The Choice

Chapter 9

Hawkpaw stalked towards the small brown creature, keeping his body low and tail still. The young tom pounced, just short of landing on top of the mouse. It let out an alarmed squeak, skittering to hide in a gorse bush. A frustrated Hawkpaw sprang to follow it, shoving his head into the gorse bush, getting cut by thorns and hissing in pain. Streamwhisker helped Hawkpaw wiggle out of the bush as the rest of the patrol chuckled. Hawkpaw's ears burned, and not just from the small cuts he had gotten on them. 

"You were supposed to catch a mouse, not thorns!" Sleetpaw teased, nudging his shoulder. 

"All right, let's get back to camp. Don't want to miss the ceremony, do we?" Berryfang suggested, looking at Hawkpaw with a smile. 

Hawkpaw's paws tingled with excitement, and he barely heard his mentor asking if he was okay. Soon there would be nine apprentices. Nine! After being asked by his mentor, the brown tabby picked up the thrush caught by the warrior Emberlight had caught, thinking as he walked.

Hawkpaw couldn't wait his friends to become apprentices. Rowanpaw and Sleetpaw were kind to him, despite almost being warriors, but they were doing advanced training and didn't have much time to play or train with younger cats. He only had Flurrypaw and Sandpaw, though the latter seemed to be too busy training to even think of playing. It was lonely without his other friends scrambling around him and tripping him where he stood. 

As they entered camp Hawkpaw saw Graystar addressing the clan, everycat listening intently. Looking to his mentor, who nodded, Hawkpaw rushed and tossed the thrush onto the fresh-kill pile before joining the crowd, sitting next to Flurrypaw and Sandpaw.

"Today Silverstreak's four kits will be made into apprentices," Greystar announced. 

Just outside of the nursery Silverstreak was furiously grooming both of her sons while Thistlepool groomed Orangekit. Lionkit, already groomed, patiently waited with an amused Vixengaze. 

Graystar cleared his throat, looking at the family. The kits pushed away from the rest of their family with loud complaints, the four of them scampering towards their leader sitting on his stump. 

"Let's continue. Patchkit, from this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Patchpaw. Your mentor will be Spiritclaw. Spiritclaw, you are young and received great guidance from Berryfang, and I trust you'll do a great job mentoring Patchpaw."

The black and white apprentice touched noses with his mentor, visibly shaking his excitement.  They moved on, Boltkit becoming Boltpaw with Badgerstripe as his mentor, and Lionkit becoming Lionpaw with Milktail as his mentor. 

"Orangekit."

It's Orangekit's turn!

"From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Orangepaw. Your mentor will be Whitefang. As my loyal deputy and mate, I trust you to train this apprentice well."

"Patchpaw! Boltpaw! Lionpaw! Orangepaw!" The clan cheered. 

The apprentices beamed as cats came and congratulated them, Silverstreak rushing up to them and seemingly crying with joy. Thistlepool and Vixengaze looked like they were boasting to all of their clanmates, a prideful look in their eyes. 

Birdflutter also congratulated the kits, purring as she spoke to her former denmate's kits. Hawkpaw pranced over to the four kits, his siblings following just behind him. 

"I'm an apprentice!" Orangepaw squeaked out when she saw Hawkpaw, practically tackling him as she excitedly bounded around him. 

"Yeah, and your mentor is deputy! We should spar sometime, see who's mentor trained them better," Hawkpaw purred, a mischievous look in his eyes. 

"I'll accept that challenge!" Orangepaw smirked in response, letting out a little giggle. 

"All right. Say goodbye to your friends, set up your new nests, and then we'll go see the territory." Whitefang said in an authoritative tone, though her words were still kind. 

"Ooh, you should get a nest next to mine!" Hawkpaw suggested enthusiastically.

"Definitely." She purred. 

The two walked towards the apprentice's den, the five other cats following behind. Boltpaw and Patchpaw's nests were near the entrance, right in front of Sandpaw and Flurrypaw's nests.  Lionpaw's nest was closer to the den wall than the entrance, somewhat far from the other nests.  Orangepaw set her nest up next to Hawkpaw's before the four siblings left to see the territory. Hawkpaw watched them leave, happily thinking of all the time he'd spend out in the forest with Orangepaw as they disappeared through the camp entrance.