When Silverkit woke, the sun was just beginning to rise. She turned away from the bright light that filtered into the den, blinking away sleepiness. After a quick stretch, Silverkit crept past her sleeping mother to the other nest in the nursery. "Psst," she whispered. "Wake up! Let's go play!" Splitkit slowly opened his eyes. Without disturbing his mother, the brown tom kit disentangled himself from the nest. Silverkit had crossed to the den entrance, beckoning to him with her tail. Splitkit, being several moons older than her, traversed the den in just a few bounds. However, he stumbled over his paw at the last moment, crashing into Silverkit. The two kits tumbled out of the den, rolling until they hit the freshkill pile. Giddy with dizziness, they barely noticed Blackfire was in front of them until he spoke.

"Just what do you kits think you're doing?" he questioned. Silverkit and Splitkit shook the dizziness from their heads. The deputy's piercing yellow eyes bored into the kits. Splitkit leapt behind Silverkit, quivering. "Uh, we were just, um…"

"Are you going to answer me or not?" Blackfire took a step forward. The kits trembled, terrified of his ominous presence. His bulky figure completely blocked out the sun. He leaned closer. Silverkit could feel his hot breath on her nose. "I'm waiting…."

"Sorry," Silverkit squeaked, her fur up on end. "We were just playing, and - "

"Blackfire!" Eaglestar called from the other side of camp. She bounded over, dark tabby fur freshly groomed, eyes bright. "I'll deal with these kits. Why don't you organize dawn patrol?"

Blackfire straightened up. "Very well. I trust you'll punish them accordingly." With a sinister smile at the kits, he slunk off towards the warrior's den.

"I saw what happened," Eaglestar told the kits. "I know it was just an accident, but you really should be more careful. You kits have a habit of being inconsiderate."

Silverkit bowed her head. "We're really sorry, Eaglestar." Splitkit nodded his agreement.

"I know," the leader replied. "And I'm sorry that Blackfire scared you. He's not exactly fond of kits, if you know what I mean…"

Silverkit could read the hidden message in her words. She means he's not fond of Splitkit, she realized. Why does everyone have to be so cruel?

Eaglestar cleared her throat. "I think your mothers are wondering where you two got to."

Silverkit turned around. Clovertail was heading straight for her, a stern expression on her face. Rainkit followed at her heels.

"Don't you remember what we talked about yesterday?" the pale gray queen demanded. With an apologetic look at Eaglestar, Clovertail picked Silverkit up by the scruff of her neck and hauled her away to the nursery. "You're in deep trouble," Rainkit whispered in his sister's ear as he went to sit next to his mother. Clovertail sat up straight and neatly tucked her tail over her paws. "Now, I know you've had trouble following rules before," she began, her voice level. "So this time, you're not going to leave the den for a quarter moon. Maybe that will teach you to disobey me."

"But Clovertail-"

"No 'buts'," said the queen, rising to her paws. "Now, I'm going out for some freshkill, and you'd better be here when I get back!"

After Clovertail had left, Silverkit flopped down on her paws. "This is going to be so boring!" she cried.

"Yeah," Rainkit mewed, licking his paw. "But at least you're not in as much trouble as Splitkit…"

Silverkit pricked her ears. She could hear some yelling outside. It was Dewfall, Splitkit's mother. "I can't wait till you're an apprentice," she screeched. "Then you'll be out of my fur for good!"

Silverkit cringed. "That's harsh."

Rainkit nodded, returning to groom himself.

A few moments later, Splitkit hobbled in. There were tears in his eyes as he slumped down into his nest. Silverkit wanted to console him, but she knew better. After all, her mother could return any second. She didn't want to be confined to the nursery any longer than she had to.

It wasn't long before Clovertail padded in, a small mouse clutched between her jaws. She cast a hateful glare at Splitkit before settling down to eat. The queen offered some meat to her kits, but Silverkit just turned away. She wasn't going to give in like that.

Shortly after the mouse was reduced to a pile of bones, Silverkit heard Eaglestar yowl for a Clan meeting. The little silver tabby jumped up, excited. Splitkit had already left the den. "Ooh, can we go?" she asked her mother. "Please, please?"

"We can," Clovertail said, indicating herself and Rainkit. "But you have to stay here." The light gray queen sauntered out of the nursery. Rainkit, after a quick shrug, followed her. Silverkit hissed in annoyance. Right after I get in trouble, something big happens. Of course.

Silverkit strained her ears to listen to what was going on, but she couldn't hear anything. Disappointed and bored, she curled up in her nest and tried to get some sleep.

Silverkit woke to a sharp paw jabbing her in the side. She opened her eyes to see Splitkit bending over her. "Oh, hi Splitkit," she yawned, stretching her legs. "What's up?"

"I'm Splitpaw now!" boasted the brown-furred apprentice.

"Way to go!" Silverkit exclaimed, giving her friend a congratulatory lick to the head. Splitpaw blushed, looking down at his paws. "Aww, it was nothin'…"

"No, it's something really important! I'm sorry I missed it…" Silverkit looked around. "In fact, if my mother caught me talking to you right now, I'd probably miss my own ceremony!"

Splitpaw nodded. "I'd better go. Blackfire promised he'd take me out to explore the territory today. And besides, I don't want to get you in any more trouble…"

"It wasn't your fault," Silverkit protested. "I'm the one who woke you up, anyway…" She shifted her weight back and forth, embarrassed.

"Splitpaw!" A voice called. Blackfire slipped into the den. "There you are," he spat. "I've been looking all over for you. Didn't I tell you I was going to show you the territory?"

"Um, yeah, sorry I was just about to come," Splitpaw mumbled. With an apologetic glance at Silverkit, he followed his mentor out into the clearing. Silverkit could hear Blackfire's sharp reprimands all the way out of camp.

Just after they left, Clovertail and Rainkit padded into the nursery. The light gray queen cast a suspicious glance over her daughter. "You weren't just talking to Splitpaw, were you, Silverkit?" she asked, her green eyes boring into Silverkit's blue ones.

Silverkit didn't want to lie to her mother, but she sure as heck didn't want to tell the truth. Anxiously searching for another way out, she attempted to change the subject. "So, uh, how was the ceremony?"

It seemed to work. The hardness left Clovertail's eyes as she replied, "Oh, nothing unusual. Just an ordinary apprentice ceremony. Except for one thing – nobody cheered his name at the end. I mean, I understand that some cats don't like him, but it's supposed to be a special moment. He only gets one apprentice ceremony, after all."

"Nobody cheered his name?" Silverkit's jaw dropped open in shock. That's horrible, she thought.

"You should have seen the look Blackfire was giving him," Rainkit added. "He didn't look too thrilled to be his mentor…"

Clovertail swept her tail over Rainkit's mouth. "Hush," she murmured, "Don't be disrespectful."

"I'm just telling the truth," Rainkit muttered, looking away.

Silverkit couldn't believe what had happened. Why couldn't everyone just forget about who Splitpaw's father was and focus on what Splitpaw could contribute to the Clan?

"Now, now, Silverkit," Clovertail mewed, touching her tail to her daughter's shoulder, "I can practically see the smoke coming from your ears. Nothing you could have done would've changed what happened today. You really should start caring less about other cats' problems. You're a kit. Leave worrying to the older cats. Now, why don't you go outside and play with your brother?"

Silverkit stuck out her bottom lip. "Fine," she grumbled, leaving the den. "But that doesn't mean that I'm done caring about my Clanmates. After all, isn't that what a warrior's supposed to do?"