This gem has been lying around for a year or so now. It's not long. Give it a try :) I don't know, considering when I wrote it, I actually quite like this one. Please enjoy, and leave a review if you like it!

Let the story begin~

"Hey! Shimmer!" Groaning, Shimmer roused herself from her nest and stumbled out into the bright daylight. Roark stood in front of her, his green eyes blinking.

"You slept in," he said. "I was wondering if you wanted to go hunting," Shimmer shook the sleep out of her eyes and yawned.

"Where's Dust?" she mewed tiredly.

"He went down to the river," he replied. "I'm not sure why."

"He's always going down there," she murmured. "Oh well, let's go." The two cats bounded of into the depths of the forest, carefully searching for prey.

"You know Shimmer," mewed Roark as they carried their fresh kill back to central camp. "You're really good at hunting. None of the other cats do it so naturally. And the crouch you use is brilliant."

"Thanks," Shimmer replied, embarrassed. "I get told that a lot. It's strange, because I always admired the way the rest of the group hunted. But now I'm hunting my own way." She purred, reminiscing about when she had tried to hunt like the others, only resulting in teaching them how to hunt like her.

As the two cats stepped into the clearing, a small dusky brown cat bounded up to them. "Shimmer!" he mewed excitedly. "I caught a fish!" Shimmer bent down to see.

"Wow, that's really good, Dust!" she exclaimed. "How did you do it?"

"It was really hard," he replied. "But I've wanted to catch a fish ever since I saw them in the river."

"I hope you didn't stray into RiverClan territory," Roark mewed sternly. "Oak would have clawed your pelt off if you brought any trouble here. You're much too small to fight."

"And I wouldn't want to!" Dust replied defiantly. "I didn't go anywhere near there, nor would I ever! RiverClan stinks!" He wrinkled his nose for effect. Roark purred.

"You watch that brother of yours, Shimmer," he mewed. "He's trouble if I ever saw it." Shimmer didn't respond. She was halfway through devouring her squirrel.

"Shimmer, let's go hunting!" Dust ran up to Shimmer as she was entering their little den of twigs.

"Can't," she replied absently. "I'm going to sleep."

"You sleep all the time," Dust complained. "What are you, a dormouse?"

"Indeed," Shimmer murmured dryly. "Go ask Shine to go hunting with you."

"I couldn't find her," Dust replied, looking embarrassed.

"Oh, so that's why you asked me?"
"No!" he squeaked, flustered. Shimmer purred.

"Sorry, Dust," she mewed. "I'll go hunting with you later though, I promise. Go find Shine."

"Okay," he murmured, disappointed. Shimmer crawled into her den and closed her eyes. Hmmm, she thought. I wonder what clan life is like…

"Clans?" a young Shimmer mewed. "What are clans?"

"Groups of cats, spread out among the forest." Oak's low purr rumbled as he explained. "They are weak, always relying on each other for survival. They live by a tight code of honor, with less time to rest, and less food to eat."

"No naps?" Shimmer gasped. Oak purred.

"No, there is rarely time to nap. They spent all their time and energy hunting and making sure their borders are in tact." He growled. "They act as if they own the forest, and no cat is allowed on their territory."

"That's terrible! It shouldn't be allowed!"

"No, it should not," Oak agreed. "But at the same time, they are strong and fierce, and we can only hope that one day, they will fall, and the forest can be shared once more…"