Owlkit's eyes flickered open. The sun's harsh rays blinding him momentarily. It took around a minute for his eyes to adjust to the light. Wait a minute! He could see! Jumping up he looked around his den, it was huge! An almost silent whimper escaped from his mouth before he could stop it, how small he must look compared to everyone else! He crept back in to the safety of his mother's fur, comforted by her warmth. Alerted by his movement, Owlkit's mother looked at him worry clearly showing in her eyes but soon the worry was replaced by amazement. At first Owlkit thought he had a scrap of moss in his fur, which he did but he soon realised that it was not his fur she was looking at, no, she was staring at his eyes!
"My kit! Y-your eyes!" His mother exclaimed.
Searching for his mother's name he crossed his eyes in concentration.
"Iceflower!" A bellowing voice came from the entrance to the den.
Owlkit squeaked in alarm and fell into a pile of leaves. He tried to get out of the mass of dead leaves by churning his tiny paws frantically. Unfortunately his plan off escape was not very successful and he was left wriggling on his back. He must look so silly! What if his father saw him now!
Four small heads popped out from behind Iceflower. All of their eyes seemed to be fixed on him. The biggest of the litter, a black tom, built up the courage to pad towards him.
"What is it?" The little grey she-cat squeaked.
"It is a beetle silly!" Yelled the white female, she lifted her head all-knowingly.
Owlkit glared at her crossly, how dare she call him a beetle! He was the biggest kit in the whole wide world!
Pushing her sister out of the nest the ginger she-cat mewed, "A beetle? Beetle's aren't that big!"
The white kitten leaped back onto the nest, a small piece of moss stuck to her head, "Oh it's a turtle then!" She lifted her head, obviously proud of her outrageous assumption.
Owlkit looked up at his mother, she was warmly gazing at the four strange kits.
"My kits, don't you understand? He is your brother!" She purred, her voice as soft as anything he had ever felt before.
All of the kit's jaws dropped, he had other littermates! Owlkit had heard other kits mewling but he had guessed that they were from another litter.
"Another brother!" The white she-cat moaned, "But we have already got one of those, why do we need another one?"
The black tom sighed, "Well you're not the one with three sisters"
Angrily she replied, "I'm not the one who alw…." But she was interrupted by Iceflower.
"Kits! Now isn't the time to be arguing!"
With one final glare they both scampered off in opposite directions.
Owlkit sprung upwards and landed on all four paws. It was only then that he noticed that his mother was talking to another cat who was also caring for kits.
"Oh Brightfrost I have no idea how you cope."
The cream coloured mother laughed, "It gets easier in time, you'll get used to it."
Looking at her kits arguing, Iceflower snorted, "I hope so!"
Diverting his attention from the two mothers, Owlkit ran up to his littermates.
The smallest of them all was hopping up and down, "Snowkit I want to be leader this time!" She was talking to the bossy white kitten, with sky blue eyes.
"But your too small Dovekit, a leader has to be brave and smart, just like me!"
"And I suppose hedgehogs can fly," mewed the black tom
"Just because you're jealous of my outstanding talents doesn't mean you have to be mean, Moonkit!" She retorted, her eyes narrow.
"Me jealous of you? Not in this lifetime!"
The ginger she-cat stepped in before the argument continued, "How about we let someone else be leader this time," She said, her peaceful approach seemed to settle all the other kits, Owlkit guessed almost instantly that she was the peace keeper of the group.
"Fine," replied the white kit, "who do you suggest Maplekit?"
"How about…" Her gaze rested on him, "you?"
Rolling her eyes, the stubborn white kitten snorted, "Oh great, the turtle is going to be the leader!"
Owlkit snapped back at her, "I'm not a turtle!"
Maplekit stared at him questioningly, "So what is your name?"
"Oh, I am Owlkit."
"Cool! I am Maplekit, this is Dovekit, Moonkit and Snowkit." She signalled to the other three kits.
"How long have you guys had your eyes open for?" He was eager to know how much more they had seen than he had.
This time the black tom spoke, "Only since yesterday but it didn't really matter mother wouldn't let us outside the den anyway."
Yes! At least the others hadn't been allowed out the den without him!
"Why not?"
"She said we had to wait." The grey kit replied, she cowered underneath their gaze, when all pairs of eyes were fixed on her.
Hope flared in Snowkit's eyes, "Maybe she wanted us to wait for you!"
It took a moment for Owlkit to understand what his sister was saying, but when he did he was jumping for joy!
All five kits darted towards their mother.
"Can we go outside now?" All the kits asked in unison.
Iceflower's expression suddenly changed.
The cream coloured cat spoke instead, "They have to go outside at some point."
"Oh, ok."
All the kits squealed in excitement. They were going to go outside, it was going to be great!
Without hesitation they all scrambled towards the entrance, their tails streaming behind them.
As soon as one paw touched the sandy ground outside they were greeted by the brightest sunlight they had ever seen, the entrance seemed pitch-black compared to the dazzling light that shines upon the open camp.
Owlkit gasped in awe. He had to do a retake of his surroundings. The camp was protected by a wide and beautiful river that danced passed the rocks. Long narrow birch trees could be seen from where he was standing. Inviting rocks were scattered across a sandy shore, their silver surface being warmed by the sun's rays.
"Wow!" Exclaimed Moonkit.
Maplekit whimpered, "I-It's s-so big!"
Even Snowkit was for once speechless.
"Awesome!"
Owlkit was shocked that it was Dovekit who was the only one not scared by their camp. He had always taken her for the shy and quiet type but it seemed by her reaction he must have guessed wrong!
Shaking himself Owlkit forgot about the new and threating scenery and remembered that he didn't want to look weak in front of his littermates.
"Hey!" Shouted Snowkit, "Let's see if we can find the warrior's den!"
"Why?" Asked Maplekit.
"So then we could find our father!"
With a murmur of agreement they raced towards the closest den.
Owlkit came to an abrupt halt. His littermates stopped outside a den, the entrance was built of two leaning logs. It was smaller than theirs but still big enough to hold at least six cats. Snowkit started to pad into the den, stopping when she realised that the others weren't following her, "What's wrong too scared?"
Moonkit stood up straight, "No way!"
"Well then, come on!"
Owlkit took his first paw-step towards the den, this isn't so bad, he thought.
As the five kits got further into the cave they saw it was very dark, they could hardly even see their own paws.
Without warning two fearsome eyes glowed in the darkness. They all squealed out loud.
Someone started laughing hysterically.
"Oh Rocktail you are very cruel sometimes." A voice said from behind a fallen log.
"It is just a game Greylake the elders did it to me when I was their age." This time it was an old croaking voice that mewed coarsely.
Maplekit was shaking whilst Moonkit, Dovekit and Snowkit where all huddled together, petrified. Who were these cats?
A small tortoiseshell stepped out from behind the log, she must be the one they called Greylake. "But does that mean you can do it to them? I remember you shaking when Littlewing did the exact same thing to you."
"Hmph if I remember correctly you were the one who scampered out of the den like you were being chased by a fox!"
"You are ever so good at lying Rocktail."
The croaking voice spoke again, "Me lying? Hardly!"
The she-cat was about to reply but thought better of it, so instead she turned to the trembling kits, "Don't be frightened little ones my littermate was just joking around."
Owlkit sat up straight, he wasn't scared! He was brave just like a warrior! His littermates had also got over the mean joke and were all forcing their fur to lie flat.
"We are not scared!" Whimpered Dovekit
Smirking the she-cat said, "Of course not! You're all extremely brave just like warriors already!"
They all puffed out their chests proudly at the compliment.
"So would you like to hear a story?"
Owlkit nodded vigorously, he loved to hear stories! His mother had told them loads when she was feeding them, ones about warriors and even the other clans! Although Owlkit couldn't remember their names he remembered that one of them was known for being able to run really fast!
"Well, kits my story is about a huge battle, with cruel animals called foxes!"
Although he didn't know what 'foxes' were he could tell from the way the elder spat the word out, that they weren't very pleasant creatures.
"It all happened here in our camp, a huge mass of evil and foul-smelling foxes came stamping into our home, their teeth were bared and their claws sharp, they were here to kill."
Dovekit squeaked, "I never ever want to see a fox!"
"I hope you don't young kit but if you choose the life of a warrior you are almost destined to fight one."
Owlkit knew he could fight a fox! He would be super brave and extremely strong no matter what!
Greylake continued the story, she looked as if she had gone to a faraway land as she told the kits about the battle, "Our warriors fought hard but were no match for the huge foxes, they were cruel and wanted to feel the warmth of blood underneath their claws, we needed the help of our warrior ancestors if we were ever going to defeat them."
Owlkit didn't know who these 'warrior ancestors' were but they sounded awfully strong!
"It was that night that our ancestors helped us they knew we could win but to prevent more deaths they aided in us in the best way possible."
Maplekit asked quietly, "What could be better than another set of paws to join us?"
"That is a good question and I will give you the answer if you listen very carefully."
Owlkit and his littermates leaned forward their ears pricked.
"The battle was still raging on when Smalljay, our medicine cat was given the best weapon ever…"
All ears were strained, everyone in the den was waiting for the next words, even Rocktail who had seemed very uninterested at the beginning.
"Through…a dream!" She whispered.
"A dream?" The kittens questioned together.
Snowkit laughed, "What could a dream do?"
Moonkit nudged his sister, "Sshh!"
Greylake watched them in amusement.
"Yes, through a dream, you see our Warrior Ancestors told Smalljay how we could get the upper-hand."
"Wow!" Dovekit whispered.
"He told us to that we needed help from our greatest enemy, dogs."
Dogs! Owlkit didn't know much but he definitely knew that these 'dogs' were definitely not the clan cats friends. Their mother had told them that numerous cats had died at the jaws of these, dogs.
"Amazingly it was a kit who discovered the meaning of the message! She knew that dogs could save us, because they were not only our enemy, but the fox's enemy too."
A kit!? How could a kit unravel a complicated message that was impossible!
"Ah, yes kits I know what you're thinking, how could a kit know the meaning of this complex message? Well the answer is simple, she was destined to become a medicine cat and this was Starclan's way of showing the clan that she was to become the new medicine cat of Riverclan and the way they told us how to defeat this terrible foe."
Owlkit found himself thinking of the young she-cat, she must be really special if she was called upon by the Warrior Ancestors! Maybe he was destined to be something great and important too!
"You know that she-cat is still alive today! In fact she is our medicine cat."
Moonkit grinned, "That must have been great!"
"You would think so but the kit didn't think so, she thought she was being haunted by ghosts!"
Snowkit rolled around in laughter, "Ghosts?! Who believes in ghosts!"
"You might think it is silly Snowkit but this kit had always been different and she had always wanted to fit in."
Owlkit didn't understand very well but he was happy that he had a loving mother and caring littermates.
"You might be wondering how this all happened while the battle was still raging on."
He must admit that it was this exact question that had been bugging him.
"Even foxes must sleep."
"Well duh!" Mewed Snowkit
Maplekit again glared at her sister, unlike Snowkit his ginger littermate had some respect for their elders.
"I agree Snowkit it does sound weird at first but if you think about it"
Owlkit thought so hard that his tiny head started to hurt, it made no sense! Then suddenly it hit him like a rock. Of course! How could he have not understood!
"We weren't really fighting back at first! We were just wearing them out, our warriors really hit them when it was dark and they had to go to sleep!"
"Well done! That is exactly right! It was then that our warriors attacked and led them to the dogs!"
That would be the only way to get rid of them!
"Every single warrior of Riverclan attacked fiercely during the night and then created a trail right to the dogs that is why we don't find foxes on our territory because that one battle left a scar on all foxes alike."
Wow that kit must have been really smart!
Owlkit looked up at the old she-cat, "Were you in the battle?"
The elder purred, "I was, even grumpy old Rocktail over there fought too."
Five pairs of small eyes looked at her in amazement.
"No way!" Dovekit mewed, "He fought in a battle?"
"Of course! Every warrior has at least fought in one battle, in fact the reason we became warriors is because of that exact attack."
Every one of the littermates gasped, even the word 'warrior' made their pelts tingle. They all had the same ambition, to become the best warrior they could be, no matter what stood in their way.
"Anyway enough of the past, your mother must be worried sick, you must get back to her now."
"Ok" They said.
Swiftly they ran back to their den, happy to see that their mother was waiting for them. She grabbed them by the scruff and carried them inside their nest.
"Mother, we learnt all about loads of things today and we even met a new friend, her name is Greylake."
"That's nice my sweet-hearts, you can tell me all about it at sun-high but for now you must go to sleep, I will let you meet your father tomorrow."
Owlkit couldn't wait! He soon fell into a deep sleep, his mind filled with foxes and brave warriors.