I peeked over the nest, looking around the nursery. I reached a black paw over the edge, and was about to step over when my mother grabbed my scruff, carrying me back into the throng of siblings.

"Crowkit, you know you have to stay in the nest with Firekit,Hollykit, Jaykit and Lionkit." She meowed, and I sighed.

"But Mamma! I wanna go outside!" I complained. Bumblestripe, my father, smiled at his mate.

'Aww, Dovewing. Let 'em go play. I remember that you were the same way in the nursery." he rumbled out a laugh. Dovewing smiled at him ruefully, before sighing.

"Fine, but Crowkit, remember to respect the warriors, and elders. And Jayfeather." She reminded me. I nodded, and bounced out of the den and outside into the sun. Millie, a warrior, trotted over.

"Hello, Crowkit! What are you doing out here?" she smiled.

"I wanna see Bramblestar." I grinned, looking for him. Millie smiled.

"Bramblestar! Someone wants to see you!" She called. Bramblestar pricked his ears, and strode over.

"Ah, Crowkit. It's nice to see you." he meowed calmly, sitting and wrapping his tail around his paws.

"Hi, Bramblestar!" I squeaked. He smiled.

"And hello to you to, Crowkit. What is it you would like?" He cocked his head, amber eyes gleaming.

"I wanna be the leader when I grow up. Can you teach me stuff?" I mewed, and Mille purred in amusement.

"Well, Crowkit. To be a good leader, you have to be loyal to the warrior code, to your clan, and more importantly, to yourself." he said, snagging a vole off the pile of fresh kill. He neatly began to tear into the small brown pelt before looking up at Crowkit.

"What else…." he mused. "Well, always think. Make sure you're doing the right and the best thing for your clan. Only send them into a battle that you know they could win. They may call you scared, they may call you a coward. But all you need is to see your clan thriving, Crowkit. That is all." he smiled, wiping his paw across his whiskers.

"Crowkit!" squealed Hollykit. I turned around, smiling.

"Hey, Hollykit!" I looked back to Bramblestar, to see a sadness in those amber eyes.

"Whats wrong, Bramblestar?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Someday, my little Crowfeather. Someday." he whispered before turning away. I cocked my head, wondering why he called me Crowfeather. I bounced up to Hollykit, who had now been joined by Firekit, Lionkit, and Jaykit. They were all looking around excitedly.

"Come on, do you wanna see Purdy and Spiderleg?" I asked, and they nodded.

"Come on, lets go hear a story!" Squeaked Firekit, and I hared towards the Elders den.

Chapter 2

-Two Months Later-

I yawned, and stumbled outside. I rubbed my eyes, and saw Squirrelflight calling out the patrols. I raced towards her, and waited for her to stop speaking.

"Graystripe, Berrynose, Icecloud and Toadstep, I need you to go hunt. Remember, warriors, it's almost leaffall. So bring in as much prey as possible." she called out. Icecloud and Toadstep raced each other out, laughing as they ran out.

"Rosepetal, lead a patrol out to the Shadowclan side. Take… Cinderheart, oh wait. Nevermind. Take Whitewing and Birchfall." She stumbled, realizing that Cinderheart was close to kitting. Lionblaze nudged Cinderheart, smiling. The cats took off, and Squirrelflight stopped talking.

'Squirrelflight, Squirrelflight!" I yowled. She looked down, a smile beginning on her muzzle.

"Yes, Crowkit?"

"Can I pretty please take a patrol?" I begged. She smiled again, and nodded.

"I need you to take your siblings, Daisy's kits and Brightcloud's kits to patrol the camp. If you spot anything wrong, report to me immediately." she ordered. I squealed before darting off in search of his siblings. He rushed into the den, and smiled at all the kits in the nursery. "Guess what?" He squeaked. All the kits pricked their ears. Daisy, Brightcloud and Dovewing all smiled.

"We can go on a patrol!" he meowed, and Dovewing cocked her head.

"We have to patrol the camp." Crowkit explained before looking excitedly to the other kits.

"I'm gonna be deputy, and you guys have to do the patrols!" he meowed, his dark gray fur puffed up. Brightcloud's kits, Amberkit, Dewkit and Snowkit, all bounced out of the nest. Fawnkit and Fernkit raced over, tails waving high in the morning air. I raced out, and skidded to a stop.

"Okay, Amberkit, Fernkit and Firekit, you should go check the nursery and apprentice den." I instruct. The kits dart off. I turned to the others, and smiled serenely.

"Hollykit, Jaykit, Lionkit, you and Dewkit can go take the warriors den. It's bigger, so that way everyone's equal." I called, and they raced off. I grinned, and reared up in the air.

"Fawnkit, Snowkit, you and I will take the leaders den and the medicine cat den." I smiled, pelting towards Bramblestar's den. He was out hunting with Lionblaze, Whitewing and Berrynose. I snuck in, smelling around. Two different nests, one larger and littered with dark brown fur. The other was smaller, and cluttered with dark ginger fur. There was a large pile of moss in the corner, and heaps of it had been snagged out. I sighed, and Fawnkit squealed. I whipped around, and the light tan she-cat had a stick in her small jaws.

"Fawnkit! We don't need a stick!" Snowkit complained, flicking her gray tipped ears in annoyance. I soothed the gray and white she-cat with a flick of my tail over her shoulder blades.

"Fawnkit, we must go to the medicine cat den now." I ordered gently, and the tan kit nodded. I trotted out proudly, pretending I was Crowfang, noble deputy of Thunderclan. I had two loyal senior warriors, Fawndapple and Snowleaf. I shot over to Jayfeather's den, and snuck in. Snowleaf and Fawndapple creeped in behind me. Jayfeather was sorting herbs with Briarlight, and he was muttering instructions to her.

"We defienely need tansy and comfrey. Maybe some raspberry leaves." Briarlight listed, nodding. Jayfeather scooped out a painful of green leaves, and I pounced on him.

"Starclan!" he