Sleepykit looked up at Lynxtuft and she smiled. Today was the day!!!
"Stormkit!! It's time! its time! it's time!! Come onnnnnn!!!!!" he said, practically dragging his brother from the den towards the Aging Stump.
Stormkit didn't even have a moment to wake up fully before getting half dragged out of the comfort of the nursery. "Weren't you named Sleepykit because you're the sleepy one!?" Stormkit complained.
Lynxtuft just shook her head. The dark golden she-cat with black spots, a bobbed tail, amber eyes and large paws followed her kits outside.
"Hold still." She fussed, licking her kits. "You're all dirty. The Clan must see clean apprentices."
Lynxtuft loved these kits more than any cat. Well... maybe besides their real mother, but the kits didn't need to know that. Not yet. Lynxtuft was just proud of them. She loved them dearly.
"Who's sleeping when the ceremony's about to start!!?" he shot back with a grin.
"Mooooommm!" he giggled. "I'm clean! I'm clean!" He stepped up to the Aging Stump below the leader. He was so excited!!
"Hey, what do ya think our warrior names will be Stormkit?"
"I don't know, but I hope it's something like Stormrush after our father, Rushjay. Our sister, Honeykit might be Honeyjay! Oh! What if you become Sleepytuft or Sleepylynx?" Stormkit asked excitedly.
A pale, golden tabby-and-cream she-kit crawled out from beside Lynxtuft. She rolled onto her back, much to the dismay of Lynxtuft, but the kit still lay, exposing her soft, cream underbelly to her brothers. She blinked her soft amber eyes at them. "You two will be the best warriors in all of SpruceClan!" She mewed.
"Ashstar is going to begin soon." Lynxtuft reminded her kits as she began licking and grooming and cleaning them all again. She licked until their fur was shiny and stayed down. Lynxtuft gave gentle mews and held her kits still, ignoring their protests until she was done.
Sleepykit smiled. "Hey what if I'm Sleepyjay, you're Stormlynx, and sis is Honeytuft?!" Then as their sister approached he pounced. "Sis!"
"Oh I know that were all gonna be the best warriors in the clan. You're gonna be a great warrior too sis!! I know it."
He struggled when his mother Lynxtuft was grooming and almost got away a couple times.
Soon they saw Ashstar starting, and everyone quieted down, even the unruly kits. Though, Sleepykit maaayy have started a small playfight with Stormkit where they tried not to get caught playfully swiping at each other as they sat professionally waiting to be called up.
Ashstar smiled softly then returned her attention to the kits. "Today is the day kits become apprentices. Sleepykit, please join me up on the Aging Stump." Ashstar waited patiently for Sleepykit.
Once beside her, Ashstar began.
"Sleepykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sleepypaw. Your mentor will be Cloverbriar. I hope she will pass down all she knows on to you."
The leader then called on Cloverbriar, asking her to come up on the Aging Stump too.
A solid white she-cat with green eyes stepped forward. That was Cloverbriar.
"Cloverbriar, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Antstripe, and you have shown yourself to be brave and noble. You will be the mentor of Sleepypaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." Ashstar said softly.
Cloverbriar nodded. She bounded forward and touched her nose to Sleepypaw's.
SpruceClan began chanting the new apprentice's name.
"Sleepypaw! Sleepypaw! Sleepypaw!"
As they chanted his name he beamed up at the clan and at his new mentor. He was so excited to finally be an apprentice, and someday a warrior. He wanted to be the best warrior alongside his siblings. He'd make his mom, Lynxtuft, and his dad, Rushjay, proud!
Ashstar called up Stormkit next. He became Stormpaw and his mentor was a solid white tom with dark blue eyes named Blizzardtail. Blizzardtail isn't known for being exactly nice. But he was still a highly respected and noble warrior.
Then up came Honeykit. She became Honeypaw and her mentor was a dark ginger she-cat with green eyes called Comfreyblaze. Comfreyblaze is known for being stubborn and harsh. But she is a fine warrior nonetheless.
"You apprentices will do everything your mentor tells you. You are not to go anywhere without your mentor. I welcome you as full apprentices of SpruceClan." Ashstar said, bowing her head gently to the three.
Stormpaw wanted to leap in the air for joy. Every fur on his pelt was standing up with excitement. But he couldn't jump in the air and yowl his excitement. He's not a kit anymore, he's an apprentice.
Stormpaw stared at Sleepypaw and Honeypaw. He wondered how they were feeling. Excited like him or anxious to prove themselves to SpruceClan.
Stormpaw then felt a sudden pang of sadness as he realized they weren't going back to the nursery with Lynxtuft. No, instead they had to move out into the apprentice den. Stormpaw's tail drooped a bit. He was going to miss listening to Lynxtuft's stories and lullabies at night and hearing her purr beside he and his siblings.
But he couldn't focus on that right now. He's an apprentice now.
Finally!!! An apprentice!! Instead of helping babysit all the younger kits, he could learn how to hunt! And fight!! He could finally be treated like he was big and important!! No more "go back to he nursery" or "what are you doing out here? Where's your mother?" No. Hed be doing all the things apprentices did! He'd fight, and make the dens cozier, and hunt!!!! He could finally defend the clan with his siblings by his side.
Spruceclan would be safer now that he and his siblings were apprentices now! They'd protect the clan better than this whole clan had seen before! Sleepypaw knew they could, and would too.
As they walked off the highrock with their mentors, after the meeting was over, Sleepypaw asked his mentor, Cloverbriar, "Whatre we gonna do first, huh? I wanna defend Spruceclan from Tsunamiclan! Or.. or hunt a vole!! Ooh or a mouse, mmmmm.." his mouth watered at the mere thought of mouse. Then he looked over at his brother and sister.
"Hey, whatre you guys gonna do first? I'm so excited!! I wanna be the best fighter and hunter ever!"
Cloverbriar twitched her whiskers in amusement. Was she going to have a challenge to train? She pleaded with StarClan he'd be decent. "Actually, I'm going to be showing you around camp. So you can get familiar with it. Then I'll be showing you our borders and how to mark them." Cloverbriar said, patiently.
Blizzardtail just nodded and turned his attention on Stormpaw. "I'll show you around borders first. Then battle training. Then hunting." He said, leaving no room for Stormpaw to ask questions.
Stormpaw nodded. He thought he'd make a great night hunter, because his pelt is black. Stormpaw blinked his gray eyes at his mentor.
"And I'll be taking you hunting first. Then around camp. Finally I'll show you our borders and how to mark them." Comfreyblaze said to Honeypaw. Honeypaw bounced on her paws excited.
"Yes, Comfreyblaze." Honeypaw said happily.
"Aww.. but everyone else is already learning how to hunt and everythingggg! Pleeeaaassseee?" He looked up at her with the most pleading eyes he could manage. He wanted so bad to keep up with his siblings and not fall behind. He wanted them all to be warriors at the same time. He thought he'd DIE if he was the last apprentice in his litter to become a warrior.
"I'll tell you what. If you listen to me and behave, I'll take you hunting after borders have been marked by us." Cloverbriar said softly. Her eyes were gentle and sweet.
Stormpaw felt a bit hopeful. Would Blizzardtail be as cool as Cloverbriar? But by looking into those eyes, Stormpaw could only guess not.
"Okay!!" Finally! Hed learn how to hunt!!
"So whatre we gonna hunt first? Voles? Mice? Birds? Ooh what clan borders are we gonna see first? Tsunamiclan? Petalclan? Sunclan? Moonclan?? Hey when do we get to go to a gathering?!"
Cloverbriar gently cuffed her paw over Sleepypaw's ear without harming him. "Keep talking and you'll scare the prey away before we can hunt. As for boundaries, you'll see when we get there. And you just began your training. It takes moons before you can go to a Gathering. You have to earn that honor." She said. Cloverbriar then began walking away. "Keep up." She called briskly over her shoulder.
Cloverbriar was known for her speed. So Sleepypaw would of course have trouble keeping up with her. She walked over towards the elders den.
"This is the elders den. Every day you will go change their bedding, check their pelts for ticks and fleas, bring them water-soaked moss to drink and feed them." Cloverbriar began. Already so much responsibility!!!!
He flattened his ears instinctively from the cuff, but it didn't really hurt. All the sudden she went really fast and he had to run to keep up.
"Right.. change bedding, water moss, ticks, umm.. food.. um.." He was trying so hard to think through it and remember it all. Repeating it back always helped him remember it later.
"Next." Cloverbriar began, walking pretty fast to the next den. The scent of warm, sweet milk flooded Sleepypaw's nose. "This, as you know is the nursery. You'll feed them, change their bedding, and protect this den. These are the future of our Clan. The elders are our highly respected of our Clan."
Cloverbriar, without warning, walked over to a den near the Aging Stump. "This is the medicine cat den. Leopardwhisker lives here. If you're feeling ill or hurting, go to her. You will bring her fresh-kill as well and change her bedding if she hasn't already." Cloverbriar said, before turning her head to him. "Got everything so far?"
Her tone was strict, but gentle and loving.
Sleepypaw's head was spinning but he figured it would start to make more sense as time went on.
"Okay.. protect kits.. um.. bedding,, Everywhere, um.. food to medicine cat.. um... food to- uh queens.." He really hoped he wasn't missing anything. This was a lot more stuff than he thought it would be. He was trying not to get overwhelmed and was trying to impress Cloverbriar as much as he could. He didn't want to let her down. He didn't want to let the Clan down. He'd show everyone he could do it!! He hoped..
"Okay and next..." Cloverbriar began trotting to another den. "This is where you'll be sleeping. And next," Cloverbriar began trotting towards another den. "This is the warriors den. This is where I'll be sleeping."
Cloverbriar nodded and walked towards the final den. A den right behind the Aging Stump. Cloverbriar held her chin up proudly. "This....is the Leader's den. Ashstar sleeps here. She can leave her den and step right out onto the Aging Stump so she can look over her Clan." Cloverbriar said. "Any cat who becomes leader is the highest respected in our Clan."
"Ashstar is so cool," he replied. "I wanna be just like her when I grow up."
He then caught scent of something not far outside of camp.
"Hey, cloverbriar? Whats that smell? I've never smiled something like that before.."
Cloverbriar froze and scented the air. "Badger. It's stale though. Be careful of badger and foxes. They're dangerous like dogs, twolegs and monsters." Cloverbriar said.
She looked at Sleepypaw. "Ready for borders? I'll teach you the scents of the other Clans and prey of the forest!"
Badger scent huh? He'd heard of badgers. Big monstrous looking animals with claws as long as your whiskers, a snout as big as your head, and bodies twice as big or bigger than a cat's. He shuddered to think about them. Hed heard one badger could destroy an entire clan. Just one claw swipe could kill a cat. He hoped the badger wouldn't come back anytime soon.
"Right.. borders. Yeah, borders sounds good!" he said, trying to shake off the fear he felt of a badger being so close to their camp.
Cloverbriar began walking. "Right, let's go." Her tone again brisk and her paws fast-paced still. The she-cat began padding out of camp and over fallen trees, clearing them in a single bound.
Cloverbriar found a tiny stream and plunged herself in it. It was only up to her belly, soaking her soft white pelt.
Finally she crawled out and waited for her breathless apprentice. He'd get used to it. "This is the border between our Clan and PetalClan. We must mark our territory daily. That's why our leader sends out these things called Border Patrols."
Sleepypaw ran as fast as he could, scrambling over the fallen trees, only clearing one or two in a single bound. He plunged into the stream after Cloverbriar and shivered.
"Brr!!! Foxdung thats cold!!" Then he realized she wasn't stopping or even slowing for the cold. "Waitwaitwait!!" He yelled to no avail, scrambling and sloshing around in the water as he ran after her again.
He shook himself dry after he got out of the stream and tried to catch up again. Once they were running on flatter terrain he was able to keep up a little better, but he'd have to work on those trees and that stream.
When Cloverbriar told him of the Petalclan border he sniffed the air to try and remember the scent.
"Everything smells so.. flowery.. Not at all like the big Spruce trees near camp. How do they like living so close to so many flowers?"
"PetalClan is strange. They like the smell of flowers and things. However, they get a lot of bees because of the flowers in their territory. SpruceClan has it easier than that." Cloverbriar said, politely. "MoonClan smells of stale badger because their territory used to be an old badger set many moons ago. SunClan smells of sap, because their territory has sap leaking from their trees."
She smiled softly at Sleepypaw, hoping he'd got all this information down so far as she licked his head affectionately.
"Okay.. flowers: petal. Easy. Spruce: spruce. Easy. Badger: ...moon. Sap: ..sun. okay.. I think I got it?" he said hopefully.
When she licked him he smiled and nuzzled her. He then thought a moment.
"Why in the name of Starclan would Moonclan make camp in an old badger set?"
"Moons ago, when they moved into the forest, that set was all MoonClan could find that was perfect enough for their Clan. Now, they've just grown used to the territory and it's theirs now." Cloverbriar explained gently. "TsunamiClan smells of fresh, salt water, obviously."
She began setting a border marker along some bushes and trees. "This is how we mark borders. Your turn. We mark every day to make sure there are no tresspassers."
He watched her closely. Wait..
"You mean we PEE on our borders to mark them??!"
"Yes, what did you expect? Did you think we lick them?" Cloverbriar said with amusement I her tone. She flicked her tail in a certain direction. "Go on. Mark our borders. You'll get used to this. I had the same reaction when I first marked borders!"
Her tone held no anger or hostility. Only amusement and understanding.
"I didn't know what we did but I never wouldah thought that!" He shook his head as he gingerly found his way to a good spot and.. well- urinated on a rock on the border.
"I still can't believe This is how we mark borders. 'Hey! Other clans! Don't come this way, we PEED here!'" he mocked good-naturedly, laughing as he went to find another place to mark the border.
"Let's mark near TsunamiClan." Cloverbriar said. She looked at her apprentice and gave a reassuring smile. "You're doing wonderful so far."
Cloverbriar began walking quickly towards another area, but as she entered, a soaking wet cat threw themself at her. Earning a startled, but angry, screech.
A wet cat flung itself on Sleepypaw's back as well. They were latched onto him really good.
Sleepypaw followed closely behind, or well.. as close as he could. She was fast!
As the cats leapt out from their hiding places he yelped in surprise.
"Ah!! Cloverbriar!! Ah-! It- its on my back!!" He shook and shook but it didn't do him any good. He couldn't get the cat off him! "HELLPP!"
Cloverbriar was busy in combat with a cat. She yowled for help as well.
Just then, Icywind, a white tom with blue eyes,
Lilycreek, a tortishell she-cat with amber eyes,
Arnicabelly, a golden tabby tom with dark blue eyes,
Waspthroat, a dark gray tom with black tabby stripes and olive eyes,
Asterstripe, a black tom with dark brown eyes,
Splinterdusk, a brown tabby tom,
Sootpaw, a dark gray tom with dark blue eyes,
Graypaw, a gray She-cat with blue eyes, and Redpaw, a ginger tabby tom with blue eyes, all from SpruceClan, bolted in.
"Thank StarClan..." Cloverbriar breathed. "SLEEPYPAW!"
They began fighting. Claws clashed claws, teeth met flesh. Cloverbriar ran over to Sleepypaw. She knocked the cat off of him.
"Use your claws like this!" She swiped her claws at her attacker, then sank her teeth into the back of the attackers neck and shook hard.
Sleepypaw breathed heavily. That was scary!! He had no idea what to do or anything and all the sudden it just.. HAPPENED!!
He had watched his mentor fight bravely, and had tried a swipe or two, but missed entirely both times.
He was honestly a little shaken up.
"C- cl-over-r b-bbriar??"
Cloverbriar began licking Sleepypaw's head to calm him. Her sides were heaving and she had new scars on her shoulders, chest and a gash on her nose. Even some good scars on her flanks.
"It's okay. Let's go hunting. Borders are marked." She said gingerly, turning to face Waspthroat. "Thank you, Waspthroat. You and the rest of the patrol really saved our fur."
Waspthroat shook droplets of blood from his dark gray fur. His black tabby stripes honestly looked striking against his gray pelt. "You are just lucky Asterstripe heard you when he did."
Sleepypaw sighed into his mentor, but he winced as he realized there was fresh pain and fresh blood dripping down his back.
"Okay.." he said a little shakily. "D-does it look bad?" he asked, flicking his tail towards the wound. Thankfully, it looked like only a flesh wound.
Cloverbriar took a look. "You look fine. You'll have scars like Finchwing of our Clan. You look like a real warrior!! You acted bravely for a cat who didn't know how to fight. I am proud."
"And I'm in pain!" Sootpaw complained, shaking blood from himself. He brushed up against Sleepypaw and licked away some blood.
"Heh.. I did?" he asked, somewhere between nervous and disbelief.
He laughed at Sootpaw's complaint. "Yeah, well i think all of us are in pain after that ambush! That was crazy!! Who's mouse brained idea was that???"
"They smelled of salt water." Sootpaw replied. Sootpaw has been an apprentice 2 moons longer than Sleepypaw. "TsunamiClan cats ambushed us. But why? They're normally peaceful."
Cloverbriar breathed a sigh of relief that everyone was alright. But she knew Sootpaw was correct. It was in fact TsunamiClan who attacked. "Our borders weren't marked well enough?" She guessed.
Splinterdusk rolled his green eyes. His brown tabby fur shining in the sun's rays, exposing the red droplets of blood on his coat. He is Cloverbriar's best friend. "They better not show up here again...fish-breaths..." He mumbled under his breath.
Cloverbriar giggled at that and her giggle made Splinterdusk hold his head up proudly.
"What do you think those fish-breaths want anyway, Sleepypaw?" Graypaw asked as politely as she could.
"I dont know.. But once I learn how to fight better, they won't stand a chance against me next time! Thanks for helping get us outta that. Or we wouldah been crowfood!"
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"You had so many!" Graypaw exclaimed. "I was happy you didn't get too injured!"
"And lucky." Spat Redpaw. He flicked his tail and began trotting to Camp. "Those cats will be in so much trouble once all of us can fight!"
Cloverbriar stepped forward. "And in the meantime, Sleepypaw and I will go hunting and tomorrow, I'll start battle training." Cloverbriar said politely. She stood beside her apprentice protectively.
Sleepypaw puffed out his chest in agreement with Redpaw.
"Yes!! Battle training and hunting!!! Woohoo!" Then he remembered himself, and how he's an apprentice now. He cleared his throat and sat down, ears perked and paws tucked neatly together. Trying to look more professional. "I-i mean. Thank you, Cloverbriar. I look forward to training."
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Cloverbriar purred in amusement. "You are very welcome, Sleepypaw." Cloverbriar licked him behind the ears. She began walking beside Splinterdusk. "Perhaps Graypaw wants to hunt with us?"
Splinterdusk nodded. "We can make it a small contest. Teach Sleepypaw the basics of hunting. Then, when he gets a few practice kills in, we'll separate and meet here soon. Whoever got the most prey wins, practice kills not included." Splinterdusk said.
"Fun! And the Clan still gets food. Clever, Splinterdusk. What do you two say?" Cloverbriar said.
Graypaw was bouncing on her paws. It sounded like fun.
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