"Good" meowed Bramblestar. "Now, before I announce it to the clan, I'll need to know your names."
"I'm Haley, and that's Zarya, Shannon and Elle." Haley answered.
"Hmmm, that's not going to work. We're going to have to change that if your going to stay with us." He meowed.
"Change our names?" Repeated Zarya. "Why would we do that?"
"Because your current ones aren't warrior names. Each clan cat name has a prefix and a suffix. Usually, it's the mothers who choose the prefix for their kits, but in this case I'll do it. The suffix changes at least twice in a cats life. At their apprentice ceremony, then at their warrior ceremony." Answered Bramblestar. "Of course, you can always keep your names, but it'll be easier for the clan to accept you if you have a clan name."
"We'll take new names then." Meowed Haley.
"Good, now I'll call the clan meeting, and I'll instruct you on what to do at the ceremony." Meowed Bramblestar before leaving them to jump up onto the ledge above his den.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!" He yowled, and at once cats emerged from each direction, their eyes glancing towards the kittypets occasionally.
"As you all know, ThunderClan has lost warriors in this past season, and three of our most senior warriors joined the elders den," Bramblestar paused to nod at three frail looking cats. "StarClan has blessed us by sending us four cats, willing to join us and learn the warrior code. Today I will give them their proper clan names. Haley, step forward."
All the cats turned to face her, and she could feel her blood turn to ice as she tried to approach her new leader where he sat waiting for her. When she finally reached him, after what seemed like forever, he yowled again.
"Haley, from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Cloverpaw. Your mentor will be Lionblaze. I hope Lionblaze will pass down all he knows on to you." He meowed, then added silently to her "go touch noses with your new mentor." When her turn was over, she left Bramblestar's side to sit besid her friends again, and soon it was Shannon's turn, who got the name of Willowpaw and her got Brackenfur as her mentor, then Zarya became Sandpaw, and her mentor was Blossomfall, then finally, Elle became Brightpaw and got Thornclaw as a mentor.
"Cloverpaw, Willowpaw, Sandpaw, Brightpaw!" The clan cheered, though not too enthusiastically, Haley, no, Cloverpaw noticed, but didn't care. They'd just have to work extra hard to prove themselves to be excepted. While she was gazing around at her new home, she hadn't noticed that Lionblaze was now beside her again and looking at her questionably, he must be waiting for an answer, thought Cloverpaw.
"Sorry?" She asked guiltily.
"I asked you how much of ThunderClan's territory had you seen." Meowed the exasperated tom.
"Oh, we'll not much" she admitted. "Just from where Spiderleg picked us up from down to the camp."
"Well, at least it's something." He meowed. "Today I will show you the rest of the territory, Sandpaw and Blossomfall are coming with us. We'll be heading for the ShadowClan border first, while Willowpaw, Brightpaw and their mentors will be going for the WindClan border." Lionblaze meowed to Cloverpaw, picking up a pace, walking towards the thorn tunnel where Sandpaw waited beside Blossomfall. Thornclaw, Brackenfur, Willowpaw and Brightpaw followed close behind, and the eight if us started off together but separated soon enough.
Near the end of the tour, our little patrol scented prey, mouse, to be exact. Lionblaze and Blossomfall decided to test out our hunting skills.
"Do either of you know how to hunt?" Lionblaze asked Cloverpaw and Sandpaw, and they both shook their heads in union.
"Well then, we have our work cut out for us. When hunting mouse, you must remember the differences in stalking prey. For instance, a rabbit will hear you before it sees you, but a mouse will feel your pawsteps. So, what should you keep in mind when stalking mice?" Asked Blossomfall.
"Um," pondered Sandpaw "not to scare it off?"
"Not exactly." Meowed Lionblaze "you have to try not to do that with any kind of prey anyway. Cloverpaw, do you have any ideas?"
"Step lightly?" Cloverpaw asked, hoping not to sound too dumb.
"Exactly, now, why don't you try first with that mouse over there?" He meowed, angling his ears over to a nearby beech try, where a mouse sat nibbling on some fallen nuts.
Lionblaze, Blossomfall and Sandpaw watched as I crouched as low as I could and tried to step lightly, over towards the mouse. She was doing fine until her belly fur rustled some dead leaves, and startled the mouse, who then ran to cover. Cloverpaw sat, hissing at her failure. Her companions returned to her side, and Lionblaze meowed "You were doing fine, but you were a little too low. Don't worry, most apprentices don't catch anything on their first try."
"Sandpaw, you're up. Aim for the squirrel over there." Meowed Blossomfall. Sandpaw was a natural hunter. She caught the squirrel easily, and on her first try. Cloverpaw caught a gloating look on Sandpaw's face, which only aggravated her. She was proud of Sandpaw, but at the same time, she didn't have to be so shove-it-in-your-face like. After a while of hunting and touring the borders, they returned to camp, each carrying a little prey. Sandpaw still had her squirrel and managed to catch two mice aswell, Cloverpaw caught a blackbird and a sparrow, and Lionblaze and Blossomfall each brough back a rabbit and a mouse. They arrived back at camp at the same time as Willowpaw and Brightpaw, they too bringing prey. After setting down their prey at the fresh-kill pile, they eat wolfed down a mouse then headed towards the apprentice den for some sleep. Snowpaw, Amberpaw and Dewpaw were already in there, sleeping in their own nests. The four friends each took a nest beside them and curled up and fell asleep instantly after the long day they had. Who would've thought that one day they'd be attending high school then the other they'd be cats! Life works in weird ways sometimes, and things will only get weirder from here.