Riverpaw rose to her paws, her entire body still felt sore but she had no injures. Along with her aches, her heart felt heavy. Today would be the day she received her new mentor and her training continued. She had struggled with her emotions ever since she learned that Silverstripe died. She regretted the things she had said to him a moon ago, she would give anything just to apologize to him.

As her emotions started swelling up inside, Riverpaw shook her head. No. Warriors don't have regrets. We only move forward. Riverpaw dared to step outside the apprentice den, once Eagleclaw had cleared her she moved back in with the rest of her denmates. Silverstripe's kits, Rainpaw and Windpaw, were incredibly heartbroken over the loss of their father. Riverpaw wanted to check on them, but she didn't think it was her place.

They say me tell Silverstripe that I hated him. She flattened her ears. I hate feeling this way. She took a deep breath and looked around camp, it wasn't quite time for the ceremony but she knew that it would be soon. "Hey, Riverpaw." A solemn voice spoke her name, causing Riverpaw to look to her side. It was Rainpaw.

Riverpaw tensed slightly. "Hi, Rainpaw." She greeted softly. "What do you need?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you're doing alright," She checked. "I know you and my father didn't get along the best, but he was still your mentor. I would be devastated if Tawnyfrost died."

"I'm...doing alright." Riverpaw replied. "I just wish I could've been a better apprentice for him."

Rainpaw's blue eyes softened. "I'm sure he wished he could've been a better mentor to you, but I know he won't be angry. I heard him talking to our mother, he said all he wanted was to help you to become a warrior that AshClan could be proud of."

Riverpaw lowered her head. "I hope I can still become that, for his sake."

"I'm sure that you can." Rainpaw rested her tail on Rainpaw's shoulder. "You have the spirit of an incredible warrior."

"Thank you, Rainpaw." Riverpaw said, her spirits feeling lifted. I can't let Silverstripe's death drag me down forever. I'll be a warrior that AshClan can be proud of, just like he wanted.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather for a Clan meeting!" While the two of them had been talking, Goldenstar and Ivyheart had gathered for the meeting.

"I guess this is it." Riverpaw sighed. She wondered who her new mentor would be, there weren't many options. Even Lilypaw had been given Ivyheart as a mentor, which wasn't very common. Riverpaw caught the eyes of her parents who watched from the sidelines. Jayclaw gave her a reassuring nod.

Riverpaw took another deep breath and ventured towards the crowd, all eyes were on her. She held her head high and sat down in the center, meeting Goldenstar's bright green eyes. "I've called this meeting because the tragic death of Silverstripe left one of our apprentices without a mentor. His death is tragic, and will be felt for many moons to come, but the training of our apprentices must continue." The Clan lowered their heads, holding a short moment of silence for Silverstripe.

"When I originally chose Silverstripe as Riverpaw's mentor, I had hoped his calm and patient personality would help with Riverpaw's energy and ambition." Riverpaw's pelt burned slightly. "I see now that's not the way I should've gone. Riverpaw needs a mentor who will work her hard, someone who will test her limits." Goldenstar stared intently at Riverpaw. "That's why, Riverpaw's new mentor will be me."

Riverpaw's jaw dropped, she heard various gasps from her Clanmates. Riverpaw realized what Goldenstar was waiting for and jumped to her paws. She faced her leader and touched her muzzle to Goldenstar's. Afterwards, the cats of AshClan cheered and Riverpaw faced her mentor mentor. I can't believe my mentor is Goldenstar! She's the most incredible cat in all of AshClan!

"You're really going to be my mentor?" Riverpaw questioned once the ceremony had gone down.

"I am." Goldenstar purred happily. "I haven't mentored an apprentice since before I became deputy. Now, let's not waste any time. You're already behind." Riverpaw held her high and followed Goldenstar as she ventured out into AshClan territory.

"I was hoping that Silverstripe would teach you teach your discipline by making you do menial tasks, but I can see now that's not what you need." Goldenstar explained as the two of them moved swiftly through the forest, Riverpaw was nearly running in order to keep up with the leader. "What I see now," Goldenstar came to a stop, Riverpaw nearly crashed into her but she recovered quickly. "Is that you need a mentor who will work you incredibly hard." She looked over her shoulder, green eyes sparking.

"I want you to go hunting, and do not stop until I come find you. Do not stop, catch as much as you can."

Riverpaw nodded, glancing up at the sky. It was just past sunhigh, she wondered how long Goldenstar would have her hunting for, but she knew she shouldn't keep her mentor waiting. Riverpaw set out into the forest, sniffing the air and trying to pick out the scent of prey between the bitter cold scent of frost and the pine needles.

She finally caught the scent of squirrel and tracked the creature down. It had been quite a long time since she hunted, but she was sure she would be able to catch it. She spotted the squirrel at the base of one of the pine trees.

She dropped into a hunting crouch and stalked her prey. When the moment felt right, Riverpaw charged forward. The squirrel caught on to her quickly and sprinted up the side of the tree. Riverpaw skidded to a stop, kicking up a flurry of pine needles. Fox dung! She cursed underneath her breath. I really am out of practice.

Riverpaw refused to dwell on her missed catch and continued with her hunt. She caught the scent of a mouse and tracked it down. The tiny animal was nibbling on some pine nuts. Forcing herself to be more careful, Riverpaw crept forward. When the time felt right, she leapt. Her paws landed clumsily on the mouse, but she killed it nonetheless. Not my best work. Riverpaw thought with a flick of her ears. But at least it's caught. Riverpaw was certain that Goldenstar was watching her, so she had to show her mentor and leader that she was a capable hunter despite being confined to camp for a moon.

Riverpaw continued her hunt, catching two more squirrels before reaching the SunClan border. The stench of SunClan's territory was almost hiding all the prey, but she worked around it and managed to catch another mouse. She padded away from the SunClan border and skirted along the river where she managed to catch two voles.

She was starting to wonder when Goldenstar was going to come get her, she had been hunting for a long time now. However, Riverpaw didn't complain, she just kept hunting. As she crept along the river bank, Riverpaw caught the scent of sparrow. She had only practiced catching birds once or twice, but she could show Goldenstar how great of a hunter she was if she caught it!

Riverpaw tracked down the bird, it was near a cluster of pine trees, its back turned to Riverpaw. If I can do this, then she'll have to be proud of me. Riverpaw licked her lips and moved forward silently. She noticed a lose stone that would surely alert the sparrow to her presence. Riverpaw avoided the stone and readied herself to pounce.

She leapt forward, pinning and killing the sparrow before it even had a chance to take off. Perfect. She thought proudly, holding her head high. She half expected Goldenstar to come out and tell her she was done, but nothing happened. Riverpaw was still alone. Guess I'm still hunting.

Riverpaw pressed forward along the river, now nearing the LichenClan border. The sun was starting to fall and Riverpaw feared she might be doing this all night. Goldenstar is just testing me. Riverpaw thought. I'll hunt until my paws fall off if I have to! Riverpaw continued her hunt, catching two more squirrels and two more mice. She was next to the LichenClan border when she caught yet another squirrel.

Her paws were starting to ache from all the walking she had done, she had covered pretty much all of AshClan territory except for the back end behind camp, which is where she was headed next. She knew Eagle Stones was behind the camp, but she hadn't been allowed to hunt there yet as it was a dangerous hunting site.

The eagles that gave the stones their names were long gone, but the stones were tall and jagged, a clumsy apprentice would surely break their neck hunting on these stones. She also knew on the back border of AshClan territory, the border that lead to the twolegplace contained a broken down, abandoned twoleg nest. Again, apprentices were warned away from there due to the threat of rats.

One or two rats weren't an issue, but a whole pack of rats could easily kill a cat of her size. Riverpaw told herself she would stay off of the stones and keep clear of the twoleg nest, she didn't quite feel like dying today. She reached the back area of the territory and on her way caught another mouse.

She caught a shrew and her paws were sore, her legs aching from all the walking she did. It was dusk now, and night wasn't far behind. As the sun fell, the air grew colder, biting at Riverpaw's nose and eartips. She caught another squirrel and at long last Goldenstar appeared. "Good work, Riverpaw." She praised. "You can stop now."

Riverpaw slumped down, feeling incredibly exhausted. "Thank you, Goldenstar."

"You did well. You struggled in the beginning but you were eventually catching prey like a seasoned warrior, and you never stopped."

"I don't know if I have the energy to cross the entire territory again to collect it all again."

"Don't worry about it." Goldenstar purred. "I've been collecting it as you go, it's all buried near the camp."

"Thank you." Riverpaw breathed a sigh of relief.

Goldenstar chuckled. "Was that too much for you? I thought you liked hunting."

Riverpaw lifted her head, despite feeling so exhausted and sore, Riverpaw knew she had honed in on her skills, she had improved her hunting technique and best of all, she had gotten to cross all of AshClan territory herself.

"No," Riverpaw stood up, her muscles complaining with each movement. "It wasn't too much, I would've kept going all night if I needed."

"I'm glad to hear that." Goldenstar's eyes sparkled. "Because we're only getting started. When we get back to camp, get some prey and then go to sleep. We're starting early tomorrow, and I expect we'll be training all day."

Riverpaw felt a spark of energy inside her chest. I can't wait. This is exactly what I needed in a mentor. Together, Riverpaw and Goldenstar returned to gather all the prey Riverpaw had caught and brought it back into camp.

"My, my," Tawnyfrost mewed, her eyes filling with surprise. "Did you catch all this prey, Riverpaw?" Riverpaw, unable to reply due to a mouthful of prey, just nodded. "That's impressive!"

Riverpaw and Goldenstar dropped the prey on the fresh-kill pile. "Good work today, Riverpaw." Goldenstar rested her tail on Riverpaw's shoulders. "I look forward to training you some more."

Riverpaw felt a warmth inside of her chest at Goldenstar's words. I'm getting mentored by the Clan leader and she's perfect. Riverpaw grabbed one of the squirrels she had caught and padded to the apprentice den to eat it.

Outside the den sat Lionpaw, Hazelpaw, Echopaw and Cloverpaw. "I was wondering where you had gone." Lionpaw noted as she approached. "Have you been hunting this whole time."

"Yup." Riverpaw replied shortly before biting into her squirrel, she hadn't eaten anything since before her ceremony, which didn't even feel like the same day. "Goldenstar had me hunting since we left the camp."

"Sounds intense." Echopaw shuddered. "Aren't you tired?"

Riverpaw nodded. Echopaw surely wouldn't be able to handle Goldenstar's training. "I'm tired and sore, but it's worth it. This is the kind of training I want, I want to be worked hard and Goldenstar is going to do that."

"Intense is probably the best word to describe our mother." Hazelpaw snorted. "She's always been hard working. She left the nursery as soon as she could, leaving us under the care of the other queens and Scorchlight."

"I'm not even sure she actually wanted kits." Lionpaw said, Riverpaw couldn't tell if he was angry or not. "She hasn't been the most engaging mother, we rarely even speak to her."

"I mean I don't want kits." Riverpaw chimed in. "I don't blame her."

"But she does have kits." Echopaw pointed out. "And to ignore them, seems kind of cruel."

Riverpaw stared at her sister. Of course she would want kits. Riverpaw just shrugged. "I'd say both Lionpaw and Hazelpaw turned out pretty good." She looked at the two siblings. "Mostly." She sneered at Lionpaw.

Lionpaw rolled his eyes. "We both have great mentors, but after a while we stopped caring that Goldenstar didn't really see us as her kits. Scorchlight loves us, and that's something. It's not like Goldenstar has never compliment us, it's just a rarity."

Riverpaw finished off her prey and rose to her paws. "Well, I need to get some sleep. I have even more work to do tomorrow." She bid goodnight to her fellow apprentice and climbed into the den, curling up in her nest. It didn't take long for sleep to find her, and as she drifted off into slumber she dreamt in anticipation of the days to come.