☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 2

𝒦𝑒𝑒𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓉

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

Keenkit knew something was up the moment the strange light brown and gray tom strutted into the StreamClan camp. Many of his clanmates muttered and whispered things he couldn't hear from where he was, but they always looked toward him and his littermates while they conversed with each other.

It had been a day since the stranger, they all called Lynx, arrived in their camp, and he and his siblings were supposed to become apprentices later that morning. But have plans changed? He asked silently to himself. Has our ceremony been postponed? Why is every cat acting so strange? Ever since the strange cat's arrival, the clan members had been flashing the kits odd looks and Keenkit wasn't sure what they meant. Were they in trouble? Was there something wrong with them?

The sun was just past the horizon by the time Keenkit and his siblings came out of the nursery to play with one another. They were battle training and discussing what they would do as warriors of their clan every once in a while, only to leap back into their play-fights. It didn't last for very long though, and they all stopped once Lynx strode towards them. Keenkit tried his best to put on a brave face, puffing out his chest and narrowing his eyes. The strange tom looked bored and uninterested as his mother, Shortstorm had the three of them line up side-by-side. The silver tom sat with his tail wrapped around his paws, the tip twitching occasionally in concern. He first looked at Keenkit. His green eyes seem to analyze every tuft of fur that was present, and it sent uneasy tremors through him. Despite the shivers of nervousness, he felt, he met the large tom's gaze with determined and prideful eyes. But eventually, he moved on and did the same to his siblings, studying them with that cold and disinterested stare of his. Finally, seeming as if moons had passed of him looking over each kit, the gray and brown tom pointed his tail at his sister, Tinykit.

"I'll take that one," he told Shortstorm, who gently licked her kit's small head once she noticed how fearful and tensed Keenkit's sister looked. Lynx then turned away, padding toward the StreamClan leader, Moonstar.

Not long after, when the sun was high in the sky, skinning down on the camp, the pinkish-gray leader leaped onto the stump of a tree that had fallen long ago, when the river near their camp flooded after heavy rainfall and washed its remnants away. It marked the center of their camp and was used by the clan leader when announcements or meetings were called. Lynx stood at the foot of the historical landmark. "All cats who are old enough to swim, gather around the Invincible Stump for a clan meeting!" The leader called, and Keenkit and his sister Mistkit found themselves to be some of the first cats to join their leader. Excitement pricked within his paw pads as the remaining cats gathered and Moonstar spoke again. "Today, Keenkit and Mistkit have reached the age of six moons and are to be apprenticed. Mistkit," he looked toward the gray and white she-cat, her yellow eyes shining with anticipation. "It is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Mistpaw and your mentor will be Heronclaw. I hope she will pass down everything she knows to her new apprentice." The tom paused, catching the russet and white she-cat's gaze as she stepped forward and touched her nose to Mistpaw's head. Soon enough, it was his turn, and he stepped forward as his leader called him, his blue-green gaze meeting his leader's pale orange gaze. "Shiningsoul, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Smallstone and have shown yourself to be a kind and helpful warrior. You will mentor this apprentice until he has shown he is ready to become a warrior." Shiningsoul nodded, stepping forward. "Keenkit, from this day until your warrior ceremony, you shall be addressed as Keenpaw!"

"Mistpaw! Keenpaw!" The cats who were assembled cheered the names of the two new apprentices. But Keenpaw couldn't help but feel worried for his sister who still clearly trembled in fear of her future. What had Lynx meant by saying that he chose her? Why wasn't she made an apprentice like he and Mistpaw were? The questions that were pouring out of him came to a stop though as Moonstar invited Lynx to join him on the stump with a flick of his gray tail.

The strange cat dipped his head to the StreamClan leader and cleared his throat before speaking. "As most of you may know, the Clanless Clowder has decided the time has come for our members to choose apprentices!" He called, only making Keenpaw even more confused. "I'm sure you all are aware that Bounce has given his immortality to me in hopes I can choose an apprentice to pass it on to, and I won't let him down, even if I, as well as most of you, disagree with his sudden decision to live the rest of his life as a normal cat."

The gathered cats murmured their agreement with Lynx, whispering about how mouse-brained Bounce had been to make such a choice or how his actions had been questionable. But the matter didn't interest Keenpaw, and his focus quickly shifted back to Lynx.

"And so, this brings us to where we stand now." He continued. "Tinykit," he beckoned, "You have been selected as my apprentice and future member of the Clanless Clowder. With such a position, you must know that SpiritClan will rely on you to interpret the mysterious dreams and visions and maintain peace among all four clans. Do you promise to do the bidding of your ancestors?"

At first, the kit seemed too shocked and scared to speak, but drawing in a shaky breath she nodded. "I-I do,"

"Then you shall be stripped of your clan name and instead be known as Tiny. You will leave your clan and step onto the path of a member of the Clanless Clowder!"

"Tiny! Tiny!" Keenpaw's clanmates cheered around him, but he was too shocked to join in. This random and strange cat was just going to take his sister? For all he knew, this cat could murder his sister, or manipulate her to do terrible things! But Lynx and Tiny headed for the camp entrance as his clanmates left from where they were gathered around the tree stump. He could hear his mentor calling for him, but Keenpaw was too outraged and worried for his sister.

"Tiny!" He called, but the she-cat didn't seem to hear him over the commotion of StreamClan cats. "Tiny!" He called once again, just before the two cats disappeared. The silver tom was just about to chase after her sister to beg for her to stay when his new mentor intercepted him, quickly grasping his scruff to keep him from sprinting out of camp. "Let me go!" He yowled, trying his best to break free from the strong tom's grasp. But it was no use. With a sigh, he stopped struggling, Shiningsoul letting go of his scruff moments later, but poised and ready to grasp it once again if he attempted to leave once more.

"I know you're worried for her," his mentor told him in a gentle voice, "But she'll be fine." He licked his head with reassurance. "It's a great honor to be chosen as a Clanless Clowder apprentice, so you should be proud of her."

He nodded, but in the back of his mind, he knew he'd have to see it for himself before he believed that was true.