In The Dark - Warriors.

Chapter Four

One moon later, Lostkit had officially became an apprentice by the name of Lostpaw. Though she, of course, was not a warrior's apprentice, but a she-cat apprentice. A she-cat apprentice was, really, the lowest rank in MapleClan - lower than a kit, an apprentice, a warrior, an elder, a medicine cat, their apprentice, the deputy, and the leader ... Obviously, only she-cats could become she-cat apprentices, as it was in the name. They were to be yet an apprentice until they found a mate and birthed their first litter of kits, which is when they became a she-cat, the highest rank a she-cat can usually climb up to, but still low in the hierarchy.

Yesterday was when Lostpaw had officially been given the rank of a she-cat apprentice by Froststar. He had called a meeting and the cats were to gather up - that was the day when Lostpaw became a she-cat apprentice and Pinepaw became a warrior's apprentice, which was higher than, well, Lostpaw's rank. Everybody in the Clan had cheered for Pinepaw when he was appointed - the she-cat's were forced to, anyways - but nobody had said a single word when Lostpaw was appointed she-cat apprentice, possibly because it was so low that there wasn't anything worth congratulating her for.

Now Lostpaw was curled up underneath a large overhang, which was really just a rock jutting out from a wall that was very drafty. She had been sleeping underneath it for one night, and so far, she knew that the den wasn't a good one. One reason was because at nighttime the breeze always ruffled her fur, making it cold and hard to sleep. The only warmth she could rely on was from the body heat of the other she-cat's sleeping next to her, which wasn't much. Only about four other she-cat apprentices shared the den with her, which was way less than the amount of tom apprentices that slept in an actual den instead of a cliff overhang.

When Lostpaw had awoken, she could already see that the other she-cat apprentices were awake except one. If she had heard correctly, her name was Berrypaw, but she wasn't sure. She pulled herself up from her nest, which was only a single patch of moss, and shook the dirt out of her fur before walking outside of the den to accompany Pebblepaw outside, sitting. She sat down next to her. "What are we supposed to do?" She meowed.'

Pebblepaw shrugged. "We are supposed to stay here." That confused Lostpaw so much that it made her blink. She thought that this was supposed to be a low rank where you were required to work 24/7.

"What do you mean?" Lostpaw meowed. "That seems more like a luxury to me. Not having to patrol, hunt, fight, or heal and instead just staying here to do absolutely nothing except sleep, eat, chat, and play around." She said.

Pebblepaw shook her head. "No, you misunderstood me." She said. "We do not have to patrol, hunt, fight, or heal. Yes, that is true. But that is only because we are not allowed to. Besides, this life is not luxurious. I would like to be able to see the outside of camp, thank you very much." She said, finishing it off sharply.

Lostpaw flinched back, not used to listening to this type of language. "I'm sorry," she mewed, sighing. "Was that a sensitive spot? I'll just leave. I don't want to make you feel any worse." She said, about to leave when Pebblepaw cut her off.

"No, it's fine." Pebblepaw sighed. "I just really don't enjoy this type of life. Unlike what you said, we do not get to stay here and do absolutely nothing. The other apprentices, like the three you saw earlier - Milkpaw, Rockpaw, and Fernpaw - often bully us, and the warriors usually don't cause any physical harm, but emotional, yes, because they yell at us. See, all of the toms in the Clan boss us around, and we have to do what they say unless we get in trouble. If we disobey, it is a possibility that we can get either attacked - which is allowed - or yelled at." She said.

Lostpaw frowned, flattening her ears at the thought of getting attacked by another warrior in the Clan. 'That sounds a bit too much like breaking the Warrior Code,' she thought to herself earnestly. "Oh. Well, I guess that's not how I imagined it, then. So it's not so luxurious ... " her thoughts trailed off to thinking about what Minnowcreek and Cherryflower had been saying when Sunkit died. That she wouldn't have wanted a shot at this type of life anyways. Now Lostpaw could truly understand the reason why to all of that ... truly, she could.

Pebblepaw nodded. "It's fine," she said. "I was just like you when I became an apprentice - " she paused as she looked around, seeing a tom. " - ashe-cat apprentice, I mean." She corrected herself before continuing. "I was so confused and lost - no pun intended - by this as well." She said. "Sorry for being such a hypocrite about this," she added.

Lostpaw blinked and nodded. She really had no idea what a hypocrite even was, and planned on learning about it later, but decided not to pester Pebblepaw about it right now. She'd just wait until she was being less moody to ask because she was simply just afraid of upsetting her more than she already had about a she-cat apprentice's duties.