Flamepaw's Destination

Chapter 34

 Flameclaw sat out in the SnowClan camp early one morning, sharing a fresh squirrel with Barkfern. It had been a few moons since her kits had become apprentices, and she had found she enjoyed the warrior life.

If only I had been a warrior in RiverClan, she wondered, though her thoughts of RiverClan were slowly fading. She realized she could not cling onto her old clan forever, and seeing her kits thriving and doing so well made her feel as if she truly belonged in SnowClan.

She had grown used to the warrior pattern now. She had to admit, she missed sleeping in like in the nursery, but there was something exciting about getting up early to share a meal with her mate and then heading off on patrol. They had not run into too much trouble, but Flameclaw had enjoyed becoming more familiar with the forest.

Often, she and Barkfern would hunt in their free time too. She was glad to be able to spend much more time with him. They were practically inseparable since their kits had become apprentices.

Barkfern would often joke of another litter, and Flameclaw would laugh, but she knew she didn't want this. She loved her kits, and she had no desire to have any more. Being a warrior had been what she always wanted, and she hoped to stay that way.

"Barkfern, Flameclaw, Cloudfur wants you on patrol," a warrior advised them.

"Early morning patrol, I guess," Barkfern muttered.

"We'll be there in a second," Flameclaw replied.

They left the fragments of the squirrel behind and headed out to the border of the camp where Cloudfur was waiting for them with other SnowClan warriors.

"Let's head out!" he announced.

Flameclaw trotted by Barkfern's side as they padded into the SnowClan forest.

"I'm sure the kits will be very happy today," Flameclaw explained.

"Why's that?" Barkfern replied.

"Ripplekit, Cloudkit, and Hazelkit are becoming apprentices today. They haven't been telling you that all week?" Flameclaw wondered.

Barkfern chuckled slightly.

"I suppose I wasn't listening," he admitted.

"We should be back in time for the ceremony," Flameclaw explained.

They continued on patrol. All of the borders seemed to be untouched, and a few cats even managed to catch some decent pieces of prey. All in all, it was a normal morning patrol, and they returned back to camp late morning.

As Flameclaw entered, she noticed Smokestar had already made his way up to the rock laying in the center of camp to make announcements. She had noticed his health declining slightly in the past few moons, though she did not find him too old. It made her wonder what life he was on.

"ALL CATS OLD ENOUGH TO CATCH THEIR OWN PREY, JOIN BENEATH THE ROCK FOR A CLAN MEETING!" he yowled.

Flameclaw nudged against Barkfern and went to join the crowd that had gathered underneath the rock. She glanced around and noticed their kits sitting right in the front row, eager to welcome their friends.

The three large kits padded up the rock and sat by Smokestar's side, awaiting the ceremony to begin.

"Ripplekit, Cloudkit, and Hazelkit have reached six moons," Smokestar began, "which means they are ready to become apprentices."

"Ripplekit," Smokestar began, turning to the she-cat. "From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Ripplepaw."

Flameclaw watched the she-cat's eyes light up with excitement and thought back to her own apprentice ceremony that had been so many moons before.

Smokestar next called out her mentor and began naming the rest of the apprentices and mentors. All the new apprentices seemed content with their mentors, and Flameclaw had believed them all to be fine choices. She had grown to know many of the new warriors in SnowClan and was good friends with quite a few of them.

When all mentors had been named, the clan began to cry out and rejoice over the new apprentices.

"RIPPLEPAW! CLOUDPAW! HAZELPAW!" they cried. Flameclaw could hear her kits shouting the loudest.

"They must be thrilled to have some friends with them now," Barkfern said to Flameclaw.

She nodded her head, wondering if perhaps her kits would form romantic relationships with any of their friends. It was a silly thought. They were only apprentices. But then again, Flameclaw had only been an apprentice when she met Barkpaw.

Thinking of her kits growing up and having kits of their own hurt her head, so she shook the thoughts away and watched as the crowd began to disperse. She noticed her kits talking eagerly with their friends, and as Ripplepaw, Cloudpaw, and Hazelpaw were drawn away, Flameclaw approached them.

"Momma!" Daisypaw exclaimed, rushing to her mother.

She did not get to see the kits as often as she liked. They would often speak in the evenings or early mornings, but they mostly only saw each other once a day or every other day.

The other kits ran to her excitedly. Flameclaw grinned, noticing how large they were getting. Soon they would almost be as large as her, or even bigger. Goldpaw was already nearly her size.
Barkfern approached now and let out a gentle smile.

"Are you glad your friends are apprentices now?" he asked.

The three nodded their heads vigorously.

"It's gotten to be so boring in the apprentice den!" Snowpaw complained. "Now maybe we can sneak playing moss-ball."

"I'm sure your mentors will allow you to train with them. You three sometimes train together, don't you?" Flameclaw wondered.

Daisypaw nodded. "Occasionally. I totally beat Goldpaw in battle training yesterday."

"Did not!" Goldpaw argued.

"He's just being a sore loser about it," Snowpaw joked.

The two she-cats laughed while Goldpaw pouted.

"Training going well?" Barkfern asked.

"Mintfall says I'm doing really well!" Snowpaw exclaimed.

"Good," Flameclaw purred. "I'm sure you'll all be warriors real soon."

"I hope," Goldpaw complained. "I'm sick of getting moss for the elders."

"Well, being a warrior unfortunately comes with responsibilities too. Although, not those types," Barkfern explained, laughing slightly.

"We have to go train now," Daisypaw exclaimed, pointing her to tail to where the mentors were waiting.

"Have fun. I'm proud of you!" Flameclaw called as they padded off.

"I think they're happy here," Barkfern observed after they had padded away.

Flameclaw nodded.

"Are you happy here?" he asked. "I know it isn't RiverClan, but I feel like I've really grown to enjoy SnowClan."

"I am happy," Flameclaw assured him. "As much as I wish RiverClan didn't have to go, I'm glad the kits are doing so well here and are so accepted. This is a very nice clan. It's strong too."

"Well, want to hunt?" Barkfern wondered.

"Sure," Flameclaw purred, padding off with him into the woods.