Sage's Uncovering

Chapter 1

"Talonkit, come at me!" Leafkit squeaked, rolling over as Talonkit pounced on her back.

"Got you!" Talonkit mewed triumphantly.

"Hey," Leafkit meowed, looking suddenly confused. "Where's Sagekit?"

"Sagekit!" Talonkit called. "Where are you?"

"He's probably hiding like a coward," sneered Lapwingpaw.

Ugh, Lapwingpaw. Sagekit couldn't stand Lapwingpaw, even if they were brothers. Lapwingpaw was from an older litter of Silentfeather and Sprucestep, his littermate being Dewpaw.

Sagekit came out from where he was crouched in the shadows of the nursery. "I'm right here," he meowed.

"There you are!" Leafkit meowed happily.

Sagekit favored his two littermates: Leafkit and Talonkit. They were pretty cool to hang out with. Sagekit was the oldest of the litter, but he didn't feel like it. He felt like the youngest because of his tendency to separate himself from others. Lapwingpaw often called him a coward because of that.

"Come play with us," invited Leafkit.

Talonkit flicked his fluffy golden tail playfully. "We're playing moss-ball."

Sagekit thought for a moment. Do I really want to play right now? "Alright," he replied hesitantly.

"Why so hesitant, Sagekit?" Lapwingpaw asked, flicked the kit's ear with his brown tabby tail. "Are you scared?"

"I'm not scared!" Sagekit protested.

Lapwingpaw rolled his eyes, then padded away as Silverpaw trotted past. Sagekit snorted in annoyance, while Leafkit and Talonkit turned away to laugh. Lapwingpaw had been mooning over Silverpaw for a while now, and it was so obvious that Sagekit wanted to vomit.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Leafkit asked. "Let's play!"

She tossed the moss ball at Sagekit, who reared up on his back legs to bat at it. He threw it over to Talonkit. Talonkit scooped it up and flung it across the clearing. It hit a large, muscular gray tom's side. His amber eyes showed his surprise as he spun around. The tom looked down at the moss ball as the three kits came scurrying up to him.

"Hawkstar!" Talonkit gasped. "I'm really sorry."

Sagekit was aware of his parents holding their breaths as they watched this happen.

"It's alright," Hawkstar assured Talonkit. "You were just playing."

Hawkstar hooked his claw on the moss ball. Then threw it back across the clearing, and the three littermates scurried after it. Leafkit dove for the moss ball, managing to get the ball to bounce off the top of her head. Sagekit and Talonkit both let out a mrrow of laughter as their sister let out a huff of frustration.

Silentfeather hook her paw under Sagekit's belly, pulling him towards her. When she set him down, she started grooming the fur on the back of his head. "Hey!" protested Sagekit. "I can groom myself."

His mother let out a mrrow of amusement. "I'm sure you could," she meowed. "But for the sake of your apprentice ceremony today, I think I should groom you. Your brother and sister are getting groomed too," she added.

After feeling Silentfeather's tongue rasp over his golden-tabby fur for a little loner, he heard Hawkstar's summons. The traditional Clan summons were so familiar, as Sagekit and his two littermates Talonkit and Leafkit would listen to Hawkstar during Clan meetings.

The entire Clan gathered beneath the Highroot for the three kits apprentice ceremony. Their parents - Silentfeather and Sprucestep - sat down, watching them with pride filling their eyes. Hawkstar jumped down from the Highroot, landing neatly in front of the three excited kits. Sagekit felt like he would explode with excitement. Contain it Sagekit. You've got this. You can do this. It's just a new name and a new position. You'll be fine.

"We are gathered here today for one of the most important ceremonies of our lives," Hawkstar meowed. "The making of new apprentices."

The thick-furred gray tom looked down at the kits with a soft look in his amber eyes. "Sagekit, Talonkit, and Leafkit." He addressed the three older kits. "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 names, you shall be known as Sagepaw, Talonpaw, and Leafpaw. Talonpaw, your mentor will be Robinclaw. I hope Robinclaw will pass down all she know to you."

Hawkstar's amber gaze shifted to look at the mottled brown she-cat. "Robinclaw," he meowed. "You are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Skyfeather, and you have shown yourself to be patient and determined. You will be the mentor of Talonpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

"Talonpaw! Talonpaw!" Cats in the clearing chanted Talonpaw's name. Sagekit could see his younger littermate beaming with pride, his chest puffed out.

"Sharpleaf," Hawkstar meowed. "You are ready for an apprentice. You received excellent training from Lightningdust, and you have shown yourself to be loyal and brave. You will mentor Leafpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

Sharpleaf nodded his head, stooping down to touch noses with Sagepaw's sister - Leafpaw. Her amber eyes glowed with excitement. "I will try my best," he meowed. "If you try to bear with me."

Sagepaw heard cats around them let out purrs and mrrows of laughter. Sagepaw couldn't help but join in. Sharpleaf could be humorous when he wanted to be - which wasn't very often. When he looked back up at the Highroot, he saw Hawkstar staring down at him with firm yet joyful amber eyes - something that a lot of cats said they hadn't seen since Violetshine's and Twigbranch's untimely deaths.

"And finally Sagepaw," the SkyClan leader meowed. "Your mentor will be Fuzzyshine."

Cats let out gasps of shock. It wasn't everyday that a kit was apprenticed to a medicine cat, but this made Sagepaw's heart soar. He had always wanted to be a medicine cat. Fuzzyshine stood up, turning to address the Clans. "Cats of SkyClan," she began, "as you know, I will not be around forever. So it's time I took an apprentice. I have chosen a cat who shows care and observant nature. Your next medicine cat will be Sagepaw."

"Sagepaw," meowed Hawkstar. "Do you accept the post of apprentice to Fuzzyshine?"

"I do," Sagepaw replied with confidence. He could tell his parents were staring at him with pride in their eyes.

"Then at the half-moon, you must travel with me to the Moonpool to be accepted by StarClan before the other medicine cats," Fuzzyshine meowed.

"The good wishes of all SkyClan go with you." Hawkstar leaped down from the Highroot after the gathered Clan had cheered the three new apprentices names', which signaling the Clan meeting to be over.

Then as Sagepaw followed Fuzzyshine, he thought, Being an apprentice might not be so bad after all.