Wow, so this is what it feels like to update when you say you will...

Here's Chapter 1, right on time!

Chapter 1:

Allegiances:

Skyclan:

Leader: Leafstar—brown-and-cream mottled she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy: Sharpclaw—dark ginger tom with amber eyes

Medicine Cat(s): Echosong—silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

Warriors:

Patchfoot—black-and-white tom with green eyes. Apprentice, Hollypaw

Petalnose—pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

Sparrowpelt—dark brown tabby tom. Apprentice, Sandypaw

Waspwhisker—gray-and-white tom with blue eyes

Shrewtooth—skinny black tom with pale yellow eyes. Apprentice, Birdpaw

Ebonyclaw—striking black she-cat with green eyes (Daylight warrior)

Billystorm—ginger-and-white tom with leaf-green eyes (Daylight warrior)

Harveymoon—white tom (Daylight warrior)

Macgyver—black-and-white tom with yellow eyes (Daylight warrior)

Rockshade—black tom with blue eyes

Bouncefire—ginger tom with amber eyes. Apprentice, Honeypaw

Tinycloud—small white she-cat with blue eyes. Apprentice, Stormpaw

Sagenose—Pale gray tom with amber eyes

Rabbitleap—Brown tom with blue eyes. Apprentice, Harrypaw

Creekfeather—Gray tabby tom with blue eyes

Nettlesplash—Pale brown tom with amber eyes

Brambleclaw—Large brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes; former loner. Apprentice, Juniperpaw

Seedtail—Brown she-cat with darker spots paws, and amber eyes; former kittypet

Nightheart—Huge black tom with white paws and yellow eyes; former rogue

Lakestream—Gray she-cat with a white belly and green eyes (Daylight warrior)

Apprentices:

Harrypaw—Gray tom with dark amber eyes

Stormpaw—Gray-and-ginger she-cat with amber eyes

Juniperpaw—Cream tabby tom with yellow eyes; former loner

Birdpaw—Black she-cat with blue eyes

Honeypaw—Pale ginger she-cat with green eyes

Sandypaw—Light brown tom with ginger legs and green eyes

Hollypaw—Black tom with gray paws and amber eyes (Daylight apprentice)

Queens:

Clovertail—light brown she-cat with white belly and legs and green eyes (Adopted: Violetkit—Black-and-white she-cat with green eyes, Twigkit—Gray she-cat with green eyes, Thrushkit—Light brown tabby tom with green eyes, Rustlekit—Dark gray tom with blue eyes)

Mintfur—Gray tabby she-cat (expecting Nettlesplash's kits)

Cherrytail—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with blue eyes (Nursing Brambleclaw's kits: Tawnykit—Tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes, Featherkit—Brown she-cat with a white underbelly and blue eyes, Hawkkit—Brown tabby tom with white paws and dark amber eyes, Firekit—Light ginger tom with a white underbelly and blue eyes)

Plumwillow—Dark gray she-cat with green eyes (Nursing Sagenose's kits: Flightkit—Dark gray she-cat with pale green eyes, Owlkit—Light brown tabby tom with green eyes, Ashenkit—Gray tabby she-cat with a lighter belly and blue eyes)

Elders:

Fallowfern—Pale brown she-cat with blue eyes. Deaf

Brackenfall—Light brown tabby tom with green eyes; former loner

Tangle—ragged tabby tom loner with amber eyes

Cats Outside of the Clans:

Ravenpaw—Jet black tom with a white dash, tail-tip and amber eyes

Barley—Black-and-white tom with blue eyes

Bella—Pale ginger she-cat with white stripes and green eyes

Riley—Pale gray tabby tom with blue eyes

Blacktop—Huge black tom with yellow eyes

Moonlight—Silver-gray she-cat with green eyes

Haven—Pretty pure white she-cat with amber eyes

Ripper—Black she-cat with white streaks and ice blue eyes

Pasha—Very dark, almost black tabby tom with green eyes

Hera—Light gray-and-white patched she-cat with blue eyes

Percy—Dark brown longhaired tom with yellow eyes

Annabeth—Light sandy-colored she-cat with blue-gray eyes

"Watch out! The foxes are attacking!"

Hawkkit squealed in surprise at the battle cry. His brown tabby fur fluffed up to almost twice its size as a large form leaped on top of him, pinning him the ground and squashing the air out of him.

"Featherkit! I told you, I don't wanna play clan versus foxes anymore!" Firekit's whiny voice rang out, and the weight on Hawkkit's back shifted as his sister hissed.

"Oh, be quiet, Firekit! You're such a baby! Go play with Tawnykit or something if you don't want to have fun!" Featherkit's voice was right next to his ear, making Hawkkit wince at its volume. Annoyed, the tabby kit heaved himself upwards while his sister was distracted, using his larger form to throw her off of him and onto the sandy ground. Featherkit squeaked indignantly, shaking the dirt off of her brown pelt and licking her ruffled white chest hairs.

"I win," Hawkkit announced proudly, puffing out his chest. His sister only rolled her eyes, as Firekit looked at his two littermates in a mixture of fear and annoyance, his light ginger pelt and white belly blending him in well with the rest of the den.

"No fair!" Featherkit whined. "I was distracted by Firekit! I call a rematch!"

"Surprise is a warrior's greatest strength," Hawkkit simply quoted, using the common phrase he would hear the apprentices tell them. "You'll need to learn that if you ever want to be an apprentice."

"I know that, mouse-brain!" Featherkit flicked an ear, and before Hawkkit could bite back a reply, she pounced, causing the two kits to roll on the ground, batting at each other with sheathed claws.

Suddenly, Hawkkit's rolling came to a stop as he felt himself crash against a warm body. He and Featherkit quickly sprung apart, wriggling away from the cat they fallen onto.

"Hawkkit! Featherkit!" Clovertail's voice was sharp and stern. "Watch where you are going! You could've hurt the kits!"

Hawkkit flattened his ears, chastened by the queen's scolding, while Featherkit merely scoffed and looked away.

"They're no fun," she muttered. "Those four scraps of fur just take up room in the nursery. Firekit and Tawnykit are funner to play with!"

"Featherkit!" Clovertail exclaimed, while Hawkkit gasped at his sister's defiance. Clovertail was really nice, but you never wanted to get on her bad side. What was she thinking? "Out! Now!"

The brown she-kit huffed, turning around and stalking out of the den. Hawkkit, Firekit, and Clovertail watched her leave, the two brothers in a mix of shock and resignation.

"Um, sorry about that," Hawkkit apologised awkwardly, turning to Clovertail. "It seems like Featherkit has had bees in her fur all morning."

Clovertail sighed, flicking an ear. "It's alright," she responded, looking down at the four kits curled into her belly, all taking their afternoon nap. Hawkkit blinked, tilting his head as he looked at them.

Skyclan had been growing over the past couple moons. There had been seven kits—Hawkkit and his siblings Firekit, Tawnykit, and Featherkit, and then Plumwillow's kits: Ashenkit, Owlkit, and Flightkit—when Clovertail's four adopted kits had been found at the border of the clan several sunrises ago. Their mother was nowhere to be found, but had left behind behind five kits, barely under a moon old, on their own. Petalnose, having been on the patrol, had persuaded Waspwhisker to take them back to camp. The fifth kit had died on the journey back. Hawkkit remembered when they had arrived, the patrol bursting into camp with the starving kits in their jaws. He had watched beside Featherkit with wide eyes as they had asked Clovertail to take them in, and the queen had readily agreed. Already, she was fiercely protective of her new kits.

Hawkkit blinked as the black-and-white kit, Violetkit, shifted in her sleep, calling out softly. Next to her was her sister, a gray she-kit named Twigkit for her small size. Then there were the two brothers, Thrushkit and Rustlekit, a light brown tabby tom and a dark gray tom respectively, nearly inseparable from each other.

Despite their exciting entrance, the new kits were kinda boring, which meant that Hawkkit wasn't that into them. All they did was eat and sleep! Echosong said they were still recovering and could play in a few sunrises, but they were so small. And since Hawkkit took mostly after his father, it meant that he'd probably crush them on accident if he tried to play with them.

"They're so cute," Firekit purred, coming up to Hawkkit's side, his sky-blue eyes alight. He seemed to have recovered from the storm that was Featherkit. "I like Twigkit the best."

"I guess so," Hawkkit shrugged, tilting his head at them. He could see how his brother liked Twigkit, though. Like Firekit, Twigkit was the runt of her litter. "Rustlekit's the biggest, though. Bet you he'd make a good warrior."

Firekit's ears perked up as he studied the dark gray kitten. "Yeah, but Violetkit eats a lot. Maybe she'll pass him up."

"Mouse-brain!" Hawkkit shoved the ginger kit playfully. "She-cats don't get bigger than toms!"

"Yeah they can!" Firekit shot back. "Have you seen Ebonyclaw? She's huge!"

"She's a daylight warrior! And no she-cat will ever pass up Brambleclaw. He's at least twice her size."

"But that's Brambleclaw. He was, like, born to be the biggest cat in the whole world!"

Hawkkit snorted, pouncing on his brother once again. It was easy to tackle his smaller littermate. He quickly gained the upper hand in their wrestling contest, and had Firekit under his paws in three heartbeats flat. Hawkkit purred as he felt the mild annoyance and discomfort roll off of the ginger-and-white tom.

"No fair, Hawkkit!" He whined.

"Hawkkit! Firekit!" Clovertail's scolding voice interrupted the two's quarrel, emanating annoyance with a mixture of contentment and happiness. "I mean it. Play outside or not at all!"

Hawkkit quickly scrambled off of Firekit, the two deciding not to face the eldest's queen's wrath, and scampered out of the nursery.

Harsh sunlight met Hawkkit's eyes as he and Firekit exited the cave. Outside, the early newleaf sun was warming the rocky gorge, all of Skyclan's warriors up and about as the day began. By the Rockpile, he could see the deputy, Sharpclaw, organizing a patrol consisting of Petalnose, Rockshade, Honeypaw, and Nightheart. Nearby, Harveymoon and Macgyver—they always made up the best games—were sharing tongues over a large rabbit.

"Where's Featherkit?" Firekit mewed, his ginger tail sticking up as he searched for their headstrong sister.

Hawkkit frowned, looking over the gorge to see the brown-and-white she-kit talking with a black tom with gray paws and a cream tabby tom. "There she is! With Hollypaw and Juniperpaw!"

Firekit took off, scampering down the gorge, as Hawkkit trailed behind him. Sometimes he hated his large size; it was difficult to keep up with his younger brother, thanks to him being much too big for his paws. The two littermates jumped down a couple rocks before reaching the trio. One of the apprentices, Juniperpaw, sat up as they approached, purring.

"Well, it seems that some more kits have come to talk with us!" He mewed, nudging Hollypaw. "Featherkit here was just asking us to teach her some battle moves. Think we can take two more students, Hollypaw?"

The black-and-gray tom shrugged, not really caring. "I don't mind. At least, not that much."

"Ooh!" Hawkkit squealed, shooting a betrayed look at Featherkit. "Battle moves? Featherkit, why didn't you wait for me? You were trying to get the upper paw on me in our fight again, weren't you?"

"It's not my fault you were too busy looking at those furball kits," his sister shot back, though the smile on her face took the bite out of her words.

"Th-they aren't furballs!" Firekit protested with a stammer. "I like them!"

Featherkit rolled her eyes at Hawkkit, annoyance practically dripping off her pelt, before turning back to the two older toms. "Well?" she questioned. "You said you'd show how to attack."

Juniperpaw laughed. "Patience," he mewed. "I was getting to it! See, a basic attack works like this." Suddenly, he turned on Hollypaw, his paws coming down on the black tom's head. Startled, Hollypaw dodged, rolling out of the way.

"Give me a warning next time," he muttered, shaking out his pelt.

Hawkkit gasped in awe at the apprentice's skill, feeling admiration from Firekit and envy from Featherkit. He had to try this himself! He turned on his paws and attacked Featherkit, trying his best to copy the move he had just seen. However, Featherkit had long seen him coming, and rolled off to the side, pouncing on top of him. Grunting, Hawkkit bucked upwards, throwing off his sister and attacking again, their play-fight quickly turning into a wrestling match.

Things went on like that for a while. Featherkit and Hawkkit continued to play fight, neither littermate getting the upper hand until Featherkit stumbled on a pebble, and Hawkkit threw himself on top of her, squishing the air out of her lungs.

"Fine!" The brown-and-white she-kit gasped, wheezing. "Alright! I give!"

"Looks like we have a winner," Juniperpaw commented. Hawkkit looked up, having nearly forgotten that he was there. "Good job! I think both of you will make great warriors—just not as good as me, of course. When's your apprentice ceremony, anyways?"

It was Firekit who answered. He hadn't opted to join his siblings' fight, and had settled himself next to Hollypaw. "Tomorrow, I think. Brambleclaw says Leafstar says that we're more than ready."

"Already?" Juniperpaw exclaimed. "I remember when I first met you, as three-moon-old kits. Time sure does fly by fast. It feels like I've been part of the clan for seasons."

Hawkkit nodded. Juniperpaw was a former rogue who had been recruited by Rockshade three moons ago, and was actually the age of a young warrior. His aging father, Brackenfall, had joined the elder's den with Fallowfern and Tangle.

"You can say that again," Hollypaw nodded. He was the clan's sole daylight apprentice, living with Twolegs at night but hunting and fighting for the clan during the day. From what Hawkpaw had heard, he'd found out about the clan back when he was a kit, and had joined as a daylight apprentice when he'd hit his sixth moon.

Across the camp, a commotion began, causing the apprentices and kits to look up towards the top of the gorge, where a patrol was making their way down to the camp. Hawkkit squinted and identified Stormpaw and Harrypaw, Leafstar's kits, leading the procession down the camp, their heads and tails held high in elation. Behind them, Tinycloud and Rabbitleap were just as excited as their apprentices, talking animatedly as Leafstar, Sharpclaw, and Patchfoot brought up the rear.

"Oh, it's Harrypaw and Stormpaw!" Firekit exclaimed, grinning. "They must've gotten back from their warrior assessment! I wonder how it went?"

"Yes, I wonder," Featherkit monotoned. "Their joyful expressions really leave so much up to debate."

"Stop being mean, Featherkit!"

"Me, mean? You're the one being a mouse-brain!"

"Alright, you two," Hollypaw stepped forwards, putting himself in between the quarreling littermates. "Both of you be nice."

"Besides," Juniperpaw flicked an ear. "At least Featherkit, with all her pride—"

"Hey!"

"Isn't nearly as bad as Stormpaw." He scrunched up with face and pitched up his voice in a poor imitation of the senior apprentice's voice. "My name is Stormpaw and I'm the best and strongest cat in the world all because the great Leafstar is my mother. Pah, she's going to be even worse now that she's becoming a warrior."

Hollypaw snorted. "You can say that again. I'm lucky I don't share a den with her."

Hawkkit snorted at Juniperpaw's false imitation of the she-cat. Stormpaw was well-known throughout the clan of being, well, a pain in the tail. Her brother, Harrypaw, was a lot nicer, but Stormpaw just refused to learn of the term subtlety.

"That's the elder's den for both of you. You know better than to insult your clanmates like that."

The five cats jumped, surprised, and turned to see a large tom padding up to them. He had dark, tabby brown fur and an ugly looking scar across his throat that Hawkkit had always insisted made him look cool and intimidating. However, his dark amber eyes twinkled with a hidden humor, even as Juniperpaw and Hollypaw moaned in unison.

"Brambleclaw!" Hawkkit, Featherkit, and Firekit exclaimed in unison, jumping up and tackling their father. The mighty tom staggered slightly from their combined weight, but quickly recovered and laughed.

"It's good to see you three!" He purred, practically vibrating tiny Firekit, who had latched onto his side. "Sorry I didn't stop by this morning. Juniperpaw and I had the dawn patrol."

"It's alright, Dad!" Firekit squealed happily, nuzzling his face into his father's fur. "How was the patrol?"

"Did you catch anything?" Hawkkit inquired.

"Chase off any rogues?" Featherkit squeaked. Without waiting for an answer, she leapt off of her father and began tearing at the ground with unsheathed claws. "I would've ripped their pelts off!"

"No, of course not!" Brambleclaw drew his tail over his daughter's back in a placating manner. "You know Skyclan is welcome to all outsiders, Featherkit. And we didn't catch much, Hawkkit, as it was only a border patrol, but Juniperpaw did catch a shrew on the way back."

"Lucky," The brown tabby kitten shook out his soft fur. "Why can't we go outside of the camp yet? We're almost six moons! So close!"

"But not close enough," Brambleclaw pushed at him playfully with his nose, and Hawkkit couldn't help but draw away slightly.

"Aw, c'mon Dad!"

"Do we really have to clean the elder's den?" It was Hollypaw who interrupted the moment between the family, looking slightly annoyed.

"Yes, Hollypaw," Brambleclaw nodded as Firekit bounced off of his side, landing happily with his tail sticking straight up. "And I expect it to have been done well."

"Ugh," Juniperpaw complained, throwing up his muzzle to the sky. "I'll have to deal with Tangle." He suddenly flattened his ears as he realised his mistake and Brambleclaw shot him a warning look. "Ah, I mean… off to clean the elder's den! Bye!" In a flash of his brown-tipped tail, he was off, bounding up towards the elder's den before his mentor could have a chance to punish him any further.

"Are you waiting for me to tell you something?" Brambleclaw questioned to Hollypaw, who had yet to move. The black-and-gray tom simply rolled his eyes discreetly and turned after his friend, leaping up onto a rock and out of sight.

"Aw," Featherkit sighed. "They were showing us more battle moves!"

"You'll have more than enough time to learn when you're apprenticed," Brambleclaw shook his head. He stood up, shaking the sand out of his fur. "Now how about we make our way to the Rockpile? I'm sure you want to see Stormpaw and Harrypaw's warrior ceremonies."

"Yes!" Hawkkit and Firekit squeaked at the same time, jumping to their feet, while Featherkit bounded ahead them both. As if on cue, Leafstar's voice cut through the mid-morning air.

"All cats who are old enough to catch their own prey please gather under the Rockpile for a clan meeting!"

The three littermates charged towards the bottom of the camp at Leafstar's call, all wanting to see the ceremony take place. It had been a long time since there had been a warrior ceremony—the last had been Lakestream, a daylight warrior, and Harrypaw and Stormpaw had been delayed due to a bought of greencough that had ravaged the clan last leaf-bare—so all were extremely excited to see the oldest apprentices rise up the ranks.

Already, several cats had gathered below Leafstar, who had situated herself on the very top of the Rockpile, so the three kits had to push past Waspwhisker and Nettlesplash in order to get to the very front. Hawkkit made sure he had a good view on Featherkit's side. Looking around the crowd of cats, he caught sight of Cherrytail, his mother, walking towards them, her white-and-tortoiseshell fur shining in the sunlight. Beside her hopped Tawnykit, looking like a miniature version of her mother, save for her darker coat and amber eyes.

"There you four are!" She purred, licking Featherkit, who ducked away.

"Ew, Mom! I'm not a tiny kitten!" Came her inevitable protest.

"You'll always be my little kitten," Cherrytail responded. "Besides, have you seen your fur? It's sticking up in every direction! I can't have you being presented in such a manner."

"This isn't our ceremony!" Featherkit squealed, trying in vain to avoid her mother's grooming. Hawkkit giggled at his sister's predicament.

"Oh, don't think you've gotten away without a bath too," Cherrytail angled an eye at her son. "You're just as bad as your sister. Brambleclaw?"

"Oh no." Hawkkit tried to move, but it was too late. His father descended on him with a flurry of licks, smoothing down his rattled fur into a sleek coat. "Do you always have to groom us? We're almost six moons!"

"Until you learn how to do it yourself, yes," Cherrytail nodded, drawing away from Featherkit, who had a glowering look that could kill a fox.

"Firekit and Tawnykit don't get this much attention!"

"That's because they don't get into half as much trouble as the two of you. You would do well to follow their example every once in awhile."

"Thanks, Mom," Tawnykit purred while Firepaw drew his paws over his ears in embarrassment.

Any further conversation or argument was quickly cut off as Leafstar began to speak. Hawkkit jumped and squirmed around Brambleclaw so he could see. He hadn't realised she was already going to start!

"I, Leafstar, leader of Skyclan," Leafstar began. Hawkkit couldn't help but feel a wave of admiration for how regal his leader looked at the moment. "Call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in turn."

She turned to Stormpaw first. As expected, she was extremely proud of herself, her gray-and-ginger fur groomed to near perfection.

"Stormpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Her amber eyes blazed with pride. "I do."

At that moment, a similar amount of pride flowed from Leafstar, though she didn't show most of it publicly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Stormpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Stormheart. StarClan honors your dedication and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Skyclan."

She turned to Harrypaw next, leaving the newly named Stormheart to point her muzzle up in the most regal way possible. Flea-brain, Hawkkit could help but think.

By this time Leafstar had begun speaking again. "Harrypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." Unlike Stormheart, the gray tom was more humble, bowing his head to his mother, though his tail-tip trembled with anticipation.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Harrypaw, from this moment you will be known as Harrybrook. StarClan honors your empathy and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Skyclan."

Leafstar rested her muzzle on Stormheart's head, and the ginger-and-gray she-cat licked her shoulder, then repeated the process with Harrybrook. As she drew away, the clan erupted into cheers.

"Stormheart! Harrybrook! Stormheart! Harrybrook!"

"Harrybrook!" Hawkkit joined in himself, trying to overpower Brambleclaw's strong cries with his own. Next to him, Tawnykit shouted their names as well, while Featherkit and Firekit were slightly envious of the new warriors. Cherrytail had moved to sit next to her mate, who curled his tail against hers.

Hawkkit couldn't help but feel an odd feeling rising in his chest. Even though he didn't know what it was, it felt nice, and he let it spread from his chest to his tail-tip, basking in its warmth. In that moment, everything felt perfect.

Things were good.