The Endless Prophecy - Night

Chapter 7

Sneezekit woke up to the fern-covered ceiling of the nursery. Wait, the nursery wasn't covered in fern! He stared at the ceiling. Then the memories, one by one, came floating back to him. Of course, he was in the ThunderClan apprentices' den, hidden in a mossy nest and protected by Rosepaw. He was now to be smuggled out of the camp and back to the safe forest of SkyClan. Well, technically, all Clans' forests were safe from intruders, but SkyClan was where he felt home.

"Hello, li-young one," Rosepaw nuzzled him. "Ready to go home?"

Of course Sneezekit was ready. He'd been dreaming about it! Sadly, Lionblaze didn't come to visit. Oh well, he'd better be on time next time! Nodding his nead, he slipped under the gap in the den easily and Rosepaw followed. She gently grabbed him by the scruff and the pair set off.

"Isn't Nightpaw coming?" he asked, frowning at the camp.

"She can't. Her wounds need to heal, though she wishes you an enjoyable and safe journey," Rosepaw explained.

A while after, they arrived at the border between ThunderClan and SkyClan. Rosepaw released Sneezekit and she sat down.

"Aren't we going home?" he asked again. "I'm not tired!"

"You are, but the warrior code forbids us to cross the border. We will wait for a border patrol to come, then you can go home."

"This is so boring!" Sneezekit lashed his tail. "What are we even going to do?"

"Hmmm," Rosepaw cocked her head. "Maybe we can play moss-ball?"

"What about a play-fight?"

To Sneezekit's surprise, Rosepaw shook her head. "If a patrol finds us fighting, they will wage war against ThunderClan. WindClan is already being hostile, we do not want another enemy."

Oh. He hadn't thought about that.

"Sneezekit, I suggest you lay down like me, and listen in to all the beautiful sounds of the forest. Drink in all those wonderful scents of the forest, and relax. Sometimes the true beauty around you will surface when there is somebody who is silent and peaceful."

He nodded along, but inside, he felt anger. No, it wasn't Rosepaw's fault. But the mere sound of his name put him on edge. Forcing his fur flat, he mewed to Rosepaw.

"I appreciate what you just said, Rosepaw, but next time, can you not call me by my name?"

"Oh," Rosepaw's eyes widened. "I'm terribly sorry, I didn't realize!"

"It's okay," Sneezekit assured her. "When I was small, I used to sneeze a lot, due to my small size. My parents... they didn't really care about me. They gave me this cruel name, and now I have to live with it."

"Did you know, when Nightstar was just an apprentice, he was called Flamepaw," Rosepaw told him. "Flamepaw didn't like how they named him after his ancestor, Firestar. So when it was his warrior ceremony, he told the Clan that he wanted a name that reflects his own personality. So Bramblestar named him Nightheart, a name that both shares his ancestry and appearance."

"So that means I can change my name, too?" 

"Yes," said Rosepaw. "Nobody deserves to have a cruel name."

"Then," said Sneezekit thoughtfully. "I'd like to be named Skykit."

"That's a very nice name," said a familiar meow. Sneezekit looked across the border to see a SkyClan border patrol, with Hawkstar, Palesky, Duskfawn, and Stringpaw.

"Sneezekit!" Stringpaw was just about to cross the border, but his mentor, Duskfawn, held him back.

"Stringpaw," mewed Sneezekit curtly.

Rosepaw shuffled her feet, looking awkward. Hawkstar directed his gaze at her.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Rosepaw. I found this kit wandering in ThunderClan territory and we sheltered him in our den, because it was getting late. We agreed that we will bring him home today."

"You didn't come to the last Gathering, didn't you? Well, we thank you for your hospitality," Hawkstar turned to Sneezekit and told him sternly, "Never go out of camp again, until you're an apprentice."

"Yes, Hawkstar," Sneezekit apologized humbly.

"Bye, Skykit!" called Rosepaw cheerfully as the patrol headed away from the border. Sneezekit was delighted to hear her use his preferred name.

"Bye, Rosepaw! See you at the next Gathering!" he called back.

Hawkstar purred. "You seem to be very friendly with each other, don't you?"

"Oh, um, yes, we are friends, but, I'm not--"

"Okay," Hawkstar's eyes narrowed for a bit, then he relaxed. "So you don't like your name," he stated.

"That's correct," mewed Sneezekit stiffly.

"I understand that," said Hawkstar. "Would you like me to rename you on your upcoming apprentice ceremony?"

"Oh," Sneezekit hadn't realized he was nearly six moons old. "Yes, of course I'd love that!" he beamed.

"Very well," Hawkstar purred.

A few days later.

"Sneezekit, you have reached the age of six moons, it is time for you to be apprenticed. You have requested to be renamed into a name that suits your personality more, therefore, from this day forward, you shall be known as Skypaw, in honor of your bright sky-blue eyes. Palesky, you have not been a mentor for a while. You shall be Skypaw's mentor."

His eyes sparkling with joy, and reached up and touched Palesky with his nose. They purred as SkyClan yowled their names and cheered. Sparkpaw and Brownpaw, however, were only cheering half-heartedly. Skypaw scowled at them. I'll show them one day, just wait! Nudging Palesky, he nodded at his littermates and Palesky immediately got what Skypaw was telling him. He padded over to them and reprimanded them. Sparkpaw and Brownpaw ducked their heads at the same time, and they both padded away miserably to do the boring apprentice jobs that Palesky had assigned them.

Purring to himself, Skypaw turned to Palesky. "I'd like to learn some battle moves," he meowed confidently.