"May all cats old enough to protect our clan gather beneath the shellrock!"

The shellrock was a huge rock jutting out of a seemingly everlasting pool of water. The pool never froze, never evaporated. It was shallow, small, but beautiful. Shells peppered the sides of the rock and the dirt around the pool, earning it its name.

The clan gathered around the rock, with Shallowkit, Sparkkit and Wolfkit right in front, beaming with excitement.

A few days had passed since they'd snuck out. Shallowkit, Sparkkit and Wolfkit had spent a day stuck in the nursery as punishment. Granted, Fallenkit lived in the medicine den as of then, so it didn't apply to her.

Marbledove had given birth to Elmstar's kits, a she-kit and a tom. The she-kit had a light grey pelt with colourpoint and green eyes. The tom was dark tan with lighter spots and blue eyes. It was clear who their parents were.

Now, Marbledove was part of the crowd, tail wrapped around two tiny kits. Auburnsky perched herself on a lower part of shellrock, sitting on the narrow strip of stone and wrapping her fluffy tail around her paws. Marigoldsplash sat on an even lower part of the stone, barely out of the water. Nectarpaw sat next to the small calico.

At the back of the crowd, Fallenkit and Smokeypaw sat next to each other. Smokeypaw had been exempt from training for an undetermined amount of time, and Fallenkit's apprenticeship had been pushed back. They could rely on only each other.

Elmstar dragged his commanding gaze over the clan, silencing the quiet chatter. The massive tom began to speak. "Sparkkit, step forward. This kit has reached the age of six moons and it is time for her to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sparkpaw. Your mentor will be Valleyfrost. I hope Valleyfrost will pass down all she knows to you.

"Valleyfrost, step forward. You are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Minnowcloud, and you have shown yourself to be optimistic and loyal. You will be the mentor of Sparkpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Sparkpaw." Sparkpaw bounced over to the grinning grey warrior, touching noses with her and then sitting next to her. 

"Wolfkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Wolfpaw. Your mentor will be Saltflurry. I hope Saltflurry will pass down all he knows on to you.

"Saltflurry, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Yarrowtooth, and you have shown yourself to be confident and strong. You will be the mentor of Wolfpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Wolfpaw." Wolfpaw half-nervously, half-confidently walked up to and touched noses with Saltflurry.

"Shallowkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Shallowpaw. Your mentor will be Rushpond. I hope Rushpond will pass down all he knows on to you.

"Rushpond, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Pansy, and you have shown yourself to be fleet-footed and empathetic. You will be the mentor of Shallowpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Shallowpaw." The two cats touched noses and the camp broke out into chants.

"Sparkpaw! Valleyfrost! Wolfpaw! Saltflurry! Shallowpaw! Rushpond!"

Fallenkit was chanting louder than anybody. The newly named apprentices raced away from their mentors, had a brief encounter with their mother, and then sped over to Fallenkit.

"Congratulations, you guys!" She squealed as they barreled into her.

"Yeah, but we wish you could be an apprentice with us." Sparkpaw pouted. Fallenkit brushed Sparkpaw's ear with her muzzle. "Hey, don't feel bad! It's not your fault I got hurt, and I'll likely become an apprentice before you become warriors."

Sparkpaw growled under her breath. "It is my fault! It was my idea to go outside." Fallenkit shook her head, taking a flower from her bundle and tucking it behind Sparkpaw's ear. Sparkpaw looked up with a smile.

"Looks like your mentors want you," Said Fallenkit, and they scampered away.

Smokeypaw nudged Fallenkit. "Hey, we should head back to the medicine den." She said gently. Fallenkit nodded absently and they wandered back to where Marigoldsplash and Nectarpaw were waiting.

__________________________________

The sun was burning high in the sky, scorching everything. This was an unusually hot day, it being so near to leaf-fall. Smokeypaw was sleeping in the medicine den, her uninjured leg twitching. Next to her, Fallenkit was weaving a crown of her flowers with nimble paws.

As she finished it and placed it on her head, Marigoldsplash burst out of the herb storage. "Erm, could I ask a favour of you two?" Asked the tiny calico, shifting from paw to paw.

Smokeypaw lifted her head. "Depends on what it is."

"Well, erm... I hate to ask this of you, but it's getting awfully stuffy in here, and I don't want you getting a fever or heatstroke and worsening your condition. Do you think you could...?"

"Leave?" Fallenkit finished.

Marigoldsplash nodded. "Mhmm.."

Smokeypaw nodded. "Of course."

As they walked out through the herb storage, Nectarpaw said, "Be careful. Nothing too vigorous."

"Of course." Smokeypaw nodded, turning to Fallenkit. "Do you wanna go see the new kits?"

"Sure," Said Fallenkit absently.

They ducked into the nursery, and the two kits turned around and stared at them in awe. Marbledove looked up from a starling she was eating. "Whatcha doing in here?"

"Wanted to visit the kits," Smokeypaw responded warmly. Marbledove nodded. The kits could barely walk, so they were still curled up against their mother, mewling. "The she-kit is Moonkit, and the tom is Stagkit."

Smokeypaw purred, and Fallenkit bent down, placing a small flower behind Moonkit's ear. Moonkit purred, and Stagkit squeaked. Fallenkit gave him a flower too. He placed a large, fumbling paw on it.

"Stagkit's bound to be massive," Smokeypaw commented.

Marbledove nodded. The kits yawned, nestling down. "Looks like they want to sleep."

Smokeypaw dipped her head, leading Fallenkit out of the den. The sun had set. The cold night breeze brushed through their pelts.

They settled on a rock, soaking up the sun, when somebody yowled, "Dogs!" Wolfpaw and Saltflurry came bursting into camp.

Luckily, BerryClan was ready. They had had dog issues before, and they had a plan. Smokeypaw and Fallenkit went barreling towards the nursery when a pack of dogs came into the camp.

The ending is a little meh, but it'll be cool in the next chapter. Not much else to say other than 1,100 words! ^