Scared of Fire

"After making Meadowbreeze, Ivystorm and Dustfang full Warriors, I am delighted to announce three new Apprentices." Proclaimed Elmstar, her silver fur ruffling from the light breeze. She smiled softly down at the three young cats, a wise touch forever in her blue eyes.

"Gustkit, Cinderkit and Cloudkit have reached their sixth Moon. They will now become Apprentices." The leader continued. Gustkit shuffled her paws nervously.

"Embercloud, you will mentor Gustpaw." Gustkit gulped, hearing these words. Embercloud was the one of the rudest and meanest cats in the whole Clan! Embercloud stepped forward, and Gustpaw touched noses with her. The ginger she-cat gave her a sly glance before stepping back into the crowd.

"Timberfur, you will mentor Cloudpaw." Elmstar continued. Timberfur was wise and strong. Cloudpaw was lucky. The two touched noses, and stepped back to make way for Cinderkit.

"Dawnsong, you will mentor Cinderpaw." Gustpaw almost let out a growl of annoyance: Dawnsong was the sweetest and most gentle cat in WindClan! Apart from her mother, of course. Dawnsong was Embercloud's sister, and they were complete opposites in every respect. The Clan chanted the names of the three new apprentices with full enthusiasm.

"All three mentors are excellent Warriors, and I am sure they will pass their skills on to these Apprentices. I am looking forward to making Duskshadow's kits into Apprentices next moon." Elmstar finished before dismissing the Clan with a flick of her tail and hopping down from the High Hill gracefully.

Embercloud padded up to Gustpaw after all the Clan had dispersed.

"Looking forward to this?" She asked, an evil twinge tickling her voice. She chuckled slightly and smirked. Gustpaw could only nod, trying to smile enthusiastically.

"Good. Now go and get some sleep," Embercloud ordered, her tail swishing slightly, her eyes darting to one side, as if she was already bored of her new Apprentice. She began to trot away in the direction of the Warriors' Den.

"You're going to need it..." She giggled to herself, disappearing into the Warriors' Den. Gustpaw gulped as she watched the ginger she-cat walk away. She hurried into the Apprentices' Den, dreading the next day. As soon as she entered, her sister bounded up to her.

"Oh Gustpaw, isn't it exciting?" exclaimed Cinderpaw, her eyes bright. Gustpaw gave an irritable grunt in response. Sure, it will be fun for her sister; her mentor was Dawnsong. Gustpaw was stuck with her evil sister. Cloudpaw had already curled up, but there was an excited smile plastered across his face. Gustpaw grumbled again, ignoring the hurt look from Cinderpaw, and curled up in a nearby nest. Since the three litter-mates were currently the only Apprentices, there was lots of room. All the same, they slept fairly close together, not used to sleeping without their Mother. Although Gustpaw spent some time wriggling around, worrying about tomorrow, she eventually drifted off into a shallow sleep.

"Gustpaw! Wake up!" A small paw was prodding her side. Gustpaw opened one eye wearily. It was Cloudpaw. His blue eyes wide and tinged with excitement.

"Sorry," he mewed, "I wanted to wake you up before Embercloud had to. I don't want her to get cross with you on our first day." Explained Cloudpaw, sitting back slightly. Gustpaw heaved herself up and nodded to her brother in appreciation.

"Thanks. I certainly don't want to get on the bad side of Embercloud!" She whispered, giggling slightly. She looked around the Den for their sister.

"Where's Cinderpaw?" Gustpaw asked. She didn't need to worry about being scolded by her Mentor.

"She's already outside. She woke me up when she was going out of the Den this morning. She was stumbling everywhere and she stepped on her paw." Cloudpaw explained, looking a little annoyed; no cat liked being woken up. He shrugged and trotted out of the Den, Gustpaw close behind.

"Excellent. You're all here." Mewed Embercloud, inspecting the three quivering Apprentices carefully. Dawnsong stood next to her, smiling innocently. Timberfur sat next to them, his tail wrapped around his paws and a faint smile crossing his face.

"I think we should start by showing them the territory." Suggested Dawnsong, her eyes bright and positive. Embercloud sighed, reluctantly, but she agreed, as did Timberfur. The three Mentor padded out of camp at a brisk pace, with their Apprentices following close behind. They quicken their pace into run, racing across the open moors. The sky was an untainted blue, and the sun shone down brightly, completing what was a perfect Green-Leaf day.

They continued into the small strip of forest at the end of their territory, which was bursting with life because it was Green-Leaf. Bird song drifted along the light breeze, and the rustling of bushes was heard all around them. Gustpaw gasped; she had never imagined the forest to be this beautiful. Sunlight filtered through the trees, making the light dapple the forest floor like the patches on Gustpaw's pelt. Her litter-mates were admiring the scenery too, but their Mentors just padded along as usual, as they were accustomed with the forest in all seasons. They kept going until they reached a river, which rushed down into the lake that was at the centre of all the Clans' Territories.

"This is the ThunderClan border. You may not cross unless instructed by Elmstar." Explained Timberfur, gesturing with his tail to the forest on the other side. The three Apprentices nodded, and then they all set off again, following the lake, to the RiverClan border.

When they arrived back at Camp, the three litter-mates were exhausted. They were all trying their best to look strong. Cinderpaw was trying not to pant, and Cloudpaw was trying to hold himself up. Gustpaw had plastered an unconvincing grin across her face, and was trying to stop her eyelids from drooping. Dawnsong chuckled, seeing right through their efforts.

"I think we should call it a day: you all look so tired!" Dawnsong announced, her soft green eyes kind and understanding. Timberfur agreed and Embercloud gave a reluctant sigh: she had clearly wanted to train them further. Eventually she nodded in agreement, and the Apprentices dipped their heads in thanks and hurried to the Apprentices' Dip. Last night they had slept inside, but tonight they joined the rest of the Clan in sleeping outside, as WindClan cats usually did. They huddled together and chatted about their first day.

"Our Territory is so big, don't you think?" Grinned Cloudpaw, his eyes alight despite his tiredness.

"I know! It's amazing! I can't wait to go hunting!" Added Cinderpaw. She had curled up, her eyelids drooping slightly, but a positive tone was still in her voice.

"I want to learn how to fight off those ThunderClan intruders!" Giggled Gustpaw, an ambitious twinkle in her eye. She then curled up next to her sister, and quickly fell into a deep sleep, now anticipating what the next day would bring.

It's a little boring I know. I'm tired and have a small case of Writer's Block. Hopefully it will get more exciting when it gets into the proper training next Chapter. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and has a happy New Year! Signed, Moon. :)

P.S: If you review, you get a Dawnsong plushie. :3