After a year in ThunderClan, Princess was finally starting to feel at home. Her son was growing fast, as all children did, and Fireheart brought her food whenever he could. More often, though, she spent her time with the other queens. Brindleface had gone into labor shortly after Princess had given birth—less than a day later. Ashkit and Fernkit were settling in well, and they already appeared to be good friends with Cloudkit.

"Let all those old enough to hunt for themselves gather in the clearing for a Clan meeting!" Bluestar called. Princess walked out and stood by the nursery hut, watching their leader standing on the rock ledge that she addressed the Clan from.

"What do you think this is about?" Brindleface asked, carrying Fernkit in her arms.

"I have no clue."

"Princess, please step forward," instructed Bluestar.

Murmurs broke out in the crowd as the brown-haired woman looked startled, but obeyed her leader.

"People of ThunderClan, it has been one year since Princess joined us as a queen. And today, I would like to offer her status as a full member of our Clan. She'll train as a warrior and receive her apprentice name, if she accepts."

Every person watched Princess, waiting to hear her answer.

"I… I accept, Bluestar."

"Then from this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, your name will be Fawnpaw. Sandstorm." The blonde lifted her head in surprise. "You are ready for your first apprentice. I have chosen you to mentor Fawnpaw. You had a good mentor in Whitestorm, and I hope you can pass on those skills."

Sandstorm stepped forward and, as tradition dictated, the two embraced to confirm the appointment.

"Fawnpaw! Fawnpaw!" the Clan cheered. Fawnpaw glanced at the other queens, who all nodded their approval.

"Shall we go?" Sandstorm asked.

"Give me a moment. I need to ask something of Frostfur."

"I'll look after Cloudkit," the white-haired queen assured her. "You begin your training. Good luck!"

"I'll come, too," offered Fireheart. Sandstorm's cheeks turned pink.

"F-fine," she stammered, accepting his offer. Fawnpaw hid a giggle behind her hand.

They set out from camp, Sandstorm leading the way, and Fawnpaw took in her surroundings. She hadn't gone very far from camp in the past year, and she didn't know much about the territory itself. Fireheart had taught her the different Clans, and about StarClan.

Our warrior ancestors watch us from above and protect us.

"Fireheart, do you remember when we were little, and our father told us about a friend he made when he was younger?"

"Yeah, actually. That was how he told us about the Clans."

"Your father knew a Clan person?" inquired Sandstorm.

"A member of WindClan, actually," Fawnpaw explained. "A warrior named Talltail."

"Talltail is Tallstar now," Fireheart told his sister. "I met him, and he guessed I was Jake's son."

"Mom always said you looked just like Dad."

"We're almost to the RiverClan border," Sandstorm stated, clearing her throat. The river swirled beyond the rocks, marking the border between their territories.

"Do you think we'll meet a patrol?"

"Maybe. It's always likely. Let's keep moving; you still have to see Fourtrees and the ShadowClan border."

Fawnpaw stayed for a few moments, giving one last, long look across the border, then an arrow almost hit her. She dodged it at the last second, landing on the freshly-fallen snow below her feet.

"Softlife!" sneered a warrior across the way—a man with dark brown hair. He was accompanied by a small patrol of other warriors, all of whom were armed. "Get out of Clan territory!"

"I'm not a Softlife!" she retorted, scrambling to her feet. "I'm an apprentice of ThunderClan!"

"Yeah, right! You're too old to be an apprentice!" He fitted another arrow to his bow and carefully aimed at her, firing.

She was tackled out of the way as the arrow hit her rescuer. Her eyes widened as she saw who it was.

Longtail?!

"Shit!" hissed Longtail, holding the shoulder where the arrow had lodged itself. His eyes landed on the warrior who'd fired. "RiverClan attacks unarmed apprentices, now, do they?!"

"She's no Clan person! She's a Softlife!"

"She's been living in ThunderClan for a year now! She's as much a member of our Clan as I am!"

"Fawnpaw!" Fireheart yelped, running onto the scene. Sandstorm was right behind him, both drawing their weapons. The RiverClan patrol left, not wanting to pick a fight in the current season.

"Are you all right?" asked Sandstorm, checking over her apprentice.

"Get Longtail back to camp!" Fawnpaw insisted. "He pushed me out of the way and got hurt!" Fireheart furrowed his brow, then nodded.

"I'll take him. You and Sandstorm can finish learning the territory."

The fiery-haired young man slung his Clanmate's arm over his shoulder, carefully carrying him back to camp. Fawnpaw felt a sense of nothing but worry as she watched them go.

Why did Longtail save me?

"Faster!"

Fawnpaw dodged a strike from Sandstorm.

"Good! You're improving!"

It had been three years now since Cloudkit had been born, and Fawnpaw was still training. Now, however, she was preparing for her final assessment. Sandstorm was the best mentor she could have asked for, and Cloudkit was growing quickly. Already, he was the most troublesome child in the nursery, convincing the other children to sneak out with him on a near-daily basis.

"Do you think I'll be made a warrior after this?" Fawnpaw asked her mentor.

"Of course!" snorted Sandstorm. "For one thing, you've improved greatly over the past year. You're also Fireheart's sister."

"Just because my brother's a great warrior doesn't mean I'll be one." Fawnpaw sat down on a rock to rest, the other woman handing her a container of water. "He's always been good at everything, and he's a rule-follower."

"Wait—rule-follower?! We're talking about Fireheart, right?"

"Yeah." Sandstorm burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Fireheart breaks the warrior code more than anyone else I know! Seriously!"

"I haven't…"

"…seen him do it? Trust me, he does. You know Yellowfang wasn't always part of ThunderClan, right?"

"She wasn't?"

"Nope. Until a few years ago, she was ShadowClan's healer. Then she was driven out by Brokenstar and his allies and came to ThunderClan territory. Your brother was an apprentice then, and he was the one who found her. Instead of driving her off—like any of the rest of us would have done—he caught a rabbit for her to eat. When he was found with her, she was brought back to ThunderClan as a prisoner and he had to care for her as punishment."

"It's just who he is," Fawnpaw laughed. "He's always been the kind of person who can't stand to see somebody suffering. And it's good that he found her, isn't it?"

"Yeah, because just a few months before you came here, our previous healer was murdered by one of Brokenstar's thugs. It was awful."

"I bet it was."

"Fireheart found her body. And… he was the only person in the Clan who wholeheartedly believed that Yellowfang hadn't done it."

"What was your previous healer like?" Sandstorm huffed.

"She was smart. Capable. Talented. Skilled. Gentle. Kind. And pretty, too. She was younger than most healers in the Clans. Fireheart was close to her." Fawnpaw read Sandstorm's expression and could tell that the blonde somewhat resented the previous healer for that.

"Well, Fireheart never would have been with her, anyway," Fawnpaw commented, smiling. "He needs somebody to keep up with his energy and knock sense into him when he's being a moron. A sweet, gentle woman doesn't sound like his type."

"Thanks for that."

"You've been a good mentor and an even better friend. I want you to be happy."

"Gossiping, ladies?"

They looked up to see Tigerclaw. He had his eyes narrowed, obviously displeased that they were sitting and talking rather than training. Fawnpaw felt a sense of defiance. Her brother didn't trust the dark warrior, and she didn't, either. Tigerclaw gave her a bad feeling that she didn't like in the slightest, and there was nothing that would make that feeling go away around him.

"We were resting," Sandstorm told the deputy. "Fawnpaw has been training hard for her warrior assessment."

"Then you won't see a problem in commencing with that assessment today." Fawnpaw and Sandstorm nodded, and he grinned. "Sandstorm, you'll be one of those assessing her. I will be another. Do you have any requests for the third?"

"I'd ask for Fireheart, so he can see how far she's come, but he'd probably go easy on her. How about Whitestorm?"

"Whitestorm. A good choice. Meet me here at sun-high to begin her assessment."

At sun-high, Fawnpaw arrived at the clearing with Sandstorm. Tigerclaw and Whitestorm weren't far behind along with Dustpelt, and they looked over the young mother before Tigerstar nodded and began to explain how the assessment worked.

"You will be assessed in three areas—hand-to-hand combat, skill with weapons, and hunting ability. Each of us will observe you and make a judgement on whether or not you pass. Pass two of the three areas and you'll be made a warrior this evening. Fail, and you'll stay an apprentice for another six months. Do you understand, Fawnpaw?"

She nodded.

"Now, for your hand-to-hand combat, you'll be sparring with a warrior of the deputy's choice. I have decided that you'll be sparring against Dustpelt." The young, dark-haired man got into a fighting stance, which Fawnpaw mirrored. "And… go!"

Dustpelt was quick to try and strike her in the side, hoping to take her down quickly. Fawnpaw dodged it with ease before swinging her left fist towards his face. He blocked it—only for her to bring her knee into his gut and knock him to the ground. The warrior sprang back to his feet and tried to hit her cheek, which she blocked with ease.

For nearly five minutes, it went on like that, each trying to strike the other down. Then Tigerclaw lifted his hand.

"Enough. Thank you, Dustpelt. You may return to camp now."

He left and Tigerclaw turned back to the apprentice.

"Now, for the rest of your assessment…"

By mid-afternoon, Fawnpaw had caught two rabbits and a crow, all of which were put into consideration for her status. She returned to camp and added them to the cook-pile before going to the nursery. Cloudkit was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Cloudkit?" she asked Brindleface.

"He snuck out of camp this morning after you left. Fireheart caught him and brought him back. As punishment, Cloudkit is taking care of the elders."

"Honestly, sometimes I don't know what to do with him."

"All children are like that. Yours just happens to be a little troublemaker."

"He's three now. Three more years and he'll be an apprentice. I'm hoping that his mentor can help straighten him out."

"I hope that Fireheart will be his mentor. Nobody else seems to be able to get him to listen."

"I hope so, too, then."

"Let all those old enough to hunt for themselves gather in the clearing for a Clan meeting!"

The two women went outside to see Bluestar standing on the rock. She looked regal and utterly worthy of respect. Every person in camp was coming out to see what was going on.

"Today, young Fawnpaw had her warrior assessment. Sandstorm, Tigerclaw, and Whitestorm—how did she do?"

"Fawnpaw is a great hunter," Sandstorm began. "What she lacks in physical strength she makes up for in speed and intelligence. Her fighting skills aren't the best, but she's able to down an opponent long enough to escape."

"I agree with Sandstorm, but I must remark that young Fawnpaw is quite the markswoman as well. Her weapon of choice is the bow—which is difficult to use—and she wields it as well as any warrior I've seen," Whitestorm declared. "Not to mention that her spirit is unmatched."

"Despite her roots, and that she is older than most apprentices, she shows as much promise as her brother did," finished Tigerclaw. "We would be fools not to make her a warrior."

"Then it's decided. Fawnpaw, come forward."

Fawnpaw obeyed.

"Do you swear to uphold and defend this Clan and the Warrior Code, even at the cost of your own life?"

"I do."

"Then it is with great pleasure that I bestow upon you your warrior name. Fawnpaw, you are now Fawnblossom. StarClan honors your spirit and commitment to this Clan."

"Fawnblossom! Fawnblossom! Fawnblossom!" chanted her Clanmates. She caught sight of Cloudkit watching with the elders, his blue eyes gleaming with pride and joy. A smile spread across her face.

I'm a warrior of ThunderClan now.

Okay, so I need to explain some things that might be confusing to my readers.

—This is an alternate version of Earth where humans age differently. A year for them is the equivalent of two for us until they reach nine years old. Then they essentially age just like we do.

—Going off this standard, a typical pregnancy only lasts 20 weeks as opposed to 40.

—In this alternate Earth, it's more common for children to be born as multiples than alone. Cloudkit is an anomaly.

—Leaders of the Clans are still gifted nine lives.

—The warrior code is largely the same, save for every instance of cat or kit being replaced with person/people or child/children.

—In ThunderClan, the leader and healer both still live in caves that are within ThunderClan camp. All bramble structures are made of wood.

—Possible weapons include bows, knives, axes, and spears.

—Foxes are now wolves, badgers are now bears, and dogs are wild dogs. (Seriously, though, wild dogs are an issue. And extremely dangerous.)

If you have any questions about this world, feel free to leave them in a review!

So long and thanks for all the fish!