Wishkit opened her big blue eyes for the first time, her pink nose twitching at the scents of her mother, brothers and sisters. "Sunkit, stop prodding Rushkit. You know he can't see you." growled her mother. Sunkit bounded away from the blind ginger tom and up to a tiny grey she-cat. "I didn't say you can annoy Featherkit!" A brown tom was wriggling his hind quarters a tail length away, ready to leap on Sunkit. The dappled she-cat whipped around just in time to unsheathe her claws and lay down on her back. The tom plummeted down on top of her so that her claws pricked at his belly. He kicked off of her, flying back into the air and leaving her breathless. Rolling over and getting back to her paws she let out a furious hiss. "Sunkit, Mousekit!" growled Sparrowcloud, their mother. "How dare you hurt each other!" Her large golden eyes were narrowed as she glared at her two kits, but her gaze flickered over to Wishkit once she saw that her eyes had opened. "Wishkit!" wailed Sparrowcloud in glee. "You've opened your eyes!" Delight filled her voice as she pressed her muzzle against her side. "Yeah, yeah. Anything else you want to point out?" growled Sunkit. Rushkit turned to glare at her with his sightless blue eyes. Featherkit twitched in her sleep and began to snore, and Mousekit quickly swatted her. The pale grey she-cat leaped into the air, startled, and let out an alarmed wail. Wishkit opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
Wishpaw sat beside Rushpaw, staring blankly down at their mother's body. Sparrowcloud had returned to the warriors den many moons ago when the kits were made apprentices. This morning, they woke up to find Bumbleglee, another warrior, wailing. When they went to see what was wrong, they found that their mother's throat had been sliced open without anybody finding out. Blood covered the warriors den and they could not find out who the murderer was. Wishpaw looked up to find Mousepaw and Sunpaw whispering to each other, staring at Featherpaw who was being comforted by another apprentice. Wishpaw wanted to say something to Rushpaw about it, but because she was a mute she couldn't.
Wishpaw and her siblings trotted in a line, following Swiftsong and Breezetail as they led them to the training hollow for their final assessment. Mousepaw and Sunpaw exchanged a grin then bounded ahead. Featherpaw followed enthusiastically, but Rushpaw and Wishpaw trailed behind more slowly. Swiftsong and Breezetail sat down and stared at the apprentices with a smile. "So, which two of you would like to demonstrate your fighting skills first?" asked Breezetail. Sunpaw jumped to her paws and bounded over to the middle of the clearing. "Me and Wishpaw!" she meowed. Swiftsong nodded in agreement, then nosed the black and white apprentice to her paws. Wishpaw got up with a frown and trotted into the center of the clearing, parallel to her sister. She narrowed her eyes and studied her for a moment, then realized that her claws were not fully sheathed. She looked back at Rushpaw, but because he couldn't see there was no way for him to say anything for her. Sunpaw let out a yowl and leaped onto Wishpaw, digging her claws into her sides. Suddenly, Mousepaw got up and bounded towards the two warriors, asking them many questions. Wishpaw's eyes widened. He was distracting them! Sunpaw's claws ripped her flesh, causing her to bleed. The dappled she-cat leaped off of Wishpaw's back and sheathed her claws, letting out a startled wail. The two mentors looked over at Wishpaw, who lay panting on her side with blood pooling out of her wounds. "Sunpaw, how could you?" growled Swiftsong. The apprentice shook her head wildly and pointed at Featherpaw. "It wasn't me; Featherpaw just leaped on top of her and began attacking her!" she wailed. Breezetail turned her glare towards Featherpaw, letting out a snarl. "What? It wasn't me! I was watching a bug crawl by." she meowed, nudging a small beetle on the ground. Swiftsong shook her head in disappointment. "You could have killed her!" growled Mousepaw, playing along. Wishpaw shook her head wildly, trying to get their attention and let them know that it wasn't Featherpaw. Rushpaw's sightless blue eyes were wide, but he didn't see anything so he couldn't tell them the truth. "Leave." growled Breezetail. Featherpaw's eyes widened at her mentor. "What? But I didn't do anything!" she wailed. Swiftsong unsheathed her claws. "Prove it!" she yowled. Featherpaw just stood there, her jaw gaped open. "LEAVE!" snarled Breezetail, getting to her paws and stepping closer. Featherpaw looked from Sunpaw, to Mousepaw, to Rushpaw, then Wishpaw. Wishpaw shook her head, opening her mouth to yowl: "Don't go!" but she couldn't. Nothing came out. Swiftsong unsheathed her claws and leaped forward, nipping the grey apprentice. Featherpaw turned and headed for the border with a whimper, casting one last sorrowful glance at Wishpaw before disappearing forever.
Wishdream, Rushfur, Sundapple and Mousepaw (whose warrior ceremony got postponed when Sundapple framed him) sat together under a shady tree eating fresh-kill. Sundapple turned to Mousepaw and whispered in his ear, then the two siblings got up and padded away. Mousepaw looked small next to her, even though it is originally the toms who are larger than the she-cats. Wishdream stared at them as they turned into the thorn barrier and out of camp. Rushfur's fur bristled as he picked up her uneasiness. "What is it?" he asked her. Wishdream shook her head, unable to reply. It wasn't much longer when they heard an earsplitting cry. Oh no!" wailed Sundapple, skidding into camp with wide eyes. Wishdream, Rushfur and a few other cats in the clearing leaped to their paws and ran over. "What happened? Where's Mousepaw?" asked Rushfur, sniffing the air. Sundapple fell to the ground, tears rolling down her eyes. /Is she faking?/ Wishdream asked herself, then shook her head. "He's dead!" she wailed. "We came across a fox and it ripped his limbs off!" she cried. Wishdream's fur bristled. "Where is he?" asked an apprentice, one of which was Mousepaw's best friend. "He's right outside the camp." she meowed. Wishdream narrowed her eyes, meeting Sundapple's gaze for only a moment. /She's lying! A fox didn't kill him!/ she told herself. /She did!/
Wishdream sat next to Rushfur, licking his dusty ginger fur clean. The tom had been made deputy several moons ago, yet Flintstar remained strong and healthy and clinging to his last life. Sundapple had been quiet
since Mousepaw 'died'. Right then she was crossing the clearing towards her two siblings. She looked at Wishdream with a frown. "I need to speak with Rushfur alone." she meowed. Wishdream narrowed her eyes, nodded, then got to her paws and bounded down the high rock and hid beneath it. She could hear claws scraping the rock and Sundapple chuckle. "It was so easy to get rid of Featherpaw and Mousepaw." she meowed. "And Sparrowcloud." Rushfur's fur bristled and he began to snarl. "You and Wishdream were never and competition to me, though. Blind and mute." she teased. She unsheathed her claws and leaped onto him, pinning him down to the rock by his throat. "Who do you think really attacked Wishdream all those moons ago? Featherpaw? Hah - yeah right!" She growled. Rushfur's eyes widened. "Then why did you kill Mousepaw? I thought you two were in cahoots." he hissed. Sundapple gave her chest fur a couple of licks. "He was always talking about becoming leader and making me his deputy. But do you think I could settle for such a thing?" she asked him. "And now it's you getting in my way." she growled. "So you are going to retire from your position as deputy due to your blindness and the fact that you are unable to keep up with your duties," she meowed, gouging her claws deeper into his neck. "Or I will have to get rid of you." Rushfur shook his head, causing her claws to rip his flesh. "Never." he choked out. "Fine. That's your choice." she meowed, then lashed out at his neck. Wishdream heard him gasp and shake as he fought for his life. The black and white she-cat tried to let out a yowl and launched herself on top of Sundapple. The two she-cats rolled over and over until they plummeted off of the rock. Sundapple landed on Wishdream with her claws digging into her throat. "Did you really think you could win?" she chuckled. "I always knew you would be a problem." she growled. "Ever since you opened your eyes. But that doesn't matter anymore; you can never say who killed our kin. You are just another unworthy follower. So either stop this madness or I shall kill you as well." Wishdream smirked as a shadow fell over them. Sundapple whipped around with wide eyes, surprised to see their sister, Featherpaw, hovering over them. Wishdream smiled as Featherpaw unsheathed her claws and lashed out at Sundapple's neck, killing her. Wishdream opened her mouth and managed to choke out: "Never."