Pashpaw hurried along to catch up with the other two cats. One, Fernstar, was a golden she-cat with a black face. The other two were black; one was black with a red stripe while the other was black with a huge white spot on his pelt. The white and black one looked to be about Pashpaw's age and size. But the red striped one looked several moons older.
"Pashpaw," Fernstar mewed, braking Pashpaw's train of thought. "This is Blackpaw, another apprentice." She gestured with her tail to the smaller cat. "And this is Finalember, one of my warriors." Finalember simply mewed a quick "hello" without even taking a look at Pashpaw, while Blackpaw raced up to him. "Hi! I'm Blackpaw! Finalember's my mentor." He meowed quickly, as if he had something important to do right after he mewed it.
"Oh, hello." Pashpaw replied. "What's a mentor?" He asked Blackpaw. Blackpaw looked bewildered at the fact that Pashpaw knew nothing mentors. "A mentor is given to an apprentice, they're warriors, which is what we're training to become. They'll teach us everything we need to know."
"Oh." Pashpaw answered, still confused.
"Don't worry, everything will become clear once we reach the camp." Many weak looking trees with branches that seemed to be crying lined the cats' path as they padded through the sweet-smelling forest.
"Ahh! Here we are! Home, sweet home!!" Blackpaw finished as they burst through the bushes and into a clearing. Almost immediately, Fernstar lept up unto a mountainous rock and called out:
"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey join me here beneath the Highstone for a clan meeting."
Cats appeared from various dens in bushes and low-lying trees. One of the cats caught Pashpaw's eye, she was a blue-gray she-cat with a green gaze. She was the most beautiful thing Pashpaw had ever seen.
She took a quick look at him, a puzzled expression on her face. "That's Birdpaw." Blackpaw simply mewed as he sat down by the Highstone. Pashpaw fallowed him and took a tentative seat.
"My, cats. As you may already know, Bonytail is dead." Several shocked gasps and whispers came from the crowd of cats, but some merely dipped their heads in sadness. "But, I do not have all bad news," She pointed to Pashpaw with her tail. "This is the cat that caused Bonytail's death." All eyes turned to the lone kittypet. "His name is Pashpaw." Finalember narrowed his eyes at Pashpaw as all the cats hissed at him, while others cried out in rage. "Pashpaw will train under my guidance. I will be his mentor."
"Fernstar, are you mouse-brained!?" A brown tom yelled.
"No, Greenheart. Just the opposite. I know that now we are short of one warrior, so Pashpaw is naturally my first choice." She turned to him. "Pashpaw, this is Greenheart, Lakeclan's deputy."
"Hello, Pashpaw. I'm sorry about how I reacted. As Fernstar introduced, I'm Greenheart."
Pashpaw nodded and exchanged a "hello" with the deputy as Fernstar continued. "Pashpaw is now a member of our clan. Treat him the way you would like to be treated. This meeting is now over."