I'm really sorry for taking sooooo long to update, but hopefully I'll be updating on a more constant basis now that I have a beta reader, Rowana Renee'.

Thank you for waiting so patiently.

"Ow! Mother, you're grooming me backwards!" I try to squirm free, but she pins me to the floor of the nursery and starts licking me harder.
I moan miserably. "Mother, that hurts!"

I hear her snort gently. "Well, honestly, Lightningkit, you're the one who decided to get sap in his fur by climbing trees. On the day of your apprentice ceremony too! Why, when your sister became an apprentice..."

I tune her out. I hate it when my mother talks about my half sister like she gave birth to her. It's not that I don't love my sister, honest. It's just that my mother pays more attention to her than she does to me, and whenever she does pay attention to me, it always seems like she's saying, 'Why can't you be like Tigerpaw?'. Like my existence is a giant disappointment because I'm not a clone of Tigerpaw.

She roughly yanks out a hunk of sap-covered fur, making me squeal.

"Oh, hush. You'll be in a lot more pain if you ever become a warrior."

If I ever become a warrior. That's inspiring.

I grit my teeth and squeeze mt eyes shut as she tears out another hunk. And another. Then two more. Great StarClan, at this rate, I won't have any fur left for my apprentice ceremony.

"Thorntail, I can do that." I open my eyes, see Tigerpaw and feel hope that she'll save me swell within me.

"Oh, no," My mother says in a sweet voice that she never uses on me. "I'm almost finished anyway."

"It's no trouble. I need to talk to him about the apprentice ceremony, anyway."

"All right," My mother says, shooting me a look that clearly says, 'look at how generous Tigerpaw is'.

I close my eyes again and focus on holding in a frustrated scream. A few seconds later I feel Tigerpaw grooming me the right way.

"You don't like your mother much, do you?"

I sigh and re-open my eyes. "Well, since I' not like you, there's no point in my existing."

"You didn't answer my question."

I squeeze my eyes tightly shut (again) and say, barely audibly, "No, I don't like my brother. But I still love her. And please don't ask me what that means, because I have no idea."

Tigerpaw stops licking me. "There, I got all of the sap out."

I re-re-open my eyes and look into her amber ones, silently begging her to keep talking to me, because I don't my mother to start lecturing me again.

Thankfully, she gets the message. "Come on, I'll show you and Ratkit the borders so you can impress you future mentors. How does that sound?"

I grin widely up at her and she grins back. "Get Ratkit and follow me."

(Magical time skip that I can do because I'm the author!!!)

"Ow! I just got another burr in my pelt!"

I sigh and don't even bother to look back this time. "Honestly Ratkit, you're such a..." I glance at Tigerpaw, who's giving me a look that says, 'such a what? Kit?'.
"Such a newborn."

Tigerpaw chuckled. "Nice save."

Ratkit either ignored or completely missed what Tigerpaw just said. "My mother just got me clean! And she told me not to get anything in my fur. Oh, man, I'm going to be in sooo much trouble..."

Tigerpaw immediately takes pity on him; Ratkit's mother isn't one to be trifled with. "Look, I'll clean you up before we get home, okay?"

He cheers up immediately. "Okay."

She leads us through the forest for a few more minutes, then stops at a line if trees where the familiar scent of home abruptly changes to two different scents: a sharp, bitter scent and a scent that isn't welcoming, but isn't that hostile either.

I hear a slight rustling on the leaf-covered forest floor and catch the scent of a squirrel.

(Flashback Time!!)

I look around, confused. This isn't home! It doesn't look like home, because home has a nursery and an elders den and a HighRock. This place doesn't. And it doesn't smell like home, because home smells like Mother and Ratkit and Tigerkit, who's going to become Tigerpaw today, and this place doesn't. This place smells like moss and ferns and flowers and-

I stand on my hind legs, inhaling deeply. I know that smell. It's...it's...squirrel! I know! I can catch that squirrel and give it to Tigerkit at the end of her apprentice ceremony, because Mother says I can't go because I'm not old enough to catch my own prey. Hey, maybe I can go to Tigerkit's ceremony after I catch this squirrel!

I spot the squirrel and drop into a crouch and lay motionless as the squirrel wanders closer and closer. As soon as the squirrel gets close enough, I instinctively shoot forward, pin it down and finish it off with a quick bite.

I purr over my first kill for all of five heartbeats before Mother finds me.

"Lightningkit, what are you doing out here?!"

Euphorically oblivious to her irritation, I say, "I caught a squirrel Mother!"

She looks down at my fresh-kill condescendingly. "That thing is more fuzz than meat."

My heart sinks. "But I...I was going to give it to Tigerkit after her apprentice ceremony..."

Mother sighs in exasperation. "Fine," She says curtly. "Pick that thing up and follow me."

My heart swells with pride as I pick up the squirrel and trot after Mother even though it's half my size and I keep tripping over its tail.

Mother leads me to the nursery and tells me to stay there.

"I'll bring Tigerkit after her apprentice ceremony. I honestly don't know why you ran off. Tigerkit never did this when she was three moons old."

It was an accident, I think as she walks away.

Ten minutes later, Tigerpaw comes to the nursery with Sparkpaw. She purrs and congratulates me and fusses over me, but I can't help thinking the Mother is the one who's supposed to be doing this...

Irritated, I shake my head to get rid of the memory. I hiss quietly at the squirrel, and it bolts up the nearest tree after taking one look at me.

I look back at Tigerpaw and see her looking around uneasily.

"Come on you two, I smell a fox. We need to get away from here."

"B-but you said you'd clean me up before we went back to camp!"

Tigerpaw turns to Ratkit. "And I will. Just not this close to the border."

Ten minutes later, we're back at camp, complete with a clean and burr-free Ratkit.

"You two stay here. I have to check something."

"But-"

"Lightningit," Tigerpaw says, staring me it the eye. "I swear I'll be back in time for your apprentice ceremony."

I sigh, hoping she's right. "Okay."

She smiles at me and leaves camp.

Tigerpaw raced back to the border. Since she had promised to be at Lightningkit's apprentice ceremony, (because she knew how much it means to him, and because he needs the moral support his mother doesn't give him) she had to get this done as soon as possible.

She stopped at the border, hesitating. Should I cross it, or shouldn't I? She decides on the latter and follows the scent into EarthClan territory, painfully aware of how much noise her paw are making on the Leaf-Fall leaves.

When she gets fifty paw-steps into EarthClan territory, she stops. The strong smell of fox is now mixing with the sharp scents of fear, blood and EarthClan cats. Not only that, the scents are so strong that whatever happened must have happened today.

Tigerpaw makes a mental note to tell her mentor about the smell of fox near the border and races back to camp.

I stare at the patch of forest that Tigerpaw disappeared into, willing her to come back before-

"Lightningkit, Ratkit, time for your apprentice ceremony!" Sparkpaw calls out, heading toward us. "What are you waiting for?"

I drag my gaze from the forest to Sparkpaw's face. "Tigerpaw went to check on something. she said she'd be back before..." I trail off and sigh.

Sparkpaw's green eyes flick to the forest, then back to me. "Well, your apprentice ceremony is about to start and you'll be in a lot of trouble if you're late."

I sigh and start walking towards HighRock.

When I'm about halfway there, somebody lands on my back, pressing me the ground and pushing the air out of my lungs. Tigerpaw's familiar scent reaches my nose just as her voice reaches my ears.

"I told you I'd be back, didn't I?"

I'd purr if I could breathe.

"Tigerpaw, get off of him before he dies a kit."

She laughs, gets off of me and trots ahead of us towards HighRock.

As soon as I reach the base, Tornstar, my father, calls out, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a clan meeting."

I sit at the base of HighRock, like I'm supposed to, as the clan starts to gather.

"This is a proud day for DeathClan. In naming these two apprentices, it shows that our kits thrive to apprenticeship and that our clan will remain strong. Lightningkit, Ratkit, from this moment onward, until you are named warriors, you will be known as Lightningpaw and Ratpaw.

"Ratpaw, your mentor will be Shadowheart. Shadowheart, you have mentored many fine warriors and I'm sure you will teach Ratpaw as well as you have taught them."

Right after Shadowheart stepped forward and touched noses with him, Ratpaw sneezes and I struggle to hold in laughter.

"Lightningpaw."

I tense and stare straight ahead instead of looking at Ratpaw.

"Your mentor will be Waspclaw. Waspclaw, Lightningpaw is your first apprentice. I hope you will be able to pass your loyalty, agility and ferocity in battle onto him."

Waspclaw pads nervously up to me and touches noses with me.

He became a warrior a couple of days before Tigerpaw became an apprentice, so this is a big deal for him.

I look into his amber eyes and give him a encouraging smile.

He relaxes and smiles back at me just as the clan starts chanting our apprentice names.

I turn, look at the crowd of cheering cats and focus on my mother.

She isn't smiling, and the expression on her face is very clear.

Don't screw this up.