Flamepaw's Quest

Chapter 6

            "Wake up! Wake up!" Flamekit shouted, shoving her mother who slept soundly in her nest. Suntail groaned and turned to the side, moaning.
            "Why are you waking me up?" Suntail groaned.
            "It's my apprentice ceremony today!" Flamekit squeaked, hopping up and down. "We've got to get ready!"
            Suntail's eyes immediately flung open, but after seeing the dimly-lit den, she shut them once again and breathed deeply.
            "Mommy!" Flamekit urged.
            "The sun isn't even fully risen yet, Flamekit," Suntail argued.
            Flamekit glanced around, but she didn't see what the fuss was about. Yes, queens and kits were still sleeping, and very few cats were padding around the camp at this hour, but why couldn't she prepare now? Today was her apprentice ceremony, a day she had been looking forward to for moons! Why wouldn't anyone else share in the excitement.
            It took Flamekit another few minutes to get her mother up, but after a lot of shoving and whining, Suntail finally stood.
            "All right! I'm up, I'm up!" she declared, standing up and shaking moss from her pelt. "Go bring back a rabbit from the fresh-kill pile. I'm starving."
            Flamekit nodded, rushing outside. Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she wondered what her ceremony would be like. Who would her mentor be? What would her first day of an apprentice be like?
            She paused by the fresh-kill pile, shoving through fish until she found a small rabbit that some cat had caught. Green-leaf brought not only plentiful amounts of fish but regular forest prey as well. To be honest, Flamekit preferred fish.
            Flamekit dragged the prey back to the den and handed it to her mother. Suntail took a few bites, then shoved it towards Flamekit.
            "Better eat up. You need all your energy for today," Suntail advised her.
            "But I'm not hungry," Flamekit argued.
            "Eat," Suntail commanded.
            Flamekit obeyed and took a few bites of the rabbit even though she felt food wasn't needed today. After she found that Suntail was satisfied with her meal, she pushed the rabbit away and bounced up and down excitedly, watching as other cats begin to rise.
            "Let me fix your fur," Suntail said at last. Flamekit groaned but let her mother lick her fur.
            "Gosh, you're dirty," Suntail observed, her tongue rasping against Flamekit's fluffy fur.
            "Is Daddy coming?" Flamekit asked.
            "Of course he is! Why wouldn't he?" Suntail asked.
            "I don't see him that often," Flamekit sighed.
            "You'll be seeing him a lot more now. Plus, he'd never miss your ceremony," Suntail explained. She pricked her ears as Goldstar's yowl rang across the clan for the calling of cats together.
            "Come on. It's time," Suntail purred, leading Flamekit outside. Flamekit followed her mother excitedly, racing towards the fallen tree where Goldstar made her announcements.
            "This way, Flamekit," Goldstar called. Flamekit waved good-bye to her mother, knowing the next time she'd talk to her, she'd be an official apprentice.
            She then padded up the log, never stepping up here before. She padded towards Goldstar, a little wobbly on her feet, and stood next to her.
            "Cats of RiverClan!" Goldstar shouted. "Flamekit has reached six moons old, which means she is old enough to become an apprentice. Flamekit," Goldstar said, turning to face Flamekit. Flamekit gazed at her leader's face, amazed how much Goldstar looked like her mother, though she held a more serious face, and her eyes were duller and not as bright.
            "From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Flamepaw," she announced.
            Flamepaw stood, feeling a new burden placed on her. She faced the clan, listening to them chant, "FLAMEPAW! FLAMEPAW!"
            Flamepaw grinned, seeing the loving faces of her parents and excited face of Mothpaw, who stood in the crowd, cheering her on.
            "Dusktail," Goldstar spoke, interrupting the cheering.
            Flamepaw turned, glancing around the crowd. She had never heard much of Dusktail. In fact, she'd never actually heard his name spoken before, but she did recognize the tom that stepped forward.
            He a was a medium-sized black tom with yellow eyes. She had seen him in the nursery a few times, though she did not recall who's mate he was or who he was the father of.
            "Yes, Goldstar?" Dusktail asked.
            "You are strong and wise. Please, teach this onto Flamepaw," Goldstar said.
            "I shall," Dusktail responded.
            No one moved for a moment, and Goldstar gave Flamepaw a little shove. Flamepaw, now regaining her sense of reality, moved forward and leapt off the log, running towards Dusktail and touching her nose to his.
            The clan cheered at this, and more cheering erupted. Soon though, the crowds died away, and Flamepaw glanced around, trying to find cats she knew.
            "Congrats, Flamepaw!" came her father's cheery voice. He padded towards her, looking more proud of her than he ever had before.
            "Your father and I are so proud," Suntail purred. "Oh, you'll have a great day of training. I remember my first day."
            "Me too," Brownpelt agreed, reminsicing.
            "Thank you," Flamepaw replied. "I'm so glad to be out of that nursery!"
            "You were ready," Suntail mewed, smiling warmly.
            "Flamepaw! Congrats!" Mothpaw interrupted, knocking into Flamepaw.
            "Ah!" Flamepaw shouted, becoming knocked off balance. She turned, facing Mothpaw. "Thanks."
            "Have fun with Dusktail. It's odd my dad is training you," Mothpaw spoke.
            "Dusktail is your father?!" Flamepaw gasped.
            Mothpaw nodded. "You really need to know your clanmates better. Maybe I'll ask him to go easy on you," she joked, laughing. She turned, and Flamepaw did too. Dusktail stood near the forest, waiting.
            "Better go to him! I'll talk to you later!" Mothpaw called.
            Flamepaw said good-bye to Mothpaw and her family, then padded towards Dusktail who stood, waiting for her.
            "What are the plans for today?" Flamepaw asked him.
            "Border patrol and gathering moss," Dusktail responded.
            "Fun," Flamepaw groaned.
            "These are key things an apprentice must learn before getting into hunting and fighting," Dusktail began. Flamepaw began to drone him out as he spoke of battles and hunting and "using skills responsibly."
            "What's this place?" Flamepaw asked, pointing towards some rocks that stood farther out in the forest.
            "We're approaching the ThunderClan border," Dusktail explained. He stopped near a tree, and suddenly, Flamepaw could detect another smell that made her nose tickle.
            "This is the ThunderClan border. Don't be stupid and cross over. Apprentices like adventure. Often times we've gotten in trouble with other clans for their idiotic decisions. But I trust you won't do that."
            "Look, there's a patrol!" Flamepaw gasped, pointing to a group of cats walking by.
            "Then it's best we leave. Let's head towards the river," Dusktail decided. Flamepaw followed him, already knowing where the river was located, but she supposed it didn't hurt.
            Soon enough, she heard the sound of rushing water, and they stopped by the rushing river, not the river beds that Flamepaw most often would go to with her mother.
            "RiverClan cats are natural swimmers, yet some always have a bit of cold feet when swimming the first time."
            "My mom has taught me to swim a little," Flamepaw explained.
            "Good. We encourage mothers to introduce their kits to the water early on so we don't have to spend too much time getting that situated with the water. We're not swimming today, obviously, but in the future, you will learn to swim well. It will help you catch fish, which is a necessity to your training and the future of RiverClan."
            "Fishing is hard," Flamepaw admitted.
            "You'll learn how to do it, as well as catching other forest prey. This way," Dusktail spoke, moving on. And so for the remainder of the day he introduced her to the woods, pointing to different clans and twoleg houses in the distance. He showed her important parts in RiverClan territory, often lecturing her. Flamepaw knew he was only trying to be a good warrior, but she was pretty bored by the end of the day.
            "One last activity," he said at last.
            "What?" Flamepaw asked, her eyes widening.
            "Moss-gathering!"
            Flamepaw hoped he didn't hear her low groan in disappointment, but she followed him towards the river beds where damp moss grew.
            "As you know, apprentices are in charge of gathering moss. I trust you'll do a good job," Dusktail explained. "Now, here's a demonstration."
            She watched as he dug some moss from the ground, and once he had a fair amount, he grabbed it in his mouth and padded towards her. Dropping the moss, he lightly stepped on it. Flamepaw watched as water poured from the sides until barely anymore came out.
            "You don't want it to wet or too dry. Just right," Dusktail explained. "You try. You'll be giving moss to your first elder today."
            Flamepaw dug some moss from the ground until she felt she had a fair amount. She then took the moss over to Dusktail and began stepping on the moss, a little too much.
            "Don't flatten it!" Dusktail warned. He examined her moss, then sighed. "It's average. I suppose No-Claw will take it."
            "No-Claw?"
            "One of our elders. He claims his claws fell off one winter, but I just think he his claws are too small for anyone to notice. Grab the moss, and you can bring it to him personally," Dusktail instructed.
            Flamepaw nodded and grabbed the moss, following Dusktail back towards camp. When she arrived, Dusktail scooted her towards the elder den, and she awkwardly stepped inside, glancing at the few cats who slept soundly or told stories.
            "Ah, it's a new apprentice!" an old ginger tabby mewed.
            "I'm looking for No-Claw," Flamepaw admitted.
            "Over here!" came a raspy voice.
            Flamepaw turned, noticing a plump gray tom with short fur and yellow eyes. She glanced down at his paws, noticing barely any claws protruding from them.
            "I've brought moss for you," she offered.
            "Ah, the first nest is always the worst," he muttered, grabbing it from her. She watched him frown a little, but he glanced back up at her with a smile.
            "There's always room for improvement, uh...what did you say your name was again?" he asked.
            "I'm Flamepaw. I became an apprentice today."
            "Well, Flamepaw, stop by anytime! I'd love to tell you some old stories. And don't take the moss thing too seriously. You'll learn to make it just right to my liking."
            "Okay. Thank you, and bye!" Flamepaw called, exiting the den. She padded towards the nursery, then stopped, aware she was now in the apprentice den. Grinning, she raced inside and found an empty nest towards the back that was suitable for her.
            Tired, she yawned and shut her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.