❂► T H E   B E G I N N I N G ◄❂

B E F O R E   T H E    F I R E

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T W O

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BECAUSE OF what happened with my legs, I was made an apprentice a few days after Dustpelt and Ravenpaw were. Brindleface still wanted me to have as much of a normal kithood as I could, so she requested with Bluestar that my ceremony be delayed by a moon. Greystripe was made an apprentice alongside me, as Bluestar wanted to expedite the additions of new warriors. Between the tension with Riverclan over Sunningrocks and the ever-looming presence of Shadowclan on our borders, Bluestar was convinced that our only chance to stay on top was to train more and more warriors. Which made sense.

Dustpaw was apprenticed under my father, Redtail. Bluestar must have seen something in him to be willing to apprentice him under the deputy.

Ravenpaw was apprenticed under Tigerclaw, and to this day I can't see why she would allow Tigerclaw to mentor him. Ravenpaw was too nervous of a cat to handle the rough training style that Tigerclaw had. Although I couldn't really imagine anyone else training under him. Maybe Dustpaw, but he might have turned out a different cat if that happened. And I don't know if I could have ever been friends with him then.

The best pairing had to be Greypaw with Lionheart. Greypaw was incredibly extroverted and jumpy, and Lionheart was the exact opposite. Honestly, I don't think any other cat would have the patience to deal with him for the next four moons.

Yes, four, if you could recall, Greystripe and Firestar were made warriors before Dustpelt and I. It's still a sensitive topic. I make Firestar sleep in his own nest when he brings it up.

"Sandkit, you have long passed 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 Sandpaw." Bluestar didn't even have to look around, or weigh her options. "Whitestorm. You have proven to be an incredibly patient and skillful cat, and are ready to have your first apprentice. I expect you to pass down all you know to Sandpaw."

Whitestorm dipped his head in understanding and padded towards me from the inner circle of the crowd. He bent down to touch his nose to mine. "Don't worry," he whispered, "I'm just as nervous as you are." If he was nervous, he was great at not showing it. It was pretty easy to tell that I was nervous from my fluffed fur to my quivering tail.

I think pairing me with Whitestorm was also a good idea. Whitestorm was calm enough to keep me under control. Even I'm aware that I have a pretty quick temper. Firestar points that out sometimes. That also earns him a night in his own nest.

"Sandpaw! Greypaw! Sandpaw! Greypaw!" The clan cheered. After Bluestar dismissed the crowd, I was swarmed by a flurry of congratulating cats. The amount of "thanks" that left my mouth probably outnumbered the amount of stars in Starpelt.

When the crowd finally broke from around me, I saw Brindleface and Redtail heading in my direction. Once they reached me, Brindleface circled around me while Redtail stopped in front of me and touched his forehead to mine.

"We're both so proud of you Sandpaw," Brindleface said. Redtail purred in agreement.

"Why?" I said, slightly laughing, "I haven't even done anything yet!"

My parents both laughed. "We're proud of you for not being a mouse-brain and doing something that would make Bluestar mad," Redtail said.

"And overcoming the difficulty with your legs," Brindleface added.

"And that," my father agreed.

Brindleface explained, "No one else in the clan knows the pain and struggles you went through."

"No one has had to go through what you went through. You've overcome something that should've rendered you immobile," Redtail continued.

I appreciated my parents both acknowledging what I had accomplished, but I didn't feel as though it was necessary to come up to me and congratulate me excessively. Even if I did spend four moons training with Mudfur to strengthen my leg.

"Save it for my warrior ceremony," I said, "Then I'll really deserve the congratulations."

The rest of that day was just resting and moving into the apprentice's den, which was empty before Dustpaw and Ravenpaw moved in. The two of them had been out on their first patrols all day, so they hadn't done the traditional thing of making the new apprentice's nest for them.

I settled my nest next to Dustpaw, as we had grown especially close, and Greypaw settled his closer to Ravenpaw's nest and the wall. I immediately settled down, as we had quite the big day coming up.

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I was dead tired by the time we had reached the Shadowclan border. Even with the extra few days that Bluestar had given me to be a kit, I didn't have enough play time to develop the stamina to make the trek around the territory.

"This is the border we share with Shadowclan," Whitestorm said, "Learn their scent well."

"Shadowclan cats are feared across the clans for their ferocity and fearlessness," Lionheart continued, "During your training, you will learn how to defeat them in battle using your wits."

"What about when we fight Windclan?" Greypaw asked.

"Windclan cats are the fastest of all cats. You will use your strength to overpower them."

"And what about Riverclan?"

"There will come a time when you will know every possible move to defeat any cat, no matter the clan they come from, young Greypaw, but for now, all that you need to worry about is learning the territory," Whitestorm finished.

"Do we have to fight other cats?" I asked once I had caught my breath.

"All leaders wish to stay out of fights as much as possible, unless absolutely necessary. But sometimes, insulted cats that are blinded by pride start fights that result in unnecessary deaths," a voice from beside me explained.

I turned my head and saw Bluestar standing next to me. All four of us instinctively bowed our heads in respect.

Throughout my years, I quickly learned that Bluestar's statement couldn't be more true. Warriors just in simple border patrols would start bloody fights just because a single piece of prey was caught a tail-length over their border.

"Bluestar! What's the occasion?" Whitestorm asked.

"I was curious how Thunderclan's two newest apprentices were coming along. Plus, I needed to get on my paws, and thought that I might as well join you," she explained.

"Then we welcome you to our patrol," Lionheart said. Talking to Greypaw and I, he continued, "Come along now. Next we will head towards the Twoleg dens and the Tallpines."

I was not looking forward to this trek, because although it was much shorter, all of the energy I had in my paws was taken by the walk to the Shadowclan border. Luckily, Whitestorm seemed to have noticed that I had been lagging behind. "Lionheart, Sandpaw is getting tired. I'm going to take her along the Riverclan border, and then straight back to camp to rest."

Lionheart nodded in response, and beckoned Greypaw with his tail. Whitestorm turned in the other direction, and I hurriedly followed after him. "Thanks," I said.

"Don't worry about it," he replied, "This isn't supposed to tire you out, it's supposed to be fun and new. I can take you along the Twolegplace some other day. We only patrol there to make sure no kittypets are causing trouble, and there generally isn't much prey."

The walk along the Riverclan border consisted of seeing Sunningrocks and then laying there, basking in the sun's rays with Whitestorm. It was an amazing end to an exciting day.

Little did I know about how horrible of a day the next day would be.

Little did I know about how incredible of a day the next day would be.

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Word Count - 1301

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Author's Note

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Just for context, when Whitestorm and Sandpaw separated from the others, that's when Greypaw, Lionheart, and Bluestar ran into Firestar, at that time Rusty.

And the two last sentences were not me forgetting to delete a sentence, that was on purpose.

This chapter is the end of "The Beginning"! Next we will move onto the main section of the series, "The Untold". I'm planning on making this section fifteen or so parts. At least twelve.

Like I said in my announcement, I'm setting a tentative schedule of a chapter every week. Lacrosse is starting, so I don't know if that's gonna last, but we'll see.

Also please go to the first chapter and guess what each section name means. I'm begging you for new ideas.

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- Maple -

- 3 ▫ 13 ▫ 2024 -