Chapter 7

      Hollykit couldn't sleep. She was too excited. The time she had been waiting for since she had been kitted was just about to happen. She was going to become an apprentice!
      She wondered who her mentor might be. She wished Brackenfur wasn't Smokepaw's mentor. Something about him seemed... familiar. Something that made her wish he was her mentor. Hollykit thought about who else could mentor her. There were many younger warriors than Brackenfur, like Berrynose or Birchfall. Hollykit wouldn't want to have Berrynose as her mentor. If she could choose between the two she would choose Birchfall. Though she'd rather not have him either.
     Maybe Sorreltail or Poppyfrost would would be good mentors. Hollykit thought a little longer before Cinderheart appeared in the entrance. She was talking with Firestar about something. Then she came in. "Hi, Hollykit. Are you excited?" Hollykit nodded her head energetically and her mother laughed. "How about Snowkit?"
      "She's excited too, she came in here just to tell me."
      "Have you spoken to Firekit?" Cinderheart asked hopefully.
      "We managed to convince him," Hollykit reassured her. Ten she crawled next to where her mother curled up and slept peacefully.


      Hollykit woke up when she felt a paw in her side. Her mother's eyes gleamed proudly above her. "It's almost time, Hollykit. Let me make you look nice."
      Hollykit stood up and let Cinderheart lick her fur. Snowkit and Firekit were sitting next to each other looking at her. She didn't know why they didn't look so happy. When Cinderheart finished, she turned to Snowkit, who stood up. Hollykit peeked outside and saw the clan was beginning to gather, waiting. "Come on!" she whispered happily.
      Firekit quickly got cleaned right before Lionblaze came in. "Come on, Firestar called us. It's time to go." Hollykit noticed that Snowkit and Firekit lined up behind her. Then the five cats padded out of the nursery.
     "The time has come for one of our favorite and most useful ceremonies. Snowkit, Hollykit, and Firekit have reached their sixth moon. They are welcome into our world of warriors and apprentices."
     Hollykit saw Jayfeather farther off. I guess he doesn't need to be close. He can't see us and he has stronger hearing than us.
      "Just like their father and his litter, these three kits have had an adventurous kithood." Hollykit noticed   Lionblaze stiffen beside her and glance at Jayfeather for a second. Firekit looked down. "Snowkit!"
      Hollykit could tell she was trying her hardest to keep calm and she padded forward.
      "From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Snowpaw."
      "Snowpaw!" the clan yelled her name.
      "Poppyfrost," Firestar called calmly. Poppyfrost stood up, her eyes full of pride. "Your mentor Thornclaw trained you well and you are a credit to Thunderclan. Now the Clan asks you to prove yourself a good mentor with your first apprentice."
      Poppyfrost dipped her head while Firestar continued. "I trust you to pass on all you have learned to Snowpaw and help her become a warrior the Clan can be proud of."
      "I won't let you or the Clan down," Poppyfrost said and bent down to touch noses with Snowpaw."
      "Hollykit," Firestar called.
      Forgetting that she was nervous, she bounded forward, waiting eagerly for her apprentice name. "From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Hollypaw."
      "Hollypaw! Hollypaw!" She could see her sister leading the chant. She felt guilty when she realized she hadn't done the same for Snowpaw.
      "Spiderleg!" Firestar waited for him to step forward. "You mentored Mousewhisker, and he turned out to be a great warrior. Now we expect you to pass on all you know to Hollypaw and help her become a warrior that every clan will fear."
      Hollypaw looked up at her mentor. His eyes were kind, but she was kind of scared of him. She had heard stories about him before. "I will teach her all I have learned." Then Hollypaw reached up and touched her nose to his.
      "Firekit!" her leader called. Hollypaw watched her brother step forward slowly, uncertainty showing in his eyes. "Every cat has noticed that you don't come out of the nursery. Today every cat congratulates you for making it this far," Firestar said, amused. He waited until the mews of approval died down. "From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Firepaw."
      "Firepaw!" Hollypaw cried and listened as the other cats joined in.
      "Dustpelt," Firestar said. "You have mentored many cats since the time you became a warrior. Both of your mentors trained you well. I trust you, with your experience, to pass on all your knowledge, without leaving any behind, to Firepaw."
      "Of course, Firestar, I will share all I have learned." Hollypaw could sense the friendship between her leader and Dustpelt, and she remembered that they were both apprentices together.
      Firestar looked at the sky. "I ask StarClan to watch over all three young apprentices and guide them until they find in their paws the strength and courage of a warrior."
      Hollypaw noticed the cats leaving the clearing to go do their duties. She turned to Spiderleg, wondering what to do next.
      "Do you want to clean the elder's bedding and check for ticks or explore the territory?"
      "Can we explore the territory first?" Hollypaw asked.
      "Sure," he said, then bounded away without warning. Hollypaw quickly followed.
      The two cats ran soundlessly. Hollypaw was getting tired, but she didn't want to show that she was weak. Spiderleg slowed down. "What can you smell?" he asked.
      "Er, leaves?" Hollypaw asked.
      Hollypaw received a friendly flick on her ear. "Of course you smell leaves. You'll always smell leaves no matter where you go," her mentor responded.
      "Even Windclan?" she dared to ask.
      Spiderleg flicked his tail impatiently. "Do we have to go discussing where leaves are? Just tell me what else you smell here."
      Hollypaw tasted the air and realized there was something unusual. It tasted bad. "I don't know what it is," she told her mentor sadly.
      "Don't feel bad. You wouldn't know what it is. That is the Shadowclan border. What you are smelling is Shadowclan."
      "Oh," she said. Would there be any around there now?
      Spiderleg must have seen her worried expression because he said, "You want to wait here for a patrol so you can tell them that you're an apprentice now?" he asked with an amused glint in his voice.
      "No!"
      Hollypaw followed her mentor as he padded along the border to the lake. While she was walking, she noticed Shadowclan scent beginning to mix with water. Eventually, she came to a place where there was a wide area of water. "Wow," she breathed.
      Hollypaw's thoughts were interrupted bu a loud yowl. She and Spiderleg raced towards the sound. Behind a bush, they saw Dustpelt and Thornclaw battling five cats that smelled different.
      "Get more warriors!" Spiderleg hissed to her.
     Hollypaw ran as fast as she could in the direction where she thought the camp was. She was thankful as she began to hear the sounds that go on in the camp. Hollypaw burst through the entrance. "Dustpelt and Thornclaw are being attacked by the lake!" she yowled.
      Sorreltail, Brackenfur, and Squirrelflight rushed to her. "Take us there!" Squirrelflight demanded. Hollypaw nodded and hoped she would find her scent trail so she could follow it back. She opened her mouth and started following the trail.
      When they got to the place, Hollypaw could still hear yowls of fury. She watched as Sorreltail, Brackenfur, and Squirrelflight darted past her to help. She went after them, but not daring to join the fight because she knew she hadn't been taught any battle training.
      Suddenly Hollypaw heard a noise behind her. She wheeled around and her mouth gaped open when she saw Jayfeather standing behind her with some sort of stick in his mouth. "Jayfeather?"
      He dropped the stick. His ears were pricked toward the fight and he sighed. "I'd go help them out, but it would do no good except get the Thunderclan medicine cat killed." Hollypaw watched while Jayfeather sat down and licked his fur.
      Suddenly Hollypaw realized how much importance medicine cats get. Hollypaw had always wanted importance, but she never really got it. "Jayfeather, I was, uh, wondering..."
      "Yeah?" he asked not paying much attention.
      "Can I become a medicine cat apprentice?"
      Jayfeather looked more shocked than he ever had before for a moment, but he got back to his normal calm as quickly. "W-why do you want to be a medicine cat?"
      "Well, I want to be able to serve my clan the best that I can. As a warrior I would be limited to fighting with tooth and claw, but as a medicine cat, I could do so much more."
      Hollypaw's words seemed to shock the medicine cat much more. He hadn't manage to regain his composure by the time Squirrelflight, Sorreltail, Thornclaw, Spiderleg, and Brackenfur came up dragging Dustpelt's body behind.  "Are you okay?" she gasped.
      Brackenfur let the body down. "Dustpelt isn't doing okay. And Thornclaw doesn't look that great." Hollypaw looked over at Thornclaw. He was panting and barely managing to sit up.
      "Why were you fighting? Who were they?"
      "That was Riverclan. They wanted to claim the lake as their own and they were trying to mark their territory onto Thunderclan land." Hollpaw looked at her mentor as he spoke. He looked almost as bad as Thornclaw.
      "Why were they doing that?" Hollypaw asked, bewildered.
      "Riverclan is just weird. They've always wanted the lake." Jayfeather decided to speak then. "Even before I was born. I don't get why we shouldn't just give it to them. We don't fish!"
      "Jayfeather, you know why we don't give it to them I'd expect you to not twist an apprentices mind like that!"  Squirrelflight sounded like a mother scolding her kit. Hollypaw wondered why she was like that.
      Jayfeather just snarled and stalked away with his stick.
      Poppyfrost and Snowpaw appeared behind the group of cats. Snowpaw looked shocked and scared. Poppyfrost asked, "What happened here?" Sorreltail told them what happened and Snowpaw looked frightened out of her fur.     "Spiderleg, you better go back to and rest instead of keeping Hollypaw. The rest of you should go rest, too."
      "But it's Hollypaw's first day out. I'm sure she won't want to go back already," Spiderleg insisted. "Really, I can take her."
      "Look at yourself, Spiderleg. You can hardly catch your breath. I can take Hollypaw for the day."
Spiderleg knew there was no arguing with Poppyfrost. "Fine, you take her." Then he got up and stretched and took Dustpelt's scruff in his mouth and began dragging him back to camp. The other cats followed him.
      Soon Hollypaw was alone with her sister and her mentor. "So what were you doing?"
      "I was showing Snowpaw the territory but we were going the other way. Snowpaw, we could show you the rest of the territory tomorrow, right? Today we'll show Hollypaw the rest."
      Snowpaw didn't seem to mind, she still looked as scared. She just nodded.

Chapter 6

      Snowkit picked up a mouse and started sneaking over to the mini clearing where Smokepaw and she meet. The morning's light started to have less effect in keeping them warm. Leaf-bare was on its way. It's been two moons since Jayfeather was hurt, and one moon since they were allowed to go out of the nursery again. Jayfeather seemed to be much better, but Snowkit noticed how he stopped often to rest and would grunt every time he got up.
      The biggest thing that had happened since that day was the end of Jayfeather and her father talking. She didn't know what happened, she planned on asking Jayfeather sometime. He had told her himself that he was not on speaking terms, so he must be okay with talking about it.
      "I guess we're a team now," he had said.
      "What do you mean?"
      "Lionblaze and I..." He had trailed off, not knowing what to say. But the way the two ever looked at each other, from Lionblaze's part of course, it was made pretty clear that they wanted nothing to do with each other.
      Snowkit hurried on, reminding herself to go to Jayfeather later. When she got to the mini clearing, she sat down at the other end and began eating. A few minutes later, Smokepaw appeared, holding his own small shrew. He bounded over to her and sat down to eat.
      They ate in silence, and Snowkit was thankful for that. She wanted some time to think, and even though she was a kit and had nothing to do, she never got the time to just think. Snowkit thought about what might be going on between Lionblaze and Jayfeather, but when she couldn't, her attention turned to Firekit. He had not left the nursery once these past two moons. Of course, one moon none of them left, but when Firestar sad they were free, he just stayed. She and Hollykit had both tried to get him out, but he kept saying that it was his fault so he should not be allowed out of the nursery. Hopefully they could get him out 2 moons later. Still, she doubted it.
      Smokepaw grunted while he licked his mouth after he finished his shrew and what was remaining of Snowkit's mouse while she was distracted. She flicked his ear with her tail playfully.
      "Snowkit," he started, "how old are you now?"
      "Six moons, why?"
      "How old is a kit when they get their apprentice name?"
      "Six mo-" Suddenly Snowkit realized that she's going to be apprenticed today. "Yay!" I have to go tell Hollykit and Firekit!" Snowkit got on her paws immediately.
      "Firekit?" Smokepaw asked unsurely.
      "Why not? Can't I?"
      Snowkit waited for Smokepaw's hesitant response impatiently. "Well, he won't be too happy about it, will he? Please tell me he'll actually come out of the nursery. Or is he going to refuse his apprentice ceremony?"
      Snowkit froze as she soaked in Smokepaw's words. What he was saying sounded excatly like what Firekit would do. Firekit was a carefree cat, one that would try to do everything, but if he ever realized he's done something wrong, he goes into a state where no cat can help him, no matter how hard they try.
      "Come with me," she begged Smokepaw. "Maybe you, me, and Hollykit can get him to come."
      "Of course," Smokepaw mewed gently, pushing his nose into her thick, soft fur. "I'll help your brother, don't worry." Snowkit couldn't tell whether he meant he was helping her or Firekit. Though his words were for Firekit, his tone seemed to be for Snowkit.
      "Thank you," she squeaked anyway, and the two crept out.
      Back in the normal clearing, Snowkit looked for Hollykit. When she couldn't find her, she went to the nursery. Hollykit was there, curled up beside Firekit, but not sleeping. "Snowkit?" she asked as her sister entered.
      "Yes," she said, nervously.
      "And me," grunted Smokepaw as the young strong apprentice pushed his way beside her.
      "Oh, okay. Why are you here?"
      "Can't a cat go somewhere in the camp every now and then?" Smokepaw retorted. Snowkit silenced him with her tail.
      "Oh, I didn't mean that," she spoke, startled.
      "Hollykit, we're six moons old. We're going to be apprentices!" Snowkit said excitedly.
      Hollykit jumped to her paws, her green eyes gleaming happily. "I know," she breathed. "Finally." Then she looked at the small orange lump next to her. "But..."
      "I know. What are we going to do?"
      "I don't know," she said, looking crestfallen.
      "Kits!" Smokepaw exclaimed. Snowkit looked at him and he explained. "I mean being so worried for no reason. You can't expect Firekit to refuse being and apprentice." Snowkit shot  him a look that told him to be quiet. She was hurt at the fact that Smokepaw always acted different when he wasn't alone with her.
      Snowkit turned back to Hollykit. "Let's wake him up. Maybe we can convince him before the ceremony."
      "The ceremony's not till evening," Smokepaw snorted.
      Snowkit turned her ice blue eyes back at Smokepaw. "Leave," she said sternly, "or keep quiet." Snowkit thought of another idea. "If you don't I'll stuff your mouth with mouse bile. I'm not joking." Smokepaw looked startled, probably by the intensity of her eyes. Snowkit had been told that her eyes carried sweetness but change dramatically when something happens.
      "Firekit," Hollykit said while prodding Firekit's stomach.
      He woke with a start. "Wha?" Firekit looked around at the cats in the nursery. Then he closed his eyes. "I'm not leaving here, you know," he mumbled.
      "Firekit, our apprentice ceremony is today." Snowkit saw light beginning to shine in his eyes, but then they died as he put his head down.
      Snowkit looked at Hollykit in dismay. Then they both looked down at his weak body. It had been weak ever since he stopped coming out for fresh kill. The cats had kept bringing him food but he had barely eaten it.
      "Firekit, please? Stop doing this. I've never seen you like this, and it does everyone harm when they look at you. No one blames you for anything. We all made the mistake." Snowkit hoped her pleading words would help her brother.
      Firekit shook his head sadly. "It is my fault. So I should be punished. I'm the one who came up with the idea!" He started to get mad at himself and rose to his paws shakily. "I almost got us killed! If Dustpelt and Brackenfur hadn't been there, we would've been crowfood! Think of the state the camp back here would've been in!It was me, you can stop trying to get me to forget that! I did it. I did it. I did it." His voice died down a bit every time he said the last phrase. He stood there whimpering, then collapsed to the ground, losing his strength, and crouched there, trembling.
      Snowkit didn't know how to react. She had imagined herself helping Firekit, but now she just stood there, watching him. After what seemed like 9 lives, Hollykit crouched down next to Firekit and began murmuring something in his ear. She was too quiet for Snowkit to hear what she said.
      When she finished speaking, Firekit looked up, with cold fear shining through his eyes. "Firekit?" Snowkit asked unsurely.
      "You wouldn't," he whispered, then waited for Hollykit's reply.
      "If you don't listen to us," she nodded.
      Firekit didn't think even for a moment. "Then of course I'll be an apprentice," he whispered, horror still showing from every part of his body.
      "Er, Firekit?" Snowkit asked uncertainly. "What did Hollykit say?" Snowkit watched as Firekit just shook his head and went back to sleep. Then she nudged Hollykit out of the nursery. Smokepaw followed.
      "I told him we would go badger-hunting ourselves," Hollykit explained once they were out into the bright clearing.
      "We wouldn't really do that, would we?" Snowkit asked doubtfully.
      "I don't think so, but we got him to listen, right?"
      "I guess," Snowkit replied, but still didn't like the idea of scaring her brother into listening. Hollykit went back into the nursery to sleep.
      "I guess we made him listen," Smokepaw said.
      Snowkit turned to him angrily, her fur bristling, but before she could say anything, Brackenfur called. "Smokepaw! Let's work on advanced battle training today!"
      "Okay!" Smokepaw hurriedly said bye to her and then bounded after his mentor.
      For a few moments, Snowkit didn't know what to do. She scanned the clearing outside, and wen her eyes rested upon Jayfeather eating fresh kill alone, she knew what it was time for her to do. Taking a deep breath, she slowly padded over to her father's brother.
      He turned is feather blue eyes on her. "Snowkit?" he asked after he sniffed the air.
      "Yeah, can we talk in your den for a moment?" Jayfeather nodded, but Snowkit could see his fur beginning to bristle as if he knew what they were going to talk about.
      After settling down near the back, Jayfeather asked, "So what did you want to talk about?" Snowkit looked down at her paws, not knowing how to say it. "Lionblaze? Me"? Lionblaze and me? Do you want to know?" Snowkit looked up at him in amazement. How did he know? Jayfeather apparently knew what she was thinking because he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm blind. I can sense more than other cats."
     "So... can I know? Is it okay with you to talk about it?" Snowkit dared to ask.
      Jayfeather let out a long sigh. "I suppose I should tell you." Snowkit waited. "Lionblaze was really angry at me. I didn't know why. All I knew was that he said that I try to act greater than I really am. That I'm only a weak blind medicine cat."
      Snowkit shook her head. "That's not true!" she cried.
      "But it is. All my life I've tried to prove I don't need any cat's help. That I can get along just fine without them." Jayfeather drew in a breath. "Lionblaze has always known I did that. But I had thought that when something happened, he started seeing beyond my being blind. But I was wrong." Jayfeather closed his eyes.
      Snowkit rested her tail on his pelt. "Then?" she asked quietly.
      "I was shocked by his words. I said something I hadn't meant to say. I was shocked and in pain. I wasn't thinking clearly." He turned his head down to face the ground. "I told him that in witness of Starclan, I don't consider him my brother anymore. I told him to stay away from me and my life. He left."
      Snowkit widened her eyes. She knew something was going on, but she hadn't expected it to be that bad.
      "I didn't mean it. I miss having him to talk to. But I'm not going to go look weak and start begging for his forgiveness."
      Snowkit thought for a moment. "Well that might be the best way. Don't beg, but tell him whatever you told me just now."
      "Maybe... sometime." He got up and stretched. Then he looked at Snowkit and a forced mew came out of his mouth. "Have fun being an apprentice!"

Chapter 5

      Jayfeather heard all the cats leave from where they were watching him. His senses were spinning, but he tried hard to focus them and every now and then he could figure out what was going on.
      "How are you, Jayfeather?" He could barely make out what Cinderheart was saying.
      "How do you think I'm doing?" he miserably hissed.
      "You know what I'm asking you Jayfeather,"she sighed. "You can choose to cooperate or not."
      "Fine. I-I can't really tell where it hurts right now, I can't really focus on anything," he replied. It was true, the pain was so overwhelming it felt like his whole body was on fire. 
      "Yes, I know how that feels."Jayfeather never forgot how she had injured her hind leg very badly many moons ago. Then she spoke again, but not to him. "Firestar, can you get chervil and poppy seeds from my den? I mean Jayfeather's den." Cinderheart sounded confused when she realized she had called it her own den.
      "Does it make any difference?" he muttered but did so anyway.
      Jayfeather heard slightly, Firestar coming and dropping the herbs in front of Cinderheart. Then he had padded slightly away, and gazed at Jayfeather.
      "This will sting you more than it hurts right now, Jayfeather. Are you ready for me to put it on?" Jayfeather nodded, even though he didn't want to feel more pain than he already did. He would probably go unconscious again, anyway.
      Jayfeather squeezed his eyes tightly, waiting for unbearable pain.
      Jayfeather gasped as he felt Cinderheart spit the chervil onto his wound. It felt worse than he had expected. His whole body seemed to be burning.
     Then the pain in his side started to go down, and Jayfeather relaxed. "Better?" he made out of Cinderheart's voice.
      "Yes," he sighed. The pain was much less than it was before.
      "Now you should have some poppy seeds." Cinderheart darted away, probably to get a leaf. Then when she came back, she pushed the poppy seeds onto the leaf and slid it towards Jayfeather. "Here," she said.
      Jayfeather tried to lean over to lick them up but he felt a shooting pain in his side and moaned again. He fell back on his other side grunted unhappily.
     He could feel waves of guilt coming from Cinderheart as she watched him. "Oh, Jayfeather. I can't help you eat poppy seeds, you'll have to do that yourself."
      "I know," Jayfeather whispered. He knew there wasn't anything she could do to help, but he couldn't help feeling annoyed at her.
      He tried reaching over again, and when the pain came, he tried not to fall back down. But eventually he gave up and slumped back down. He sighed.
      "That was a good try," Cinderheart tried to encourage.
      "That was my best try," Jayfeather said in defeat. He never thought he would be defeated by a bunch of poppy seeds just out of reach.
      "Jayfeather..." she began, unsure.
      "Yeah?"
     "I...I know you and Leafpool are hiding something from me." Jayfeather stiffened. He didn't know how to get out of this now if she knew. Worse, Jayfeather heard Firestar straighten up when he heard her say that.
      "Jayfeather?" Cinderheart asked.
      "Oh, er..." Jayfeather didn't know what to say. "Um, if you really think so, then wait for Leafpool to come."
      "Leafpool's here!" Firestar announced. Jayfeather could tell Firestar wanted to know what was going on.
      Jayfeather heard Leafpool pad up next to him. "What happened?" she asked, alarmed.
      "Twolegs," he said blankly.
      "Leafpool," Cinderheart began, "I want to know what you and Jayfeather are hiding from me." Jayfeather felt Leafpool grow more alarmed, and sensed her glance at him for a moment.
      "Er..."
      "I'm not leaving until I find out what it is."
      Leafpool obviously was not going to help, so he began. "You know about the medicine cat before Leafpool, named Cinderpelt?"
       Cinderheart nodded. "I heard she died saving my mother and my littermates."
     "Well... you're her." Jayfeather couldn't think of any better way to tell her.
     There was a moment of complete silence except for the rustling of the trees before Cinderheart "I know it's hard to believe, but Starclan showed me myself. I could hardly believe it when I first found out," Leafpool took over.
      Firestar padded over and looked at Cinderheart. Jayfeather could sense him looking at her with new respect in his eyes. "Is this true?" he asked, looking back at Leafpool, who nodded. "Do you remember anything about her?"
      "I keep having visions of being hit on a Thunderpath by a Twoleg monster, and oh! You were my mentor, right?"
      "You were?" Jayfeather asked Firestar, surprised. He had thought Yellowfang had been Cinderpelt's mentor.
Firestar nodded. "I was a new warrior then, not even deputy yet." Jayfeather heard him turn towards himself.    "Cinderpelt became a medicine cat only because she was injured and could not be a warrior after that. I was her mentor until then."
      "Oh," Jayfeather sighed, then laid his head down again, exhausted.
      "How are you feeling?" Cinderheart asked.
      "Better, I guess. It would have been better if nothing happened at all, but-" Jayfeather was cut off by Leafpool.
      "Don't think about that, Jayfeather. Just think about what's going to happen next."
      "I think that you'll leave me in peace next, Leafpool," he hissed. Along with Lionblaze, he had never really forgiven her.
      Leafpool seemed taken aback, and Jayfeather felt a little guilty. Se had been his mentor after all, and he sometimes wished she still was when he was a little nervous about what to do. "O-okay," she said and walked away. Jayfeather heard her walk to the warriors den and sensed her speak to Lionblaze. Lionblaze had also glared at her, then come to see Jayfeather.
      "I don't know why everyone's making such a fuss about me. Honestly, I'm fine." Jayfeather tried to explain again.
      "You were dead until Brightheart saved you! You're lucky our patrol came back before it was too late!" Jayfeather flinched at Lionblaze's harsh and angry words.
      "Cinderheart, Firestar, I would like to speak to Lionblaze alone." Jayfeather tried his best to make his voice calm, but made sure there was coldness in it as well. Lionblaze should know that he was not going to just fall below him.
      "Okay, call me if you need anything," Cinderheart said while Firestar nodded, and the two of the walked off together.
      "Lionblaze-"
      "Don't try to talk me into believing anything!" His brother's voice sounded like a blazing fire. "You keep trying to act like you can do everything!" He quieted a little, but not much. "Forget acting. Give it up. Because it's not true. You're blind." Lionblaze leaned in to stay that last part.
      Jayfeather pulled himself onto his paws, aware of the throbbing pain. He wanted to sound angry, but he was shocked. His voice was shaky. "Lionblaze," he began, "I-I thought you were my brother. I thought you saw beyond my being blind. And even if it wasn't like that in the beginning, I thought it had changed once I told you both about the prophecy." Jayfeather drew in another shaky breath. "From this moment on and for all time to come, I say with Starclan as witness, that I do not consider you my brother anymore. Do not try to come in my life at all. Forget about the prophecy we once shared because we no longer need it."
     He knew his slower, steadier words had had much more effect than Lionblaze's angry ones. They were true, though. Jayfeather felt betrayed by the way he appeared to his ex-brother. Jayfeather hoped he wouldn't regret today's conversation.
      Jayfeather heard Lionblaze take a few steps back. Then he snarled, "Fine, if this is what you want, then this is what it will be."
      Jayfeather didn't reply. He didn't need to. Both of them agreed to stay away from each other. Then why did he feel disappointed? Had he really expected such an ambitious cat to beg for forgiveness? Well, if Lionblaze was waiting for him to, then he would have to wait a long time.

Chapter 4

      Firekit jumped as he heard Hollykit approach. "Hollykit?"
      "Yes, Firestar said you could come to the nursery."
     Firekit scrambled to his paws and walked slowly outside. As he passed Hollykit, he didn't even bother to look at her. He knew what she was probably thinking. Hollykit must hate me for what I've done. But she has a good reason to hate me, Firekit reflected.
      "Firestar punished us."Hollykit said. Firekit just flicked his ears up to show Hollykit he was listening. She went on. "He said we're not allowed to be out of the nursery. Not even to go to the fresh-kill pile."
      "Okay," Firekit mumbled.
      "Firekit, won't you even talk to me? What have I done that you are so quiet?" Firekit could hear desperation growing in her voice. "Please, Firekit, don't act as if we don't even know each other."
       Firekit looked up at her. "I thought you wouldn't want to even be near me. Not after what I've done," he spoke softly.
      "Firekit, you're my brother. That will never happen. And please stop blaming yourself. It was all of our faults. It wasn't only yours."
      Firekit blinked gratefully into her light green eyes. He was happy to know that he still had a sister who wanted to be with him. "Is Snowkit mad at me??"
      "No, Firekit, you can stop worrying. Besides, does Snowkit seem like the type who would get upset at such a little thing?" Firekit could tell she was trying her best to comfort him. It wasn't working, though. 

     He just shook his head and waited until Hollykit vanished into the nursery before following. Inside, he saw Cinderheart licking Snowkit's fur fiercely. Snowkit looked up and saw him and bounded over to him. She sniffed him all over then said, "Thank Starclan! You're okay, right?"
      "Yes, and I always have been. I already said that." Firekit pushed his nose into Snowkit's fur. She purred softly. "I'm sorry," he murmured.



      Firekit woke with a start when he heard a loud wail. "What's going on?" he asked, as Hollykit and Snowkit peeked outside.
      "Jayfeather's been very badly hurt," Hollykit said with wide eyes. Firekit glanced at Snowkit. She seemed frozen with shock and horror.
      "Snowkit?" he called. "Are you okay?"
She shook herself. "Yes, I'm-I just wasn't expecting-we talked today, and-" Snowkit broke off when she didn't know what to say. Firekit got up and licked her head. She blinked at him, but then couldn't seem to help it anymore. She ran out of the nursery.
     Firekit gazed at Hollykit for a moment. She seemed just as confused as he was. "Well, are you going to go get her?"
      "Not you?" she asked, surprised.
      "No, of the three of us, I should be the one who bears the most punishment." Firekit said sadly.
      "I don't know when you'll stop thinking that. Come on." Hollykit nudged him out of the nursery.
      Firekit was surprised when he noticed Cinderheart padding out after them. "I don't know when you kits will stop doing things to get in trouble," she said.
      Firekit blinked at her in thanks when he realized she wasn't going to take them back in. Then he looked for Snowkit and went to her. Snowkit was staring down with horror in her eyes as she gazed down at Jayfeather's almost lifeless body.
      "Is he okay?" he whispered. Snowkit didn't respond. She was looking at the faint rise and fall of Jayfeather's chest.
      Firekit stepped back away from Jayfeather as Firestar and Lionblaze approached the medicine cat. When Firestar saw the three of them and twitched his whiskers. "How did this happen?" Firestar asked.
      "Brightheart, Cloudtail, and I were going back to where we left Jayfeather for the patrol and saw him lying on his side with something sharp in his side," Lionblaze explained.
      "Can you get it?" his leader asked. Lionblaze nodded to Firestar and took off. "Cloudtail," Firestar called, "what happened after that?"
      Cloudtail pushed his way forward to stand beside his leader and kin. "Brightheart told us to lick him steadily, so he might start breathing again. When he did, she got the sharp Twoleg thing out and pressed cobwebs onto his wound. They were soaked in blood only a few moments later."
      Just then, Jayfeather moaned and rolled over onto his back. "Jayfeather?" Firestar asked softly.
      Jayfeather opened his eyes. "Wha...?" Then he sniffed the air. "Firestar? Don't worry. I'm fine." He tried to get to his paws but he fell and moaned again in pain.
      "Where's Leafpool?" Firestar asked looking around. Firekit remembered that Leafpool was the former medicine cat and Jayfeather's mother.
      "Leafpool isn't here." Firekit noticed that Brambleclaw had been sitting there just watching all this time. "She's out hunting."
      "Firestar," Jayfeather gasped, "get Cinderheart. I trust her most."
      "I'm here, Jayfeather. Don't worry." Cinderheart padded forward to him and touched his nose to his. Then she looked around. "Everyone leave. Only Firestar can stay and Leafpool, when she comes."
      "What about me?" Firekit heard Lionblaze's muffled voice as he padded into camp. He dropped the sharp twoleg object on the ground in front of Firestar.
      "Don't bother too much about me," Jayfeather said. “I've spoken to Starclan, they do not wish to take me yet.”
Firekit noticed that most of the cats relaxed when he said that. "How can Starclan be so sure, anyway?" he whispered to Hollykit.
      "Because it's Starclan, mouse-brain!" Then Hollykit headed back to the nursery. Firekit nosed Snowkit gently and went after Hollykit.
      "Snowkit, why are you so close to Jayfeather?" Firekit asked once she sat down beside him.
      Snowkit looked startled that he had asked that. "Well... I talked to him a little, and he seems interesting, I guess."
      "What? Jayfeather has the sharpest tongue in the clan, probably even more that the other clans! What could possibly be interesting about him?" Firekit was surprised that Jayfeather might actually be more than a blind cat that sorts herbs.
      Snowkit thought for a moment. Then she said, "Jayfeather seems to have a lot of secrets and emotions that he seems to have buried inside him. He's struggling a lot not to let them show. That's why he gets irritated so often."
      "Oh, um, okay." Firekit wasn't sure how to respond to that.
      Snowkit began to groom herself, and Firekit was stuck once again by ow pretty she always looked. She looked almost... beautiful. And any cat could see Smokepaw why was padding after her. It wasn't much of a surprise. Snowkit's fur was always set properly, and the white color of it glowed all the time.
      Smokepaw poked his head inside. "Snowkit, can I talk to you?"
      She looked up. "Sure, but I can't leave the nursery. It's our punishment."
      "I know, I heard." Smokepaw nodded. "We can go to the back of the nursery, though."
      "Okay," Snowkit said as she got up, stretched herself, and padded away. Although he could see them, they were talking in too low voices for him to hear what they were saying.
     Hollykit was asleep, so he had no one to talk to. Instead he padded to the entrance and sat so he could see what was going on outside. Cinderheart was crouched beside Jayfeather, who was unconscious again. Firestar was a little farther away; he seemed to be lost in thoughts, or as Firekit guessed, worries.
      Firekit could slightly see Lionblaze pacing back and forth in the warrior's den. He was obviously worried about Jayfeather. Then he stopped and looked straight inside the den. Some other cat must be talking to him. Then Lionblaze spun around and started walking quickly straight at him.
      Firekit gulped. He must have found out about them leaving camp. "Hi, er, Lionblaze," he said as his father glared at him.
      "What do you think you were doing, leaving camp when you're still kits?" he spat. "Whose idea was this?"
      Firekit looked down at his paws, not wanting to reply. "It was all of our idea." Firekit was surprised when Snowkit padded up behind him. "Don't yell at him."
      "I'm not yelling at him, I'm yelling at all of you!"
      "Good, then."
      Firekit heard Hollykit approach them. "Hello, Lionblaze," she said calmly.
      Lionblaze broke. "What would have happened if you kits had died?" He looked at all of them. Firekit was surprised when he noticed Snowkit staring angrily at Lionblaze. Then he turned his attention back to Lionblaze. He was pressing is muzzle to Hollykit's head. Then he did Snowkit's and last of all, Firekit. Then he wheeled around and went to see how Jayfeather was.
      Hollykit trotted farther in so she could sleep, but Snowkit stayed where she was, staring at the ground. Firekit wondered why. "Snowkit, are you mad at Lionblaze?"
      "Aren't you?" Snowkit asked, looking confused.
      "Why would I be?" Firekit was really confused.
      "Didn't you see how Lionblaze only cared about Hollykit?" Now that Firekit thought about it, he realized that Lionblaze has always been like that.
      "Do you know why?" he asked.
      "Jayfeather says he's like that because Hollykit reminds him of his sister."
      "But he shouldn't even care about his sister," Firekit said, remembering what he had overheard about her.
      "Why?"
      "Didn't you ear? Hollyleaf murdered a Thunderclan cat when she was alive. Then she tried to run away, but she was lost in underground tunnels."
      Snowkit gasped."So our father's sister was a traitor?"
      "I suppose so," Firekit said, then padded inside the nursery and asked Ferncloud to get him some fresh-kill.

Chapter 3

    Hollykit finished eating her mouse and looked for Snowkit. She spotted her talking with Jayfeather just outside the nursery. Then she watched Jayfeather leave towards Brambleclaw.
      Pity washed through Hollykit as she noticed him not really fixing his eyes on anything. She's always felt bad for the blind cat. She felt even worse for her father, because he's had to live seeing his brother like that his whole life.
      Hollykit turned her attention back to Snowkit. Snowkit seemed to be in deep thoughts, and she didn't want to disturb her so she looked around for Firekit. When she couldn't see him anywhere, she padded over to Snowkit instead.
      "Hi, Snowkit!" Snowkit looked up at her call.
      "Oh, hi Hollykit. Did you eat yet?" Hollykit watched her as she got to her paws and stretched out her back.
      "Yes, I ate with Firekit. Do you know where he is, anyway?"

     Hollykit waited as Snowkit thought. "I think I saw him leave to the dirtplace tunnel. You want to go check?" Snowkit asked, as she turned her ice-blue eyes toward Hollykit.
      "Okay." Hollykit followed Snowkit and when they got there, Hollykit was shocked. Firekit was just about to leave and venture out into the forest. "Firekit! What are you doing?" she said.
     "I heard some of the warriors talking about trouble with Windclan. I thought I'd go there and show those Windclan furballs what great warriors Thunderclan has," Firekit said. Then he added, "Wanna come?"
     Hollykit looked over at Snowkit to see what her reaction was. She looked appalled. "But Firekit,I don't think that's such a good idea," she said.
      "Yes Firekit, isn't that against the warrior code?"
      Firekit shrugged. "Even if it is, so what?" Now it was Hollykit's turn to be appalled. She looked at her brother up and down.
      "Is something wrong with you?"
      Firekit sighed. "Are you coming or not? I want to get out of camp whether you are or not."
      Hollykit looked at Snowkit. Snowkit looked unsure for a moment, then murmured, "I suppose we should. To make sure Firekit stays safe."
      "Are you sure, Snowkit?" Hollykit asked.
      Snowkit nodded. "We have to go if our brother is going."
      "Alright, Firekit. You win. We'll come," Hollykit sighed.
      Hollykit shot a wary glance at Snowkit as Firekit raced away. Then she went after him.
      A little farther up ahead, Hollykit saw Firekit stop suddenly and crouch behind a holly bush. As she got nearer to him, she heard voices and realized she had to hide too, so she went and crouched behind him. Hollykit prayed to Starclan that Snowkit would hide in time, too.
      Luckily, she did. Hollykit thanked Starclan that they hadn't been caught yet as the voices faded away and the pawsteps got fainter.
      The three of them started off again. But Firekit was slower this time. They walked around a bit, but then             Hollykit scented the same holly bush that they had hidden behind when they heard the voices. "Uh, Firekit? Do you know where Windclan is?"
      He snorted. "Of course not. I've only been out as much as you have!" Hollykit checked over her shoulder on Snowkit. Her sister looked frightened. Hollykit ran her tail down her flank to comfort her.
Snowkit and Hollykit followed Firekit a little more until they found a small tunnel. Instantly, Hollykit had a feeling that she'd seen this before, and had a thought of herself in one of those, and the tunnel collapsing, trapping her.
Hollykit blinked. Firekit was trying to go inside it. "Firekit! Don't go inside it!"
      "Why not?" he asked.
      "Just please don't," Hollykit begged.
      "Oh, fine. I don't know why, but you obviously have something against this tunnel."
      Hollykit suddenly picked up a strange scent. She wheeled around, and fear turned her blood to ice. A huge black and white animal was lumbering towards them. Beside her, Snowkit was trembling with fear, and on her other side, Firekit looked scared but excited that he would get a fight.
      Snowkit darted into the nearby bushes. Hollykit was tempted to run, too, but she knew Firekit wouldn't. She had to stay to save her sister and her brother.
      "Firekit! Please don't try to fight this creature!" Hollykit screeched.
      Firekit let out a soft growl. "Why not?" was all he said before he threw himself at the creature.
      It batted him away easily and Hollykit's heart pounded as Firekit fell to the ground. Her fear turned to horror as the creature turned to Firekit and lifted one of its massive paws. She screeched again, "Get out of the way!" But Firekit didn't move. His eyes were clouded with both horror and fear. As the creature was closer to killing him, he closed his eyes tightly.
       But before the creature could swing its massive paw down on him, Hollykit saw Brackenfur leap onto its back and scratch its head. Then Dustpelt attacked it on its belly and veered the creature away from Firekit. She saw Smokepaw race towards him and nose him to his paws.
      "Get them back to camp!" Brackenfur yelled to his apprentice. "Dustpelt and I will deal with the badger!"
      Smokepaw nodded quickly and looked around. "Where's Snowkit?"
      "I'm over here," Snowkit said with a trembling voice as she slid out of the bush.
      "Good, you're all here. We must go back to camp quickly!" he added with more urgency in his voice.
      Hollykit hurried over to Snowkit. "Come on." Snowkit only nodded quietly.
       Both of them went to Smokepaw, who was standing next to Firekit. "Are you okay?" Firekit's fur was standing straight up, but Hollykit relaxed when she saw him nod. "Then let's go, now!" He ran alongside Firekit, and Hollykit and Snowkit followed behind. The screeches from the badger were getting softer as they raced back to camp.
     When they were well away from the badger, they slowed down to a steady trot. Hollykit went up to Firekit and stayed beside him, pelts brushing. Smokepaw went beside Snowkit.
     "What were you doing, leaving camp like that?" Hollykit heard him say.
      "I-we-" Snowkit broke off as Smokepaw continued.
      "Do you know how worried everyone was back at camp? They had more than ticks in their fur when they couldn't find you!"
      Hollykit stole a glance at Snowkit, who was walking with her head bent down, as she endured Smokepaw's scolding silently.
       Smokepaw spoke with her a little more, but Hollykit couldn't hear what he said. Instead, she turned her attention to Firekit, whose eyes were clouded. "Are you hurt?" she asked softly. He shook his head. "Say something, then!" Hollykit wanted nothing more than to hear her brother's voice so she could know he really was okay.
      Firekit turned his green gaze to look at Hollykit. She was shocked at how miserable he sounded. "It was my fault. I'm the one who brought both of you out into the forest. It was my fault we almost died!" he wailed.
Hollykit didn't know how to respond to that. Luckily, she didn't have to, because they reached camp. Smokepaw padded ahead of them to the entrance. He glanced back. "I hope you three have a good excuse for this," he growled.
Snowkit padded up beside her. "Is he okay?" she asked.
      "Yes, he's fine. But... are you? You looked scared out of your fur back there!"
      "I know, I'm sorry for leaving you two out there alone. I-I should have stayed beside you if you were in danger." Snowkit looked so sorry, that Hollykit felt really bad for her. But she couldn't say anything, because just then, as they padded into the clearing, Firestar came up to them.
      "Well?" he asked. His tone softened a bit when he saw Firekit's and Snowkit's state. "Firekit, go to the medicine den and wait for Jayfeather to come back. And Snowkit, go wait in the nursery."
      Why am I the one who has to talk to Firestar? He's being unfair! "Well Hollykit? I'm sure you have a good reason for you three leaving camp." Before Hollykit could answer, Firekit turned around.
      "It's my fault, Firestar. I was my idea and they came with me because they wanted to make sure I was safe," he spoke with his head bent down in respect. Then Hollykit watched him pad quietly to the medicine den.
      "Well, Hollykit? Is that true?" Fiestar asked once he left.
      "Yes," she mumbled.
      Firestar sighed. "I suppose I'll have to stop pretending to be mad at you sometime." Hollykit looked up at him in surprise. "You're young kits. I can't blame you for wanting to get out of camp. Although I don't think Lionblaze and Cinderheart think the same as I do." Firestar paused. "Do you know if Firekit is really hurt?"
      Hollykit shook her head."No, I'm pretty sure he's fine."
      "Go get him from the medicine den and bring him to the nursery."
      "Are you going to punish us?" Hollykit dared to ask. As much as she didn't want to be punished, it wasn't right if they got away from it.
      "Yes. The three of you cannot leave the nursery at all. If you want to eat, then ask Daisy or Ferncloud to get you some fresh-kill."
      "Yes, Firestar." Hollykit dipped her head and then ran off to the medicine den.

Chapter 2

      Jayfeather waited until Snowkit was out of his den before he could relax again. He felt a little bad about being rude with her like that, but he had been caught off guard. How was he supposed to answer a question like that?
      Even so, Jayfeather decided he would talk with her later. He liked the curious young she-cat, even daring to ask things she shouldn't be. It reminded him of what other cats say about him.
      Jayfeather put the remaining catmint away, and realized that he would need much more. With leaf-bare on its way, he would need it so he could treat cats with greencough. He was about to set out to gather more when he saw Snowkit sitting near the entrance of the nursery, watching the camp quietly, as if soaking in everything that happens around camp.
      "Hi, Snowkit," he said as he padded up beside her. She jumped and then scrambled to her paws.
      "Oh, er, hi Jayfeather," she said awkwardly.
      "Sorry about what happened. You just caught me off guard, that's all. The real reason I don't go near Hollykit is because I don't want to be reminded of Hollyleaf. All I can remember is how she died. And I can't see her," he added with a bit of bitterness in his tone. If only I could see her.
      "Oh..." Snowkit said, looking at her paws.
      "I wish you were an apprentice. I was going out to collect herbs, and I was hoping you could come with me. Oh well. I'll probably tag along with some patrol."
      "Well... okay." Snowkit paused. "I wish I could. Well, I'll see you when you come back, I guess."
     Jayfeather nodded. He scented Brambleclaw organizing patrols and padded over to him. "Hi, Brambleclaw. Are any patrols going near the abandoned Twoleg place?"
      "You want to go with them?"
      Jayfeather nodded. "I need to collect catmint."
      "Go with Cloudtail's patrol over there." Jayfeather sensed Brambleclaw's tail pointed toward where Lionblaze, Brightheart, and Cloudtail were speaking.
      Jayfeather hurried toward them. "I'm coming with you so I can collect herbs." He felt Lionblaze's gaze resting on him for a few moments before he nodded.
      "Okay then, let's go." Cloudtail pulled himself up onto his feet and started off, running into depths of the forest. Jayfeather, Brightheart, and Lionblaze followed him.
      While Brightheart pulled ahead to catch up to her mate, Lionblaze stayed back to make sure he doesn't fall.
      "You don't have to watch over me like that, you know. This isn't my first time coming this way," Jayfeather hissed loudly.
      Lionblaze spoke calmly. "You don't go on fast patrols very often though."
      "For Starclan's sake, I've fought a battle with a Windclan warrior who wanted to kill me and I lived. I think I can run to where the catmint is."
      "You almost died in that."
      "But I didn't," Jayfeather insisted.
      "Only because Starclan fought beside you that day."
      Jayfeather snorted and wished his own brother wouldn't think of him as such a weakling. "You're acting like I never should have left the nursery!" Lionblaze didn't get any time to respond, because just then they reached the catmint.
      "Jayfeather, you collect how much you need. Do you need help in carrying it?" Cloudtail asked.
      "No, I don't need too much, thank Starclan."
      Cloudtail nodded. "We'll just mark the borders and come back." Then the patrol left.
      Jayfeather wove between the catmint plants and and sniffed each one to see if it was ready. Finally he found some and picked it up between his jaws.
      Padding out back to where the patrol had left him, he scented the air. There was no sign of Cloudtail's patrol coming back yet, so he settled himself down and waited. He was tempted to just go back to camp himself, but he knew the patrol would start worrying for him and they'd all have bees in their brain because they wouldn't get that he just went back to camp.
      Suddenly he got a sniff of a Twoleg watching him. Jayfeather could sense danger coming, and something in the Twoleg's hands. Jayfeather scrambled to his paws, and tried to run towards the rose bush he scented just in from of him. But just as he put his front paw forward, he felt a stabbing pain in his side. He let out a gasp of pain and fell to the ground, the world turning more black than it usually is.

     

Chapter 1

     Sunlight glittered through the entrance of the nursery down on Snowkit, who blinked her eyes open in surprise. As she stood up and stretched out her back, she saw her littermates, Hollykit and Firekit sleeping next to their mother, Cinderheart. Looking outside, she noticed Brambleclaw, Thunderclan's deputy, organizing the dawn patrol. Snowkit bounded across the clearing to him.

      “Can I go too?” she asked excitedly.

      Brambleclaw looked around, with a confused expression. Then with a glint of amusement in his eyes, he turned back to Snowkit. “Last time I checked, kits stay in the nursery.”

      He must have seen her disappointment because he sat down next to her and told her how when Jayfeather, her father, and Hollyleaf were kits, they couldn't even come out into the clearing without someone knowing.

      “You should consider yourself lucky you don't have to do that.” he finished.

      “But I'm almost an apprentice!” Snowkit whined.

      “You're not the first tiny kit to say that. If you want to get out, you'll have to think of another excuse.

      Snowkit fluffed out her snowy pelt indignantly and stared up at him. “I am not a tiny kit!” she huffed.

      “Oh, really? I thought you were only 1 moon old!” he mewed, and gave her a friendly flick on her ear with his tail.

      “I'm not 1 moon old! I'm 4!”

      “Okay, Brambleclaw, you can stop ruffling her fur now.” Snowkit turned around to see Lionblaze watching silently, looking slightly amused.

      Brambleclaw spoke. “Alright Lionblaze, but I must tell you, your daughter is very clever. She knows how many moons she is!” He let out a mrrow of laughter and padded away.

      Lionblaze turned toward Snowkit. “Why are you out here bothering warriors who have better things to do than take care of you?” Snowkit looked up into his burning eyes and flinched. Doesn't he even care about me. “Snowkit, I asked you something, are you going to answer?”

      Snowkit just turned away, grumbling about how unfair he was being and padded back to the nursery.

She settled down next to Firekit and groomed herself. She didn't feel like sleeping, so she kept glancing at Firekit and Hollykit to see if they were awake yet.

      Smokepaw poked his head into the nursery. Snowkit stared at him, wondering why he was here. “Hi, Snowkit. Want to come out and play? I don't have to go anywhere right now,” he hissed quietly, so he wouldn't wake any of the others up.

      “Okay!” Snowkit meowed and jumped out of the nursery.

      Out in the clearing, she couldn't see Smokepaw. She scanned the area for a moment, then spotted him racing toward Highledge. Snowkit raced after him. She caught up to him and asked, “Where are we going?”
      "There's this place toward the side of Highledge, where no cat has gone. That could be our special meeting place. It will be secret, for no cat to know about."
      "But everyone will get worried if they don't know where I am! Don't they get worried for you too?" Snowkit asked curiously.
      "That will change once you become an apprentice. The more you go out of camp, the less they worry," he assured her.
      "But I have 2 more moons to go!" Snowkit cried.
      "Be quiet or everyone will see where we go," he hissed.
      Snowkit and Smokepaw slowed to a stop and looked around. Snowkit saw the medicine den ahead and just after that was Highledge. Then, without warning, Smokepaw flashed away again. Snowkit could see him slow down, waiting for her to catch up, so Snowkit scrambled as fast as she could to get to him. Just as they were about to cross the medicine den, they almost bumped into Jayfeather, who was just going in carrying a bundle of herbs. "Sorry, Jayfeather!" Snowkit gasped.
      Even though she knew he couldn't see them, Snowkit saw that his blue eyes were fixed in a glare. "Watch where you're going!" Jayfeather hissed. Then he muttered, "Kits! Don't have any any sense!" as he padded inside.
      "Okay," Smokepaw mewed, "now I'm going to go wait by the side of Highledge, and you follow after a few moments. Lick yourself, or do something that looks natural."
      Snowkit watched him walk away calmly, and scratched her ear, even though there wasn't an itch. Then after looking around to make sure no one was watching, she went to join him.
      Walking alongside Highledge, she looked out for Smokepaw. When she couldn't see him, her curiosity turned to fear, and was just about to leave, when suddenly a heavy weight landed on her back. She let out a startled yelp and tried to flip over and run. But her attacker held her firmly to the ground. Then in her ear, she heard, "Got you!"
"Smokepaw! Let me go!" Snowkit wailed unhappily at being beaten by her former denmate. he had only just started his warrior training and he was already so much better than her?! I'll get you later, I promise, Smokepaw. Just wait till my apprentice ceremony.
      Smokepaw was laughing behind her. As Snowkit got up and began to groom herself again, between licks, she shot glares at him.
      "Come on, Snowkit. We can share tongues later. But right now let me show you the spot. Snowkit followed Smokepaw for a few more pawsteps and gaped at what Smokepaw was showing her.

      It was another little tiny clearing perfect for a small clan. Snowkit wondered why no cat has found this place yet.
      "Well, what do you think?" he paused, waiting for an answer. When he didn't hear one, he went on. "Don't you realize how much fun this could be? We could make our very own clan and I'd be your mentor and you could be my apprentice!"
      "It would be fun..." Snowkit trailed off, thinking about how it wouldn't be right. if a cat discovered something like this, they should report it to their leader. "But we can't. I mean if any of the other warriors discovered something like this, they would report it to Firestar, right?"
      Smokepaw stared at her with a disbelieving look on his face for a moment and then said, "Great Starclan! You are not going to tell Firestar, are you?"
      "No, well not yet anyway..."
      "Snowkit, please, just think about it!"
      Snowkit realized how this would be. She would get to be an apprentice before she actually is. She would be a warrior before she actually is! "Snowkit, if you don't agree, I'll go and get Hollykit to join me. I'm sure she would!"
That made Snowkit shudder. She didn't know why, she just didn't like it when anyone else was with Smokepaw, especially not Hollykit. "No, I'll join you. But not now. I should be getting back to the nursery, everyone will have ticks in their fur if they don't know where I am."
      "Okay. Let's go," he said happily.
      As Snowkit padded out of the small clearing and out the side of Highledge, she saw Jayfeather walking out of his medicine den and heading toward the fresh-kill pile. "I should probably say sorry to him," she murmured.
      "Why?" Snowkit jumped, startled, because she hadn't meant for Smokepaw to hear her. He went on. "He is a blind medicine cat. He can't blame us for his being blind."
      "Well, even then, we could have been more careful anyway," Snowkit continued, a bit unsure. The last of Snowkit's confidence died when she saw that Smokepaw snorted.
      "Come on, Snowkit. There's nothing to worry about. You're forgetting that he's also your kin. He doesn't hate you or blame you." Smokepaw gave Snowkit a quick lick on the ear. "Let's go get some fresh-kill."
      "Sorry, Smokepaw, I should probably be getting back to the nursery right now. Maybe Hollykit and Firekit are awake now and I can play with them." Snowkit bounded over to the nursery and poked her head in. Firekit and Hollykit were just beginning to stir. She padded quietly over to Hollykit and prodded her on her side.
      "Snowkit, what was that for?" she complained.

     "Come out Hollykit, let's play!And I'm starving, so come quickly so we can go eat." Snowkit left Hollykit to lick herself and went to go wake Firekit up.
      Firekit was up immediately, and running out of the nursery. Cinderheart woke up, startled, and then relaxed when she realized nothing happened. Snowkit shot an amused glance at Hollykit, then calmly padded out herself.
Her amusement faded away when she saw Jayfeather eating alone outside his den. He looked troubled, like he was remembering some bad memory. Except he was staring right at Brightheart.

      Maybe I should go say sorry to him. As she approached him, she saw his ears flick up, and his gaze turn towards her.
      "Snowkit?" When Jayfeather didn't look angry, Snowkit let the fur on her shoulders relax.
      "I, er, came to say-" she began.
      Jayfeather sighed. "It's fine, Snowkit. I was a kit once too, you know," he said. "Do you want to finish this vole? I'm not really that hungry right now."
      Snowkit was about to say no thanks, but then she realized he was trying to make peace with her again. "Sure, thanks."
      "Lionblaze must love you a lot, doesn't he?" Jayfeather asked. He sounded almost... sad. "Want to come in?" he offered when he stood up and turned toward the entrance.
      "Okay," Snowkit replied and hurried in after him.
      "Lionblaze must feel lucky to have an daughter like you." Snowkit wondered why he was going on about that.     

     "Well, I'm not sure..." Snowkit trailed off, thinking she shouldn't say bad about her father, especially not to his brother.
      "Oh?" Jayfeather looked up from sorting herbs. Then he settled down and looked at her. "What do you mean?"
      Well, there's no way out now. "Well... sometimes I feel like he doesn't even care about me. He's always too bothered about Hollykit. He never pays any attention to me except to scold me."
      Jayfeather let out a long sigh. "You must have heard we once had a sister?" Snowkit nodded. "Well, her name was Hollyleaf, and she looked just like Hollykit does now. he just gets reminded of her when he sees Hollykit and so he wants to be with her most of the time?"
      "Why don't you then?" Snowkit blurted out then instantly felt bad. She saw Jayfeather flick his ears up startled.
      "Because she isn't my kit, she is Lionblaze's," he hissed. Then he looked down at his herbs again and flicked his tail as a sign to dismiss her.