Chapter 2 ~

"Stretch up, now roll, drop down, reach up - no, up, Hawkpaw!" Auburnwhisker sighed as her apprentice stumbled and fell to the mossy ground.

"I'm trying," He snarled, shaking himself off. Lightningpaw stifled a purr of amusement as he tripped again and skidded across the hollow. Auburnwhisker just watched as the black and white tom scrambled to his feet and carefully worked his way over to his denmates.

"Alright then, I guess Hawkpaw can sit to the side while he learns how to use his paws," Velvetpelt shook his head and glanced over to the apprentices. "Everpaw, Thornypaw and Lightningpaw, come here." Lightningpaw jumped up eagerly and followed her brother to where the mentors were waiting. The Medicine Cat apprentice followed more slowly, his tail low.

"I don't see why I have to do this," Everpaw mumbled, flicking his ear.

"Because even the Medicine Cats need basic training, and while Moonshine is busy looking after the sick cats, you can be here learning to fight. Quit complaining and listen up," Robinfrost, the final mentor in the hollow, gave the stubborn tom a stern look as he sat down.

"Alright," Velvetpelt continued. "Smallpaw and Lightningpaw are an attack patrol on the camp and Everpaw and Thornypaw are going to defend it. The patrol is trying to get to this briar patch here," He flicked his tail toward a straggle of briar between the roots of a tree.

Lightningpaw crouched, her gaze fixed on the target. Smallpaw mirrored her, flicking his tail against her flank. She jumped suddenly, making a vicious bee-line through the defence patrol. They split, Thornypaw blocking her way and Everpaw watching the sides. As the golden apprentice tried to evade her brother, her teammate bolted for the side, taking advantage of the Medicine Cat's lack of confidence to charge the briar and tap it with one white paw.

"Attack team wins!" Robinfrost announced, beckoning the apprentices in with her tail. Lightningpaw bounded over, bursting with energy. Being an apprentice was so much fun! It had only been a moon since her ceremony, yet she felt ready to take on the whole of RockClan.

Smallpaw was teasing Everpaw, bouncing about while the smaller cat tried to swipe at him. Everpaw leapt at his brother, tumbling about the hollow in a blur of black and white fur. Auburnwhisker caught them with her teeth and dragged them apart. Lightningpaw purred in amusement.

Just then, Cherrypaw and Dawnpaw burst down from the trees, while their hunting party watched from the top. They circled the younger apprentices excitedly.

"It's our ceremony at sunhigh!"

"We're gonna be Warriors!"

"I want to be called Cherryfrost."

"More like Cherry-face" Dawnpaw teased.

"Take that back!" The pale ginger apprentice leapt at her sister and they struggled in the moss for a few heartbeats before collapsing in a fit of mrrows of laughter. Stormclaw, the patrol leader, beckoned to the littermates with his tail.

"Come on, before Silverstar changes his mind."

As the giggling apprentices disappeared behind the trees, Velvetpelt turned to the younger 'paws.

"Let's go, they'd never talk to you again if you missed this!"

"I, Silverstar, Leader of IceClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turns."

Silverstar paused for just a heartbeat, and Cherrypaw and Dawnpaw were practically twitching in excitement

"Cherrypaw, Dawnpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do!" They chorused.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Cherrypaw, from this moment you will be known as Cherrymoon. StarClan honours your enthusiasm and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of IceClan."

Silverstar rested his muzzle on Cherrymoon's head, and she licked his shoulder. Then the leader turned to Dawnpaw.

"Dawnpaw, from this moment you will be known as Dawncloud. StarClan honours your Courage and Strength, and we welcome you as a warrior of IceClan"

Dawncloud sprang forward to meet Silverstar as he rested his muzzle on her head. The clan began to call out their names.

"Dawncloud! Cherrymoon! Dawncloud! Cherrymoon!"

Slowly the clan began to settle down and share tongues. Lightningpaw picked a rabbit off the fresh-kill pile and dragged it over to where her friends were sitting. The new warriors eagerly bit into the prey.

"Have you seen Tawnyfeather's new kits yet?" Smallpaw asked.

Lightningpelt shook her head. "I'll go now, and take the queens a bit of prey."

She stood and selected the four juiciest mice, taking them off to the nursery. Almost as soon as she stepped through the entrance, she was assaulted by kits.

"Rawr! I'm the brave Patchstar of LionClan, defending my clan from the evil Lightningpaw!" Patchkit batted the apprentice's muzzle, and Lightningpaw fell dramatically to the ground.

"Mercy, great leader, Mercy!" The grey and ginger kit purred and leapt away.

"Just kidding, Lightningpaw, it's only me, look!"

"Ah, well, you had me fooled." The golden cat grabbed the mice that she dropped in the battle and placed one in front of each of the queens. Silentwhisker beckoned in her kits and allowed them to take a little bite before she ate.

"How was the ceremony?" Tawnyfeather asked. She had looked after Cherrymoon and Dawncloud when their own mother had died whilst kitting.

"Very good. Cherrymoon and Dawncloud are just about ready to burst with pride," Lightningpaw replied. She bent down and touched each of Tawnyfeather's little kits with her nose. "Hello little ones."

"Hollykit, Crowkit, this is Lightningpaw."

The two kits were very beautiful, each with a different pattern of black and white fur – Hollykit was mostly white, while her brother was darker. They each mewled a hello, blinking up curiously at the new cat. Lightningpaw said goodbye to each of the queens and returned to her friends.

"Lightningpaw, wait for us!" Angelkit was leading the older kits out of the nursery like a small army. Along with her two littermates, there were Cloverheart's kits, Patchkit and Speckledkit, and Softwing's kits, Sharpkit and Darkkit. They hurried over to where the apprentices were sharing tongues and flopped down next to them, chattering excitedly.

"I feel like I've been waiting for EVER. Surely it's my turn to be an apprentice?" Warrenkit mewed wistfully.

Dawncloud shook her head. "Not for a few moons yet, I'm afraid. Don't worry, it's definitely worth the wait!"

A/N Random pointless chapter that means nothing! Yay!

From now on, I'm going to try to keep the author's notes to a minimum, so if I have something to say, it'll be on my profile, so make sure to check that out.