By Charlotte L.

 I am full of curiosity. I am a curious cat. I am curious about literally everything. Then, one day, I got too curious, but it was good. I wander out into the forest, and…………I shriek. Another cat just snuck up on me! 

 “Yikes, you’ll scare all the prey in the forest away like that.” The other cat complains. 

“By the way, my name is Balaran(bal-ar-an). Yours?”  

“Jasmy(Jas-mee) is my nickname, and Jasmine is my real name,” I reply.  What is this cat doing, first sneaking up on me, then giving a friendly introduction! It’s like she’s two cats at once! 

“HEY! Earth to you! Jasma! Whatever! FOLLOW ME!” Ballaran shouts, before bounding off. I race after her, I tried at least, Balaran is as fast as a squirrel, faster! She leaps over rocks, streams and logs. I have to scramble step by step! When Balaran realizes she is too far ahead, she stops and waits for me. 

“Thanks, how do you run so fast anyway?” I pant. “ You’re welcome, and doesn’t every cat run as fast? Oh, right. I’m a forest cat and you’re not.” Balaran answers, before darting away once again.

 “We’re almost there!” She hollers. I am finally getting used to darting over streams, rocks and logs. Then Ballaran stops in front of a huge weeping willow tree that covers an immensely big area. Its big leafy branches shield the space. “Hey! Why’d you stop? Is something wrong?”

I ask,“ No. I just wanted to say, welcome to camp! Come on! I’ll show you where the entrance is.” Balaran beckons me over to a thin bit of branch, and there is just enough space for a cat to squeeze in. We pad in, and to my amazement, dozens of cats stand in front of me. In one corner, there is a cave with tiny squeals coming out of it. I am guessing that is where the kits-the adorable kits are. Under a holly bush, an old sounding voice is meowing nonstop. In another cave, supported by ferns, bracken and branches, are cats that are not kits, but not fully grown. Last but not least, a berry bush(a big one)(supported by the same things) has full grown cats inside chatting around.

 “Whoa. Tell me EVERYTHING please!.!.!” I beg. She explains, 

“ Okay. so that den, the one with a-little-bit-older-than-kits, is the apprentice’s den. The other one, with the fully grown cats, is the warriors den. They’re the apprentices that have finished training. Under that holly bush, are the elders. They are retired warriors. The big cave is where the kits are, plus the queens. FYI, the queens are the mothers of the kits. Now turn around.” I turn around, 

“Okay, that one, the HUGE boulder with the hole in it is the leader’s den. Our current leader is Banalestar(ban-e-lay-star). I know that is a lot to take in, but it’s nearly sundown. I gotta go. See ya tomorrow!”Then she bounds away. All right. Now what? Sleep. I’ve been up too long. Wait, where do I sleep? AAAAH! I don’t have anywhere to sleep! Will I have to walk back to my housefolk? 

“Wait! Where do I sleep?” I scream after Ballaran. It’s no use. She’s too far. I’ll have to ask some other cat. I pad over to someone, and ask, 

“Um, is there anywhere I can sleep?”.

 “Yes. The apprentice’s den. You’ve got no training quite yet.” He growls. I run to the apprentice’s den and find an empty (and not scented) patch of moss. I’m supposed to be sleeping on that? Terrifying! I curl up on the bit of moss, and fall into a restful-but uncomfortable sleep. 

 

“Wake up!” I wake to Ballaran gently nudging me up. I blink my eyes open. 

“Your mentor is Crantanesweet(cran-tun-sweet)! She’ll be training you. That is if you’d like to stay, pleaaaaaaaaaaase stay? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase?” 

I mumble, “ Sure. I’ll see how it is.”. I get up, and rub my bleary eyes. 

“Crantanesweet? Are you here to train me??” No one appears. Then, in the next moment, Crantanesweet steps out of nowhere!

“Now darling. You have to work on your scenting! It’s downright horrid.”

“All right, I understand. Will do.” I feel bruised by her words, but this is true.

“Now. We’ll start with a tour of the territory, though I’m pretty sure Balaran already showed you most of the territory. She bounds off, with me trying to catch up.

“Now dear, there is the Great Ash. It was burned once and no one knows why it still survived. That there is the Sand Hollows. The Great Oak, and there is the Owl Tree! Ah. We’ve reached the Shadowclan border. Shadowclan shadows over us. They attacked our territory many many times! We just manage to drive them off.” I listen in awe. There is so much to learn! When will I learn all of it? 

“Now, we will work on hunting. What do you scent in this area?” She tests

“Hmmm, I smell some really weird scent on the Shadowclan border and prey scents everywhere.”

“That weird scent is Shadowclan scent. Their disgusting scent is what they use to mark their border. Now, about the prey, what prey? Do you know?”

I sniff, hmm. Maybe some vole and squirrel? Is that rabbit that I smell? Oh! Also mice. Yum.

“I’m scenting squirrels, rabbits and mice. Is that correct?”

“Yes! Marvelous darling. Now try to catch one.”

I sniff again, and smell a squirrel near an oak tree. I set my paws down lightly, one at a time. I will get it! My eyes are glued to the squirrel, and- crinkle- Oh no! I stepped on a leaf! The leaf alarmed the squirrel and it dashed off into the tree. Darn it. 

“Don’t worry dear. I’ll advise you. Okay, so you must always look where you are going. Make sure there are no leaves or twigs in your path. If there are, find a way to maneuver them. Also, when you get at most a tail length away from your prey, rear up on your hind legs and pounce. Be quick, otherwise your prey will escape. Just saying, whenever you are hunting mice, this is important, set your paws down on the earth VERY LIGHTLY. Now that is a lot to take in, so I’ll let you think by leaving you to get some prey and some rest. We’re going back to camp. Tomorrow, we’ll do hunting practice and then battle training. Right now, get some rest.”

And she breaks off just like that. She pads away, and I follow her. That was exciting! I can’t wait for tomorrow. 

 

I am currently trying some prey. I take a squirrel and bite into it. Woah! This is amazing! Way better than what my housefolk give me to eat. 

 

“Jasmy! It’s your naming ceremony! WAKE UPPPPPP!” Balaran shouts.

“What? Oh.” I blink my eyes open. I jump up and dash toward the big rock that is actually known as the Great Rock which is for clan meetings. Banalestar addresses and announces(to)the clan. She says “ All cats that are old enough to catch their own prey, come to the Great Rock.” Then the elders, apprentices, warriors and queens(sometimes kits) come to the Great Rock. Right now she is calling a clan meeting. “All cats that are old enough to catch their own prey, come to the Great Rock.”

All the cat’s in the camp gather around the Great Rock. 

“I hereby announce that this kittypet will now be named Jasmypaw. She will keep this name till she becomes a warrior. If she does.” 

Well that’s helpful. Not. Anyway, why does she think I can’t be a warrior? I can, and I will. That is that.

“Now darling. Wake up and we’ll do some hunting practice. We’ll sharpen your skills. Hopefully you’ll actually be able to catch prey by the end of this practice” Crantanesweet mews. I nod in return, and give her a hopeful smile. 

“ Now come on. We’ll head to the Great Ash. Lot’s of catches made there for beginners.”  I don’t know what she means by “for beginners”. Surely older apprentices and warriors have caught prey there? 

“Now darling, catch one or two pieces of prey. Remember what I said yesterday! Good luck dear.” Crantanesweet explains before dashing off into the bushes. 

Okay. So all I have to do is catch one piece of prey. Let’s try. I sniff, and smell squirrel. No sticks or leaves blocking my way this time.  I start to creep up on the squirrel, it doesn’t notice a thing. It’s too busy nibbling on a nut. By the time I am half-a-tail-length close, I’m already rearing up on my hind legs. Pounce. Three…..Two………One! Pounce! I shoot up from my hind legs and pounce. I land straight on the squirrel. 

“Got you!” I congratulate myself.

“Yes. True, you did. Good job darling. Now try and drive that rabbit over there toward me. DO NOT CATCH IT YOURSELF. Drive it toward me.” Crantanesweet says

“Um, okay.” I run straight at the rabbit, yowling. It is frightened, so it runs to Crantanesweet. She waits for just the right moment, and bites the rabbit. It falls limp, a big juicy rabbit.

“Jasmypaw. Congrats! This is your first piece of prey. You should feel proud!” She says, “Come along now, we’re also doing battle training.” And she dashes off. I pad after her, excitement exploding inside me. I head toward a clearing, because I think it would be good for battle training. 

“Now, dear, where do you think you’re going? We have to return our prey! Come along.” She heads in the other direction. I follow her. My clanmates are going to be so impressed when they see the rabbit and the squirrel with us. Yay!

 

“They caught that? The kittypet?”

“Look here. Here, here, here. The kittypet is popular. Weird. Shouldn’t be happening.”

“Hopefully we’ll be full fed tonight.”

“Um. I find it kind of weird that the kittypet and Crantanesweet(who used to be weird) got that much prey.”

Surprised murmurs went around camp. What is wrong with being a kittypet? I’m not anymore! I’m going to be a successful warrior. Hopefully.  

“Now darling, we’re going to the clearing you found to do battle training. You’ll probably be successful. Again, congratulations, I think you’ve impressed the clan leader, just saying” She winks at me. I wink back. Yay! Today is so fortunate!

 Crantanesweet heads off. 

 

“NO! You do hunters crouch and then you pounce and slash. That is only the first step! You’ve the second and third to go! Quicken your pace! Maybe everyone was right about kittypets. So far I’ve been patient, Jasmypaw. You’ve to learn a lot. Now try again.” She corrects. I carefully do the hunters crouch, and pounce on a tree trunk, and-slash the trunk has scrape marks on it. 

“Very good. Now, step two, land on your enemy and bite them. You can bite them anywhere. As long as you actually bite them. Try it on the tree trunk.” She explains. I pounce, slash and bite. Ow! How does any cat bite a trunk without losing their teeth? My jaw feels like it is crooked! Downright horrid. I laugh at the thought. Just like what Crantanesweet said about my scenting when I first joined the clan!

“Now, leap back and fall limp, look like you are injured, and when your enemy assumes victory, attack the same way you did in step one and two.” She advises.

I pounce, slash, bite, leap back and fall limp. Then in a moment, I pounce, slash and bite again.

“Good job. I think that’s enough for today. I’ll see you back at camp. Practice three more times. See you!” She calls. 

“Okay!” I respond. I pounce, slash, bite, leap back, fall limp, pounce, slash and bite, and repeat it three times. I’m getting better! Banalestar will have to make me a warrior soon. 

 

When I finish, I walk back to camp triumphantly.

“How did the battle move training go, Jasmypaw?” Balaran asks. 

“Oh, it was nothing. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Pffft.”

“Can I talk privately to you?” 

“Yeah. What’s it about? Anything exciting? Let’s meet in the elders’ den. The elders will be too busy chatting to hear. See you there!”

“Ok.” Balaran agrees.

When we get to the elders’ den, I wonder, well, what could Balaran have to say to me? I’m just a kittypet. An unimportant kittypet. As everyone thinks.

“Okay. The thing is, my name isn’t-I mean wasn’t Balaran before. Before it was Flowery(Flower-I). I was a kittypet before too! I’ve only been in the clan for three seasons. Today is finally my naming ceremony. You’re lucky, you got it early.”

I stare at her in awe. So that is why she is my only friend. 

“Why didn’t you tell me? You know you can trust me with secrets, I’ve kept enough of them in my life. Why? Is it that you don’t trust me? Fine. I’m a kittypet. Okay? Satisfied?”

“No! It’s that I wasn’t that trusting to anyone back then.”

“Oh, sorry. Just saying, I have to go. Crantanesweet says we’re going hunting. I need to bring the elders some fresh-kill to eat. Bye Flowery!”

 

We return to camp( the hunting patrol. Me, Crantanesweet, Violetaytail(Vio-le-tay-tail) and Ponknose.(Ponk-nose) with our jaws laden with prey. The clan will be well fed tonight. 

“All cats that are old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the Great Rock for a clan meeting.” Banalestar. Surprise murmurs start.

“What could Banalestar have to say now?”

“ A meeting at this time? Awkward.”

“I wonder what this is about.”

Banalestar waves her tail to silence us, and announces, “We have a new warrior among us. She has her naming ceremony now. Balaran, please come up.” Balaran runs excitedly up the steps on the Great Rock. “Balaran, you have shown much diligence to the clan, and because of that you are now a warrior. From now on, you will be known as Leafwing. Starclan honors your hard work and determined days. (I am currently speaking as the narrator. All of the new names are exactly pronounced how they are spelled. For example, Mousefur is pronounced Mouse-fur.) Now, I must say, the big change of her name is because I’ve now decided to be all named after the forest Starclan has given us. I will now be known as Goldstar. Violetaytail you will now be named Mousenose. Ponknose, you will now be known as Tailfur. Goldyfur(Gold-ee-fur), you will now be named Cloudfur. Crantanesweet, you will now be called Winterfur. Aldersun, you will now be called Alderleaf. Tantiniaenaflower(Tan-tin-ay-na-flow-er(flower) you will now be called Flowerstem. I am moving onto the apprentices now. Nuewtpaw(Newt-paw), you will now be named Frogpaw. Whaskerpaw, you will now be known as Whiskerpaw. Wibanpaw, you will now be known as Windpaw. I’m moving onto the elders. Goldstars long, long speech is still going. I’m going to doze off like this! Goldstar continues, “Eldanalder, you will be Aircloud. Frooststain, you will now be known as Frostheart. Moving onto the queens. Lizaredefur(Liz-ard-fur) you will now be Lizfur. Lichenaensun(Lich-en-ane-sun) you will now be Lichensun. Now to the kits. There are few, for it is leaf-bare, but I will rename them anyway. Then we will move onto the finale.” Goldstar still hasn’t stopped, but my mind opens with curiosity. What is the finale? What could it be? 

Goldstar goes on, “Suenshenkit(Sue-en-shen-kit), you will now be Shinekit. Chilkirkit, you will now be known as Chillkit. Last but not least, Wildanankit, you will be called Wildkit from now on.” Goldstar stops abruptly. Why did she stop? And what is the finale? I need to know! Otherwise I’m going to BURST with curiosity. 

She continues, “Now for the finale. We have a cat that is ready to leave the apprentices’ den. Jasmypaw, step up.” Me? Why me? I know I wanted to be a warrior, but not so soon, this is too quick! 

“Jasmypaw, Starclan honors your courage and intelligence. You will now be known as Gemheart. Your heart is like a gem, which is why I give you this name. Congratulations! You and Leafwing will have to sit a silent vigil in the night, while the rest of us sleep.” Leafwing gives a little cheer bounce. I head toward her and mouth to her “Nice job becoming a warrior.” She nods. We sit at the camp entrance, and wait. 

The next morning, I nearly doze off, but Leafwing wakes me. 

“All right now. You can get some prey and rest. I want you with me on the evening hunting patrol though.” Winterfur says. 

“Thank you!” I sigh. I race to the fresh kill pile and take a squirrel. I eat it ravenously. Then I head to the warriors den and rest. I finally became a warrior, my dream came true! Thank you Starclan, for granting me this. 

 

                                                                                                    The

                                                                                                    End

                                                                            Don’t miss #2 Warrior Gemheart