The next morning, Cuddy woke up and left the den early. She looked around the camp, wondering where the leader's den was. Looking at all the cats, she tried to remember what the leader had looked like.

"It was a ginger tom. I think it was Firestar." thought Cuddy. She spotted him next to a pale ginger she-cat, and walked over.

"Hi." meowed Cuddy, suddenly nervous. What if he had changed his mind about the offer? What would they do then?

"Hi. It's Cuddy, right? This is Sandstorm, my mate." meowed Firestar kindly, "Have you made a decision about my offer?"

"Yes. If the offer is still open, we would like to join your Clan." answered Cuddy.

"Of course the offer is still open. I'll find some mentors for you and your friends, then we'll hold the ceremony at sunhigh. One thing… I'm sure you know by now that House can't be a warrior." replied Firestar.

"Yes." she meowed, "Please don't tell me he can't stay!" she thought anxiously.

"How do you think he would feel about being Jayfeather's apprentice? If Jayfeather agrees, House can become a medicine cat. Just remember that Jayfeather is a bit prickly sometimes."

"He would love it. House always was interested in medicine. It would be perfect for him. I think he was hoping Jayfeather would be his mentor, they're so much alike. Just don't tell House you feel sorry for him." Cuddy meowed. Firestar let out a purr of laughter.

"That sounds exactly like Jayfeather. I guess they'll get along fine. You should go see your friends. And I think Rosepaw and Blossompaw want to talk to you." Firestar replied. Cuddy dashed across the clearing to where Rosepaw and Blossompaw were waiting for her.

"What did Firestar say to you?" asked Blossompaw.

"My friends and I have decided to join the Clan. He said the ceremony will be at sunhigh and he'll find us mentors." answered Cuddy.

As he had promised, Firestar called a meeting at sunhigh that day.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting" called Firestar. He waited until all of the cats had gathered before continuing. "Six cats have joined are Clan and are now becoming apprentices. Cuddy! You are the leader of your group. One day you may be a fine Clan leader. Now your name will be Maplepaw, and you will be mentored by Brambleclaw. Brambleclaw, you were a fine mentor to Berrynose and you are an excellent deputy. Pass on all you know to Maplepaw."

"Yes, Firestar." replied Brambleclaw, touching noses with Maplepaw.

"Wilson! From this moment you will be known as Eaglepaw. Birchfall! You have never mentored an apprentice before. Eaglepaw will be your first apprentice. You are an excellent warrior, and I expect you to train Eaglepaw well."

"Yes, Firestar." agreed Birchfall, touching noses with Eaglepaw.

"Foreman! From this moment you will be known as Nightpaw. Spiderleg! You have also never really had an apprentice. Nightpaw will now be your apprentice. Teach him all you know."

"Yes, Firestar." meowed Spiderleg, touching noses with Nightpaw.

"Cameron! From this moment you will be known as Lightpaw. Cinderheart! You have proven yourself an excellent warrior many times. Lightpaw will be your apprentice. Teach her all you know."

"Yes, Firestar." replied Cinderheart, touching noses with Lightpaw.

"Chase! From this moment you will be known as Goldenpaw. Berrynose! You are an excellent warrior. Goldenpaw will be your apprentice. Teach him all you know"

"Yes, Firestar." meowed Berrynose, touching noses with Goldenpaw.

"And finally, House! From this moment you will be known as Graypaw. Jayfeather! Graypaw has shown interest in training to become a medicine cat. You will be his mentor."

"Yes, Firestar." agreed Jayfeather. He touched noses with Graypaw. He was curious about this tom that he had heard comments about looking like him. And acting like him. This new apprentice seemed very interesting.

"So, Maplepaw, do you want to see the territory today, or wait for tomorrow? We can take your friends with us." meowed Brambleclaw.

"Sure. I'll get Wilson, Cam… I mean, Eaglepaw, Lightpaw, Nightpaw, Goldenpaw, and Graypaw." replied Maplepaw.

"Actually, we'll be looking at the borders and best places to hunt. Jayfeather's going to be taking Graypaw around to show him where to gather herbs." said Brambleclaw, "He couldn't really come with us. We can take Eaglepaw, Lightpaw, Nightpaw, and Goldenpaw though. Birchfall, Spiderleg, Cinderheart, and Berrynose will come too. I'll be right back. I need to organize patrols before we go." Brambleclaw padded away and called Sandstorm, Dustpelt, Thornclaw and Graystripe to him.

"Sandstorm and Dustpelt, you two can lead the hunting patrols. Graystripe, you can lead one border patrol. Thornclaw, you lead the other. All of you can bring your apprentices." meowed Brambleclaw, "Pick whoever else you want to bring, but Sorreltail and Rosepaw aren't going on patrol. Rosepaw is getting some battle training and hunting on the way back." The four patrol leaders nodded.

"I'll take Cloudtail and Squirrelflight." meowed Sandstorm.

"I can take Ferncloud, Icewhisker and Foxtail." decided Dustpelt.

"I'll take Millie and Lionblaze." added Graystripe.

"So I'll take Mousewhisker and Brightheart." said Thornclaw finally.

"That's fine. I'll be out showing the new apprentices the territory." Brambleclaw dashed back to Maplepaw. "Ok, the patrols are sorted out. Come on." He gestured to the other new mentors and apprentices, then raced out of camp.

Graypaw was not having as much fun. Jayfeather, although not as fast as a sighted cat, knew the territory well enough to move quickly through it. Graypaw was having a hard time keeping up. As they moved farther into the forest, Jayfeather sensed his new apprentice falling behind. He paused. Graypaw raced to his side. He was limping badly.

"Are you ok?" asked Jayfeather. He was curious about his apprentice, and thought he might be more willing to talk if he wasn't in too much pain. He made a mental note to collect more poppy seeds. Graypaw would need them.

"My leg! I can't move this fast. Just walking is bad enough. Can't you slow down?" mewed Graypaw, obviously in a lot of pain. Jayfeather sighed. He didn't want to slow down.

"Fine. I can show you most of the herbs back at camp, but it'll take longer to show you where they grow. We can do it over a few days. We're at least getting watermint and horsetail today. They both grow by the lake and I noticed the stores were a bit low." Graypaw nodded.

"Fine, but I need something for the pain when we get back." meowed Graypaw.

"Fine. You can have some poppy seeds if we get some of those too." agreed Jayfeather. Graypaw looked irritated, but didn't argue.

"At least I don't have a full day of this." he thought miserably.


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