For One So Small, You Look So Strong (OPEN)

Since Kitepaw and Beepaw, the small warrior hadn't been pregnant in a while. Yet, her desire to be useful to the clan by raising kits with no parents drove her to take the decision of adopting Alderkit. Even though they didn't share blood bonds, the small warrior loved her as her own son and look after him all the time. The poor kitten lost his parents during a battle in the Thunderpath and with no mom to nurse her,  Tinytip started to feed him, to give him shelter during his kithood days.

Tinytip opened her big amber eyes and licked the tom's forehead, cleaning him for this special day. Alderkit was already big and old enough to leave the nursery and see the whole camp, to meet the warriors and apprentices. "Is time to wake up, Alderkit." The she-cat purred, curling her long tail around the small body of the russet-furred kit. "I've prepared a surprise for you."

When he opened his small eyes, he was very very grumpy. He didn't want to wake up "Five more minutes, please." The small brown-red kitty begged to his mom "I need a little bit more of sleep to get a good day."

The tuxedo she-cat stretched her body in her nest and looked at the tom-kit with a raised imaginary eyebrow. It wasn't her first time dealing with sleepy kits thanks to the multiple times she had been a mother and thanks to that, she was actually rather patient. Tinytip rolled her eyes and lifted her shoulders. "Oh, well, I guess you don't want to get out this dark, boring nursery to see the great warriors of our clan outside the den." She said with a disinterested tone with the purpose of trying to motivate the kit with the promise of a new world he hadn't seen yet. Most of the kits were excited to see the camp and she had the feeling Alderkit might have the same ambition. "We would have gone to visit the warriors' den and maybe I would have taught you how to swim. Well, I suppose you prefer to stay here another day doing nothing." The queen dropped her head and looked into the dark amber eyes of the sleepy kit.

When the little kit heard those last words, he jumped excitedly. He realized that his mom wasn't joking, he was finally going outside, but first, he needed to convince her that he was ready. "Visit the warriors? I need to see them! He screamed in joy, but then his face turned pale S...s...swim?? Actually, he was afraid of getting wet

Tinytip chuckled and stood up with a small bounce when she finally heard the positive answer of the tom-kit. Yet, when she saw his worried face when she mentioned the swimming part, the queen tried to calm him by nuzzling him gently. "Don't you worry, my son. I won't let you get drown and will lead you all the time. But first, let see the camp together." The small warrior smiled and walked to the exit of the den. Outside, a fresh breeze welcomed both cats and, even with the cloudy sky, the climate was still warm enough to not shiver. Tinytip purred delighted and then looked down at Alderkit. "Well, Alderkit. This is Riverclan's camp, your home and the home of your ancestors. As you might see, we live on a small island which is surrounded by streams and walls of reeds that keep us safe from enemy clans and predators. Follow me and stay close, you don't want to bother the warriors, right?" She winked and then continued walking to the centre of the camp. From there, the small queen sat down and pointed the different dens with her tail. "That's the warriors' den, next to it, there's the apprentices' den, your future home when you start your training. That smaller den is where elders live and that place with a lot of herbs and a funny smell, is the Medicine cat Den. Goldeneye and Fallowpaw are the Medicine cats of our clan. Any questions for now?"

When the she-cat nuzzled him, he could see how his heartbeat started to slow, he was calm and safe, "O...ok I believe in you, let's go" He walked smiling while they were leaving the den, the sun, blinded Alderkit for a few seconds, but then all was so clear. "It's wonderful" He stared at all the details of the camp, the streams, the reeds, the dens. He glared at all those things he was absorbed. "Yeah, I will follow you" He obediently followed her orders, he didn't want to bother the huge warriors that were in front of him."Yes, I have one question, When my training will start?

The she-cat purred delighted by the interest of her kit. "Soon, my son. Once a kit is 6 moons old, the queen in charge of him tells the deputy, whose name is Scorchclaw. He stands up in that branch, the willow branch, and call all the clan for a meeting. There, he calls the kit who is ready and assigns them a mentor, who is a warrior of the clan or the deputy or the leader. In two moons, you will be big enough to have your own mentor."

The tuxedo cat moved forward to the fresh-kill pile and picked up a small fish for her kit. She laid down next to him and took half of the prey before giving him the other half. "Once you become an apprentice, you will be able to leave the camp and hunt your own prey. But remember the Warrior Code. A noble warrior must never eat before the elders, queens and kits so you always have to take back all the fresh-kill you catch to the pile." Tinytip took much of her prey, enjoying the salt savour of the meat. Maybe it was because she lived in Riverclan her whole life, but for her, there was nothing better than fish.

"So in two months, I will be old enough to be an apprentice. Who will be my mentor?" A lot of questions appeared in his head, then. He thought that she was the only one he remembered at new, "Will I have good friends?" That was the biggest question that was in his mind.
Then she offered some fish to him after she took his part, "Once you become an apprentice, you will be able to leave the camp and hunt your own prey. But remember the Warrior Code. A noble warrior must never eat before the elders, queens, and kits so you always have to take back all the fresh-kill you catch to the pile." The queen said.
"So are there a lot of rules?, When I will be taught?".
Then he ate a portion of his fish, it had a salty flavor, he didn't dislike it though.

Now that she thought about it, Tinytip never told him about the Warrior Code. His mentor would teach him that in the future but it was always good a kit could know it before their training, as a base for their learning experience. "I can tell you some of them know so you can impress your mentor." She mewed, wincing playfully at her kit. "In the clans, there are fifteen laws a warrior should follow. Some of them are pretty obvious but it's never better to know them. Let me see if I remember them right...;
One: Defend your Clan, even with your life. You may have friendships with cats from other Clans, but your loyalty must remain to your Clan, as one day you may meet them in battle.
Two: Do not hunt or trespass on another Clan's territory. If we want respect from other clans, we must respect them first.
Three: The one I already told you about not eating before queens, kits and elders.
Four: We must challenge all trespassing cats.
Five: The leader's word is the Warrior Code.
And six: You must never kill to win your battles unless the cats are outside the Warrior Code or if it is necessary."