Author’s Note: I would read at least one of the books before reading this. The names and ranks won’t confuse you if you do. I made up my own clans, though, even though they are like the other clans. You can figure them out as you go. Each chapter will have a different main character, they will all start as kits (young cats) and grow up. Most likely none of them will become leader, because I find that boring. Thanks for reading this long author’s note, and enjoy my story.
Chapter 1
Duskclan
“Petalkit!” Fallowbreeze called sternly to her kit. “Stop bothering the elders and come over here!” Petalkit came bounding from the elder’s den and fell down in a snow drift near her mother. “Petalkit, can you stay in the nursery for more than three minutes? I need to keep an eye on Moonflower’s kits.” Petalkit rolled over in the snow. “Fallowbreeze, can you stop worrying about me? I’m five moons old, and I’m almost an apprentice. Leafkit and Firekit don’t want to leave the nursery, but I can’t wait to move into the apprentice’s den with Clearpaw and Brightpaw!” Fallowbreeze shook her head. “How Firekit and Leafkit are related to you, I don’t know.” Petalkit nodded her head. “Yeah, I wonder that too.” Petalkit had a faraway look in her eyes. “Come on, Petalkit. Moonflower’s kits will be waking up soon, and I want to make sure they’re comfortable. Please stay here for the rest of the day. Petalkit didn’t resist at all when Fallowbreeze flicked her tail towards the nursery opening.
“Petalkit? Petalkit, wake up!”
Firekit and Leafkit stood over Petalkit, calling her name louder and louder. Petalkit suddenly jumped up and tackled Leafkit, the noise causing Moonflowers kit, Flowerkit and Silverkit to wake up. They set up a terrible mewing. Fallowbreeze and Sunspring were drawn to the nursery door. The three kits stumbled outside, pushed by Sunspring. “Go ahead, kits. Go get a few pieces of freshkill for us and the other kits.” They blinked in surprise, then the competition started. “I bet I can get that big squirrel over there!”Firekit mewed. “No, I’m going to bring that to Fallowbreeze. You can bring that sparrow!” They argued back and forth, and as they fought, Petalkit snuck towards the pile and grabbed both the squirrel, the sparrow, and two mice. Petalkit ran back to the nursery with the freshkill. Sunspring took it without a word and dropped it on the floor. The two kits grabbed a mouse and started tearing it apart. Sunspring and Fallowbreeze laid down side by side and watched the kits while sharing the sparrow. Leafkit and Firekit had come back in from the snow-covered camp and grabbed the squirrel to share. Petalkit sat down on her bed of moss, not eating at all, though Fallowbreeze was giving her quizzical looks. Petalkit wasn’t hungry. She was too busy thinking about her upcoming apprenticeship. It would be coming any day now, and she wasn’t so sure anymore if she was ready. Firekit and Leafkit had their special talents. Leafkit was the best runner in all the clan, and Firekit could stalk anything and catch it, even the sharp-eared tom Frostfeather’s tail. Petalkit couldn’t do anything special. She was normal, could stalk a leaf, could bolt to the freshkill pile, and could fight off her brother and sister. But she couldn’t do it better than them. She closed her eyes, thinking of the warriors that she would like to have as a mentor. Goldfire would be nice, she thought, or maybe Lightblaze. But what she would like is to have Grayspot as her mentor. He was kind and gentle to all the kits, but Petalkit he seemed to treat specially. But she wouldn’t get Grayspot as her mentor, she knew. The other kits had more of a chance to get the deputy than she did.
A moon later, Birdstar called Fallowbreeze in for a meeting. Firekit could barely contain his excitement. “Think about it, Petalkit! We’re finally becoming apprentices! I wonder who my mentor will be. I want to have Goldfire, what about you,?” he said excitedly. Petalkit didn’t respond. She knew she wanted Grayspot, but she also knew Leafkit wanted Grayspot worse than she did. Without an answer, he turned to Leafkit. “What about you, Leafkit? Who do you want as a mentor?” Leafkit told him that Grayspot would be her mentor. “I don’t want him, I will have him. I have to, he’s the only cat gentle enough to not get mad at me in 5 seconds. Besides Sunspring of course, but I can’t have my own father as a mentor.” Fallowbreeze walked into the nursery, and Petalkit’s siblings attacked her with questions. “Are we becoming apprentices? Who will be our mentors? Please tell us, Fallowbreeze!” Fallowbreeze shook her head. “Yes, you’re becoming apprentices, but I don’t know who your mentors are.” She looked at her jumping kits, then saw Petalkit was missing from the group. Fallowbreeze padded over to her kit. “What’s wrong, Petalkit? Don’t you want to be an apprentice?” she asked with her soft voice. Petalkit looked at her mother’s hazel eyes and debated telling her the truth. She shook her head, looking down. Fallowbreeze was her mother, but Petalkit only really trusted one person not to say anything, and he wasn’t in her den. She decided to talk to the leader for help. He wasn’t her first choice, but he would understand.
“Petalkit, what do you mean, you can’t become an apprentice?” Birdstar asked her. Petalkit looked at the smooth ground of the leader’s den. She was regretting her choice to talk to the leader just a little bit. Birdstar gazed at the small kit before her. Petalkit was smaller than Firekit, but Leafkit was leaner than her. She didn’t seem to look like a apprentice should. Suddenly, the medicine cat Leafriver came over to talk to Birdstar. “Birdstar, I need- Oh, Petalkit! What are you doing here?” she asked in questioning tone that Petalkit couldn’t answer to. It was kind, but Petalkit was too shy. She asked Birdstar with her eyes to cover for her. Birdstar told Leafriver, “Petalkit is having a few doubts about her apprenticeship. Petalkit nodded at Leafriver, her eyes still on the floor. “Petalkit, you will be a great apprentice, then a great warrior. I remember being nervous about becoming an apprentice. You know, I wasn’t medicine cat apprentice right away. I was a regular apprentice. But Applebranch, the medicine cat at the time, asked me to be her apprentice. I had to think about it, but I accepted.” Petalkit looked a bit startled at this. “Does this mean that I have to be the medicine cat apprentice?” she asked, looking a bit terrified at the idea. Leafriver managed a smile. “No, I am just alerting you that you have more options than just a regular apprentice. You’ll do fine as a warrior though, I can tell by the way you play-fight with your siblings. You can dodge even the toughest of blows, some warriors can’t even do that. You have warrior skill, use it. Any other cat would think you’ve already been trained.” Petalkit jumped up in excitement. She never thought about it like that before. “Thank you, Leafriver,” she said, and walked out of the den. She heard Leafriver’s voice calling after her. “Remember, even if you’re not my apprentice, that doesn’t mean you can’t talk to me.” Petalkit nodded, and scampered back to the nursery where Fallowbreeze was washing a very squirmy Firekit. “Fallowbreeze! I can wash myself! Stop!” Fallowbreeze continued, and Firekit became subdued. Leafkit sat in a corner, gently patting a mossball back and forth for Flowerkit and Silverkit to chase. Her fur was slicked down enough for Petalkit to see Fallowbreeze already got her, but it was furry and normal, clean but normal kit. Petalkit looks down at her fur. She is white and ginger, and her mom named her this because of an elder named Flowerpetal who died when she was born, and her fur was like hers. Petalkit started licking herself, because her mom was almost done with Firekit. “Stand still, and it will go faster, Firekit,” she said suddenly. Firekit stood completely still, and she finished before sunhigh. Fallowbreeze ushered her three kits out of the nursery, and Sunspring took them to the clearing. Fallowbreeze returned to take care of Moonflower’s kits. “Now, remember, you have to talk only when the leader addresses to you. Stand proud. You’re becoming future warriors of Duskclan.” Petalkit nodded. Sunspring gently licks her behind the ear. Then they hear Birdstar call the clan. “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Highrock for a clan meeting. As the clan assembled, Petalkit felt her heart start hammering. Petalpaw. She savored her so-to-be new name. Petalpaw. She would be the best apprentice there was. She would train everyday, as hard as she could. She would help her clan win every battle ever fought. Birdstar called the three kits up to the stage. “Firekit, Leafkit, and Petalkit, 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 names, you will be known as Firepaw, Leafpaw, and Petalpaw. Firepaw, your mentor will be Cloudthorn. Cloudthorn, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Stonedust, and you have shown yourself to be smart and loyal. You will be the mentor of Firepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Firepaw. Leafpaw, your mentor will be Goldfire. Goldfire, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Grayspot, and you have shown yourself to be strong and brave. You will be the mentor of Leafpaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know.” Birdstar turned to Petalpaw. Her heart almost stopped. Petalpaw felt an overwhelming feeling to become the medicine cat apprentice, to help out Leafriver in the medicine cat den. But she kept her mouth shut, and Birdstar continued. “Petalpaw, your mentor will be Grayspot. Grayspot, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You have received exceptional training from Flowerpetal, and you have shown yourself to be a worthy fighter and deputy. You will be the mentor of Petalpaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know.” Grayspot leaned his head down, and Petalpaw touched her quivering nose to his calm one. “I’ll be the best apprentice you ever had,” she said, barely noticeable with any ears. But Grayspot seemed to give a small nod, only felt by his apprentice. Petalpaw closed her eyes, and listen to the clan as they chorused the new apprentice’s names. “Firepaw! Leafpaw! Petalpaw!” Petalpaw, Petalpaw, Petalpaw. Her name echoed in her thoughts.
“Welcome to the den,” Clearpaw said. Petalpaw looked at his soft face, full of sympathy for the younger cats. Brightpaw spoke up from the corner, “Come on in, but don’t sleep near me. I tend to thrash around,” she said playfully. Clearpaw nodded his head. “When we heard you had become apprentices, we gathered moss the entire day. Make your bed the way you want,” Clearpaw told them, gesturing to the pile of moss in the corner. Petalpaw and her brother and sister gathered all they needed, and made their beds. “That’s a lot of moss, we didn’t need that much,” Firepaw commented. Brightpaw shrugged. “We knew you wouldn’t use it all, but we figured Leafriver could always use a bit more moss. And it will save you time when the elder’s need their bedding changed,” Leafpaw looked startled. Clearpaw let out a small ‘mrow’ of amusement. “Don’t worry, your mentors won’t make you do that on the first day. You’ll most likely view the territory, then go over some hunting. The elders are left for a later task,” “So that means when Flowerkit and Silverkit become apprentices, we’ll be telling them the exact same thing that you’re telling us now?” she meowed, purring in amusement. Clearpaw purred back. “I think so, Petalpaw,” Clearpaw settled down in his bed, and closed his bright eyes. One by one, all of the apprentices closed their eyes, until Petalpaw was the only one awake. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she shouldn’t be sleeping in here. “Nonsense,” she thought, and she too closed her eyes.
“Windsong, don’t worry. This apprentice will chose her path. We can’t make her become medicine cat if she doesn’t want to,” Petalpaw opened her eyes, thinking she was hearing someone talk to a clanmate. But she wasn’t in the field surrounded by rocks known as the clan camp, she was at Fourtrees. Petalpaw stood up and saw two cats in the middle of the trees. But they had stars infused in their fur. “Starclan cats,” she said. The cats didn’t seem to hear her. One of the cats was silver, without the stars in her fur. This was the one that was called Windsong, and she had a worried expression on her face. The other cat was a deep black, but had a kind expression, one that Leafriver almost always wore. She was obviously a medicine cat. Her fur was dark even with it glowing. The smell of bitter herbs and sweet honey told Petalpaw they were both medicine cats.The silver cat spoke. “Echowhisper, we decided to give her special powers, not her sister. She can’t waste this talent!” The black cat shook her head. “Windsong, would it really be that bad to have a warrior with a connection to Starclan? Would it? Yes, medicine cats use it more, but we’ve given warriors these connections before,” Windsong looked angry, but she couldn’t think of an answer. “Don’t worry, Windsong,” Echowhisper told her quietly, “our little flower will chose her own path. Either way, Starclan will walk beside her every step,” Echowhisper and Windsong smile, sharing a secret Petalpaw didn’t understand.
“Petalpaw? Petalpaw,” called a voice from the distance of the dream. Petalpaw opened her eyes for real. Clearpaw was gently waking her with his paw. Petalpaw blinked and looked outside the den. “Is it even sunup yet?” she asked sleepily. Clearpaw shook his head. “Almost. Come on, I’m going on a patrol, and Grayspot wants you to come with to see the territory,” Petalpaw bolted upright. “How much time do I have?” she asked quickly. Clearpaw jumped back and smiled.”Calm down, you have plenty of time. And Grayspot will wait for you. He’s leading the patrol,” Clearpaw started washing himself with quick strong licks. Petalpaw quickly followed. The den was filled with the sound of small tongues and snoring cats. During which the sun came up and warmed the camp. Clearpaw told Petalpaw softly that it was time to go. She padded out, listening to the softer fall of Clearpaw’s footsteps. Because Clearpaw was two moons older than Petalpaw and her siblings, he had been an apprentice for two moons. He was almost as big as a warrior now, and just as good as a fighter.
“And here we are, this is the border,” Grayspot told her. Petalpaw stared down at the riverbank, her eyes and face sprayed by the mist coming off the river. Petalpaw stared at the river, the small misty waves laping at her paws. Petalpaw turned to see the patrol leaving slowly without her. She bounded to them to catch up, and accidentally almost ran into Clearpaw. “Woah, careful,” Clearpaw said. Petalpaw stared at him in amazement. She had almost ran right into his side, yet all he said was, “Careful,” How could Clearpaw be so patient with her? She trusted him, and she liked him, but she didn’t know if he would chose her. Suddenly Petalpaw’s dream popped into her mind. Clearpaw would listen to her, if he didn’t believe her. “Clearpaw?” Petalpaw slowly asked. Clearpaw looked back at her with his piercing blue eyes. “What is it, Petalpaw?” he asked in a quiet tone as well, taking a hint from Petalpaw. “I had this dream last night, before I woke up,” Clearpaw dropped back from the patrol a bit to talk with more privacy. “What kind of dream?” he asked, no doubt thinking it was some kind of nightmare that he had had before. Petalpaw took a shaky breath, then told him everything. “Clearpaw, I dreamt I was at Fourtrees, but it wasn’t Fourtrees exactly. It was clearer, shinier. Then I saw these two cats in the clearing. They had stars in their fur. And they were talking about someone in Duskclan who was torn between their love and their call to medicine cat with their connection with Starclan,” Clearpaw looked stricken for a second, then asked more questions. “What did the two cats look like?What were their names?” Petalpaw tried to recall in her mind the dream. There was a white cat named Windsong, and a midnight black cat named Echowhisper. They were both she-cats, and by the smell of herbs I think they were both past medicine cats.
