Chapter 1
There was a gentle breeze and the flowers were finally blooming over the nursery den. Rainkit padded out the den, her blue eyes glinting with excitement. Today she was to become an apprentice and she felt like running to The Beyond and back! Eaglekit and Fernstripe came out and meowed "Now, you'll need to clean yourselves up before the ceremony." "Mom were going to be apprentices!" protested Eaglekit.
"But you're always going to be my kit." Fernstripe purred affectionately. If only their father could see them know. She thought. Eaglekit wiggled out of her grasp and ran across the clearing. Rainkit glanced at Fernstripe advancing on her and ran after Eaglekit. She slowed down close to the fresh-kill pile and as Rainkit looked around, she saw the camp coming to life. Scorchclaw, the deputy, was assigning patrols to the group of cats.
Rosestorm, Lightningfang, and Blackflower were returning from training their apprentices for battle. She thought of what it would feel like to explore and to hunt and fight for the clan. She could imagine fighting a NightClan warrior, her claws digging into her enemies pelt. Footsteps echoed outside the entrance to camp but soon realized that it was Leafheart's hunting patrol. Squirrelfur and Russetfoot closely followed.
Then from the corner of her eyes she saw Ivystar padding towards to the Highbranch. She jumped up with grace and yowled "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highbranch for a clan meeting!" Everyone in camp walked towards their leader and sat down quietly. Fernstripe herded Rainkit and Eaglekit towards the Highbranch and sat down beside them, her eyes gleaming proudly. "Today is one of my favorite tasks as leader which is the making of new apprentices." Rainkit, Eaglekit step forward. They padded excitedly forwards, their chest fur puffing out proudly. "Rainkit, from this day forward until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Rainpaw."
She paused and continued "Wolfleap, you are a brave and intelligent warrior and I hope you pass down these attributes down to your apprentice, as you have done with Echoflame." Rainpaw padded towards Wolfleap nervously. What if he doesn't like me?She thought. He looked down at her with nice, friendly eyes. "I'll do my very best!" Rainpaw promised. "That's all I expect." He replied. "Eaglekit, from this moment forward, you will be known as Eaglepaw. Emberwhisker, you are a young warrior and you still have much to learn but I hope having an apprentice will gain experience." Eaglepaw slowly walked forward toward the ginger tom and touched noses with him.
As the clan cats broke apart and carried out the patrols, Rainpaw turned towards her mentor and asked him "What are we going to do first?" He walked towards the clan entrance tunnel and replied "Today were going to explore the clan territory while you get familiar with the other clans." "Okay!" she meowed enthusiastically then more hesitantly mewed "Can Eaglepaw come?" "If it's okay with Emberwhisker he can." Wolfleap looked at Emberwhisker who had overheard the conversation nodded in agreement.
All four headed out of the camp and into the welcoming shadows of the forest. Rainpaw listened and smelled everything around her. She could hear birds up above, and the babbling of the stream not to far off and the feel of the wind in her fur. She padded beside her brother as they walked towards the border. They suddenly stopped and Wolfleap turned around and stared at the apprentice. "Give the air a good sniff and tell me what you can smell." Rainpaw tilted her head up and gave an attentive sniff and recoiled. "I smell pine trees and something really disgusting." She paused to think but before she could answer Eaglepaw interrupted her "Is it one of the clans?" "Yes it is, but please don't interrupt your littermate." Emberwhisker snorted. "This is the border to NightClan. You can tell not only by the smell but also by the pine trees and the marshy ground. Remember the scent because if you do, climb a tree and head back to camp immediately or run in the opposite direction." Wolfleap went on. Rainpaw's fur began to bristle but Eaglepaw snorted in defiance "They wont be able to catch me because I'll be the best apprentice ever!"
They headed towards the horizon and Rainpaw could see the trees thinning out. She could hear the faint sound of water moving. She could smell fish and as they got closer she whispered to her mentor "Is this IceClan?" Wolfleap looked down in surprise and pride and it made her feel warm. "IceClan mainly feeds on fish and lives near streams. They don't like the forest and their fur weighs them down so they always try to attack in or near water." Emberwhisker meowed. They continued along the border until the ground began to level out and flatten. "This is MoonClan territory.
They are usually light colored, and are really fast. They prey mainly on rabbits and birds. They camp in caves with trees surrounding it." Wolfleap told them. He looked up at the sky and said, "It's time to head back to camp. Tomorrow we will teach you how to hunt." They all walked back to camp and as soon as they got there, Eaglepaw and Rainpaw went to the fresh-kill pile. Rainpaw chose a sparrow and sat down near the apprentices' den. The other apprentices came over and sat down near them.
"Would you'll like to join us?" Foxpaw asked them. Rainpaw looked up and nodded gratefully, picked up her sparrow and went over and sat by Littlepaw. Eaglepaw followed her and sat down by Foxpaw. "So how was your first day out of camp?" Littlepaw asked. Rainpaw took a huge bite out of her sparrow, swallowed and replied "Great! We got to learn all about all the other clans!"
"I can't wait to fight a NightClan warrior." Eaglepaw growled. "You'll probably get killed in that battle." Frostpaw joked. "Laugh all you want." Eaglepaw snorted. He finished the remains of his mouse and got up. "Don't forget that you're not going to sleep in the nursery." Foxpaw joke. "The bedding is in the den already. Bluepaw brought it in earlier." Foxpaw informed them. Rainpaw and Eaglepaw exchanged looks and Rainpaw thought I totally forgot all about sleeping in the apprentices' den!
They followed the older apprentices into the den. "You can sleep by the back if you want." Littlepaw told Rainpaw. Rainpaw padded over to the pile of moss, bracken, and feathers, took half of it and headed towards the back of the cave. Her white pelt shone in the moonlight while she made her nest. She settled down and began to dream