New Horizons

Chapter 2

Sunhigh soon appeared, clouds rumbling in the sky as they grew grey in colour. Crookedstar sat upon the large rock, observing his Clan below him. It's time, he thought as he stood and raised his head, ready to yowl for his Clan. "Let all cats old enough to swim gather in the clearing for a Clan meeting," yowled the fierce leader, watching as his clan gathered below him for a meeting. His wise eyes glanced across his cats, noticing with a swell of confusion that Minnowstripe seemed to be proudly sitting with Ripplebreeze, Duskkit, and Weaselkit. "Nightkit, Featherkit, Mistkit, please step forward." The three kits did as their leader commanded, each eagerly excited to finally be able to prove their worth to their Clan.

"Nightkit, 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 Nightpaw. Your mentor will be Silverwind. I hope Silverwind will pass down all she knows on to you." Crookedstar turned his attention to Silverwind. "Silverwind, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Willowbreeze, and you have shown yourself to be wise and a good hunter. You will be the mentor of Nightpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Nightpaw."

Nightpaw and Silverwind touched noses, stepping back as Crookedstar's attention moved onto Featherkit.

"Featherkit, 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 Featherpaw. Your mentor will be Wildwillow. I hope Wildwillow will pass down all he knows on to you." The light-coloured tabby leader proceeded to turn his attention to Wildwillow. "Wildwillow, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Reedfur, and you have shown yourself to be kind and loyal. You will be the mentor of Featherpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Featherpaw."

Featherpaw and Wildwillow touched noses, stepping back as Crookedstar turned to Mistkit.

"Mistkit, 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 Mistpaw. Your mentor will be Whiteclaw. I hope Whiteclaw will pass down all he knows on to you." The leader turned to look at Whiteclaw. "Whiteclaw, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You received excellent training from Leopardfur, and you have shown yourself to be selfless and loyal. You will be the mentor of Mistpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Mistpaw."

Mistpaw and Whiteclaw touched noses, stepping back as the rest of their Clan raised their heads towards StarClan. "Nightpaw! Featherpaw! Mistpaw! Nightpaw! Featherpaw! Mistpaw!" the Clan cheered, Silverwind and Minnowstripe the loudest of the whole Clan. Mistpaw, Featherpaw, and Nightpaw looked at each other, eyes bright as their Clan cheered their new names. Mudfur, from where he sat at the edge of his den, watched as the sun burst through the clouds and shone down on the three new apprentices, making them seem almost magical. Shaking his head, Mudfur ducked back into his den, ignoring what he saw. They were just three normal apprentices, what could be so special about those three?