Warrior Cats || Burning Stars || Book One || Stepping Stones

Chapter One

        "Ashkit, Lillykit, please calm down!" Oceanbreeze sat calmly, trying to round up her rowdy kits. Wolfkit was sitting beside their mother, sitting calmly and silently. Ashkit sat up and Lillykit sat beside her.
"Sorry mom! Were just really excited!" Lillykit yipped as she licked herself clean.
Ashkit copied her sister. Wolfkit was already clean. "Today you became apprentices." Her mother continues. "It is important you look nice when you face you're leader and clan mates."
A yowl from atop the meeting boulder turned there heads around to look at there leader, Clearstar. Cats were gathering around the boulder. There mother stood, wished them luck, and joined the crowd. Ashkit was very nervous at this point. There brother said nothing as he walked over to the front of the crowd. Lillykit and Ashkit scramble after him, now to tense to be loud.
"Wolfkit, Ashkit, and Lillykit." Clearstar addressed the three kits who stood before the boulder once everyone had quieted down and gathered. "You have reached the day were you are six moons old, and are ready to train in the ways of the warrior." Her kind gaze swept over the four kits. "From this day on, you will all be know as Wolfpaw, Ashpaw, and Lillypaw. "Flowermoon, you have proved to be loyal and courageous to you're clan over and over. I hope you pass down these traits to Wolfpaw."
Flowermoon stepped forward and for a gentle moment they touched noses. Flowermoon then stood beside Wolfpaw as she listened to the others be announced.
Clearstar goes on: "WolfSun." Clearstar seemed to pause, different emotions passing threw her eyes. "You have proved yourself to you're clan and to me so many times over. I believe that you can be trusted to mentor Ashpaw, and pass down these traits to her." Ashpaw watched, surprised that Clearstar would let such a wise and noble warrior mentor her. As WolfSun limped over, Ashpaw almost felt bad for the warrior. But she shook off these feelings as she touched noises with WolfSun and went to side with Wolfpaw and Flowermoon. Now it was Lillypaw's turn.
"Lioneye. You have proved over and over you're strength and quick thinking. I know you will pass down these traits to Lillypaw." Lioneye walked over to Lillypaw. He was defiantly a cat to fear in battle. They touched noises and joined the other on the side lines.
"Wolfpaw! Ashpaw! Lillypaw!" The clan chanted there names, loud and clear.  Ashpaw watched her clan, and smiled. After a couple of moments, the noise died down and the cats departed to hunt and patrol.
"Were are we going first, WolfSun?" Ashpaw asked excitedly.
"I think we should explore the territory first." Lioneye suggested.
After the three mentors agreed, they headed to the stone tunnel with there three apprentices in tow.

        "Here is the training hollow." Flowermoon announced as the group reached a dip in the ground. The ground in the dip was all sand. The walls were covered in moss, a soft protection if one was to be thrown into the walls. Ashpaw observed, thinking about its moss walls and the sandy ground. She smiled to herself, thinking about training with WolfSun and learning different fighting techniques. Never letting Clearstar down. "This is were mentors teach there apprentices different fighting moves. Tomorrow we will separate, branch off to learn with out each other. Some will learn to do chores, others hunting. Some will learn to fight. It all depends on what the mentor wants to do." Flowermoon mews as she looked down upon the area.
"Come on." WolfSun mews as she limped away. "We only just started and were not even close to being done."
As the patrol continued, Ashpaw made sure she took note of all her surroundings. The tough, hard rocky ground. The small trickles of water here and there. The burned, long dead trees. The wind and how it whistled threw the rocks, huge and small.
"Here is MarshClan's territory." Lioneye's voice broke threw her thoughts. She looked up at him, listening with full attention but her gaze slipped past him to the marshy area.
'No wonder there called MarshClan.' Ashpaw thought. She directs her attention back to Lioneye.
"Our territory only faces two clans. The other territories are know as the Dark Lands. /No/ cat is aloud there. One time, my brother went past into the Dark Lands. I was with him, it was us two hunting. He screamed, a blood freezing scream. Blood splattered my paws and the ground in front of me. I ran away, so fast..oh so fast. I left him, him screaming my name. Until it was all silent. To silent."
All three apprentices,even Wolfpaw, stared at Lioneye with a mortified, sad expression. "Sorry." He whispered.
WolfSun stood, with no expression but she was hiding something her calm gaze.
Panic.
"Everyone wanted to know what happened to me, why my paws were stained red. I told them what happened. How fast it happened. They were mortified, one even demanded to fight back this monster of the dark. She went out even with Clearstar yelling no. No cat could stop her. Never, never did we see her again. " He shook his fur and sighed, memories clouded his eyes. "The other two sides is MarshClan and ShadeClan."

The six walked into camp. Night wasn't close off and Ashpaw felt like passing out. Her legs were tired and her whole body was tired. As she headed to the apprentices den with her siblings, she felt a tingling sense of pride. Or maybe that was numbness from walking so much.