Chapter One: Apprenticeship
Nightkit jerked awake, breathing heavily. "Wolffire, wait!" she called, only to realize she was home in the nursery. Golden sunlight streamed in through the brambles shielding the den.
Nightkit scanned the den, looking for Firekit. The other cats in the nursery slept peacefully, showing no signs of prophetic dreams. Nightkit's identical sisters, Peachkit and Birchkit, were curled next to their mother, Poppyleaf. Snowfur, the other queen and Earthkit's mother, slept on the other end; she was the one who cared for Wolfkit and Firekit after their mother's death.
Firekit, and his brother Wolfkit, lay sprawled out on a flattened bed of moss behind her. Nightkit stared at the pair of them, remembering her strange dream.
Such a strange thing to dream about, a cat she never met that wasn't even her kin. Nightkit knew that medicine cats sometimes had dreams like hers, maybe Windstalker; Meadow Clan's medicine cat could help her.
Nightkit stood up and stretched, looking at the other cats sleeping soundly. 'They aren't having any weird dreams…' she thought, envious. Nightkit's eyes rested on Wolfkit and Firekit. 'Wait!' she realized that Earthkit, Wolfkit, and Firekit were becoming apprentices today.
'They get train to be warriors and I'm stuck with those two.' Nightkit glanced at her sisters. 'Those two would be impossible to tell apart if it wasn't for Peachkit's pink nose.' Nightkit glared at her sleeping sisters.
Because Peachkit and Birchkit looked so much alike, with their creamy golden tabby pelts and dark brown eyes, they practically exiled their sister. Nightkit looked at her smoky black fur, her green eyes flashing.
Nightkit sighed and stood, tail twitching irritably. She stretched and walked out of the nursery. The camp clearing was filled with busy cats; warriors were training apprentices at the far side of the camp, teaching them to pounce. 'That's going to be Firekit and Wolfkit soon…'
Nightkit turned her attention to the deputy, Slyfang, a thick, red tabby tom with bright amber eyes. He stood on the roots of an old tree, organizing hunting patrols. Her father, Foxstar, was sunning himself on a wide, low growing branch directly above her.
Windstalker, MeadowClan's medicine cat, stuck her head out of her den and sniffed the air. 'That's it! I'll talk to Windstalker; she'll know what my dream means.' Nightkit ran across camp to where Windstalker was standing.
Windstalker looked up from the herbs she was cleaning and greeted Nightkit as she approached. "Are you allowed to be outside of the nursery?" she asked, eyeing Nightkit suspiciously.
Nightkit bristled slightly at the comment. "Well, not really," she said, scrapping the dirt with her paw. "I just wanted to ask you a question."
Windstalker gathered the herbs and sat. "Proceed," she said. Nightkit shook her head. "Not here, can we talk in your den?" Windstalker stared for a moment before standing. "Of course, will you help me take these herbs in so I can store them?"
Nightkit nodded and grabbed a bundle of lemongrass. 'I hope she can explain my dreams,' Nightkit thought before walking into the medicine cat's den.