Sunshine
The warm sun rays found their way through trees, and sent dappled shimmers across the forest. The lovely day of green-leaf coaxed the elders out of their honeysuckle bush den. 'Ah, that feels good!' a mottled gray molly purred while stretching out on a sun-warmed, flat rock. Her denmate chuckled, he rarely ever saw her happy about something nowadays.The young cats also found this a great day to be out, the two apprentices went out on hunts and the kits playfully batted each other or chased a moss-ball around. Their mothers, the pretty queens, stayed in the shade of the cool nursery, except an elderly one who sunbathed. Tigertail came back from a particularly pleasant and productive hunt, proud and beaming. 'Snowcloud? Where are the kits?' he asked, poking his head through the bramble nursery entrance. 'They should be near the apprentice's den' the white queen replied lazily.
Indeed they were, away at a captivating game of moss-ball. The slightly smaller kit, a sandy-colored tabby made an impressive leap and hooked the moss on his thorn-sharp little claw. 'Well well well, Sandkit' his father praised. 'You're turning into a fine hunter!' he exclaimed. 'I'm brilliant at hunting too!' squealed his golden dappled sister. She leap on Sandkit and they wrestled together. Tigertail sighed, before saying 'Who wants mouse? Your favorite!' and the kits began to climb on him and do their best begging looks and moaned and squeaked until Tigertail gave up and picked a plump mouse from the fresh-kill pile and gave in to their demands.
'Soon you too will be apprentices, if I am not mistaken' their father muttered thoughtfully while they chewed on mouse carcass. 'Oh yes! I really can't wait to get out of camp and I'll even clean the elder's den if I can be an apprentice!' Sandkit replied happily. His sister stayed rather gloomy and reluctant to answer. 'I guess I can't wait to sniff out all the herbs and stuff' she muttered. Many warriors told her the Clan would be loosing a useful and skilled cat if she became old Asphodel-leaf's apprentice, but she's never really wanted to do anything else but know about herbs.
That, of course, didn't keep her from faltering and hesitating, but she knew it was only a few sunrises before the final choice. No matter how much of a heartache it was to spend the day with an old grump, away from your best friends and sibling, she knew she'd pick medicine cat. 'Hey don't worry Dappledkit!' Sandkit tried to cheer her up. 'I'm sure we'll have loads of fun on days when we have less work' he kept the optimism. A golden tortoiseshell padded into camp, a small shrew in her jaws. 'Hi Sandkit! Dappled!' she muttered through fur.
Following her, was a dark brown tabby with scars and an aura of calmness and seriousness. 'Feed the elders, please, Emberpaw, and you're free for the day' he murmured and walked into the warriors den, nodding a hello to the kits. Briarfoot, he was called, has always been a bit of a kit's nightmare, a stout warrior who didn't speak much, but he was a softie and would never even raise his voice at a Clanmate. He was a senior warrior, experienced and weathered, and of course Ravenstar, the intelligent leader, wanted only the best warriors to train his precious kits.
Since Emberpaw and her brother Smokepaw were born, he couldn't stop bragging about them and how one day they'll be very important and valuable to the Clan. He spoiled them and enhanced them with only the best of mentors. Elmflower, the old wise queen with soft brown fur who's been around forever, said he had good reasons to proudly show off his kits, but she bitterly added he was loving them the wrong way. Nobody really cared, understood or listened. Emberpaw, however was as normal and noble as can be, and hated being the apple of her father's eye.
Smokepaw was quite the opposite, looking for praise and attention. He was unbearable at times, and very outspoken if not critical, but he was a good friend. Sandkit yawned, it was over high noon and he didn't drink his milk that day, so it was natural for the small kit to be tired after a morning of games, and he closed his eyes for a nap. He was woken by Emberpaw's excited nudge. 'Get up! Ceremony! Now!' she spun around and skittered to a clumsy halt below the Meeting Ledge.
Ravenstar, the tall, sleek back tomcat was waiting, so was Dappledkit and the other two kits their age, Pearkit and Robinkit. Pearkit was pure white with one blue eyes and one amber eye, and she was deaf on one ear but nonetheless enthusiastic and bouncy. Robinkit was a smart little tortoiseshell with mainly ginger markings, but she had a moody temper and some funny habits about luck.
Most of the Clan was present, they've came in camp for a last meal before dusk. When all the little cats gathered together, Ravenstar spoke and it became still and quiet. 'This Clan has been hailed with many new tiny warriors this green-leaf, and I am delighted to name them as ThunderClan's newest apprentices!' he called out, not exactly delighted but obviously pleased. 'Robinkit, you show promise, with intelligence and energy. I think you'll need a mentor as crafty as you, but also controlled and disciplined' he began the ceremony.
It has become part of Clan tradition for the Clan leader to name the reasons why he chose that specific mentor, it began after the Dark Battle and was meant to coax apprentices into liking their mentors so they'd never be tricked again. 'From this day on, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Robinpaw. Your mentor will be' Ravenstar hesitated for a heartbeat '-Antstorm!' and the cheering crowd parted to make way for a dark ginger molly with sly green eyes. She brushed noses with a radiant Robinpaw and pushed her near the spectators. Ravenstar eyed them briefly.
'Pearkit, you also show great courage and spirit, but I think a patient mentor will suit you' the leader drawled on. The little white molly stood a little straighter and flicked her non-deaf ear. 'Nightingaleface, you will mentor her. Pearkit, from this day on, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Pearpaw!' he announced and strongly feminine cheers came from the Clan. A very handsome light brown tabby tom brushed noses with his new apprentice and proudly sat beside her.
'Dappledkit, it is not my place to name you, but I dearly welcome you into apprenticeship' Ravenstar congratulated and Dappledkit skipped over to a glum-looking Asphodel-leaf. He was a pale golden tabby tom with a gray muzzle and sharp amber eyes. 'Sandkit, I am sure you inherited your father's kindness and agility. I think your mentor should be fast-paced' Ravenstar thought out loud. 'From this day on until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Sandpaw' Ravenstar finished quickly. Sandpaw felt like he could swim any river and beat any badger. He was really an apprentice! 'Your mentor will be Patchflower' the leader decided and dismissed the Clan.
Sandpaw was satisfied with his mentor, Patchflower was nice and always seemed to gave energy to play. She padded over to him and they brushed noses, she was a pretty calico with light green eyes. 'Right then! I think we'll have time for a quick scoot of the territory and we can explore in detail next sunrise. That okay?' she suggested and purred when her apprentice nodded. 'Great. Let's go!' and they were out, outside, breathing in the sweet smells of the forest and feeling lush grass under their paws, and a warm breeze.
'Okay, just follow me' Patchflower muttered and bounded off with a spring in her step. Little Sandpaw followed, excited to feel and smell and see his own territory. It was lush, with wildflowers in bloom, flies and bees buzzing here and there, and the mighty oaks and other trees and their wide green leaves, and the occasional aromatic pine with sleek sharp needles and the bushes and brambles and the pebbly shore of the lake with smooth debris washed ashore. The lake itself was a glistening smooth surface with barely a ripple, and beyond were lands Sandpaw was yet to visit. He caught foreign, sour scents on the breeze and scowled a little but he then had to catch up to his eager mentor.
The sun was rather low in the sky by the time they reached their first landmark: a squat little Thunderpath, Sandpaw heard of great black sticky ones, with big shiny Monsters that speed on round black paws, but this one was little more than a dusty streak of grayish crumbs, nearly overgrown by grass. It simply wore off after all the Moons and Seasons. They followed it upwards, and Patchflower let Sandpaw examine a small Twoleg Den that was also little more than crumbling stone. Inside was a surprisingly good amount of mice, and of course the vast variety of herbs and flowers that gave off a sickly sweet scent.
Wispy clouds curled over a golden sky when they came to the Unknown Lands, more forest but a little bit more empty, with more clearing and it just seemed...lifeless. 'We don't go beyond here' Patchflower explained, waving her fluffy tail at the faint scent-marked border. 'Come on' she purred and they got to a small sandy clearing where battle training took place. 'The elders say their kin said that there was one like that in the Old Forest' Sandpaw's mentor explained and showed the apprentice a paw swipe.
Next they sprinted to the ShadowClan border, a clearing with high grass and a stream. The scent here was swampy and piny, but it didn't seem as sour as earlier. 'This place used to reek ages ago, but the aggression has been bred out of Clan cats some time ago. We're not as edgy as before and that's a good thing. New fun fact: the Old Forest ShadowClan place was marshy, when they came here it was dry, but now their territory is marsh again. They say Twolegs brought in water and it soaked through the ground' Patchflower was on a rampage now, trying to spill all her knowledge into Sandpaw. He just nodded, trying to keep up. The sky became shadowy lavender.
'I don't think we have time for WindClan but there might be a second for Sky Oak' the calico murmured and sprinted off again, Sandpaw skipping behind. They came to a most ancient and sturdy tree, and Sandpaw instinctively unsheathed his claws and dug them into the thick, uneven bark. 'Hey young Tiger, I don't think you'll manage-' but Sandpaw was already wriggling on a very low, thin branch. 'You're a natural kid! I should've known, your father is an excellent climber' Patchflower exclaimed happily and they began a game, chasing each other on the lower branches, with the first one to fall as looser.
Sandpaw lost by a short distance but he nonetheless got loads of compliments from his mentor and when it got really dark and when the first stars poked out, they came back to camp. All the others were there, except a late evening patrol led by Tigertail, and Sandpaw gladly told Pearpaw, Robinpaw and Emberpaw the story of his day. Smokepaw just rolled his amber eyes and remarked this is ridiculous, curling up to sleep. Turns out each apprentice had a good day.
Robinpaw was given strict orders and instructions and collected moss most of the day, but she said she later had a chance to explore all the secret ways to get inside camp, including a very dangerous one hidden behind some brambles that led straight down into the hollow, but the drop was sheer and deadly, and the tortoiseshell also got to see a small clearing above the medicine cat den, with a tree and marigold.
Pearpaw said she did some tracking, Nightingaleface was wandering about a few fox-lengths away from her and she had to find him. Smart move by the handsome tabby, this way he ensured Pearpaw would make up her limited hearing. Emberpaw said she did a little bit of hunting and she modestly glanced at a huge rabbit on the fresh-kill pile. 'You caught that all by yourself?' Sandpaw exclaimed in wonder. Emberpaw purred. 'No, I just blocked its way and Briarfoot got it in the end' she explained shyly. Dappledkit stalked into camp with some bristly horsetail clamped in her jaws, looking smug and proud.
Old Asphodel-leaf ambled behind, looking skeptical and slightly dazed. 'Told you they grow by the ShadowClan stream' she gloated and the elderly tom groaned. 'I was the one who told you they grown in marshy areas!' and on they bickered, before disappearing in the medicine cat den. Dappledkit ran out soon after, eager to re-hear all the stories and recounts, and then she told hers.
She was learning one herb at a time, and today she listened about horsetail. It was boring mostly, she said, but interesting in some parts, and then she pleaded the old-timer to let her look for some and she found a huge clump. She also added she's expected to sleep in the medicine cat den, just on her first night of her training but Sandpaw encouraged her a little and she scrambled back up.
The rest of the apprentices chatted for a moment, ate a small supper and all curled up in warm moss nests, awaiting another day of work and fun.
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