Frostkit tumbled out of her nest in the nursery, mewling. She heard her mother, Rainflick, purr as she pulled her daughter back in.
"It's not time to wake up yet, little one," she murmured. "Soon, you will open your eyes and see the great wonders of DayClan."
Frostkit yawned, feeling sleepy at the soothing voice of her mother. Soon, she faded to sleep.
"Wake up! The camp is so big and beautiful!" Frostkit felt a paw prodding her.
"Get off, Sunkit," she mumbled, pushing him away.
"He's right. Go on, little one," urged Rainflick.
Frostkit sighed and stretched open her eyes, taking in the nursery. Her mother had such beautiful fur, and her amber eyes held so much wisdom.
Then she turned to her littermates. Her sister, Snowkit, had fur identical to their mother's, maybe a bit lighter. Her brother had orange fur and his amber eyes looked so much like Rainflick's.
She padded outside, ignoring the sight of the beautiful camp, and saw her reflection in a puddle. Soft white fur, piercing green eyes. She frowned. "Why don't I look like my mother?"
"Because you look like your father," came a purr from behind her.
She whirled around and saw a fat brown she-cat behind her, looking amused.
"Who is my father?" Frostkit wondered. "Why didn't he visit us? Does he not love us?" The last bit of her mew ended in deep hurt.
"No, honey, your father is watching over you from StarClan. StarClan is where cats go when their time on earth is up," explained the cat.
"Oh." Frostkit frowned. "Okay. Who are you? Why are you so fat?"
"You can't just ask a cat why they're fat," snorted a cat passing by. She rolled her stormy grey-blue eyes and continued on.
"Don't mind her. Skypaw is always irritated. She gets it from my sister, Silverstorm, who is her mother," explained the cat. "Anyways, I'm Moorsplash. I'm expecting kits."
"Oh," answered Frostkit, distracted by a butterfly passing by. She leapt at it and missed by a mouse-length.
"Good try, little warrior," purred Moorsplash. "Anyways, to continue on from before, your father had green eyes just like yours, and his mother, the elder Lithestem, had your pelt."
"That's cool!" squeaked Frostkit. "So, did my father have orange fur like Sunkit?"
"Kind of. It was more of a russet-ginger," replied Moorsplash.
"Hm," answered Frostkit, distracted again by Moorsplash's plumy tail. She pounced.
"Frostkit!" called her mother.
Disappointed, Frostkit let go of Moorsplash's tail.
"Come on, let's go back to your mother," said Moorsplash.
The pair headed back to the nursery.
"Look at you, you're a mess," fretted Rainflick.
Moorsplash laughed. "What kit isn't?"
Rainflick purred. "True."
Frostkit piped up. "Moorsplash told me about how my father influenced our pelts and eyes. Who was he?"
Rainflick's eyes flickered with grief. "He was strong and fast, with one of the kindest, bravest hearts I knew," she murmured. "He believed in peace and got along with everyone. But he died in a battle against WaterClan." Her gaze misted over. "His name was Foxfoot."
Frostkit was distraught. She didn't mean to make Rainflick sad! "I'm sorry I made you sad, Mama," she mumbled, pressing close to her mother's soft belly fur.
"It's quite alright, dear. It's nice to remember him," she replied, curling her tail around her daughter.
Meanwhile, Sunkit and Snowkit tumbled out of the nest, whispering to each other. They stopped guiltily, however, under the stern stare of Rainflick.
"And what do you two think you're doing?" she asked, ushering them all back into the nursery.
"Nothing," chorused Frostkit's littermates. She purred with amusement as she curled up to sleep.
Another yowl erupted from the nursery. Frostkit drew close to her mother, trembling.
"Is she going to die?" whispered Sunkit.
"No, dear, it's a part of life," soothed Rainflick, though her ears flicked nervously and her fur was prickled. "You three should go to sleep."
"We just woke up," complained Snowkit.
Frostkit, meanwhile, was distracted by Whisperbranch's long brown tail. She pounced just as the elder flicked his tail away. Disappointed, Frostkit leapt again. She kept trying to catch the tail until, exhausted, she glanced up. Whisperbranch's whiskers twitched with amusement as he dangled his tail in front of her once more.
This time, Frostkit concentrated. She waited, pushing herself into the most perfect crouch she could manage, then leapt as quick as lightning. Satisfaction rushed through her as she gripped the tail in her tiny kitten claws.
"Good job," mumbled Whisperbranch. He glanced at Rainflick. "Very talented daughter you have. She gets it from me."
Rainflick purred, flicking her own tail at her father's muzzle. "Shut up."
Hawkflame appeared at the entrance. "The kits are lovely," he purred. "You can go back and meet them now."
Frostkit eagerly bounced out of the den and into the nursery, her littermates on her heels. As she approached the entrance, a small mewling filled her ears.
Frostkit peered into Moorsplash's nest. Two tiny kits were curled up at her belly. The queen looked exhausted, but there was unmistakable love and pride in her eyes. Her mate, Reednose, was sitting next to her, eyes glowing, tail wrapped around Moorsplash.
"What're their names?" Rainflick entered the den.
Moorsplash smiled. "We haven't decided yet. Kits, would you like to help us?"
"Yes, yes please!" squeaked all three kits.
Reednose let out a deep purr. "Alright, what should the light yellow one be? It's a tom, and he kind of looks like me." Reedose smiled.
"I think he should be named Beekit," announced Frostkit.
"I think he should be named Lightkit," said Sunkit.
"No, I think Honeykit is much better," argued Snowkit.
Moorsplash purred. "I like Beekit, but that means that Sunkit and Snowkit, only you two get to decide the next kit's name."
Frostkit sat down, pleased with herself.
"Okay, so this one is brown with black spots, a she-kit," said Reednose.
As if the kit heard him, she let out a loud wail. Her eyes blinked open, revealing dazzling blue that sparkled in the dim nursery light.
"Wow, she opened her eyes already," remarked Rainflick, purring.
"And her eyes are beautiful," added Reednose lovingly.
The kit blinked at them, then mewled.
"Go back to sleep, my darling," murmured Moorsplash, stroking the kit with her tail. Soon, the kit was fast asleep again.
"Sparklekit," said Snowkit.
"Sparklekit," echoed Sunkit.
"Beekit and Sparklekit," said Reednose, his eyes glistening. "They're beautiful. Thank you."
Frostkit bounced around the elders' den, too antsy to listen to Amberecho's boasting.
"You caught the deer?" asked Snowkit, her eyes wide with shock.
Frostkit took in her littermates' taken expressions and the elders' focus on Amberecho, and decided no one would notice if she left. She slunk quietly out of the den and into camp, wondering what to do. Her sharp green eyes caught the dirtplace tunnel, and she slunk towards there.
"Now, kit, I used to be just like you, you know. Always wanting to leave camp." Frostkit jumped and spun around guiltily, coming face-to-face with Smokepaw.
"You're not that much older than me," she said bravely. "Only by seven moons."
Smokepaw rolled his eyes, lounging on the grass. "I'll be a warrior before you're an apprentice," he answered, stretching his jaws in a yawn. His eyes flickered over the camp, then he leaned in. "If you sneak out, I advise you to stay to the right of the territory. The left leads to NightClan and FireClan's territories, but WaterClan is much more passive," muttered Smokepaw. Then he stood up and walked to his sisters, Skypaw and Lilypaw, settling down as if nothing had just happened.
A sly grin crossed Frostkit's face. She scampered out the tunnel and into the forest.
Wow.
The forest was huge! Emerald leaves gleamed from the trees, with golden sunlight streaming through them. The dirt had an earthen smell to it, fresh and soothing. Frostkit padded along, stopping to sniff at rocks and leaves. She walked a long way, until her paws ached. She hadn't known which way she'd turned and bumped into a large, plump she-cat.
"Why hello, little kit. What are you doing in the forest all alone?" The cat looked extremely curious.
"I'm a warrior." Frostkit puffed out her chest proudly.
The cat looked amused. "So you're with those Clan cats," she sniffed. "Well, welcome to my neighborhood. I'm Everest."
Frostkit squinted. "What the heck is Everest?"
"I don't know," admitted Everest. "But it must be majestic. Come in, meet my kits."
Everest waved her fluffy gray tail and leaped onto the fence behind her. Frostkit blinked, wondering how she would get up there.
"Oh, right." Everest jumped back down and picked up the kit before jumping back onto the fence and into the garden within.
"These are my kits. They're about ten moons old," introduced Everest. A group of cats who looked like apprentices were crowded up to the clear stuff between the house and the garden.
Everest let out a loud yowl. Frostkit jumped as some weird creatures came and slide the clear thing to the side, allowing both cats in. Everest hopped inside without hesitation, but Frostkit paused. Everest gave her a keen look, and Frostkit hopped in as well.
Those must be Twolegs, Frostkit thought, remembering the stories her mother had told her. They didn't look threatening like Rainflick had said, but she kept a wary eye on them all the same.
"This is my mate, Jackson," said Everest. She nuzzled the dark gray tom watching over the kits. His blue eyes immediately turned warm at the sight of his mate.
"Hello," he said in a low, polite voice.
"This is Pepper," said Everest, pointing to a dark gray she-cat with black flecks. Pepper gave her a friendly smile.
"The two white ones are Spring and Flash, my ginger kit is Thomas, and the two brown ones are Berry and Claw," said Everest proudly.
Frostkit studied Flash. The white tom was eyeing her icily through his cold blue eyes. "Pleasure to meet you," he said sharply.
Frostkit just nodded, still staring curiously. Her eyes caught a nick in his ear, and she slowly raised her gaze to it.
Flash noticed her looking and quickly walked away, Spring on his tail.
Everest didn't seem to notice the coldness. She hurriedly pulled Frostkit over to a corner with a bunch of bowls filled with rabbit droppings. "Here, have some food!"
Frostkit was disgusted. "You eat rabbit poop?" she asked bluntly.
Everest laughed. "Oh, no. This is food that our housefolk give us. Try some, it's delicious."
Frostkit scrunched up her face and licked a pellet. "Oh, that's not bad."
Everest smiled. "See?"
Frostkit looked anxiously back to the garden where the sun was beginning to set. "Um… I should really get to my Clan."
Everest looked surprised. "So soon? Why don't you stay for a few nights? Besides, my housefolk don't let us out when it's getting dark."
Frostkit was uneasy, but accepted. It wasn't likely she'd be safe travelling in the dark back to her Clan.
Everest took her to a pile of pelts and told her she'd be warm there. Frostkit curled up, happily content, unaware of the turmoil her disappearance had caused in the camp.