"Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like."

-Lemony Snicket

~000~

The day was a wet one, and for WaterClan, that was really saying something. The gray clouds hung in the air, heavy with moisture, ever-threatening to drop their loads upon those below. Despite having a restless sleep the night before and waking up groggy and cross in the morning, Wavekit knew instinctively that today was the day. She would tell Sunlily that she wished to be apprenticed to her and begin training as a medicine cat. She had been working up the courage for moons, but every time she felt sure of herself, she always managed to talk herself out of it. It always irritated her. What was she so afraid of? That Sunlily would say no? That StarClan would reject her as soon as she set paw in the Starcave for her medicine ceremony?.

Maybe it wasn't so much a fear of rejection as it was a fear of the life ahead of her if she went ahead as Sunlily's apprentice. Though she would get a little bit of warrior training so that she would know the most basic hunting and fighting tactics if the need for them ever arose, Wavekit would still mostly live a life revolving around the best times to gather particular herbs, a life of getting fussy kits to swallow bitter herbs and cleaning the wounds earned by warriors who had valiantly served their clan to their best ability.

Wavekit knew inside that the life she truly wanted the life of a warrior. She wanted to hunt amongst the mangrove trees by the sea. She wanted to charge into battle, her fellow warriors by her side, to fight for the glory and power of all of WaterClan. She wanted that life, an exciting whirlwind of a life, not the quiet life she would spend tucked into the medicine den in the corner of the camp. Of course, Wavekit was already accustomed to a quiet life, preferring to sit quietly and watch the members of WaterClan carry out their day-to-day business rather than engaging in the mindless games of her littermates. Yet, she wanted to have an opportunity, a mere chance to experience the whirlwind life, whether she was suited to it or not.

However, there was one thing. One minor hiccup. One fact that gave Wavekit pause. She knew that if she ended up becoming a warrior, eventually her denmates would start to pair up. Start families. Keep the clan alive through the creation of new life. Wavekit knew that she would be pressured to follow in their paths. And though she was barely five moons old, Wavekit already knew that she could never love a tom like all she-cats were expected to. If she had to become a queen with a litter of kits and a devoted mate, Wavekit knew it would just be one huge lie.

Granted, becoming a medicine cat would also be a lie, in a way. Her clanmates would assume her decision had to do with some spiritual calling she had, something that compelled her to serve something greater than herself, to devote her life to medicine and StarClan's mysterious ways. But, at least this lie would be a more believable one.

With all this weighing on her mind, Wavekit stumbled out of the nursery into camp, filled with a deep sense of determination. Cats were already starting to stir. A hunting patrol was just leaving, squeezing through the thick mangroves that surrounded WaterClan's camp. Nobody in the clan seemed concerned about the sunless sky. Wavekit padded across camp to the medicine den. It, like the other dens of the clan, was made out of tightly-woven mangrove branches. The structures were strong, and they always kept out the worst of the rain, making them one of the more ingenious of WaterClan's various innovations.

Wavekit padded over to the den, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Needn't draw attention to herself until absolutely necessary. The kit poked her head into the den's opening. Sure enough, there was Sunlily. She was poking through her stores, nudging piles of leaves with her muzzle, muttering to herself as she went. "No more comfrey? I could've sworn I just picked some yesterday…" It was a few minutes until she noticed Wavekit sitting patiently by the entrance. "Oh! Hello, Wavekit. Have I kept you waiting?" The kit shook her head slowly. "Well, good." Sunlily sat up, nudging her herbs aside with a paw. "What can I do for you, Wavekit?"

Suddenly, the little speech Wavekit had been rehearsing for the past quarter moon seemed to fizzle and vanish from her mind. "Well, uh… I was just wondering if you… had any plans to… get an apprentice?" Wavekit stumbled over the words, internally flinching at her own awkwardness.

If Sunlily noticed Wavekit's clumsy delivery, she didn't mention it. Instead, she smiled a warm, knowing smile. "Are you asking if you can become a medicine cat apprentice, little one?" Wavekit nodded, feeling some slight relief.

Sunlily beckoned Wavekit with her tail, motioning her to fully enter the medicine den. Wavekit padded in, trying to ignore the wobbly feeling that had suddenly erupted in her limbs.

"What made you interested in this path?" meowed Sunlily as she sat down near the back of the den, motioning for Wavekit to do the same.

"Well, uh… I guess it just seems pretty neat, the whole thing. I mean, medicine cats are the only ones in the clan who can actually heal cats, and they get to communicate with StarClan, and that's pretty cool too. I guess I just like the idea of serving something greater than yourself, you know?"

Sunlily nodded. "The path of a medicine cat is indeed a rather rewarding one, should you choose to follow it. However, it's also a big commitment. We medicine cats have our own code to follow in addition to the warrior code. Those who have broken this code have… fared poorly, in the past."

Wavekit nodded. If she meant the bit about not having a mate or kits, I'm sure I'll be fine.

"I'm glad you came to me, Wavekit. I've been watching you for these past few moons, and I was actually considering you as a potential medicine apprentice."

This was surprising, to say the least. "Really?"

Sunlily nodded, her amber eyes glowing. "Yes. You have all the right qualities we medicine cats like to look for. You're quiet and observant, and you seem to have an incredible capacity to care for those around you. Of course, I wasn't going to approach you about it unless you seemed interested. And it appears that you do!"

Wavekit blinked. "So… Can I? Be your apprentice, I mean?"

"Why, of course! I think you'll be perfect for this position. I'll speak to Riverstar about it as soon as I finish with these herbs."

Without even thinking about it, Wavekit meowed, "I can help you with those." She figured that she had better get used to herb-sorting if this was to be her life.

Sunlily brightened up. "Why, thank you, Wavekit! That would be a big help."

So, the soon-to-be medicine cat apprentice got to work with her soon-to-be mentor, trying her hardest to push away the internal feeling of dread that was gnawing away at her insides.

~000~

Hey y'all! I've been trying my best to get on a weekly update schedule, but life (and studying for finals) tends to get in the way. Don't forget to review!

-Leo