Posts by Kittenkit

A tortiseshell kit creeps through the pine forest, her icy blue eyes round as the moon, fur on end and whiskers quivering in fear. Mud clung to her milky tortiseshell pelt, making it so she couldn't even recognize her own scent. Suddenly, she froze, ears at alert and whiskers quivering, and darted up a tree just as a hostile voice growled from behind her.

"Who dares trespass on ShadowClan territory?" Many scents of full-grown cats wafted to her nostrils. Of all the questions they could have asked, they chose this one? she thought miserably.

"Umm, I really can't answer that." she replied hesitantly and truthfully, completely aware of how cracked and defenseless her voice sounded against the confident mew of the strangers.

"Prey-Stealer! Show your cowardly face! Why can't you tell us your name?" Another one of the voices taunted. The tortiseshell slid down the tree, and found at least four fully grown cats looming over her, teeth bared and claws unsheathed. She squeaked and cowered closer to the tree, but almost immediately the cats realaxed and let their fur lie flat, though their eyes held hostility. She finally got a better look at these cats, and saw that they were well muscled, and there was two toms and a she-cat. the she-cat, with, the kit noticed, a belly with kits, spoke.

"So? Why can't you tell us your name?" the pregnant she-cat queried, but there was more weariness in her tone than hostility. The kit shied away from the question, trying to ask another question instead.

"What is a 'clan'?" she dared to ask. The pitch-black, large tom hissed.
"Don't avoid the question!" he showed the kit his teeth, and unsheathed his claws. "Now try again: What is your name?" He spat the last words as if they were twoleg rubbish. Taking a deep breath, I answered simply, "It's a long story." The three cats glanced at each other questioningly. "Can you give us a summary?" the smaller tom asked. bracing herself for the tsunami of emotion she would feel when she told the story, the icy-eyed tortiseshell began.

"My mother was training my brother and I how to take care of ourselves. We could hunt a bit, and were just starting to learn to protect ourselves. She had promised to give us real names when we learned to hunt and fight, and until then, she would call me 'she-kit' and my brother 'he-kit'." The kit's eyes seemed as if a layer of mist had covered them. "I was out, practicing hunting, and I had found a way to hide my scent. When I came home to demonstrate, I heard yowling, screeching, and cries of fury coming from my home." Her little voice had been wavering the entire time, but now she could barely speak. "I dashed home, faster than I ever had before, and when I got there, I saw-" The poor kit had to stop for a moment to collect herself- "I saw a big black and white animal grab my mother and throw her like she was a stick. It went to my brother and killed him in one bite. We never earned our names! It didn't see my because of my scent-hiding trick." She paused. "I wish it had."

The cats were staring at her, wide-eyed. "To witness such a tragedy at such a young age..." the she-cat mewed.

The large tom suddenly mewed, "Can you see well at night?" She shook her head vigerously: She was afraid of the dark. He sighed. "Too bad, you would have been a great member of the Clan. Hey, do you want to help us in some way?" he added suddenly. She nodded. "Then go that direction, till you reach the river. If you can fish, the cats who live there have been giving us trouble." This the she-cat said, pointing sharply with her tail. "We must go now. May Sta- Umm, may you have good hunting." The last part was rushed, as if she had made a mistake. After they had parted ways, the kit felt an urge to follow them. But she also wanted to help them, and she loved to fish, so she must go this direction. Remembering her mother and brother, she silently hoped that their spirits lived on somewhere, watching her now.

Arriving at the river, she realized that the scent here was much different than at the other cat's home. There was a comfortable sound of the river, rushing, and the cool droplets landing on her fur... the feel of the sun-warmed rocks under her pads. As she stared at water the color of her eyes, she realized that she could sense life under the water. Her whiskers twitched as she pawed up to the edge of the water. She leaned over it, positioning her paw with claws unsheathed directly over the water so she could dart her hand in to catch it when a fish came under. She stiffened when she heard a snort from behind me.

"You're never going to catch a fish like that, if that's what you're trying to do." The kit swiveled to see a tom only a little larger than her with sleek black and white fur padding up to her. The only thing she saw was the black and white, and the image of her mother and brother's lifeless bodies laying at random angles popped into her mind, and, terrified, she took a step back before she knew what she was doing. The river immediately consumed her, and she was carried down the current.

The she-kit managed to take a breath before her head plunged beneath the water. Panic surged through her as she realized that she wasn't floating to the surface like she did in the big pool of water near her old home. Desperate, her limbs began to flail helplessly as she attempted to swim to the surface. Her lungs burned, and her vision began to turn black. Suddenly, the loud churning of the water seemed to quiet, and death tugged invitingly, a way to escape the grief and pain. She was about to give in to death when she felt the presence of her mother next to her. Do not ever give up, no matter what, a familiar voice hissed from behind her. You have a long life waiting to be lived. Now, you remember the lessons I tought you, don't you? [i]Fight the current! You [/i]will survive! The comforting words, especially from her mother, gave the kit energy to swim to the surface.

Her muzzle finally found the surface of the water and she took the biggest breath she ever had, and heard voices to the side of her gasp, "There it is! He- or she-'s alive!" "It can swim?" "Well, don't just sit there, go save it!"The kit swam strongly towards their voices, guessing that they were at the shore. "It swims like a fish, and it's only a kit!" With a start, she realized that the cats were talking about her. Even as the had that thought, she felt a gentle cat grab her by the scruff and was relieved at the help as the cat swam her to the shore. She coughed up water, and, exhausted, let the group of four cats carry her without question.

She woke in the most comfortable den she had ever been in, with the smell of flowers and plants wafting around her. She sniffed at her bed. Made of moss? I've never thought of that. I'll need to remember that, the icy-eyed kit thought, making a mental note. Looking around, she realized that there were holes in the ground, with plants and flowers and roots in them. There was a bunch of ferns at one place, and a small pool of water in another. Realizing how thirsty she was, she went over and took a suspicious sniff at the pool. Not even salty, she thought, lapping up the refreshing drink, when suddenly, the reeds behind her shook.

A huge, muscular cat pushed his way into den. The kit bristled, trying to make herself look bigger, but she still didn't even look a quarter of the size of the huge, sleek-furred tom. His fur was brown striped and he had brown eyes. Not even giving her a glance, he brushed past her. "Reedpaw!" he shouted. A blue-furred young she-cat with bright green eyes came in. The kit bristled again. Reedpaw looked at the kit, and blinked kindly at her.

"Great! You're awake! Don't worry, we won't hurt you," she added. "Now, Rippletail, what can I do for you?" At this, the large tom grunted.
"Minnowkit has a cough. What should you bring him?" Rippletail quizzed. Reedpaw sat up straighter. "Since it's leaf-bare, check for whitecough. If he has whitecough, bring him to the medicine cat den and give him catmint. If he doesn't, give him some tansy to ease the cough." She looked up at Rippletail expectantly. He nodded approvingly.

"Good job. Now go check him for whitecough. And if he has it, tell me, and I'll check the rest of the camp for signs of it." Reedpaw nodded and dashed off. Rippletail finally turned his brown eyes toward the kit. She took a few steps back, put off by his intense gaze.

"H- hi," she stuttered. When she had witnessed the conversation between Rippletail and Reedpaw, an entire lake's worth of questions had popped into her mind, but when she had the large tom's attention, her mind went blank.

"I suppose you have a lot of question right now," Rippletail began. When the kit nodded eagerly, he continued. "Well, don't ask me. You need sleep right now more than anything, so have some. Later, you'll go and visit Floodstar." The kit tipped her head questioningly. Rippletail flicked his tail impatiantly. "Reedpaw will answer all your questions. Now get some sleep, little one. You need your strength." His voice softened at the last part. Turning away, he began to work busily at the back of the den. The kit stumbled to her little bed, and melted into it, realizing how exhausted she was. The constant scuffling in the back and the distant sound of water running was relaxing, and she fell into a deep sleep in moments.

The kit woke up, refreshed and energized. Seeing Reedpaw next to her, she jumped out of her moss, and forced her hackles down. Reedpaw seemed unnerved by the comical waking of the kit, and twitched her whiskers. "So. I know you have many questions, but I'll ask you one first. I'm Reedpaw. What's your name?" she asked. The kit sat sadly, suddenly remembering her dead mother and brother. "My... mother planned on giving me a name when I finished training, but... she..." the kit couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Reedpaw obviously understood, and tried to take the kit's mind off it.

"Okay. So, this place has a lot of customs you aren't used to. This is RiverClan. We live together next to the river. There are a lot of warriors, who promise to fight with their lives to save the Clan. There are four other Clans: ThunderClan, ShadowClan, Windclan, and SkyClan. Every Clan has a specialty: RiverClan, the best Clan, we can swim, unlike all of the other scaredey-fish who are afraid of it. ThunderClan can hunt in brambles, WindClan goes fast, ShadowClan can hunt in the dark, and SkyClan can jump high. Though we all are different, we all have one thing in common: we live by the warrior code." When Reedpaw paused to take a breath, she saw the kit's puzzled expression. She stopped. "Maybe I should just show you. Now, when we go out, keep your hackles down, and claws sheathed. Nobody's going to hurt you. And don't take anything from the pile of fresh-kill. Just follow me." The blue she-cat led the way out of the den, the tortoiseshell kit following nervously behind.

The kit almost fainted at what she saw. There were cats everywhere, all well-muscled and well-fed. The kit's eyes grew as wide as the moon as a grey cat approached her purposefully, an air of responsibility around her. Reedpaw nodded to the long-furred she-cat, meowing, "Hello, Floodstar. This is the kit." Floodstar nodded at the kit. "Hello, kit. I am Floodstar. Would you like to come with me to my den to chat?" The kit took a few steps back toward her den, shaking her head vigerously. "N-No thank you, Fl-Floodstar," she stammered, intimidated by the huge cat's intense gold eyes. Reedpaw stepped foward. "Would you come if I came with you?" The kit hesitated. "Floodstar will be able to tell you all about this place, and she wouldn't hurt a kit for ten seasons of fresh-kill," Reedpaw hissed into the kit's ear. "Ok, I'll come with you," the kit meowed hesitantly.

In the leader's den, she sat uncomfortably as Reedpaw explained her not having a name. Floodstar was watching the kit the entire time, her eyes full of understanding. "My... my mother died saving my brother from falling into the river when we were kits," the grey cat admitted. The kit blinked, never having wondered if another cat had ever lost their mother. She dipped her head to Floodstar. "I'm sorry," she meowed. She looked back at Floodstar, finally seeing the leader as a real cat instead of a threat.

The kit looked up at Floodstar. The she-cat was watching her with sorrow and pity in her eyes. Then the grey-furred cat collected herself, took a deep breath and sat up straight. "So, I'm sure you have many questions. I can answer almost all of them, I'm sure," Floodstar meowed. Taking a deep breath, the kit began to ask all the questions to her hearts content. Floodstar answered all of them.

"Why do you have such strange names?" "How do you become an apprentice?" "Where are all the other Clans?" "What's a gathering?" "When's the next one?"

At this last one, Floodstar answered "Tonight! If you stay, we can tell you about it when we come back!" The kit nodded in response, and continued.

"Why would you even want to see those other Clans, if you're the best one?" "What's StarClan?" "How does StarClan talk to you?" "What are medicine cats?" "What's so great about a Clan?" "Why do you protect each other?" "Why don't you all live as one giant Clan?" "How do I join a Clan?"

Floodstar blinked, surprised at that one. She had thought the kit was just curious. But when she looked and saw the kit's eager eyes, with a sparkle of mischief and friendliness in her eye, she realized how much she loved this kit's spirit. She wanted badly to let this kit join, but first the kit had to meet the Clan.

"Well... first, you have to meet the Clan. If they like you, and if there is a queen willing to have you as her own kit, I will give you a name, and you will join the Clan," he explained. The kit smiled. "I'd like to meet the Clan, please," she meowed in mock-respect. It was obvious she thought of the leader as a friend. The leader importantly led the way out of her den, the kit close behind. Reedpaw followed, glad that the kit liked the leader.

Floodstar leaped into a clearing, and shouted, "Let all cats old enough to swim gather to hear my words!" the kit stood confidently as a few cats walked out of the tightly-woven dens, then began to lose her confidence as more cats then she thought could possibly be in one place came and gathered around Floodstar. As it seemed like no more would come out, the kit shrank back, and Reedpaw came up and pressed against her comfortingly. Floodstar began to address the Clan, and the kit stood up straight, though she was shaking slightly.

"As you know, we haven't had many new cats these last few seasons. Leaf-fall is upon us, and we only have three apprentices, Badgerpaw, Creampaw, and Reedpaw, and no kits." As she said this, she glanced at a young long-furred yellow she-cat, who watched the gathering with sorrow. Floodstar looked back to the Clan. "This kit is almost three moons old, and has lost her mother before she got a name. At least until she is old enough to fend for herself, this kit will be staying with us. Compassion is important, and we can't let a kit die, loner or not." As she finished, yowls of agreement rose up among the cats gathered. When Floodstar leaped off of the big rock, a young cat with creamy white fur and blue eyes bounded up to the kit, only a bit older than her. She stiffened as he sniffed her curiously.

"Hi! I'm Creampaw. Nice to meet you! How many moons old are you? I'm just six! I'm a new apprentice." He puffed his chest out proudly. The kit eyed him warily. Sure enough, his fur still had the fluff of a kit's, and he didn't have the strong muscles of a full-grown warrior. Before she could reply, Floodstar beckoned her over, the brown tabby by her side.

"This is Daisymoon. She had kits, but they came too early and... well, she wants to take care of you while you are here." Daisymoon's brown eyes filled with love as she looked at the young kit. She nodded. "I- I have seen kits die before they should have... I promise, I will love as if you were my own kit." Daisymoon watched the kit in apprehension and hope. The kit looked back with happiness, but did not reflect the love shown in Daisymoon's eyes. "Okay," she answered. "You'll be my mother." The golden she-cat looked like she was going to burst in happiness, and bent down to touch noses with her kit. After touching noses, Daisymoon looked at the kit seriously.

"Do you want me to choose your name?" she asked. The kit thought for a moment, then shook her head decidedly.

"No. I don't want a name until I finish my training, because that was what my mother wanted. Until then, refer to me as 'kit', or 'you', if you are talking to me." She wanted to finish what her mother had started, to honor her spirit, if it had gone to StarClan. She looked up to the sky, stars starting to appear behind the sinking sun. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Are you out there, mother? Can you hear me?"

Kit was undoubtedly popular in the Clan. She found out that Badgerpaw was the one she had seen by the river. The apprentices loved to play with her, and she had forged a strong friendship with Reedpaw. Kit loved to listen to the elder's stories, and she promised them that she would never complain for finding their ticks, and would find them the dryest bedding and prey, because of the stories they told her. A moon had passed since she looked up at the sky, and now she was four months old. Daisymoon couldn't have loved her more if she was her own kit, and Kit... liked Daisymoon. She definetly was grateful for Daisymoon's mothering of her, but her heart still ached badly for her lost mother and brother. She had learned the warrior code, and the ways of the Clan. She wanted to go on patrols, like any kit would. She even learned the medicine cat code, just so she would fit in better. Even so, her joyous expression hid the fact that pain and fear still burned beneath.

On the day of half moon, Kit's sleep was intruded in. "Kit," hissed a familiar voice. She opened her eyes, and found herself in a wide, open field, full of green grass and the scent of stars. "Kit!" The voice meowed again, more urgent this time. Kit turned, and filled with joy when her mother and brother, side by side were watching her happily.

"Mother! Brother!" she meowed joyously, touching noses with them. "Did you join StarClan? Why did you visit me?" Her mother watched her warmly.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay long. No, little one, I didn't join StarClan. In fact, I am trespassing on their territory right now. I chose today because I knew the StarClan cats would be meeting the medicine cats. Now, Kit, listen closely." Kit's mother leaned in, voice becoming more urgent. "This may be the last time you ever see me. Follow my wish, but also follow your heart. I can't care for you anymore. You must let your heart drift away from me." Kit opened her mouth to protest, but her mother silenced her with a flick of the tail. "You know there is someone who can care for you. Don't reject your love because of us." She motioned with her tail at Kit's brother and herself, "We want you to be happy, and we can't do that for you anymore. Let another cat into your heart." As she concluded, Kit felt tears well up in her eyes. The mother, an exact replica of the kit but larger, began to fade away.

"No! Mother! Brother! Don't go! Please!" By then the two other cats were already gone. She laid down, sobbing. She was so devastated, she didn't even flinch when a comforting paw smelling of the stars touched her shoulder lightly, and a sweet voice rang clearly from next to her.

"Now, now, Kit, what's wrong? You seem to be a long way from home." The comforting, kind voice belonged to a calico cat, staring at her with warm amber eyes. Kit sniffled. "I-I just lost my mother and brother. For the second time." The amber eyed calico nodded understandingly. "I am Amberleaf. I was a medicine cat of RiverClan, until a few moons ago, when I died of greencough." Kit's eyes widened. This was a cat of StarClan! She rose shakily to her paws.

"My-my mother told me to 'let my heart drift away' from her, and 'let another cat into my heart'. Can you tell me what that means?" the kit asked the StarClan cat, hope sparkling in her icy blue eyes. Amberleaf sighed. "Alas, that I cannot, little one. But," she continued, when she saw the defeated look on Kit's face, "I can tell you that you must seek your answer in your Clanmates, not in StarClan." The former RiverClan medicine cat bent down and gave Kit a lick between the ears. "Now, sleep, young kit, and remember, you can still love one while loving another..." The sweet voice and scent faded away as Kit exited StarClan's hunting grounds and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Kit woke up between Creampaw and Badgerpaw; she slept in the apprentice's den because there was no queens in the nursery. Knowing that they would protect her and comfort her made her feel happy, and she silently got up, and exited the apprentice's den. She looked up to the sky, for more reason than to just see what time it was. Her heart warmed when she thought of her mother and brother, up there, guiding her. Then she remembered her mother's words. 'I must let another cat into my heart,' she thought. I wonder what that means. She was jolted out of her thoughts by Daisymoon walking out of the warriors den, paw steps light even in the haze of sleep. She saw Kit, awake in the clearing, and padded over.

"Restless night?" she guessed, trying to make conversation with her kit. Kit shrugged, and replied vaguely, "Something like that." They both sat side by side in a comfortable silence,watching the horizon where they knew the sun would rise. The moment it did, they both let out a breath in wonder, then looked at each other, and laughed. Kit let her 'mother' lick her fur, and purred happily. For the first time, they both loved each other, as kit and mother, one with a long yellow pelt, the other with a short tortoiseshell pelt, and Daisymoon had broken one barrier into Kit's heart.

The next sundown, Kit was sitting on a big rock next to the Warrior's den. She jumped when the beautiful silence was broken by reeds whispering, two cat's paw beats, and the cat giggling softly. Kit turned and saw Redwhisker's fiery tail going into the medicine cat den, and Quickstep hovering outside, his grey tabby pelt prickling in excitement. She purred quietly to herself, remembering how she had seen Redwhisker staying awfully close to Quickstep lately. She might have some denmates in the nursery after all! She sat happily, thinking about her day.

She and Daisymoon had shared a large fish that Daisymoon had caught. Daisymoon had told Kit how they caught their prey, and how they had seen some ThunderClan cats, who had challenged them for 'hunting so close to the border,' as Daisymoon had quoted. Apparently, the hunting patrol had retorted by challenging the ThunderClan 'mouse-chasers' for getting next to the border every day to place scent markers. According to Daisymoon, the leader of the patrol, a large, golden tom, had taken a step back as if they had clawed his nose, and simply snorted and moved away. Kit had loved the story.

Noticing Redwhisker exiting the medicine cat's den, and rubbing muzzles with Quickstep, who was purring so loudly that ShadowClan could probably hear him, Kit slipped into the shadows. She followed the familiar path to the apprentice den, where she knew so well because she often stayed up to watch the sky until the stars appeared. She could make it from the other side of camp to the apprentice's den without leaving the shadows, and without barely thinking about it. She entered the apprentice's den, and curling up comfortably in her nest, fell asleep.

[justify]* * *[/justify]

The next day, as she expected, Redwhisker announced that she was going to have kits with Quickstep. The entire Clan purred a congratulations to her and Quickstep; they were going to be great parents, and kits were always good for the Clan. Spotting Kit, Daisymoon came up to her and licked the kit's headfur, as it was sticking out. "How you get so dirty while sleeping in a nest escapes me, Kit," she meowed, amused. Kit purred and thought of new kits in her Clan. "I can't wait to see the new kits," Kit mewed. "I also can't wait to see the territory! The only part of RiverClan I've seen is the camp and the inside of the river." Both Kit and Daisymoon purred in amusement.

Badgerpaw came over. "Hi, Kit," he meowed happily. "Wanna play a game?" Daisymoon looked at him sternly. "Don't you have some apprentice duties to tend to?" she asked. Badgerpaw raised his green eyes, surprise in them, as if he had just noticed that Daisymoon was there. Then he shook his head. "Nope! I don't have anything to do! I can teach you how to play mossball. If you don't learn it, then the game of mossball might be lost forever, if you don't teach it to the next generation!" he meowed dramatically, saying the last part to Kit. "Creampaw can play too, if you want." He looked at Kit hopefully. She nodded enthusiasticly. The kits scampered off to find Creampaw. It seemed that Kit had found her home, along with the other young cats of the Clan.

I'm glad I'm here, Kit thought. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. And now I found I love Daisymoon. That means I've made mother proud! Kit ran again with a burst of energy, glowing with happiness. I will become an apprentice of RiverClan, then a warrior! I will work as hard as I can to become the best warrior RiverClan has ever known! Kit took her vow seriously, thinking of it as Badgerpaw explained mossball to her. She thought she smelled her mother sitting next to her, but when she looked, there was no one there. She could tell that her mother was happy, from the scent that she smelled. She loved it, savored it, but then Daisymoon sat next to her and blotted out the smell of her mother. Kit thought she was going to be upset, but surprised herself when she leaned into her adopted mother, resting her head on the yellow she-cat's side. Daisymoon was surprised too, but leaned over and licked her kit's head lovingly, and Kit found that she was comforted by the scent of her new mother.

A moon later, Kit found herself pacing impatiently outside the nursery. Redwhisker's yowls were coming out from the entrance to the nursery, and Fallowtail was standing gaurd outside, constantly reminding Quickstep that Reedpaw and Rippletail were skilled medicine cats, and were taking care of Redwhisker. A few tense minutes later, the yowling ceased, and Rippletail and Reedpaw stepped aside, inviting Quickstep to enter the nursery. The tom rushed in, and exited a few minutes later, positively glowing. "It's two toms and a she-cat!" he announced, full of pride. Kit looked at Rippletail, eyes shining with excitement and curiosity. He grunted, and stepped aside, letting her in.

She stepped into the warm nursery, she let out a little gasp at the sight of the tiny mewling kits furrowing into the fur of their mother. Staying a distance away, she breathed, "They're beautiful."

Redwhisker looked exhausted, but her eyes glowed affectionately as she watched the three kits. "Thank you," she meowed. "Would you like to see them closer?"

Kit nodded furiously, and padded closer. She looked adoringly at the three kits, then asked their mother, "What are their names?"

"The red she-cat is Amberkit, the grey tabby tom is Stonekit, and the red tabby tom is Flamekit," she meowed softly, using her tail to point at the kits. Purring, Kit replied, "Those are great names." Rippletail poked his head in. "Time to give Redwhisker some sleep," he meowed softly to her. Kit nodded a farewell to Redwhisker, and when she was out of the nursery, asked Rippletail, "Can I bring her fresh-kill every day she's in the nursery?" she asked eagerly. Rippletail purred, surprising Kit, and replied, "Yes, Kit, you may."

A moon later, Floodstar's call echoed clearly around camp. "May all cats old enough to swim gather to hear my words!" Amberkit, Stonekit, and Flamekit all tumbled over each other to exit the nursery, while Kit stepped more slowly, her freshly groomed fur shining. Daisymoon sat at the edge of the crowd of cats, positively glowing, while Redwhisker used her tail to round up her kits. Amberkit shot away from her mother, went up to Kit, and meowed to her, "Good luck, Kit! I hope you don't get Weedclaw!" The last part was said with a humerus note, as Weedclaw was the second grumpiest cat in RiverClan, right next to Rippletail. Kit winked at Amberkit, meowing her thanks, and stepped near the front to listen to Floodstar.
"As we all know," she began, as the Clan became quiet. "apprenticeship is the first step to becoming a warrior. Today, we have a kit who is ready to become an apprentice. Kit, please step forward." Kit padded to Floodstar, shaking in excitement. "Apprenticeship is important. But the importance comes from, not the name you get, but the work you do. Kit, 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 Paw. Your mentor will be Sweetfeather. I hope Sweetfeather will pass down all she knows to you." Sweetfeather padded to Paw, green eyes warm and welcoming.
"Sweetfeather, you are ready to take an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Swiftstream, and you have shown yourself to be compassionate and brave. You will be the mentor for Paw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Paw."
Sweetfeather bent down, her eyes glowing, and Paw realized that she was supposed to touch noses with her mentor. She stretched her neck, and touched noses daintily with the older she-cat, who seemed to be just as excited as she was. The rest of RiverClan chanted loudly, "Paw! Paw! Paw!" Paw could hear Amberkit, Flamekit, and Stonekit's voices over the others', and found herself glowing in pride. She then looked excitedly at Sweetfeather. "Where will we start? And when," she added, hoping she wasn't acting demanding. Sweetfeather looked thoughtful. "How about I take you to see the territory?" she said decidedly. Paw bounced in excitement.
"I'd love to see it! The only parts I've ever seen was the inside of camp, and the inside of the river," she joked. Sweetfeather laughed, and they both smiled. Paw could tell they were going to be good friends, as well as apprentice and mentor.