Bark layed in one of the nests in the nursery, her amber eyes flickering in the light of the sunlight outside. In the camp clearing, Snow was playing with Blackkit like usual, fighting like Bark and Snow had done the day before... The fire. At the thought of the fire made Bark shiver, and images began running through her head.
In her mind she saw her mother's terrorized eyes and could hear the screams... The young kit shook her head and swiped her paw over her ear. Outside, she heard the laughter of Snow as she bounced on Blackkit.
"Bark?" Above Bark, she looked up and saw Sorrelflight standing above her. "Are you ok?"
Sorrelflight was the she-cat who had offered to take care of Snow and Bark. She was a sweet cat, but could be strict at times. She also had three other kits she was caring for; Blackkit, Mudkit, and Jaykit.
Bark yawned lightly and stood up to stretch. "Fine. Just a bit tired." She mewed and cleaned her paw.
The queen narrowed her eyes, but sighed and locked her shoulder quickly. "Well, the ceremony for initiating you and Snow into the Clan is in a few minutes, so make sure you're ready." She padded outside and left Bark alone.
The kit thought about what it would be like to grow up in one of the famous Clans her mother had spoken of. Sasha had told them that Clan cats were ruthless and horrible, and could never be trusted. But it had turned out that she was wrong: Clan cats were loving and kind, and so far they had been quite helpful. Bark sneezed a few times in a row and padded outside.
"Bark, where have you been?" Snow padded up to her sister and playfully swatted Bark's nose with her paw.
Bark growled and tried to grab Snow's ear with her teeth, but she fell on her face when Snow turned to see Blackkit. The kit let out a strong huff and stood up, quickly cleaning her chest. She looked up and saw Tallstar, as he called himself, jump into a large stump in the center of the camp.
"Let all cats fast enough to catch their own prey meet below Tall Stump for a meeting of the Clan!" His voice bellowed through the open air and cats began to come out of each den.
"Come on, Snow!" Blackkit and Snow raced off to where the other cats were gathering, leaving Bark behind. The brown tabby watched them go, her heart breaking into tiny pieces. She slowly padded off and sat up towards the front, keeping her distant from her white tabby sister.
Up on the stump, Tallstar sat down and gazed upon his Clan. "Cats of WindClan, you all know that just three sunrises ago Onepaw found two kits, Snow and Bark. Today, I would like to make them apart of this Clan. Snow and Bark, please step forward."
Bark stood up and took a small step towards the tall stump, Snow beside her. The two looked up at the leader, who's amber eyes glowed as they gazed down at the young cats. "Snow and Bark, having just joined the Clan and with you being so young, I would normally just give you kit names. But, you are both six moons, so I have decided to make you into apprentice's, alongside Blackkit, Mudkit and Jaykit." As he spoke their names, the three kits hurried up next to Snow and Bark, Blackkit squeezing in next to Snow.
"Alright, now, Snow, from this day forth until you earn your warrior name you will be known as Snowpaw. Your mentor shall be Fawntail. Go and greet her, then be seated beside her." Snowpaw leapt off the stump and padded up to a light brown she-cat and the two quickly returned to a seat in the crowd.
Tallstar turned his gaze to Bark. "Bark, from this day forth until you earn your warrior name you will be known as Barkpaw. Your mentor will be Tornear. Please go up and greet him like your sister did." Barkpaw obeyed happily, leaping off the stump and touching noses with a tabby tom. She then followed him and sat down near the front of the group.
She flicked her tail and gave her chest a strong lick to make sure her fur was still laying flat and watched and the other three kits came forward. In the sunlight their fur shone and their eyes sparkled excitedly. Mudkit looked down at the crowd and seemed to smile at Barkpaw, who smiled back, but heard a sigh of happiness behind her and realized the kit was smiling to his parents. Barkpaw let out a long breath and gazed back up as Tallstar shifted his weight.
"Mudkit, Blackkit and Jaykit, you will be known as, until you earn your warrior name, Mudpaw, Blackpaw and Jaypaw. Webfoot, you have been waiting for an apprentice for a while, here is your chance to train Mudpaw. I hope you will pass on your experience to him." A tall dark gray tabby came up to greet the brown tabby and the two sat down again as Tallstar announced Blackpaw and Jaypaw's mentor's. "Hollowclaw and Yellowtail, you have proven to be great warriors. I shall give you Blackpaw and Jaypaw to train. Teach them well."
Barkpaw strained to see the familiar warriors come up and greet the new apprentices, wondering why Tallstar had chosen those two warriors. Hollowclaw and Yellowtail were sharp, angry cats that didn't like to help others with their problems. Blackpaw and Jaypaw were in for a hard apprenticeship.
"Snowpaw, why don't you try the move?" Snowpaw looked up from where she was making a picture in the sand. Webfoot had been showing the five new apprentice's some basic battle moves every since the ceremony, and to Snowpaw, the moves were kit basic.
While Barkpaw and Snowpaw had still been kits, Sasha had taught them some defence moves that were definitely harder than these. Snowpaw had watched the demonstrations for the first few minutes, then let her mind wander as she became bored.
Webfoot stood in the center of the grassy training area. "Well?" He asked impatiently.
Snowpaw stood up and padded over so she was looking right up at him. She hadn't seen many of the moves, so she decided on using her own techniques. The warrior took a few steps back so they were a fox length apart. Snowpaw then jumped forward and slid beneath him, pawing at his belly as she went. She jumped up again on the other side and prepared for an attack, but the larger cat only faced her.
"That wasn't the move I was referring to, but it's still a good one. Here, let me show you what I meant." Snowpaw stepped back as Webfoot stepped back, eyes clear and emotionless. He then ducked and rolled over before jumping to his paws again and leaping forward. He landed on his paws and looked up at the others. "Now, who'd like to show me what I just did?"
"I would." Snowpaw turned as Barkpaw padded forward with hard eyes. She padded up and stood just a few feet from Webfoot.
The older cat nodded and swiped his paw at her. Barkpaw ducked beneath his paw and rolled over, jumping up again and leaping into his side. The warrior let out a sharp gasp and was forced into the bush behind him. When he stood up, he was letting out long, heaving breaths. Fawntail raced up to him, hoping to help, but he sent her away with a flick of his tail.
"I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Barkpaw asked.
Webfoot narrowed his eyes for a moment at her, then shook his head, eyes returning to normal. "No. I'm just a little tired from guard duty last night. Why don't you guys go get something to eat from the fresh-kill pile, alright?"
The rest of the apprentices broke out into talk, but Snowpaw noticed Barkpaw was staying quiet as she walked alongside her mentor. After a few moments, the brown apprentice looked up at Fawntail.
"What did I do?" She asked in a hushed voice.
Fawntail looked down at her after a few moments. "He was just tired, that's all." She meowed and looked up again.
Snowpaw thought about the battle again. She agreed with her sister. What did happen?