Eclipsekit and Starkit came barreling out of the Shadowclan Nursery with Tawnykit and Frostkit racing at their paws. "Got you!" Tawnykit screeched happily as he tackled Eclipsekit. The two energetic kits went tumbling into Runningkit who was sleepily padding out of the nursery.

"Hey, what was that for?" Runningkit exclaimed

"Nothing," Starkit replied "Just playing", then they ran off giggling. Starkit ran up to Tawnykit and jumped over him, sending the two tiny kits into a roll, knocking over Eclipsekit, while Frostkit had to keep jumping up over them to keep from keep from getting squished by the mass of kits.

The four cats, lost in the thrill of the play fight, were pawing and batting at each other with their claws sheathed. Eclipsekit let out an angry mew and kicked at Starkit's stomach. Moonkit meowed helplessly as the cats rolled and fought running into the nursery, tumbling into Sparrowkit, and then stopping abruptly to see the startled expression and raised hackles on Sparrowkit. He angrily hissed at the three cats who had knocked him off his paws.

Darkfern growled. "Do you mind? Honeyflower, tell your kits to play outside rather than in my nest."

Honeyflower was Eclipsekit's mother, a beautiful, golden tabby queen. Honeyflower never was mad at her kits. However, that didn't mean she couldn't be forceful.

"Oh, Darkfern. They are only playing. Besides, I think they would much rather play outside, anyway."

The tabby queen then pushed the rambunctious kits out of the nursery.

"We were just play fighting," Eclispekit mewed. She looked around as Tawnykit and Starkit nodded in agreement.

"I want to back into the nursery, with you," chirped Moonkit. Honeyflower's eyes softened.

"I am sure you do, but I bet your siblings want to play with you more. Why don't you play with them today," Honeyflower purred back at Moonkit.

Moonkit looked down at her paws. "Well, okay."

Sparrowkit barrelled into Starkit and they went rolling away, while Tawnykit and Eclipsekit pounced onto Moonkit. The tackle didn't last long, though. Tawnykit was too small to keep Moonkit down, and Eclipsekit soon got bored of Moonkit's struggle.

"You guys are mouse brains," Moonkit said in a softer voice after catching her breath.

"I heard that!" Eclipsekit yowled then pounced tackling her and dragging her into the fight. In the midst of the fight, they rolled into Toadleap. The kits cowered in fear, knowing Toadleap's reputation of having a temper as short as a mouse tail. He held a calm expression, but each and everyone of the six tiny kits could see the burning fury in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, "You are not apprentices, there is no need to be fighting."

Moonkit stammered, "W-we were only-"

Tawnykit interrupted "We were only playing, leave us alone." Tawnykit's head was held high only testing if he could resist Toadleap's fury.

Toadleap growled deeply, looked at the kits, and padded off to Honeyflower, most likely to explain to her what a nuisance the five kits were. Moonkit flicked her ears in gratitude, knowing she would have gotten her ears clawed off, along with her siblings, if it weren't for Tawnykit.

After that dramatic moment, Sparrowkit, Runningkit, Tawnykit, and Starkit continued to play fight. Eclipsekit and Moonkit for they had seen Maplepaw and ran up to him. Maplepaw was recently made an apprentice in ShadowClan. The mottled brown-ginger tabby with black paws noticed the two's desperate scrabbling and gazed at squirrel he was carrying was instantly tossed on the fresh kill pile as a flash of amusement streaked across his dark green eyes. "Hello," he meowed.

"Hi!" Eclipsekit said excitedly not even knowing words had just spilled out of her mouth. "Hi, Maplepaw," Moonkit said shyly and scampered back into the nursery, pelt hot. Eclipsekit had always admired Maplepaw. He got the privilege of being an apprentice while she and the other kits of the nursery were still dreaming of getting their apprentice names. However, Eclipsekit's mother had told them to be patient because it was only a half-moon until they were named apprentices. Eclipsepaw's denmates and she would be able to go to Gatherings and then they were closer to becoming warriors. Warriors! Just the thought of it made Eclipsekit's spine shudder.

"I see that you were play fighting with the other kits."

"Y-yeah," she mewed.

Maplepaw purred. "Well," Maplepaw mewed "Then maybe I can join," and right as he said as he pounced on Eclipsekit being careful not to squish her.

"St-Stop i-it tickles. help!,"She yowled, laughing uncontrollably between tickles.

The other kits heard her and ran to her rescue. Soon it was a pile of cats tickling and bating at each other. Frostkit wildly battered at the mass of kits and one apprentice. "Ow! Ow! Stop it Frostkit!" Eclipsekit wildly screamed as she whipped around kicking both Starkit and Frostkit in the jaw, their eyes burning with happiness and mewling excitedly. Tawnykit and Starkit both latched onto Frostkit and Eclipsekit's legs, only pulling them deeper into the play-fight. Eclipsekit's ears were overflowing with the sound of mrrows of joy and laughing yowls.

"Alright, alright. I need to get back to training now," Maplepaw said as he glanced back at his mentor, Sprucetail, who was glaring at him with his light green eyes. "Maybe we all could get some fresh kill later." Eclipsekit looked at him with a bit of disappointment in her eyes, "Oh." she said. "Ok then." Maplepaw left the nursery with his mentor. Eclipsekit bounded off to join the other kits in playing with a ball of moss. However, her eyes grew weary as the sun set behind the glorious pine trees. A several beams poking through each branches needles. Eclipsekit dragged her heavy paws across the clearing to the nursery, where Honeyflower was preparing for sleep. Honeyflower beckoned her sleepy kits to her nest. Eclipsekit gladly padded into her mother's nest and the rest of the litter soon followed.

During her sleep, Eclipsekit found herself in the forest. Deep in the forest. She was not allowed out of camp, so why did this place feel so familiar? She heard a faint wailing of pain. Eclipsepaw ran towards the sound, going as fast as her tiny paws could carry her. As she ran in deeper woods, the light around her faded. She ran even further into the forest, the wailing not being any closer. The world around her was dark there was no moon to light her path, nor stars to guide her. She couldn't help feeling dreadfully lost.

What is this place? Eclipsekit thought, not realizing she had yowled at the top of her tiny lungs. Her scream were soon accompanied by an eerie echo and the wailing. Eclipsekit stopped, dead in her tracks, listening to the howls of pain. Eclipsepaw flattened her ears. It sounded terribly familiar. It seems now that there was more than one cat screeching in terror and agony. It sounded like her littermates, Frostkit, Moonkit, Tawnykit, and Starkit! They all seemed in terrible pain. She had made no mistake. If there is one thing she knew, it was their voices.

Her littermates meant everything to her. She shared a closer bond with those kits than the medicine cats were connected with StarClan. Were they in trouble? Eclipsekit did not know. She was drowning in uncertainty. A crack formed in the ground. The world around her was sucked in. She was suddenly back in the camp. The rising sun peaked through the trees. Spreading light throughout the camp.

. The only thing that was noticeable in the ShadowClan camp was a pool of blood. The sticky, scarlet liquid seemed to be mixing in with other cat's blood. Eclipsekit's ears pricked up. The wailing had stopped. It was dead silent. Even when she yowled at the top of her tiny lungs she could not hear her own voice. A faint meow not of her own seemed to be heard. When the star falls, the frost melts, the spots fall off the pelt, and when the dove has left its nest, the moon will shine brighter and the reign of the eclipse begins.

The faint echoing of the voice continued on for several heartbeats, and then all was silent. The trees and starless sky vanished from Eclipsekit the second she blinked her eyes. There was nothing but black. Absolutely nothing but black.

Eclipsekit's dream ended and she awoke with a jerk. She looked around and saw that the kits and her were still in the nursery. It was moonhigh now. The kits were still asleep and Starkit had put his tail over Eclipsekit's muzzle. She furiously shook it off and worriedly looked at Frostkit, Moonkit, Starkit, and Tawnykit, who were sleeping soundly on the either side of her. She gazed at Frostkit with a look of sadness. She was the one who enjoyed her life the most and was one of the three she-kits in the nursery. A pang of misery stabbed her like a claw. She was probably going to lose her life earlier than she would expect. StarClan had sent her a dream about it.