I open my eyes, and for the first time, I see the world. Sweet and milky scents surround me; I am warm, a body curls around me, a pelt of gray and white. I push out a paw instinctively. I knead the soft fur and inch closer to drink from a belly. The pelt moves, and a face of love greets me. She is beautiful, her eyes are the color of bluebells, her muzzle narrow and symmetrical. The fur lining her cheeks is silky and pretty. I purr at this radiant figure. Her jowls part to reveal perfectly white teeth, and she makes a sound.

"Hello, Ravenkit. I am your mother, Petalcloud. I will take care of you and your siblings, my sweet kit."

I soon realize that I am not the only one besides my mother in the den. Fuzzy kittens, three of them, lay by me. One wakes up; he is a smoky gray tom-kit. His blue eyes, rimmed with gold, flutter as if for the first time. I realize that this must be his first time opening his eyes; I was the first kit in my litter to see the world. He cocks his head and looks at me. He has a certain scent. Similar to my mother's scent and mine. "Hi." My voice squeaks, not as I expected. Our mother peers down at my gray brother. "Smokekit, I see you've associated yourself with your sister, Ravenkit. Your other sister and brother should open their eyes soon en-" Petalcloud's sentence stops as another pair of eyes open, belonging to a black tom with amber eyes. The outlining of his fur is dark brown, the color lining his eyes and lips, and the rims of his ears. He looks at Smokekit, Petalcloud, and then me. He squeals happily. Our mother meows softly, "Sparrowkit. Meet Smokekit and Ravenkit. They are your littermates, and I am Petalcloud, your mother."

A fourth kit opens her eyes, and sneezes, for her kitten-fluff had tickled her nose. She has a fluffy white pelt, her eyes an icy blue. "Icekit," Petalcloud explains the introductions accordingly.

"Is it just us?" Sparrowkit asks. Our mother shakes her head.

"There are other kits for you to play with, but we'd best not wake them now. They've opened their eyes earlier," she meows softly. She flicks her long tail. "Why don't you explore camp, young ones?"

"Alright!" Smokekit squeals, quietly yet excitedly. Icekit twitches her ears happily, waving her tail.

"Let's explore!" She mews at a low volume. We follow each other out of the small den of brambles. All of our jaws drop when we see how big the camp is. It's huge! Paths are worn into the grass from the cats that walk them. The grass around the path is lush and soft. We see dens, towering over us, as we are small at this age. I smell different scents around me, cats are busy. Sending out patrols, patching up dens, sharing prey with friends. "Wow," I meow. "Camp is so big! So many cats..." My paws pull me toward a mix of sharp and sweet scents, strong and weak scents, smells of plants. My siblings follow me into a den, where a brown, white, and black tabby is piling up leaves, seeds, berries, so many herbs that are unknown to me. Of course, us kits are curious. Sparrowkit tilts his head. "What are you doing?" He asks the tabby. She twitches her whiskers in amusement. She replies, "Well, first things first, I am Leafmist, Medicine Cat of ShadowClan. And I'm sorting herbs." Sparrowkit waves his tail happily, curious about the herbs.

"What are they for?" He questions. Leafmist looks a little surprised at Sparrowkit's interest in herbs. "Well," she explains, pointing to a variety of herbs with her tail. "The little black seeds are to help you sleep, they are called poppy seeds. This is tansy, it's good for scratches, as well as dock and marigold..." Leafmist trails off, for Smokekit looks like he might fall asleep from boredom. "Why don't you go explore some more, youngsters?" Smokekit perks up, and flicks his tail to lead us out. But Sparrowkit flattens his ears and wails, "But I wanna learn about the plants! Leafmist, please teach me more!" Leafmist looks down at my brother. "Of course. Now you others come and get him when your mother calls you inside." Smokekit, Icekit, and I nod in response.

"Okay. We will," I call over my shoulder as we leave. As I step out, Leafmist continues the lesson. "Juniper berries and watermint help when you have a tummy ache, and catmint is very important..."

I bound forward and peek into a den. Only a few figures are curled into their nests, but other scents, a little stale, remain. A cat enters, a black tom with amber eyes. His pelt is long, like furry feathers. He looks and smells familiar, but I can't place a claw on it. He purrs, "You've opened your eyes, my kits! I am your father, Blackfeather."

Now I see the resemblance. His fluffy pelt is like that of Icekit's fur texture, golden eyes belonging to Sparrowkit. His long, agile legs are a trait that I have from him, as I am taller than my brothers and sister. I wonder what I look like, just then. I ask, "What do I look like, father?" Blackfeather chuffs kindly and brings his tail around me, leading me out of the den and showing me to a pool of clear water. My brother and sister sit around it, staring at their reflections. I look down and I see what I appear to others. My eyes are icy blue, around the edges they are silver, and closer to my pupils is rimmed with amber. My sleek frame suggests I am quick, my face that of a clever young cat. My fur is silky, I see my long plume of a tail. I am a shade of black, but if I turn just right, the sunlight makes it look dark blue. My underbelly is white, I have white tipped ears and tail, with a sharp white mark on my forehead, coming off my crown. I think I am beautiful. I look perfect. I twitch my ear happily. My siblings are shocked by their appearances, and Smokekit laughs, "Icekit! You look like a dandelion!"

Icekit flicks her ear. "I do! Ha!" She squeals. I meow curiously, "Let's go over there." I point my tail in the direction of a large, drooping bush that appears to be a den. Smokekit and Icekit follow me to it. We enter, and the voices of older cats, voices raspy, are meowing to one another. Among these cats is a ginger tom, a brown and white she-cat, a black and gray tom, and a pale yellow she-cat. The golden elder gazes at us, the eyes of the others following. "Hello, kits," she rasps. "Welcome to the elders' den." She flicks her tail, introducing the others. "This is Sunflame, Dawnlight, Snakefang, and I'm Honeyflower."

Sunflame chuckles.

"Decided to explore camp, have you?" The ginger tom meows. The brown and white she-cat purrs,"I think kits are so adorable, Sunflame. Kits, would you like to hear a story?" She asks. Snakefang hisses and yawns. "I was about to take a nap, Dawnlight. Not now!"

Dawnlight flicks her tail, both in annoyance and to dismiss his behavior.

"Never mind Snakefang. He's just an old grumpy elder. Now, want to hear that story?" She asks us again. Icekit nods, and Smokekit is already sitting, waiting for a story to be told. Dawnlight looked over to Honeyflower, seeming to know that she had a story in mind. The yellow elder began the tale. "One day, ShadowClan was being attacked by ThunderClan, and they were losing. Many cats had to retreat, but one small apprentice stayed in the midst of battle. He knew that if he proved himself, he would be a warrior. He also knew that StarClan was with him. Suddenly, a lightning bolt flashed down and scared off some of the enemies. Soon the apprentice felt pelts brushing beside him-it was ShadowClan ancestors! They helped him in battle, and he won for ShadowClan. You know who that apprentice was?" Honeyflower meows.

"Who? Who?!" I squeak, amazed. Honeyflower's lips pull into a smile at the corners, and she meows, "Your grandfather, Oakstripe."

"Woah!" Smokekit yowls.

"What happened to him?" I ask.

Honeyflower shakes her head and blinks. "He died a few moons before you were born."

Icekit looks disappointed and sad. "Oh..." She mews in a tone that sounds as if she'd been let down. Honeyflower flicks an ear dismissively.

"No matter," she purrs. The pale golden elder waves a paw. "Go on, youngsters. Enjoy camp," she suggests.

We all bound away and look around for something else to explore. Then, a soft yowl sounds from the nursery. "Time to come in, kits!" It was Petalcloud, calling us in for the sunset. Sparrowkit hears and joins us in the bramble den. Our mother gathers us to clean us up. After she has bathed us, we cuddle close to her belly, having a meal of great amounts. Petalcloud purrs softly, "What a big day you must have had!"

And with that, I close my eyes and drift into a deep sleep.