Rosepetal was pacing back and forth.
"I just don't understand- what were you thinking? You know apprentices aren't allowed to leave camp at night! And to go to a Twoleg nest?" The apprentices hung their heads. Vixenstep stiffened and flattened her ears.
"It's those kittypets!" she hissed. "The ones who have been stealing our prey!"
"Hello," said the she-cat in a friendly tone.
"Great Starclan, I will rip you to shreds for-"Ivyblaze started.
"Oh, please don't!" pleaded Tulippaw. "It's okay. They've agreed not to hunt in our territory anymore. That's why we came here, to talk to them." Rosepetal looked stunned.
"Wait, you got these kittypets to agree to stop hunting in our territory without even fighting them?" she asked in disbelief. The apprentices nodded.
"That's funny," Sunstar said. "Last I remember Gingerpaw, you wanted to fight."
"But I changed my mind," said Gingerpaw.
"That's right," said the tom. "We promise we will never again hunt in your forest." Ivy blaze eyed them suspiciously.
"How do we know you're not lying?" she challenged.
"We can prove we're not lying," said the tom. "In fact, we'll even take the official oath." Both cats rang out the oath.
"We solemnly swear that we will never-"
"Thanks, but that won't be necessary," interrupted Sunstar.
"Now we can become warriors!" mewed Waterpaw excitedly.
"Shhh!" hissed Gingerpaw. Ivyblaze turned to them.
"Is that what this was all about? To become warriors?"
"That's what Gingerpaw said," explained Tulippaw. "She said after we saved our prey, that you would be so grateful you would make us warriors." Rosepetal turned to Gingerpaw.
"Did you really think that breaking the rules would make you a warrior?" Gingerpaw hung her head.
"We will discuss this when we get back to camp," Sunstar broke in. Turning to the kittypets, she said "Thank you for agreeing to stay off our territory."
"Oh, it was nothing," said the she-cat. "Can you believe it?" she exclaimed, turning to the tom. "A wild cat actually thanked us!" Suddenly they heard a thump above them.
"What was that?" hissed Vixenstep.
"Oh, that was our twoleg," answered the tom. "He's waking up now." It was starting to get light outside.
"What?" hissed Sunstar. "Your twoleg can't find us here!"
"Well then you'd better leave," the she-cat said. "He'll be coming down soon."
"Come on warriors, let's go," ordered Sunstar. As the leader rallied up the cats and lead them out, Tulippaw realized she'd forgotten something. She rushed back into the nest.
"I'm sorry, I never got your names," she said. The she-cat lifted her head.
"What? Oh yes. My name's Paylor. And that's Scruffy." She replied, motioning to the tom.
"Goodbye, Paylor and Scruffy. And thank you," Tulippaw said. Then she left to catch up to her clan, thinking that maybe kittypets weren't so bad after all.
When they reached the camp, Sunstar called a clan meeting.
"Waterpaw, Gingerpaw, and Tulippaw, you broke the rules and snuck out of camp without a warrior. Waterpaw and Tulippaw, you will be helping Gingerpaw clean the warriors' nests," Sunstar rang out. Waterpaw and Tulippaw sighed. "However," Sunstar continued. The apprentices stiffened. "The apprentices also helped bring back our prey, and for that, they will only have to clean the nests for a quarter-moon instead of a half-moon." The apprentices grinned at each other. "Also, I want to organize a hunting patrol to restock the fresh-kill pile," Sunstar continued. "Skyclaw, Ivyblaze, and Vixenstep, you go hunt." The 3 warriors left. Moonshine got up and stretched her paws.
"Well, I better go restock on traveling herbs," she said. Gingerpaw went up to the other apprentices. "One day, Sunstar will be addressing us for a different reason," she said. "She'll be giving us our warrior names!"
"Yes she will," said Rosepetal, overhearing. "When you learn not to sneak out of camp. Now I believe you're supposed to be cleaning the dens!"