Owl could not wait for his apprentice ceremony. His brown tabby fur fluffed up in excitement and his white tail was waving around in happiness. The clan was already starting to gather in the clearing.
Yellow Bird rushed him out of the nursery, frantically meowing, "Owl! Owl, your fur has to be groomed as quick as possible!" She started licking his head, flattening the tuft that always stood up when he woke up in the morning.
"Okay, okay!" Owl muttered, dancing away. "Come on, mum, I'll be late to my own ceremony!" Omega, the medicine cat, was sitting a little ways away. She was watching him fondly. Yellow Bird spotted Omega and narrowed her eyes. At that moment, Silver approached Omega with a nicely sized fish.
"Here, Omega, I caught this for you," Silver purred. Omega's eyes tore away from Owl's eyes and she nuzzled her sister's cheek.
"You're so sweet," Omega laughed. "Unfortunately, you wouldn't like it if I paid you back in my sour-tasting herbs."
Owl turned to his mother. "Hey, Yellow Bird? Do you have a sister? You never mentioned any cat that was a part of your family besides me before."
Yellow Bird sighs. "She was mauled by a fox. Probably eaten by buzzards, too. They never found her body," she explains sadly, "and this was a couple of seasons ago." Owl bowed his head.
"She's watching us from Starclan, then," Owl said softly. He looked up. Mudstar had walked out onto the Great Rock, his sleek dark brown pelt groomed until it lay flat and shiny. That reminded Owl to run a licked paw over his ears to smooth out his own fur. He stood tall and blinked at Yellow Bird. "Shall I go now then, mum?"
Yellow Bird purred with pride. "Wait until he announces it, young one." Owl nodded and looked around the clearing. Omega was staring at him again, this time with a wide, scared look in her eyes. Maybe she had overheard Yellow Bird talking about her sister. It was probably known as a tragedy in Riverclan. After all, foxes didn't like their marshy territory and rarely came into their land.
Finally, Mudstar lifted his head and let out a yowl, "Let all cats come here under the Great Rock!" Most of the clan was already gathered in the clearing in the middle of camp, but a few warriors came out of their dens, and two elders poked their heads out of the reeds they slept in. "Riverclan welcomes a new apprentice today. Owl, come forth." Owl walked on shaky paws through the center of the crowd of cats, heading straight for the Great Rock. Mudstar looked down at him with warm amber eyes and Owl felt less nervous. He hopped up the rock, avoiding the slippery areas, until he reached Mudstar's level. Owl was unusually small for his age- most Riverclan kits were big, with their thick, sleek fur and muscles from swimming the moment they opened their eyes- so his head wasn't even close to Mudstar's shoulder even on the tips of his toes.
"Owl, your new mentor is Silver!" Mudstar announced with a whisk of his thick black tail. Owl looked around and saw Omega's sister stride forward and jump onto the Great Rock with a single leap. Silver dipped her head at Mudstar respectfully then touched her nose to Owl's nose, leaning down so much to reach him that Owl burned in embarrassment.
"You'll be a great apprentice," Silver whispered reassuringly. Owl blinked at her in thanks.
The clan stood on all four paws and cheered loudly, "Owl! Owl! Owl! Owl!" Mudstar waved his tail for silence, and when everyone quieted down, he sat back on his haunches.
"Time for patrols! Rowan Leaf, my deputy, please organize them now," Mudstar told the ginger tabby tom sitting the closest to the Great Rock. Rowan Leaf nodded his head and the clan divided into different patrol groups. Owl awkwardly jumped off the rock with Silver close by.
"Okay, let's go hunting. You can explore the territory with the apprentices later," Silver said. "I'll ask Rowan Leaf to put us on a patrol with the other apprentices so you can get to know them at the same time." Silver flicked her silver striped tail and waited for Owl to reply.
"Oh, uh, sounds good," Owl said. He really wasn't looking forward to meeting the apprentices who would surely be three times his size.
"Cool. Why don't you go and check out your new denmates?" Silver suggested before running off to Rowan Leaf.
Owl shyly went to the apprentice's den, a large clump of rushes by a log. He spotted three apprentices behind the log. One she-cat and two toms. They were all so big! The she-cat was dark ginger with a white belly, paws, and tail. She had green eyes that sparkled as she laughed at one of the tom's jokes. The toms were brothers, Owl could tell, as they both had the same dark brown tabby fur and golden eyes, though one was smaller than the other.
"Hi," Owl said quietly. "I… I'm the new apprentice?" He said it like it was a question.
The dark ginger lifted her head. "Oh, hey, Owl! Welcome! Your nest is right there, by mine," she offered, flicking her tail at an empty mossy spot at the end of the log.
"Thanks," Owl said gratefully.
"I'm Sandy, by the way," the she-cat grinned. The bigger of the dark tabby toms lifted his chin.
"I'm Tiger Fang, and my brother is Panther," the big tom meowed in a rough voice. Panther dipped his head at Owl.
"Nice to meet you guys," Owl said, a slight tremor in his voice that he pushed away. He wondered if all apprentices were this nervous about becoming a warrior. He looked across the camp to where Silver was talking with Rowan Leaf and the rest of the mentors. "I think I have to go now."
"See you later," Panther meowed amiably.
"Yeah, we'll save you a fish for the sunhigh meal," Sandy chirped. She waved her tail around excitedly. She certainly was a cheerful cat.
"Thanks," Owl said with a small smile and he dashed back to Silver. He spotted his mother with Omega, yelling at her for some reason. Yellow Bird has always seemed angry around Omega. Owl pricked his ears up in curiosity since Silver was still chatting with Rowan Leaf. He walked up to Yellow Bird and Omega, overhearing their argument.
"How dare you congratulate me and my son for the apprentice ceremony?" Yellow Bird was hissing at Omega. "You were the one that killed my kits!"
Omega flattened her ears and backed toward the entrance of her den. "Yellow Bird, you're still not over that? I get it, losing your kits is very sad, and you might be affected for a long, long time but I may have some herbs-" Omega began gently.
Yellow Bird bristled and snapped, "Why are you talking to me like that? You think I'm weak?"
Omega shook her head. "Of course not, Yellow Bird. I'm just saying that death happens to queens more than you think it does. It's not good, but it's kind of common in the wild," Omega tried to explain. "It's been 6 moons-"
"Shut up!" Yellow Bird interrupted her again. "You're so horrible! My precious kits are dead because of you, and I'll never be the same again." Owl blinked in shock at his mother.
"Mum, what's wrong?" Owl whispered. Omega hadn't noticed him and jumped at the sight of him. Yellow Bird sighed and licked the top of his head.
"Omega killed your littermates, sweetie. She purposefully wasn't there while I was giving birth and she gave me the wrong herbs to make sure my kits didn't come out alive," Yellow Bird meowed, still shaking with fury and grief.
Omega started to protest, but Yellow Bird froze her with a fiery glare. Omega twitched her whiskers and ran into her den. "Now you go and train with your mentor, little beetle. Silver is a very gifted warrior, much more talented and caring than her sister," Yellow Bird purred, as if she had not been screaming a few moments ago.
"Oh… okay," Owl stammered, and padded toward Silver.
"Hey, Owl. Tiger Fang and his mentor Rabbit Ear are going to join us in hunting, okay?" Silver announced.
"Sure," Owl said. They walked away from their camp, into the forest.
"The river is in the middle of our territory. We catch most of our fish there," Silver explained as they walked. The birds chirping in the trees filled Owl's ears with beautiful sounds. He noticed the way the sunlight dappled each leaf of the bushes. Owl wondered which bushes had leaves that Omega used for her poultices. He tried sniffing out a couple that he could remember from his few visits to the medicine den. One time, when he was three moons old, he stepped on a splinter from a reed and Omega had spread something sharp-smelling on his paw pad. While Silver was explaining their territory and Rabbit Ear and Tiger Fang added extra comments about the different streams, Owl wasn't listening. Instead, he started searching for the same sharp scent. At last, he found it, right by the river. Dock, he remembered. Dock helps with minor cuts.
"Owl! Were you even listening?" Silver asked sharply. Owl blinked at her.
"What? Sorry," he mumbled in embarrassment. Tiger Fang was looking at him condescendingly, a sneer creeping across his mouth.
Silver sighed. "It's fine. It's your first day. I asked you- do you want to try fishing from land or in water? Mind you, water fishing is harder, but it'll feel better in this hot weather."
"Uh, I'll try the water fishing then. It is hot," Owl said, only because he wanted to prove to Tiger Fang that he was worthy.
"Okay. I'll show you how," Silver purred. Owl erased the dock herbs from his mind and made sure to carefully watch how Silver crouched down at the edge of the water. Her long silver fur lay flat and her muzzle stretched forward to search the clear waters for fish. Suddenly she leaped into the water, paws first, at an angle that allowed her to dive smoothly. Silver was submerged underwater for a few moments before she came back up holding a wriggling fish. She swam to the edge and climbed out of the river before killing the fish on a stone. "There," Silver said with a grin.
"Wow! How did you dive like that?" Owl asked in awe. Silver flicked her tail.
"First you have to crouch down at the edge, then watch for a fish. But let's practice your dive first, so you can perfect it before catching an actual fish," Silver told Owl. She turned to Rabbit Ear and added, "You two can hunt here for a while before I come back with Owl." Tiger Fang eagerly crouched at the river's edge with Rabbit Ear. Silver lead Owl to a deeper, calmer part of the river downstream.
"Try crouching," Silver suggested. Owl immediately walked up to the river and bunched his muscles. He kept his hind legs carefully tucked underneath him and his forepaws stretched forward.
"Am I doing it right?" Owl asked hopefully.
Silver chuckled. "Not quite. If you wanted to try leaping across the river, not that any cat could ever possibly do that, that crouch would be perfect. But the river is a whisker-length in front of you. Try a crouch that would give you speed and agility for a dive." Owl tried again, and Silver praised him. "Okay, now leap into the water with your paws first. If you forget your paws, then your nose will hit the water and it will hurt horribly. Once you hit the water, loosen your body and immediately reach for the fish. Don't try to kill it underwater because you'll run the risk of it slipping out of your paws and swimming away," Silver instructed.
Owl took a deep breath and nodded. "Should I just dive right in? Should I aim for something, for practice? How deep is the river?"
"Yeah. Try aiming for that pebble on the river bottom. Can you see it? The river is deep enough for a dive, so go right ahead when you do."
Owl squinted at the water's surface. The shimmering, moving reflection of the sky made it hard to see the bottom but he made out a flash of grayish-blue which he decided was the pebble. "Yup. Do I go now? What if I mess up and hit the water the wrong way?"
"Stop doubting yourself and go," Silver urged gently.
Owl tingled with embarrassment. I just want to get it right, he thought to himself. He crouched down and dove into the water. His paws hit the water first, but the timing was all wrong, causing a large splash. Nevertheless, Owl clamped his mouth shut right before he went in all the way. His eyes flew open and he, holding his breath, searched for the pebble in the river. A wall of bubbles from his awkward landing rose up and they tickled his nose. When he could finally see, the small brown tabby tom struggled to keep himself floating at the bottom of the river because he was so light and didn't have strong muscles. He twisted into the right position again and Owl finally found the pebble and grasped it between his two paws. Owl's lungs started to ache. He held the pebble in his mouth, swam up, and gulped a huge breath of air. Owl spat the pebble out onto land and dragged himself out of the river.
"I know I messed up the dive," Owl admitted. He shook out his dripping fur- he hated the way it clung to his skin all sticky and sloppy.
"That's fine- no one gets it on their first try," Silver encouraged, and they tried the dive again. But Owl never did get the dive straight until the sixteenth try, and when he did, he missed the pebble by two fox-lengths. He failed miserably and they walked back to camp without Rabbit Ear or Tiger Fang, with no fish at all.
"I'm sorry I failed at the dive," Owl told Silver, burning with shame. They had entered the camp and Silver was about to give Mudstar the apprentice report. This was required for all new apprentices. For at least a moon, to make sure the apprentice was doing well, the mentor would describe the talents and struggles of the apprentice and what skills they had worked on for the day.
"It's fine," Silver said comfortingly. "We'll try battle skills this afternoon. Maybe you'll have a skill for that. No one is good at everything." She nodded to the freshkill pile. "Go and eat something. You must be hungry. Your apprentices are still out patrolling, so you can just go to the den and have some peace."
"Thank you," Owl mumbled, and watched Silver go into Mudstar's den under the Great Rock. He tried to fight his curiosity but he couldn't help but sneak over to the rock and eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Greetings, Mudstar," Silver was saying. Owl crept behind the rock and pressed his ear to the stone. The voices didn't go through so he sneaked around and tried to get away with listening by the opening of his den.
"Good morning, Silver. How was Owl today?" Mudstar's deep voice boomed.
"Owl shows great potential," Silver began slowly, and Owl held his breath, "but his size might cause some problems. I know it's not his fault that he was born early and a runt, but today he could not balance during his dive and could not do anything during hunting practice." Owl winced at the 'could not do anything' part. He sighed and turned away from the Great Rock. Oh well. He couldn't do anything about his small size. Owl thought about the dock leaves he had found on his way to the river. He trotted to Omega's medicine den.
The den was lit by a soft light coming from a tiny hole in the cave's roof. Omega was sorting through her herbs.
"Excuse me, Omega?" Owl said quietly. He padded toward her.
Omega looked up. "Oh, hello, Owl," she said cautiously.
"Sorry about my mother," he blurted.
Omega blinked. "No, it's nothing. What do you want?" she asked, not unkindly.
"Just… I found some dock leaves in the forest. Are you running short on them?" Owl asked. Omega looked at her stores.
"Wow! Just in time, Owl. I was about to go looking for them," Omega purred.
"I know where they are," Owl purred back. "I'll get them for you. You need two bundles, right? Since it's about three leaves per cat and if you calculate the moons…."
Omega seemed surprised that Owl knew that. "Well, go ahead, then, Owl. You're quite smart for your age."
"Thanks!" Owl said. He ran out, got the dock leaves, and ran back.
"Here," Owl offered the leaves. He'd returned quicker than he'd expected himself to- he remembered the dock leaf patch quite clearly.
Omega smiled. "Thank you, little one." She put the herbs in their spot. Owl looked closely at her. She seemed normal. She was sweet and honest and kind. Why would she ever kill kits on purpose? Owl's curiosity got to the best of him, again, and he opened his mouth, a question already in his mind.
"Is it true you killed my sisters?" Owl demanded. He sat back on his haunches. Omega looked up from her herbs, her whiskers twitching in alarm.
"What did your mother tell you?" Omega asked slowly. She nervously licked her chest.
"She never really mentioned it to me when I asked about my littermates before, but that was when she was still grieving. Today, she seemed really angry and out of her mind. She claimed that you stood by and let my littermates die," Owl explained.
Omega blinked. She seemed to think over something before she stammered, "Y-yes, I did. I couldn't do anything. I let your sisters die, Owl. I'm so sorry." Owl couldn't believe it. Omega was actually admitting it. He never knew his sisters, but he still felt an empty, gaping hole inside.
Owl bowed his head. "Okay. Thanks for telling me," Owl said quietly, his voice as hard as steel.
Omega looked very guilty, her amber eyes a frail glaze of sorrow. "I'm sorry, Owl. I really couldn't stop the death."
"You could've done something!" Owl protested angrily. "You could've given Yellow Bird herbs, or something. Doesn't raspberry leaf help?" Omega looked shocked.
"How do you know what raspberry leaves do?" she asked cautiously.
"Never mind that! Why didn't you give her raspberry leaves?" Owl hissed, getting slightly frustrated.
Omega lowered her head. "I panicked. I couldn't help it," she murmured.
"A good medicine cat should remain calm at all times, wouldn't you think? A good medicine cat should learn to think quickly on their paws!" Owl spat, and turned on his heel and stalked away. He hated how Omega acted so weak and sorry for herself. He hated how Omega made his mother mad. He wanted Omega to be stronger. Owl himself wanted to be stronger.
It was past sunhigh and Owl had eaten already. It turned out that Sandy and Panther had eaten on their border patrol so they didn't eat with him, and Owl could care less about Tiger Fang. Disappointed, Owl ate alone under the log until Silver called him for battle trainng. Owl reluctantly stood up, gave himself a quick wash, and trotted out of the camp, hopping over the thin stream that surrounded their clearing.
"So I thought we would do some water moves today. Since our only enemy are the many small groups of rogues that live in the rest of the forest, we can easily beat them by leading them toward water," Silver explained to Owl as soon as they arrived at the river.
"I thought the rogue groups were friendly," Owl countered.
"Many of them are, but some can be hostile," Silver corrected. "There was an attack not many seasons ago, when Omega and I were just apprentices. But we're not here for stories, so let's get started." She nodded toward the water.
"Why don't you warm up your swimming skills while we wait until Sandy and her mentor Raindrop get here?" Silver asked.
Owl's heart immediately sunk. He was going to be training with another apprentice? That meant more humiliation! Owl slid into the water, his paws slipping over the round pebbles lining the river. At least he could swim well. It took longer for him to be able to swim as fast as the other kits because of his size and weakness, but in the end he was ahead of everyone else.
Owl held his breath and ducked under, his paws strongly paddling against the current of the river. Owl dove to the bottom, whirled around, and opened his eyes underwater. The water was clear, tinted blue-green, and he saw some minnows that flitted away when he reached forward with a paw. Owl became relaxed, filled with peace. Water was his home. If he could hold his breath longer, Owl would stay for hours, floating and drifting along the bottom of the river. This was unusual because as much as Riverclan cats loved water, they wouldn't want to be completely submerged underwater for more than they needed to. As Owl's breath ran out, he kicked swiftly with his paws until his nose broke the surface of the water and he breathed in. Just in time, because Sandy and Raindrop had arrived. Raindrop was older than Silver and very experienced and wise. She was a good match for Sandy, whose bubbly, over enthusiastic, and extremely impulsive personality needed to be cooled down by a rational-minded person.
"Hey there!" Sandy piped up. Owl padded out of the water and smiled.
"Hi," he said shyly. Raindrop nodded at him and he nodded awkwardly back.
"Okay, so I will demonstrate the sweeping defense move with Raindrop," Silver announced. She slid into the cool water and Raindrop followed. Silver and Raindrop batted at each other for a moment before Silver ducked underwater so quickly that Raindrop stumbled as she swiped her paw into thin air. Silver then lashed out her paw, connecting with the back of Raindrop's forepaws, and Raindrop fell into the river. Silver jumped up and held Raindrop underwater for a moment before letting her back up. "That should be the easiest move you'll learn so far," Silver told Owl. "Why don't you try it with Sandy?"
Owl shivered. He would definitely screw it up. Silver and Raindrop moved out of the water to give Sandy and Owl room. Owl slowly got into the water and faced Sandy. The sun lit up her ginger fur and the brightness made it hard to see, so he squinted his green eyes. Before Owl could take a breath, Sandy launched herself at him, her paws outstretched toward his muzzle. Owl frantically ducked, his paws slipping on the stones, and he staggered forward. Sandy landed with a splash behind him and Owl turned around. Now the sun wasn't in his eyes so he relaxed and studied his opponent. Sandy was a good amount taller than him, and much more muscular, too. Her lean, tight muscles rippled under her sleek, thick pelt. Her long legs would grant her speed. Strength and speed… Starclan help me! Owl thought. Owl would have to be very sneaky to-
"Attack!" Sandy squealed, and leaped at him again. Owl hastily slid to the side and let Sandy crash to the water again. Owl knew this was his chance. He took a deep breath and dipped his body underwater. He opened his eyes and lashed out his paw to Sandy's legs. Sandy buckled on top of him and Owl just managed to swim out of the way. But suddenly Sandy leaped back onto him, and Owl spit out all the air in his mouth in his surprise. Bubbles spewed out of his nostrils. Sandy started battering him and holding him under. Owl's lungs ached for breath. Desperately, he tried shoving her off but couldn't. Finally, Raindrop dragged Sandy off, and Owl weakly floated up where he coughed and hacked and choked out water. He was so embarrassed.
"Are you okay?" Silver asked gently. Raindrop was reprimanding Sandy for being too rough on Owl. All she did was copy the move. She did nothing wrong.
Owl coughed and nodded shakily. "Yeah. I-I'm fine! Sandy didn't do anything wrong, Silver. It was me. I'm too small to be a warrior!" Owl cried, looking down.
Silver opened her mouth to say something but Owl was already running away. He hated his size. He knew he was unusually small, but if it got in the way of his training, what would he do?