Fluffypelt licked Sharpkit's head and smoothed out his pelt. Her eyes were shining. 

Sharpkit's paws were tingling with excitement. He glanced at his brother, Lightkit. "I can't wait to see who my mentor is! What about you?" He mewed.

"I can't either!" Lightkit squeaked, jumping up and down.

"You two sound like you need another moon in the nursery," Frostkit grumbled. Her tail was curled neatly around her paws. "Sharpkit, you do realize that that messy rogues you brought in will be in the apprentices' den with us, right?" She hissed.

"They aren't messy rogues! They saved me from getting eaten by a fox!" Sharpkit mewled. His pelt was spiked. 

"Well, that's what I was saying," Frostkit murmured, swishing her tail. She flattened her ears.

"Lightkit, Sharpkit, and Frostkit, come forward!" Squirrelstar's voice echoed around the camp. The ginger she-cat's bushy tail was high in the air and her eyes sparkled.

Sharpkit glanced one last time at his mother, then bounced forward, padding beside his littermates.  

"Lightkit, you shall now be known as Lightpaw up until you receive your warrior name. Your mentor will be Bramblehawk," Squirrelstar meowed, turning to Bramblehawk, she added, "Bramblehawk, I hope you pass on everything you know to your new apprentice."

The two cats touched noses. 

"Sharpkit, you shall now be known as Sharppaw. Your mentor will be Ambertuft," Squirrelstar called. "Ambertuft, pass on all you know to your apprentice."

Sharppaw eagerly touched noses with the dark ginger she-cat. Sharppaw's paws were trembling and he glanced at his brother, smiling. Lightpaw was just as excited. 

"Frostkit, you shall now be known as Frostpaw. Sootwing shall be your mentor," Squirrelstar meowed. 

Frostpaw touched noses with Sootwing. 

"Lightpaw! Sharppaw! Frostpaw!" The Clan cheered. 

Sharppaw bounced excitedly back to his mother, purring loudly. Lightpaw and Frostpaw padded over. 

"I can't wait to train with my mentor!" Sharppaw purred.

"I should've received my apprentice name first," Frostpaw snorted. "Well, I might as well get to training while you three talk," She hissed. She turned away with her tail flicking. 

"Wait, Frostpaw, where are you going?" Fluffypelt grumbled. She turned to Lightpaw and Sharppaw.  "What's her problem?" She sighed. She turned away, padding after Frostpaw.

Ambertuft and Bramblehawk padded over. "Well, are you ready to for training, Sharppaw?" Ambertuft asked.

Sharppaw turned to his mentor, looking into her amber eyes. "Ready? I'm more than ready to start training!" He mewled.

"Ok, we'll start first with... Picking tics off the elders!" Ambertuft purred.

Sharppaw's shoulders drooped. His tail lashed.

"Lightpaw, you can help him," Bramblehawk meowed, flicking his tail.

Lightpaw flattened his ears and grumbled. "What? But I thought we'd explore the territory-"

"Well, maybe tomorrow," Ambertuft meowed. She turned to Bramblehawk, amusement in her eyes.

"Hey! I'm taking Frostpaw out of camp to explore!" Sootwing called. She was already at the camp entrance, her tail flicking. 

Sharppaw blinked and flattened his ears. He narrowed his eyes at his sister, already mad. Lucky apprentice!

"Well, Sharppaw, Lightpaw, get to it. What are you waiting for?" Ambertuft meowed. She flicked her tail. "You should go to the medicine den to get mouse bile for the tics," She added before turning away. 

Bramblehawk glanced last at Lightpaw before turning away with  Ambertuft and heading for the fresh-kill pile. 

It had been two days since his apprenticeship and Sharppaw padded over to the apprentices' den, feeling tired from exploring the forest with his mentor. It was pretty exciting seeing how big the territory actually was. His brother was following closely behind him. Monarchpaw was over at the elders' den. Moss was in her jaws. She then disappeared as she slid into the den. 

Lightpaw began to purr behind Sharppaw. "Wait, Monarchpaw!" He called, running over to the elders' den. 

Sharppaw sighed inwardly. He continued to pad to the medicine den, but before he reached it, he saw Stormpaw. The beautiful gray tabby she-cat had received her apprentice name just yesterday like the rest of her littermates. 

"Hi, Stormpaw," Sharppaw purred. 

Stormpaw turned to him, purring as well. Her green eyes shone. "Hi Sharppaw!" She meowed.

"What are you doing at the medicine cats' den?" Sharppaw asked, his tail flicking.

"Well while exploring the territory with Berrynose, I got a thorn in my paw," Stormpaw explained.

"Are you ok?" Sharppaw asked, worried. 

"I'm fine, besides my paw hurting," Stormpaw purred. 

"Good, I was worrying for a second," Sharppaw sighed. 

"Worrying? Oh Sharppaw..." Stormpaw mumbled, purring.

"Hey, Stormpaw, need anything?" Mothstripe's face appeared in the entrance of the den, her eyes dull.

"Yes, actually. I got a thorn in my paw," Stormpaw meowed. She padded into the den and sat down in a nest. 

Mothstripe glanced at Sharppaw, sadness clouding her eyes. "Sharppaw... would you do me a favor?" She asked.

"Uh, sure," Sharppaw mewed. 

Mothstripe seemed to be looking past him, glancing at the fresh-kill pile. "Jaywing has been kind of down lately. Think you could cheer her up?" She asked.

"I think I can!" Sharppaw purred. "Bye, Stormpaw," He called as he turned away from the den. The scent of rain was sharp on Sharppaw's tongue as he glanced up at the sky. Dark gray clouds moved quickly across the orange sky, and the sun the sinking.

"Hi, Jaywing," Sharppaw called as he neared his friend. 

Jaywing's eyes were dull, but brightened when she saw Sharppaw. "Hello, Sharppaw," She rasped. "Is everything ok?" 

"Yes, I just wanted to talk," Sharppaw mewed. He gazed into her blue eyes and lay close to her, feeling the warmth drift from her pelt. 

"So... how's your apprenticeship going?" Jaywing asked. 

"Fine. Exploring the territory was amazing!" Sharppaw purred. His eyes rested on the shrew that lay at Jaywing's paws. "Can I have the rest?" He asked, hearing his belly grumble.  

"Sure," Jaywing meowed, pushing the shrew towards him with her paw. 

Sharppaw crouched down to eat the remains of the shrew. After gulping it all down, he licked his lips, purring. 

"I remember when I was an apprentice exploring the territory for the first time," Jaywing meowed. She curled her tail around her. "Well...." Her voice trailed off. "I went beyond Clan territory."

"Really? Was it fun?" Sharppaw gasped.

"Well not as fun as you think. Being an apprentice was harsh for me. My father was being controlled by Tigerstar and I didn't know. We sort of had a fight and Honeyfern was killed my Ashstar right in front of me. And he told us that to become a warrior, we'd need to go and find the old forest. When I was an apprentice, we still had the  Lake Territories."

Sharppaw looked to the side, unsure what to say. He saw Lightpaw padded over with Monarchpaw. 

"Hi Sharppaw," Lightpaw greeted.

"Hey," Sharppaw meowed.

Lightpaw picked a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and sat down with Monarchpaw. The two ate happily together. 

"I think I'm going to rest," Sharppaw meowed.

Jaywing didn't look at him, then stood up. "I'll see if I can join a patrol," She sighed before padding away. 

Sharppaw got to his paws and headed over to the apprentices' den, seeing Frostpaw curled up in her nest already. Dewpaw and Cloudpaw were curled up in their nests as well. Sharppaw picked his way to the back of the den and circled in the dark, patting his nest, then curled up for sleep.