"Bet that you can't catch me!"

"Get back here, Spiderkit!" Deerkit's light brown fur was fluffed up as she chased her ginger-furred brother around the nursery, lightly shifting the moss as her paws pounded on the floor of the nursery. When she was a lot smaller, she thought that the nursery seemed like it would never end. But now that she was only a couple of moons to apprenticeship, she felt a little cramp. This was apparent as she almost hit the wall, turning to avoid it. But she had stumbled into Yellowflower's nest.

The white queen lifted her head from the moss to give Deerkit and Spiderkit a scorn as she hissed, "Can't you two play that roughly outside? You've grown too much to play around like that!"

"Yes, Yellowflower," Deerkit paused under the queen's sharp yellow gaze, her brother being a bit slower to stop as well. "We didn't mean to disturb you, I swear."

"Willowleaf said we can't go outside while she's asleep," Spiderkit whined, blue eyes begging to keep playing. "She sleeps too long. It's always way past sunhigh when she wakes up."

"I'm sure you can wait," Yellowflower sighed, laying herself back down. "I've been up all night in Thornberry's den, so I appreciate not being woken up again. Sootkit's still asleep."

"Sootkit's boring," Spiderkit muttered to Deerkit as they made their way back to their nest. But fortunately for them, Willowleaf had woken up, cleaning herself as Sootkit asked her a bunch of questions. And he really did ask their mother a lot of them. Spiderkit would often complain about that, but Deerkit herself didn't mind. Sootkit had always been the most cautious of the three of them, more delicate than most toms his age. But the thick-furred black tom seemed happy.

"So why do RiverClan cats swim? Is it only for food? And how do they hunt in leaf-bare?" Sootkit's green orbs glowed with curiousity.

"RiverClan has always swam," Willowleaf shook a paw as the brown-spotted queen adjusted herself after a quick cleaning. "They do it to survive since they mostly eat fish. I know of a RiverClan cat who loves swimming in leaf-bare. Her name is Hazelpetal. Luckily for her, she has a thick white pelt. It takes some of her clanmates quicker to get soaked."

"She has a thick coat like me," Sootkit gleamed. "Does this mean that I'd be able to swim."

"You might," Willowleaf licked the top of his head, green eyes proud. The green eyes that Deerkit had gained. "But you are a ThunderClan cat. We don't really use the river all that much. But I guess it could be good for you and your siblings to learn to swim." The queen noticed Deerkit and Spiderkit with a sigh. "Let me guess. You two woke up poor Yellowflower again?"

"Maybe," Spiderkit licked a paw. "But I can't helped it. This den is so small."

"I guess I can let you two outside," Willowleaf nudged at Sootkit. "You too, dear."

"Will you come with me?" Sootkit gave his mother wide eyes, tilting his head in the way that he knew that his mother liked. Deerkit shook her head a bit at his antics. She could see that he was a little too attached to their mother. But she couldn't blame him. He was a little bit smaller than them.

"You can go with your siblings," she shook her head. "But be sure to stay in camp. ALL of you."

"Ok."

"Sure."

Deerkit nodded a bit as she made her way into the camp. It was so bright out that she had to stop to let herself adjust. It was really hectic when she stumbled out of the nursery for the first time. She never knew that she'd grow to enjoy the gentle sight of her Clanmates. There were a lot of cats that she had to meet. It made her feel a bit overwhelmed. She still had to recognize all the scents.

She could make out the black and white pelt of Whitefrost making his way into the medicine den. The tom seemed to be limping a little, blue eyes flinching every few heartbeats. She had been taught about the medicine den from her mother. She had been told tales of Thornberry's bravery as she helped out her Clan the best way she could. The blue-eyed white medicine cat always brought the kits feathers every couple of moons.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Snowpelt and Mousetail sharing tongues, the older white she-cat offering the rest of a rabbit to the much younger brown tabby, a happy exchange between the green and blue-eyed she-cats. Rainfall's own green gaze was friendly as the small gray she-cat padded over to them, a thrush held between her jaws. Near them Swiftfeather was relaxing in the soothing sunlight, his gray fur ruffling in the slight wind. Deerkit couldn't help staring at the scars scattered along his pelt, a particular nasty scar across his face. He had lost his left eye in a terrible battle moons before she was born. But his remaining blue eye seemed fine.

"Move it," Spiderkit grumbled. "You're standing in front of the nursery like a lost mouse."

"Sorry," she sighed. "Where were we going again?"

"The elders den," Spiderkit licked his lips. "The second hunting patrol isn't back yet, but the elders might share some of their food with us if we beg enough."

"And they can tell us stories," Sootkit nodded. "I love Leopardclaw's stories! She must have been the best warrior when she was younger!"

"That would have been moons ago," Spiderkit puffed out his chest. "But I will be the strongest warrior one day. I'll impress the Clan so much, I'll skip past warrior and go straight to deputy."

"That's flea-brained," Deerkit rolled her eyes. "You would need an apprentice first."

"You're right," he remember, his fur fluffing back down, but the gleam never leaving his face. "But I'll wait however long it takes. Hopefully I'll be able to earn my way to deputy before Ravenfeather dies."

"And hedgehogs will fly."

Deerkit felt a bit of relief at how much bigger the elder's den was than the nursery. The moss saw glistening as if still a little bit wet, but not enough to make the elders cranky. Dewpaw must have cleaned the den because the small blue-eyed white apprentice was sitting in front of the three elders, a rabbit shared between the four cats. Spiderkit stared at it, his stomach alerted the others of their entrance.

"Hello there," Brownfoot nodded at them, his battle-scarred brown fur ruffled against the bark of their den. His green glance was friendly as he beckoned them to sit. Rabbitclaw lightly waved a paw, the tortoiseshell seeming tired, as if she had been unable to sleep. Her green debts gave that away as she let out a small yawn. The last elder, Leopardclaw shifted in her nest, amber eyes bright as she noticed them.

"Perfect, you two are here to hear about Leafstorm," the golden tabby she-cat purred. "Leafstorm had been a great cat, always having such a bright attitude, no matter how tedious the task was. They say that she would even be able to wrap twolegs around her tail. It's a pity that she had died too young."

"How did she die?" Dewpaw asked, her tail fluffed out a little. "I never got to hear about her before."

"She had been killed by rouges," Brownfoot spoke up, his gaze darkening as memories flooded through him. "It was the same rouges that had crippled me. They were known as Frost. And they were very vicious."

"It was a bad time for the Clan," Rabbitclaw winced at her own dark thought. "They had taken the life of my daughter, Moonfur. I'm sure she would have been proud to meet you all, being your kin."

"Our fathers are her brothers," Deerkit remembered. "Redbreeze would talk about her a lot."

"Same with Whitefrost," Dewpaw reminisced. "It's a real pity that I never got the chance to train with her. I'm told that she looks just like Lilypaw!"

"She almost looks like her twin," Rabbitclaw sighed. "Sometimes whenever I see her, all I see is Moonfur."

Deerkit felt a stab of pity towards the elder and her own father. Moonfur's death must have been so terrible for them. She'd be lost if she lost her brothers or parents. She had heard how brave warriors were, having the strength to protect their loved ones. Would she ever have that strength? Having the whole Clan rely on her for safety? She would make sure to keep them protected. She was excited. The sooner she was an apprentice the better.