Spiderfang leads me through the camp, the gazes from the surrounding cats fixed on my pelt.

We pause at a tree with an exceptionally large gap yawning across its trunk.

"This is the medicine den," the black she-cat says as she stops before the opening. "Hollyshade is the medicine cat. Leafglow should be in here."

A light brown and cream tabby stepped out of the den right as she said that. "Oh, hey, Spiderfang!" the tom exclaims.

Spiderfang nods at the cat in greeting. "Hello, Leafglow. There is someone I'd like you to meet..." she stepped aside to reveal me.

Leafglow looked me up and down, seemingly confused. "Uh, who is this?" he asked, tilting his head. He opened his mouth to catch my scent, and his nose wrinkled. "A kittypet? What is a kittypet doing here?"

Spiderfang's tail twitched, her expression unconcerned. "His name is Soot. Silverstar gave him a chance to join RootClan. He is going to be your apprentice."

Leafglow blinks in surprise. He glances from me back to Spiderfang. "Really? Are you serious? A kittypet? Silverstar must be mad. How long will it take for him to run back to his Twoleg? A hour? A day?"

I speak up for the first time in the interaction. "Never! I'm not going back," I snarl.

Leafglow looks more amused than intimidated by my anger. He gives me an almost mocking smile. "Oh? You really think you can handle Clan life? You don't even know the first thing about hunting. Or fighting. Or anything, really."

"I know a little-" I started, but was interrupted by Silverstar's yowl.

"All cats old enough to live among the roots gather around the Tree Stump for a Clan meeting!"

Spiderfang gives me a quick nod and trots away to join the gathering cats. Leafglow gives me another look, mostly skepticism, but a slight hint of hope.

"C'mon, kittypet. Silverstar has called a meeting."

"It's Soot." I mutter, but pad towards the cats.

The warrior rolled his eyes good-naturedly and fell into step beside me. Silverstar's voice rang out from the Tree Stump as she gazed down at her Clan.

"Cats of RootClan, I have an announcement..." she said. "A kittypet has decided to join our ranks. Step forward, Soot." Murmuring and gasps broke out around the clearing, eyes flicking to me as the cats found out what I was doing in their camp, but Silverstar silenced them with her tail and continued speaking.

"Soot, you have been accepted into this Clan from the kittypet life. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sootpaw. Your mentor will be Leafglow. I hope Leafglow will pass down all he knows on to you."

She nodded to me, then swung her gaze to Leafglow. "Leafglow, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Sunstrike, and you have shown yourself to be clever and resilient. You will be the mentor of Sootpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

Leafglow came up to me and we touched noses as the Clan called out my name.

A few cats cheered your my name, but most of the other RootClan cats looked displeased - to put it mildly - at the idea of a kittypet as one of their own.

Some cats muttered amongst themselves, their tails twitching and their eyes narrowed. Silverstar raised her tail again, restoring silence once more. "RootClan, you will treat Sootpaw with respect and treat him like any other member of the Clan."

The Clan looked less than pleased with this announcement, but no one could speak out against the word of their leader.

"That is all. Clan dismissed." the silver she-cat hopped down from the stump, disappearing into a gap within it, which I assumed was her den.

As soon as Silverstar finished speaking, the assembled cats of RootClan began to disperse.
Some continued to shoot me suspicious glances as they walked away.

Only Leafglow remained beside me. He gave me a quick look and jerked his head in the direction of the dens.

"Come with me, Sootpaw."