The Time Has Come

[Yoko]

The day was as dark and gloomy as those before. She was certain now that dark times were ahead. Although Feathercloud had assured her many times that the mood of the sky was not caused by her plans to make war, the speckled leader grew ever more anxious as the time drew near.

Her irritation manifested itself in the occasional twitch of the tail. She had already organized the morning patrols and was watching the Clan go about its daily bustle. In celebration of Icepelt and Smokeheart's kits, she had taken over his patrol organizing duties for the day. A warrior's work was never truly done, but she wanted to allow him some relief of the stress they had been under lately.

The morning hunting patrol returned at last, and Specklestar greeted them with a nod. They had hunted well, but the freshkill pile would be empty by Sunhigh. They had so many mouths to feed and leaf bare was just beginning. We stand on a ledge...our only option is to jump or be pushed over...

Inspired by the precociousness of the Clan's situation, Specklestar rose to her paws and pounced onto her den, the gnarled roots bowing to her paws. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here for a Clan Meeting."

Eclipseclaw stalked into camp, returning to camp with morning hunting patrol. From her mouth dangled a toad, a frog, and a squirrel. They had hunted in the depths of the marsh, which yielded much cold-blooded prey. Although she was fond of such tasty morsels, the black apprentice did not appreciate the mud slicked over her legs.

She deposited her catch onto the pile. Her eyes glanced for the familiar pelts of her siblings, but was distracted by the call of her leader. She padded a few steps closer to the leader's den and sat quietly, hungrily, awaiting the leader's words. Though quiet, she was a cat who craved action and the gray dull days had provided her with none.

Snaketail slunk his way to the fresh-kill pile. His fur was fluffed up and had a few knots. It lacked his usual careful grooming and if the tom weren't dead tired, he might have given a rat's tail. Despite his half-closed eyes, he managed to give a lazy smile to the returning patrol. His only intention was to deliver some of the prey to the nursery, but he was caught by Specklestar's call. Solemnly, the tall tabby turned and sat right beside the freshkill pile, unable to move an inch. He stifled a yawn. Please let it end soon.

Lizardeye stretched and crept from the shadowy edge of the clearing. He was holding up much better than Snaketail, but his usually intense green gaze was dulled by exhaustion. His only reason for shifting positions was to sit closer to his sibling, who looked about to keel over any minute. He made not a sound as he strode to his sibling's side and sat with his tail curled around his paws. His eyes were fixed on Specklestar, but his mind was completely elsewhere.

Twistedclaw threatened not to get up. He was perfectly prepared to stay right where he was, curled up in the shade and glaring at any cat who dared to question why he was resting so late in the day. Unlike his taller sibling, he didn't give a flying dung about their clanmates opinions. But like the colder sibling, his only inclination to inch forward into the sunlight was concern for their brother. So the smallest tabby rose painstakingly to his paws, fur mussed to a point of looking like he had rolled in the grass all night long. He slowly eased to Snaketail's other side and made no attempt to hide his yawning jaws as he sat down.

Dreampaw paused from his patching of the apprentice den. He had been weaving the branches and twigs tighter together to protect it from the leaf-fall draft. Although he couldn't feel any such breeze yet, he was sure it was coming. Unlike most of is clanmates, he was excited about the change of season. Leaf-green had been dangerous, and exciting, and he was certain that the change of season would bring drama and adventures too. He only hoped he could share them with Nightpaw.

[Ki]

Feathercloud was storing herbs in her den. She had been extremely cheerful since her sign had come. It also gave her peace of mind. The sign showed that StarClan wasn't angry with her Clan. Or, if they were, they weren't to angry to abandon them completely. For the past day or two she'd been all smiles, despite the cloudy skies. A medicine cat apprentice wasn't a bad omen. When she heard Specklestar's call, she quickly wrapped up her work and hurried out. She smiled and sat down. Feathercloud had always liked apprentice ceremonies. But this one was going to be extra exciting for her.

Dusk-kit was in the process of stalking a black grasshopper when she heard the call for a Clan meeting. It had been two moons since her run-in with Alfa. The meeting had left her with scars. Physically and mentally. Both, thankfully, were at least starting to heal. Her physical wounds had healed nicely, though they'd left ugly scars across her body. Feathercloud also warned that Dusk-kit's broken paw might come back to haunt her when she was an elder, but that wasn't something that she was concerned about. Emotionally, Dusk-kit had become a bit more withdrawn and quiet. She still asked questions and talked, but not nearly as often. There were some days where she wouldn't speak at all. But as time passed, she became a bit more outgoing once again. Mostly as she realized her apprentice ceremony was approaching.

She made a small leap and caught the grasshopper underneath her big paws. Specklestar's cry rang out, and Dusk-kit's ears went forward. She stood up, crushing her prey underneath her paws. "Tawnykit! I think it's time!"
She sat and waited for her sister, quickly running her tongue over her fur for her mother's sake. Dusk-kit had stopped trying to keep her appearance neat and pretty. She was marred by scars, and didn't look like a cute little she-cat anymore. So what was the point?

((Just assume Bluethorn walked over. I don't feel like writing for him.))

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Spiderkit wasn't feeling very good. Ever since he had gone hunting with Frostkit, he hadn't had a single night's rest, and he wasn't his usual chipper self while awake, instead feeling lethargic and achy. It didn't help that his foreleg kept throbbing painfully, but Poppyfrost had been mad enough at him when he had gotten back without him letting her know that he'd gotten himself hurt too. So he would just tough it out like the fully capable cat she was determined not to treat him like. He was sure that by the next full moon, he'd be fine and his adventure would just be one more memory to recall to Adderkit and Ivykit.

Today was going to be a special day, he knew. Today Tawnykit and Dusk-kit would be moving out of the nursery and becoming apprentices, which was nice for them and also for the other kits. There would be more room in the nursery without them, and Spiderkit wouldn't have to endure their gloomy presence lurking around when he was trying to play. He didn't know why, but the oldest kits were no fun at all.

"Are you excited, Dusk-kit?" he mewed hoarsely, slinking over to where the older kit sat. It was kind of sad how dull and ungroomed he looked — Poppyfrost would likely be all over him in a moment upon seeing one of her perfect kits looking like some mangy rogue whelp. But the thought brought him no amusement.

[Sydney]

[/i] to be one. She wanted to work with poppy and weeds and flowers, to never have to deal with petty tom-ness or fighting or-

Sighing, the little she-cat pushed herself off her nest, slinking out of the den and towards the Clan meeting spot. She started mussing with her fur as soon as she sat down, trying to hide her band eye behind her long fur. Dusk-kit joined her by her side, soon enough.

”I know.” Giving a tiny smile, the little she-cat flicked her tail. ”Who do you think will be our mentors?”

She gave a tiny nod to Spiderkit, when he appeared but, other then that, continued on to muss with her fur.[/ul]

[Ki]

Dusk-kit looked to Spiderkit. He was alright, for another kit. She had a feeling the others would be glad to get she and her sister and her mother out of the nursery. They were taking up too much space. Especially Dusk-kit. Instead of being slender and pretty like her mother and and her sister, she got her father's muscular build. There was no being graceful with Dusk-kit. So being a warrior, she figured, would be good for her. She was built for fighting after all. Her sister, however..."I'm excited." she mewed. "I just hope I get a good mentor."

It was then Tawnykit rose from the nursery. Dusk-kit smiled a bit at her sister, but she knew Tawnykit was down. There was only one person her sister wanted as a mentor, and that was Feathercloud. She looked towards Specklestar and curled her fluffy gray and black tail over her large paws. "Don't know. I'm hoping for Darkflower as mine. Or Twistedclaw. Or...I don't know. Someone who can fight. For you...if not Feathercloud, then...here, let me do that." Dusk-kit moved close and started to fix her sister's fur for her, trying her best to help cover her bad eye and get her fur neat enough to earn their mother's approval. Dusk-kit's own fur was a lost cause.

[Amber]

The days had passed by rather slow it seemed. She had been a warrior for longer than she had thought. And here it was, time for new apprentices in the Clan. Now all the honey colored she-cat could think about was her own apprenticeship. She had been closer to her sisters than ever before, clung to them for support. Looking around as Specklestar summoned the Clan, she spotted the one memory from being an apprentice she never wanted to forget. Honeydapple practically ran to her old mentor and her eyes lit up. He didn't look too great, and she never remembered him looking this awful before. "Please don't tell me you have stopped looking after yourself. I would hate to know that you needed to see my face all the time to keep yourself from falling apart." Her voice was light and joking as she spoke to Snaketail.

Nightpaw was done with her sulking for the day. Since the moment she had gotten up, she had made her way out of camp, without bothering to speak about it to anyone, and had yet to eat. But that didn't matter to her. She was still upset about Thornpaw's death. It had been nearly two moons, and the she-cat still couldn't shake it. She had tried to act normal around her brother and other best friend, but truth is, nothing was normal. Yes, she still put it all into her training, but she felt like a ghost of herself. It had been two moons since she had last gone on one of her adventures. It had been two moons since she had gotten in trouble, nothing was normal anymore. This needed to change, and Nightpaw knew it.

Finally returning to camp, the black furred apprentice saw everyone gathered for a meeting. She really didn't care about that, she cared more about finding her brother and Reedpaw. They would go with her and help her forget, she knew that much. Spotting Dreampaw, she made her way around to sit next to him. "Wanna get out of here and go explore or something?" she asked her brother quietly. The old Nightpaw was desperately needed to come back, for her own sanity.

[/blockquote]

[Yoko]

Snaketail's eyes were glazed over. Any attempt to pay attention to the ceremony was abandoned moments ago. If it weren't for a familiar voice he might have fallen asleep on his paws right there. As it was, he turned to see the sleek tan pelt of his former apprentice. He smiled at his apprentice's comment on his appearance. Before he was completely indifferent to it, now he was painfully aware of what a disaster it must be. "Well Honeydapple, you always had a way of keeping me in line. But fear not, your former mentor is not falling apart, he is just having an off day." He licked a particularly wild patch of fur on his shoulder and was surprised when it fluffed back up again in an unruly way. "A reeeeally off day."

Dreampaw grinned as Nightpaw came over. He was glad Reedpaw was nowhere in sight. Those two were usually inseperable. She sat next to him and he felt a flutter in his chest.

"Hey Nightpaw," he mewed, coolly. "I'm always down for exploring, but...do we have to go now?"

He glanced at the leader's den. He really wanted to know what was going on.

Specklestar glanced over the crowd a few times. Her Clan was so large and full of healthy warriors. It was about to gain two new apprentices. Yes, now was definitely the time to- Ahhh there they are. Her green eyes had just set on the two kits tumbling out of the nursery. She let have their moment of attempted grooming. It was sad that they were motherless. Even sadder was the tragedy that had befallen them not long ago. But they were strong now, and here to protect other ShadowClan kits from going through that horror.

"Will Dusk-kit and Tawnykit please step forward," Specklestar called, beckoning them with her long speckled tail. She waited until they were before her to continue. She turned to the gray one first. "From this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be called Duskpaw. Her mentor will be Batheart, may he pass on his resourcefulness and determination to you."

She wasted no time in turning to Tawnykit. "From this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be called Tawnypaw. Her mentor will be-"

[Ki]

Dusk-kit moved forward with her sister, green eyes glowing with pride. Finally, out of the nursery! She flicked her fluffy gray and black tail as Specklestar addressed her. Her fearless leader said her mentor would be Batheart, and Dusk-kit's heart sank a bit. She'd hoped for one of the really ferocious fighters. The ones that were fearless and merciless. But Batheart would do, she supposed. After all, Specklestar wouldn't assign her a mentor that wasn't right for her. So Dusk-kit stood at attention, a hint of a smile on her face. She wasn't even upset that she'd gotten a tom as her mentor. (Toms always unnerved her after the incident with Alfa. But she could learn to cope.) She looked towards her sister, to see how she was holding up. When suddenly...

"Wait!" Feathercloud sprang to her tiny paws and padded up, her amber eyes shining. "I must have forgotten to discuss this with you in all of my excitement, Specklestar. My apologies." She glanced briefly at her leader with a bit of regret in her eyes. This was something important that the leader should know about. But, in the end, it was really between Feathercloud and StarClan. "Not too long ago, I received a sign from StarClan as to who ShadowClan's medicine cat apprentice will be. After all, with so many cats, I sometimes find it difficult to keep up with all of them." Wasn't that the truth. A good medicine cat can take care for all of their Clan. But even the most skilled healer would be kept on their paws by the size of ShadowClan. "I believe that StarClan has chosen Tawnykit to become the new medicine cat apprentice." She smiled at the kit. She and her sister had been in the medicine cat den for about a moon, recovering from that terrible incident. It made her blood boil just to think that someone could mutilate two innocent kits. But they were good cats, and Tawnykit had already showed promise.

[Kitty]

Frostkit had been up for a while when the yowl rang out. Ever since she and Spiderkit had caught that rat, she'd been itching to go out of camp again. It was so much fun, catching the rat. But Poppyfrost was being so overprotective and annoying about it. She would hardly let the white she-cat out of her sight. She hadn't even seemed proud of her kits when they came back lugging a rat the size of themselves. She'd been so angry and upset and had hauled them back to the nursery and given them a long-winded scolding, and had then made them apologize to the warriors that had been sent out to look for them.

It was quite embarrassing, really. And no one seemed to even remember that they had caught something! Frostkit wasn't sure who'd gotten to eat the rat, but knew that they would likely be grateful. It wasn't often that there was a piece of prey so large on the pile, that was for sure.

But Poppyfrost wasn't the only one that wasn't being any fun. Spiderkit was being boring, too. She'd expected him to get back up again after their escapade and help her come up with a plan to escape the watchful eyes of the queens. But no. He'd been all sad and boring and wouldn't even play mossball with her. Maybe the bite that that rat had given him was bothering him. She knew he should have told their mother about it.

Frostkit exited the nursery and looked around. She probably wasn't supposed to be outside for the ceremony, but she needed to get out of that nursery. Spotting Spiderkit, her eyes lit up. Maybe she could get him to sneak away with her after the ceremony! She romped over to him, who was talking to Dusk-kit and Tawnykit. "Spiderkit!" she shrilled, but stopped short when she saw the look on his face. He looked tired and unhappy. "What's wrong? That rat bite still bothering you? I told you you needed to tell mother about it!" With a sigh, she sat down. He probably wouldn't want to do anything fun today.

[hedgie]

"Meeting. Wake up."

A white mitted paw, slightly oversized compared to the ginger tabby tom it belong to, prodded a dull gray side. Another paw, also white-tipped, swatted at the offending appendage, and the slim-bodied cat it belonged to rolled over and stood. Flintpaw stared sleeping at his friend for a second, mildly amazed at the boredom that could be ehard in the apprentice's voice. They padded out of the den, Flintpaw for the first time that day and Reedpaw for the second. He'd had to retrieve his friend, of course. No cat wanted to miss something like this. Though it probably meant less empty nests in the den.. "What did I miss?" Flintpaw rasped, sitting near the back of the crowd. Reedpaw stayed standing, and was already slinking off towards Nightpaw and Dreampaw as he answered.

"What's it look like? Apprentice ceremony..Medicine cat apprentice. I'll see you later."

Flintpaw didn't ask where the other was going. The answer was pretty obvious, seeing as the larger of the two was heading towards trouble. Certainly trouble, but Reedpaw liked his other friend well enough. Friend, in singular, because he wasn't all too sure about Dreampaw. Nightpaw was great fun, the kind of cat his brother didn't seem to approve of much..but then again, Heronstripe was too busy with that she-cat friend of his that the elder didn't even notice his brother much. It was unfair, and he was going to act out for it, and have fun while doing so. He was going to be noticed. "Hey, Nightpaw.? He drew closer, glad to see that she was trying to get back to normal after...well, he didn't want to think about it. "Dreampaw....Let's get out of here, hmm? Find something...else to do?"

_________________________________

Okay, so the weather was a little less than pleasant, Gloomy, not the least bit sunny in the physical sense. He would just have to make his own light to beat back the doom and gloom that surrounded everyone else. Yes, it was worrisome. He was just as concerned as any other cat could be, there was no doubt about it. Yet, he had no control over the weather, and he was going to try and ignore it, maybe. He was at least going to try, as he watched kits and queens and all manner of cats as they gathered. New apprentices, that was a good thing. Surely a Clan gathering with such a good beginning would end quite the same. If there was bad news, he would have liked to hear that first. Ending things on a sweet note made anything bitter easier to swallow. Glancing about as mentors were called and things slowly became arranged, he managed to find the cat he was looking for in the midst of them all.

Okay, so she was talking to her old mentor. And he wasn't entirely sure of everyone's opinions of him..her sister still didn't like him. Who knew if their former mentors were the same?

He shook it off anyway, and took a quick gap in the "festivities" to make his way towards the two chatting cats. He hoped they weren't talking at that very moment. He really did want to talk to her, too. So he took a chance, moved closer to her side..and..

"Honeydapple...hey." He purred, casting a quick and unsure glance at Snaketail. "I'm not interrupting, am I? Well, the whole Clan gathering things..I am, yes...but I'm not interrupting you two?"

Well, it was less than eloquent, but she wouldn't mind.
_____________________________________-

((It has been far too long since I wrote for any of my cats. Goodness...well, at least I finally did..When I should be sleeping. Oh well.))

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

((Yoko, I hate you. You got me addicted to Junjou Romantica. It's extremely delayed, but no less obsessive. Also, yay sudden return of Warriors muse!))

Had it really been only six moons ago that her precious daughters had been born? It seemed so much shorter than that. Paleflower could clearly remember the first time she ever laid eyes on her kits, watching their squirming, still slightly damp bodies as they nuzzled close to her for warmth and mewled pitifully for food. To her, they would always be her little kits, not quite old enough to take on the world as the queen knew it, full of danger and hurt and everything that was out to get them. Tawnykit and Dusk-kit were old enough to take the first steps, but Paleflower did not want to see them go much farther than that. She already knew she would terribly miss sleeping with her kits right next to her, comforted in the fact that if anything were to happen to them during the night, Paleflower would be right there. She didn't want to let them go, she wanted to keep them with her forever. But she knew that she couldn't.

That's not to say she wasn't proud of them! The dappled queen had been proud of her kits from the moment they first opened their eyes to the day Tawnykit decided to become Feathercloud's apprentice and everything in between. She loved them more than anything else and she didn't want to keep them from doing what they truly wanted to. If that meant letting them go and watching them get exposed to the harshness of Clan life, she would do it, albeit reluctantly.

"You'll both get wonderful mentors," Paleflower purred as she exited the nursery after Tawnykit and Dusk-kit, sitting beside them and beginning to smooth their fur down in order to make them presentable. They were doing a fine job of it themselves, but it was always a mother's tendency to coo and fuss over her little ones, even if they were about to, quite literally, leave the nest. "I trust Specklestar's judgement. Every apprentice has been paired with a suitable mentor thus far, after all."

And then it was time for her kits to walk forward and receive their new names, and Paleflower sat back and watched with a somewhat saddened look. She remembered to be happy for them, yes, however some sadness still showed through her gaze as she imagined their training, eventually becoming warriors and fighting for the Clan... Dusk-kit received the mentor of Batheart, and Paleflower almost nodded to herself in approval, knowing the tom was a worthy warrior, if a bit flirty and not always focused on things other than she-cats. Feathercloud's sudden interruption made Paleflower jump, and she looked fearfully at the medicine cat, terrified that something had gone very wrong. Were StarClan angry? Was it the fact that her kits weren't pure-blooded ShadowClan or was something terrible happening somehow? ...Luckily, it turned out to be something not so horrible, it was something great actually, and after hearing that Tawnykit would indeed become the medicine cat's apprentice, Paleflower allowed a pleased smile to appear on her face and she began to purr, curling her tail around herself happily. It was what Tawnykit wanted, she knew, and being a medicine cat also meant Tawnykit wouldn't be thrown into the midst of battle, where it was most likely she would get hurt. This was a very good thing, indeed. Paleflower turned her eyes back toward Specklestar, waiting for her leader's decision, although she hardly thought Specklestar wouldn't allow this. ShadowClan had plenty of warriors, after all, and only one medicine cat to look after them all.

She didn't want to go to this dumb meeting. She didn't want to go out there with the rest of the ShadowClan cats, watch the stupid ShadowClan ceremony, do anything else related to ShadowClan at all. Sandkit curled up tightly in her nest in the nursery, stubbornly refusing to move even as the meeting was called and Dusk-kit and Tawnykit realized that it was their apprentice ceremony. Everyone out there would be talking in groups and chatting excitedly about the Clan's newest apprentices, and they would ignore her anyway. Sandkit didn't have any friends in ShadowClan, not even the other kits in the nursery. Dusk-kit and Tawnykit were her only friends, and now they were moving into the apprentices' den, so it would soon be like they weren't around at all. StarClan, why was she being so gloomy about this? She didn't want ShadowClan friends, anyway! All she wanted was to find her littermates and go back to WindClan. So many moons of being here and her attitude still hadn't changed at all. If anything, Sandkit's bitterness had only gotten worse. The kit huffed a bit, curled her tail over her eyes, and tried to drown out the sound of all the other cats outside.

"Stupid ceremony."

Soon enough it would be her. Just a few more moons and she would be up there, instead of Tawnykit and Dusk-kit, and the entire Clan would be watching her. That day couldn't come soon enough. Finchkit was already sick of being in the nursery with all the other litters. It was so crowded. And whenever one of the younger kits would come down with a cold, or a case of kitten-cough... Finchkit shuddered, thinking of the nights she couldn't sleep just because of all the bodies and discomfort. The little kit frowned a bit, glancing up at the sky and narrowing her striking amber eyes at the sight of it. It was so gray and gloomy. Couldn't Specklestar have picked a better day to have this thing? Finchkit didn't even know what this weather would do to her fur, for StarClan's sake...

She reached back and ran her tongue over the brown tabby fur, smoothing it down with multiple strokes until she was sure there was nothing wrong with it for now. The young she-cat took immense pride in her long and beautiful coat, for she knew she was one of the only cats in the Clan to have such a pelt. Once she was done with her brief grooming, she looked around camp and her gaze immediately settled on where her brother and sister were talking, even after Dusk-kit and Tawnykit had gone up to get their mentors. She scoffed at them, twitched her whiskers a few times, and spoke up loud enough for the two of them to hear, even though she was a few tail-lengths away from where they were.

"Maybe if you hadn't gone out to find that disgusting rat, Mother wouldn't have yelled at you and you wouldn't still be so depressed about it," she said, turning her head to stare at them for a second or two before turning her gaze back toward Specklestar and the ceremony. Thinking back to that day she had seen the giant dead rat made Finchkit's skin crawl. She'd rather be a kit for the rest of her life than have to deal with disgusting things like that, and she had no idea what had compelled her siblings to do such a thing.

At the sound of Specklestar's voice calling the Clan meeting, Brightpaw yawned and woke up from her nap, glancing toward where her leader stood curiously. A nice doze in the shade of camp had done her good, but she was glad Specklestar had woken her up before she slept too long. She had to patrol later and it would have been shameful of her to miss it because she was still sleeping. She pulled herself to her paws and stretched out to wake her limbs up, feeling relaxed as energy flowed into her muscles. What could this meeting be about, she wondered? Hopefully no bad news. Brightpaw glanced around the clearing and searched for any fellow apprentices she could join to watch the meeting with.

It didn't take her long to spot Nightpaw, Dreampaw and Reedpaw all talking together, and Brightpaw padded over to them without hesitation. She knew them to be a troublesome group, Nightpaw and Reedpaw especially, although Nightpaw had seemed off lately. Still, Brightpaw greeted them with a polite nod, sparing a couple extra moments to look over Nightpaw and Reedpaw. "I hope you're not planning on leaving in the middle of the ceremony. And have you all told your mentors your idea yet?" The light she-cat flicked her tail a bit, knowing it might not be the most intelligent idea to get involved in this, but if it could get her some credit to tell some cat about this... besides, she didn't talk to Nightpaw or Reedpaw often, so it would be interesting to see their reactions.