After some searching, Newtpaw found her new mentor seated, still, in front of the dispersing crowd. They seemed a bit distracted, but snapped to attention as Newtpaw prodded her newly-assigned mentor with her left paw. The they-cat blinked with alarm, but relaxed as they realized who had poked her.
"If it's about training, we start at dusk." The gray-furred cat gave a careful tongue-swipe to their paw before returning their gaze to Newtpaw. "You're free to go sniff around the apprentice's den for now, though. I'm sure Batpaw and Starlingpaw would like to help you find a nest and get settled in."
Newtpaw thought it to be unlikely, though she dismissed the feeling, concluding that the worst that would happen would be that they'd say nothing to her. Her eager paws led her to the apprentice's den without hesitation, though she stopped right before the entrance. As it was nestled among a patch of brambles, the pathway seemed almost menacing to her as she approached, thorns pointed every which way. The fear lasted only for a moment before she heard a voice from inside.
"Starlingpaw, you do it this time."
"I don't think it's my turn to do it, though..."
"I did it last time, didn't I? So it's your turn."
The bickering voices of the siblings Batpaw and Starlingpaw greeted Newtpaw's black-furred ears as she paused at the thorny opening. Would it be wise to walk in? She stepped forward cautiously, leaning down slightly to fit through the entrance as she shuffled into the den.
The other dark-furred apprentices could be seen near the back of the den. Batpaw was sitting up, one paw poised above the head of young Starlingpaw, who was crouched down with his tail weakly wrapping around his hindquarters. Seeing this as a chance to get some-cat else to do her job, Batpaw looked to the new apprentice, lowered her foreleg and turned to Newtpaw with a devious expression.
"Oh, hey there, softpaw," the she-cat meowed, trying to act sweet to the cat that had already seen her actions against Starlingpaw. Not that 'softpaw' was much of a compliment, Newtpaw thought, snorting a little at the remark. Disregarding the small apprentice's disruption, Batpaw continued. "Do you wanna do a favor for Starlingpaw?"
"I didn't ask -" Starlingpaw's poor snout was swatted with a paw mid-sentence, stopping him before he could intervene.
His sister quickly looked back to Newtpaw, resuming her innocent facade. "Starlingpaw's been tasked with bringing some prey to the elders and seeing if they need anything." She gave a smile, though the tortie wasn't sure whether it was really genuine. "Be a dear and do that for me.. I mean, uh, him." With a chuckle, she motioned towards the entrance with her right forepaw gently. "Thanks, sweetie."
Feeling a bit frightened of the other she-cat, Newtpaw backed out of the den; on one paw, she didn't really have to check up, but on the other, she'd rather save Starlingpaw another smack across the muzzle from his rude sister. Giving a sigh, she made her way to the prey pile and picked up a few pieces of freshkill before wandering over to the elder's den.
Upon arrival at the elder's den, she noted that only one of the elders was awake and about; Gooseface, who was said to be notably attractive in his youth, was sitting by the stump with a bored expression. Upon spotting the approaching Newtpaw, he gave a wave of his tail and waited for her to come into hearing range.
"Good hunting, Newtkit." He spoke with a courteous tone. "I didn't know they sent kittens to do apprentice duties."
Newtpaw huffed a little as she placed the freshkill at his paws. "You've got it wrong, Gooseface!" she meowed, feigning annoyance. "I'm an apprentice now. I'm Newtpaw!"
The tom looked delighted to hear about this news - the tortie she-cat assumed he had been asleep for the duration of the meeting. "So I assume that means your dear old brother Maplekit is Maplepaw now?"
"Yeah, and he's the medicine cat's apprentice, too." She tried not to look too proud. "Robincloud was alright with it, and I'm glad for him."
The tom sighed. "It's a shame he can't share what he sees in dreams with you," he remarked, "but I'm sure he'll be busy for his first moons of training. I hear it's hard to be a medicine cat apprentice."
Newtpaw's tongue stuck out in a childish way. "I'm sure he'll do fine." She glanced over at the vinca patch that covered the medicine cat's den. "Though... I am a little worried..."
This caused Gooseface to wheeze out a laugh. "No reason to be. Medicine cats have been around for seasons, and they learn how to do their job right so they can prevent any accidents." He looked up at the sky, which was now a pale light blue, patched with clouds that drifted across from the west. "I know Stormfur would tell you the same, were he awake... but I'm sure he'd also tell you you're a leaf-eater, if I know him well." Another bought of laughter brought him to coughing, but he recovered before Newtpaw thought to call for Robincloud.
The tom resumed his rambling. "Anyhow. Between you and me, Newtkit..." She gave him an irritated face, but he continued. "I think they're the ones who do the most for the Clan. Injured? Medicine cat. Have a hard denial after asking a cat out? Medicine cat'll sort you out. Have an argument with a badger? Medicine cat." He leaned back, allowing Newtpaw to get a word in.
She shook her head at the elder disagreeably. "Yeah, they're great and all, but the leader does things too! And the deputy." She jumped up from her sitting position, tail upright as if challenging the tom. "The Clan works together. Asphodelstar works hard to keep the patrols up, and I know Russet-tail worries her fur off over problems relating to her Clanmates."
The rumbling voice of Stormfur could be heard from his seat behind the stump. "Harrumph. I'm sure the medicine cats could do that, too, methinks." His head peeked above the old tree-trunk, revealing his orange eyes. "I don't know if they could really handle it, but it'd be somethin' to see."
"Now just you wait there..." Gooseface wheezed, turning to the other tom. "You know as well as I do that the medicine cats do what they can. I'm sure with a bit of training they could take over if the leader and deputy disappeared."
Newtpaw interjected. "Well, uh, that's great and all, but do you think they're all that unreliable?" She seemed a bit uneasy with this train of thought, but she continued further anyhow. "I mean, I know Maplepaw could do a lot of things with his new connection to StarClan..."
Gooseface turned himself towards the apprentice again. "That reminds me of a story," he started, ignoring the faint look of dread on Newtpaw's face as he said so. "There was a time when there was a drought. That's when there's no water flowing in the creeks, and when the sun is its most heated state. It was the hottest greenleaf any cat had ever experienced.
"So the Clans started to doubt their ancestors. There were those who said they were being vengeful for something the Clans had done in the past. There was unrest between our two Clans, and we fought often. The medicine cat, however, was said to receive a vision... a vision of the upstream river, closed up by something unknown to her.
"It's said that this she-cat... Burnetheart, if memory serves... went upriver and found her ancestors near a large blockage in the river. She said, 'O great ethereal ancestors, why does this lie in the way of our riverbeds?' And the starry cats replied, 'O finite feline, it's not our fault - the branches fell in after the last storm and collected dirt, causing this stoppage.' So with that, they gave her the power of endurance and strength enough for ten cats so she could clear the way.
"When she returned, she was hailed as a hero - the medicine cat herself! And there was a celebration when the rivers ran clear and cool through the forest and valley. And so it goes that StarClan's more than capable of giving medicine cats power." Gooseface finished his story, looking as if he'd snapped out of his storytelling trance, and looked down at the young Newtpaw - who, he was happy to see, had not fallen asleep mid-story. However, she seemed unfocused, eyes fixated on the medicine cat's den.
Stormfur gave a groan after a moment. "So are you done now? I had my ears covered and didn't realize you'd stopped."
Gooseface gave Stormfur a sour look. "You don't appreciate my stories, but that's okay, because I can tell them to someone else. Like little Newtkit here. There's another story that I remember..."
Newtpaw shuffled her paws a bit before giving an excuse to leave. With her visit done, she decided it would be best to get a nice, long nap in before her training at dusk, and headed back to the apprentice's den.