Was it normal for all medicine cat apprentices to get wiser after their full ceremony? Lightshine wondered that because her sister talked different and acted different after she got her full name.
"Let all cats old enough to run through the sunlight gather beneath the High Branch!" Cedarstar's voice rang through camp, making every cat scramble to their paws. Waspflight jumped, his ears pricking. Palesky was already running out the warriors den.
Minnowpelt was sitting under the High Branch, talking to Cedatsrar as he climbed up the rocks leading to the top. Oakkit and Aspenkit were both six moons old.
"Oakkit, 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 Oakpaw. Your mentor will be Yellowleaf. I hope Yellowleaf will pass down all she knows on to you," Cedarstar looked to Yellowleaf, who now stood next to the newly named apprentice. "Yellowleaf, you are ready to take on your first apprentice. You have received excellent training from me, and you have shown yourself to be spirited and caring. You will be the mentor of Oakpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Oakpaw."
Yellowleaf touched noses with Oakpaw, the Clan calling out his new name. "Oakpaw! Oakpaw!"
"Aspenkit, 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 Aspenpaw. Your mentor will be Poppyflame. I hope Poppyflame will pass down all she knows on to you," Cedarstar looked to Poppyflame, "Poppyflame, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Frostclaw, and you have shown yourself to be skilled and thoughtful. You will be the mentor of Aspenpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Aspenpaw."
The Clan cheered, and the new apprentices and their mentors went mixed in with the gathered cats.
Icepool looked at Cedarstar, and he nodded at her. "We do have some bad news." Cedarstar started.
"We have to prepare, there is danger." Icepool paused, the vagueness of her message driving every cats curiosity. "I have a feeling it's much worse than the rogues, and we must be ready at all times."
The sky overhead was dark, clouds covering the bright blue. Rain started to fall, splashing on her head. Lightshine looked at Mistcloud, whose face stayed solemn even with her whiskers beaded with rain. Waspflight huddled closer to her, protecting her head from the rain which was starting to fall even heavier. Thunder stroke, and lightning flashed in the distance.
"I want some hunting patrols to go out and get some prey, I need border patrols, and some warriors to get the prey we have into the warriors den where it will stay dry. I don't want the kits or apprentices out right now, so go to your dens. I want at least 2 warriors back here just in case the rogues come back," Cedarstar demanded, his voice cold.
"I'll start on that right away," Minnowpelt's voice was overpowered by the rain, but Lightshine could read her lips.
The she-cat's stomach was rounded, and her eyes drooped under the exhaustion. Every cat was exhausted, but the deputy must have been feeling it more.
"Nutwhisker, Birchfoot, Yellowleaf, Woodclaw and Poppyflame, border patrol. But patrol the whole territory near Moonclan, don't go near Sunlightclan. I'll have Hawkstripe, Raincloud, Loudstep, Hollowshadow, and Darknight do that." Minnowpelt looked around, her gaze reaching her and Waspflight. "You two stay here. Cloudclaw, Eaglewing, Fishclaw, Dappledfeather, and I will go out on hunting. If I didn't say your name, you're staying here in camp."
"Lightshine!" Mapplepuddle tapped her shoulder with her tail. "Would you keep my kits company, I'd like to volunteer for a patrol."
She nodded. She went into the nursery, where she was greeted by three kits. Brightkit looked exactly like her mother, reminding Lightshine so much of Mapplepuddle.
"Are you Lightshine? Mother told us all about you!" Amberkit squeaked.
"Yes, I am Lightshine. Your mother was my mentor." Warmth filled her heart.
"I want Lightshine as my mentor!" Alderkit bragged.
"No! I do!" Amberkit argued.
In no time at all the kits were tumbling around, flashes of white and red fur in a wrestling ball.
"I'm sure Cedarstar will pick you good mentors." Lightshine couldn't help but feel proud that her mentor's kits wanted to be her apprentice.
"But we want you!" Brightkit stared at her paws, her tail now wrapped neatly around them. Amberkit and Alderkit nodded in agreement.
Twilightnose came in, her fur soaked. "Kits, Maplepuddle wants you to take a nap."
They groaned, sulking their way into a nest. Lightshine looked at her mother. Her dark blue eyes were a reflection of her own.
Twlightnose beckoned her to the opposite side of the den, where they could talk without disturbing the sleeping kits. "Well, we haven't had the chance to talk much. How are you and Waspflight?" Twilightnose rested her tail at her paws.
Lightshine could feel her ears burning with embarrassment. "You know about us?" She hadn't told anyone but Mistcloud, and her sister seemed too worried about the message from Starclan to think about what was happening with her and Waspflight.
"Of course, it couldn't have been more obvious if you shouted it off the High Branch," her mother purred.
"We're good, and to answer about kits, not yet." Lightshine sighed, wondering when she would ever be ready.
Twilightnose smiled, letting the silence stretch until Lightshine walked out. Rain poured down, drenching her. Her whiskers drooped at the weight of the water, her tail having trouble staying off the ground. The dirt on the ground had turned to mud. The cracks in the dirt had turned into small streams, water coming off leaves like waterfalls. Wind blew in her face, slapping her if she turned her head the wrong way. The rain poured so heavily she could barely see a mouse tail's length in front of her.
"Lightshine!" Waspflight's voice came from somewhere on her right, where she assumed the warriors den was.
"Waspflight? I'm coming," she looked around her, using her nose to scent the warriors den.
When she got into the warriors den, Waspflight was there, the rest of the den empty.
"Water is starting to get in here, and the back of the den has already flooded," Waspflight meowed, his voice filled with worry.
She could feel water pooling at her paws. She looked down, her and Waspflight's nest was floating above water.
"We have to tell Cedarstar!" Waspflight gasped, his voice high above the roaring wind outside.
"Let's go."
YOU ARE READING
Storm: The Storm That Poured
Fanfiction"You must prepare yourselves for the storm, not even Starclan can save us. . ." -Cottonleaf. "This is only the beginning." StarClan can sense the danger, but will the Clans sense it?
