Nightfeather

A few days after her "graduation", as everyone was calling it, Specklestar provided Nightfeather with her very own apprentice. A kit called Dovepaw. Dovepaw was a gracious apprentice. She trained vigorously, rising to every challenge, pushing herself harder and further, working to be the best that she could be. Nightfeather was impressed. Dovepaw was progressing almost as quickly as she had.

Dovepaw was an eager spirit. She loved to learn, and she loved to be pushed, to be tested, to learn her limits and exceed them.

Dovepaw was a beautiful young kit. She was white, with black on her forepaws, her chest and stomach, and her nose. Her tail was a smokey grey and white, and she also had a black "HU" on her forehead, between her eyes. Her eyes were beautiful, yellow and blue. But what really made her stand out was the black dove in flight on her left shoulder. It was her marking---her namesake. And it definitely fit her personality. She was flighty and spirited, and soaked up every bit of knowledge she could from Nightfeather.

They trained every day, from dawn 'till dusk. Sometimes they trained if Firefern's training den, sometimes at the gathering place, sometimes by the stream---wherever. Anytime they were seen together, they were training.

Neither of them were seriously injured during Dovepaw's training, but more than once, one of them would cry out, and the other would have to retract her claws for a moment. At the end of every day, Nightfeather and Dovepaw would retire to their dens, counting the new scratches from that day, showing off the worst ones---Dovepaw to the other kits, Nightfeather to Firefern--- each of them gushing about the day's progress.

Dovepaw's training only took about a month. After this month had passed, Nightfeather went to Specklestar's den.

"I believe that Dovepaw has mastered her training."

"Really," Specklestar said, eyebrows raising, "She's only been training for about a month. Are you sure she's ready?"

"Yes. She learns quickly, and she's very skilled."

"Hmm..." Specklestar mused with a teasing smile. "Now, who does that remind me of?" She looked at Nightfeather pointedly.

Nightfeather smiled and looked at her paws. "Yes, but if you'll recall, my training only took three weeks."

"I remember. But I also remember that you had an advantage. For the first couple of weeks of your life, you were forced to learn to fight in order to survive. Besides---"

"I wouldn't really call that an advantage," Nightfeather mumbled to the dirt beneath her paws, remembering the time before she joined Fireclan, when she'd had to learn to fend for herself after being abandoned by her parents at birth.

Specklestar padded up to Nightfeather and placed a comforting paw on her shoulder. Her voice softened.

"I know it was an awful way to start out, but just remember that it made you who you are today---skilled fighter, masterful teacher, wonderful in mind in spirit. You're the youngest member of the clan to have an apprentice---and your relationship with Firefern---which is going well, I assume?

This brought a smile to her face, and now Nightfeather's downward gaze was sheepish as she said, "Yes. It's great. I really love him. And I know he loves me. I've never felt like this before." Nightfeather sat down. It's like, my heart flutters whenever I see him or hear his voice, I become breathless whenever he looks at me...I don't know. It's like, as long as he's around, nothing could ever possibly go wrong. And it's wonderful."

Specklestar smiled. "Yes, it is..." she trailed off, and they were both silent for a moment. Then Nightfeather remembered why she'd come in the first place, and broke the trance.

"Anyway, so, I think we should hold a ceremony for Dovepaw. Like we did when I mastered my training."

"Yes, you're right. Alright, go get Dovepaw and bring her to me so we can inform her of our decision and prepare for the ceremony."

"Okay," Nightfeather said, and promptly left her clan leader's den to go tell Dovepaw of her advancement.

********

Dovepaw had been excited to learn of her advancement. Nightfeather had escorted her to the stream, where they had cleaned up and Nightfeather had briefed Dovepaw as to what would happen at the ceremony.

At the ceremony, which took place just as the sun was setting on a beautiful, warm night, everyone sat quietly gathered around the fire.

Specklestar had made comment after comment about how Dovetail was such a wonderful, skillful, competent apprentice, and about how Nightfeather was such a marvelous, patient, encouraging trainer, and then announce that, after only a month, Dovepaw would now officially be known as Dovetail.

After the official ceremony, Specklestar had retired to her den, and the other cats in the clan had thrown a huge celebration for Nightfeather and Dovetail. They were congratulated by all, and then, as the night wore on and the Clan kits were sent to bed, Nightfeather congratulated Dovetail one last time, said goodnight, and retired with Firefern to the den that they now shared.

********

Firefern was now gazing into Nightfeather's eyes. He stared into their violet depth for a few moments, then said, "You were an excellent trainer. I only hope That I was as patient and graceful and skilled with you as you were with her."

Nightfeather blushed. "You were much better with me than I was with her. I was unsure of myself sometimes, but you were always so confident in what you were doing."

"Yes, but you were injured in training," Firefern no longer flinched when he mentioned how Nightfeather had received the scar on her nose. "She wasn't." You were much more careful than I was."

Nightfeather looked him squarely in the eyes. "We both know that this," she gestured toward her nose with one paw, "wasn't your fault. We both just got carried away, that's all. And besides, she probably would've completed her training sooner if I hadn't been so careful."

Firefern smiled at her stubbornness and said, "Well, whatever should or shouldn't have happened, FireClan has yet another skilled warrior among us, and we have you to thank. So," he bent his head closer to hers, "thank you," he said softly, then kissed her; gently at first, but then with a growing hunger, a passion that seemed to consume them both completely. The kisses became deeper and deeper, faster and more demanding, and Firefern leaned forward, slowly, gently, so that Nightfeather lay on the floor beneath him.

That night, for the very first time, the couple succumbed completely to the passion that had been brewing between them for so long.