Lifepaw awoke with excitement, wishing she could just scream. Unfortunately, other apprentices still slept, and she carefully snuck out of the den, the cool breeze of leaf-fall rubbing against her as she padded outside.
Today she would be performing her apprentice exam, and if she did well, today could be the day that she became a warrior!
She knew Tinypelt was probably still sleeping, but Lifepaw's excitement kept her from sleeping any longer. She would finally become a warrior today!
Grabbing a mouse from the fresh-kill pile, she sat down, wishing Goosepaw and his siblings could share in the excitement with her. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be warriors for another moon or so, leaving Lifepaw to experience warrior duties on her own.
As she nibbled at her mouse, worried thoughts became replaced by excited ones. She wondered if she truly was a ready to become a warrior. What if Tinypelt decided she wasn't? What if she had to keep grabbing moss for the elders?
She shook these thoughts away, knowing she had trained long and hard for this day. After all, Tinypelt had just told her the other day that she would be ready to become a warrior soon.
Tossing her half-eaten mouse aside, she no longer felt hungry but wished to begin right away. If only Tinypelt would wake up...
Lifepaw sat impatiently, her hair spiking up as she felt a tail touch her shoulder. Lifepaw spun around, coming to face to face with none other than her father. He stood in front of her, a gentle smile on his face. She hadn't noticed how old he looked recently. His green eyes had dulled, and he no longer had kit-like energy.
"H-Hi," she managed to speak up. Though she and her father had not gotten into a fight, they didn't speak to each other that often. She knew Patchfur was busy, and Lifepaw had her own friends, but she still longed for some kind of relationship with him. Mousestripe spoke to Lifepaw at times, as did Stormnight and Graytail, but it seemed like her family relationships had all fallen apart.
"I, um, came to wish you good luck today," Patchfur spoke quietly.
"Oh, thanks," Lifepaw replied. She expected him to leave, but he strayed a bit longer.
"I'm sure you'll do well, so I'll see you at the ceremony when I come back from patrols," Patchfur explained.
"Okay, see you then," Lifepaw spoke, noticing Tinypelt had just left the warriors den.
But Patchfur did not leave.
"You-you remind me a lot of Shinypelt," he admitted.
Lifepaw nodded, her eyes following Tinypelt. "Yes, I get that a lot."
"You've been told you look like her, but I think you act a lot like her too," Patchfur explained. What was that supposed to mean?
Lifepaw nodded once more, a thin silence forming between them.
"I should probably tell you--"
But Lifepaw noticed Tinypelt glancing around, looking for her, so she cut her father off. "You can tell me later," Lifepaw explained. "I see Tinypelt waiting for me."
"Oh, yes, of course," Patchfur agreed.
Lifepaw ran off, waving good-bye to her father. He waved his tail back, but he looked sad almost. She really wished she had a better relationship with the tom. He'd been growing distant from her as she aged.
"Are you ready?" Tinypelt asked as Lifepaw approached her.
Lifepaw nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"Good. Your exam will begin soon," Tinypelt explained, leading her into the woods. Lifepaw followed behind excitedly, her heart pounding. She had faith in herself, and that was enough to allow her to do well during the exam.
Tinypelt paused by a nearby tree and sat down, curling her thin gray tail around her tiny feet.
Lifepaw stood beside her, hesitant on whether or not she should sit.
"Sit," Tinypelt instructed.
Lifepaw obeyed, sitting down across from her mentor. Tinypelt grinned at her, allowing the clenching feeling in Lifepaw's stomach to cease. If Tinypelt had faith in her, she had to well, right?
"Today marks six moons since you've become an apprentice. You've trained long and hard, Lifepaw, and it's been a privilege mentoring you. Before you have the opportunity to become a warrior, however, you must complete the exam."
Lifepaw nodded, attentively listening.
"It's your job to catch as much prey during the day, and when you return, we'll test your battle moves. Are you ready?"
Lifepaw nodded.
Tinypelt let out a tiny smile. "Good. Meet me here when the sun's rays reflect this tree."
Lifepaw nodded, taking one look at the tree. She then glanced at Tinypelt one last time and made her way further into the woods, wandering around. Her heart pounded, but she told herself to focus. She needed to prove she could do this.
She wandered for awhile until she heard a tiny squeak. Turning to her right, she noticed a tiny gray mouse had crouched by a tree. It nibbled on some sort of nut, not noticing Lifepaw.
Lifepaw grinned and crouched down, slowly moving forward. The mouse still nibbled away, its beady eyes focused on the nut in its paws. As Lifepaw moved closer, the mouse looked up. There was a split second in between where they locked eyes. Then, Lifepaw pounced.
The mouse squeaked in surprise, and Lifepaw outstretched her paws. The mouse wiggled past them, just missing her grasp. Lifepaw gasped, chasing after the mouse. It disappeared into a hole moments later, leaving Lifepaw to only stand in shock.
She had failed to catch a mouse, the simplest of prey. Maybe she wasn't made up to be a warrior after all.
Lifepaw kept looking for prey, but her failure kept popping up in her mind.
I can't even catch a stupid mouse, she thought. She tried to push these thoughts away, but she couldn't. She sat down, a tear running down her cheek. And soon enough, she wasn't crying about the mouse anymore.
She sat pouting as she thought of her father, who never spoke to her. She thought of her friends, who would not become warriors for a bit longer. She thought of Mousestripe, who would most likely be retiring to the elders den any day. She thought of Stormpelt and Graytail, the two toms now preoccupied with their new families. And lastly, she thought of her mother. She thought of the mother she had heard of, but never had spoken to. She had no mother who cleaned her fur before ceremonies, no mother who used to allow her to sleep in her nest.
Lifepaw wiped tears from her eyes, feeling like a failure. How could she break down during a crucial time period?
Suddenly, she heard a scurrying of feet, and she glanced up, noticing a squirrel by a nearby tree. She turned, not wanting to catch it, but she knew she had to go on. This was her exam, and it was her job to complete it to become a warrior.
Feeling motivated, she crept towards the squirrel and leapt, catching it successfully in her paws. She quickly killed it as it struggled, and then she buried the dead squirrel by the tree she had caught it.
For some reason, her eyes were no longer watery, and she felt pride burst within her. She could do this, after all. She was not a failure, and she would make all of her family proud.
This encouragement allowed Lifepaw to hunt throughout the rest of the day. By the time the sun's rays had hit the tree she and Tinypelt had sat at that morning, she had caught a total of ten pieces of prey. She had never caught so much prey in her lifetime before!
When she told Tinypelt this, Tinypelt's eyes widened.
"Ten pieces! In leaf-fall!" she gasped. "That's amazing, Lifepaw. I've never known an apprentice to catch that much prey, especially during this season. Why, I caught four pieces of prey when I became a warrior."
"Does this mean I pass that portion of the exam?" Lifepaw asked, a wide smile on her face.
Tinypelt nodded. "Yes. I'm very proud of you. Your mother would be too."
There it was. Her mother again.
"Now, we test your ability to fight!" Tinypelt declared.
Lifepaw nodded, facing the she-cat. Tinypelt was a bit smaller than Lifepaw, which was a surprise considering Lifepaw was one of the tinier she-cats in her clan. Still, she supposed that's how Tinypelt had gotten her name.
"Ready?" Tinypelt asked.
Lifepaw didn't reply but sprang, pushing Tinypelt to the earth. Tinypelt gasped in surprise, pushing Lifepaw off of her. Lifepaw was knocked to the ground, but she quickly came back up, knocking Tinypelt away before she had the chance to pin Lifepaw down. Lifepaw quickly swept Tinypelt's paws from under her feet, causing the she-cat to fall.
They fought for awhile, Lifepaw trying to demonstrate all the battle moves she had learned. In most cases, they helped her get out of several traps Tinypelt had laid for her, and soon enough, she was pinning Tinypelt down again, her paws planted firmly in Tinypelt's shoulders.
"Very good," Tinypelt said at last. Lifepaw got off of the she-cat, grinning.
"Congratulations, Lifepaw. You'll be becoming a warrior."
Lifepaw screeched, causing birds to fly from the trees.
"Quiet down," Tinypelt warned.
"Sorry," Lifepaw whispered. "I'm just so excited! I've been dreaming about this day forever."
Tinypelt grinned. "It has been an honor mentoring you. You know, people say you look like your mother, but when I was mentoring you, I thought of Patchfur, my brother."
Lifepaw tilted her head. Normally everyone commented on how she was similar to her mother. This was the first time anyone had ever said different.
"Thank you for teaching me the skills I needed to learn," Lifepaw said in gratitude, dipping her head. She ignored Tinypelt's last comment, refusing to acknowledge it.
"Let's head back to camp then," Tinypelt declared.
Lifepaw nodded, coming to the SnowClan camp with Tinypelt in a matter of minutes.
"Go get some rest. You'll be doing vigil tonight," Tinypelt advised her.
Lifepaw nodded, wandering off to the apprentice den. Immediately, Goosepaw and Marshpaw ran up to her.
"Are you becoming a warrior?!" Marshpaw exclaimed.
"Yes!" Lifepaw gasped in response.
Goosepaw grinned. "I'm proud of you, Lifepaw."
"Thanks," she purred. "Well, I've got to rest before the ceremony and vigil."
"Good idea," Goosepaw agreed.
Lifepaw never made it to the apprentice den though. Standing near the den was Spiritheart, the medicine cat.
"Lifepaw, can you come with me, please?" he asked.
Lifepaw tilted her head but obeyed. She had expected to head towards the medicine cat den, but he led her all the way to Thornstar's den.
"She's here, Thornstar," Spiritheart called from outside.
Lifepaw froze. What was going on?
Thornstar peeked his head out, worry clouding his eyes. "Yes, bring her inside."
Lifepaw carefully padded into the leader's den, Spiritheart following.
"I don't understand. What's going on?" Lifepaw asked.
"Explain, Thornstar," Spiritheart offered.
"Lifepaw, I've already told Spiritheart this, but I received a dream from StarClan," he explained.
"Okay..."
"And they revealed a prophecy," Thornstar continued. "A prophecy that I believe has something to do with you."
"What?" Lifepaw asked. "Me?"
"Tell her the prophecy," Spiritheart suggested.
Thornstar sighed and shut his eyes, speaking, "As the Moon's shine vanishes and the light burns out, another cat will be lost. Four will come, all the same, but with different stories. The four must unite and rescue the lost cat and theirselves or else the Place of No Stars will gain a star."
"What does that even mean?" Lifepaw asked.
Thornstar ignored her. "After hearing this prophecy, I saw a vision of you, Lifepaw. But I did not just see you, but four identical figures of you. At first, I believed it was Shinypelt because you look so much like her, but judging from the prophecy, I believe this is more about you. Still, I think Shinypelt is a part of it too."
"What? Why would my mother be a part of the prophecy?"
Spiritheart winced. What were they keeping from her?
"There is an old prophecy relating to your mother," Thornstar explained.
"What? My mother was a part of a prophecy?"
"It doesn't matter. But this is describing Moonstar and MoonClan here. Perhaps we are not fully safe from Moonstar. Anyway, this prophecy is all confusing to me. I believe there may be three cats who look like you, Lifepaw. The prophecy claims four will come."
"That's insane," Lifepaw spat.
"Watch your mouth," Spiritheart warned. He was only trying to advise her to be polite, but Lifepaw didn't care. She had known Thornstar from a very young age since he was Mousestripe's mate. She felt like she could say whatever to him.
"Insane, but perhaps not. Maybe it's time you speak to your father," Thornstar advised.
"What? Why? What does that even have to do with this?"
"It's only a suggestion. You may leave for now, Lifepaw. I know you need to prepare for your warrior ceremony. Keep in mind what I said though, and if you see a similar-looking cat, then let Spiritheart or me know immediately."
"Okay," Lifepaw sighed, exiting the den. She thought she had always known about her past, where she came from, who her family was, but now, she felt like everything she knew was perhaps only a portion of the greater mystery surrounding her existence.