Chapter One
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the HighRock for a Clan meeting!" The call echoed throughout the camp, sending sparks of excitement through the pelts of the cats in the clearing. The cats of the Clan emerged from various well concealed dens in the rocky clearing. One pair of bright eyes peeked out of a dark cleft in the rock face of the hollow.
"You know, I'm not technically old enough to catch my own prey, mother," a cream colored kit said, staring out at the gathering of cats. Her cream colored mother rolled her eyes.
"Quit being so literal, Dawnkit, and just get out there." The cheeky kit scrambled out of the cave, leaving her mother to pad after her more sedately.
"Are you coming, Thistlekit, or do you want to stay in that dark old den all day?" Dawnkit called. Amber eyes glowed from the dark entrance of the den. "Furball, you're going to miss the meeting," she teased. The amber eyes narrowed and a shadow flew out of the den.
"Ha, ha, too slow," Dawnkit squealed, dodging nimbly aside.
"Just you wait, Dawnkit, I'll get you!" Thistlekit mewed. Dawnkit nudged him playfully.
"Sure," she said sarcastically. "And I'll turn into a lizard and you'll eat me for dinner."
"Dawnkit, stop messing around and get over here," Larksong growled. Dawnkit looked at her friend with suppressed amusement shining in her eyes.
"Oops, I guess I had better get over there," she said. Thistlekit laughed and shook his head.
"Good idea, genius." Dawnkit stuck out her tongue at him and made her way over to her mother. She winced as Larksong began roughly grooming her.
"We had your pelt all smooth and pretty and you had to go mess it up again," she fretted between licks.
"Hush, mother, we're going to miss Hawkstar's announcement!" Dawnkit mewed. Larksong snorted.
"Cats of DesertClan, this year has been a difficult one for us," Hawkstar began, swishing his tail with powerful strokes. "We lost Swallowtail and Featherfur during the cold season, and the prey was never scarcer than it has been recently. But now that the warm season is beginning and prey returned to our sands, we are once again in the company of good news. Life has always been harsh, but as a flower can bloom in the desert, young lives can still bloom in the Clan. Therefore, without further ado, I would like to honor the season of growth with the naming of new apprentices for our Clan."
Dawnkit gasped. "Really, mother? Why didn't you tell me?" Her green eyes filled with panic for a moment as she twisted to see her pelt.
"Your pelt is fine," Larksong murmured proudly. "Go up there and get your name." Dawnkit squeaked happily and ran up to the HighRock. Thistlekit padded up behind her just as Hawkstar's paws hit the dirt. His sleek brown pelt and the white tufts of fur on his chest dominated Dawnkit's vision for a moment until she realized she should step back. Hawkstar's green eyes were full of laughter.
Dawnkit wanted to slink back to her den in embarrassment.
"Thistlekit, from this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Thistlepaw. Batclaw, you have trained many apprentices for this Clan and have never failed to pass on your prowess and wisdom to them. I trust that you will do the same for Thistlepaw." The black furred deputy smiled and nodded, then stepped forward to touch noses with Thistlepaw. Dawnkit grinned at Thistlepaw as he and his new mentor stepped to the side.
Hawkstar smiled down at Dawnkit. Her light green eyes shimmered in the sunlight. "Dawnkit, from this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Dawnpaw. Amberslash, your previous apprentice has become a credit to the Clan. I hope you pass on your wisdom and patience to Dawnpaw." Amberslash stepped forward to touch noses with Dawnpaw. Dawnpaw's smile was radiant.
"Dawnpaw! Thistlepaw! Dawnpaw! Thistlepaw!" The Clan's voices rose as one as they chanted the new apprentices' names. Dawnpaw felt happiness rise up inside her with such force it seemed like she would shatter.
"May this remind us that the Clan will remain strong even in the darkest times!" Hawkstar concluded. The Clan dispersed, chattering happily.
"Oh, Dawnpaw! My little baby is an apprentice now," Larksong cried as she rushed up. One big lick on the head later, Dawnpaw managed to escape.
"Mother, cats are watching!" Dawnpaw complained playfully. "Big strong warriors don't have their mothers blubbering over them all the time!"
"Hmm, good thing you're only an apprentice then, isn't it?"
Dawnpaw rolled her eyes at her mother.
"Be good now, and make me proud. Lizardclaw and I are waiting to hear all about your training when you get back," Larksong said. Dawnpaw smiled as her mother spun and bounded away.
"So, when are we training?" Dawnpaw asked, looking up at her new mentor.
"Now. Come with me, Dawnpaw," Amberslash said, flicking her tail. Dawnpaw smiled again. Her joy kept uncontrollably bubbling over into her expressions. She smiled at Thistlepaw as she and Amberslash trotted past. He flicked his tail happily in acknowledgement. It looked like he and Batclaw were getting along well.
Amberslash padded out from the sheltered hollow of the camp, onto the sands of the open desert. Dawnpaw grinned as she set her paws on the sands for the first time. The warmth felt lovely underneath her paws.
"The first thing I'm going to teach you about is hunting, and while we're at it I'll show you the borders," Amberslash said as she walked. Dawnpaw's ears flicked forward. Amberslash glanced at the cream apprentice. "We're not going to try anything today, but pay attention to what I'm saying. If you don't learn this now, you will never be a hunter worth a lizard-tail to the Clan." Dawnpaw nodded seriously. Amberslash smiled softly at her wide eyed expression.
"The desert plays tricks on us. What we see as uniform is actually quite varied. Had we turned north when we left the camp, we would have found ourselves walking on dry cracked mud with little sand anywhere. Our hunting stances vary according to the terrain, and not the prey, as some other Clans' stances do. Hunting here requires a careful awareness of your surroundings." Dawnpaw nodded. She stood still, watching sand from her paw steps as it cascaded down the side of a dune.
Amberslash continued walking. Before long, the two she-cats came to a set of sheer cliffs. Dawnpaw gasped as she gazed up at them. They seemed as high as the clouds. "This is our western border," Amberslash said. "You can probably see why," she added wryly.
"What? But this is such a flimsy barrier!" Dawnpaw said, her green eyes wide. "Look how easily we could scale those giant cliffs." Her whiskers twitched with a cheeky smile.
"Ha, ha, Sarcasmstar, very funny," Amberslash said, her amber eyes warm. She set off again, following the cliffs northwards. True to her earlier statement, the sand gave way to a wide expanse of cracked, dry earth.
"Why is the ground like this? It reminds me of when Stormslash dropped that stone into the hollow and it shattered," Dawnpaw mewed.
Amberslash stopped to survey the cracked earth around them. "I'm not really certain. My best guess is that this used to be full of water many seasons ago and then dried very quickly. I remember one Clan who lived near a lake. They suffered a drought, and the lake shrunk very quickly. The mud cracked and dried when the water left it, but if we dug down deep enough we could still find moist dirt."
Dawnpaw's eyes grew wide. An amazed smile curled her muzzle. "You must have had such adventures," she breathed. "Why did you come back to DesertClan after learning about those places?"
Amberslash had started walking again. She turned back to Dawnpaw with a disbelieving grin. "You didn't know? I wasn't born in DesertClan, Dawnpaw. I come from another place, far away from here."
Dawnpaw looked down, abashed. "Larksong told me never to gossip."
"Don't worry little one, it isn't something I'm ashamed of. I came from a Twolegplace far away, and I wandered for only a few seasons before I joined DesertClan. No other place has called to me quite like this one."
"What is a Twolegplace?" Dawnpaw asked, a confused frown on her creamy face.
"A place where Twolegs live," Amberslash said, pointing her amber eyes straight ahead.
"Oh, thanks Amberslash," Dawnpaw shot back sarcastically. "What is a Twoleg? And please don't say it's a creature that walks on two legs, because this is really going to go nowhere if you do."
Amberslash laughed. "Twolegs are tall creatures with fleshy pink skin. Fur only grows on their heads, and they live in huge nests. They have an amazing ability to control shiny monsters, to make them do their bidding." Amberslash hopped around a large crack in the ground. "They also have an amazing ability to destroy," she added darkly.
Dawnpaw tilted her head to the side, trying to scramble after her mentor and keep an eye on the treacherous ground at the same time. "What do you mean, Amberslash?"
The golden mentor paused a moment before answering. "That is a story for another time. We're getting distracted. What do you think are the main advantages and disadvantages of hunting here?"
Dawnpaw considered the area for a moment. "The prey probably gathers here because of the moisture and hiding places. However, it may be difficult to nab them from between the cracks, and we might trip and hurt ourselves if our paws get caught in a crack."
"Very good. And what…" Amberslash continued to quiz Dawnpaw as they walked until Dawnpaw hardly remembered her mentor's strange comment.
The golden she-cat stopped suddenly, motioning for her cream apprentice to do the same. Dawnpaw looked down, amazement flitting across her face again.
"That's pretty deep," she said.
Amberslash glanced at her apprentice. "This is our northern border. We won't have time to visit it today, but our southern border is bounded by a ravine similar to this one. Both were made by the rivers flowing at their bottoms."
"And the eastern border?"
"That border is protected only by dunes, and then hills and scrub lands. We have solid defenses on all sides, but the easiest entrance to our territory is from the east. Some would say that it is the only entrance to our territory."
Dawnpaw mulled that over for a while. "What is beyond the scrub lands?"
"Grasslands, forests, rivers, lakes. The world outside is much greener than here, but harsh in different ways. I once saw a range of mountains that towered over a valley. Cats lived in both places, but sickness ran through the forested valley and starvation ran through the mountains. Few cats survived either."
Dawnpaw stretched sore muscles, looking towards the setting sun as she thought about her mentor's words.
"Come on, it's time for us to get back to camp," Amberslash said. "Tomorrow we'll do some actual hunting." Dawnpaw smiled at her and hopped to her feet.
"Race you back then," she called, and ran off into the cracked plain.
~oOo~
Dawnpaw's mind was still awhirl with all she had learned when she and Amberslash reached the camp, panting.
"I'm beat, Amberslash, I don't know how much more of that I can take," she said, imitating some of the tired older warriors playfully. "Who knew running in sand could be that hard?"
A chorus of "Me" and "I did" went up from the cats trotting by.
"Thank you, everyone, for warning me," she called, collapsing into giggles.
"Go get some prey, crazy furball, and then get some sleep. You've had a long day," Amberslash said.
"I hadn't noticed," Dawnpaw said, feigning surprise.
"Hush, and follow orders. I'll see you tomorrow," Amberslash said, shaking her head. She turned back one last time. "You did a great job today Dawnpaw. I'm proud of you." Dawnpaw ducked her head as warmth flooded through her. She padded to the freshkill pile and selected a nice looking desert mouse. She devoured it hungrily, then padded to the apprentice's den.
Scraping together bracken and sand to make a nest, Dawnpaw smiled tiredly. Today had only been day one, but so far life as an apprentice was off to a good start. May StarClan let it stay that way…
One final smile drifted across her face as she felt Thistlepaw curl up beside her.
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