Nutmeg's adventure( Nutmeg in ThunderClan AU)

Chapter 4: Learning more ( And new kits)

" Lilystep. How are you today?" The leader asked kindly, sitting beside the brown and white queen, wrapping her tail around her paws neatly.

" I'm fine, even though the number of cats here seems a bit overwhelming at times. How long it takes for me to learn every cat's name? And why do some cats have the word -paw at the end of their names while others don't? I know that you have -star at the end of yours because you're a leader." She asked, sounding curious about the naming system.

Bluestar nodded. " It is because of the way names work in Clans. When a kit is born its parents will give it a name , ending with a suffix -kit, like Cloudfur named her only surviving son Owlkit and she also named the kits that sadly didn't survive. The stillborn shekit is named Flowerkit and the other tom was called Dapplekit.

When a kit turns six moons old they are ready to be apprenticed and get their apprentice names, all of which have a suffix -paw. So Owlkit will become Owlpaw and so on. Each apprentice will be mentored by a warrior or in rarer cases the medicine cat, assigned to them by the leader. A mentor is a cat who teaches the apprentice on how to hunt and fight for their Clan.

When the apprentice is thought to be skilled enough by their mentor, they will have a warrior assignment which can be hunting a certain amount of prey or a sparring match against the mentor.

After that, they will have a warrior ceremony where the leader will give them their warrior name, which will be have distinct suffix, usually based on the cat's personality.For example, a kind hearted cat would get a suffix like shine, cloud or something similar . After the new warrior has gained their name they will have a silent vigil for the night , to think about what it means to be a warrior and what their new duties now are.

If a warrior is skilled or trusted enough by the leader they may even become the deputy , which means they are second in command in their Clan . Their name doesn't change , though." Bluestar explained patiently.

" Who is the ... deputy of ThunderClan now?" Lilystep asked, hesitating slightly at the new word.

Bluestar purred, pointing at the small red tortoiseshell tom with a distinctive fluffy tail Lilystep had seen a few days prior giving orders to some of the cats. He was currently sharing a sparrow with one of the queens, the grey tabby who Lilystep remembered was called Brindleface. The queen looked like she was ready to burst.

" That would be Redtail. He is the deputy and a good one at that. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask him. He will gladly help you. " Bluestar told the brown and white she-cat, purring.

Lilystep nodded. " I see. Why is he sharing a bird with Brindleface? Is it because he is her friend or family member? "

Bluestar shook her head, purring. " No, it is because they are mates. He's the father of her kits. But you are correct with that, usually, cats share prey with their friends or littermates."

Lilystep nodded again. " Oh, I see. "

About a half moon  later Lilystep was sharing a mouse with two of her denmates whom she had now befriended, a dusky brown she-cat with ginger patch on her chest called Robinwing and Brindleface who had given birth to Redtail's kits ,a pale tortoiseshell shekit with a fluffy tail like her father's called Amberkit and a pale ginger shekit with barely visible darker stripes called Sandkit , a few days prior.

" Is something wrong?" Lilystep asked, sounding worried.

" I think that my kits are coming , now," Robinwing told her, hissing slightly.

One of the apprentices, Duskpaw , poked her head into the den after hearing what Robinwing had hissed.

" I'll go get Spottedleaf, and Fuzzypelt,don't worry Robinwing. " She mewed before turning around and racing to the medicine cat den.

After a few heartbeats, the medicine cat padded into the den carrying a pile of different herbs in her jaws.

" Here, Robinwing. This is burnet. It's for strength. Eat it. " The tortoiseshell medicine cat told the queen who swallowed the herbs, hissing again when a contraction hit.

Lilystep padded out of the nursery to give the medicine cat some space to work. She noticed that the black tom with fur stuck out in every direction was pacing nervously in front of the nursery den.

" Calm down , Fuzzypelt. This isn't the first litter you and Robinwing have had. She will be fine. " One of the cats told the black tom, purring.

" I know that, Whitestorm. " Fuzzypelt told the white tom who had spoken.

After what felt like moons , Spottedleaf padded out of the nursery  den.

" Congratulations , Fuzzypelt. Robinwing and you have two sons and a daughter. She'd like you to help to name them. " The medicine cat told the black tom who purred at the announcement.

Lilystep padded back into the nursery a little bit after Fuzzypelt had left back to the warrior's den. She saw Robinwing curled around three little bundles of fur, two of them were black and one a brown tabby.

" What names did you choose?" She asked, gazing at the kits warmly.

" The brown tabby tom is Dustkit while the black tom is Ravenkit and the shekit is Magpiekit. " Robinwing told her, purring as she touched each of the kits with her nose when naming them.

" Those sound like lovely names. " Lilystep told her, purring. What will my kits look like? Will any of them look like Jake? I hope so.

A/N: What do you think? Will Magpiekit be a good friend to Firekit and his siblings like Ravenkit will? Or will she take after Dustkit? What about Amberkit?