Disclaimer: I don't own warriors :'(

I know it's been a really long time, and I'm so so so sorry! I wouldn't blame any of you if you've all forgotten about this story...

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, and if you are still reading this then I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

Chapter Seven

~ Apprenticeship ~

"Rise and shine, windkitty," sneered an unpleasant voice in Razonkit's ear. The ginger striped tom jerked awake to see Toadpaw staring down at him.

"Toadpaw?" Razorkit was confused. Half a moon had passed since Toadpaw and Murkpaw became apprentices, so what was the dark tabby tom doing back in the nursery? Razorkit blinked the sleep from his eyes and stretched, expecting Thornkit to snap at him for taking up too much room. However, no soft fur met Razonkit's outstretched paws. He clambered to his paws and looked around the nursery. Apart from him and Toadpaw it was deserted.

Razorkit turned back to Toadpaw, who was watching him in amusement. "Where is everyone?"

Toadpaw shrugged. "Hiding from your stink," he suggested, wrinkling his nose.

"What's going on?" the former WindClan kit asked, deciding to ignore Toadpaw's previous comment.

Toadpaw's eyes glinted in the darkness of the nursery. "Are all windkittys this mousebrained?" Razorkit didn't reply, and Toadpaw sighed. "How old are you now?"

Razorkit didn't see what his age had to do with anything, but he answered anyway. "Well… Fogfur said there's going to be a full moon in two moonhighs, so I'm six moons old today. Why – oh," realisation dawned on Razorkit. "It's time for me to be apprenticed," he mewed quietly.

"Finally! You windkittys are so slow," Toadpaw exclaimed mockingly. "Everyone's already out in the clearing, clevercat. I was told to come and fetch you."

Razorkit felt a pang in his chest. He remembered from when Rainpaw had her apprentice ceremony that it was usually the mother's job to escort her kit to the ceremony, but that was back in WindClan. Here, he had no mother. Although Fogfur had been kind to him and looked after him like he was her own, she could never replace Hazelmist. "What if I don't want to be apprenticed?" he asked kittishly. "I don't want to become a ShadowClan apprentice."

Toadpaw curled his lip. "Tough," he said and lunged for Razonkit's scruff to drag the young tom out of the nursery.

Toadpaw deposited Razorkit roughly on the edge of the ShadowClan camp and then disappeared into the crowd of cats gathered in the muddy clearing. Razorkit stood up and shook his fur out, staring at all the cats gathered in surprise. He had never been allowed out of the nursery before in case he tried to escape, and he hadn't realised how many cats there were in ShadowClan.

"Cats of ShadowClan, now that our newest kit has arrived, I would like to invite you all to gather beneath the Highbranch for a Clan meeting." The yowl made Razorkit spin around to stare up at Rowanstar, ShadowClan's leader. She was perched on the lowest branch of a tree overhanging the camp. At her call the cats milling around in the clearing began to settle down, leaving a small space in front of them. "Razorkit, please step forwards," Rowanstar continued.

Razorkit's eyes widened. "No. No, I…" he tried to protest but the warriors around him thrust him towards the space so he was standing before Rowanstar.

Rowanstar didn't waste a single second and didn't even glance at him as she continued, "This kit broke the Warrior Code when he was born in WindClan so, as most of you know, we took it upon ourselves to punish WindClan. After all, their loss is our gain," she meowed slyly.

"WindClan didn't lose me! I was stolen," Razorkit piped up indignantly, but he was ignored.

"And what better way to punish WindClan than by raising their little prodigy as a loyal ShadowClan warrior?" Rowanstar asked. Yowls of agreement came from the assembled cats, and Razorkit flattened his ears.

"I will never be loyal to you," Razorkit hissed in protest, but he was drowned out by the warrior's yowls.

Then Darkclaw, the hated warrior who tore Razorkit from his mother's side, came forward until he was standing next to Razorkit. The kit subtly edged away from him. "We will never be able to trust this WindClan scum," he growled. "Why not just feed him to the crows?"

Rowanstar gazed down at Darkclaw evenly. "What do you think will punish WindClan more?" she questioned. "Feeding their darling kit to the crows? They will get over his death in a moon and life will carry on as normal. Or, bringing him up as one of our own? He will hunt for us and fight for us, and when he is a warrior he will go to battle against WindClan – the hearts of his old Clanmates will break and they will submit to us as they see how much better Razorkit has done in ShadowClan than he ever could in their measly excuse for a Clan," she explained, her eyes gleaming. "Besides, the crows are too good for this kit. If he betrays us, tries to escape, or turns on us, he will have the worst death of all. Tortured, and then left to starve on a lonely isle in the middle of the river," she hissed. Her eyes flashed with warning as she finally looked at Razorkit. He shrunk back and shivered, pressing himself into the ground. He couldn't help it. That sounded like a fate worse than anything he could have imagined.

Next to him, Darkclaw nodded in satisfaction. "Good. But how will we bring him up to be loyal to ShadowClan?"

Rowanstar smiled. Razorkit stared at her distrustfully. That was a sly smile. An evil smile. He wondered what she had planned next and shuddered. "Why, that will be your job Darkclaw. You may train him as you see fit."

Razorkit's eyes widened. No. Oh, please StarClan no! Not Darkclaw. Anyone but Darkclaw…

"Razorkit, you have reached six moons of age and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Razorpaw – a loyal apprentice of ShadowClan. Your mentor will be Darkclaw. I know he will train you to view ShadowClan as your own and the other Clans as the scum that they are," Rowanstar purred before turning to Darkclaw, who was gazing up at her with approval in his eyes. "Darkclaw, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You received excellent training from Snakebranch, and you have shown yourself to be trustworthy and strong. You will mentor Razorpaw and I expect you to pass on all your knowledge to our newest apprentice," she finished, but her gaze didn't leave the pair.

Razorpaw glanced around nervously. The rest of ShadowClan looked like they were waiting for something to happen, and he was confused. Looking back at Darkclaw he was surprised to see the warrior leaning towards him, and he automatically leaned away.

"Touch my nose," Darkclaw hissed, his eyes dark.

Razorpaw blinked. "What? Oh…" he muttered, remembering the sacred ritual. He needed to accept Darkclaw as his mentor to complete the ceremony. But what if I don't? he thought mutinously. "No," he tried to speak up bravely but it came out as more of a squeak.

"What?" Darkclaw hissed furiously.

"I-I said no," Razorpaw repeated, fighting to keep the tremor out of his voice. "I w-won't accept you as my m-m-mentor."

Darkclaw's eyes narrowed to venomous slits. "Remember what Rowanstar said would happen if you oppose us?" he spat. Razorpaw hardly dared to nod his head. He was frozen with fear but some impulse deep inside of him helped him with the motion. "Because that will happen to you right now if you don't touch my nose."

Anger gathering in Razorpaw's eyes, he suddenly lunged forwards and shoved his nose violently at Darkclaw's. Darkclaw screeched and leaped away, crying out more in shock than pain, and he began furiously rubbing at his stinging nose. Razorpaw's own nose throbbed but it was worth it to see Darkclaw bouncing around the clearing like a kit who'd been stung by a bee. Several cats sniggered as the crowd dispersed to get on with their daily duties.

Razorpaw watched as a white she-cat with a black splash over the right side of her face approached them. Her yellow eyes flicked over Razorpaw once before she looked over at Darkclaw. "Calm down," she meowed, irritation lacing her rough voice. "It was only a gentle bump. There's no need to make such a big fuss."

Darkclaw spat at the ground, but he stood still long enough for the other cat to poke his nose experimentally. "Ow!" Darkclaw leaped backwards, glaring at her.

The she-cat rolled her eyes. "Stop being such a kit. You might have a bruise for a while but it'll heal."

Razorpaw frowned. "Are you the medicine cat?" he asked curiously.

The she-cat glanced at his sharply. "Aren't you a clever kit," she sneered. "Strong too, by the looks of Darkclaw's nose," she commented. Somehow Razorkit doubted she meant that as a compliment, and he wondered what had got under her fur.

"According to your leader I'm no longer a kit," was all he said.

The medicine cat gave a short laugh. "You're a kit until you prove yourself a warrior. 'Apprentice' is a rank, not a description of maturity," she shot back. Next to her, Darkclaw moaned. "As for you – if you're going to moan like that all day then come to my den and I'll give you some herbs, if only to save all our ears."

Darkclaw's eyes widened slightly. "No – no, that's all right, I have training to do…" he tried to protest, but the medicine cat nipped his ear and shoved him towards the darkest corner of camp where Razorpaw assumed the medicine den was.

Now alone in the clearing, Razorpaw looked around. It was just as dark as when he arrived a moon ago, but a lot emptier with most of the cats out on patrol or doing whatever duties warriors do. In fact, Razorpaw couldn't even see anyone guarding the camp entrance. The new apprentice smiled to himself. This was his chance! Slowly he began to creep across the camp, half expecting his fur to prickle as if he were doing something wrong, but the only sensation he felt was hope. Hope that he would be able to return to WindClan and live there until his moon in ShadowClan was just a distant nightmare. Unfortunately, it seemed StarClan wasn't in a very kind mood that day.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a loud voice spoke up from behind directly behind him, startling him out of his fur. Razorkit whirled around to come face to face with five cats too young to be warriors and too old to be kits, two of which he recognised instantly. These must be ShadowClan's apprentices, he realised with a sinking heart.

"Then again Toadpaw, if I were him I would probably kill myself to save everyone else from having to endure the stink," a female apprentice Razorpaw didn't know commented with a light laugh. Toadpaw laughed along with her, and Razorpaw sighed. It must have been Toadpaw who had spoken first.

"I thought you would be out training," Razorpaw said, interrupting their laughter.

The she-cat who had spoken glared at him. "Speak when you're spoken to, WindClan scum."

The other she-cat, a pretty white-furred apprentice with pale grey paws, ears, and tail tip stepped forward. "Snagpaw's just jealous," she told him with a sidelong-look at the other female apprentice whom Razorpaw assumed to be Snagpaw.

"Why?" Razorpaw questioned. Since I'm here I may as well find out as much as I can, he reasoned.

"She wanted Darkclaw to be her mentor," came the answer.

Snagpaw glared. "Shut up Frostpaw. You don't know anything," she hissed.

"I know more than you do," Frostpaw shot back, narrowing her eyes.

The last apprentice rolled his eyes and stepped in between the she-cats. "Save your fighting for training sessions," he ordered. "Shadywind and Badgerfang almost clawed your ears off last time you fought in camp."

Frostpaw glanced away shamefully but Snagpaw just tossed her head. "Whatever. I'm going to find Badgerfang. Coming Toadpaw?" Toadpaw nodded and the two trotted over to the camp exit, with Murkpaw trailing behind them.

After they had left, Razorpaw looked at the other male apprentice, Slickpaw. "What's with them?"

Frostpaw hissed. "I'm still here you know." Razorpaw didn't flinch. She wasn't nearly as scary as Rowanstar. "And it's none of your business."

Slickpaw, who was a head taller than Razorpaw, looked down on the younger apprentice with narrowed eyes. "Eat dirt, rabbit muncher. You don't belong here," he growled before padding away, presumably to also look for his mentor.

Razorpaw blinked, stung. "It's not like I want to be here," he muttered.

"Yeah, well get used to it," Frostpaw snapped. "Feeling sorry for yourself won't do any good."

Razorpaw stared at her. "Aren't you going to look for your mentor as well?"

"No. I'm confined to camp," she growled, annoyance lighting up her eyes. For the first time Razorpaw looked at her properly, and he couldn't help but stare. The female apprentice had one blue eye and one green one. "What are you staring at?" she glared at him.

"I've never seen a cat with two differently-coloured eyes before," Razorpaw answered honestly.

Frostpaw sniffed. "Get used to it."

Razorpaw sighed and looked away. He was tempted to make a run for it but Frostpaw was older than him, and no doubt stronger and faster. His gaze flicked over to the entrance of the medicine den, where Darkclaw still hadn't emerged from. "What's up with your medicine cat?" he asked in a neutral tone, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Whispergaze?" Frostpaw still sounded annoyed, but she answered him anyway. "She only respects cats who she thinks deserve her respect."

Razorpaw was surprised. "She's allowed to get away with that?"

Frostpaw closed her eyes. "She's the medicine cat, she can get away with pretty much anything. She respects Rowanstar and that's all that matters to our leader."

Razorpaw shuddered when Frostpaw called Rowanstar 'our' leader. He hated the thought of ever calling the reddish-brown she-cat his leader, but he didn't let it slide. "So why are you-" he began, but Frostpaw cut him off with a hiss of frustration.

"Do you ever stop speaking? For StarClan's sake, stop asking so many questions!" Frostpaw yowled.

Taken aback, Razorpaw snapped his jaws shut. Frostpaw sat down and stared up at the sky, but every now and then she glanced at Razorpaw as if to check he was still there.

Bored out of his mind, Razorpaw lay down and imagined what he would be doing right now if he were back in WindClan.

Darkclaw finally emerged from the medicine den, and Razorpaw scrambled to his paws reluctantly. He'd prefer to be bored than spend any time at all with Darkclaw. "Follow me. And don't ask questions," Darkclaw snapped as he passed the young tom, not even bothering to acknowledge Frostpaw.

Razorpaw sighed and followed his 'mentor'. This was going to be a long day.

Author's Note: So to anyone who's still reading, what did you think? Please review?