This was originally written to submit in a contest where the authors were told to write about the Great Journey from the old forest to the new one. Soooo I entered this! I thought it would be kinda fun to write a story in the POV of a kit, and Birchkit was little (and super adorable! :D) at the time of the Great Journey, so he fit well. R and R, flames are welcome. Enjoy!

Through Young Eyes

Cold wind swirled around my paws and ripped through my fur. I peered over the cliff to see a long drop, so far down it seemed as if it would never touch the ground. A shiver that had nothing to do with freezing ran down my spine. Only a few moonrises ago, a cat had plummeted to his death off of the side of these cliffs. A small squeak of fear escaped me, and I bounced backward, crashing into a leg. The gentle face of my mother, Ferncloud, looked down into my face.

"Birchkit! Keep close to me. I don't want to lose you." A sadness clouded over her eyes, and she turned away and stared back, toward the direction we had come. The wind buffeted her fur, almost lifting her off her paws, but she stood strong.

My heart filled with sadness too as I looked up at her. If my mother couldn't go on, how could I?

"Ferncloud! Get moving, unless you want to freeze here."

I jumped when a gruff new voice broke the howling of the wind and turned to see my father, Dustpelt. His brown tabby pelt was flecked with snow, so he appeared to have been crystallized. Ferncloud snapped her head around to peer into his eyes.

"How can you say that? How can you possibly move your paws forward when we had to leave Hollykit and Larchkit behind?" Her face was filed with such anguish, that I turned away, my eyes stinging with hot tears.

Dustpelt's voice grew softer. "I miss them too. But their spirits are free in Starclan, and I'm sure that right now, they just want the best for you. So please, let's keep going."

Ferncloud hesitated before lifting her paws and padding on through the snow, her tail drooping even more than before. My father sighed a sigh filled with sadness and bitterness. His amber eyes looked into mine, and he nodded to signal that I needed to continue also.

The tears began streaming down my face. I could not hold them back anymore, but I welcomed them; let them pour down my numb face and warm it. Warm my frozen fur and heart.

"Father?" I murmured. "I don't understand. Why did Larchkit and Hollykit...die?"

Dustpelt was silent for a long time before he answered. "Because Birchkit, our old home had no more prey, and was very cold. Larchkit could not survive without food, and she just couldn't make it. And Hollykit had little nourishment for a long time. When the cold of leaf-bare arrived, she was too weak..." He trailed away. Suddenly, he was angry. "I'm not the right cat to ask! Either go ask someone else, or leave me alone!"

Stung, I stepped back. "I'm sorry father." He didn't reply, but put his head down and plowed on through the snow. I saw a familiar gray pelt out of the back of my eye, and hung back, waiting for Cinderpelt to catch up. She was the medicine cat, she would know what to say.

Cinderpelt was worse off than most cats. Her limp had slowed her down terribly, and she was struggling to keep up. Her eyes were glazed with pain, but determination, as she limped valiantly to me. "Birchkit? What do you need?"

"I want to ask you...why did my sisters have to die?"

Her face fell, and for a moment, she glanced at the sky, but clouds as dark as deep water covered all. "Well, young kit, it was their time. Starclan has a destiny for each cat."

"But why? It is so unfair! I hardly knew them!" I moaned.

"Yes, it may seem unfair, but it is just Starclan's will, and nature's way. They are peaceful up in the stars, and watching over you, keeping you safe."

I opened my mouth to argue, but closed it again. There was no need to argue with Starclan. I would lose, just as I had lost in life.

The clouds parted. I looked up, surprised to see a difference from the unchanging days and nights of clouds and snow. There was indeed a crack in the clouds, and for a moment, I wondered if I was imagining it. But no, it was there. A golden stream of sunshine broke through and glowed in full glory, as if it had painstakingly struggling for seasons to shine. I couldn't help but gaze in awe as I watched how it transformed the mountains. Where I had seen only harsh evil, power, and death, I now saw life. It bounced off walls of ice, and reflected off the snow. The silhouettes of birds could be seen gliding through the ray, their wings shining gold.

The group of traveling cats eventually reached the spot, and basked in the warmth they had been deprived of for so long. I arched my back and relished the tingling in my pads, as at last, my paws began to thaw.

I kept close to my mother's side as we padded out of the cave, shaking my head as the mist tried to cling to my ears. For what felt like the first time in my whole life, I had a full stomach and groomed fur. The Tribe of Rushing Water had been good to us, and I didn't want to go. "Mother?" I peeped up. "Why did we have to leave the Tribe? I liked it there!"

Ferncloud swished her tail. "Because Birchkit. That was not our home, and we took advantage enough of their hospitality as it is. We must find our own territory."

"I don't want to! There was food, and shelter, and warmth there! Everything we want!"

Ferncloud gave the most infuriating answer a kit can hear. "You'll understand when you're older."

A sudden rage filled me, from my whiskers to my paws. "I don't want to wait until I'm older! I'm tired of not understanding! I want to understand now!"

The gray she-cat only shook her head and kept walking. But I didn't want to go on. My paws felt heavy with anger and frustration. I sat with a bump and refused to take another step.

But a voice meowed in my ear, "Birchkit. Don't be a mousebrain. There is much to see, much to learn, but we must work hard to get there. Besides, no cat understands everything, and no cat ever will. Not even Starclan knows everything."

I looked up, startled, and my mouth dropped open. A flame colored pelt as rich as the sun stood before me, muscles tired from lack of food, but still strong. Leaf green eyes bore into my own. I turned away, unable to hold the mighty leader's gaze. "Yes Firestar," I whispered, immediately humbled.

"Thank you." And with a warm purr, Thunderclan's leader gave me a small push to hoist me to my paws, nodded encouragingly, and began to run to catch up to the front of the group again.

"At last, we are home." I whispered as I stared out at the landscape below, rolling with green hills, lush forests, bright marshes, and in the middle of it all, a lake that reflected the sun. It was dark green, and yet so blue at the same time. For a moment, I wondered if it were water or sky, and if Starclan rested there. If Hollykit and Larchkit rested there.

A small nudge to the side interrupted me. I turned to look into the golden eyes of a Shadowclan she-kit. "Come on! What are you waiting for?" And she made a sound I had not heard in a long time: laughter. Giggling madly, fur fluffed and streaming in the wind, she sprinted down the hill.

For the first time in a lifetime, I felt free. And despite the fact that I had just dragged my paws many miles, I began to run too, and my heart was lifted of a weight it had carried for so long. Finally, I could be a kit again. I ran, no, flew down the hill as if I was a great bird, riding the air. Down. Down into the valley below. I was home.