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The Lost Heroes

Chapter One

Shadekit landed on her face again, picking up a mouthful of dust. The dry, dusty soil had flown into her nose and she desperately needed to sneeze. Pulling odd faces to try and hold her reflexes from sneezing infront of the other kits. She paced back and forth trying to regain her balance as she stumbled on a rock, but just ended up sneezing louder, unsettling the dust into small clouds infront of her.
  "No wonder you're so small, you keep sneezing the dust out of you!" Laughed one of the kits, a mouse-brown tom named Clawkit. He was nearly twice the size of the small Shadekit, making her an easy target to prove his strength among the other kits.
  Thornkit and Weedkit, Clawkit's brothers burst into laughter. They were both taller than Shadekit, but weren't nearly as big as Clawkit. The three littermates always gang up on me! Shadekit thought.
  "There's no doubt I'll be apprenticed before any of you!" boasted Fernkit, a dark tortoise-shell she-cat who was always thinking of herself first, and putting other cats down because of her self-pride.
  "HA! No, you're not going to be apprenticed first! Take that back!" Thankful of Clawkit's unintentional diversion, Shadekit crept out from the circle of kits that had gathered from the attention. Not paying attention to where she was walking to, she ran head-first into Lightstar, the leader of Windclan who was returning from a patrol to the Riverclan territory to speak to Reedstar, the leader of Riverclan.
  Startled by the collision, Lightstar backed up in confusion. "Wha…?" His humorous gleam returned into his eyes, "I don't remember a kit being here before. I swear someone moved it infront of me."
  "Oh no….I'm terribly sorry, Lightstar" Shadekit bowed her head in shame to the sand-coloured tom. "I…didn't mean to…….I didn't see you….and….."
  "It's quite alright, young kit" Lightstar cuffed Shadekit's ear playfully. "Cats only have eyes on their front, not on their back. I should be me who should be apologising, young one"
  Silverfur - the deputy – cleared her throat to gain Lightstar's attention "You do remember that Riverclan want to fight over our territory?" she hissed in his ear.
  "Right, yes." Turning himself around, he walked to the tall rock that rested beside his leader den and leaped up to the tip gracefully.
  "Now, all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather at the TallRock…" Shadekit started wandering away, as Lightstar's voice droned on about something like Riverclan, prey and warriors. Shaking her head back to where she was now, she noticed that she was headed for Clawkit who was sprinting to the TallRock to eavesdrop on the leader's speech. Narrowly missing Clawkit, Shadekit exhaled in relief that she hadn't ran into another cat in the past few heartbeats.
  "Watch it, mouse-brain!" Clawkit's sharp voice hissed in his ear as they lightly brushed pelts whilst passing.
  Shadekit replied by poking her tongue out at Clawkit's back. Turning her head forward she saw her mother, Goldfeather, a golden furred she-cat with gentle green eyes, walking with Shadekit's littermates; Ravenkit, a tom kit with a glossy-black pelt with deep blue eyes; Sunkit, a she-cat kit with white fur with pale ginger patches and golden eyes and Longkit, a shy tom kit with a dusty grey coloured pelt and sky-blue eyes.
  "Where are you heading to?" Asked Goldfeather, "Lightstar wishes for all of us at the clan meeting, along with Mousetail and Duskfoot's kits there too." Duskfoot is Clawkit's mother, whom Shadekit described her as a grumpy she-cat who saw the world as if she was amongst the clan leaders.
  "I wonder what we're there for! I hope it's exiting!" piped Sunkit optimistically.
  "Maybe it's a death of young warriors – or a clan, maybe Thunderclan, has fallen with greencough and half of the clan is wiped out…"
  "Ravenkit, that's enough!" Goldfeather interrupted Ravenkit's dark ponder with a scowl and cuffed his ear with her golden paw – claws sheathed, of course. "You don't want to be scaring the younger kits!" Shadekit glanced behind her to Amberkit; whose eyes were bright with silent fear.
  "Gather, all cats of Windclan!" boomed Lightstar's powerful voice. "We bring you here today as we're dedicating two apprentices as warriors!" The whole clan cheered in response. "Gingerpaw – please step forward."
  Gingerpaw nervously raised her head at the leader and walked up to him, a shy pride flowing through her light pelt like rays of sun. "I, Lightstar, leader of Windclan," The cheering died down into a suspenseful yet respectful silence, "call upon my warrior anscestors to look down on this apprentice. She has exceeding hunting skills and has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in return."
  There was a glow of pride in Lightstar's eyes as he looked down at Gingerpaw like a pile of fresh-kill that reached up to the stars.
  "Gingerpaw," the Windclan warrior was saying in a powerful voice, "do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?
  Gingerpaw's reply was shaky at first due to the tension, but clearly rang, "I do."
  "Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Gingerpaw, from this moment you will be known as Gingerstripe. Starclan honours your courage and your determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Windclan!"
  Lightstar rested his pale muzzle on Gingerstripe's head, and she gave his shoulder a respectful lick. Shadekit, seated at the front of the cheering Clan wasn't cheering, but infact was gazing up at the new warrior with wide shining eyes in wonder and awe. This will be me! I will become a warrior to serve my clan! Shadekit thought, and Gingerstripe leaped down from the rock gracefully.
  "Gingerstripe! Gingerstripe" called out the Clan in greeting to her new warrior name.
  Finally, after Pollenpaw was made a warrior to Pollenpad, the cheering gradually died away.
  "Now, on this still night, I'd like to appoint five new apprentices!" beamed Lightstar.
  "This is a proud day for Windclan, by naming apprentices we show Windclan will survive and remain strong. Shadekit, from now on until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Shadepaw!
  "Windstreak, you are ready for an apprentice, you will be Shadepaw's mentor. I know you will pass on your agility, accuracy and speed to Shadepaw, and teach her the skills that will make her a brave warrior of Windclan." Lightstar looked down to Shadepaw with pride, and Shadepaw returned it with a contained excitement that leaked through the gleam in her eyes. Shadepaw touched noses with Windstreak, but they were both excited and ended up bumping their noses quite painfully, making them both heat up in their fur in embarrassment.
  "Shadepaw! Shadepaw!" Chanted the clan and Shadepaw felt as if this was a dream. She was one step closer to becoming a warrior! And at last she could leave the nursery, the camp and attend the clan gatherings every full moon!
"Sunkit, from now on until you receive your warrior name….." Shadepaw lost focus due to the whole excitement of the ceremony. Instead of focusing on Lightstar's words, instead she gazed up at the bright stars above her, twinkling in a greeting as if the warrior ancestors were greeting her.
  Longkit, Clawkit, Thornkit and Weedkit were all given their mentors and their apprentice name by the time the meeting finished. Lightstar dismissed the Clan and every cat headed to their dens.
  "What are you doing Shadepaw? Or do I mean Shadekit?" asked a painfully whiny voice behind her – it was Weedpaw.
  "Huh? What do you mean?" Shadepaw questioned, frighted somewhat.
  "You're nearly in the nursery, Shadekit. I knew that you're not ready to become an apprentice yet." Ashamed and embarrassed, Shadepaw hung her head and walked to the apprentice den. Maybe he is right! I'm too small for a kit, let alone an apprentice she thought to herself, as she found a space amongst the other apprentices in the apprentice den. Raking the moss with her claws, she settled down and curled up to sleep, excited about her apprentice duties tomorrow.