OOC : SORRY FOR THE WAIT! Chapter Two is being transferred now, and Chapter 3 is in the middle of writing! Hope you enjoy!
A Gray she-cat with darker tabby stripes and gold eyes sat in the den. Her nest was covered in feathers, and her fur was littered with cuts. Her right leg was slashed, but it was healed over and was only a thin line now. Before her were four kits, all snuggled up together. They were the sizes of an apprentice, but only three of them shared a pelt color, being black with white markings. The final kit was an orange tom cat with green eyes.
"About three years ago, before you four were even born, A war broke out between the clans. Darkclan had had enough with Breezeclan stealing prey by using the gathering spot as a way to get to and from their territory. This caused the previous leader of Darkclan to die from starvation. He had been making sure his warriors were eating well, and forgot to eat himself. Cedarstar, who was very young at the time, went to the Tribe of Ash, which was a group of cats about four times as large as Berryclan and lived in the twoleg place.
"He made a deal, saying that he would let the Tribe of Ash have the Twoleg place and Breezeclan territory when they were all dead and gone. Grimm, Leader of the Tribe, agreed. They set off to battle, and nearly wiped out all of Breezeclan, including their leader, deputy, and medicine cat!" The she-cat told, peeking a look at the kits to see their excited looks. "I, myself, was in that battle, and that was the very battle in which my leg was wounded, though it wasn't until recently when the leg stopped working. After the clans had run away in fear, Grimm betrayed Cedarstar, forcing him to retaliate. He chased out the Tribe of Ash, and to this day, they stay hidden in the shadows of the twoleg place."
She finished her tale, her eyes fully opening and a smile settling on her face. Her tail wrapped around her paws, and she watched the kits before her. The three triplet sisters were excited, having enjoyed this story, but the ginger tom frowned. "Why doesn't Cedarstar go and wipe out the rest of Breezeclan and the tribe?" He asked. The silver she-cat let in a breath. "Ah, good question, Burnetpaw." The tom, Burnetpaw, smiled at that.
"Cedarstar truly regrets doing these things, and has apologized many times to the other clans, though I don't think they'll trust him any time soon." Burnetpaw seemed satisfied, then his ears pricked and his face dropped. "Oh no... That sounds like-" "-YOU FOUR!" A shout erupted outside the den, and a black tuxedo tom burst into the den.
"I have been wondering where you've been! Come now, you four are about to be made apprentices! I want to make sure you look ready for-" Again, he was interrupted by another sound.
As if summoned, Cedarstar's raspy voice called from outside the elder's den. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, please gather beneath Old Stone for a clan meeting!" Giggling with glee, the four kits rushed out passed their father, and he nodded to the she-cat before following them. Cats were leaving their dens, at first confused. But as soon as they spotted the kits, the smiled and rested themselves below the great gray stone. Cedarstar sat on top, watching the kits with amusement before turning his gaze to their father. "Nighttail, your four kits are now six moons old, and it's time for them to be made apprentices. Sadly, Appleclaw is no longer here to see the kits become apprentices, but may she be watching from Starclan." Cedarstar's voice rang out, and he dipped his head to Nighttail in respect. "You four, come forward." The four siblings padded up. "Burnetkit." Burnetkit puffed out his chest, eyes gleaming with hope. "From this moment on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Burnetpaw."
"Your mentor will be Rosefang. I hope she teaches you her unique hunting and fighting skills." Burnetpaw glanced back at the dark ginger she-cat before stepping back.
"Avocetkit." Next was the she-cat with blue and green eyes. "From this moment on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Avocetpaw. Your mentor will be Thrifttail I hope he teaches you to be quick and agile." Avocetpaw glanced at the big light ginger tom, seeing he was just as proud as she was. "Ravenkit." Avocetpaw was quickly replaced with her sister, whose gaze was foggy. "Blizzardleaf has informed me of how much you hang around her den. From this moment on, you will be known as Ravenpaw. I hope you learn well under our lovely medicine cat." Ravenpaw bowed her head, and Burnetpaw led her back with his tail. "And finally, Swiftkit." Cedarstar sighed exaggeratedly. The final she-kit huffed, stepping forward with pride in her eyes. "From this moment on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Swiftpaw."
"Your mentor will be Goldenclaw. I hope she teaches you discipline and restraint." He mewed, amusement flooding his gaze when she puffed out her cheeks. The four apprentices touched noses with their mentors, listening to their clanmates shout out, "Avocetpaw, Burnetpaw, Ravenpaw, Swiftpaw!" Multiple times before dying down. The clan returned to their duties, and Nighttail approached his kits. "I'm so proud of you four." He murmured, gathering them up with his tail. "Nighttail! Your leading the Sunhigh patrol, remember?" Stormfoot, a dark gray tabby she-cat, called out. Nighttail yelled his apologies and rushed over.
A dark brown tabby she-cat and a gray-brown tabby tom with a white belly approached them. "So." The she-cat mewed, amber eyes slanted. "You four are now apprentices, huh?" When she got no response, the tom padded in front of her, green eyes shining apologetically. "Sorry if she seems rude, Adderpaw's always like that." Adderpaw huffed, smacking the tom on the head with her tail. "My names Duskpaw. Even though you've seen us around camp, we never really introduced ourselves. How about you guys go choose your nests? My sister and I already got some moss ready!"
After arguing over their nests for about a hour, they exited the den. It was slightly passed sunhigh. Thrifttail and Goldenclaw approached them, their eyes twinkling with amusement. "I see you three have settled into the apprentice den nicely." Goldenclaw chuckled. Avocetpaw lept up, excitement on her face. "Yes! Me and the others chose some close to each other!"
Thrifttail smiled. "How about we go out and explore the territory together then?" He asked, turning to Goldenclaw. Goldenclaw smiled. "I'd love to! Plus it'd be nice for them to train together, don't you think?" "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I was invited to go out with Briarclaw and Stormfoot and let out apprentices train together, so Burnetpaw and I need to wait for them to return." Rosefang snipped, walking up to the group. She nosed Burnetpaw towards the entrance, where the Sunhigh patrol was returning. Swiftpaw spotted Nighttail, and waved her tail at him in greeting. He smiled and waved back, before Eagleclaw approached him. "Hope you have fun!" Goldenclaw's announcement snapped her out of it, and she realized that she was talking to Burnetpaw. Burnetpaw raced off behind Rosefang, not even offering a goodbye.
Goldenclaw sighed. "Well, let us leave then." The group quickly exited the camp. As they walked through the forest, Swiftpaw let out a gasp of surprise. "The forest is so beautiful!" She mewed in awe. Thrifttail turned to look at the two sisters. "Our first stop is Fernclan border! Since the Sunhigh patrol set the markers at Berryclan border, it's our job to do the same at Fernclan's border. Lets just hope they don't think they can steal our prey or land like they did to Breezeclan!" The continued to the border, passing by the Training area and stream. As they approached the border, Avocetpaw paused mid-step, sniffing the air. "I smell cats... " Sounds of arguing suddenly erupted from beyond the bushes. As they exited the bushes, a tom cat growled. "See, told ya I smelt Darkclan scum!" Before them was a patrol of cats, and the comment had come from one of the dark brown tabby toms with green eyes. The leader of the patrol, A black tom with white paws and tail tip glared at the tom, before looking back at the Darkclan patrol.
Then, Silence.