by
“Shouldn’t she have opened her eyes by now?”

“Hush, Swiftbreeze. She’s only a day old.

She’ll open them when she’s ready.”

Bluekit felt the rasp of her mother’s tongue

on her flank and nestled closer to Moonflower’s milk-
warm belly.

“Snowkit opened hers this morning,”

Swiftbreeze reminded her. “And my two had theirs

open from almost the moment they were born.” The

she-cat’s tail stirred her bedding. “Leopardkit and

Patchkit are natural warriors.”

A soft purr sounded from a third queen.

“Oh, Swiftbreeze, we all know that no kit can compete

with your two,” Poppydawn gently teased.

A small paw poked Bluekit’s side.

Snowkit!

Bluekit mewled with annoyance and

snuggled closer to Moonflower.

“Come on, Bluekit!” Snowkit whispered in

her ear. “There’s so much to look at and I want to go

outside, but Moonflower won’t let me till you’re ready.”

“She’ll open her eyes in her own time,” Moonflower chided.

Yes. In my own time, Bluekit agreed.

Waking, Bluekit could feel the weight of

her sister lying on top of her. Moonflower’s belly rose

and fell rhythmically beside them. Swiftbreeze was

snoring, and Poppydawn wheezed a little as she

breathed.

Bluekit heard Leopardkit and Patchkit

chattering outside.

“You be the mouse and I’ll be the warrior!”

Patchkit was ordering.

“I was the mouse last time!” Leopardkit

retorted.

“Were not!

“Was!”

A scuffle broke out, punctuated by

squeaks of defiance.

“Watch where you’re rolling!” came the

cross meow of a tom, silencing them for a moment.

“Okay, you be the warrior,” Patchkit

agreed. “But I bet you can’t catch me.” Warrior!

Bluekit wriggled out from under her sister.

A newleaf breeze stirred the bramble walls and drifted

through the gaps—the same fresh forest smell her

father had carried in on his pelt when he’d visited. It

chased away the stuffy smell of moss and milk and

warm, sleeping fur.

Excitement made Bluekit’s claws twitch.

I’m going to be a warrior!

For the first time, she stretched open her

eyes, blinking against the shafts of light that pierced

the bramble roof. The nursery was huge! In darkness,

the den had felt small and cozy, but now she could

see the brambles arching high overhead, with tiny

patches of blue beyond.

Poppydawn lay on her side near one wall,

a dark red tabby with a long bushy tail. Bluekit

recognized her because she smelled different from

Swiftbreeze and Moonflower. There was no milk scent

on her; she didn’t have any kits yet. Swiftbreeze, in a

nest beside her, was hardly visible—curled in a tight

ball with her nose tucked under her tail, her tabby-and-
white pelt blotchy against the bracken underneath.

The most familiar scent of all came from

behind. Wriggling around, Bluekit gazed at her mother. Sunshine dappled Moonflower’s silver-gray

pelt, rippling over the dark stripes that ran along her

flank. Her striped face was narrow, and her ears

tapered to gentle points. Do I look like her? Bluekit

looked over her shoulder at her own pelt. It was fluffy,

not sleek like Moonflower’s, and was dark gray all

over, with no stripes. Not yet.

Snowkit, lying stretched on her back, was

all white except for her gray ear tips.

“Snowkit!” Bluekit breathed.

“What is it?” Snowkit blinked open her

eyes. They were blue.

Are mine blue? Bluekit wondered.

“You’ve opened your eyes!” Snowkit

leaped to her paws, wide-awake. “Now we can go out

of the nursery!”

Bluekit spotted a hole in the bramble wall,

just big enough for two kits to squeeze through.

“Patchkit and Leopardkit are already outside. Let’s

surprise them!”

Poppydawn raised her head. “Don’t go

far,” she murmured sleepily before tucking her nose

back under her tail.

“Where are Poppydawn’s kits?” Bluekit

whispered.

“They won’t arrive for another two moons,”

Snowkit answered.

Arrive? Bluekit tipped her head to one

side. Where from?

Snowkit was already heading for the hole,

scrambling clumsily over Moonflower. Bluekit tumbled

after, her short legs uncertain as she slid down her mother’s back and landed in the soft moss.

The nest rustled and Bluekit felt a soft paw

clamp her tail-tip to the ground. “Where do you think

you are going?” Moonflower was awake.

Bluekit turned and blinked at her mother.

“Outside.” Moonflower’s eyes glowed and a loud purr

rolled in her throat. “You’ve opened your eyes.” She

sounded relieved.

“I decided it was time,” Bluekit replied

proudly.

“There, Swiftbreeze.” Moonflower turned,

waking the tabby-and-white queen with her satisfied mew. “I told you she’d do it when she was ready.”

Swiftbreeze sat up and gave her paw a

lick. “Of course. I was only thinking of my own kits—

they opened their eyes sooner.” She swiped her paw

across her muzzle, smoothing the fur on her nose. Moonflower turned back to her kits. “So

now you’re going out to see the world?”

“Why not?” Bluekit mewed. “Leopardkit

and Patchkit are already out there.”

“Leopardkit and Patchkit are five moons

old,” Moonflower told her. “They’re much bigger than

you, so they’re allowed to play outside.”

Bluekit opened her eyes very wide. “Is it

dangerous?”Moonflower shook her head. “Not in the

camp.”

“Then we can go!” Moonflower sighed, then leaned down to

smooth Bluekit’s fur with her tongue. “I suppose you

have to leave the nursery sometime.” She studied

Snowkit. “Straighten your whiskers.” Pride lit the

queen’s amber gaze. “I want you to look perfect when

you meet the Clan.”

Snowkit ran a licked paw over each spray

of whiskers.

Bluekit looked up at her mother. “Are you

coming with us?”

“Do you want me to?”

Bluekit shook her head. “We’re going to

surprise Patchkit and Leopardkit.”

“Your first prey.” Moonflower’s whiskers

twitched. “Off you go, then.”

Bluekit bounced around and sprinted for

the gap.

“Don’t get under any cat’s paws!” Moonflower called after them as Bluekit barged

ahead of her sister and headed through the hole. “And

stay together!”

The brambles scraped Bluekit’s pelt as

she wriggled out of the nursery. When she tumbled

onto the ground beyond, sunshine stung her eyes.

She blinked away the glare, and the camp opened out

in front of her like a dream. A vast, sandy clearing

stretched away to a rock that cast a shadow so long it

almost touched her paw tips. Two warriors sat

beneath the rock, sharing prey beside a clump of

nettles. Beyond them lay a fallen tree, its tangled

branches folded on the ground like a heap of skinny,

hairless legs. Several tail-lengths away from the

nursery a wide, low bush spread its branches over the

ground. Ferns crowded a corner at the nursery’s other

side, and behind them rose a barrier of gorse so tall

that Bluekit had to crane her neck to see the top.

Excitement thrilled through her. This was

her territory! Her paws prickled. Would she ever know

her way around?

There was no sign of Patchkit or

Leopardkit.

“Where’ve they gone?” she called to

Snowkit.

Snowkit was staring around the camp. “I

don’t know,” she meowed absently. “Look at that

prey!” She was staring at a heap of birds and mice at

the side of the clearing. It was topped by a fat, fluffy

squirrel.

“The fresh-kill pile!” Bluekit bounced

toward it, her nose twitching. She’d heard the queens

in the nursery talking about prey, and she’d smelled

squirrel on her mother’s fur. What would it taste like?

Thrusting her nose into the pile, she tried to sink her

claws into a small creature with short brown fur and a

long, thin tail.

“Watch out!”

Snowkit’s warning came too late. Bluekit’s

paws buckled as the plump squirrel rolled off the top

of the pile and flattened her. Ooof!

Purrs of amusement erupted from the two

warriors beside the nettle patch. “I’ve never seen

fresh-kill attack a cat before!” meowed one of them.

“Careful!” warned the other warrior. “All

that fluff might choke you!”

Hot with embarrassment, Bluekit wriggled

out from under the squirrel and stared fiercely at the

warriors. “It just fell on me!” She didn’t want to be

remembered as the kit who was jumped on by a dead

squirrel.

“Hey, you two!” Bluekit recognized

Patchkit from his nursery-scent as he padded out

from behind the nursery. “Does your mother know

you’re outside?”

“Of course!” Bluekit spun around to see

her denmate for the first time. Oh.

She hadn’t expected Patchkit to be so

big. His black-and-white fur was smooth like a

warrior’s, and she had to tip her head back to look up

at him. She stretched her legs, trying to appear taller.

Leopardkit scampered after her brother,

swiping playfully at his tail. Her black coat shone in the

sunshine. She stopped and stared in delight when

she saw Bluekit and Snowkit. “You’ve opened your

eyes!”

Bluekit licked her chest, trying to smooth

down her fluffy fur and wishing her pelt were as sleek

as theirs.

“We can show you around,” Leopardkit mewed excitedly.

Snowkit bounced around the older kit.

“Yes, please!”

Bluekit flicked her tail crossly. She didn’t

want to be shown her territory. She wanted to explore

it for herself! But Leopardkit was already trotting

toward the wide patch of ferns near the gorse barrier.

“This is the apprentices’ den,” she called over her

shoulder. “We’ll be sleeping there in a moon.”

Snowkit raced after her.

“Are you coming?” Patchkit nudged

Bluekit.

Bluekit was gazing back at the nursery.

“Won’t you miss your old nest?” She felt a sudden

flicker of anxiety. She liked sleeping next to Moonflower.

“I can’t wait to move into my new den!”

Patchkit yowled as he darted toward the apprentices’

den. “It’ll be great to be able to talk without

Swiftbreeze telling us to be quiet and go to sleep.”

As Bluekit hurried after him, the ferns

trembled and a tortoiseshell face poked out between

the green fronds.

“Once you start your training,” yawned the

sleepy-looking apprentice, “you’ll be glad to get some

sleep.”

“Hello, Dapplepaw!” Patchkit skittered to

a halt outside the den as the tortoiseshell she-cat

stretched, half in and half out of the bush.

Bluekit stared at Dapplepaw’s pelt, thick

and shiny; the muscles on the she-cat’s shoulders

rippled as she sprang from the ferns and landed

beside Patchkit. Suddenly Bluekit’s denmate didn’t

seem so big after all.

“We’re showing Bluekit and Snowkit

around the camp,” Leopardkit announced. “It’s their

first time out.”

“Don’t forget to show them the dirtplace,”

Dapplepaw joked. “Whitepaw was complaining only

this morning about cleaning out the nursery. The place

has been filled with kits for moons, and there’s more

on the way.”

Bluekit lifted her chin. “Snowkit and I can

keep our nest clean now,” she declared.

Dapplepaw’s whiskers quivered. “I’ll tell

Whitepaw when she gets back from hunting. I’m sure

she’ll be delighted to hear it.”

Is she teasing? Bluekit narrowed her

eyes.

“I can’t wait to go hunting!” Patchkit

dropped into a crouch, his tail weaving like a snake. Quick as the wind, Dapplepaw pinned it

down with her paw. “Don’t forget to keep your tail still

or the prey will hear you swishing up the leaves.”

Patchkit pulled his tail free and

straightened it out, flattening it to the ground.

Snowkit stifled a purr. “It sticks out like a

twig,” she whispered in Bluekit’s ear.

Bluekit was watching too intently to reply.

She studied how Patchkit had pressed his chest to

the ground, how he’d unsheathed his claws and

tucked his hind paws right under his body. I’m going

to be the best hunter ThunderClan has ever seen,

she vowed.

“Not bad,” Dapplepaw congratulated

Patchkit, then glanced at Leopardkit. “Let’s see your

hunting crouch.”

Leopardkit instantly dropped and pressed

her belly to the ground.

Bluekit longed to try it, but not until she’d

practiced by herself. “Come on, let’s leave them to it,”

she whispered to Snowkit.

Snowkit stared at her in surprise. “Leave

them?”

“Let’s explore by ourselves.” Bluekit saw a

chance to slip away unnoticed.

“But it’s fun hanging out with…”

Bluekit didn’t hear any more; she was

already backing away. Glancing over her shoulder,

she spotted a low, spreading bush beside the

nursery. Patchkit and Leopardkit wouldn’t find them

there. She spun around and dashed for the bush,

diving under a branch. As she caught her breath, she

tasted lots and lots of different scents clinging to the

leaves. How many cats were there in ThunderClan?

Did they really all fit in the camp?

The branches shook, and Snowkit

crashed in after her.

“I thought you weren’t coming!” Bluekit

squeaked in surprise.

“Moonflower told us to stay together,”

Snowkit reminded her.

Together they peeped out to see if

Leopardkit, Patchkit, and Dapplepaw had noticed

their escape. The three cats were staring at the

nursery, looking puzzled.

Dapplepaw shrugged. “They must have

gone back to their nest.”

“Never mind.” Patchkit paced around

Dapplepaw. “Now you can take us to the sandy hollow

like you promised.”

Sandy hollow? What’s that? Bluekit

suddenly wished she’d stayed with the others.

“I never promised!” Dapplepaw protested.

“We’ll be in trouble if we get caught,”

Leopardkit warned. “We’re not supposed to leave the

camp until we’re apprentices, remember?”

“Then we won’t get caught,” Patchkit mewed.

Dapplepaw glanced uncertainly around

the clearing. “I’ll take you to the edge of the ravine,”

she offered. “But that’s all.”

Jealousy burned Bluekit’s pelt as she

watched Dapplepaw lead Leopardkit and Patchkit

toward the gorse barrier and disappear through a gap

at the base.Maybe we can follow them and see where

they go….

Suddenly a muzzle nudged her

hindquarters and sent her skidding out from her hiding

place. Her sister tumbled after her, and a gray tabby

face peered out at them from under the leaves.

“What are you doing here? This is the

warriors’ den!”

“S-sorry!” Snowkit backed away.

Bluekit faced the warrior. “How were we

supposed to know?” she protested. Do warriors have

a special scent or something?

The tabby tom narrowed his eyes. “Are

you Moonflower’s kits?”

Snowkit’s pelt ruffled and she looked

down at her paws.

Bluekit lifted her chin. She wasn’t scared

of the grouchy warrior. “Yes. I’m Bluekit. And this is my

sister, Snowkit.”

The tabby slid from under the bush and

straightened up. He was even bigger than

Dapplepaw. Bluekit took a step back.

“I’m Stonepelt,” meowed the gray tom.

“Are you looking for Stormtail?”

Snowkit glanced up eagerly. “Is he here?”

“He’s out hunting.”

“We weren’t looking for him, actually,”

Bluekit told the warrior, even though she would have

liked to see her father now that her eyes had opened.

“We were hiding from Patchkit and Leopardkit.”

“Hide-and-seek, I suppose.” Stonepelt

sighed.

“No,” Bluekit corrected him. “They were

trying to show us around the camp, but we wanted to

explore it for ourselves.”

Stonepelt flicked his tail. “A good warrior

learns from his Clanmates.”

“W-we thought it would be more fun on our

own,” Snowkit blurted out.

The warrior’s pelt bristled. “Well, it’s no fun

being woken from a well-earned rest by a stampede

of kits.”

“We’re sorry,” Snowkit apologized. “We

didn’t realize.”

“That’s what happens when kits are left to

wander around by themselves.” Stonepelt snorted and

turned his gaze toward the fresh-kill pile. “Now that I’m

awake, I might as well eat.” With a flick of his tail, the

warrior headed across the clearing, leaving the two

kits alone.

Snowkit turned on Bluekit. “Did you have

to pick the warriors’ den to hide in?” she mewed

crossly.

“How was I supposed to know?” Bluekit

snapped back.

“We would have known if we’d stayed with

Patchkit!”

Bluekit flicked her ears. Now they knew

where the apprentices’ den was, and the warriors’.

They had wanted to explore the camp, hadn’t they?

She gazed across the clearing, waiting for her eyes to

stop being blurry. She hadn’t tried to see this far away

yet. As the rock at the opposite end of the clearing

came into focus, she noticed scuffed earth around the

base. Paw prints led into the shadows and

disappeared where a patch of lichen hung at one

side. Where did they lead?

Forgetting that she was cross with

Snowkit, Bluekit meowed, “Follow me!” She ran over

to the lichen, then reached out and prodded it with her

paw. It swung under her touch and then gave way. Her

paw sank through the brush and into empty space.

“There’s a gap!” Excited, Bluekit pushed

her way through and found herself in a quiet cove. Its

floor and walls were smooth and, although no cat was

there, a nest of moss lay at one side. “It’s a den,” she

hissed back through the lichen to Snowkit.

“It’s Pinestar’s den,” replied a voice that

wasn’t her sister’s.

Bluekit froze for a moment, then backed

cautiously out of the cave. Was she in trouble again?

A pale silver tom with bright amber eyes

was sitting beside Snowkit.

“Hello, Bluekit.”

Bluekit tilted her head. “How do you know my name?” she asked.

“I was at your kitting,” the tom told her. “I’m

Featherwhisker, the medicine cat’s apprentice.” He

nodded toward Pinestar’s den. “You shouldn’t go in

there unless you’ve been invited.” His mew was soft

but grave.

“I didn’t realize it was his den. I just

wondered what was behind the lichen.” Bluekit looked

down at her paws. “Are you going to tell Pinestar?”

“Yes.”

Bluekit’s heart lurched.

“It’s better that I tell him. He’ll smell your

scent anyway,” Featherwhisker explained.

Bluekit looked up at him anxiously. Would

Pinestar say she couldn’t be a warrior now?

“Don’t worry,” Featherwhisker reassured

her. “He won’t be angry. He’ll probably admire your

curiosity.”

“Can I go and look too, then?” Snowkit mewed.

Featherwhisker purred. “One kit’s scent

will smell like curiosity,” he told her. “Two kits’ scents

will smell like nosiness.”

Snowkit’s tail drooped.

“I’m sure you’ll get a chance to see inside

one day,” Featherwhisker promised. “Why don’t I take

you to meet the elders instead? They like meeting the

new kits.”

Again they were to be shown around!

Annoyance prickled in Bluekit’s pelt, but she

reminded herself what Stonepelt had said: A good

warrior learns from her Clanmates.

Featherwhisker led them to the fallen tree

and squeezed under a jutting branch. Bluekit trotted

after, Snowkit at her heels. Grass, ferns, and moss sprouted from

every crevice in the tangle of wood, turning the

decaying bark green with newleaf freshness. Bluekit

followed Featherwhisker as he weaved his way

through a maze of twigs until he reached an open

space among the tangled branches.

A mangy brown tom was lying with his

back to the fallen trunk, while a tortoiseshell she-cat

groomed his ears with her tongue. A second tom, his

orange pelt flecked with white, was eating a mouse at

the other end of the den.

The tortoiseshell looked up as

Featherwhisker entered. “Have you brought mouse

bile?” She looked hopeful. “Mumblefoot’s got another

tick.”

“He insists on hunting every day,” the

orange tom commented. “He’s bound to get ticks.”

“The day I stop hunting, Weedwhisker, is

the day you can sit vigil for me,” meowed Mumblefoot. Weedwhisker took another bite of his mouse. “I’ll never stop hunting, either,” he muttered

with his mouth full. “There aren’t enough apprentices

to keep us fed these days.”

“Patchkit and Leopardkit will be starting

their training soon,” Featherwhisker reminded them.

“And we’ve got another pair on the way to becoming

apprentices.” He stepped aside, revealing Bluekit

and Snowkit.Weedwhisker looked up from his mouse. Mumblefoot sat up, pricking his ears.

“Kits!” The tortoiseshell she-cat’s eyes

brightened, and she hurried forward and gave Bluekit

a soggy lick on her cheek. Bluekit ducked away,

rubbing her wet face with her paw, then stifled a purr

as Snowkit received the same welcome.

“It’s their first time out of the nursery,

Larksong,” Featherwhisker explained. “I caught them

trying to make a nest in Pinestar’s den.”

“We were not—” Bluekit started to object.

“Don’t take any notice of Featherwhisker,”

Larksong interrupted. “He teases all the cats. It’s one

of the privileges of being medicine cat.”

“Medicine cat apprentice,”

Featherwhisker corrected her.

“Huh!” Mumblefoot wrapped his tail over

his paws. “Which means you do all of Goosefeather’s

duties while that lazy old badger pretends to look for

herbs.”

“Hush!” Larksong looked sternly at her

denmate. “Goosefeather does his best.” Mumblefoot snorted. “What herb was he

supposedly collecting this morning?” he asked

Featherwhisker.

The medicine cat apprentice twitched his

ears. “Comfrey.”

“Well, I saw him sunning himself by the Owl Tree, fast asleep. His snoring was scaring the

prey.” He flicked his tail toward the morsel that

Weedwhisker was enjoying. “It took me an age to find

that.”

“Goosefeather has taught me a lot,”

Featherwhisker said in defense of his mentor. “And

there’s no herb in the forest he doesn’t know how to

use.”

“If he can be bothered to pick them,”

Mumblefoot muttered.

Featherwhisker glanced at Bluekit and

Leopardkit. “Take no notice,” he meowed.

“Goosefeather and Mumblefoot have never seen eye

to eye.”

“And you shouldn’t be saying such things, Mumblefoot,” Larksong scolded. “You know Goosefeather is their kin.”

“He is?” Bluekit blinked at the

tortoiseshell.

“He was your mother’s littermate,”

Larksong explained. She swept Bluekit and Snowkit

forward with her tail. “Come and tell us all about

yourselves.”

“My name is Bluekit, and this is my sister,

Snowkit. Our mother is Moonflower and our father is

Stormtail,” Bluekit chirped. “And today is the first time

we’ve been out of the nursery!” Weedwhisker licked his lips as he

swallowed the last of the mouse. “Welcome to the

Clan, little ones. I’m sure you’ll be up to trouble in no

time. Kits can’t seem to help themselves.”

Bluekit pricked her ears. “Have

Leopardkit and Patchkit been in trouble?”

Larksong purred. “I don’t know a kit who

hasn’t.”

Relief warmed Bluekit’s belly. She didn’t

want to be the only one who got things wrong. Like

having a squirrel fall on my head.

“It’s about time Pinestar made those two

apprentices,” Mumblefoot croaked. “They have too much time on their paws. Every time I go to the fresh-
kill pile, I trip over one of them kicking up dust with

some silly game or other.”

“I’ll ask Swiftbreeze if I can take them herb

gathering in the forest tomorrow,” Featherwhisker

suggested. “That should keep them busy.”

Bluekit’s eyes grew wide. “In the forest?”

she echoed.

Featherwhisker nodded. “We won’t go far

from camp.”

That must be where Dapplepaw was

taking Patchkit and Leopardkit. Bluekit wondered

how much more there was beyond the clearing and

the dens.

Beside her, Snowkit yawned.

“You’d better be getting them back to their mother,” Larksong advised. “Snowkit looks like she’s

going to fall asleep on her paws.”

Bluekit turned to see her sister’s eyes

drooping. She suddenly realized that her own legs

ached and her belly was rumbling. But she didn’t want

to leave; she wanted to learn more. What did

Mumblefoot’s tick look like? Where was Goosefeather now?

“Come on.” Featherwhisker began to

usher them out of the den.

“How can we learn anything back in the

nursery?” Bluekit objected.

“You’ll learn a lot more once you’ve

rested,” Larksong meowed.

“Come back and see us soon!” Weedwhisker called.

Bluekit stumbled as they crossed the

clearing. Though her mind whirled with questions, her

paws were clumsy with fatigue. She felt relieved when

Featherwhisker nudged her into the nursery.

“What did you see, little one?” Moonflower

asked as Bluekit snuggled down beside her mother

with Snowkit.

“Everything,” Bluekit yawned. Moonflower purred. “Not everything, my

darling.” Bluekit closed her eyes as her mother went

on softly. “There’s a whole forest for you to explore.

And even that is just part of the Clans’ territories.

There are lands beyond—Mothermouth, Highstones,

and even farther.”

“How far does the world stretch?” Snowkit murmured sleepily.

“Only StarClan knows,” Moonflower

replied.

Bluekit imagined trees and bracken and

nettles and gorse stretching far beyond the camp into

an endless sky. “But my legs aren’t long enough to

travel that far,” she protested. As her visions faded

into dreams, she heard her mother’s voice continue.

“They’ll grow, my sweet, until one day

they’ll be strong enough to walk the whole world.”
   likes this.
kega321
I know it is pretty long but it passes the time.
  • September 21, 2014
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