I woke up startled. I had felt so big in my dream, and now I was a tiny kit again. But I would begin my training soon! And I had one of the greatest Windclan leaders as my mentor! I scurried out of my nest and out into camp. It was just past sunrise and Pebbleclaw, Littlepaw, Cloudstorm, and Maplewhisker were leaving for the dawn patrol. That's when an idea came to me. If I snuck out of camp and caught some prey, Goosestar would have to make me an apprentice! And it was early enough that no cat would notice me leave.
I hid behind the brambles of the nursery as the patrol left camp and then I crawled over to the medicine cat den. I peered inside, and Sweetflower and Birdsong were curled up asleep in their nests. I crept inside the den, making sure not to step on them. I was almost at the crack in the rocks in the back of the den when I stepped on a pile of leaves. They crinkled beneath my paws and I immediately backed away. Sweetflower twitched in her sleep, but neither cats woke up. I let out a sigh of relief and slipped out of the secret exit at the back of the den.
The grass was covered in an early morning dew, and my paws were soon soaking wet as I explored the moor. Then suddenly the grass began to rustle and a mouse crept out of its hole. I flattened myself to the ground, making sure not to be seen. Then I crept forward, and pounced. The mouse landed right beneath my paws and I naturally bit it on the neck, killing it.
My eyes shone with pride as I buried my prey. I continued looking around when I saw a rabbit bigger then me dashing away. I instinctively dashed after it, and I was actually very fast. The world blurred around me as I slowly gained on the rabbit. Then suddenly the rabbit dove into its hole and disappeared. I slowed to a stop and observed my surroundings. I was in a marshy area, and all these tall grasses, reeds, and ferns surrounded me. The place smelled oddly fishy, and I could only see the moor far in the distance. I suddenly realized how tired I was from the run, and that I may not have enough energy to walk back.
I sighed and sat down on the marshy ground. Maybe the clan would come and look for me, wherever I was.
"Hey look," a cat hissed," What's that black thing up ahead?"
I perked my ears, knowing I was most likely the black thing.
"I don't know, lets check it out," another voice said.
Two apprentices then came out of the reeds nearby. One was a pretty white she-cat with black spotted fur and blue eyes. The other was a very striped gray tabby tom with a large, black stripe over one of his yellow eyes.
"It's a kit!" the she-cat exclaimed.
"Blech! And it stinks of Windclan!" the tom said as he wrinkled up his nose.
"I don't stink!" I yelped as I pounced to my feet.
"Archpaw, we should probably bring him back to camp. The poor guy looks all tuckered out," the she-cat said.
"Aw Bramblepaw why don't we just chase him out right now! We can get it over with and continue our assessment," Archpaw said as he began flexing his claws.
I immediately began trembling.
"Come on little guy, we'll take you to Riverclan camp so you can get some rest and fresh-kill," Bramblepaw said as she lifted me up by the scruff.
I didn't protest or fidget. But as we started to walk I decided to introduce myself.
"I'm Lightningkit," I said.
"What a strong name," Bramblepaw said, her voice muffled through my fur.
Archpaw snorted.
"And I'm sorry I got on your territory. I snuck out of camp to catch some prey and I began chasing a rabbit. And it ran all the way here and I was too tired and lost to get back to my camp," I explained.
Bramblepaw nodded, and Archpaw looked away.
"Are you guys littermates?" I asked.
"Yup. We also have another sister, Robinpaw, but she was told to go hunt somewhere else for the assessment," Bramblepaw said.
"You were doing your final warriors assessment?" I asked, my eyes sparkling.
"No of course not. We've only been training for a few moons or so. This isn't a big assessment or anything," Bramblepaw said.
Then I began to hear the roar of the river, and Bramblepaw jumped on the stepping stones to get to the Riverclan camp. Archpaw followed her. Then we entered the camp. Most of the cats here were gray or brown, but I spotted a few white or tortoiseshell ones. I was brought straight to a silvery gray she-cat with dazzling blue eyes who was grooming herself below a giant, cragged rock.
"Moonstar, we found a Windclan cat far on our side of the border," Archpaw announced. He sounded as proud as if he had chased a whole patrol of Windclan cats off Riverclan territory.
Bramblepaw set me on the ground and I looked up at Moonstar. I'd never thought I'd get to meet Riverclan's leader like this.
"What is your name little one?" Moonstar asked.
"I'm Lightningkit," I said as I puffed out my chest and stood on the tips of my paws. Maybe she would let me go, if I looked tough.
Moonstar let out a mrrow of laughter and said," You're just like Reedwhisker."
"Who's Reedwhisker?" I asked.
"Reedwhisker is my son, and you remind me a lot of him," Moonstar said. Her purr as graceful as the gurgle of the river in the background.
Then a brown tabby she-kit and a tabby and white she-kit came scampering over. "Fallowkit and Swiftkit please go away," Moonstar growled.
"But we wanna see who the new kit is!" Fallowkit mewed.
A pale tabby queen came up, apologized, and then dragged her two kits away. Fallowkit and Swiftkit tried to protest, but the queen was stubborn.
Then a reddish-ginger she-cat with white paws and chest entered the camp with three warriors with her.
"There's Robinpaw," Archpaw said.
"And her mentor Eagleclaw, my mentor Stonepelt, and Archpaw's mentor Jaggedtooth," Bramblepaw said.
Stonepelt was a gray tom, Eagleclaw was a golden tabby tom, and Jaggedtooth was a large, ferocious-looking mottled brown tom. Robinpaw spotted me and came scampering over. The warriors followed her.
"Aw! Look how cute you are!" she wooed over me.
"I'm not cute! I'm mean and dangerous!" I snapped, as my eyes glowed with playfulness.
"No you're not! Riverclan could beat you any day!" Robinpaw said, her eyes glowing with playfulness too.
I leaped at her and she toppled over and we play-fought for a few seconds until Jaggedtooth began growling.
"How dare you play with a cat from an enemy clan!" he snarled.
"But Jaggedtooth, he's just a kit. And he's so cute. And since he's so little he has not been informed of major clan rivalries yet," Robinpaw protested.
"That may be true but you know better!" he snapped, angered that Robinpaw had defeated him.
"Stop both of you!" Moonstar ordered," I would like for Stonepelt, Robinpaw, and Eagleclaw to escort him back to camp or to the nearest Windclan patrol."
I looked up at Bramblepaw as the others turned to leave.
"Now don't stray onto our territory again, okay? I'm sure Moonstar won't take it as easy on you next time," Bramblepaw said as we touched noses.
Archpaw flicked his tail in farewell and then I ran over to walk next to Robinpaw.
We exited camp and began walking through the reeds and ferns again.
"So how old are you?" Robinpaw asked.
"I'm almost 6 moons old!" I exclaimed.
Robinpaw purred.
It was silent as we got onto the moor.
"Wait! I caught a mouse while I snuck out of camp. Can we go collect it?" I asked.
"Show the way," Eagleclaw nodded.
I pounced up to the lead and headed towards camp. Soon we were just outside the medicine cat den and I dug up the mouse. I was surprised, it was already past sunhigh.
I walked around to the entrance of the camp and we entered through the gorse bush.
"RIVERCLAN'S ATTACKING!" Blossomkit screeched as she and Turtlekit went hurtling towards the nursery.
Quailfeather, Windpaw, Brackenclaw, Cloudstorm, Mumblefoot, and Sparrowtail burst out of their dens, their fur bristling, claws unsheathed, and lips drawn up in a snarl.
"We come in peace," Stonepelt said calmly.
I knew if Jaggedtooth had came, he would have started a battle himself.
"Then why are you here?" Cloudstorm spat.
"We bring you a Windclan kit that strayed onto our territory," Eagleclaw said as he shoved me forward.
Rosefur squeezed herself out of the nursery and immediately began licking me and making sure I was okay.
"Rosefur! Stop! I'm fine!" I moaned.
Quailfeather stepped over to the two Riverclan warriors and dipped her head in thanks.
"Thank you for bringing back Lightningkit unharmed. We will make sure to tell Goosestar to shower you in gratitude," Quailfeather said.
"Just make sure it doesn't happen again please," Eagleclaw said.
He seemed to be choking on the Windclan scent.
"Of course. And if you do run into any patrols on our territory just say that you were returning Lightningkit back to camp," Quailfeather said.
The two warriors nodded and then turned to leave. Robinpaw ran up to me and we touched noses.
"Farewell little one. I hope I will get to see you again soon," she said before exiting camp with the others.
I purred and the moment they left all the clanmates hurried around me. They asked questions and licked and inspected me until Quailfeather stopped them with a yowl. Everyone turned to look at her.
"We must bring the search party patrols back here. Cloudstorm and Mumblefoot go and bring them back here. And hurry. I have a gut feeling this is some sort of Riverclan trick and they're going to come back and attack us," Quailfeather ordered.
Cloudstorm and Mumblefoot raced out of camp to go and collect the others.
"It's a shame Birdsong and Sweetflower decided to go look for you. But then again you could have been attacked by a fox or something and needed immediate medical attention," Sparrowtail said, his eyes glowing with what seemed like sorrow and loss.
I was wondering what Sparrowtail was thinking when Blossomkit mewed," What's this mouse doing here?" I ran over and picked it up and laid it on the fresh-kill pile.
"I caught it before I got lost on Riverclan territory," I said proudly.
Thrushkit came running out of the nursery and she stood beside me. Mews of congratulations rippled among the few clanmates and they padded away. The first patrol had returned which contained Lilyfoot, Goosestar, Birdsong, and Flamepelt. Lilyfoot and Goosestar showered me with love and affection and worry. Birdsong checked me for any wounds, but all I had was a little scratch on my flank from where a reed had cut me. Birdsong put a marigold poultice on it and then said otherwise I was fine. Her pale green eyes flooded with relief as she walked away.
Soon the second patrol returned which was Pebbleclaw, Littlepaw, Maplewhisker, and Ravenclaw. And then lastly, Sweetflower, Breezefur, Adderpaw, Darkpelt, and Dawnpaw returned. They all nuzzled and licked me, glad that I was safe. After awhile, all the cats retreated to their dens, and Pebbleclaw, Littlepaw, Brackenclaw, and Maplewhisker set out on a hunting patrol. Once camp had returned to normal, it was time for Lilyfoot and Goosestar to give me my punishment.
"That was very wrong of you to sneak out of camp like that Lightningkit. You nearly scared me to death and you could have been killed!" Lilyfoot stated.
"Yes it was very wrong. But you also had great bravery. You caught fresh-kill for the clan, and let Riverclan lead you straight into their camp without moaning or whining or running away scared. And you kept up with the warriors all on the way back," Goosestar praised.
"Yes I suppose that's true. Now, how long do you think he should be confined to the nursery for all the trouble he's brought up?" Lilyfoot asked.
"How can he be confined to the nursery when he will be sleeping in a different den?" Goosestar asked.
My ears perked up and my eyes began to shine. Did he really mean the apprentices den?
"It is time for their apprenticeship Lilyfoot. We will hold it at sunset," Goosestar said as he padded away.
Thrushkit came bouncing up.
"So how many days is he confined to the nursery?" she asked.
"None! We're going to be made apprentices today!" I squeaked.
"Well you two better get something to eat and some rest. I'll wake you a little before sunset so I can groom your fur," Lilyfoot purred.
Thrushkit walked over to the fresh-kill pile and grabbed a rabbit for us to share. I grabbed the mouse I caught off of the pile and went over to the elders' den.
"Ooh is that fresh-kill?" Acorntail lifted his head and sniffed the air.
"It's the mouse I caught all by myself! I'll bring you more prey if you want though," I said.
"I would love to eat this mouse Lightningkit! But you might as well bring something else because only a few bites of mouse will not soothe these two cats' rumbling bellies," Dawnpool said.
I nodded and raced out of the den. I found the plumpest rabbit I could find, and I dragged it over to the elder's den.
"Now that's something that'll fill me up," Runningwind said, licking his lips.
The elders meowed their thanks and then I left. Thrushkit had already started eating the rabbit.
"Sorry, I got too hungry waiting," she said.
"Its fine," I replied as I bit off a mouthful of rabbit.
We ate in silence and once we were done we headed over to the nursery. Blossomkit and Turtlekit were bubbling with excitement that we were going to be apprentices, but I ignored them and fell asleep for the last time in the nursery.