Three moons passed, and leaf-fall was inching into cold. The river murmured by, echoing in Lillykit's ears. Today's the day! I'm so excited I think my fur is gonna fall off! She shifted anxiously, and cast a nervous glance at Wavecloud. The she-cat's blue eyes blinked reassuringly at the kit, and Lillykit felt the tension leave her shoulders. Today's the day. She looked up at the stone where Creekstar was waiting. Siltkit and Murkkit were sitting beside her, and their matching grey pelts were perfectly groomed. Lillykit looked down self consciously at her own fluffy fur.

The last cat slipped into the clearing, and Creekstar cleared her throat. "Cats of Riverclan. Three kits have come of age for their apprenticeship ceremony. Let them serve train hard, so they may serve their clan. Murkkit!" The tom's green eyes blinked anxiously. "Please step forward." The kit padded up, and touched noses with Creekstar. "From now on, you shall be known as Murkpaw."

Creekstar paused, then called forward Nettlesmoke. "Nettlesmoke, you will be Murkpaw's mentor. Pass on to him your cunning and bravery." Murkpaw touched noses with Nettlesmoke, and the clan cheered.

Creekstar hushed them with a wave of her tail. "Siltkit, please step forward." The dark grey kit puffed up his chest, and strode to the stone, meeting Creekstar's gaze. "From now on, you shall be known as Siltpaw." She gave Siltpaw a swift lick, and nodded. "Darkice, you shall be Siltpaw's mentor, instill him with your respect and skill." The grey tabby nodded, and touched noses with his new apprentice.

Lillykit shivered with excitement, it was finally get turn! Creekstar looked at Lillykit with curious eyes, then called her up. "Lillykit, from now on, you shall be known as Lillypaw." Creekstar touched noses to Lillykit , then looked up to address the clan. "To insure that this cat will obtain full understanding of what it means to be a warrior, I will be Lillykit's mentor." Murmurs broke out, but no one series their leader. Creekstar licked Lillypaw's head, and whispered. "I promise to teach you all that I know, but you must work your hardest to learn."

"I understand," Lillypaw murmured, before joining the two other new apprentices.

The clan cheered, and called out the cats' new names. "Murkpaw! Siltpaw! Lillypaw! Murkpaw! Siltpaw! Lillypaw!" Friends rushed to talk to the apprentices, but Lillypaw found herself oddly alone. Well... That's that, I guess. Then she felt the tail of Wavecloud, and the sorrow was chased away.

"Congratulations Lillypaw," Lillypaw loved the way her name sounded when Wavecloud said it. Sweet, but strong. Like her!

"Thanks Wavecloud!" She purred. " I can't wait to leave the camp! And go fishing in the lake! And meet the other clans! And go on patrols!" Lillypaw's words were rushed with excitement.

"Slow down!" Wavecloud chuckled. "Creekstar promised me I could take you out of camp the first time, but that's only because she's busy."

"Of course she's busy! She's the leader! She's in charge of the entire clan!" Lillypaw was hopping circles around Wavecloud , but stopped, realizing that was a very kit-like thing to do. "When can we go out?"

Wavecloud yawned. "As soon as I eat those minnows." Three shining minnows sat on top of the fresh-kill pile.

"Well come on then!" Lillypaw raced to the pile.
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"...And that's the twoleg place." Wavecloud nodded, concluding the tour of the territory.

Lillypaw looked at it with wistful eyes. "I remember that blue house right there. I used to wait on that fence for my friend, Rosie." She shook her head, and sighed.

"Oh! You lived in the twoleg place? That explains how you were able to make it so far into the territory!" Wavecloud's eyes were lit up with excitement. "But... That is slightly worrying. There could be a whole community of ruthless rouges just waiting to attack!" She winced when she saw Lillypaw's hurt expression. "No offence."

"It's ok." Lillypaw gazed at the twoleg place. My upwalker kit could be in there. I wonder if she misses me. Lillypaw barely heard when Wavecloud said they were leaving, but somehow her paws managed to carry her back to camp. She was not aware when Wavecloud moved their nests out of the nursery, and she didn't notice when a mouse was placed in front of her. She spent the rest of the day thinking. About her. Her upwalker.

A voice echoed in her ear, and she shook her head vigorously. "Huh?

"She awakens," Murkpaw laughed, and gently nudged Lillypaw to her feet. "You've been sitting there since you got back from the tour. We thought you had fallen asleep!" His laugh was bright, and Lillypaw's cheeks grew warm when she noticed the way his tail curled around the tip of hers. She hadn't been in Riverclan for long, but she has noticed that only mates twined their tales.

They made their way over to the apprentice den, and Lillypaw looked at how crowded it was. Both Ivypaw and Emeraldpaw were going to be warriors soon, but Softpaw was only a month older than Lillypaw. She inched past a sleeping Emeraldpaw, and nearly tripped on Siltpaw's tail. "Careful!" The tom hissed, before rolling over.

"Lillypaw, come sit by me." Murkpaw curled up, and Lillypaw sat on the empty nest next to him.

"Thank you." Murkpaw nodded, and Lillypaw settled down. "Your fur is snarled." Murkpaw grimaced, and Lillypaw carefully undid a snarl. "Do you mind if I... If I groom your fur?" Murkpaw nodded, and Lillypaw got to work.

Hi! I can't decide on some names for my novella, and I would love it if you could help! Just say if you like Thrushflight or Swallowfur more, and I'll be using the winning name in my upcoming novella. Thanks! (Also, Lillypaw being mentored by Creekstar is not supposed so be a parallel to firepaw and bluestar, it was just me having too many apprentices. Oops...)