Firestar had no idea where he was. It was dark but warm and he was obviously pressed against another cat but Sandstorm hadn't joined them yet and oh how he missed Sandstorm… He still didn't know where he was, and if he could just open his eyes-

"Oh! Look, Forestheart, Flamekit has opened his eyes!"

Indeed he had, as he now looked into the faces of two much bigger cats, one of them a ginger queen with green eyes and the other a dark grey tom with amber eyes.

"Why are his eyes blue?" The tom, Forestheart, wondered.

"All kits are born with blue eyes." The queen informed them both cheerfully.

Kit?! Firestar wailed internally. He wasn't a kit! He was the leader of ThunderClan and a warrior before that! No way was this stranger going to insult him by-.

Wait a minute… why can't I lift my head?

"Oh look at him! So eager to see the world…" The large ginger molly cooed.

"The world's not going anywhere, little one. There's always tomorrow." The tom chuckled.

This is not funny! Firestar's protesting yowls came out as squeaks and Forestheart narrowed his eyes.

"Should he be trying to move and talk so quickly?" The grey tabby wondered. "He just opened his eyes, after all."

"I say let him try." His mate snorted. "He won't get far, and it's better for kits to learn their limits for themselves."

"If you say so, Gingerpelt." Forestheart offered agreeably.

It turned out that he, Greystripe, and Ravenpaw were littermates. They were called Stripekit and Spotkit. It seemed strange for anyone to name Ravenpaw after the white spot on his chest, but that's what these new parents did.

Parents…

Firestar never had parents. Bluestar was his mentor, not his mother. Yellowfang never treated him like a kit. And the closest he could have gotten to a sire were Whitestorm, Lionheart, and Tigerclaw, but look what happened there… he hadn't done that well when his own kits came into the world. He'd failed every apprentice he ever taught, and the only kin he could have claimed was raised more by the Clan than himself. Firestar had been too busy trying to keep the Clan afloat as deputy to help Cloudtail adjust to Clan life.

Would that change here?

"It's alright, little one." Gingerpelt crooned. "You're safe. Your dreams can't hurt you here." She whispered.

That was… nice.

Firestar didn't know what to do with that. He decided that going back to sleep would have to do.

Three quarter-moons later

He couldn't walk. He could barely stand! Whenever he tried, he stumbled into Stripekit or Spotkit. And neither one appreciated being woken up.

"Haven't yet ever been in a nursery before?" Spotkit yawned irritably. "You're supposed to sleep!"

"No." Flamekit scoffed. "I haven't. And there's too much to do for sleep. We don't know where we are!"

"We can find out later, Firestar." Spotkit yawned. "Let me rest."

Flamekit snorted and wobbled to his paws.

"Fine! I'll go on my own." He chittered angrily before stumbling out of the nest.

"Flamekit, what-. Are you walking?!" One of the queens exclaimed. "Gingerpelt, wake up! Flamekit is out of the nest!"

"Watch him please." Gingerpelt murmured, not opening her eyes. "These two kick if I move."

"Of course, dear. You deserve the rest. Can you come to me, Flamekit? Can you walk some more?" This queen was a tortoiseshell with green eyes. "My name is Redthroat, little one. Would you like to meet my kits?"

Yes! Flamekit mrrowed and bobbed his head. Of course he would like to meet other cats! Maybe he'd know some of them!

"This way, dear one. I have two kittens about your age. The tom is Barkkit and the molly is Lightkit. They're both brown, though Lightkit looks more like her father. Barkkit's fur reminds me of the patches I have on my fur."

Indeed, Redthroat had brown, orange, red, and black spots to go along with her red underside.

The more Flamekit tried to walk, the steadier he got. Eventually, he made it to the other nest. Inside, there were two cats waiting as they heard their mother coax a cat over to meet them.

I would know them anywhere!

"Sandstorm! Dustpelt!" He chirped excitedly. Both cats' ears pricked and Sandstorm (Lightkit, now) threw herself at Flamekit.

"Lightkit, no!" Redthroat yelped, plucking her daughter off the newborn. "You can't jump on other cats like you could with Leafpelt. Flamekit is too small to play with." She scolded.

Flamekit scowled and raised himself on his back legs to swat at the air.

"I know you weren't born yesterday, but you're rather close to it! Lightkit was born three moons before you were, so she's a bit bigger than you are. She likes to play with her father whenever he stops by."

Sandstorm had never said who her father was when he knew her last. Firestar always figured that she was like him and didn't have one.

Lightkit snorted and hopped out of the nest, keeping her mother's gaze as she bopped Flamekit's head with her nose.

Firestar snickered internally. It was something she used to do all the time with Squirrelflight and Leafpool as kits, and their daughters absolutely adored it. The would go around bopping every cat they met, though usually they would just crash into everyone's legs as kits.

"You are determined to be a little troublemaker, aren't you? Take your brother outside and go bop some other cat." Redthroat chuckled. Lightkit and Barkkit meowed their thanks and rubbed against their mother before pounding out of the nursery. Flamekit stared miserably after them. There was so much to catch up on and he couldn't even walk!

"Would you like to join them, Flamekit?" Redthroat asked, noticing his solemn look. "They didn't mean to leave you behind, little one. I sent them to play so they'd be calmer when you greet them later."

Flamekit mrrowed sadly and got to his paws.

Redthroat rose to steady him and them approached Gingerpelt's nest.

"Gingerpelt, Flamekit seems rather adventurous for his age. Would you mind if I took him outside for a bit?"

"Didn't he just start walking?" Gingerpelt murmured, eyes bleary.

"He's determined to keep up with Lightkit and Barkkit."

"Won't that be a sight to see." Gingerpelt chuckled. She groaned a heartbeat later when Stripekit rolled over and prodded her side. "Who knows, maybe these two will join him tomorrow." She yawned. "Thank you for keeping an eye on him, Redthroat. You truly are a gift from StarClan."

"It's what we queens are best at, dear." Redthroat offered warmly. The tortoiseshell turned back to Flamekit.

"Would you like to see how far you can walk, or would you like to be carried?" She chirped happily.

Flamekit threw himself forward and scrambled for the nursery entrance.

"Do slow down, little one!" Redthroat called as she trotted after the excitable kit.

Firestar was more than ready to see the world, starting with Sandstorm and Dustpelt. He had so many questions about what was going on, and since they'd been here longer they were bound to know more than him.

He had to figure this place out. It could be their only hope of getting back to StarClan.