The Apprentice's Quest

When the silence had stretched out for several heartbeats, Jayfeather lashed his tail in frustration. “What does that mean?” he demanded, glaring at Firestar. Sarcasm filled his voice like a scratching claw as he added, “If you try really hard, do you think you could be a bit more obscure?”

Firestar gazed at Jayfeather with a mixture of affection and irritation. But the vision was already beginning to fade. The shapes of the StarClan cats shone out in a blaze of starlight, dazzling Jayfeather and the other medicine cats. The sky darkened as if clouds were racing to cover the sun.

But before his vision left him, Jayfeather spotted from the corner of his eye another cat he did not immediately recognize: a very young tom standing a pace or two back from the circle of medicine cats. As Jayfeather turned to face him, he bounded away, so that all Jayfeather saw clearly was the flick of a white-tipped tail.

Jayfeather took a breath to catch his scent. That’s a living cat! he realized. And he smells strongly of ThunderClan.

Chapter 1

Alderkit stood in front of the nursery, nervously shifting his weight. He unsheathed his claws, digging them into the beaten earth of the stone hollow, then sheathed them again and shook dust from his paws.

Now what happens? he asked himself, his belly churning as he thought about his apprentice ceremony, which was only moments away. What if there’s some sort of assessment before I can be an apprentice?

Alderkit thought he had heard something about an assessment once. Perhaps it had been a few moons ago when Hollytuft, Fernsong, and Sorrelstripe had been made warriors. But I can’t really remember… I was so little then.

His heart started to pound faster and faster. He tried to convince himself that some cat would have told him if he was supposed to prove that he was ready. Because I’m not sure that I am ready to become an apprentice. Not sure at all. What if I can’t do it?

Deep in his own thoughts, Alderkit jumped in surprise as a cat nudged him hard from behind. Spinning around, he saw his sister Sparkkit, her orange tabby fur bushing out in all directions.

“Aren’t you excited?” she asked with an enthusiastic bounce. “Don’t you want to know who your mentor will be? I hope I get someone fun! Not a bossy cat like Berrynose, or one like Whitewing. She sticks so close to the rules I think she must recite the warrior code in her sleep!”

“That’s enough.” The kits’ mother, Squirrelflight, emerged from the nursery in time to hear Sparkkit’s last words. “You’re not supposed to have fun with your mentors,” she added, licking one paw and smoothing it over Sparkkit’s pelt. “You’re supposed to learn from them. Berrynose and Whitewing are both fine warriors. You’d be very lucky to have either of them as your mentor.”

Though Squirrelflight’s voice was sharp, her green gaze shone with love for her kits. Alderkit knew how much his mother adored him and his sister. He was only a kit, but he understood that Squirrelflight was old to have her first litter, and he remembered their shared grief for his lost littermates: Juniperkit, who had barely taken a breath before he died, and Dandelionkit, who had never been strong, and who had slowly weakened until she also died two moons later.

Sparkkit and I have to be the best cats we can be for Squirrelflight and Bramblestar.

Sparkkit, meanwhile, wasn’t at all cowed by her mother’s scolding. She twitched her tail and cheerfully shook her pelt until her fur fluffed up again.

Alderkit wished he had her confidence. He hadn’t wondered until now who his mentor would be, and he gazed around the clearing at the other cats with new and curious eyes. Ivypool would be an okay mentor, he thought, spotting the silver-and-white tabby she-cat returning from a hunting patrol with Lionblaze and Blossomfall. She’s friendly and a good hunter. Lionblaze is a bit scary, though. Alderkit suppressed a shiver at the sight of the muscles rippling beneath the golden warrior’s pelt. And it won’t be Blossomfall, because she was just mentor for Hollytuft. Or Brackenfur or Rosepetal, because they mentored Sorrelstripe and Fernsong.