Wolfkit

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather underneath HighTree for a Clan meeting," Graystar's meow rang through the camp, waking me up.

"Come on Wolfkit. Let's go see what's happening," Redkit exclaimed, bouncing around.

"Ok," I said, yawning.

I followed Redkit out of the nursery. Skykit was already outside, waiting for us.

All of FlameClan was gathered beneath a tree. Graystar was sitting in the tree. Redkit sat beside Birdpaw. I sat beside Grasspaw and Skykit sat between me and Redkit.

"Now, FlameClan is lucky to have so many young cats," Graystar began. "Grasspaw step forward."

Grasspaw stepped forward looking confused, then amazed, as he realized what was happening.

"You have trained hard to learn the ways of a warrior and I believe it is time for your warrior name," Graystar said, leaping out of HighTree.

"Grasspaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect FlameClan with your life?" Graystar said.

"I do," Grasspaw said, bravely.

"Branchfur, do you believe your apprentice is ready to become a warrior?" Graystar asked.

"Grasspaw has trained hard, and I believe he is ready to become a warrior," Branchfur replied, looking proud.

"Then by the power of StarClan, I name you Grasstail," Graystar concluded.

"Grasstail! Grasstail!" FlameClan shouted.

Grasstail sat beside me again, eyes shining with happiness.

"Before you go, I have one more thing to do," Graystar announced. "Wolfkit, Redkit and Skykit come here."

I walked up to Graystar, hoping my pelt didn't look too messy.

"Wolfkit, do you promise to learn the way of a warrior and uphold the warrior code?" Graystar asked.

"I do," I replied.

"Then I name you Wolfpaw. Your mentor will be Grasstail," Graystar said. "Grasstail, I know you have only just become a warrior but I trust you to train this apprentice."

Grasstail bounded over, eyes shining in excitement. He touched the top of my head with his nose. I licked his shoulder. Graystar dismissed us with a flick of his tail. We returned to where we were sitting before.

"Redkit, do you promise to learn and obey the warrior code?" Graystar asked.

"I do," he said, his voice shaking.

"Until you get your warrior name, you will be known as Redpaw. Your mentor will be Ravenclaw."

Ravenclaw was a small, skinny jet black tom cat. He walked slowly over to Redpaw. Ravenclaw touched the top of Redpaw's head. Redpaw licked his shoulder. Redpaw and Ravenclaw walked over to us. Redpaw sat beside me, quivering with excitement.

Splodgepelt worked his way through the crowd of cats and stood beside Graystar. Curious whispers echoed throughout the camp.

"Skykit," Splodgepelt began. "You have shown great skill and I have decided to take you as my apprentice. Do you promise to uphold the medicine cat code and stand apart from Clan rivalries?"

"I do," Skykit squeaked.

"From this moment forward you will be known as Skypaw," Splodgepelt concluded touching his nose to Skypaw's head. Skypaw licked his shoulder.

"Wolfpaw! Redpaw! Skypaw!" the Clan shouted our names.

"Also there is a Gathering tonight. Wolfpaw, Skypaw, Redpaw, Grasstail, Ravenclaw, Frostpelt, Raincloud and Thunderstrike are going," Graystar explained.

The cats started going back to their former duties.

Redkit turned to me. "We're apprentices!" He shouted, happily.

"Come on Wolfpaw, I'll show you the territory," Grasstail said.

I followed Grasstail out the bramble barrier, which surrounded the camp.

"Congratulations on becoming a warrior," I said, walking beside Grasstail.

"Thanks," he said shyly. "But I don't know if I'm good enough to be a warrior, let alone a mentor."

"Of course you are. Why would Graystar give you his daughter to mentor, if you weren't good enough," I said.

He was quiet for a while.

"We are heading for the BreezeClan border," he explained.

Soon we came to the border. Their scent was so strong that we may have been inside their camp. Their territory was all grassy moors. There were no trees. It looked very windy.

"Patrol," Grasstail hissed in my ear.

Four cats ran down the moor and stopped at the scent markers.

"Look who it is. Little Grasspaw and his true love," a silver BreezeClan cat mocked.

"It's Grasstail," Grasstail growled. "and I am training my apprentice."

"Who is this," another BreezeClan cat said.

"I am Wolfpaw," I said.

"Why do they call you Wolfpaw? Are you a wolf or something?" the BreezeClan cat teased.

"Let's go," I whispered in Grasstail's ear.

He nodded. We turned around and walked away.

"Who were they?" I asked.

"The silver one is Windflight. The others are Falconwing, Swiftfoot and Duckpelt," Grasstail answered.

"Why are they so mean?" I wondered.

"Anyway, let's go check out the WaterClan border," Grasstail said, avoiding my question.

"Are they nicer than BreezeClan?" I asked.

"Yes, they are," he replied.

My stomach rumbled loudly. I remembered that I hadn't eaten anything all day. Grasstail glanced at me. He ran off into the undergrowth.

I just followed the path we were walking along. It was peaceful in the forest. The sound of birds in the trees, the wind rustling the leaves and the sound of running water.

Soon, Grasstail returned with a huge squirrel.

"Here, we can share," he said, dropping it in front of me.

"Thanks," I mumbled, before digging into the squirrel.

Once we had finished the squirrel, we continued back down the path. Soon the running water sounded closer and we came out of the undergrowth. There was a small river. A cat was sitting on the other side looking at the water.

Suddenly, she dipped her paw into the water and scooped out a huge fish. She threw it on the bank behind her. She jumped on it and killed it.

"Great catch," I called.

"Thanks," the she cat said. "Who are you?"

"I am Wolfpaw," I said proudly. "and this is my mentor Grasstail."

"I am Pebblestream," she said.

"We had better get back to marking the borders, Wolfpaw," Grasstail said.

"Ok," I said.

"Anyway, that is WaterClan. They eat fish," Grasstail explained.

"Do you want to go anywhere else today?" I asked.

"I was going to go back to camp," Grasstail said. "But if you want to do anything else, I'll come."

"No, I'm tired," I said.

"Back to camp it is then," Grasstail decided.

"Have you got any brothers or sisters?" I asked, after a while.

"Yes, I do," Grasstail said.

"Who are they?" I questioned.

"Never mind," Grasstail said.

I walked silently back to camp.

As soon as we walked through the bramble barrier, Redpaw scampered over.

"Where did you go?" he asked.

"I went to check out the WaterClan and BreezeClan borders," I replied.

"I learnt how to stalk mice!" Redpaw exclaimed, bouncing around.

"Can we rest for a while before the Gathering?" I asked.

"Yeah, let's go talk to Sunpaw," Redpaw said.

"As long as we can sit down," I said.

I followed Redpaw over to the apprentices log. He wriggled through a hole in the side. I followed him. The apprentices den was huge! Sunpaw and Birdpaw were sharing tongues over to one side, where there was a hole that let light in.

"Hello," Sunpaw said.

"Hey," Redpaw replied, shyly.

"Your nests are over there," Birdpaw said, waving his tail in the direction of two nests.

"Thanks," I said, sinking into my nest. "Redpaw, wake me up when it is time to go."

There was a ray of light shining on my pelt, gently warming it. I fell asleep, with Redpaw curled in my nest.

"Wolfpaw," Grasstail was calling me.

I stood up and stretched. It felt as I had only been asleep for a few minutes. I ran out to Grasstail who was chatting to Ravenclaw.

I was excited. I was going to a Gathering!