Warriors: The Path of Fire

Chapter Two

Morning light shone brightly through the branches entangling the nursery walls, waking Firekit. She blinked sleepily against the sun, stretching out her forelegs until they trembled. Her brother Crowkit was already awake and chattering Flameheart's ears off. Their mother was gazing down at him, love and warmth in her soft green eyes.

"Yes, my dear," she was mewing as Firekit rose to her paws, "your ceremony will begin soon after sunhigh, when the patrols return."

Nervousness fluttered through her belly. I can't wait to start my training... but I feel sad leaving Flameheart. She glanced at her mother, knowing the she-cat would soon return to her warrior duties once she and Crowkit were officially apprenticed.

"Have you missed hunting and going out on patrols?" she asked curiously. Surely all the moons spent in the nursery had been quite dull in comparison to the usual tasks a warrior does.

Her mother looked up from Crowkit's rambling story about catching a butterfly the day before. "Of course I have," she purred, licking the top of her daughter's head. "But I've enjoyed raising my kits too. I will miss you two more than any amount of hunting and patrolling."

Firekit's heart swelled at Flameheart's words. She straightened up in the nest, giving her chest fur a couple of quick licks. "I will make you proud of me," she vowed solemnly.

"Me too!" Crowkit squealed, bouncing up and down. He scattered bits of bracken and moss in his excitement, tail lashing to and fro.

Flameheart let out a trill of amusement. "Oh, out of here- the both of you!" She swatted her son with a gentle paw. He rolled dramatically to his side, his orange eyes wide with mock disbelief.

"You've killed me!" he rasped, twitching his hind paw.

Firekit nudged him with her nose. "Get up, frog-brain! You can't be an apprentice if you're defeated that easily," she teased.

While she was talking, Crowkit leaped to his paws and began darting out of the den. "Fine- then I'll race you to the elder's den!" he yowled over his shoulder.

Hard on his paws, Firekit bundled out into the open, tearing across the camp to reach the yew bush that sheltered the elders' nests. At the last heartbeat, she overtook her brother and halted at the den entrance. "Beat you!" she panted, pride warming her pelt.

Crowkit butted her good-naturedly with his sleek black head. "You'll be the fastest cat in ShadowClan!"

"What's all this mewling about?" croaked a voice hidden in the tangle of brambles and branches. She recognized Redfur, a reddish-brown tom, poking his graying muzzle through the opening. "Can't you take that racket somewhere else this early in the day?"

His denmate Kestrelwing padded out, rolling her eyes at the grumpy tom. "Oh hush, Redfur," the brown tabby meowed, crouching beside a nearby puddle. "You know they are only excited for the ceremony today. I remember when you were made an apprentice- you could hardly keep inside your fur."

The kits purred while the elder grumbled something under his breath and clambered out of the den. As he made his way to the dirtplace, Kestrelwing licked a paw and drew it over her whiskers to brush away drops of water. "Speaking of the ceremony, how are you two feeling?"

Crowkit's eyes sparked with energy as he paced around the old she-cat. "I can't wait to start training! I'm gonna be the best fighter around the lake!" he boasted, fluffing out his chest fur.

"And I'm going to be the best hunter!" Firekit added, dropping to a crouch she saw Sootpaw demonstrate the other day.

Kestrelwing's tail stroked her side as she nodded. "That's very good, Firekit. Make sure your tail doesn't touch the ground; you don't want your prey hearing it rustle every leaf." The ginger kit quickly lifted her tail. "Now it's perfect," the elder mewed approvingly.