One moon later

Shadow watched with wide eyes as Sky leaped upon the Big Stone with a massive leap. The BloodClan leader threw back her head and let out a loud yowl. "Let every cat old enough to shed blood gather beneath the Big Stone!"

Cats began milling around the Big Stone, looking up expectantly. Shadow felt her sister's fur bristle with excitement beside her.

She wished she could share her sister's enthusiasm for becoming an apprentice but all she felt was a dreading feeling in her stomach. Shadow looked back at the nursery, where she had slept every single night for the past four moons.

Diamond caught her stare and blinked encouragingly, nodding for her to walk forward. Shadow took a deep breath and padded forward, beckoning Spark with her tail.

Sky looked down at them, cold blue eyes boring into Shadows.

"Shadow, you have reached the age of four moons and it is time for you to be apprenticed. Your soft days of kit-hood are over, I expect your mentor will train you hard. Ivy, you are an excellent warrior, teach Shadow all she needs to know about becoming a BloodClan warrior."

A calico she-cat with bright, green eyes padded towards them. Shadow forced herself not to shrink back as Ivy touched noses with her.

"I expect only the best from you, do not fail me." The low growl startled Shadow but she nodded fervently.

Sky repeated the same ceremony with Spark and apprenticed her to Talon, a large, dark brown tom. Spark was almost bouncing with excitement and Talon gave her a sharp cuff on the ears when she started asking him multiple questions.

Ivy turned towards Shadow. "Go eat something and then meet me at the camp entrance." She walked away before Shadow could say anything, leaving her with no choice but to follow her orders.

Shadow padded to the prey pile and chose a small mouse, she glanced around for Spark but her sister was nowhere to be seen.

"You're lucky you got Ivy as your mentor." A voice spoke from beside her, Shadow looked up to find Blaze sitting a tail-length away. "Why?" She asked, eager to know more about her mentor.

Blaze flicked his tail lazily, "Everyone says she's one of the best fighters in BloodClan. She can be a bit harsh sometimes too, you don't want to get on the wrong side of her. " Shadow shrugged and went back to her mouse, not wanting to anger her mentor by being late.

Shadow buried the mouse scraps quickly and went over to the camp entrance, where Ivy was waiting. "Follow me." The mysterious she-cat said and padded away without checking if her apprentice was following.

Shadow bounded after her mentor, "What are we going to do?" She asked, panting. Ivy didn't say anything, she just kept striding through the forest with long, big steps.

They walked through the forest, Shadow too breathless to ask any more questions. She did take a moment to look around, amazed at this new world before her.

Shadow was focussing on not stumbling on any roots or leaves when she suddenly noticed that her mentor had disappeared. "Ivy?" She called in a shaking voice, unsure of what to do.

The forest suddenly seemed a lot more ominous than before, Shadow backed up slowly, stumbling over rocks and roots. A fern caught her around the paw and she screeched, certain that it was an enemy.

The apprentice ripped herself free and raced away blindly, leaves and branches flashing around her.

Suddenly a heavy weight slammed into her, pinning her to the soft forest floor. Shadow thrashed and fought the cat on top of her until she realized it was Ivy, staring down at her with those guarded, green eyes.

"Wha-? Why did you disappear? I-" Shadow spluttered as her mentor let her back up. Ivy narrowed her eyes as if scrutinizing the young cat before her. "I was testing your reflexes and survival skills." The warrior whisked her tail, stirring up leaves and twigs.

"It took you a few moments to realize I was gone, an enemy cat could have easily pinned you down in that time. You panicked, running towards camp. A mistake, you could have led the enemy towards our camp, where unexpected kits, queens, and apprentices with little or no battle experience would have to face vicious rouges. "

Shadow bowed her head in shame, seeing the wisdom in her mentor's words. "I'll do better next time." She promised, determination flowing through her.

Ivy looked amused and mildly curious. "Of course you will, you have realized your mistake. I will not take failure as a result." Her words chilled Shadow to the bone, maybe her mentor was a colder cat than she had expected, which made her all the better addition to BloodClan, she realized.

"We'll go back to camp and rest, tomorrow we will practice fighting moves and maybe explore more of BloodClan's territory." Her mentor instructed, leading the way back home.

Shadow suddenly longed for her nest in the nursery, which she shared with Spark. The short walk and adrenaline had drained all her energy and she felt like she could sleep for a moon.

What do you think of the characters so far?
Who's your favorite?
Who's your least favorite?
Who's the most interesting?
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