Too Soon
Snow danced softly down from the brooding clouds that blotted out the rising sun. The tiny white flakes landed gently on the smooth sandy paths that ran up the sides of the gorge, securing it in a thin sheet of ice. The snow tickled the noses and dappled the pelts of the dawn patrol, who were just returning from the western border. They gazed up in awe, watching the flakes spiral down to alight on the frosted ground. The rest of the camp lay snoring in their nests, oblivious to the overnight miracle. That is, almost every cat...
"Get up, lazy mice!" An excited voice cheered. Stormkit cracked open an eyelid to see her ginger and grey mottled sister, Firekit, pranced into the nursery cave. Her spiky fur was slick with melting snow and her chest heaved, though her eyes were bright with excitement.
Stormkit had just set her fluffy paws on the cold cave floor when she heard a rustling sound. A flash of dark fur shot by out of the corner of her eye as her brother, Harrykit, sprang out of the nest, jolting her roughly in the process.
"Hey!" She snapped at her rowdy littermate, who responded by shrugging and began to creep around the expectant nursery queen, Cherrytail, to the cave entrance.
"Is that snow?" Stormkit wondered, her kit mind already having leap to a different topic. Firekit nodded eagerly, so fast and hard that her sister worried that her head might fall off. The idea of a headless Firekit grossed her out and she shuddered.
She was so caught up in her ugly daydream that she didn't hear Harrykit calling her until her sister jabbed her in the leg. "C'mon."
Stormkit blinked and carefully padded after her hyper siblings as they skidded down the icy path towards the camp ground. The chill breeze nipped at her paws and ruffled her silvery pelt. She sneezed from the numb feeling that was creeping over her nose like a caterpillar. The sky was grey and the wind sang with longing and deep, deep sadness.
Stormkit stared up at the clouds as she and her siblings padded off the path onto flat, dry ground once more. She was debating whether there might be a blizzard on the way and whether she would like one when she heard the brittle crunch of paws through crisp, new powder. A dark, lumpy shadow fell over her face and she spun, tail puffed out like a grey cattail.
Dark, brownish ginger fur framed the narrow face of Sandypaw, one of SkyClan's older apprentices. The tomcat crouched down beside the kits so that he was level with them, his tail sweeping slowly through the dusting of snow.
"Do you three wanna see something cool?" Sandypaw asked them in a low tone of voice, ears alert for any warriors. All three kits nodded robotically and followed the amber furred apprentice as he began to lead them towards the edge of the gorge.
After what seemed like forever to Stormkit, the group of young cats ended their perilous slipping and sliding across the shiny ice. Sandypaw sagged with relief as his paws touched safe ground and motioned with his tail for the siblings to follow him to a sheltered clearing a little ways into the forest.
Stormkit was shaking snow from her long fur when she heard a rumbling sound in the distance but rapidly growing closer. Sandypaw apparently heard it too, for he shoved her littermates into a hollow log, his fur spiked. He beckoned frantically for Stormkit to join them but she didn't get a chance to.
The rumbling grew louder, turning into a roaring that rang in her ears. Green and yellow filled her vision. She heard harsh shouts and felt pain shoot up her flank before settling itself between her eyes. Then everything was black.