"Tunnelkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed." Bramblestar looked approvingly at him. Tunnelkit felt happy as his adopted grandfather touched him lightly with his tail-tip.

"From this moment on, until you earn your warrior name, you will be Tunnelpaw."

Tunnelpaw broke into a short purr.

Heatherpaw, already apprenticed, gave him a look that seemed to say, See? We're finally apprentices, no problem!

"Ivypool."

Tunnelpaw gasped with awe. Ivypool? Ivypool, the one and only warrior who had spied on the Dark Forest, risking her life for ThunderClan? Happiness and worry swelled inside of him, threatening to burst out. Yes! She's really going to be my mentor! "You have shown compassion, skill and spirit, and I trust that you will pass on these skills to your new apprentice."

"I will." Ivypool's mew was thick with emotion.

"Heatherpaw! Tunnelpaw!" Cinderheart and Lionblaze started the cheer, their voices ringing above all others. Squirrelpaw's mew was also loud, and Tunnelpaw purred at him. Finally they could train together!
"Tunnelpaw!" Ivypool called over to him. "We're going to tour the territory."

"I'll come with you two," Jayfeather padded alongside Tunnelpaw. "Gathering some herbs."

"We're running out of goldenrod -" Ivypool interrupted Tunnelpaw's mew. "You're training to be a warrior," she reminded him sharply.

Tunnelpaw's head dropped. "I know..."

Squirrelpaw darted to his side. "Can I come too?" He looked hopefully at Molestrike, who nodded.

The two chatted for a while as their mentors conferred quickly, until Ivypool meowed, "Time to go."

Squirrelpaw padded into the thorn tunnel, with Tunnelpaw following. "Come on!"

As he stepped out into the lush, green forest, he stopped with awe. He felt as though he was scarcely breathing, everything was so amazing. The trees reached up to the sky, their leaves and branching waving cheerfully in the wind. Birdsong filled his ears, singsonging away, crickets were chirping in the background, and scents reached his nose until he wondered if it was all real. He stepped lightly on the grass, feeling it crunch under his paws. He let out a purr. It was wonderful.

"Amazing, right?" Ivypool whispered.

"Yes," Tunnelpaw breathed, awestruck.

Ivypool smiled. "I'll never forget my first time seeing the lake. So, let's go."

"Now?" Tunnelpaw blinked rapidly, startled.

Ivypool nodded.

Squirrelpaw gave him a small nudge. "Of course, mouse-brain!" He ran away, and Tunnelpaw chased after him, clubbing his long tail between his small paws.

"Haha!" Tunnelpaw swatted at it, and Squirrelpaw tagged him back.

"Stop playing like kits," Ivypool chided, rolling her eyes.

SCENEBREAK

"So, how was the day?" Cinderheart purred, Lionblaze at her side.

"Great," Heatherpaw meowed. "It was awesome! I even caught this!" She pushed a small vole forward, her blue eyes shining.

"That's wonderful," Lionblaze stroked his daughter with a golden tail.

"Can we go see Dovewing's kits?" Tunnelpaw asked.

Lionblaze glanced at Cinderheart, looking as though he was about to say no, but Cinderheart meowed, "Of course!"

The two littermates exchanged delighted looks and dashed into the nursery.

"Woah, there!" Bumblestripe greeted them with a purr.

Dovewing lifted her chin, and smiled at the two apprentices. "Heatherpaw, Tunnelpaw," she greeted them, tiredness in her mew.

The gray queen was proving to be a loving mother in the past few days, but as a new mother, she was very protective of the little charges. The two kits were awake now, exploring the den and toddling around with stubby little paws.

Skykit was pale gray, like Dovewing, but instead of having Dovewing's long, fluffy fur, he had shorter fur than both of his parents, apparently inheriting Bumblestripe's mother Millie's short fur instead. A darker stripe ran down his back, from his head to tail-tip. He was quieter than his brother, Ripplekit, silent and unspeaking as he explored his new den.

Ripplekit was named after Rippletail of RiverClan. Tunnelpaw had wondered why Dovewing named the kit after a RiverClan warrior, but Dovewing had insisted and said that no other name would do. He had thick gray tabby fur, like Bumblestripe. He had more energy, curiosity and brightness than any kit Tunnelpaw had ever met.

"Hello!" Ripplekit squealed, bouncing on his small toes.

Tunnelpaw purred. He touched his nose to the kit's, then glanced at Dovewing, who's eyes were worried and distant. Checking on the other Clans, he guessed.

"You should rest," Daisy padded over and stood next to the young queen. "You look dead on your paws. I'll take care of your kits."

Dovewing hesitated. Was that reluctance in her green eyes? "You don't need to," she meowed at last, pulling Skykit closer into a small hug.

Daisy looked amused. "It's alright, Dovewing," the cream she-cat meowed amusedly. "I've raised plenty of kits; I know how to handle them."

As Dovewing hesitated a moment longer, she added, "Your kits will be safe with me! I promise I won't eat them."

Tunnelpaw held back a snort of amusement, and he heard Blossomfall chuckle from her spot.

"All right." Dovewing sighed in defeat, "Wake me up in a bit?"

"We'll see," Daisy chuckled, purring.

Tunnelpaw felt a wave of gratitude and fondness towards the cream-furred she-cat. In his earliest memories, the former horseplace cat would be fussing over him and Heatherpaw, as if he was her own kit. No doubt she would take care of Dovewing's kits in the same way. He smiled. Almost every ThunderClan cat had been a kit taken care of by Daisy when she was a queen there, she mothered all of the kits in ThunderClan, not just her own.

SCENEBREAK

"Catch this, Tunnelpaw!"

Tunnelpaw leaped into the air, catching the twig neatly in his jaws. It snapped a little, and he winced, hoping the splinters wouldn't choke him.

"Quite fast, but not enough," Ivypool conceded.

Tunnelpaw spat out the remains of the twig, and meowed, "Um... I tried."

"Again."

She tossed another twig into the air, higher this time. Tunnelpaw leaped after it, catching the tip. Well, that was fast, but definitely clumsy.

He grinded his teeth until the twig got to the middle of his mouth, then skidded down to glance at Ivypool.

Ivypool looked like she was trying not to laugh. Tunnelpaw felt sheepish.

"Well," Ivypool meowed. "What did you do wrong?"

"I timed it wrong," Tunnelpaw replied. "I caught it too soon."
"Good." Ivypool nodded. "Try again."

Tunnelpaw jumped, sailing across until he managed to knock down Ivypool. The stick crumpled in her jaws.

"I did catch it," Tunnelpaw purred mischievously.

"Cheeky furball!" Ivypool gave him a friendly nudge of amusement.

Tunnelpaw purred.

"Again."

She threw the stick quicker this time. Tunnelpaw timed it correctly and pounced, catching it perfectly between his teeth. He purred happily.

"Perfect, but you need to master it, not just be able to do this once." Ivypool narrowed her eyes calmly. "Again."

They practiced back-and-forth for a while, until for three times straight Tunnelpaw managed to catch the twig perfectly.

"Okay, let's go back to camp." She glanced up, where the sun was falling and the moon had started to rise, throwing a darkness over the Clan territories. "Tomorrow I'll take you night hunting."

A familiar, old kit-like fear washed through him, when he thought it would be gone forever. "N-night hunting? What about owls?"

"They won't attack an app- " She paused, eying Tunnelpaw's small size. "Well, they might. But with me you'll be safe, okay? We'll stick together."