Chapter 1! I know this is how most people in their Warriors fanfictions begin their story, but this will be better and hopefully different and NOT boring. :D

It started off like any other morning. Petalkit was, of course, the first up out of her litter. She yawned and flexed her almost-developed muscles, her ginger fur rippling in the sun. As she exited the nursery, a drop of water landed on her head. Petalkit gazed up. It had rained the night before, and the brambles were dripping. She twitched her whiskers and continued padding out into the humid camp.

The first cat she saw was Boneclaw, the RiverClan deputy. Petalkit, and all of the other kits and apprentices, were already terrified of the huge black and white tom. He was muscular and scary with claws and teeth sharper than any thorn or bramble. Petalkit had always gone out of her way to be quiet and avoid him.

Petalkit noticed the huge deputy padding toward her. He dipped his massive head in greeting.

"G-good morning, Boneclaw," Petalkit murmured quietly.

Boneclaw sniffed. "Speak up when you're talking. Your new mentor will never be able to hear you."

Petalkit couldn't help but perk up her ears. "I'm…my new mentor?"

"You didn't hear?" Boneclaw's loud purr rumbled in his throat. "You and your, erm, five siblings are becoming apprentices today."

"G…great!" Petalkit mewed. She dipped her head, turned, and raced to the fresh-kill pile. Tons of emotions flooded through her body like a creek-sad, scared, hopeful, and excited all at once. The feelings were so strong they almost knocked her off her paws. Swaying a bit to keep her balance, Petalkit grabbed a starling from the fresh-kill pile and carried it towards the nursery. As a daily routine, Birchkit and Mistkit would come bouncing out of the nursery any heartbeat.

There they were.

Mistkit's blue-gray pelt shone in the warm sunlight, and Birchkit's tabby pelt rippled gently in the wind. His tail waved back and forth as if he were a delighted dog, begging for food.

"Hi, Petalkit!" Birchkit greeted, waving his tail some more. Mistkit glided across the ground and lay beside Petalkit. "Can I share this with you? Thanks." Before Petalkit could even answer, Mistkit took a huge bite of the starling.

"Um…I guess so," Petalkit muttered. Birchkit bit into the starling and swallowed an even bigger bite than Mistkit. Sighing, Petalkit rose to her paws. Usually only two cats shared a piece of prey. Even if it had been Petalkit's in the first place, she padded away, into the shade of the tree that grew over the medicine cat's den. Petalkit had gone there ever since she was three moons old, and she'd grown quite fond of it. She enjoyed visiting the medicine den and talking to Ashfeather. Perhaps she would've liked to be a medicine cat apprentice.

Bracing herself and gathering her friendliness and courage, Petalkit half dashed, half padded into the medicine cat's den. "Ashfeather?" she called. The smoky black tom entered the den from his herb storage den and meowed, "Good morning, Petalkit. What's wrong?"

"Well, I'm becoming, um, an apprentice today. Did you hear?"

"Oh, indeed I did. I was hoping one of your siblings would be my apprentice."

"Um, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Petalkit sucked in a deep breath. "I want to be a medicine cat."

Ashfeather stopped sorting the berries and glanced at the ginger she-cat. "That's fantastic! I'll be sure to talk to Dapplestar about it. I'd love you to be my apprentice."

A warm feeling swept over Petalkit from her ears to the tip of her tail. Feeling as she were floating on air, she gave a quick thanks and exited the den.

"Hey, Petalkit!" Birchkit raced over to his sister and tackled her to the ground, pinning her down. "Guess what! We're becoming apprentices today! Can you believe it?"

Petalkit shoved her brother off of her. "Yeah, I know. I'm becoming a medicine cat apprentice!"

Birchkit's smile faded. "But…but why? Being a medicine cat is boring! You don't get to do the really fun stuff, like battle training and hunting!"

Now anger rushed through Petalkit's body, causing her belly to flutter and her face to heat. "Medicine cats learn to hunt and fight, just like regular apprentices. But we also learn a lot about StarClan and herbs."

"But you don't get to feel the rush of battling other Clan cats!" Birchkit protested. "You don't get to feel the…the exhilaration of sinking your claws into an enemy's flank, or watching an opponent run away after you defeated them! Don't you see what being a Clan cat really means?"

Petalkit gritted her teeth. "Medicine cats are an important part of the Clans. When I become a medicine cat, I will never save your life." She flexed her thorn-sharp claws before spinning around and thrusting her way back into the nursery.

"Good morning, Petalkit," Pebblekit purred. He was grooming his gray-striped tail as his sister padded into the nursery. "I heard you and Birchkit bickering outside the nursery! What happened?"

"Nothing," Petalkit mewed dryly. "Birchkit just doesn't understand how important medicine cats are."

"Oh!" Pebblekit jumped to his paws. "You want to be a medicine cat?"

Petalkit sighed and nodded. "Gotta problem with that?"

Pebblekit shook his head and gave the ginger she-cat a lick on the ear. "Great for you! I loved the idea of training together, but it's okay. We will still be able to sometime or another."

Grateful that her brother understood, Petalkit licked his ear back and hurried back into the clearing, feeling lighter and in a better mood. Birchkit or Boneclaw couldn't ruin her mood now. Not even the boastful Mistkit could!

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather round the reeds for a Clan meeting!" There was Dapplestar's call! A wave of excitement washed over Petalkit as she trotted to the reeds. They tickled her nose as she gazed up at Dapplestar, who was perched on a tall, smooth rock.

"As most of you remember, a few moons ago, these wonderful bunch of kits were born," Dapplestar began. "Now it is time for them to be apprenticed!"

Petalkit understood that this was her cue to leap onto the rock. She bundled up her strength, jumped, and soared through the air until she felt stone touch her paws. She had never felt such smooth stone in her life! Purring with pride, Petalkit sat down between Ravenkit and Pebblekit. She wanted to avoid Birchkit so she wouldn't have to apologize to him, or have him yell at her.

"Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Dapplestar asked. All six kits replied a hasty, "I do."

"By the powers of StarClan I give you your apprentice names." Dapplestar's tortoiseshell pelt sparkled in the morning sun; her green eyes shone with wisdom and pride. "Birchkit, from now until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Birchpaw. It is time for my loyal deputy to take on his third apprentice. Boneclaw, you will mentor Birchpaw."

A look of horror spread across the newly named Birchpaw's face. He stared at Boneclaw, eyes wide, as they touched noses. Petalkit felt sympathy for her brother, and sent him a silent wish of good luck to him.

"Ravenkit, you will be known as Ravenpaw," Dapplestar announced. "Squirrelfur, you never got to finish Marshpaw's training due to the Twoleg accident, so you will take on Ravenpaw."

Squirrelfur, the talkative and bright she-cat, pelted to the rock to touch noses with her new apprentice. Still feeling sympathetic, Petalkit prayed Dapplestar would announce her soon. She hated waiting for her turn! And she was oldest, anyway.

"Dovekit," Dapplestar called, "will be known as Dovepaw." The white she-cat smiled and beamed, her tail-tip twitching. "I believe Sunpool is ready for her first apprentice. She will mentor Dovepaw."

Great StarClan! What is Dapplestar doing?

Dovepaw reluctantly touched noses with Sunpool and bounced off the rock.

"Pebblekit will be known as Pebblepaw." Dapplestar glanced at the gray tabby tom. "Rabbitfoot, I would like you to mentor Pebblepaw."

Rabbitfoot meowed something that Petalkit couldn't understand, and the whole Clan burst into laughter, including Dapplestar. Petalkit sniffed. Why was Dapplestar giving them the mentors that were the opposite of their personalities? Being an apprentice would be horrible if you had to put up with the opposite of you!

"Now Mistkit," the tortoiseshell leader declared, "will be known as Mistpaw. Snowpool is ready for her first apprentice. Please mentor Mistpaw."

Petalkit could almost hear Mistpaw groan, but thankfully she stayed quiet and smiley.

"Now last but not least, Petalkit," Dapplestar meowed. "She has chosen a different path than her siblings; the path of a medicine cat."

Dovepaw gasped and Birchpaw snorted in annoyance. Petalkit tried to ignore them while she inched closer to Dapplestar. "She will be known as Petalpaw. Ashfeather, it is your time to have an apprentice. Please pass on all you know about herbs and StarClan to this apprentice."

Ashfeather jumped swiftly onto the rock, pressed his nose against Petalpaw's, and led her off. It was just like any warrior mentor with their new warrior apprentice. There wouldn't be anything much different about Petalpaw. She just had to put her brain where her mouth was and speak up.

Stupid ending

Meh. Deal with it. xD So…did ya'll like the first chapter? I tried, I tried.

xx-Starfall-xx

xx-Moonshine-xx