The Apprentices' Power

Chapter 1

"Wake up, you sleepy head!"

Scorchkit groaned and rolled over, trying to escape the jabbing paw in his side. He hesitantly opened one eye and saw his sister, Crimsonkit, prodding him awake. Her red fur was fluffed up, and her eyes were bright.

"Do you have to wake me up so early?" Scorchkit complained.

"Well I'm sorry, but I thought you would want to know that Mother said she'd allow us to explore the camp today."

"Really?" Scorchkit asked, perking up. He had only been outside the nursery walls a couple times before, but not recently. With the temptation of seeing the camp again, he couldn't wait to get out of this cramped, old nursery. A worm of excitement wriggled in his belly.

"Come on!" Crimsonkit squeaked as she dashed outside, her small tail streaming behind her.

Scorchkit jumped to his paws, his weariness forgotten. He followed his sister, noticing that Clearkit and Pinekit were already up as well.

I hope they haven't done any exploring without me.

A dazzling ray of light momentarily blinded Scorchkit, and he gasped in wonder. The camp seemed huge! He knew he had already made this discovery before, but each time he stepped outside the nursery walls, he was always amazed at the size of his home. Scorchkit looked up at the vast walls of trees bordering the sides of the camp, their thick trunks and foliage acting as protection from intruders.

"It feels great out here!" Pinekit meowed enthusiastically, stretching his legs.

Scorchkit looked up and saw his mother, Lightfeather, padding over to them, a look of concern etched on her face.

"What are you doing out of the nursery?" She asked harshly. "I thought I told you to wait for me before you went wandering all over the camp," she meowed, looking pointedly at Crimsonkit.

"Oops. I guess I was just so excited, and I completely forgot all about the part that we were supposed to wait." Crimsonkit cast her eyes downward to the ground.

Lightfeather licked her daughter's cheek and purred, her tone softening.

"Oh well. I suppose it won't harm you to have a little look around. But don't go too far."

"We won't," Clearkit promised, bounding after Pinekit.

Scorchkit trailed after them, gazing at a group of warriors trotting out to hunt. He admired the way they proudly displayed their catch, their eyes shining. He longed to be able to contribute to the clan like that, to be able to hunt to feed his clanmates and fight to protect them.

Some day, I want to be a warrior just like them.

"Oof!" Scorchkit ran smack into a hard lump of fur. He looked up to see Blazestar looking down at him in amusement. His pelt grew hot in embarrassment.

Way to make a first impression, Scorchkit! Why don't you just run straight into the leader on your day out of the nursery?

"You might want keep your eyes on where you're going." Blazestar purred jokingly.

"Sorry." Scorchkit ducked his head.

"That's alright." Blazestar purred. "You'd better catch up. Looks like your siblings discovered the elder's den."

Scorchkit nodded and ran over to the elder's den, joining the group. Petalspot, who'd always had a soft spot for kits, was welcoming them.

"Did I ever tell you about the great fire that once raged through the forest?" she asked. Scorchkit could tell she was itching to tell them a story.

"Ooh I want to hear!" Clearkit exclaimed, her eyes wide.

Scorchkit sat down, eagerly awaiting the story.

"Long, long ago, when Emberclan was young and the boundaries for the territories had just been set, a horrendous fire swept through the entire forest. It began a day just as normal as any other, but as the day wore on, the air became hot and dry. A cackling wind began to tear through the trees."

Here Petalspot paused, stretching out the tension. Scorchkit held his breath, waiting for her to continue. After what seemed like centuries, she carried on, her voice raspy in her throat.

"Before a cat could lift his paw, a spark had ignited. It may have been small, not even dangerous at first, but that spark grew and grew, eventually transforming to a flame that engulfed the whole tree."

Petalspot's eyes clouded as if she could actually remember that day.

"That flame spread from tree to tree, like a chain reaction. And soon the whole forest was on fire."

Pinekit gasped. "How could they escape it?"

Petalspot's eyes twinkled. "Ah, a good question. You see, our ancestors were incredibly clever, and they figured out a way to 'outsmart' the fi-"

Petalspot was abruptly cut off as a wail splintered the air.

"Mossheart!" a cat shrieked. Scorchkit thought the cat's voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't be sure.

The desperate wail rose again, sounding behind Scorchkit. He whipped around and ran over to the clearing where several cats had gathered. He pushed his way through his clanmates, thanking Starclan for once that he was so tiny.

As the scene finally came into view, Scorchkit's eyes grew wide. Three warriors stood in the camp entrance, Mossheart in the front. His pelt looked torn and battered, and blood was dripping from a nasty gash above his eyes.

From the corner of his eye, Scorchkit saw Frostpelt sprinting over, her eyes wide with fear as her gaze landed upon Mossheart. However, he didn't seem to notice Frostpelt, and before she could reach him, Mossheart collapsed.