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cbtswarriors · 6 years ago

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Chapter One

"Greenkit, wake up!" Greenkit's vivid green eyes fluttered open as his brother Stormkit batted his face in an attempt to wake him. "What's happening?" Grumbled a very disgruntled Greenkit as he rose to his paws and shook moss from his sleek black pelt. "Finally!" Cheered Stormkit, looking pleased with himself. "Our ceremony is today!"

Greenkit perked up immediately upon hearing his brother's words. "Let's go!" He squeaked, racing across the Nursery. But right before he reached the exit, Greenkit felt himself being pulled back by the scruff of his neck. "Oh no you don't." Cooed Petalnose as she rested her son on her paws and began to groom him. "Mooom!" Greenkit complained. Petalnose just chuckled warmly. "You aren't going to your ceremony with fur like that." "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the High Rock for a clan meeting." Greenkit squirmed impatiently in his mother's paws. "It's time!" He squealed. Petalnose released him after one last lick across the back of his neck. She followed her kits out of the den as they bounded across camp to sit among their clanmates. Greenkit locked eyes with his leader and father, Goldenstar. 'You'd better give me a cool mentor, dad.' After everyone was settled down in the camp's clearing, Goldenstar opened his maw to speak. "Today, two of ThunderClan's kits have reached six moons of age and are ready to become apprentices." As his father spoke, Greenkit was practically trembling with excitement. "Stormkit," The golden pelted Leader began. "It is time for you to receive your new name and mentor." Greenkit bit back a sigh of jealousy. 'How come he always gets to go first?' "Now that you have reached the proper age, you will be known as Stormpaw." The clearing erupted with cheering as Stormpaw's clanmates chanted his new name. Greenkit watched as his brother puffed out his chest with pride, a giddy grin forming on his muzzle. "Badgerstep," Upon hearing his name, a giant black and white mottled tom emerged from the crowd. "You are ready to take on your first apprentice." Badgerstep dipped his head respectfully before glancing to the side at his new apprentice. "I'll train him to the best of my ability, Goldenstar." Badgerstep purred, turning to touch noses with his flustered apprentice. 'What a cool mentor!' Greenkit thought, amazed by this warrior's size and mesmerized by the way his muscles rippled beneath his thick pelt. After the cheering and excitement started to die down a bit, Goldenstar turned his attention to Greenkit. "Greenkit," He began, and the young tom felt his heart leaping in his chest. "You will now be known as Greenpaw." Just as his clanmates had done with his brother Stormpaw, everyone began to call out his name encouragingly. "Your mentor will be Vipertooth." Greenpaw watched as a tall, glossy furred black tom stepped forward. When Vipertooth turned to Greenpaw, he noticed that his new mentor looked ill and exhausted. 'He looks like he hasn't slept in days!' Greenpaw thought to himself as he touched noses with Vipertooth, having to lean up a bit being that he was only half his mentor's size. "I will train him well." Vipertooth meowed hoarsely, offering Greenpaw a kind smile. 'At least he seems to like me.' Goldenstar descended from the High Rock after dismissing the meeting, approaching his sons and their mentors. Greenpaw beamed at the warm smile on his father's features. "I expect only the best from you two." And with that, he was gone with the rest of the dawn patrol, leaving the two apprentices to their new mentors. "So, what's first?" Stormpaw piped up, looking up at Badgerstep eagerly. Vipertooth stifled a yawn before gesturing with a nod toward the Apprentice den. "You should prepare your nests before we start training." Greenpaw nodded and ran off in the direction of the Apprentice den, Stormpaw following close behind. Upon poking his head into the den, Greenpaw watched as a messy furred and wide eyed white tom jolted backward, looking startled. Once the white tom saw the looks of confusion that his new denmates were giving him, he froze up with embarrassment, starting to shake nervously. Greenpaw snickered, whiskers twitching with amusement, but his brother shoved him aside and approached the quivering tom. "Ignore my furball of a brother." Stormpaw meowed, offering a kind smile and earning a sharp glare from Greenpaw. "Hi, I'm Twitchpaw!" The white tom blurted out. "A suiting name." Greenpaw purred, smirking playfully. Stormpaw rolled his eyes and cuffed his brother across the ears. "I'm Stormpaw, and my brother is named Greenpaw." Twitchpaw nodded, though he continued to shake. "Oh, I must have missed your ceremony! Hi, I'm Twitchpaw!" He shouted before feeling himself grow hot beneath his pelt as he realized he had repeated himself. 'He's awfully loud.' Greenpaw thought. 'It's like he just randomly spouts out words without even thinking.' As Stormpaw started conversation with their new denmate, Greenpaw explored the den absentmindedly. "So, who are your mentors?" Twitchpaw inquired, beginning to groom his messy fur. "Badgerstep!" Stormpaw purred in response. "Oh, I don't know too much about him." Twitchpaw admitted. Greenpaw perked up as he was tearing moss off the wall of the den for bedding, noticing Twitchpaw staring at him expectantly. "Oh, I got Vipertooth as my mentor." Twitchpaw seemed to light up, bouncing up on the tips of his paws. "That's my dad!" He shouted before pausing for a moment. "Well, one of them at least." Before Greenpaw could open his mouth to reply, a stern voice echoed through ThunderClan camp. "Are you two done goofing off yet?" Badgerstep sounded impatient and it caused Greenpaw's neck fur to rise. Stormpaw jumped to his paws, shooting Twitchpaw an apologetic look. Greenpaw and Stormpaw hurried out into the camp clearing to meet their mentors. "Sorry, sir." Stormpaw mumbled, looking down at his paws. "It's alright." Vipertooth meowed comfortingly, nudging them both toward the camp's entrance with his nose. Badgerstep just sighed. "Let's go." The second they managed to push their way through the bramble tunnel that led to ThunderClan's dense forest territory, both apprentices felt a surge of excitement. "Follow us." Vipertooth meowed, gesturing with his tail toward a path of flattened grass and undergrowth. As the apprentices and their mentors reached the end of the path, they came to a sandy clearing. "This is the training hollow." "Don't wander off, Stormpaw." Badgerstep grumbled as he noticed his apprentice starting to stray while sniffing around. "We don't have all day." Stormpaw's ears pricked and he scampered back to his mentor's side. Vipertooth glanced over his shoulder at Badgerstep as he started out of the hollow. "Where to next?" He croaked drowsily, rubbing his eyes. "Sunning rocks?" Badgerstep suggested and Vipertooth shrugged. "Sure, why not?" As they neared RiverClan's border, Greenpaw noticed the undergrowth growing sparse. When he could hear the roaring and churning of the river, the young black-furred tom could tell they were close. Eventually, the trees parted to reveal a river bank littered with smooth rocks that glistened with river water. With the warm rays of sunlight hitting the rocks, Greenpaw could see how Sunning Rocks had earned its name. "Consider yourselves lucky that you got the chance to see this place. Those otters are always trying to steal it from us." Badgerstep meowed as he settled down at the river's edge, motioning Stormpaw and Greenpaw closer. Greenpaw's nose scrunched up at the pungent smell of fish and wet fur. "The forest across the river has no shortage of rivers, streams, and ponds. It's perfect territory for RiverClan warriors." Vipertooth explained softly. "Is that a RiverClan cat?" Stormpaw piped up, eyes fixed on a chubby gray molly across the border. She appeared to be gathering herbs. When the young molly noticed she was being watched by four ThunderClanners, she darted off. "That was Bubblepaw, RiverClan's Medicine Cat Apprentice." Vipertooth meowed before stretching his jaws in a toothy yawn. "We have a lot more territory to cover." Badgerstep stated plainly, getting back to his paws. 'Are we really in that much of a hurry?' Greenpaw wondered with a shrug. Badgerstep seemed like he was going to be difficult to impress. 'Maybe I got lucky with Vipertooth.' "Next is the ShadowClan border." Badgerstep meowed, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the apprentices were keeping up. "You both need to stay close to us." The four ThunderClanners continued along the border until they reached what Greenpaw could only guess was the Thunder Path. Before him was a huge winding road that stretched across the ShadowClan border like a giant black snake. The smell of asphalt and gravel stung his nose. "ShadowClan lives in the marshland. They prefer to hunt in the mud." Vipertooth explained. "Don't expect to see any patrols this early in the day either. They normally come out when it's darker. And whatever you do, keep your guard up. They blend into the shadows like overgrown rats and are notorious for sneak attacks." "But they wouldn't attack for no reason, would they?" Piped Stormpaw as he glanced around anxiously. "You can never be too sure." Badgerstep grumbled. "ShadowClanners are sneaky and mischevious." Stormpaw shot his brother a look and chuckled. "Maybe you should have been a ShadowClan cat in that case." He teased. Greenpaw just rolled his eyes in response. "Where to next?" Greenpaw asked, shoving Stormpaw out of the way to reach their mentors. His brother grumbled something under his breath but Greenpaw pretended not to notice. "Snake Rocks." Vipertooth meowed, turning away from the Thunder Path and back into ThunderClan territory, his long black tail almost hitting Greenpaw in the face. "Isn't that where all the adders live?" Greenpaw asked hesitantly. "Yes, but if you stay with us, everything will be fine." Vipertooth comforted, offering his apprentice a smile and brushing his tail along Greenpaw's spine. Greenpaw still wasn't so sure, but he took a deep breath and reluctantly followed his mentor. "I could kill an adder with my eyes closed!" Stormpaw boasted, puffing out his fluffy chest.

"Their venom would kill you in seconds, you dumb furball!" Greenpaw retaliated. He wasn't quite sure why he was both fascinated by and terrified of snakes. But Greenpaw swallowed hard and continued to follow the mentors, trying his best to push his fears to the back of his mind. No stupid snake was going to keep him from his training. Or so he thought. "We're here." Vipertooth came to a halt in front of a clearing of scattered rocks and slabs of stone varying in size. But as soon as his gaze fell on the rocks, Greenpaw immediately felt ill and chills ran up and down his spine. 'What's happening to me?' He thought helplessly as his mind began to race and his breathing grew ragged. Stormpaw's eyes widened when he noticed Greenpaw's horrified expression. "Are you okay?" Stormpaw's voice was thick with worry and concern for his brother. But Greenpaw couldn't choke out a response as he felt himself losing consciousness. As his eyes began to flutter shut and his legs went out from under him, Greenpaw saw an eerily familiar beautiful black molly pressing her paw against his chest. "I'm so sorry." The molly spoke into his ear as Greenpaw collapsed and fainted. "Greenpaw, you're awake!" Stormpaw shouted the second his brother's vibrant green eyes blinked open. Greenpaw groaned and pushed Stormpaw's prodding paws away. "What happened?" Stormpaw backed off a bit in order to give Greenpaw some space and shrugged. "We don't really know." Stormpaw admitted, helping Greenpaw back to his paws. His legs were a bit wobbly at first but otherwise, Greenpaw felt fine. He shook out his sleek black pelt as he rose. "Where are Vipertooth and Badgerstep?" Greenpaw wondered aloud after a quick glance around the rocks. "Vipertooth kinda... panicked." Stormpaw explained, motioning with the flick of his tail-tip toward a hunched over, trembling and frantic looking Vipertooth. Badgerstep was settled down beside him, speaking softly into his ears in an attempt to comfort his shaken up clanmate. Upon seeing his apprentice rise to his paws, conscious and unharmed, Vipertooth rushed to Greenpaw's side, eyes still full of tears. "You're okay! Thank StarClan, you're okay!" He immediately pushed his muzzle into Greenpaw's pelt and sniffled. "I was so worried!" Vipertooth then pulled his nose out of his apprentice's fur before he had time to process his mentor's reaction. "You aren't hurt, are you?" Startled and unsure of how to respond, Greenpaw just shook his head. Badgerstep trudged cautiously across the warm stones and cuffed Vipertooth lightly across the ears. "I told you he'd be fine." Badgerstep huffed, sounding exasperated and a bit annoyed. "Now let's head back to camp." Greenpaw's long, sleek tail lashed back and forth, making it appear similar to one of the adders that Snake Rocks had been named after. "We can't leave yet!" He protested. "We haven't seen all of the territory, have we?" Badgerstep didn't even bother to turn and face the young apprentice. Instead he started trudging toward camp, expecting the other three to follow. "Hunting patrols are heading out soon and we've wasted too much time." Badgerstep stated matter-of-factly. Greenpaw just let out a long sigh and followed alongside Stormpaw until they reached camp.

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