Snakekit stirred in his nest, a stray beam of sunlight peeking into the den and settling just where the tom's head was resting.
He lifted his head and shook out his fur with an annoyed grunt, blinking the sleep from his eyes.
If it's already sunhigh, our ceremony must be soon. He sat up and dropped himself into a big stretch.
His maw parted in a yawn as he returned to his sitting position. He then picked up a paw and drew it over his face, straightening his whiskers and flattening out his fur.
He was just about to finish cleaning his fur when he heard footsteps from behind him.
"You're awake!" Patchkit mewed, bounding to sit behind him.
Her long fur was already groomed and de-tangled, likely due to Tawnyflower being so picky about how the two presented themselves.
"Yes," Snakekit replied groggily. He forced himself onto his paws and tiredly padded out of the nursery, his tail stirring up the dirt as it dragged behind him.
It was just past sunhigh. The dawn patrol had long since returned, and the next hunting patrol was waiting to be sent out after Snakekit and Patchkit's apprentice ceremony.
Twigrush, Elmstar and Silverpaw were sitting just next to the hollowed oak.
Rednose was sharing prey with Geyserwing near the entrance of camp, and another group of cats were conversing in the clearing, consisting of Adderthorn, a large russet-brown tom, Bluepaw, a blue-point tom, and Laurelpaw, a long-furred silver she-cat.
They must be waiting for the next hunting patrol. Tawnyflower stepped over Snakekit as she left the nursery with Patchkit not far behind.
"You two are lucky to be coming apprentices today," Tawnyflower said with a purr. "Mistfall will be having her kits any day now. You wouldn't get any sleep with tiny kits running around."
The mentioned queen was sitting near the clearing, a fair distance away from the other gathered cats.
Her light fur did a poor job of hiding her swollen belly. Snakekit gave a small chuckle at the thought of tiny kits running around while Patchkit was trying to sleep.
From a distance, Snakekit saw Elmstar claw his way up onto a branch of the hollowed oak.
"All cats old enough to lurk in the shadows, gather beneath the hollowed oak for a clan meeting." His voice boomed through the clearing, and any cats that had not already gathered began to emerge from the dens.
Tawnyflower hurried Snakekit and Patchkit to the clearing, staying closely behind them as they settled near the far edge of the clearing.
"Snakekit and Patchkit, please stand before the hollowed oak." Elmstar's gaze settled on them as Snakekit padded forward.
Patchkit bounded ahead, stopping once she'd reached the center of the clearing. Snakekit followed after her and sat.
The pair looked up toward Elmstar, pelts ruffled in both excitement and embarrassment. Snakekit felt like every single cat in the clan was looking at him; and they probably were.
"These young cats have reached the age of six moons. They are old enough to begin their training. Snakekit, from this day forward until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Snakepaw. Rednose, I mentored you myself. I expect you to pass on everything I've taught you to this apprentice."
Snakepaw stood as the ShadowClan deputy started to make his way toward him. He lifted his head to touch his nose to Rednose's, a slight purr rumbling in his throat.
He sat back down and gave a look of anticipation to Patchkit. "And Patchkit. You will be known as Patchpaw. Crowwatcher will be your mentor. He is an excellent hunter, and I expect this to reflect in your training."
The large black tom padded from behind Patchpaw. She spun around on her heels and touched her nose to his, being unable to contain an excited squeak.
"Rednose and Crowwatcher, I want these apprentices' training to start immediately so they are fit to go to the gathering in a few days time. We have not presented any new apprentices to the other clans in some time, and it is important we show that we are still strong." Elmstar dismissed the meeting with a flick of his tail, hopping down off the tree.
He landed gracefully among the gathered cats and was immediately pulled into conversation with the warriors.
Patchpaw turned toward Snakepaw and gave an exhilarated yowl, leaping at him with outstretched paws.
They both rolled and Patchpaw came out on top, pinning Snakepaw down. They both broke into a fit of laughter. Rednose padded forward, leaning down and pulling Patchpaw gently off of Snakepaw.
"You can both fight when you're training," Rednose said sternly, though his gaze was soft and friendly.
Crowwatcher was standing next to the white and ginger tom with an amused expression. "If we leave now, we should have enough time to tour the territory before sunfall. That is if you two are up for it after your big ceremony."
"Of course we are!" Patchpaw said in a near yowl, standing up and steadying herself on her paws. Snakepaw was unable to hide how silly he thought Patchpaw looked. They'd just become apprentices and she was already being corrected by the deputy.
Snakepaw trotted behind Rednose and Crowwatcher with Patchpaw at his tail. He brushed against the thick bramble that surrounded the clan exit, his pelt catching on the thorns. He hid his discomfort and remained padding forward to keep up with his mentor.
"Make sure to leave some of your fur on your pelt," Patchpaw teased quietly. Snakepaw couldn't see how much of his fur was catching on the sticks and bracken, but due to Patchpaw's remark, he figured it was enough for it to be visible.
"Once you get used to the thorns in the forest, the camp walls will be no issue. Make sure to actually walk in the center of the exit, though, so you don't brush against them."
Snakepaw had to hide his embarrassment. He'd been trying so hard to keep up with the warriors, he didn't realize he was trailing behind them unevenly and was scraping against each thicket and thorn they trotted past.
He straightened himself out and gave a silent thanks to Rednose for not poking fun at him.
Patchpaw fell in beside him as they made their way down the sandy path that led to the lake, a thin layer of snow crunching under their paws.
After what felt like ages, the group of cats stepped out from under the last pine tree of the forest.
The snow had melted around the edges of the land. Snakepaw's paws sank into the soft sand that surrounded the lake. It took him a moment to process what was in front of him. The Great Lake, much larger than he could have ever imagined.
The body of water sat along the borders of all the clan's territories. The lake flowed into each river and stream throughout the territory, supplying the clans with fresh water. On the far side of the lake was a large island with a single massive tree. That must be the gathering island.
"All the way across the lake," Rednose's voice pulled Snakepaw back into the moment. "-is the barn and horseplace. You can barely see it now because of the fog, but you'll get a good look at it when you go to the gathering." Crowwatcher stepped forward between Rednose and Snakepaw, Patchpaw close behind him.
"You can see RiverClan from here, too." Snakepaw looked to the right of the horseplace and toward a stretch of marsh land with wide rivers that broke through the land.
"I can't imagine how any cat could live there without being swept into the lake!" Patchpaw chirped, pushing her way in front of the other cats to get a better look.
Snakepaw then looked to the left of horseplace and past the barn. There were vast, treeless hills and moorland. "That's WindClan, right?" He could recall hearing about the cats that hunted rabbits in the moor.
"That's right," Rednose confirmed. "And next to us, where those pine trees start, is ThunderClan."
"You can really see everything from here!" Patchpaw exclaimed. Her eyes were wide.
Crowwater nudged her slightly. "We should keep going if we want to be back in camp before it gets dark. We can go by the ThunderClan border and twoleg nest if we hurry."
Snakepaw was glad to continue, but Patchpaw lingered for a moment longer before turning to follow the group.
The cats approached a small stream that lined the edge of ShadowClan territory and connected to the lake.
The area surrounding the lake was made of soft sand, but the ground near the stream was covered in gravel and large pebbles.
The rocks were uncomfortable under Snakepaw's paw pads, and he was ready to continue on to softer ground. Patchpaw's eyes were fixed on the pine trees across the stream that marked the start of ThunderClan territory.
"Does it always smell this bad over here?" Patchpaw meowed, turning back to look toward her mentor with a wrinkled nose. "The other clans always smell funny to us," the tom said with a chuckle.
"-but you're right, the smell is a bit strong. ThunderClan may be straying closer to the border than usual." Crowwatcher didn't seem very concerned.
Snakepaw figured that as long as ThunderClan stayed on their side of the stream, they could get as close to it as they wanted. They had to drink water, afterall.
Back at camp, Snakepaw and Patchpaw were crouched over their prey.
Rednose and Crowwatcher had taken them to the twoleg nest and allowed them to return to camp to eat.
Snakepaw had chosen a small mouse from the pile, while Patchpaw had picked a larger bird.
The dusk patrol was just returning, and with it came Laurelpaw, Silverpaw, Twigrush and Adderthorn.
The two warriors headed toward the fresh-kill pile, while Laurelpaw and Silverpaw hung back and sat together near a secluded part of the clearing.
Patchpaw made a high effort attempt to beckon them over to her and Snakepaw, but the two didn't seem to notice.
Snakepaw finished his mouse, but that didn't seem to settle his appetite.
"I'm gonna get another small piece of prey." Snakepaw stood with a sigh, stretching out his front legs.
His body ached from today's territory tour, but he didn't regret a moment of it
Patchpaw responded with a nod, still focused on finishing her crow.
Snakepaw padded over to the fresh-kill started to nose through the larger pieces of prey to find something that would be just enough to satisfy his hunger.
Twigrush and Adderthorn were nearby, eating their share of prey they'd already picked out. Despite being focused on the pile, Snakepaw couldn't help but overhear their conversation.
"Silverpaw is due for his assessment soon, is he not?" Adderthorn mewed with a full mouth. Twigrush nodded, finishing her bite of prey and replying once she swallowed.
"Elmstar wants to present him as a warrior for this upcoming gathering, but I'm not sure he'll be ready so soon."
He's nearly bigger than some of our warriors, Snakepaw thought, picking up a vole and turning back toward where Patchpaw and him were sitting.
He stopped walking once he noticed Patchpaw wasn't sitting with her crow anymore. She'd made her way over to Silverpaw and Laurelpaw.
Snakepaw couldn't hear what they were talking about from where he was. He lifted his chin and turned back around, padding toward the warriors den in search of Tawnyflower.
As he approached the den, Geyserwing pushed his way out of the mossy den and greeted him with a curt nod without stopping. Snakepaw lowered his head and stepped inside.
"Snakepaw?" Tawnyflower chirped, sitting up as she saw him enter. The familiar scent of Snakepaw's mother flooded his senses. He felt himself relax as he sat next to her, his pelt brushing against hers. He started to chew at the vole, finishing it in just a few swallows.
"Where's Patchpaw?" Tawnyflower asked, resting her head on top of Snakepaw's.
"She's sharing tongues with the other apprentices, I didn't feel like joining tonight."
Tawnyflower gave Snakepaw a reassuring lick on the head. "I'm sure she would love it if you joined her."
"I think I'm better off having an early rest. I'm already tired from training, and we haven't even started hunting or fighting yet."
Snakepaw gave Tawnyflower's shoulder a lick before standing up and giving his pelt a quick shake.
Tawnyflower didn't argue and let him leave the den without a fuss. He tiredly carried himself on his paws toward the apprentices' den. He slipped into the unfamiliar den.
It was larger than the nursery, but woven with the same bracken and moss. Bluepaw was already inside, resting his head on the side of the moss nest he lay in.
His eyes were closed, though his ear flicked toward Snakepaw as he entered. Carefully, Snakepaw stepped over the nests, searching for one that didn't seem to have been used recently.
He eventually settled in a nest near the back of the den, giving a sign of relief as he sank into the soft moss beneath him.