Chapter Three

That night, she had the mouse dream again. Ginger was padding soundlessly through the thick undergrowth of her dream forest. Up ahead was the same pesky little mouse, nibbling on a seed it had found among the leaves that littered the ground. This time she wasn't going to allow it to escape.

Ginger dropped down into a crouch, belly fur brushing the ground, and took a cautious step forward. She was now almost on top of it, and-

"Hi, I'm Whitekit!"

Ginger's eyes flashed open, startled awake by the loud cheery mew. For a moment she laid there in confusion, until she saw a fluffy white tom-kit with sparkling blue eyes. The kit himself looked around her and Tiny's age, though it was possible for him to be a moon or two younger. Beside her, Ginger's littermate lifted his head sleepily. The small tom's ice-blue eyes were bleary with sleep.

"Whitekit!" a familiar voice called, and Bluefur poked her head through the fern tunnel before shouldering her way in. The gray she-cat was giving the white tom a stern look. "What did I tell you?"

Whitekit ducked his head sheepishly. "Don't disturb them and wait until they wake up," he mumbled before glancing up. "But I wanted to meet them!"

Bluefur sighed in exasperation before turning to them. "I'm sorry," the warrior apologized, "I told him not to bother you two-"

"No, no," Ginger quickly interrupted as she stood from her nest, back arching in a much needed stretch before continuing, "it's all right."

"Easy for you to say," Tiny grumbled before lowering his head back down and curling into a tight ball, falling asleep once more.

Ginger blinked in surprise. Usually her littermate was up before her, which would then cause him to go on and wake her up as well. She turned back to the two Clan cats. "Ignore him," she mewed, "he had a harder day yesterday than I did. He's usually an early riser."

The gray warrior nodded. "I'd say so," Bluefur agreed. "But unfortunately he's going to have to wake up now. Sunstar is going to be calling a meeting soon."

At that moment, Sunstar's voice could be heard from the clearing beyond. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" the leader yowled.

"Or he's going to call it now," Whitekit teased and Bluefur gave him a mock glare before turning and padding out of the small clearing.

Behind her, Ginger heard a growl of frustration. "Can't a cat get any sleep around here?" Tiny muttered, at last getting up and climbing out of his makeshift nest. Giving his pelt a shake, the small black tom padded up to her side, a piece of moss clinging to his neck fur.

Letting out a purr, she ducked down and plucked the moss from his fur with her teeth before spitting it out and soothing her tongue over the spot where it had hung. Once done, she followed Whitekit into the main clearing, with Tiny taking up the rear.

"Come sit with me," Whitekit invited them before scampering away. He led them over to a small brown she-cat with a ginger patch on her chest. Beside the queen were two she-kits around Whitekit's age, though the pair seemed to be a few moons younger. One was had a white coat, the other a dappled gray tabby. Both were obviously going to one day become lovely she-cats. Looking away from them, Ginger now looked at Sunstar as he began to speak to the Clan cats that had gathered.

"Last night, it came to my attention that one of ThunderClan's warriors had attacked a young kit near Twolegplace," the bright ginger tom announced and the Clan cats gasped, others looked horrified.

"I was only defending our territory!" Thistleclaw snapped, the spiky warrior's voice rising above the gathered crowd. "Besides, an intruder is an intruder. Being a kit is his problem, and it was a kittypet at that."

Suddenly the Clan cats parted, letting a graying dark red she-cat through. The elder's amber eyes were like flames as they glared furiously at Thistleclaw. "In all my life, I never thought I'd see the day when one of my own kits would harm a helpless kit!" she spat at him. "You are a disgrace!" The dark red elder glanced up at Sunstar. "With your permission, I would like to conduct his own punishment."

The ThunderClan leader nodded. "You have it," he meowed simply, giving the old queen what she asked.

Thistleclaw on the other paw, was not pleased. "What!" he screeched at Sunstar, clearly outraged by this turn of events. "She has no right!"

"I may be just an old bag of bones," the old she-cat hissed, "but I'm still your mother! For three moons you are to remain in camp and take care of the queens and do whatever they ask you to do. If you fail to do so, one moon will be added to your punishment."

Sunstar bowed his head in agreement. "And to add on to that, you will no longer be the mentor of Tigerpaw."

At the sound of his name, the dark tabby apprentice looked up. He didn't look to worried about losing his mentor, in fact he looked ecstatic.

"Smallear, you will be the new mentor of Tigerpaw," the ThunderClan leader announced, and a gray tom with very small ears looked up in surprise before nodding. He padded forward from the gathered cats and touched noses to the dark tabby.

Sunstar continued. "As I was saying," the bright ginger tom began, "the kit was indeed attacked by Thistleclaw. He was also saved by his own sister who put her own life on the line to protect him."

At that, many of the Clan cats began whispering in shocked voices. Obviously a situation like this hadn't been heard of, or if it had, then it was very rare. At least for someone like a kittypet. This conclusion gave Ginger a sense of pride that she had never felt before, pride that she had done something not many kittypets had the courage to do: taking a stand against someone who would make a normal house cat run for the hills.

"And I would like to reward this young cat for her pure nerve and outstanding courage," Sunstar added, his eyes meeting hers unblinkingly, before he continued, "by offering her a choice."

Ginger could feel her heart beating quickly in her chest with excitement and relief. He wasn't going to send her away! He was giving her a chance but, will he do the same to Tiny?

As if reading her mind, the ThunderClan leader meowed, "This offer also stands for her brother as well, as Bluefur had explained to me that his twolegs won't take him back because of how he now bares the scars of a wild cat."

With his words, she found her herself feeling relieved. She wasn't going to be alone after all, and neither was her brother.

"Ginger, Tiny, come forward," Sunstar called.

Excitement burned in her paws, as Ginger padded forward with Tiny close at her side. This was it! They were going to have a new home, a new life. She felt like she could barely hold in her excitement now that she and her littermate stood at the foot of the large boulder that Sunstar addressed the Clan from.

"Ginger, Tiny," he meowed, looking down at them with shining eyes, "do you wish to join ThunderClan?"

She stood there and looked Sunstar in the eye as she meowed in a clear voice that traveled throughout the clearing, "Yes."

"Yes," Tiny echoed.

"Then from this day forward until you earn your warrior names, you Ginger will be known as Firepaw, and you Tiny will be known as Tinypaw," Sunstar announced. "Bluefur!" The gray she-cat looked up in surprise. "You are ready for your first apprentice, you will mentor Firepaw. As being my former apprentice, I know you will pass on all that I, and your first mentor Stonepelt, have taught you onto her."

Bluefur dipped her head in agreement and made her way over to Firepaw, who stood up and met her mentor half way. The warrior leaning down to touch her nose to Firepaw's like Smallear had done with Tigerpaw earlier.

"Lionheart," Sunstar called, and a magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur around his neck like a lion's mane looked up. "You too are ready for your first apprentice. Swiftbreeze was your mentor and I hope you pass on everything she taught you onto young Tinypaw."

"I won't let you down, Sunstar," Lionheart promised, and stepped forward, touching his nose with the small black tom.

Firepaw felt excitement still burning in her paws. She was an apprentice!