Chapter 1
Sparrowkit awoke to the mewls of her sisters. She turned away from them, grumbling, and curled up.
"Come on, Sparrowkit! Wake up!" Sparrowkit heard Foxkit hiss. Sparrowkit opened her eyes to slits and looked up into the ginger tabby face of her sister, Foxkit. Sparrowkit pushed her away and sat up, scratching behind her ear with one hind leg.
A brown tabby she-kit bounced over to Sparrowkit. "Yeah! Sparrowkit's awake!" Splashkit announced.
The older kits, Hawkwing's kits, bounded over to Sparrowkit, Splashkit, and Foxkit. A small pale gray tabby tom bounced up to Sparrowkit. "Good morning, Sparrowkit!" he meowed.
Sparrowkit narrowed her eyes. "Oh, Shortkit! I really wanted to get a good rest in!" Sparrowkit hissed.
A ginger-brown tabby tom and a ghostly pale ginger she-kit bounced after Shortkit. Shortkit turned to his brother and sister. Sparrowkit looked up at Mintsplash, her mother, who was looking down at the kits with pride. Mintsplash stood up and meowed, "All right, all right, you get your wish. C'mon, my kits. Hawkwing? May your kits come too?"
Hawkwing nodded where she lay. "Sure, Mintsplash. You can take my kits out to the fresh-kill pile with yours."
Mintsplash flicked her tail and the kits followed her out into the crisp, spring morning light. Mintsplash led the kits over to a pile of fresh-kill located underneath the twin brother of Tallrock. A pale ginger she-cat with icy blue eyes, a ginger tom with white paws and blue eyes, a white tom with a black tail-tip and green eyes, a reddish-brown tom with amber eyes, and a black tom with green eyes all lay by the fresh-kill pile, eating.
Mintsplash looked at the black tom and smiled, the two brushed muzzles. "Fallowclaw, nice to see you! How's training with Beechpaw going?" Mintsplash asked, her voice full of warmth.
Fallowclaw smiled. "Great! I just took him out on a hunting lesson!" Fallowclaw meowed.
Sparrowkit studied this new cat. He looked powerful, rather broad in the shoulders, but friendly. Sparrowkit smiled when she remembered this was her uncle! Sparrowkit sat down, her tail twitching happily. Splashkit padded up to the reddish-brown tom and asked, "Who are you?"
The tom sat up, abandoning his thrush and smiled, mewing, "I am Robinstar, leader of your Clan."
Sparrowkit, Foxkit, and Splashkit's ears pricked as they stared at him in awe. Mintsplash chuckled and meowed, "Oh, Robinstar. Stop showing off!"
Robinstar smiled and turned to the white tom and began to speak with him. Sparrowkit would have listened curiously, but instead she was shoved away by another kit, a ghostly pale ginger she-kit. "Dreamkit!" Sparrowkit squeaked.
Dreamkit shook her head and meowed nonchalantly, "You needn't listen to what Robinstar is saying. Besides, you shouldn't eavesdrop."
Sparrowkit lashed her tail. "I can if I want to!" she snarled. "Nobody likes you, anyway!"
Dreamkit jumped at her snarl, obviously not expecting it. Dreamkit flattened her ears and whispered, "You don't really mean that!"
"Of course I do! Otherwise, why would I say it?" Sparrowkit spat.
Dreamkit looked at her for a moment. Why are you saying that, Sparrowkit? Dreamkit's eyes said. Sparrowkit turned away to find a dark gray tom kit staring at her.
The dark gray kit turned away and padded off to a pale ginger apprentice. Dreamkit slunk away to Hawkwing, and nobody was left to stand beside Sparrowkit. Sparrowkit lashed her tail. "Who cares, anyway?" she hissed.
Sparrowkit padded away from the others to lay beside the nursery, despising the other cats' joy as she lay in loneliness. Suddenly, amber eyes shown from behind the nursery in the shadows. Sparrowkit stood, tail-tip twitching nervously, and she slowly padded towards those glowing eyes. Sparrowkit's eyes widened as the outline of a golden tabby tom stepped out.
Sparrowkit looked from side to side to find that no one was looking or had seemed to notice this ominous cat's presence. Sparrowkit then looked back at the cat. "Wh-who are you?" she stammered.
The golden tabby dipped his head to be level with her. "I am Brackenstar. I am a cat of the Dark Forest, misjudged by StarClan, once leader of MistClan," he meowed.
Sparrowkit narrowed her eyes. "How do I know I can trust you?" she asked hesitantly.
"Because I am the only cat who has come to respect you," Brackenstar mewed.
Sparrowkit paused. It was true. All of the other kits never respected her because she was small. They had always fought against her and won, she was so weak! Sparrowkit remembered the time when Foxkit had challenged her to steal a piece of fresh-kill from Splashkit and she had failed miserably. Sparrowkit had always been defeated in play-fights, and she was always the last one to get to suckle because the other two were stronger than her. She had always had a hard time against other cats.
"I can teach you how to fight. You can learn how to defeat your littermates in a play-fight. How to defeat the other Clans. You can be the strongest warrior ever known. All you have to do is take my paw," Brackenstar meowed, holding out his forepaw.
Sparrowkit considered the possibilities. She could even become leader of MistClan! That had always been her wish. Sparrowkit wanted to show her littermates she was just as strong. So she placed her paw in his. At that moment, she heard Foxkit bounding toward her, and Brackenstar meowed, "I will meet you tonight," before evaporating into mist.
Sparrowkit turned to Foxkit. "What is it?" she asked, but she wasn't really interested.
Foxkit began rambling on about some cat named Wolfpaw, but Sparrowkit wasn't listening anymore. Her thoughts were upon Brackenstar. Such a powerful cat he was! If Sparrowkit could learn from him, she would be the strongest warrior in the Clan!
Just then, Mintsplash called to her kits and Sparrowkit jumped after her littermates into the nursery, excited to meet Brackenstar that night.
(Sparrowkit's Dreams)
Sparrowkit awoke to find herself in a forest. Mist swirled around her and a black, churning river cut through the land a couple of fox-lengths away. Sparrowkit's ears pricked when a twig snapped and she whipped around to see Brackenstar stepping out of the bushes. "Brackenstar!" she squeaked.
Brackenstar smiled. "I'm glad you came," he meowed.
Sparrowkit narrowed her eyes, "It's not like I had a choice."
Brackenstar chuckled and took a step forward. Suddenly, Brackenstar launched himself at Sparrowkit. Sparrowkit squeaked and attempted to leap away, but Brackenstar caught her tail and sent her tumbling to the ground. Brackenstar leapt to one side, then leapt to the other side, then leapt at her. Sparrowkit screeched as she was blown away by a paw swipe. Sparrowkit skidded on the ground, somehow on her paws, and leapt at Brackenstar as he leapt at her.
Sparrowkit evaded Brackenstar's lashing paws and bit into his nose. Brackenstar skidded to a halt, landing on his paws on the ground, and shook his head vigorously. Sparrowkit fastened her claws on his muzzle, hissing.
Brackenstar lifted his muzzle to the sky, then struck it into the ground. Sparrowkit mostly evaded this, but her tail was pinned down. Sparrowkit tugged, trying to get away, and Brackenstar picked her up by her tail. Sparrowkit hissed as she was thrown away... straight into the water. Sparrowkit opened her mouth to screech, but it was only filled with the frigid black water. Sparrowkit's fur dragged her downward as she struggled to keep her head above the water.
Sparrrowkit didn't even know how to swim yet! She may be a MistClan cat, but the new-leaf rains were only just beginning, and Sparrowkit hadn't investigated puddles yet. Sparrowkit was dragged underwater and she flailed violently, trying to swim.
Oh, if I only knew how to swim! Sparrowkit thought angrily. Sparrowkit struggled against the water, her lungs screaming for air. She needed oxygen now! Sparrowkit's desperation caused her not to realize that she was managing to swim upward. When she burst to the surface, Sparrowkit took in a deep breath before being plunged back under.
Panic overwhelmed her, but Sparrowkit swallowed it down and swam the best she could towards the shore. Sparrowkit struggled against the churning water, and found ground against her paws. Sparrowkit dragged herself from the water and lay down, coughing and spluttering. Sparrowkit took deep gulps of air, so happy to be on the soft ground.
Oh, ground! How happy Sparrowkit was to be on the ground! Sparrowkit was practically kissing the ground when Brackenstar padded up to her. Sparrowkit looked up at him. "What was that for?" she hissed.
"You need to be ready at all times for attack. That is one true key to being a strong warrior," Brackenstar instructed.
Sparrowkit then noticed the hot liquid pouring down her back and she turned, alarmed. There it was, a gash on her side that was streaming with blood. Sparrowkit stared at it for a moment, uncertain of what to do, before checking herself over. It seemed as though the rest of her was fine. Sparrowkit sighed, "Oh, you should have told me that's what you were doing."
Brackenstar smiled and meowed, "You won't meet me for another three moons. When you're an apprentice we will meet again in the Dark Forest, the Place of No Stars. Farewell, Sparrowkit, little warrior."
Sparrowkit watched as everything around her swirled and became disfigured. After what seemed like moons, Sparrowkit awoke to dawn light pouring in to the nursery, and a regular day began, but for Sparrowkit, her thoughts were all upon Brackenstar, the mysterious ancient leader of MistClan. The Dark Forest he had called the place, the Place of No Stars.
Me: Long chapter. You can see where this whole charade is going. I'm so tired, I'm going to die now...
Sparrowkit: I must inform you all that Sparrowflight7 does not own, or claim to own, Warriors, Erin Hunter does.