Chapter 3.
Three Moons Later.
"From this moment on, you will be known as Goldenpaw until you have earned your Warrior name." Sunstar leaned down and licked the newly named Goldenpaw's shoulder and she returned the gesture, her eyes glistening. "Dappletail, I know that you will teach Goldenpaw everything you know and she will become a great warrior with your guidance." Dappletail's eyes shown just as bright as Goldenpaw's as she reached down and touched noses with her new apprentice, Goldenpaw.
Goldenpaw glanced over at her brother and sister, now Blackpaw and Rosepaw, and their mentors, Icefur and Shallownose. Their eyes were too shinning with pride and excitement, for being apprentices is what they had been dreaming about since they could remember, and then the next stop would be to become Warriors.
Goldenpaw and her mentor leaped down off the High Rock and stood beside the new apprentices and their mentors. Goldenpaw was buzzing with excitement, but the only thing she really cared about was if Tigerpaw was just as proud of her as she felt. She looked around and saw him, standing with Thistleclaw and Bluefur. She whispered to Dappletail that she would be back, and ran off to go talk to her new denmate.
"Tigerpaw!" She mewled as she made her way to him.
He glanced at her and his amber eyes seemed to shine as he looked at her. He quickly told Bluefur and Thistleclaw that he would be back and ran over to her. "Congratulations." He mewled as he sat down, wrapping his tail around his paws. "Its about time you became an apprentice. I thought you were going to be in the Nursery forever." He teased, flicking her ear with his tail.
Goldenpaw purred in response. "I hope I become just as good as apprentice as you, Tigerpaw! You're great."
Tigerpaw fidgeted uncomfortably; it was obvious that he was embarrassed by her compliment. "I'm not so sure about that, Goldenpaw, but you know that I won't be an apprentice very long." He pointed out.
Goldenpaw's face fell. She realized that that was true. Tigerpaw had been an apprentice for a long time. All he really needed was his final test and he would be good enough to be a warrior, and that meant that they wouldn't be den mates for all that long. However, she didn't let it bring her down, because she also knew that once he was a warrior, she would be trying even harder to make her way into becoming a warrior too, and once she is, they would be den mates again.
So with that in mind, she purred and nodded her head. "But we'll be den mates when I'm a warrior anyways, so I think we'll be fine." He nodded in agreement, before glancing back at his mentor and Bluefur.
He seemed edgy and it worried Goldenpaw. He only ever appeared that way when it was concerning his mentor, and gazing over at him, she could see why. Thistleclaw and Bluefur seemed to be in a heated argument, and Goldenpaw didn't want to stick around to find out what it was.
"I'll see you later, Tigerpaw. I can see that you were busy." She pointed towards the pair with her tail. "Besides, I want to go explore the forest, now that I'm an apprentice." She puffed out her chest with pride.
Tigerpaw purred in amusement and gave her ear a quick lick. "I'll see you in the den, then. Have fun, Goldenpaw, and be careful for the adders. Dappletail will warn you, but I thought a heads up before would be nice." With that said, Tigerpaw turned and bounded back to Bluefur and Thistleclaw. His re-appearance seemed to calm Bluefur down, as the fur alongside her back was easing its way down, but Thistleclaw only seemed more agitated.
Goldenpaw narrowed her eyes and watched Thistleclaw for a moment. There was something familiar about the way he moved around. She could hear his low growl from over to where she was standing, and she did not like the way he was looking at Tigerpaw. It was then that she realized what seemed so familiar about him. She gasped in recognition and stumbled backwards in horror. Those eyes . . . Thistleclaw was the cat she saw in the forest a few moons back. He was the one that she felt a negative vibe around, and he was Tigerpaw's mentor. She wondered if Tigerpaw felt anything around him, if his mentor gave him the creeps just as he did to her. And the scar on Tigerpaw's muzzle . . . she reckoned that it wasn't from a feisty rabbit after all.
However, her suspicions against Thistleclaw weren't enough for the young apprentice. She needed proof that he was a cruel mentor with a cold heart, and she decided that she would find that evidence soon. But for now, she needed to explore the territory with her own mentor, Dappletail. She would have to worry about Tigerpaw later.
With that thought, Goldenpaw bounded away back to her mentor and to her brother and sister and their mentors. "Are we going to go explore the forest?" She asked, her tail swaying with excitement.
Dappletail nodded. "Yes. All of us are. We decided that we should go together and tomorrow, we'll start your training, as it is already almost sundown." She mewled to her young apprentice. Dappletail's eyes shone with pride as she spoke to Goldenpaw, and Goldenpaw suddenly wondered if she was her first apprentice.
So, they were off to the forest to go exploring and to know every part of the territory that was theirs. They would be starting with the Riverclan border and would be making their way from there. As they were leaving through the tunnel, Goldenpaw was the last to leave the tunnel, gazing back into the clearing, wondering what Tigerpaw was going to do, but knowing that she had to worry about herself right now above all.
That night, after the new apprentices and their mentors had returned from their trip in the forest, Goldenpaw escaped the group and announced that she was going to the Dirt Place. As she made her way to the Dirt Place to make dirt, she heard angry mews coming from inside the forest. Curious, she crawled through the open gape in the Dirt Place and listened from the brambles.
"With that attitude, you'll never become a warrior!" The first voice mewed.
"If she get's hurt in the process, Thistleclaw, I'm going to kill you!" The second voice growled back in response.
"Your heart is going soft, Tigerpaw! She's just a puny apprentice!"
"She's not just an apprentice!"
Leaves rustled from the other side of the Dirt Place and Goldenpaw quickly climbed out of the tunnel and crept her way back to the Apprentice den. She couldn't stop her heart from beating faster in her chest. She knew that Thistleclaw was evil now and he was taking Tigerpaw down with him. But what Tigerpaw had said about "if she get's hurt, I'm going to kill you" didn't make much sense to her. Who was Tigerpaw talking about? It was an apprentice, obviously, because Thistleclaw and Tigerpaw had both said it was. Could they be talking about . . . her?
Like with Blackpaw and Rosepaw and Goldenflower's family, I made up Blackpaw and Rosepaw's mentors. The next chapter, there will be a lot more suspense, so be aware. This is only the beginning.