Rising Sun- A Warrior Cats Fanfiction ✔️

Chapter 3

"Willowpetal! Look out!" Sunkit yelled as he flew through the air, hitting the queen in the head.

He leapt back, fur prickling, as the queen's head lifted, her pale green eyes chilling Sunkit to the bone. "Sorry!" He mewed as unsheathed claws came his way.

"Careful! You nearly landed on Aspenkit!" The newest queen turned her head back to where her two newborn kits, Aspenkit and Wolfkit, lay. "I can't wait until you're gone!"

Sunkit's fur prickled. He'd just escaped Hazelshade, who was going to give him- or perhaps she meant his sisters- 'the biggest grooming of his life.' He gulped, turning away from the nursery and padding, as usual, to the elder's den. Though before he could enter, a ginger tail stopped him.

"Bumblestar?" He mewed, turning to see the leader staring down affectionately at him.

"Sunkit, do you know why your mother told you to stay put so she could groom you?" Sunkit threw a wary glance in the direction of the nursery before replying quietly with a shake of his head.

"No..." It came out as a mumble, and he scuffed his paws, preparing to get told off.

In stead, Bumblestar just shook his head and let out a jolly purr. "Kits! Sunkit, just let her groom you. I'm sure she will tell you soon enough, or your father will come and collect-" He paused, a pained expression taking over his features.

Sunkit watched him, a cry raising in his throat. Hazelshade had finally told him how his father had died- killed in battle with badgers, and that Bumblestar had not been able to save him.

It was no surprise that the expression- one that appeared when he thought of his littermate- returned to his face.

"Sunkit! Don't think you've escaped me!" The kit winced, dipping his head to the leader, before following the call.

"There you are!" his mother's tone was accusing, causing him to wince once more. Suddenly, jaws grasped his scruff. "Badger!" He squealed, squirming in her grasp as he swung from side to side. "No! Don't take me to your kits! I don't want to be-" He broke off as he was roughly dropped in a nest.

"Noooooo!" He wailed as two smaller shapes padded closer. He shut his eyes tight, but all that came was rough licks on his head.

"O-oh?" His eyes cracked open to slits, and he could just make out the figures again. "Nice badgers?" He opened his amber eyes fully, and felt dumb as he realized that the "badgers" were his mother and his sisters.

He ducked his head, embarrassed, and allowed the grooming to continue, ignoring the sniggering from Ivykit.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the High-ledge for a clan meeting!" Sunkit bolted upright when he heard the yowl.

"What is going-" He was cut off by a tail-to-the-mouth from Heatherkit, whose eyes shone like stars. Hazelshade nudged her kits out of the den. "Go! The clan wants to see you."

Sunkit's eyes widened at all the cats, and his gaze trailed helplessly after all the pelts. His eyes briefly passed Thistlepaw and Cherrypaw, the clan's newest apprentices, who were beaming at him, but then over to a white warrior, then to a pale grey she-cat, then to a brown tom, a pair of blue eyes, a dark ginger she-cat...

He suddenly realised that all the eyes were trained on him.

"Wh-what?" He mewed, glancing over to his sisters for reassurance, but all he could see was their backs. He must've been so intent on the cats around him, he hadn't noticed the order to step forward! He darted to where his sisters were, lashing his tail as Ivykit gave a snort.

"By naming new apprentices, we can prove that ThunderClan is strong once more." The clan leader purred. Sunkit gasped suddenly, realising after all the hints what was going on. They were becoming apprentices!

"Ivykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day forth, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Ivypaw. Your mentor will be Breezestorm. I hope that he will pass down all he knows on to you." He nodded to the tom, who dipped his head and beckoned the white kit over. They touched noses and sat down.

"Oakfur, you are also ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Goldensun himself, and though your mentor's choice of actions may have been... Rash, you have shown yourself to be a loyal, courageous cat to be proud of. You will be the mentor of Heatherpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

He seemed in a hurry to get past the two she-kits. Why would he want to focus on me? Or maybe he just doesn't want to focus on any of us. Do I bring him too much pain?

He was now gazing intently on Sunkit, and, like before, so were the others. "Who would want to mentor him?" He heard a hiss from behind him, but ignored it.

"Sunkit, Sunkit... You are my brother's son- his only son- and I am going to take you on as my apprentice." Sunkit's mood changed from feeling slightly intimidated to judged at the costs of life, but he also felt somewhat ecstatic. Did not see that coming.

A few gasps ran through the clearing. One or two cats muttered quietly beneath their breaths.

Though amidst all this as if it was a leaf in the breeze, Bumblestar flicked his tail for silence. "Look, I know you all weren't expecting this. You're probably thinking right now that I'll be too soft on him, because he is my kin. Well, I can promise you that I will most certainly not be too soft on him."

His gaze scanned the cats, focusing on a few before shifting to another.

"He will be given the same amount of training as Breezestorm did, when I mentored him. And none of you can deny that he turned out to be a brilliant warrior, can you?"

His gaze momentarily rested on his former apprentice and he sighed. "Sunkit, take another step forward." Sunkit was evidently scared, almost frozen to the spot, but curiosity took over and eventually he did.

"Flatten your fur, Sunpaw. Don't be afraid. There is nothing to worry about. Some flames cannot be destroyed by water, no matter how much there is." He purred, leaping off the rock.

"And those are the flames of the sun."

He touched noses with his new apprentice, who was still shaking, and then took a step back as cats begun to cheer for them. "Ivypaw! Heatherpaw! Sunpaw!" My name is the quietest. I wonder why?

The loudest mew he could hear was Amberkit's as she leapt into the air, trying to catch his eye.

He purred as new scents surrounded him, and closed his eyes as warm fur pushed around him.

Over all the noise, he was just able to hear himself murmur, "I did it. I'm one of them. One of ThunderClan!"