The Bright Sky (The Blazing Fires Book 2)

Chapter 8

Brightstar yowled for the clan to gather. Yellowkit sat in the clearing, waving her tail in anticipation. Stonekit bolted towards the clearing, and charged into Yellowkit. "Be careful! I just groomed my pelt." Yellowkit hissed.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." Stonekit chuckled. Then, Brightstar raised his tail to hush the murmurs below.

"It is time for two kits to become apprentices. Stonekit, you shall be known as Stonepaw. Your mentor shall be Brindlepelt. Yellowkit, you shall be known as Yellowpaw. Your mentor shall be Nightchaser."

"Stonepaw! Yellowpaw!" The clan chanted. Smallpaw was yowling from the medicine den. She started training as a medicine cat a quarter-moon ago.

"What are we doing first, Brindlepelt?" Stonepaw padded to his mentor.

"Collecting moss." Brindlepelt purred.

"Really? That sounds fun!" Stonepaw jumped. A confused look spread across his mentor's face. Usually, apprentices hate collecting moss. They mostly want to start with hunting or battle training.

"We could go too," Nightchaser trotted up to the two cats, Yellowpaw at her side.

"Can't we learn how to hunt or something?" Yellowpaw groaned.

"Come on, Yellowpaw. It could be like an adventure!" Stonepaw leaped to his sister's side. "We get to go out into the forest! And get ourselves the freshest, softest bedding in the whole territory!"

"Actually, we're collecting it for Lilystomp's nest," Brindlepelt added. "Elders and queens always come before warriors." The four of them soon exited camp, and headed out into the forest.

As they were trotting past the trees, Stonepaw paused for a heartbeat. "Why is the forest divided amongst the clans? Why can't we share it?" He mewed, his head tilted.

"If we all shared the same parts of the forest, it could get in the way of tasks," Nightchaser answered. "Let's say an IcyClan warrior and a SwampClan warrior were both stalking the same squirrel. If they both try to catch it, it will just lead to arguments over which clans gets it. So, all the clans get an equal amount of the forest."

"This tree looks perfect." Brindlepelt headed towards a sturdy oak tree, with soft moss growing on it's bark. "Now, to collect moss, you need to almost lean on the tree," Brindlepelt put his front paws on the tree. "Keep your hind legs back, and scrape the moss off with your claws." The tom scraped a strip of moss off the bark. "Now you two try."

Yellowpaw awkwardly leaned against the tree, shifting self-consciously. Stonepaw almost missed the tree, but he managed to lean against it. Their mentors circled them, correcting them on their position. They managed to scrape off a few scraps. Afterward, they carried the bundles back to camp.

"Now, Stonepaw, Yellowpaw, go clear out Lilystomp's nest and bring her the fresh moss," Nightchaser instructed. The two apprentices nodded and headed toward the elder's den.

"Finally, fresh bedding!" Lilystomp yawned. "This moss is so stale, it feels like I've been sleeping on rocks!"

Yellowpaw began to unravel Lilystomp's nest by shoving the decaying moss in Stonepaw's direction. Stonepaw gathered the moss and made his way to the dirt spot to throw it away. Yellowpaw patted the new moss after wrapping it in place of the old moss. Stonepaw came running back. Curled up in her new nest, Lilystomp yawned. "This is much more comfortable. I'm grateful." The elder chirped. "You two work well together,"

"I suppose we do," Stonepaw grinned as he cast his sibling a glance. Both of them walked out of the den and went up to their mentors. "What are we doing now?" Mewed Stonepaw.

"That's it for your first day," Brindlepelt spoke. "Grab something to eat and rest up." The two apprentices nodded, and trotted towards the fresh-kill pile. Yellowpaw and Stonepaw decided to share a juicy crow.

"It's a beautiful day out," Yellowpaw commented in between mouthfuls.

"Why yes, it is. But I'm too lazy to go out of camp." Stonepaw rolled onto his back, exposing his belly. "Ugh. I'm too fat to get up." Stonepaw jokingly complained. Yellowpaw chuckled and took another mouthful.

"I guess I'm pretty tired too." She added. "Soon, we'll have to start getting up early, and go on patrols before dawn." She licked her lips.

"I'm getting tired just thinking about that." Stonepaw suppressed a yawn. They were silent for a few moments until Stonepaw hesitantly spoke. "Do you think Skyfur and Sharpfoot are watching us from StarClan?"

"Stonepaw, of course they are." Yellowpaw mewed. The two apprentices have never met Sharpfoot for themselves, but Skyfur told them many stories about their father.

"I hope to grow up to be just as amazing as they were." Stonepaw gazed up at the sky, pondering whether his parents could see him now.