outside of camp for the first time! I'll talk to you later, alright, Canyonleaf?"
"Alright," Canyonleaf agreed and bounded away.
"Well, c'mon!" Silvershine took off running towards the camp exit. Sunpaw bounded behind her. The two stopped at the rim of the ditch that housed the camp.
A chilly wind swept over the moor and ruffled their fur. Silvershine stood tall, but Sunpaw shivered.
"You'll get used to it," Silvershine coaxed. "Now then, this is WindClan territory. From those trees waaaay over there," she pointed with her tail to ThunderClan territory, "to the twolegplace down there."
"What's over in those trees?" Sunpaw asked.
"That's beyond our borders," Silvershine said, "you must never go there, Sunpaw. That's ThunderClan's territory."
Sunpaw nodded obediently.
"Across the lake there is ShadowClan, and over by twolegplace is RiverClan's territory," Silvershine explained.
"And I can't go there either," Sunpaw said.
"Right," Silvershine said. "Well, let's not stand around here, there's lots to see, and so little time." She bounded down to the moor with Sunkit close behind.
They ran up and over a hill then stopped. The scent hit Silvershine before she actually saw them. Down below was the training hollow, and looking over the edge of it was Snowsoot and Flavorpaw. Flavorpaw's tail dragged the ground and her head hung. Snowsoot seemed to be explaining something, but the apprentice wasn't listening. Just then, her nose twitched and the golden she-cat turned. Her sparkling blue eyes met Silvershine's and the two stood there, saying nothing. Nothing needed to be said, both understood the other perfectly; their feelings were one.
"Flavorpaw, are you listening?" Snowsoot asked.
"Huh?!" Flavorpaw turned to look at her mentor. "Um, yea!"
"Then where are we?" Snowsoot asked.
"Um…." Flavorpaw looked around a bit. "Standing over a ditch?"
Snowsoot let out an annoying sigh. The fact that she didn't look up at them made Silvershine wary. Had the senior warrior seen them? Did she know they were there and was specifically avoiding them?
"W…we'll come back here," Silvershine said. "Let's go to the ThunderClan border, O.K.?"
Sunpaw nodded, but didn't look up as he padded silently beside her.
Before they left, Silvershine stole one more glace back at Flavorpaw. Flavorpaw was looking at her again and the two locked eyes for a few heartbeats in a silent goodbye.