Warrior Cats: Forest of Blood

~Chapter Nine~

~2 Moons Later~

   Thistlestorm bounded with joy into camp. He swiftly dropped a scrawny mouse onto the fresh kill pile and sat in the clearing, waiting for Nettlestar to start the meeting. A small cream tabby tom pounced on his paw, his tail swishing enthusiastically.

   Thistlestorm purred and knocked the kit onto his back, "Hey there, Scorpionkit."

   Scorpionkit rolled back over and attacked Thistlestorm's leg, "Don't act like you know me, RainClan cat!" The kit sank his tiny teeth into the warrior's leg.

   Scorpionkit was soon joined by his sister, Frostkit. She leaped onto her brother, tumbling him over. Together they wrestled and Snowberry watched, amused. Thistlestorm was so distracted by his beloved kits, that he didn't notice Nettlestar jump - or rather struggled - onto the Great Rock.

   "All cats old enough to hunt for themselves, gather beneath the Great Rock for a Clan meeting!" Nettlestar yowled.

    Warriors took a break from sharing tongues and gathered in groups beneath the Great Rock. Yellowgaze and Stoneheart sat directly beneath the rock, their kits - now six moons old - shuffling excitedly in front of them.

   "Longkit, Amberkit, and Mousekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed," Nettlestar nodded at the kits, "From this day on, you will be Longpaw, Amberpaw, and Mousepaw."

   The Clan let out yowls of excitement.

   Nettlestar gave a gentle glance at Longpaw, "Longpaw, you are the firstborn of your litter, and son of my deputy. I will be your mentor, and I will pass down all I know to you in your training," Nettlestar leaped down from the rock and touched noses with Longpaw.

   Longpaw stuck out his tongue teasingly at Amberpaw. She growled and looked away.

   Nettlestar purred, "Amberpaw, your mentor will be Twigwhisper," He looked at the senior she-cat, "Twigwhisper, you were an excellent mentor to Featherwing and I hope that you pass down your wits and kindness down to Amberpaw."

   Twigwhisper dipped her head and walked over to her new apprentice and touched noses. They sat off to the side, waiting to see who Mousepaw's mentor would be.

   "Mousepaw, I have decided that Thistlestorm will be your mentor," Nettlestar purred as Mousepaw started jumping up and down in excitement. He looked at Thistlestorm, "Thistlestorm, I believe that you are ready to take on your first apprentice. You received amazing training from Rocktuft, and you have shown yourself to be strong and gentle. You will be the mentor of Mousepaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know to him."

   Mousepaw came over to Thistlestorm and they touched noses. Thistlestorm finally had an apprentice. He was thrilled to be a mentor. 

   "Longpaw! Amberpaw! Mousepaw!" The Clan cheered. Finally, they had apprentices, and they wouldn't need to do any apprentice work anymore. The Clan desperately needed new warriors, and they couldn't wait for the next six moons to come.

   Nettlestar nodded to Stoneheart, "Keep the Clan in check, we're all going to give our apprentices a tour," He looked at Twigwhisper and Thistlestorm, "Is that okay?"

   Thistlestorm nodded, "Nothing like being given a tour with your other siblings."

   Longpaw knocked Mousepaw over, "The leader is my mentor! And you just get sucky Thistlestorm! Ha!"

   Thistlestorm let out a low growl, "I don't care what you call me, but don't you dare make fun of your brother like that."

   Longpaw shrank back and bounced back to Nettlestar.

   Mousepaw pressed against Thistlestorm, "Thanks," he muttered.

   Thistlestorm sighed, "Don't let them bother you like that. So what, you're smaller in some ways, but you can still be better than them."

   Mousepaw lifted his tail, "I want to be a good fighter, like you!"

   His mentor purred, "I will teach you all I know, little one."

   The tour had made them all hungry. The apprentices shared a plump rabbit that was caught in it's burrow. Thistlestorm had the scrawny mouse he caught earlier. The fresh kill pile didn't have much in it, leafbare was pretty harsh this winter. Luckily, it seemed like only Rocktuft and Featherwing had caught it, but the sickness ended when Rocktuft died.

   Thistlestorm missed Rocktuft, his former mentor, but the warrior must be happy in StarClan. But how could he be? He seemingly had no family that he was close to with him. Thistlestorm shook his head and finished up his mouse.

   The rest of the day was pretty simple. Nothing to worry about, patrols as usual, talking like normal. Thistlestorm was bored, he lay down in his nest and dropped his head on his paws.

Sorry, not much for this chapter ~ But I'm going to be writing a lot more.