Chapter Text
Chapter 26
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Riverrock for a Clan meeting!” Lilystar’s yowl echoed across the clearing.
Leafpetal frantically groomed Finkit’s fur. “You look like you just got pulled backwards through a gorse bush,” she complained as she picked twigs out of his fur.
He squirmed, staring excitedly up at Lilystar.
Finally, Leafpetal decided he was clean enough. “Remember, hold your head high and walk. You’re not a kit anymore, you’re an apprentice. You need to behave like one.”
Finkit rolled his eyes. He knew all this. His mother released him and he padded up to Lilystar, his chin and tail high.
“From this day forward, this apprentice shall be known as Finpaw.” The RiverClan leader glanced around the clearing until her eyes landed on Hollowgaze. He would be the perfect mentor for Finpaw. “Hollowgaze, you will be Finpaw’s mentor. Share with him your knowledge and dedication.”
Finpaw glanced up as Hollowgaze pushed his way through the crowd.
“Finpaw! Finpaw!” The Clan yowled his name as he touched his nose to his new mentor’s.
Leafpetal’s and Sunshade’s voices rose above the others.
Finpaw ran over to Leafpetal after the ceremony was finished. His eyes shone.
“I’m so proud of you,” Leafpetal murmured. “You’ll make a fine warrior one day. Work hard and do everything Hollowgaze says.”
He nodded enthusiastically.
Sunshade joined Leafpetal and looked at her son. It had been hard for her to watch him grow up without her, but she didn’t regret her choice. Leafpetal was an excellent mother, and she had raised Finpaw better than Sunshade could have.
“Finpaw!” Songpaw scampered over to him. “We made a nest for you in the apprentices’ den. Come check it out!”
Finpaw turned and ran after her.
Leafpetal watched him go, a purr rising in her throat. “Thanks, Sunshade,” she meowed. “I don’t think I ever told you, but raising Finpaw helped me recover from losing my kits better than anything Mintfeather could’ve done for me.”
Sunshade looked at her, her eyes glistening. “Thank you, Leafpetal. You have no idea how much it means to me, to hear you say that. It wasn’t easy to give up my son.”
Leafpetal met her gaze. “I know. You did a brave thing. No she-cat wants to give up her kit. You could’ve just watched me grieve without doing anything, but you decided to do something no cat could ever ask of you, because you’re my friend.”
********************
Leafpetal and Larkbreeze shared tongues drowsily in the nursery, watching the kits play. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” Larkbreeze murmured softly.
Leafpetal purred. “I know. So am I.”
He licked her shoulder. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She stared into his green eyes, reflecting on everything that life had thrown at them. Despite the hardships, their relationship continued to blossom and grow and withstood the challenges they faced.
Fidgetkit trotted up to them with a leaf in her jaws. “Look what I caught!” she said proudly.
Leafpetal purred with amusement. “Good job.”
A moment later, Finpaw padded inside, looking exhausted but happy. “Hollowgaze showed me around the whole territory,” he reported excitedly. “It’s so big!”
Leafpetal and Larkbreeze exchanged amused glances while Finpaw rambled about everything he had learned.
Swampkit pounced on his tail. “We want to be apprentices too!” she announced. “We can hunt and fight, why can’t we be apprentices?” She sat down and stared imploringly at her mother.
Leafpetal tried not to laugh. “You’re too small. Being an apprentice can be dangerous, and kits your size wouldn’t last long in a battle against warriors ten times bigger than you. Once you’re six moons old, you’ll be big enough to learn how to effectively hunt and fight while keeping yourself fairly safe.”
Swampkit looked disappointed. “I can’t wait three moons,” she whined. “I want to be an apprentice now.”
Fidgetkit rolled her eyes at her sister. “You heard what Leafpetal said. We’re not big enough to be apprentices, so there’s no point complaining. Finpaw’s three moons older than us, so he can be an apprentice now.”
Swampkit glared at hertz and then stalked out of the den.
Olivekit watched her littermates indifferently. “Are you going to sleep in the apprentices’ den now?” she asked Finpaw.
He nodded, his eyes shining with excitement. “Songpaw, Rainpaw, and Troutpaw already made me a nest.”
Olivekit pouted. “You’re leaving us?”
Finpaw shrugged. “I’m too big for your games. Besides, I’ll be busy now.”
Fidgetkit looked just as unhappy as her sister. “But it won’t be the same without you. The nursery’s going to feel so big!”
Leafpetal hadn’t realized how much her younger kits liked having Finpaw around. It warmed her heart to see how they all got along with the older tom. “Sometimes things change,” she told them gently. “You have to learn to adapt to changes. Soon you’ll be sharing the apprentices’ den with Finpaw, and until then, he’ll visit you when he can.”
Finpaw nodded enthusiastically.
Olivekit still didn’t look satisfied, although Fidgetkit seemed more at ease.
A moment later, Swankit appeared next to Finpaw. No one had noticed him enter.
Fidgetkit wrinkled her nose as the scent of herbs filled the nursery, giving away where he had been. “I don’t know how you stand that smell. Mintfeather’s den stinks!”
Swankit shrugged. “I think the herbs smell good.”
Fidgetkit looked at him doubtfully. “Suit yourself,” she muttered.
Swankit padded past her and sat down next to Leafpetal. Olivekit joined him immediately, looking significantly happier now that her brother had returned to the nursery.
Leafpetal pulled her kits closer to her and started to groom them while Larkbreeze looked on, his eyes glowing with affection.
Leafpetal released the kits and settled down for a nap. “Thank you, StarClan, for blessing me with such a wonderful mate,” she meowed playfully, glancing at Larkbreeze.
Larkbreeze laughed. “Stop it. I just do my best to be a good mate and father.”
Leafpetal purred. Just as she started to drift off to sleep, she was startled awake as Sunshade burst into the nursery.
“Leafpetal! I’m pregnant!”