Lilypetal's POV

I could hear quiet purrs of amusement behind me as I let out a long yawn. I then closed my jaws and shook out my fur before turning and meeting the humored gaze of Emberkit just beside me.

I gave her a teasing flick on the ear with my tail, then bending my head down to smooth over the fur on her head. "Alright, back to it!" I meowed in between licks.

"Again!" Emberkit exclaimed, rolling her hazel eyes. "I've lost count of how many times you've stopped to yawn!"

Lightningkit, who had been sitting next to Wrenkit by the nursery entrance, shook his head slowly as he padded up closer to Emberkit and me. "I feel like you've done more yawning then grooming - for Wrenkit and me both!" he purred, lashing his tail.

Wrenkit followed closely behind his brother, his pale blue eyes full of annoyance. "Aw, come on," he murmured. "She did just wake up - give her a break!"

Feeling a twinge of affection, I looked up and gave my son a grateful look. "Thank you, Wrenkit," I purred to him. "But they're right - I'm sorry that I'm so drowsy. I'll be wide awake by the time that your apprentice ceremony starts!"

I then paused in grooming Emberkit once again, but not because I needed to yawn this time. Great StarClan... apprentice ceremony! I thought, feeling more and more baffled with each time those words came to mind. It's finally here, and it feels as unreal to me as if I were becoming an apprentice myself!

I then let out a long sigh before continuing to lick along Emberkit's neck fur, which seemed to be sticking out in every possible direction.

I also felt another yawn coming on, but I held it in as best as I could. I hopefully will be feeling more awake once I'm watching the kits receive their names, but I would have liked to be able to right now. I hope they know how excited I am for them!

But my dreams were making that pretty gosh darn difficult. It was the reason that I felt like I needed to let out a yawn every single heartbeat. Last night's dreams hadn't caused as much of a fiasco as the night before, but they had left me awake, tossing and turning for what had felt like moons.

And unfortunately, now the dreams were becoming especially weirder and unsettling. I continued to receive many flashbacks of my time as a kittypet - me laying by the fireplace in my old Twoleg home, playing in my yard... And looking out to the forest from the top of my fence had been something that managed to never be left out.

And this weirdness was always followed by... darkness - darkness in some form, whether that meant a dark forest, or just... darkness; blackness in every direction. But through that darkness, in whatever form it came in, there was always something that was consistent.

Those frightening, familiar blue eyes, I thought to myself, a shiver running down my spine as I gave Emberkit one final lick on the ear. "All done!" I tried to meow more enthusiastically in order to shake off my thoughts. "That didn't take too long, did it?"

Emberkit let out a purr of amusement before touching her nose briefly to my cheek. "No, it didn't - it was just fine," my daughter replied, her eyes now sympathetic. "I'm sorry I teased."

I purred back and licked Emberkit's cheek. "Oh, never mind that," I meowed softly, then nodding to my yellow-eyed son. "Lightningkit, your turn now!"

With a nod, Lightningkit then excitedly padded up to me. And as I began to smooth out his already very sleek fur, out of the corner my eye I could see the golden tabby pelt of Thornclaw entering the nursery.

Emberkit let out a squeak of excitement at the sight of her father. "Hi, Thornclaw!" she purred, nuzzling her head into his flank.

"Hi!" Lightningkit then mewed, Wrenkit then simply giving a kind nod.

I could hear a purr rumbling in Thornclaw's throat as he touched his muzzle to each of his kits. He then stepped back and sat down. "Hello, you three!" he meowed. I was then amused and confused as I watched my mate narrow his pale blue eyes. "Huh, I'm confused..." he then murmured, his gaze flitting over Wrenkit, Lightningkit and Emberkit back and forth many times over.

Emberkit's eyes widened as she looked up at her father. "What's wrong?"

Wrenkit came up to sit next to Thornclaw as he answered. "I don't know..." he muttered. His eyes then brightened, and he began to nuzzle his son's head. "Are you all in the wrong den? You look much too big and strong to be kits in the nursery!"

I saw Lightningkit's tail begin to twitch back and forth quickly. "You've got that right!" he exclaimed.

"Well... we are technically still kits right now," Wrenkit pointed out in his usual calm, dignified manner.

I nodded in agreement to my son. "But only for a few moments longer!" I meowed eagerly. But just after I had spoken, another twinge of sadness jabbed at my heart. I looked up at Thornclaw and met his sentimental gaze.

"Only a few moments longer..." I repeated more quietly this time. After a heartbeat, I then shook my head quickly, took a step back, and licked Lightningkit's cheek. "And... you're done now!"

Lightningkit turned and dipped his sleek black head to me. "Thanks, mother!" he purred before turning to Emberkit, who had called his name as he'd spoken.

"Come on!" my daughter meowed eagerly from where she now stood next to Wrenkit by the nursery entrance. "Wrenkit and I want to go out and watch everyone gather!"

Lightningkit flicked his ears and widened his eyes, then quickly following his two siblings out. "Right behind you!" he exclaimed just before the last of his tail disappeared from sight.

I let out a sigh, realizing that that might've been the last time that Wrenkit, Lightningkit and Emberkit would ever leave the nursery. This time, they would have no reason to return.

But luckily I didn't have to dwell on my sad thoughts for very long. Just a moment after the kits had left the nursery, Thornclaw turned to face me before proceeding the pad up to me and begin licking behind my ears.

I couldn't help but purr with amusement at the gesture. "What are you doing, sweetheart?" I asked as I continued to purr.

Thornclaw then began to lick the top of my head. "It's your turn now!"

I then let out a gasp, pretending to be offended. "Ouch!" I exclaimed teasingly. "Think I look too disheveled even for a normal day?"

"Oh, come on, you're always perfect in my eyes," my mate replied, pausing from where he'd been smoothing over my neck fur to flash me an affectionate look. "But when you woke up, you leapt right out of the nest to groom the kits, and you didn't touch your own fur at all!"

I let out a mrrow of laughter at Thornclaw's words. "My goodness, I guess I didn't!" I replied. I then let my head fall on Thornclaw's shoulder as he finished the quick grooming. "More dreams... depriving me of sleep, resulting in me sleeping in!"

Thornclaw looked down at me, his eyes wide. "The dreams still haven't calmed down?" he questioned, sounding genuinely shocked. "That's very strange. Do you think that you should go to Leafpool or Jayfeather about them?"

I thought for a few heartbeats before simply shrugging. "I would, but... I don't know," I replied to Thornclaw, my own eyes narrowing with pensiveness. "I'm not sure if my dreams are an omen of sorts; it's personal to me, I can tell."

"I see," Thornclaw murmured, nodding his head slowly before touching his nose to my ear. "I wish I could help you in some way."

"You're doing all that you can, believe me," I purred, touching my nose to his. "Thank you - for the support and for the grooming."

Thornclaw pulled me closer to him with his tail. "Of course," he meowed softly before lifting his head to stare beyond the nursery entrance. "Great StarClan, can you believe it?"

I snorted with amusement. "If by 'it', you are referring to the fact that three kits of our own are going to become apprentices, then no, I can't at all!"

"Goldenshine and Snowflight were the ones sitting under that Highledge just days ago, I'm telling you!" Thornclaw replied, shaking his head slowly.

"And just like that, it's happening with our second litter - our last litter," I breathed, almost feeling baffled by my own words.

I then stood silent for a moment before locking eyes with Thornclaw with a hard gaze. "Because this is our last litter, correct?"

"Yes, please."

Then, after exchanging one last amused glance, Thornclaw and I finally left the nursery just as Firestar was calling the meeting. We sat down just behind where Emberkit, Wrenkit and Lightningkit had settled down. The three of them were exchanging nervous, excited glances to each other as they watched the cats of ThunderClan continue to gather.

My heart began to beat faster as I realized just how excited I was for the three of them, my sadness of them leaving the nursery luckily being overpowered by it. They're going to be so phenomenal, I thought with pride before slowly scanning my eyes around the camp. I wonder who Firestar is going to pick to help them each along the way?

Just as the camp fell silent, I gave a nod in greeting to Sorreltail and Brackenfur, who had come to sit on Thornclaw's other side, and then Goldenshine and Dustystorm, who trotted up to sit next to me. We then all looked up as Firestar leaped down from the Highledge. My stomach practically flipped upside down as I watched him beckon my three kits with his tail.

"Cats of ThunderClan," the ThunderClan leader began. "Three of our kits have finally reached the age of six moons, and are ready to become apprentices."

I had to suppress a purr of amusement as Emberkit eagerly nodded her head to Firestar.

He briefly flashed her an amused glance before continuing. He raised his ginger head as he meowed out, "Wrenkit, Lightningkit and Emberkit - until you receive your warrior names, you will be known as Wrenpaw, Lightningpaw and Emberpaw."

Thornclaw and I looked at each other happily, both of us practically beaming with pride before returning our attention to the ceremony. Firestar was speaking to Wrenpaw first.

"Wrenpaw, your mentor will be Birchfall," the leader meowed, giving a nod to the pale brown tabby tom. "Birchfall, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You will be the mentor of Wrenpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

My eyes narrowed as I watched Birchfall pad up to my son. Note that Firestar didn't give any credit to Birchfall's mentor... I thought to myself bitterly. Good thing that he didn't.

I then watched as Firestar seemed to be looking for someone, his green eyes scanning the camp, before landing somewhat close to where I was sitting. I heard Goldenshine gasp beside me, and I peered over her to see that Dustystorm was looking back at Firestar, his pale blue eyes wide. He also seemed to be flicking his gaze towards Nightwing, who was sitting a few tail-lengths away with Icecloud.

My heart began welling up with pride as I realized what might be going on. I was practically wanting to jump up with excitement as Firestar spoke again. "Nightwing and Dustystorm, you two are also ready to take on your first apprentice. You have shown constant commitment to this Clan, and I believe it is time that you both pass it on to those younger than you."

Firestar's eyes then rested on Lightningpaw, whose paws were kneading excitedly. "Lightningpaw, your mentor will be Nightwing." He then shifted his gaze to look at Emberpaw. "And your mentor will be Dustystorm."

Yes! I then turned to see Dustystorm quickly stand up and begin to pad towards his new apprentice, but I nearly let out a mrrow of laughter as Goldenshine raised her tail as if to stop him. "Hey," she meowed, narrowing her eyes at her mate. "Be nice to my sister."

"We're watching you," Thornclaw meowed teasingly, giving a nod to Dustystorm.

Dustystorm purred with amusement after giving Goldenshine an affectionate nuzzle on her cheek. "I will. Don't worry!" he purred, then running up to Emberpaw as if he couldn't stand the wait any longer. He and Emberpaw immediately seemed to clique, as they both immediately began to talk enthusiastically to each other.

That was a perfect match, I thought happily to myself, then shifted my gaze over to look at where Nightwing and Lightningpaw were introducing themselves. And them too - Nightwing will be able to teach him how to manage hunting and sneaking with a dark pelt!

And of course, it appeared as if Wrenpaw and Birchfall were going to work well together too; Birchfall was a very well-respected warrior in ThunderClan, and I could be sure that he would teach Wrenpaw everything that he knew.

I was then pulled from my thoughts as I heard Thornclaw let out a seemingly contemplative grunt beside me. "What?" I asked, my voice full of laughter.

"I've gotta go," Thornclaw replied, standing up and staring in the direction of where our three kits were still exchanging words with their new mentors. "I'm going to talk to our kits about proper training etiquette."

I nearly burst with laughter. "What happened to you being sure that they were ready?"

Thornclaw paused and looked back at me from where he had begun to walk. "Oh, they definitely are!" he insisted before continuing his travel. "But we're playing it safe."

My goodness gracious... I thought, purring as I watched my mate go. I then proceeded to pad over to and settle down in a spot close to the Highledge so that I could get a better look of my three kits listening to their father's words.

Just a few heartbeats after I had sat down, I recognized the bright ginger pelt of Firestar approaching me.

I flicked my ears and gave the ThunderClan leader a nod in greeting. "Hi there, Firestar!" I meowed kindly.

"Hello, Lilypetal," Firestar replied as he sat down next to me. "How does it feel to see another one of your litters leave the nursery?"

I sighed, all of the feelings I had felt in the past moments resurfacing. "It's always very hard, but I'm so, so proud of them," I answered to the leader. I then lashed my tail, my next words full of elation and humor. "Aaannnnd I can't help but get excited at the prospect of getting to be a warrior again!" It will give me the opportunity to focus more on these mysterious dreams too...

Firestar purred with amusement at my words before I continued on. "But not getting to see my kits nearly as much outweighs that, of course," I murmured more solemnly. My ears then perked up as I recalled the exciting moment I experienced, getting to see two former kittypets receive two of my kits as apprentices.

"By the way I must give you some praise on the mentors that you chose for them," I commented happily. "Birchfall will be great, of course, but I was so glad to see Dustystorm and Nightwing up there with him."

"Of course," Firestar replied warmly. "They are two dedicated, loyal ThunderClan cats; they deserved the opportunity."

I then grew a bit confused and surprised as Firestar's eyes widened, as if an alarming thought had just crossed through his mind. This baffled expression was still on his face when he turned to meet my gaze again. "Lilypetal, you've never had an apprentice, have you?"

I simply shook my head, but I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows as I thought about possible implications that came with this question. "No, I haven't," I replied.

Firestar shook his head slowly. "Well, that's not right, is it?" he asked, almost to himself. "I haven't given you an apprentice in all the time that you've been here."

My eyes widened, immediately feeling guilty that Firestar was feeling guilty about something as little as that. Yes, I had never had an apprentice since I'd come to ThunderClan, but I certainly wasn't holding a grudge because of it!

"Oh my goodness, that is completely alright!" I insisted to Firestar. "The timing has always been off, I suppose."

Firestar then seemed to fall deep into thought just as Brambleclaw, the ThunderClan deputy, approached. And just after I had given the brown tabby tom an enthusiastic greeting, Firestar lifted his head to meet Brambleclaw's gaze.

"Brambleclaw, have you heard of any she-cats expecting kits in ThunderClan?" the ginger tom asked.

Brambleclaw exchanged a brief, confused, and humored glance with me before sitting down and answering his leader. "Actually, I have," he meowed. "Sorreltail is expecting Brackenfur's second litter."

At that news, I immediately sprang up onto all four of my paws and gasped. "Wait, she is?" I exclaimed cheerfully. "Oh my StarClan, that's so exciting!"

"It certainly is," Firestar purred, watching as I composed myself and sat back down. "Especially for you."

I tilted my head to the side. "How so?"

I then watched, still partly confused as Firestar exchanged a look with Brambleclaw. "When their kits reach six moons of age, one of them will be yours to train. I'll say it now!"

My mouth slowly dropped open, and my eyes widened once again. I could hardly believe what I had just heard. Sure, I wasn't angry that I'd never had an apprentice, but that didn't mean I'd be any less happy to find out that I'd finally be receiving one! "No way!" I exclaimed. "Are you serious?"

Brambleclaw purred with amusement. "I'd hope so. It's about time!"

I nearly wanted to jump in the air from how excited I was.

So... I did.

"Thank you!" I then practically squealed to Firestar. "Thank you so much!" Just within a few seasons, I'll be training an apprentice!

I then let out a contented sigh as I turned around, my eyes just barely catching Birchfall, Dustystorm and Nightwing as they led my kits out into the forest for their territory tour. That'll be me, soon enough!

I then narrowed my eyes as another thought crossed my mind. My present problems have been occupying me so much recently... I realized with dismay. So much so that I was a bit drowsy for my kits' apprentice ceremony. Will all of these things - the Dark Forest plans, Ashfur... be gone by then?

A shiver then ran down my spine. Unfortunately, at the moment, I couldn't be sure.