𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍 〖ʷᵃʳʳⁱᵒʳ ᶜᵃᵗˢ〗

V

Spiderpaw awoke to a nudging at her side. Maplewhisker stared down at her, his whiskers twitching. "Time to get up." He meowed, his tone completely flat. "We're going to have a long lesson today."

She spent a few moments preparing for the day. She joined Palebriar over by the herb storage. Since her failure in the assessment with Hornetclaw, it was like every cat knew. Maybe she was crazy—Kits of Stars knew she already was—but nobody had looked her in the eye or treated her in a kind way since the assessment three days ago. It was like all of her material self had been peeled off and cats could only see right through her.

"Hey," Palebriar meowed softly. "Did you sleep well?"

Spiderpaw's ear flicked absently. Palebriar had been treated her the way she treated cats when they walked in with sore pads—using only painfully kind words and refusing to say anything that would set her off. "Yeah," she said. "Anything super low?"

"We don't have much marigold left," the blue-and-cream she-cat responded.

"Marigold, that's for infections, wounds, and stiff joints, right?" Spiderpaw said.

"That's right." The prophet said.

There were a few beats of awkward silence as the mollies sat together, both hunched over and staring down at the herbs. Scents wafted up into Spiderpaw's nose; she could almost visualize them curling around her pelt and gathering near her head.

"Spiderpaw," the she-cat meowed unsurely. "I'm sorry about your assessment. I thought you had a good shot at it. Really. I just hope you know that being a prophet can be fun too."

Spiderpaw spent a good time looking at her paws. "I thought I did too. And I'm sorry I was so selfish. I really thought I was going to instantly succeed. I even wasted Stoatnose's time with getting her help."

Maplewhisker peered into the den. "Spiderpaw? Almost ready to go?" His tone was clipped. He had especially treated her the most indifferently since the assessment; a night ago, Spiderpaw heard him lamenting to Palebriar that her trying to change roles was disrespectful and fox-brained.

"Yes, I'm ready." Spiderpaw said, trying to keep the forlorn feelings in her heart from reaching her expression. She stood and followed him out of the camp and into the forest. It seemed as though, since that day, things had been just a little less excitable. The birds didn't sing quite as loud, the sun didn't shine as bright.

Eventually, the two cats were in step. Spiderpaw felt Maplewhisker's short fur scraping against her side.

"One aspect of being a prophet we've neglected to teach you is that of the Prophet's Creed. You've probably heard of the Warrior's Creed, but ours is sacred." Maplewhisker said. "Here, settle down. This is important."

"An important part, probably the only one that you know of, is that we can't have kits. We're allowed to have mates, but kits are absolutely forbidden. Bad things are known to happen to those who break that rule." A shudder danced up the tom's spine. Spiderpaw winced slightly. She wondered what that meant. Visions of broken families sailed through her head in an instant.

"The second rule is that we have to help any cat, regardless of origin. The Kits of Stars, despite being only communicated with through our Clan, look over every cat. To ignore any cat in need is cruelty, plain and simple." He spoke the words with a certain quality to his voice, as if he had rehearsed them over and over.

"The third is that our apprentices will train for seven moons, instead of the standard six. There is much more to learn that will impact you everyday of your prophetship." Maplewhisker spoke with a sincere tone. "You will receive your full name at six moons, as is standard, but you will be an apprentice for an additional one.