Waving his tail in a silent greeting, Snowkit watched as Rainkit bounded towards him. He and the molly- younger yet still larger than him -had been continuing their secret nighttime meetings for over a half moon. During this time, the pair had become quite close. "Has the most recent news reached your ears yet?" Rainkit gazed at Snowkit with curiosity, sitting in front of him.

"Recent news?" Snowkit's gaze narrowed.

"I figured you wouldn't know, it was only created today," the blue-grey molly replied. "Plus, it's private. It's something I overheard my parents talking about, but I have no problem telling you. It's not like you'd tell anyone." Rainkit cleared her throat, her tail lightly flicking around her paws. "So, you wanna hear this or not? It's got something to do with you."

"O-Of course I'd like to hear it! If it's something to do with me then it's probably important for me to know, right?" Snowkit awkwardly chuckled, his yellow stare fixated on the ground. This can't be too bad, right?

"You know our medicine cat, Dappledleaf? She's quite old. For example, she's older than Seedstep, and he's the oldest elder in the Clan. My mother says that she's going to die before you're of age. She's thinking about making you a medicine cat apprentice early, during Stonekit and Fernkit's apprentice ceremony a few days from now." She paused to take a breath. 

"Not only that," she continued, "but she'll also make Nightkit, Kestrelkit, and Bramblekit apprentices as well, despite them being underaged, too. She somehow managed to get Father on board with this plan." Rainkit pawed at the ground. "Although, I suppose a month too early can't be that bad, right? It could certainly be worse." 

Snowkit stared at her with shock. "That's a lot to take in," he remarked. I'll be an apprentice early? Of course, a medicine cat apprentice. Poor Stonekit. The white tomcat flicked his ear, remembering the discourse when it came to his future. 

I still had hopes to be able to fight and hunt, but... maybe this isn't an entirely bad thing. "The only good thing I can see out of this," he chaffed, "is that I won't share a den with Kestrelkit anymore. I'll have nobody to worry about then." 

Rainkit playfully tapped Snowkit with her paw. "Not true! Once I become an apprentice, I won't spend it in the apprentice den. I'll stay in the medicine den with you, and I'll steal away all your herbs!" 

"Oh, really?" Snowkit purred in amusement. "What if one of our Clanmates gets sick or hurt? They could die without those herbs."

"Shh, I didn't plan that far ahead!" Rainkit laughed. "All I know is that I'm gonna steal them."

The two kits, when done conversing and playing, eventually split up an hour past midnight. Weary, and slightly apprehensive, Snowkit curled up in his empty nest. I'll be a medicine cat apprentice early, then, he reflected. The white tomcat yawned, closing his eyes. If there's one thing I've learned, he thought, it's that nothing good will come out of dreading the future. I just have to accept that fact. 

. . . . .

The white tomcat's awakening was not a pleasant one. He was abruptly brought back to consciousness by a paw consistently jabbing his side. "Mmm?" Snowkit squinted, seeing Stonekit's silhouette in front of him. "We're not apprentices yet, we don't have to wake up this early," he muttered. 

"I know, but it's best to start getting used to waking up early, and I made plans," Stonekit declared, gliding a paw over his ear. "It's time to wake up, Snowkit." 

After a few moments, Snowkit stood and stretched. He pricked his ears, hearing the other kits' groans. The white tomcat gazed around the nursery, observing the scene. He only woke up the kits, not the parents. Why's that? "You only woke up the kits?"

"Yes, because I made plans with Ravenpaw, Ripplepaw, Pebblepaw, and Spottedpaw," Stonekit replied. "So we don't get in the way of our Clanmates, we're doing this before dawn today."

"'This'? What's 'this'?" Fernkit asked, trotting over to her brother and Snowkit. The other kits followed her over.

"Early apprenticeship training," the grey tomcat answered while smiling. "You'll need to be the best warriors you can be, so early apprenticeship training should help."

"And you'll join in?" Kestrelkit asked with a scowl.

Stonekit merely shook his head. When he spoke, Snowkit could hear just a slight hint of sombreness. "I plan to meet with Queen Softheart and King Silverhawk again today, and I'm taking my parents and Dappledleaf with me. Maybe," he muttered, with a grave disposition, "I'll have to poison them with apple seeds. I need to be a medicine cat someday, and Snowkit," he looked at the white tomcat, "you need to be a warrior apprentice."

"Tch! He's too puny to fight, he has no potential," Kestrelkit affirmed while smirking. "Stonekit, if you were to focus on warrior duties as much as you focus on medicine cat duties, you'd make a great warrior someday." The tabby tomcat purred, "Besides, you can't change what Queen Softheart already decided! My father told me that we'll all be apprentices early, and that you," he stared at Snowkit with narrowed green eyes, "will be a medicine cat apprentice."

Before any of the kits had a chance to rebuke, a voice sounded from the nursery's entrance. "Wow, that's gotta be the biggest load of mousedung I've heard all day!"

"Hey! Don't use that type of language around the kits, Pebble."

"They're not much younger than us, Raven. It's fine. Let him say what he wants."

"You three, quiet." Spottedpaw's annoyed command silenced her siblings. "I believe we're supposed to act as role models, yes?"

As the four apprentices spoke with the kits, Snowkit sat to the side. A 'load of mousedung', he thought, unsheathing his claws to draw lines in the earth. If only it was. Leaftuft told Kestrelkit about what Rainkit told me. I thought she said it was private between her parents. Why do both Leaftuft and Kestrelkit know? Well, either way, I guess today will be the closest I can get to becoming a warrior. Snowkit watched as Ripplepaw and Pebblepaw approached him, interrupting his thoughts and line cutting.

"Hey, you've been as silent as a mouse," Ripplepaw joked. "Even Nightkit's with the group. What's up?"

"N-Nothing," Snowkit murmured. "I have a question, though. We'll be staying here to train, right?" He narrowed his eyes, looking up at the silver tabbied molly. 

Ripplepaw giggled, exchanging a glance with Pebblepaw. "And risk waking up the adults permanently? No can do, sleep deprived nursery cats are scary nursery cats. We'll just be in the centre of camp."

"I'm not allowed to leave the nursery, though," Snowkit replied, pinning his ears down. His and Rainkit's secret meetings at night were different. He didn't need to worry about being caught, since all cats were typically asleep. Kestrelkit being involved with this, however, meant that the word could spread like wildfire. 

"Rules are meant to be broken!" exclaimed Pebblepaw, near identical in appearance to his sister, Ripplepaw. "Loosen up for today, chill, and have some fun with your senior apprentices and fellow kits. Any trouble arises and I'll just say I threatened to drown you. That old excuse typically works." 

After a nod from Snowpaw, Bramblekit stepped towards Snowkit, Pebblepaw, and Ripplepaw. "U-Uhm, Spottedpaw and Ravenpaw are going t-to take us out now."

"Alright, thanks for telling us, Bramble," Ripplepaw purred. "Well, you heard her!" The molly waved Pebblepaw and Snowkit over with her tail as she began trotting out the nursery. Snowkit followed, passing by Bramblekit who hadn't followed. 

The white tomcat stopped by the entrance to glance at the reddish-brown tabbied molly. She was licking her chest and shuffling her paws, a blush across her features. Is this, he thought, what someone looks like when they're crushing on someone? It must feel awful. "Let's go, Bramblekit," Snowkit said, smiling. 

The four apprentices had set up numerous fictional situations for the kits to partake in, guiding and teaching them along the way. While Snowkit was quick to learn, he was lacking when it came to strength, overpowered even by the dainty Bramblekit. However, he was good at predicting the next moves of his foe. Fernkit was similar, although much stronger than the white tomcat and much less observant, primarily relying on dodges. Kestrelkit and Nightkit were clearly the best at such training, each strong and quick respectfully, with their spars ending fruitlessly when put against one another. Stonekit only watched, occasionally giving his own insight. 

Snowkit, who just finished a round with Fernkit, padded over to Ravenpaw. "May I sit out for a small while?" he asked.

"Of course you can," Ravenpaw replied. "There's no need to ask."

With a swift nod of his head, Snowkit walked towards Stonekit, sitting beside him. For a few moments they were silent, watching as Kestrelkit and Nightkit sparred yet again. "They're sort of predictable with their moves," Snowkit remarked.

"What do you mean?" Stonekit questioned, gliding a paw over his ear.

"Watch them." Snowkit narrowed his yellow gaze, intricately scrutinising the two tomcats. "Kestrelkit relies on his brute strength and rarely dodges. His attacks seem more... heavy, if that makes sense. He doesn't rely on a pattern, more so attacks that can crush the opponent." I'm certainly used to that, Snowkit thought, pausing. "Nightkit, however," he continued, "is swift and confusing with his attacks. Confusing, if they weren't obvious by now." Snowkit grinned, "See, he attacks in a pattern. One, two, leap out of the way. Three, four, leap over. Five, six, leap again. A bunch of quick jabs and a sudden dodge. Does that make sense?"

"Wow," Stonekit gawked, icy blue eyes wide. "You got all that just from this? That's just all the more reason I should be the medicine cat apprentice instead of you. You said it like a warrior!" 

"O-Oh, well," Snowkit blushed and stuttered, unused to the praise. As he opened his mouth to speak again, any words he could've uttered got interrupted. 

"Snowkit, I would like to spar with you." Nightkit stared down at the white tomcat, a kind, welcoming smile on his face. "Only if you want to, that is."

Snowkit stood up, nodding. He and the black tomcat would engage in conversation once in a while, with the smaller tomcat feeling almost charmed by Nightkit. After all, Nightkit was mysterious and calculating, but benevolent as well, being one of the few cats Snowkit felt he could truly rely on. 

Once the two were in the camp centre facing each other, Spottedpaw gave the signal for them to begin. They began circling one another, Snowkit carefully observing and predicting each of Nightkit's moves. Although the black tomcat was larger and far stronger than Snowkit, Snowkit's small size held a pretty fair advantage. Nightkit was fast, but not fast enough for the white tomcat.

As the two continued their spar, Snowkit made an astute observation. As he leapt over Nightkit, he saw the black tomcat pause and stare at him before facing him once more. Did he wink? Unable to focus on that question due to an intense focus on his target, he noticed a quick opening on Nightkit. Leaping, the white tomcat managed to pin the black tomcat down. Preparing to be thrown off, he was shocked when he was instead met with a modest grin.

"It looks like you managed to beat me. Good job, Snowkit," Nightkit purred, gently pushing Snowkit off him as everyone else began praising the white tomcat. Much to all's surprise, even Kestrelkit muttered a compliment.

Despite the massive praise and the thrill of winning against Nightkit, something inside him felt strange. What is this feeling? he asked himself, his chest tight as he stared up at all the smiling faces, feeling even smaller than usual. He was a stranger to praise, so he always appreciated the rare times he was complemented. However, this situation made him uneasy. His breath quickened as questions raced through his head. Why does this feel like mockery? All I did was beat him, so why am I getting so much praise? I'm the only one who received this for beating someone. Why? 

Before Snowkit even had a chance to speak, he and the rest of the group heard a snarl coming from the warrior den. Fleetrunner, a white tomcat with grey spots, slunk out of said den, glaring at the apprentices and kits gathered in the camp's centre as he stomped towards them. Is that..? Snowkit cowered, recognising the menacing warrior.

"Now," growled Fleetrunner, "what's all this about? Would any one of you care to explain this nonsense?" His sharp blue stare swept across the cats. "You woke me up, so now I'm angry. If you don't start talking now," he threatened, pointing at Snowkit, "I'll take that rat and just about skin him alive."