Chapter 2
Ashkit opened her eyes for the first time. She looked around the nursery; no other cat was in it but her. The kit stood up and walked over to the entrance of the nursery; she looked outside and saw many other cats gathering around a large overhanging branch with two cats sat upon. One snow white with long fur and blue eyes. The other had a red pelt with amber eyes.
"Cats of Shadowclan, as you know, I will not be around forever. So it's time I took an apprentice. I have chosen a cat who has shown loyalty and determination. Your next medicine cat will be Lightkit." The red cat announced.
"Lightkit, do you accept the post of apprentice to Berryleaf?" The white cat asked the dapple pelted kit. "I do" She answered.
"Then at the half-moon, you must travel to the Moonpool to be accepted by Starclan before the other medicine cats." Berryleaf informed her, they touched noses and then the white cat gave Lightkit her new name, Lightpaw.
The medicine cat jumped down with his new apprentice as the white cat started to talk to the clan again, "I know that many of you are still sad after the death of two of Swiftshadow's kits, Cloudkit and Duskkit last moon, but we have two new warriors today!" The clan yowled in satisfaction. "Darkpaw and Ratpaw, come forward" She instructed them. They both stepped toward their leader.
"I, Froststar, leader of Shadowclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn."
"Darkpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Froststar asked the apprentice.
"I do" Darkpaw replied, his eyes sparking with happiness.
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Darkpaw from this moment you will be known as Darkstrike. Starclan honors your courage and fighting skills, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Shadowclan." Froststar rested her muzzle on Darkstrike's head, he licked her should for respect.
She lifted her head back up and Darkstrike backed up beside Ratpaw. "Ratpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" The leader questioned again.
"I do" Ratpaw answered.
"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Ratpaw from this moment you be known as Rattooth. Starclan honors your bravery and cleverness, and we welcome you as a fell warrior of Shadowclan." She rested her muzzle on Rattooth's head, he licked her should out of respect. He stepped back and the clan called them by their warrior names.
Ashkit stepped out of the nursery when the meeting ended; she looked for her mother, Swiftshadow. She didn't know what Swiftshadow looked like so she called her name softly, "Swiftshadow?"
A gray tabby tom looked back towards the kit, his eyes opened widely and her purred slightly. "Ashkit, your eyes are open!" He exclaimed happily. The tom turned around completely and pulled the kit close to him as he began to purr louder.
"Do you know where Swiftshadow is?" The tiny she-cat asked. "Oh, I just saw her go into the warriors den. I'll go get her, you stay here, okay?" He told the kit, she nodded and he ran over to a large den made out of brambles. His head popped in for a second then out again, he padded back to Ashkit. He sat down beside her as a black-and-white she-cat came out of the den and headed towards the two cats.
"What are you doing out of the nursery?" She hissed. The kit jumped back in fear as the gray tabby tom's eyes filled with worry. Swiftshadow stepped closer to Ashkit, the kit stumbled backwards. But the black-and-white she-cat was too fast for the small kit, before Ashkit knew it her mother stood in front of her. The warriors paw lifted up to smack the kit but the tom got in the way and stopped her before she did.
"Swiftshadow stop this now, you're not supposed to hurt kits. It's against the warrior code." He hissed at his mate. She put her paw back down.
"Starclan has abandoned us; there is no use for your precious warrior code now." Swiftshadow snarled. "Just because Cloudkit and Duskkit are dead doesn't mean that Starclan has abandoned us!" He yowled at her.
"Fine, if you don't believe that Smokewhisker, then I am not longer your mate." She turned away and started to walk to the entrance of the camp but turned her head back, "And you can take care of that kit" She spat as she turned her back to them and padded out of the camp.