Chapter 1

Honeykit blinked her eyes open against the dim light in the nursery. For the first time since she was born, she looked around her. The branches of the maple trees surrounding her arched high above her, woven over moons to provide near complete cover. Despite this, a few beams of sunlight continued to trickle through and dapple her denmates's pelts.

She took a breath through her nose and tried to discern the scents. The one who smells like milk… that must be Mintleap! She turned toward the smell to see her mother, a fluffy gray she-cat, snoring softly. Buried under the mass of gray fluff she could see a tabby pelt. That must be Beekit, she thought. She could recognize his smell from her first few days with her eyes closed, when all she was aware of was her brother and her mother.

There was one other cat in the den, a dark ginger she-cat, who was washing her fact, unaware of her awoken denmate. Honeykit did not know her name, but her belly was round with kits, their tiny movements just visible if she watched close enough. She opened her mouth to say hello, then looked anxiously at her mother and brother. Would they be angry if she woke them?

As if hearing her thoughts, the dark ginger she-cat looked up. "Honeykit!" She purred, her blue eyes sparkling like pools of water. "You're awake!"

Honeykit blinked, surprised that the she-cat was so bright. "Hi," she whispered, again glancing anxiously at her kin. The ginger cat purred.

"Don't worry about those lazy cats," she meowed, heaving herself to her paws. She padded over to Mintleap's nest and jabbed her gently with a forepaw. "I'm Gingertail, by the way. Mintleap! Honeykit is awake!"

Mintleap immediately opened her eyes, her gaze finding her kit almost immediately. "Hello little one!" She jumped up, dislodging the snoozing Beekit, and licked her daughter's head warmly. "I'm so glad you are finally awake with your eyes open."

Finally? She thought. "I've been awake before!" She protested. Her mother's eyes shone.

"I know, my sweet daughter," she purred. Her gaze clouded briefly and her purr broke before quickly licking her daughter again. "But it took you a while. I'm just very glad you're okay."

Beekit scampered up to his sister, giving her a good sniff. "You smell like me!" He chirped, before looking at his mother. "Can we go outside? I want to bring her to meet Sweetclaw!"

Honeykit realized how much bigger her brother was than her, even though they had been kitted at the same time. "Who's Sweetclaw? How do you know her? Have you been outside already?"

He nodded. "Mintleaf wasn't sure you would wake up, and I was bored, so I got to meet the elders. Whiteleap can barely hear me, even if I yell, and Duckflight is grumpy and just wants to nap in the sun." He looked his sister up and down. "But you woke up! Come on!"

Honeykit glanced at her mother, who nodded, approving of her finally leaving her den for the first time. As she padded after Beekit, she wondered what he meant when he said Mintleaf wasn't sure she would wake up.

It was a short walk to another den, a fir tree with low hanging branches. The branches had thick leaves of some sort weaved in, almost like the walls of the nursery. Honeykit could barely smell the cats inside, overwhelmed by the bright lights and intense smells outside the den. Her brother brushed inside through a gap in the branches and she quickly followed, anxious about being alone in the grassy clearing of her camp.

"Hello, Beekit!" A skinny ginger she-cat sat in the corner of the den, beckoning her brother closer with her tail. "Don't tell me you've brought Honeykit at last!"

Her brother nodded proudly as he ran over to the elderly warrior. "I did!" He mewed. "Honeykit! This is Sweetclaw."

The tiny she-cat dipped her head to Sweetclaw. "Hello," she squeaked, suddenly anxious about meeting new cats. "It's big outside."

The elderly cat chuckled, her whiskers twitching in amusement. "Indeed, young one," she purred, eyeing the new kit. Honeykit noticed one of her eyes was milky white, compared to the other green one. "But you have so much more beyond this to explore. Just you wait." Her gaze flicked to Beekit. "Would you like more stories, young warrior?"

The tiny tom nodded aggressively, his eyes wide. Honeykit settled beside him, watching the old she cat as she spoke about the days of her apprenticeship. "When I was young, Milkstar - Milkdrop then - was my mentor. He was a young warrior, only a few seasons older than myself, and he hadn't seen much of the world yet. No cat in the clan could have guessed he'd be the noble leader the other clans came to respect so honorably." Her one clear eye looked sorrowful for a moment before she laughed again. "There was one time we were patrolling and he got his hind paw stuck in a tangle of roots. He was okay, but boy did he yell!"

"Who's Milkstar?" Honeykit interrupted Sweetclaw, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Ah yes, you two didn't get to meet him. He joined Starclan the night before you were kitted, as if to make sure your souls were guided to this earth safely. Unfortunately, the illness that took him had creeped its way into the rest of the clan, and it took your sister."

Honeykit blinked, confused. Sister? She thought. But I only have Beekit as a littermate! "Who?"

Sweetclaw looked at her sympathetically. "Your sister, Flightkit," she said, her voice low with sorrow. "You had the sickness too. We thought it was going to take you for over a quarter moon. Now, though," she mewed, and her voice picked up again, "you're here! You are healed, and strong!"

Honeykit watched the old she cat and tried to listen as she began to rattle off again about her days with Milkstar as her mentor, but her mind was clouded. She didn't remember being sick. She hardly even remembered anything before she'd opened her eyes this morning. She let out a yawn before turning and leaving her brother to stay with Sweetclaw.

As she pushed out of the branches, she noticed that more cats were beginning to come into the clearing. A young brown tabby was talking to another young cat, this one brown with white paws, while they sat outside yet another den. A dark brown she-cat was chatting with a black tom, her eyes occasionally checking the roots of a very large tree, outside of which a dark gray cat stood.

Honeykit watched as a light brown tom pushed his way out of a thicket of blackberry bushes. He was headed toward the two young she-cats when he caught sight of the golden she-kit. "Honeykit?" He called, his mew questioning but sharp. She tipped her head then padded cautiously toward him. Had she done something wrong?

"Oh, it is you!" His voice broke into a purr as he licked her ears. Honeykit felt herself grow hot with embarrassment. She didn't even know this cat! He looked at her, his excited gaze meeting hers. "Ah, you don't remember me." He sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws. "I'm Brackenfall. I'm your father!"

As soon as he said his name, vague memories washed over her and she soon realized she recognized his scent. "You came to see me before!" Her father nodded, and she bumped her head against him affectionately.

"Have you been visiting with your grandmother?" He asked, his mew kind. Honeykit furrowed her brow in confusion. "Sweetclaw?"

"Ah," she said, nodding. "I didn't know she was my grandmother!"

Her father nodded and looked toward the elder's den. "She's my mother! I'm so glad she was around to see you and your littermate be kitted, and even more glad she was around to meet you. She can be grumpy, but she loves her kin above all else. Be sure you listen to her," he added. "She has much to teach you."

Honeykit purred. I have kin! She thought. She turned again too look at the clan, trying to figure out who else could be her kin. As she looked around, she noticed the dark gray cat again. This time, she was staring right at Honeykit, her orange eyes narrowed. "Brackenfall," Honeykit mewed, "who is that cat?"

"That's Fallenstar," he answered, following her gaze. "She's the leader. She's only been the leader for just under a half moon, but she's getting the hang of it." He looked around at the other cats. "The young brown tabby is Flowerpaw. She's my apprentice. The one with the white paws next to her is Lilypaw, her sister, and Fallenstar's apprentice. That dark brown cat, next to the black one? That's Pinewillow, and the black cat is Needlefall. He's the deputy."

"Why is Fallenstar… looking at me?" She asked, her mew laced with anxiety. What if, because she was sick as a kit, Fallenstar thought she shouldn't be outside the nursery and she was in trouble? What if she thinks I shouldn't be here at all?

"I'm sure she's just trying to figure out who you are. She hasn't met you yet. She received her nine lives the night you were born." Brackenfall flicked his tail, then rose to his paws. "I should be going. Flowerpaw and I are going on a hunting patrol. I'll come see you later," he added, when his daughter began to look crestfallen. "I'll make sure to bring your mother something to eat."

Honeykit nodded, then began to walk back to the nursery. As she walked, though, she felt eyes burning into her pelt. Just before whisking into the nursery, she again saw Fallenstar watching her through narrowed eyes, and she couldn't help but feel something odd was going on.