AN: This is my first story so I'm still learning. You can't really hurt my feelings so don't hesitate to criticize. In fact, I will welcome any kind of constructive criticism. ([As of 8-18-2015, I think]: please don't be scared off by the terrible first chapters because they get better!)

Chapter 1: New 'Paws

Stormkit yawned, trying to remember why she felt so excited. Then she remembered, they were becoming apprentices today! She glanced at Willowkit. The silver tabby was still fast asleep, white tipped tail twitching. Stifling laughter, Stormkit pounced on it. Willowkit rolled over and glared at her, "Stormkit, what do you want? I was sleeping!"

"Obviously. Come on, Let's play moss ball!" Stormkit gathered some moss in her paws and batted it towards her sister who tossed it back, too high for Stormkit to reach, so the little blue-gray tabby leapt for it and fell over in the process. Playfully she retrieved the moss ball and, with a malicious gleam in her eyes, batted it at Willowkit, hard. The silver tabby squealed as the moss ball hit her square in the face and squealed even louder when Stormkit pounced on her.

"Stormkit, Willowkit, please, we're trying to sleep for StarClan's sake," Silvermist meowed patiently. Their nose had woken the sleeping queens, who composed of their mother Silvermist and Dappleleaf, who had Leafkit, Mousekit, and Lichenkit at her belly and were sleeping like rocks.

"Go outside and play. Just try not to bother anyone," Silvermist called after them. Stormkit spotted Stoneclaw organizing the dawn patrol.

"-take Mossheart and Foxpaw to hunt. Rainsong, take Birchtail and Sandpelt and refresh the Rippleclan border," Stoneclaw ordered.

"Can I take Sparrowpaw?" Rainsong asked and Stoneclaw nodded. Stormkit raced over to Stoneclaw with Willowkit close behind. They pounced on him and he purred.

"Kits, I need to talk to Pinestar," he meowed.

"About our apprenticeships?" Willowkit asked hopefully.

"Maybe," he said coyly. "Now your mother will be wanting to groom you for your ceremony." Stormkit groaned. She knew her mother would be frantic when she saw how much dirt and dust they had picked up when they were playing. Stoneclaw was right. Silvermist was waiting for them at the entrance of the den. As soon as the littermates walked in, she began grooming them with her rough pink tongue.

"Mom! I'm fine," Stormkit tried to wiggle out of her mother's firm grasp.

"Let all those old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the High Stump for a clan meeting," Pinestar's yowl rang out. Willowkit squeaked in excitement and Stormkit rolled her eyes, but she was just as excited.

"Stormkit, Willowkit, come up here," Pinestar beckoned them with her tail and Stormkit felt another surge of excitement. "These kits have reached the age of six moons and are ready to be apprenticed. Stormkit, from this day on until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Stormpaw. Firelight, you are ready for an apprentice. I trust you will pass your strength and swiftness down to Stormpaw and teach her the warrior code in turn. Willowkit, from this day on until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Willowpaw. Birchtail, you are also ready for an apprentice. I trust you will pass your loyalty and courage down to Willowpaw and teach her the warrior code in turn," Pinestar finished and sat down.

Having watched Foxpaw's, Sparrowpaw's, and Falconpaw's ceremony, Stormpaw knew what to do. She reached up and touched noses with her new mentor. Firelight's blue eyes glinted mischievously. Stormpaw looked over to Willowpaw. Both mentor and apprentice looked nervous as well as excited. "Are we going to start training yet?" Stormpaw asked.

Firelight nodded, "First we are going to accompany the sunhigh patrol. Marshclan has been giving us trouble about Moss Rocks, so we'll probably go there."

Stormpaw meowed eagerly, "Can we go? And can Willowpaw come too?" She pleaded.

Firelight looked over to Birchtail. "We need to talk to Birchtail. He might already have plans for Willowpaw," she padded over to him. "I'm taking Stormpaw on the sunhigh patrol. Do you want to come?"

"Sure. I was going to give Willowpaw a hunting lesson, but I guess showing her the territory is a better idea," Birchtail still seemed nervous and Firelight noticed.

"You'll be fine," she told him, flicking her brother with her tail. "Let's go tell Stoneclaw about patrolling the Marshclan border." Stormpaw followed her mentor as she trotted towards where the Dawnclan deputy was sitting patrols.

"You might as well be the sunhigh patrol," Stoneclaw answered when Firelight asked him. "Patrol the Marshclan border and pay special attention to Moss Rocks as well," he turned to Blizzardpelt. "Choose a couple of cats to hunt. We should start hunting some extra prey to bury for leafbare."

Firelight flicked her tail at Stormpaw, beckoning her to follow, which she did. Birchtail and Willowpaw were waiting at the entrance of the tunnel out of the hollow. The four cats walked on in silence. Stormpaw used the time to observe her surroundings. The forest was mostly made up of birch trees with a bit of undergrowth and long grasses. She breathed deeply, drinking in all the different scents. She thought she could smell a mouse, or was it a vole? "When can we hunt?" she asked.

"If we have time today, I will give you a lesson," her mentor replied. Stormpaw's ears pricked. She could hear the sound of running water.

"This is the Marshclan border. Smell it and remember it," Birchtail announced as they reached the river that bordered the two clans. He stayed his own sent on a bush. Even across the river Stormpaw could smell Marshclan's stench. She wrinkled her nose, what do they eat?, she wondered.

"Yuck! They smell terrible!" Willowpaw voiced Stormpaw's thoughts out loud.

"Well, we think the same of your stench," a black she-cat with piercing green, amber flecked eyes came out from behind a holly bush.

"Greetings, Emberflight," Firelight dipped her head towards the Marshclan warrior. "How is Cinderstar doing?." The question seemed honest enough, but Emberflight's eyes flickered dangerously.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she hissed

"Emberflight is the Marshclan deputy," Birchtail whispered to the apprentices. "She'll be leader soon, as Cinderstar is quite old. Don't make her angry," he added nervously. They nodded.

"Come along Stormpaw, we should finish patrolling so we can hunt later," Firelight began walking. Emberflight watched them go with a piercing gaze that made Stormpaw shiver. "This is Moss Rocks," she meowed as they came upon three roundish rocks lying in a bend in the river. Moss grew all over the rocks until it almost completely covered them. "Moss Rocks is home to mice and voles year round. See those holes in the ground? Those are their burrows."

Stormpaw examined one. It was nothing special, just a little hole in the ground just big enough for her to stick her paw in, except for it smelled strongly of vole. Hmm ... I wonder if I can grab it? Stormpaw was pondering this when Firelight said, "Don't stick your paw in there Stormpaw. I did that on my first time here and the mouse bit me," she purred. "At least I caught it."

Birchtail purred, "I remember, your first battle scar," Firelight playfully swatted him.

Stormpaw snorted in amusement. "And up there is the Moon-Rock, where we have gatherings," Birchtail nodded towards a little hill. Stormpaw bounded up it, Willowpaw close behind. The Moon-Rock was a large gray and white dappled stone. Surrounding it in a ring were towering pines and oaks with willows and bushes filling the gaps. The Moon-Rock was positioned in a shallow hollow at the back and the trees bordered the edges.

Birchtail glanced at the sky, "If we're going to get some training in, we better go now. It's getting late." Firelight nodded.

"Willowpaw, Stormpaw, where do you think we should go?"

"Well, we could go back to Moss Rocks, there's plenty of mice and voles there," Stormpaw meowed hesitantly.

"I heard Larkwing telling Falconpaw Shadow Pines was filled with squirrels gathering food for leafbare," Willowpaw chimed in.

Birchtail nodded approvingly, "Good, we should split up so we won't bump into each other while you hunt. We will go to Shadow Pines and you two can go to Moss Rocks."

Firelight agreed. "Let's go Stormpaw. Run," she raced off. Stormpaw hurried to catch up. "Okay, so this is a hunting couch," she demonstrated when they got back to Moss Rocks. Stormpaw tried to copy her. "Good, but bunch up your muscles in you headquarters more so you can get a powerful spring," Firelight prodded Stormpaw's haunches in place. "Better. Now, you see that clump of moss over there? Pretend it's a mouse."

Stormpaw looked at the moss clump, and judging how far she needed to spring, she pounced. Her paws landed directly on top of it. "Wonderful! And you didn't rip it to shreds! Ready to try it on a real mouse?"

"Yes! Where's one?" Stormpaw said, eager to catch her first prey.

Firelight rolled her eyes, "Use you ears and nose."

Stormpaw grew hot with embarrassment but opened her mouth and let scents wash over her tongue. She decided there were to many scents to pick out one. Padding silently forward, she listened as hard as she could. Finally a soft scuffling caught her attention. A mouse! Her prey was to in intent in eating it's seed, it didn't notice the cat stalking it. Just as Firelight showed her, Stormpaw crept forward and when the rodent was in pouncing range, she lept. Stormpaw dispatched the mouse with a quick nip on it's neck. Proudly, Stormpaw carried back her catch. Firelight was arguing with another cat.

"Brackenfur, please understand. It's not that-" she broke off as Stormpaw entered the clearing. Brackenfur said something quietly to Firelight before stalking off. Firelight turned back to Stormpaw and when she saw her apprentice's catch she purred.

"Nice! At least your catch didn't result in having to go to Sunfall with a bleeding paw," she joked, but it seemed forced. "It's getting late. Let's get back and you can show Willowpaw your mouse."

Stormpaw wondered what happened with Brackenfur, but decided not to ask. It was Firelight's business after all. "When an I going to learn some battle moves? Should I give this to Graywater? Can Willowpaw train with us?" she asked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Slow down! I am planning to give you some battle training tomorrow, yes if she hasn't already eaten, and only if Birchtail doesn't have plans. Any more questions?" Firelight purred in amusement.

"Yes, where will I sleep?"

"Foxpaw can show you. She's nice," Firelight responded.

Stormpaw followed her mentor into the tunnel that led into the camp. Stormpaw bounded over to the elders den. It was dug in the side of the hollow like most of the dens. One of the clan's two elders, Graywater greeted her from inside the den.

"Hello Stormpaw. How's training going? Is that a mouse?" Graywater leaned forward in her nest.

"Yes, it's for you," Stormpaw pushed it towards the dark gray she-cat. She said proudly, "Firelight took me to Moss Rocks and taught me to catch mice."

"Delicious mouse Stormpaw. Though I've always had a fondness for birds. I once caught a crow-I was being assessed and all I caught was a skinny shrew..."she trailed off, remembering her catch. Stormpaw slipped out the den, head brushing some hanging roots. She spotted Willowpaw talking to Foxpaw.

"Willowpaw! Did you catch anything?" Stormpaw called and trotted over.

"Yeah, I caught a squirrel. It almost got away, but I was to fast for it," Willowpaw's chest puffed out slightly. Stormpaw wondered at this un-Willowpaw like behaviour for a couple of heartbeats before she noticed Willowpaw's gaze dart to Falconpaw. He was sharing a squirrel with Sparrowpaw. Stormpaw but back a laugh but decided not to say anything. She looked at Foxpaw. Her whiskers were twitching so Stormpaw assumed she noticed as well. She didn't really care much anyway. Sure, Falconpaw was fairly good looking, but she had different plans. Stormpaw wanted to be leader. Not a queen or even a warrior. All queens did was lay around all day and have kits. She wasn't even sure why they even bothered with training.

Stormpaw turned to Foxpaw, "Where are we going to sleep?"

"Follow me," Foxpaw led Willowpaw and Stormpaw to the apprentice den. It was dug in the shallowest part of the hollow under the roots of an oak. They had to jump, as the lip of the den was about half a tail-length of the ground. "Go get some moss and bracken and put it in one of the hollows. Later, if you catch a bird you can line your nest with the feathers."

Stormpaw looked around. There were several shallow nest sized holes in the ground. She nudged Willowpaw. "Come on, let's find some bedding. Race you!" Stormpaw dashed off with Willowpaw close behind. They were racing through the entrance tunnel when she crashed into Oakfur, who was carrying a large rabbit.

"Hey! You got my rabbit dirty! I was going to give this to Dappleleaf," though his words were sharp, his eyes glinted in amusement.

"Sorry, we were going to go get some moss and bracken for our nests," Stormpaw apologized. Willowpaw appeared at her side.

"There's some bracken over to the right of the hollow and a fallen tree covered in moss if you want to know," Oakfur told them as he started back down the tunnel again. The littermates nodded.

Let's go Stormpaw," Willowpaw nudged her sister. Stormpaw followed her to where Oakfur had directed them.

"I'll carry enough moss for both of us and you can carry the bracken," Stormpaw carefully tore the moss from the rotting tree. When she had enough she rolled half of it up and tucked it under her chin. The rest she gathered in her jaws. Willowpaw met her at the entrance, her jaws too filled with bracken to speak. Together they padded down the tunnel in silence.

Foxpaw was waiting for them in the apprentices den. "Good, you found moss and bracken. Make your nest in any hollow you want, that isn't taken of course," Foxpaw watched them as the sisters made their nest side by side. "Okay, now you're done, I'll tell you about Fireclan. Many moons ago, when my sister Firelight was an apprentice, she was Firepaw then, she created Fireclan, a clan made up of the apprentices. She was the leader and Owltalon was the deputy. We run the den like a miniature clan."

"But wouldn't the entire clan know about Fireclan by now?" Willowpaw asked. Before Foxpaw could answer, Stormpaw meowed:

"Of course not. Firelight, Birchtail and Owltalon are the youngest warriors, remember?"

Foxpaw nodded. "Now I'm the leader with Falconpaw as my deputy and Sparrowpaw as the senior warrior. Fireclan is a secret kept by the apprentices so you can't tell anyone but the next apprentices," Foxpaw finished.

Just then Falconpaw and Sparrowpaw came in. "Oh, are you telling them about Fireclan?" Falconpaw asked.

"I just finished."

"Then are you going to call a clan meeting?"

"Yes, I should. All apprentices gather beneath the high nest for a clan meeting," Foxpaw called. "Today two new members joined us: Stormcloud and Willowheart. We will start by introducing ourselves. I will go first. I am Foxstar."

"My name is Falconflight."

"And my name is Sparrowfur."

"Okay, now you know our names, the meeting is dismissed," Foxpaw sat down again. Falconpaw and Sparrowpaw went to their own nests and curled up, getting ready to go to sleep. "Get some rest. Your mentor will get you up early tomorrow," Foxpaw informed them, then took her own advice.

Stormpaw let out a yawn. Gratefully she sank down in her new nest. She couldn't remember ever being this tired. Stormpaw quickly feel asleep.

AN: Don't forget to review!