Briarkit fluffed up his coat to make himself look bigger. "I'm Tornpelt, deputy of MoorClan!" he cried. "I've come to steal PineClan's territory!"
"Oh no you don't!" growled Bluekit. "I'm Bluestar, leader of PineClan, and I'm the best leader there ever was!"
"You're not the leader!" Briarkit objected. "You're just a kit!"
"I'm just as much leader as you are deputy of MoorClan. I'm going to be the best warrior ever," Bluekit bragged waving his tail in the air, "like Windystep."
"Graystar is leader," Briarkit said. "That means he's the best."
Bluekit was just about to reply when they were interrupted.
"What are you kits up to?" The two tom kits looked up. Bluekit's father Windystep was watching them, an his eyes glowing with amusement.
"I'm defending the territory against Bri-- I mean, Tornpelt," Bluekit explained.
Windystep purred. "That's great," he said. "But I think the territory can wait until morning. You need to go to bed."
"But I don't want to!" Bluekit whined. Briarkit wondered how his friend could be so disrespectful toward his own sire.
"It's late," said the deputy. "The Gathering patrol is about to leave, and I have to go with them."
Briarkit watched his friend flatten his ears in defeat. "Fine," he said.
"Briarkit!" the brown tabby kit heard his mother call. "Bluekit!" She stuck her head out from the nursery. "Oh. Hello, Windystep. Kits, come along. Time for bed."
"Windystep already told us that," Bluekit said. Briarkit obediently headed toward the nursery. He turned to watch his friend follow, tail waving in the air.
"Good-bye, Windystep!" the blue-furred kit called.
"Good night, Bluekit," the deputy purred.
Whitefeather, belly heavy with unborn kits, and Silvertail were already asleep, Slashkit curled up against his mother's flank. Ferntail beckoned with her tail to the tom kits. Orchidkit was snuggled up next to their mother already, her breathing deep and steady. Briarkit lay down near his mother, fluffing the moss until it was just right. Bluekit curled up next to him. The other kit's whiskers tickled Briarkit's nose, and he sneezed. Soon, he was fast asleep.
Briarkit was awoken by the familiar jab of Bluekit's paw against his flank. He blinked open his amber eyes. "What?"
"Shh!" Bluekit breathed. "The Gathering patrol is back." Briarkit sat up and shook scraps of moss from his pelt. He saw Bluekit get up and start to head toward the nursery's entrance, but Briarkit stopped him.
"Look!" he whispered. "Silvertail is awake." His friend turned to see the silver-furred queen sitting up in her nest, ears angled toward the nursery entrance. Briarkit listened too. He could hear three sets of paws heading toward them.
"Can you believe it?"Briarkit recognized the voice of Mothflight, one of the warriors.
"MoorClan must be mouse-brained," said a second warrior. Moosefur, Briarkit thought, picturing the bad-tempered, dark brown tom.
"Redstar must have had some reason," said the third warrior, a she-cat named Stripefur. "Maybe MoorClan are short on kits or apprentices."
"But taking in a loner to train as a warrior?"Moosefur spat in disgust. "There's no reason to do that." Out of the corner of his eye, Briarkit saw Silvertail stiffen and glance down at her sleeping kit. He turned his attention back to the nursery entrance as the warriors resumed talking.
"It makes MoorClan weaker," Mothflight pointed out. "That's good for us. Any PineClan apprentice could take a loner in battle."
"At least they didn't take in a kittypet," Moosefur scoffed. "Then all we'd have to do is send a few of our kits over to their camp and we'd have MoorClan trembling at our paws." Mothflight and Moosefur laughed heartily.
"A loner being a warrior," Mothflight said disdainfully. "I never thought I'd see the day." As the three warriors' pawsteps faded into the distance, Briarkit turned to lie back down. He saw Silvertail shift, and froze. Had she noticed that they were awake?
But the queen seemed preoccupied. She was staring at her kit, looking stricken. Briarkit was concerned. Was she sick? Was Slashkit sick? Why did she look so worried?
Briarkit banished the thoughts from his mind as Bluekit began snoring beside him. He'd have plenty of time to dwell on Silvertail's mood in the morning. Right now, he was beat.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather at Star Rock for a Clan meeting!"
Bluekit felt a rush of excitement at the familiar summons. He followed the rest of the Clan to Star Rock, where he sat beside Windystep. His father purred as he sat down, his eyes shining.
"You're so lucky!" Briarkit meowed as he walked past to sit beside his mother. Bluekit flicked his ears in agreement. He had been waiting for this day for... what? Six moons?
Graystar spoke. "By apprenticing our kits, we show that PineClan will survive and remain strong through new warriors, the lifeblood of the Clan. Bluekit, please join me on Star Rock." Bluekit leapt to his paws, a wild energy surging through his veins. Windystep flicked him affectionately on the shoulder with his tail as Bluekit passed by. The other cats parted to make a path for him. The apprentice-to-be sprang gracefully onto Star Rock.
The whole Clan was gathered beneath him, besides Whitefeather, who had stayed in the nursery with her new kits, Heatherkit, Skykit, and Frostkit. "Bluekit," said Graystar. "From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be called Bluepaw."
"Bluepaw! Bluepaw! Bluepaw!" the Clan chanted. The new apprentice could feel their love and support radiating from them. It warmed his pelt more than the sun ever had. All the Clan had a soft spot for this mischievous kit, the son of Rainfall, who had been a much-respected warrior in her lifetime and their beloved deputy.
Graystar silenced the Clan with a flick of his tail. "Bluepaw's mentor shall be none other than myself," he said. Bluepaw was surprised. It was an honor to be mentored by the Clan leader. I suppose I am the kit of his deputy, he thought proudly. Graystar bent to touch noses with his new apprentice, and Bluepaw quickly completed the ritual. "Clan meeting dismissed," said the leader. The Clan dispersed, breaking into smaller groups of cats. Some stayed to congratulate Bluepaw.
Windystep was the first. "I'm so proud of you, Bluepaw," he said, his stormy green eyes shining incredibly bright.
"Thank you," Bluepaw said. "I'll be a good apprentice for Graystar." He turned as he heard a purr of amusement. Ferntail had come to congratulate her adopted kit.
"You?" she asked. "Be a good apprentice? When hedgehogs fly! I don't know what Graystar was thinking, taking you on." When Bluepaw looked put-out, she reached down to nuzzle him affectionately. "I'm sure you will make your mother proud," she murmured, just loud enough for Bluepaw to hear. "She was my best friend, you know. We trained together."
"Really?" asked Bluepaw.
"Yes," said Ferntail. "Ah, those were the days...."
"Congratulations on becoming an apprentice!" Bluepaw turned to see Gingertail and her brother Lionclaw, who had both become warriors recently along with their brother Hawkscar. Bluepaw barely had enough time to say "thank you" before two other cats that he knew quite well came to greet him.
"Bluepaw!" called Leafpaw. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks!" Bluepaw said.
"You're so lucky!" said Rosepaw. "The Clan leader as your mentor!"
"I know," said Bluepaw, feeling a bit smug at the jealous looks on the two she-cats' faces.
"We can show you around the apprentice den sometime," Leafpaw offered.
"Bluepaw!" The apprentice turned yet again to see who the newcomer was.
"Graystar!" he said, standing up taller in the presence of his mentor.
"Come," said the gray tom. "I'm going to show you the forest." Bluepaw felt a surge of excitement. The forest! He couldn't wait to stalk prey in the shadows of the pines, or check for OakClan intruders along the border (for real this time!). As he bounded after Graystar, Bluepaw glanced back at his father. He could see the immeasurable pride and love in his fathers eyes. It was the best feeling in the world. Bluepaw knew that he would give up anything, just so long as he could be loved by Windystep.
Bluepaw breathed deeply as he followed Graystar into the forest. The scents of the pine woods rushed to greet him: the fresh air, fragrant pine needles, and warm scents of prey blended in perfect harmony. This is my territory, Bluepaw thought. The needles that littered the ground were a bit prickly, but made the ground spongy and nice to walk upon.
"Do you see this little clearing beside the camp?" Graystar asked. Bluepaw nodded in reply. "This is the training hollow, where we teach the apprentices battle moves. The ground is nice and sandy, and it is soft enough to not hurt when you hit the ground."
"Are we going to train right now?" Bluepaw asked excitedly, stepping toward the hollow.
"No," said Graystar. "You need to learn the boundaries and landmarks of our territory." The two toms headed west, away from the sun that was rising over the forest.
When they eventually reached the edge of the forest, Graystar held his tail in front of Bluepaw to stop him. "Breathe deeply," he instructed. "What do you smell?"
Bluepaw opened his mouth to draw the air over the scent glands in his upper mouth. He wrinkled his nose. "It smells yucky."
Graystar purred in amusement. "That is the scent of CliffClan, and you'd do well to remember it. The tree line is the border between our territories. Never cross it, unless you want to get ripped to shreds by a CliffClan patrol." Bluepaw nodded, although he thought it might be fun to sink his claws into a few mangy CliffClan cats when he got a little bigger. They continued on, north now, traveling farther away from the CliffClan border as to not draw suspicion upon themselves.
Soon they came to a little pool with a small brook that flowed into the river on CliffClan's territory. A large willow tree grew alongside of the spring.
"This is Willow Spring," Graystar said. "The water here is always cool and clear. In the hottest days of greenleaf it is a wonderful place to drink. When I was a young warrior, Russetstar, then leader of CliffClan, launched an attack on PineClan and won the spring from us. We retaliated a season or so later and won it back. CliffClan was so badly defeated that they haven't tried to steal it again."
"Is that how Shreddedear's ear got so ripped up?" Bluepaw asked.
"Yes," said Graystar. "He fought in both battles."
After drinking from the spring, the toms began angling east until they reached the next landmark of PineClan territory.
"Woah!" Bluepaw said. "What's that?" Four crumbling walls of stone stood in a rectangle. Rubble littered the area.
"A very old, abandoned Twoleg nest," Graystar explained. "The legend is that it once stood taller than some of these pines, but over the seasons it crumbled, and now stands only this high."
Bluepaw raced forward and leaped onto the top of the closest wall. Tons of rocks were scattered around the inside. He could hear a few scrabbling noises of small furry creatures who lived in the little pockets between stones. His nose picked up something very sweet-smelling. He tracked the scent to the front of the Twoleg nest, where clumps of beautiful purple flowers bloomed in the late greenleaf sunshine. Bluepaw dashed over. They smelled so good! He opened his mouth to eat one, but a yowl from Graystar made him freeze.
"Don't eat the catmint," he said sternly. "Blossomfur needs it to survive for the cats who catch whitecough or greencough. It is a very valuable and rare herb that only grows in Twoleg dwellings."
"Oh," said Bluepaw. He still wanted to eat it.
"This way," said Graystar, leading the apprentice southwards.
Bluepaw stared in wonder. The next thing Graystar was showing him was the Sky Pine, the tallest tree in the whole forest. Bluepaw had to tip his head all the way back to see the top, which seemed to scrape the clouds.
"Can I climb it?" he asked. Not waiting for an answer, Bluepaw dashed forward and launched himself onto the trunk, digging his claws in. He had almost made it halfway up the bare part of the trunk before Graystar called him down.
"Bluepaw!" he exclaimed. "Never do anything like that without your mentor's permission! You could easily kill yourself by climbing too high and falling off."
"Where are we going next?" Bluepaw asked without missing a beat. Becoming an apprentice had not made him more vulnerable to scolding. With a flick of his tail, Graystar lead on.
The leader didn't approach the next landmark. Bluepaw stared at it. It was a charred stump, as black as the warrior Crowflight's pelt. "What happened to it?" he asked.
"This is the Death Tree," Graystar said quietly. "It was struck by lightning many seasons ago. It is a place of bad omens. It is said that any cat who touches it will die within a sunrise."
Before Graystar could stop him, Bluepaw sprinted forward and pressed a paw against it.
"Bluepaw!" Graystar cried. "What have you done? Get back here, now!" Bluepaw calmly walked back to his mentor.
"I don't feel any different," Bluepaw said. Graystar stared at him.
"Do you want to die?" Graystar asked furiously. "What do you think Windystep would do if he lost you? You're all he has left."
"I know," Bluepaw said. "But I don't think that tree is cursed. It just feels like a burnt-up tree." Graystar hissed with annoyance and stalked off. Bluepaw followed, tail waving carelessly in the air.
"This is the last thing I wanted to show you," Graystar said. "Although it won't matter if you're dead by tomorrow from that accursed tree."
"I'm not going to die, Graystar," Bluepaw said. "The tree isn't cursed." Graystar held Bluepaw's sapphire gaze in his own stern amber one. Bluepaw didn't flinch, and the leader was the first to look away.
"So what's this stump for?" Bluepaw asked. He jumped on top of it.
"This is PineClan's initiation site," Graystar explained. "Each Clan has one. When a cat becomes a warrior, he must spend a night atop this stump, guarding the territory from enemies and reflecting on what it means to be a warrior." Bluepaw closed his eyes, imagining that the setting sun was the beginning of his own first night as a warrior. Energy flooded his veins once again.
"Now what?" he asked.
"We're done for the day. We're heading back to camp," said Graystar.
"Okay!" said Bluepaw. Graystar lead the way back to camp. Bluepaw couldn't believe how slowly the gray cat was walking; he was bursting with energy. He was now an apprentice of PineClan!