Earthpaw's siblings

Part 1

Goodbye Forever

I padded out of my den, yawning. One the sleepiness faded, a nervous sensation rose inside of my stomach.

We need to see the kits! I felt like I hadn't seen them in forever, which was practically course Bluetail took Tigerpaw and me to see them sometimes, but it wasn't the same. I wanted them here, with me, too.

My thoughts brightened when I remembered the kits. I could see them now, running and chasing Star's three kits.

Then I remembered the names Bluetail had given them. How perfect they were.

Brokenkit was the orange tom, and the first one to be named. Perhaps at the time, Bluetail was thinking of Snowy, and how broken and lost he was without her. Or maybe it was the strange mark Brokenkit had on his chest; a black zig-zag, right over his heart.

There was also Icekit, the smallest of the four. As she grew, her similarity with her sister had faded. They had very different personalities, and Icekit had developed beautiful silver tabby markings. They were almost transparent, but still shiny and beautiful. Those markings must have been where her name came from.

Then there's Blackkit. His name is almost the exact opposite of what he looks like. He's white with black paws, and ears, the reason for his name. Blackkit is smart, and easy-going. He's almost always happy, and loves to play-fight, just like any kit does.

And last, is Snowkit. Yes, her name is the most obvious. Well, at least according to me.

When Bluetail looked to her to give her a name, I saw him almost fall down. Snowkit had looked up and Bluetail and squealed, "Snow! Snow!"

Bluetail had almost jumped back in shock. He had then said, "Her name is Snowkit, definitely."

I haven't found much out about Snowkit. So far, she's sat in the corner, and been quiet. She hasn't quite figured life out just yet.

But then there's Rusty.

Rusty is basically Snowkit's best friend. They do everything together, except when Rusty wants to play with the other kits. Rusty will sit in the corner with Snowkit, and whenever I'm there, I'll see them whispering together.

I wonder if they still do…We haven't been there in so long…That probably didn't change anything. Snowkit and Rusty are probably still great friends.

Now, I sat waiting for Bluetail and Tigerpaw to wake up. I sighed, knowing that if I tried to wake either of them they'd hiss at me until I had backed away and given up.

C'mon, c'mon! Wake up! Wait, what's wrong with me?

Usually I wasn't impatient at all. But recently, I had been. I just wanted to visit the kits so much, that it had become all that I could think of.

After forever, I saw Bluetail stretch and pad out of his den. I relaxed completely.

I'll see them soon…

Bluetail yawned, "G'morning, Earthpaw. You're up early."

"Um, yeah. Just wanna get out and see those kits," I said, smiling.

"Oh, so that's why you've been acting so strange," Bluetail concluded, "you just want to see the kits." A look of relief wafted across his face.

Did he think something was wrong with me?

I shrugged the thought off; if he had, he didn't now.

"So, are we going to see the kits?" I asked hopefully.

Bluetail nodded, "Yes."

I brightened.

"After I eat."

I drooped.

So much for that.

"Well, um, I'll get a head start-"

"No, Earthpaw," Bluetail mewed as he dug up a vole he had buried last night, "I can't have you going alone. What if the Twolegs see you? I can't lose you."

I sighed, "Fine."

I didn't understand why he had to be so protective. I know that he had lost Snowy, but couldn't he trust me? The Twolegs had never seen us, let alone bother us. Still, I had to listen to Bluetail; he was my father. I didn't want him angry, not after that time in the forest.

"Why don't you just go already?" I jumped, and turned around, only to discover that it was only Tigerpaw.

"Tigerpaw, either your still half asleep, or your just dumb. Bluetail just told me to stay here."

Tigerpaw rolled his eyes, "Typical goody-goody act."

"Hey! I'm no goody-goody! I just follow the rules!"

"Yeah, and are afraid of getting told off, and going out to have a life!" Tigerpaw retorted.

"Bluetail has reasons for these rules, you know," I replied.

"Yeah, to make us miserable," Tigerpaw snorted.

"No, to keep us safe. I know that they're a little over the top, but he just doesn't want to lose us!"

"He probably doesn't care about what I do," Tigerpaw said. For once he actually looked upset, "I'm just the trouble maker. I'm not special, and smart, and kind, like-"His eyes drifted to mine, but then turned angry again, "Forget it. I'm not gonna' be able to get through to some G-G." Tigerpaw huffed away. I watched him stalk out of the hollow, flicking his tail angrily.

I sighed.

Typical Tigerpaw.

"Okay, Earthpaw, are you ready to go to see the kits?" I peeled my eyes off of the spot where Tigerpaw had left, and to Bluetail.

"Yeah," I said, standing up.

I led the way quickly to the hollow entrance.

"Where's Tigerpaw?" Bluetail asked.

… … … … ... … … … … … … … …

I purred; we were finally at the nest! Not wanting to wait anymore, I sped ahead of Bluetail, and pushed myself over the fence. I rushed inside the nest, and found Star curled up asleep.

At first I expected to see my brothers and sisters asleep, but then I remembered that we hadn't visited the kits in a long time. They would be past that stage; they'd want to run and play all day. I desperately looked around, trying to find any movement in the room.

Suddenly, there was a flash of movement. I whipped around, and spotted an orange tom sliding up to a fake mouse.

Is that Rusty? He's so big!

Without even seeing me, Rusty wacked the mouse out from underneath it, and flipped it into the air. His eyes lit up as it soared into the air. He watched it for a moment, and then wacked it back up. Rusty was prepared to chase it again, but it was caught by someone else. Someone that I barely recognized.

The orange tom standing before me lashed out with excellent timing. He grabbed the mouse in his jaws, and turned, running and squealing.

I sighed; so much for looking so grown-up. Still, I couldn't help but feel proud; my brother had grown so much!

I sat, and prepared to watch the scene play out.

Rusty, looking exasperated, chased after Brokenkit, and tackled him.

Brokenkit squealed, not liking that he was being crushed by the bigger cat. Rusty squabbled for the mouse, trying to reach his jaws around Brokenkit's head.

Rolling her eyes, Princess padded up.

"You guys are so immature," She scoffed.

"Oh yeah?" Rusty challenged, still trying to get the mouse, "Well you're just too weak to play with us!"

"Yeah!" Brokenkit agreed.

Since when is Brokenkit mean to she-cats?

"Weak, eh?" Princess asked, "Then take this!" She quickly bent down, and swiped the mouse right out of Brokenkit's jaws. With an amused expression, Princess padded away, flicking her tail lightly.

I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Hey!" Brokenkit called angrily.

"Ya' snooze, ya' lose!" Princess called.

Rusty scoffed, and climbed off of Brokenkit, "She-cats."

Brokenkit stood up, "Yeah, I know, right? What was she doing on our side?"

"I dunno'," Rusty replied, "Well, c'mon, Brokenkit, let's go find Blackkit."

"Okay!" Brokenkit followed right behind Rusty, watching his every move.

I turned around and watched where Princess was going. She padded to a corner, out of view from where Rusty and Brokenkit had gone.

I followed her and sat down a few feet away.

"You got it!" A tiny voice squealed.

"Yep," Princess replied. I peered around a corner and saw that the voice had belonged to Icekit. She, too, seemed to have grown, despite her small size.

"So, now we get a turn to play with it?" Icekit asked.

"Well, I guess so," Princess said.

"Yay!" Icekit jumped up, and batted the air with her paws. Then she looked to Snowkit, who was sitting, and looking in the direction of where Rusty had disappeared only moments before. "Snowkit? You wanna' play?" Icekit looked hopeful, but Snowkit didn't answer. "Snowkit?" There still was no reply. Snowkit looked as if she was frozen.

"Snowkit?" Now Princess looked concerned. She called out to Snowkit a few more times, without getting through. "Meh, she's just in one of her states, Icekit. C'mon, I'll play with you."

"Okay!" Icekit followed Princess out into the open where there was more room.

After they were out of earshot, I stepped around the corner and sat next to Snowkit, "Snowkit?" She instantly turned her head towards me.

"Earthpaw? Earthpaw! It is you!" Snowkit jumped up, purring.

I purred back, "Yep." I touched noses with her affectionately, "Look how big you've grown!"

Snowkit flicked her tail, "Well, I guess I've grown."

"Of course you have!" I exclaimed, "You've all grown! Especially Rusty...man, is he big!"

"Rusty?"A dazed look slid back onto her face, "Yeah…He's amazing…"

"Snowkit?" I stood up, feeling worried. Snowkit looked off into the distance, seeming to watch the spot where Rusty had disappeared, "Snowkit!"

"Earthpaw?" I turned and saw that Icekit was back, Princess behind her. I purred.

"Hi Icekit," I mewed. Icekit sprang up to me, landing on my back lightly.

"Earthpaw! Earthpaw!" She danced around on my back, seeming to try out my name. I laughed, delighted with her happiness, "You're back."

"Yes I am," I mewed happily.

"Earthpaw?" A white head appeared around the corner.

"Hey, Blackkit!" I exclaimed, touching noses with him. Blackkit purred.

"It is you! I thought that Princess and the others were trying to play some sort of trick!"

Princess and the others? Those others are his sisters! What has Twolegplace turned them into?

"Did someone say Earthpaw was here?" It was Brokenkit, carefully padding around the corner, "I mean, if it's okay if I come over here…"

Princess nodded, "Go ahead, but then you go back to Rusty."

Where does Tiny fit into this? Is he just alone because he's small? I found myself worrying about a kit that I barely knew. I knew that Icekit was small like him, and suddenly I was worried for both of them.

Stop! You're acting like Bluetail! I reminded myself that both Tiny and Icekit were fine.

Brokenkit sat in front of me, looking very small. Dipping his head he said, "Greetings, Earthpaw, your presence is appreciated."

I almost fell over backwards.

"What's this kind of talk for?" I asked, "You're my brother for goodness sake! You don't have to talk like that!"

"But, Rusty said that it was polite," Brokenkit said quietly.

"What does Rusty know?" I asked, suddenly feeling a little angry, "He's a kit; not a Clan leader!"

All of the kits around me gasped.

"How could you?" Princess demanded, shaking her head.

"How could I what?" I asked. I sat down, and Icekit fell off of my back with a yelp, "Since when should kits lead other kits?"

"We have our ways, and you have yours," Princess replied darkly, "Now, Brokenkit, Blackkit, back you your camp!" She said this with such distaste it was almost as if she was sending real enemies away, "You too, Earthpaw. I don't need you here in my camp!"

Rolling my eyes, I padded away and followed Blackkit and Brokenkit.

"Earthpaw!" I heard Icekit shriek from behind me, "Don't go!"

"He has to," I heard Snowkit said, "Princess said so."

I huffed on, trying to hold my anger in. Brokenkit and Blackkit led me around another corner in the room, where Rusty sat.

"So?" he asked, "Did they have it?"

"Have what?" Brokenkit asked.

"The mouse," Rusty said, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, that..." Brokenkit said, "Well, we brought in a new recruit! It's Earthpaw."

"New recruit?" I asked, "Oh no, don't get me into this mess."

"Mess?" Rusty asked, looking furious, "This, my friend, is a clan."

I snorted, "Sorry, Rusty, but this is nothing like a clan."

The haughty look in his eyes disappeared, "It's not?"

"No," I replied.

His eyes filled with curiosity, "Then what is a clan like?" His voice was now soft.

"Well, first of all, we don't separate ourselves from she-cats," I began, "And second, we don't fight all of the time."

"We don't!" Blackkit spoke up for the first time in a while, "We just don't go onto each other's territory."

"This doesn't make sense," I replied, "There isn't room for there to be territory."

Rusty nodded, "Yes there is; we've divided up the kitchen in half. We have this half, they have the other one."

"Why do you keep apart from the she-cat's?" I asked.

"Because they're the enemy," Brokenkit replied, crouching low.

"No, no, no," I said, "They're not." I turned to Rusty, "Do you know what Snowkit does over there?"

"I suppose she takes-"

"Wrong!" I interrupted, "She sits and mopes around, thinking about you."

His eyes widened, "ME?"

"Yes, you," I replied, "She wants to be your friend, but can she when she has to stay on her side of the- the-"

"Kitchen?" Blackkit suggested.

"Yeah, the kitchen," I said.

"No," Rusty said quietly, "She can't." He stood up defiantly, "I'm going to fix this. Rustyclan is hereby dissolved!"

"Dissolved?"Brokenkit and Blackkit asked.

Rusty nodded, "Yes, dissolved, in order for us to become real cats!" With a determined yowl, he rounded the corner and ran to Princess, Icekit, and Snowkit.

"Hey, Tiny will be happy," Brokenkit mewed.

"Where is Tiny?" I asked, looking around.

"He might be over with Star," Blackkit suggested, "He usually stays over there. When we formed Rustyclan and Princessclan, he said that he didn't want to be a part of it."

"Oh," I said, nodding. Smart kit.

A few moments later, I heard playful yowls from around the corner. I turned around and saw Rusty and Snowkit chasing each other in circles.

"You can't catch me!" Snowkit squealed.

"Yes I can!" Rusty said, taking bigger strides. I purred; this was right. Kits were supposed to be playful, and happy, and carefree. Suddenly there was a soft mew.

"Kits, come here!" Rusty and Snowkit froze, Icekit appeared from around the she-cat's corner, followed by Princess, and I followed Brokenkit and Blackkit to where the voice was coming from.

Star was sitting on her same squishy twoleg-made bed, with Bluetail nearby. Tiny sat next to the bed, a dull look in his light eyes.

"Kits," Star said in her quiet voice, "Bluetail is here to see you!"

"Daddy!" All four of my little brothers and sisters pounced on Bluetail. Bluetail wasn't expecting his tiny little kittens to tackle him, and fell to the floor.

"Ah!" He screeched as he fell onto his back. The kits swarmed around him, squealing with joy. "Hi, guys," Bluetail said after recovering from the shock.

"Daddy, where have you been?" Brokenkit demanded.

"Yeah!" Icekit said, flicking her tail.

Bluetail sat up, "What do you mean, 'where have I been?'"

"You haven't come to visit us in a long time!" Snowkit spoke up, "We've missed you and Earthpaw."

"Oh," Bluetail mewed, "I haven't been anywhere. Well, just at home."

"You mean in the forest?" Rusty was suddenly next to me.

Bluetail's gaze slid from the others kits to Rusty, "Yeah, in the forest. Why?"

Rusty's eyes glowed. He seemed to be in the same sort of trance that Snowkit was before, except it was different at the same time. After a moment, Rusty shook his head, "No reason." He sat down. "I just thought-"

"Rusty, we've been through this," Star said, stepping off of the bed.

Rusty sighed, "I know."

Bluetail looked concerned, "Been through what?"

Star sat next to Rusty, curling her tail around him. Rusty looked so gloomy, he didn't brush it off. Star took a moment, and then spoke, "Rusty would've liked to become a Warrior in the wild. I had to tell him that that isn't possible."

"Well why isn't it possible?" Bluetail asked.
"Don't you require Warrior blood?" Star asked.

"Well, that's how it's always been, but things can change," Bluetail mewed.

Star closed her eyes, looking stressed, "I don't want him to get hurt. Especially since- since-"

"Since what?" Rusty asked, looking up angrily.

"Since you're soft. Okay, Rusty? I said it! You're too soft to be a wild cat!" Star had stood up, and her voice was shrill.

Rusty shrunk back, "Soft? You don't think that I could be a wild cat?"

Star shook her head, her eyes closed, "I'm sorry Rusty. You can't go out there; it's just too dangerous for you."

Bluetail sat with a grave expression on his face. In my mind, I urged him to do something, but he just sat there. Inside, I knew that any cat could become a warrior, with enough perseverance. Rusty may be soft, but he was also a kit. I believed that Rusty could become a Warrior, and a good one too. He was, in fact, the most adventurous in his litter.

"Dangerous?" Instead of Bluetail, Snowkit spoke up. Star's green eyes ventured from the floor, to Snowkit.

"Well, yes," She replied, "The forest is dangerous, if you don't know what's out there, or how to hunt for your own food, living in the forest could be scary."

Snowkit's eyes widened, "I'd never thought about it that way."

"But, Snowkit, Bluetail, and Earthpaw do know how to hunt, and protect us, so we don't have to worry about anything," Icekit added, "Just because we can't doesn't mean no one else can."

"Well, I guess…" Snowkit said, but still looked worried.

"Speaking of going to the forest," Bluetail finally spoke up. Everyone looked at him. "Kits, I've discussed it with Star, and we've concluded that you are old enough to come and live in the forest!"
Icekit's eyes widened, "Really?"

Brokenkit jumped up into the air, "YES!"

Blackkit looked like he was about to fall over with happiness. Seeing this, I rushed over to him, and sat behind him, preventing him from falling.

"You okay, there?" I asked.

"What?" Blackkit asked, "Oh, yeah…I'm fine. Well, more than fine, actually. You know what? I'm perfect."

I smiled.

"Snowkit? You haven't said anything," Bluetail said.

Snowkit was staring at the ground. She looked up at Bluetail, "Well, I did want to go to the forest, but if it's dangerous…"

Bluetail blinked a few times, seeming not to believe what his daughter was saying. I didn't blame him; I thought that Snowkit was talking crazy talk too, but I still listened to her.

"What?" Icekit asked. She stood up and padded a few steps closer to her sister, "But Snowkit, what about us training together? Don't you remember us talking about it together? We were going to be apprentices together!" Tears began to form in her eyes.

"I still want that Icekit, I do," Snowkit said, not looking at Icekit, "But I don't think I can leave here. I mean, not after all the time we've spent here."

"Snowkit, it's not your choice to make," Bluetail looked angry now. Snowkit looked up, shocked at the hardness in his voice.

"Why?"

"Because you're too young to make decisions. I was dumb; I thought that I could trust you to choose correctly," he replied.

"Oh, so living like we do is incorrect?" Now it was Star's turn to be angry. She may be a Kittypet, but she could still snap faster than anyone.

Bluetail's eyes met Star's, "No, I didn't mean-"

"Of course you did!" Star returned. She snorted, "Now, get out of here, and take your wild kits with you!" With that, Star picked Tiny up by the scruff, and led Princess and Rusty away.

"Mom! Just because my name is Tiny doesn't mean that I am tiny!" Tiny's voice faded as Star disappeared around the corner.

Bluetail sighed, muttering, "Why does everything happen to me?" He sat staring at the floor for a moment, then looked up at me. "Earthpaw, please take Icekit, Brokenkit, and Blackkit out to the garden; I need to talk to Snowkit."

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

I shivered; I was going to have a, 'talk,' with my angry father alone.

I watched Earthpaw lead my two brothers and sister away. Before she left, Icekit stopped next to me, and stared at me sadly. She rested her thin, silvery tail on my shoulder for a moment, and then continued outside.

Bluetail waited until they had left, and then he filled in the space between us. I looked up at him, ready for my fate. What had I done? All I had said was that I wanted to stay because I liked it here! There's nothing wrong with that, is there?

"Snowkit," Bluetail mewed.

"Yes?"

"Why do you want to stay here?"

"Because I like it here; everything is familiar," I replied.

"I was afraid of that," Bluetail said gravely.

"Why?"

"It's nothing. Snowkit, don't you want to become an apprentice?"

"Well, yeah. But why does that mean I have to leave my home?"

"Snowkit, this is not your home. You haven't even been to your home yet," Came the reply.

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"So? Just because it doesn't make sense doesn't mean it's not true. I don't understand why you'd rather stay here, than live like a real cat," Bluetail said, angry again.

"Why can't I choose for myself?" I stood up defiantly, standing nose-to-nose with Bluetail.

"Because you're only one moon old, and you haven't even experienced anything, and because I'm older than twelve moons old, and I've experienced a lot of things!" Bluetail spilled out quickly.

I stepped back, and stared at my father. He was so haughty, so know-it-all, so-so- irritating! I almost wanted to claw him right now.

Then in that moment, it was too much to take. I couldn't bear to look at Bluetail any longer. I spun around and went in the direction Rusty had gone. I knew that in all of this confusion, I could rely on Rusty to help me. He was my friend; I could trust him. Rusty would know exactly what to do; he always did.

I was almost out of the kitchen, when suddenly I was scooped up, and my paws were flailing in the air. I suddenly relaxed instinctively. I don't know why; something inside of me made me do it.

I wanted to scream out; let me go! Put me down! But my mouth didn't seem to be working. Bluetail padded across the kitchen calmly, and then stepped through a flap in the wall.

Bright sunlight met my eyes, and I was blinded for a moment. Then my vision cleared, and I could see a huge expanse of- of….something. The stuff that coated the ground was not the usual smooth stuff that my paws were used to. The stuff on the ground was some strange green spikes. As Bluetail made his way across them, some of them brushed my back paws.

"Bluetail, are we ready to go?" It was Earthpaw, who was sitting near some huge brown planks. He looked impatient.

"No, not yet!" Brokenkit called, "I'm not ready to leave! I wanna' play out here some more!" He was tumbling over the ground with Blackkit, while Icekit watched over them, licking a paw.

"Brokenkit, you realize that there's even more beyond the fence, right?" Earthpaw asked.

Brokenkit froze, "You mean that there's more?"

"Of course there's more!" Icekit said, setting her paw down, "What, did you think that this was where were going?"

Brokenkit hung his head, "Well…no."

"Icekit, don't judge him," Earthpaw broke in, "There's nothing wrong with not knowing something." He turned back to Bluetail, "So, are we ready?"

"Wait!"

Bluetail turned around to see who was there, giving me the view also. My heart soared when I saw who it was.

It was Rusty.

He padded up to Bluetail, his big eyes round as pebbles. He stared up at Bluetail.

"Can I please have a word with Snowkit? It'd mean a lot to me, seeing as-" he paused, and took a deep breath, "We won't be able to see each other again."

WHAT! Never again? I thought that this was just temporary!

Suddenly I was on the ground. I stood up, and shook the daze out of my head.

"Alright, Rusty," Bluetail said.

"Thank you," Rusty thanked Bluetail, although he was looking straight into my eyes.

"Rusty," I said.

"It's okay," He replied, "We'll always be friends. We might not be able to see each other, but I'll never forget you, Snowkit."

"Same here," I felt so dumb. He had said all of meaningful stuff, and I only gave back two measly words.

Rusty still seemed satisfied, "I'll miss you always." He leaned in, and touched noses with me.

I blinked a few times in surprise. Then the surprise melted, and flowed down into my mouth, forming a smile.

"Thank you, Rusty," I replied, not completely sure what I was thanking him for, "I'm sorry that this is how it has to be."

"Sorry? It's alright, Snowkit. Sometimes there are complications, but everything will turn out all right. You'll grow up to be a wonderful, strong Warrior, and I'll have a good life here," Rusty replied.

"Yeah," I said, though it didn't exactly seem satisfactory.

"Okay, Snowkit, let's go," Bluetail suddenly spoke up.

I ignored him, "Maybe someday you can sneak away and come and visit us! Our hollow can't be too far."

"Well, maybe," Rusty said, "But how long will you stay in the hollow?"

"Stay in the hollow? Oh…I'm not sure," I replied.

"See, Snowkit. You may be kind of close now, but soon you'll be even farther," Rusty said sadly, "We've just go to say our goodbyes now."

"Snowkit, come on!"

I shielded Bluetail's words from my ears.

"Right now? But Rusty, it's so sudden! I can't say goodbye to you now! Or even ever!" I meowed.

"Nor can I, but this is how things work. I don't like any more than you do, but we have to, Snowkit, we have to," Rusty replied. He leaned close to me again, and I thought he was going to touch noses with me, but he passed by my nose, and came to my ear. As he moved, his whiskers tickled my face, reminding me of laughter and fun that I had had with Rusty today. "Snowkit, don't ever forget me. Someday I will see you again. I will become a Warrior, and I will find you. Don't forget our true friendship."

He backed away, and I was staring into his leaf-green eyes again.

"Snowkit, I don't want to tell you again! Get over here!" This time I acknowledged Bluetail's voice, but I couldn't seem to move away from Rusty.

There he sat, so perfect. His orange fur glowing like a fire, (something I'd never seen, but knew to be hot and wonderful) and his eyes shining brighter than anything I had ever seen. The sight of him made me happy, just looking at him made me feel wonderful inside. Feeling so relaxed next to him, I let my eyes drift down, down, to close.

Suddenly there was movement, and I opened my eyes.

Rusty was gone.

Or was it that I was the one that was gone? Suddenly I was rushed upward into the air, and I was on top of something. All I could see were tall trees, bushes, and more of the spiky stuff. There was nothing else, just more trees, and more bushes. Then I was turned around, and there was Rusty again.

"Coming, Bluetail!" Earthpaw called from below. He was carrying Icekit and Brokenkit, "But weren't you going to get Blackkit too?"

How is he talking while he's holding them?

"Oh, yeah," Bluetail spoke. I would've laughed if I weren't so upset; when Bluetail spoke, the grip on my scruff loosened a little, tickling it, "I'm already up here, though…"

Earthpaw sighed, "Okay…" He went and picked Blackkit up too, then began to climb the brown planks.

I guess I'll never talk to Rusty again…

Bluetail was about to turn around again, and take me away forever from my best friend, but at the last moment, Rusty spoke.

"Goodbye Snowkit!" He called. I wanted to call out, 'goodbye,' back, but I couldn't; I was in the same state in relaxation as I was before; unable to move, unable to speak.

Then it happened. Bluetail turned around, jumped down, and began to rush through the forest, away from Rusty, away from the life I knew. Away from the life I wanted.

Goodbye, I thought, Goodbye Rusty...

Goodbye forever…

"Snowkit?"

I opened my eyes. I was sitting down on a sandy ground, in the middle of a medium-sized hollow. Bluetail sat facing me, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?"

I looked up at him, not believing my ears, "Why would I be? You took me away from where I wanted to be."

"It'll seem better in time," Bluetail said, trying to convince me, but failing miserably.

I sighed, "Sure, whatever you say."

"Hey, Snowkit, come and look at this!" It was Icekit, standing with Blackkit, Brokenkit, and Earthpaw.

I half-heartedly stood up, and padded over to where Icekit had called from.

"Yeah?" I asked, once she was within earshot.

"Just look at this tree!" She said, her eyes sparkling, "It's the most amazing this I've ever seen!"

"Icekit, you haven't seen that many trees before," I replied.

"Sure I have, we just went through the forest," She said, "And this one is the most remarkable I've seen yet."

I sighed, "How?"

"Well, to find out, you have to go inside," Earthpaw replied, winking.

"Inside?" Brokenkit echoed.

"Yup," Earthpaw confirmed, "So follow me."

Earthpaw led the way closer to the tree. As we neared, I realized that there was an opening in the base of the trunk, near the roots. We all filed inside to explore.

"Whoa!" Blackkit's voice echoed on the walls of the den, "Is this where we get to sleep?"

Earthpaw laughed, "I'm glad you like it."
"But do we get to sleep here?" Brokenkit asked, repeating our brother's question.

"Yeah, sure," Earthpaw replied.

"Wow! To think, we get to sleep in this amazing tree," Icekit mewed softly, "Isn't that great, Snowkit?" Her blue eyes met mine.

"Well…," I said, still feeling sour.

Wait! You can't let Bluetail just make your life miserable! Show him that you can still be happy, or at least try to!

Icekit stared at me, her bright eyes now dull with disappointment. This tree really excited her, and here I was not even caring one bit. She was my sister for goodness sake! I'm supposed to stick by her side!

"Yeah, it's amazing," I said, and Icekit's eyes lit up once again, "See look!" I rushed over to a wall, "We could put our nests here."

"Yeah!"Icekit said, following me. Her eyes looked from the spot to Earthpaw. "Can we?"

"Sure; it's your den. Are you two okay with that?" Earthpaw turned to my brothers.

"Okay!" Brokenkit said.

"Sounds cool," Blackkit said, "But, where do we get the moss to make a nest from?"

"Let's see…I think Bluetail had Tigerpaw get some off of the wall just yesterday, so it should still be pretty fresh.

"Let's look," Earthpaw padded out of the den. I followed him, and my littermates followed me.

Earthpaw led the way to the left where there was a huge rocky wall. Covering it from the ground all the way up to the top was thick, spongy moss.

"Oh, so that's where we'd get the moss," Blackkit mewed.

Earthpaw laughed, "Yup. But I think that we already have some piles somewhere." He continued along the wall until he reached where the bushes began to grow again. "Ah ha!"

His front half disappeared underneath a bush, and reappeared a moment later. Clamped tightly between Earthpaw's jaws was a huge wad of moss. He set it down gently and then said, "Okay, everyone grab some." He picked up the ball of moss again, and headed back towards the den.

I ran under the bush, grabbed some moss, and followed Earthpaw.

Once everyone was back in the den, Earthpaw began to show us how to flatten it out to make a nest. Soon there were four neat nests there.

"Wow," Blackkit said, "Our first forest beds."

Icekit nodded, "Yep."

Earthpaw smiled, "I'm glad that you like it here; I knew you would." He sat down, and licked a paw, "It's so much better than that silly Twolegplace."

I straightened.

The Twolegplace? Rusty! Oh no…I've left him, left him forever! I went and had fun and enjoyed myself and forgot him!

"Snowkit, are you okay?" It was Icekit, who was staring straight at me.

"I'm…I'm okay," I decided. I may be without Rusty, but I was okay. I could make it at least a little while.

I know what to do! I'll stay here, seeing as Bluetail won't let me leave yet…Then I'll train as a Warrior, and then find Rusty when I'm strong enough to go out on my own. It's sure to work. He did promise that he'd find me again. And the best way to help him find me, is if I find him.

I gave an encouraging smile to Icekit, who returned it warmly.

"Great," Icekit mewed happily, "I'm glad that you like it here; I just knew you would. Sometimes it just takes seeing to believe."

"Hey, what's this?" It was Brokenkit. He had ventured to the back of the den, and was gazing upward. Earthpaw padded over and looked up as well.

"Whoa! How could I not have noticed that before?" Earthpaw asked, "That's amazing!"

"Huh?" I followed, Blackkit and Icekit in tow.

I gazed upward to discover that the whole inside of the tree was hollow. Along the inside of the tree was a thin, twisted root that spiraled its way up to the top.

"How did the root grow up?" Icekit asked, mystified, "Especially since the tree is hollow! How is the tree even alive? I mean, the whole inside isn't even there!"

"Maybe it grew like that," Earthpaw suggested, "Everything's different."

"Yeah, Earthpaw, but could it be that different?" Blackkit asked.

"Sometimes there are things that are just different," Earthpaw replied, "It doesn't matter how different; it's just different. There's nothing wrong with being different, it just means that that's what makes you special." Earthpaw seemed to be talking about something other than the tree.

"Well can we go up there?" The question slipped out before I had known I had even thought it.

Earthpaw looked at me, "Well, of course, because the best way to learn about something, is to climb it."

"But what if I wanted to learn about a bird?" Icekit asked.

"Then you hunt one, and eat it," Came the reply. I giggled.

"Birds are for eating, Icekit," I mewed lightly, "Now c'mon, let's explore!" I jumped up onto the lowest part of the spiraling root, and began to climb around. I dug my claws in so that I wouldn't fall, and I was good to go.

When I was about halfway up, I glanced down and saw my littermates following me. Icekit was right underneath me, her paws moving quickly along the root. I purred; this was better than the Twolegplace. I may be without Rusty, but maybe I could make it out here. Just maybe.

Suddenly the root stopped.

This can't be the end, the fun has just begun!

I slowly removed my eyes from my paws, to in front of me. The root hadn't ended; it had gone outside the tree. Right in front of me was a gaping hole in which the root had grown out of and expanded into a flat ledge.

I smiled; I knew there was something else! I stepped out onto the ledge, and sat down, feeling as if life actually wasn't so bad.

But I'll still never forget you, Rusty, I promised silently.

For a few moments, I sat there in the Noon-day sun, watching the forest below. I was very high up, and I felt as if I could see everything. I could see all of the trees, the birds, the squirrels, and something else.

At first I didn't recognize it. But then I realized that the strange object that I was staring at was Twolegplace. It felt funny that the place was already so foreign when I had only left it this morning.

Then I noticed a black line behind all of the nests. Suddenly I saw a creature that couldn't be anything but a Twoleg. It walked up to the entrance to the nest, and disappeared from view, probably going inside.

I sat, paralyzed with interest, waiting for the Twoleg to reappear.

And of course it did.

A few minutes later, the Twoleg reappeared, carrying something. I couldn't quite see it; it was hidden from view. Then the Twoleg turned, and I realized what it as holding. It was a small orange fur-ball, that couldn't be anything but a kitten.

"RUSTY!" I screamed. He was being taken away! He was going to be even farther away from me now! I knew that I would never see him again, but the one thing that kept me sane was that I knew that he was near.

But not anymore.

The Twoleg climbed inside some huge metal thing and it began to move away.

It raced away from me, pulling Rusty farther from me.

As the tears began to run down my face, I tried to hold onto the one thing that I had heard before Rusty had been put into the metal thing.

There had been a faint sound as if a kitten calling out, as if someone was calling out a name.

The name, "Snowkit!" had flown across the Twolegplace, the forest, and right into my ears. Rusty had made one last attempt to contact me, to let me know that he was still there.

But I knew that he wasn't. Rusty would be long gone by now.

Goodbye…Goodbye, forever.

Earthpaws Siblings

Part 2

What is that thing?

"Whoa!" I exclaimed as I appeared out onto a ledge. Icekit sat in front of me, next to Snowkit. Icekit seemed to be whispering to her.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. Snowkit burst into tears and ran back down the trunk.

"What did I say?" I asked.

Icekit sighed, "She saw Rusty."

"Oh," I mewed, "What does that mean?"

Icekit rolled her eyes, "Rusty was being taken away from him home."

"Oh," I said again.

"This is wicked!" It was Blackkit, who had just climbed to the top. I turned around.

"I know, right?" I asked him.

"Wow! Look at that!" Icekit exclaimed. She was looking off into the distance.

"Cool!" Blackkit exclaimed, catching sight of what she meant, "Wait, what is it?"

"I don't know," Icekit meowed. Her gaze was thoughtful.

"Let me see," I said, walking up to my siblings. Blackkit pointed with his tail to show me what they were talking about. Down in the middle of the forest, was a long, skinny shape. It looked like there was water rushing through it.

"What is that?" I asked, looking at my brother. Blackkit just shrugged.

"Icekit might have figured it out," was all he said. I looked over at my sister. She sat there, her eyes gazing at some far off place, her tail quivering slightly.

"Icekit?" I asked. Icekit jumped.

"What?" She asked.

"Do you know what it is?"

"No," She replied.

My shoulders sagged. I had really thought Icekit would know.

"But," My tail stood erect, "I think I've seen it before."

"What?" I turned around, it was Blackkit. "We've never been to the forest before."

"I know!" Icekit meowed, getting a little impatient. She stood up, lashing her tail a little. "Don't question my theories!"

"Okay, okay," I said, "Blackkit was only stating a fact."

"I'm sorry," Icekit said calming down. "It's just that, I think I've seen one of those things before. Not in real life, in a dream."

"Are you sure?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Positive," Icekit meowed. She began to pace back and forth, watching her paws as she moved. "Think. Think."

"Aha!" Suddenly Icekit stopped, lifted her head up, and exclaimed, "I know what it is!"

"What?"Blackkit and I asked at the exact same, something that we tend to do a lot.

"It's called a river," Icekit said, the new word sliding over her tongue.

"A river?" I asked, trying out the new word. "What does it do?"

"I-I-"

"It supplies water to animals, and provides a home for fish, and some insects, too," I jumped, and spun around. It was Earthpaw, he had made up to the top with us.

"Can we see it?" I asked.

"Well," Earthpaw hesitated for a moment, "alright. Bluetail said to watch you, and if you guys are at the river, then I have to watch you there."

"Yay!" Blackkit shouted, "We're going to see a real live river!"

"But, what about Snowkit?" Icekit asked.

"Here, let me go talk to her," Earthpaw meowed. He turned around, and began to climb down.

I hesitated for a moment, thinking. Then, I made up my mind; I quietly followed Earthpaw, and watched from a hidden spot above. Earthpaw's back was to me, and was crouched over my shaking sister. She didn't seem to be crying anymore, but still didn't seem like in any mood to talk.

"Snowkit?" He asked, "are you okay?" Snowkit shook her head. "Okay, do you want to talk about it?"

"Okay," Snowkit croaked. She sat up and looked up at Earthpaw.

"What happened?" Earthpaw asked. "Did you step on a splinter?" Snowkit shook her head.

"Well, then what happened?" Earthpaw asked. Snowkit cleared her throat.

"It's Rusty," Snowkit cried, her voice shaking a little, "He was taken farther away from me."

"Oh," Earthpaw's eyes were flooded with understanding.

"Why did this happen?" Snowkit asked, her voice now back to normal. Now that the shock had worn off, she just looked plain sad.

"Well, you see, when Kittypet kits get old enough, the Twolegs decide to give them a new home. They just can't take care of all those cats," Earthpaw shook his head as he said the last sentence.

"But, it's not fair!" Snowkit wailed. "Why can't the Twolegs just let them go into the forest?"

"Well, Twolegs have a different way of thinking. They think by giving the kits a new home, they can be safe, and a lot of Twolegs would like to live with a cat," Earthpaw meowed. Snowkit sniffled. Then she seemed to realize something.

"Is that why Bluetail made me come to forest?" She asked.

"Partially," Earthpaw said, nodding his head.

"What other reasons were there?" Snowkit asked.

"Well, I can't say," Earthpaw meowed.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know any other reasons, Snowkit. Now, do you want to come to the river with us?" Earthpaw asked.

"The what ?" Snowkit asked.

"The river," Earthpaw repeated, "Its water."

"Oh," Snowkit meowed. The tears on her face were beginning to dry. She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "Sure."

Wow , they don't even know I'm here! I'd really expect-

"Brokenkit," Earthpaw said suddenly, "Go and get Icekit and Blackkit."

I jumped.

"H-how?" I asked.

"Just go," Earthpaw sighed. I scampered up the root back to the top of the tree where Icekit and Blackkit were still sitting.

"Hey, guys, it's time to go," I told them. They turned their heads to look at me, nodded, and followed me back down.

"Okay, let's go," We followed Earthpaw through the hollow, past a sleeping Bluetail, and into the forest. Snowkit kept in pace with Earthpaw, and talked to him. I stayed behind with Icekit and Blackkit.

As we walked, Earthpaw watched the bushes for something. First he'd gaze to the right, and then sharply turn his head to left as if he expected something to attack us. This was starting to make me feel a little scared.

What could he be watching for?

As we walked on, I began to hear the sound of rushing water.

That's the river.

As we got closer, it began to get louder and louder. Next to me, Icekit's ears twitched; she could hear it too. Blackkit was beginning to walk faster in anticipation.

In front of me, Snowkit's tail quivered in excitement. The only one who didn't seem to be really excited was Earthpaw.

He's probably been to the river lots of times.

Soon we rounded a corner, and there it was. It was big. It was beautiful. It was the river.

Earthpaw's siblings

Part 3

Mud, Splatting, and Fights; Oh My!

I gasped as it came into view. Churning and mixing, and flowing…

"Wow," I whispered.

Then the memory came back. Memories are how I seem to know about all of this stuff that my littermates don't. If I'm around something, even if I don't look at it or know it's there, I seem to remember it somehow.

What was strange was that I'd never even passed by a river. Never. Unless…

I turned around and saw Earthpaw sitting on the bank, gazing into the water. I padded up to him.

"Earthpaw?" I asked. He turned his blue gaze on me, "When you and Bluetail took us to Twolegplace a while ago, did we pass this river?"

He seemed thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Well…I don't think so. That was a while ago, Icekit. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I was just wondering if I'd passed it before…," I replied, seeming to drift back to the memory.

In the memory, I was standing on a rocky outcrop, and cold air was buffeting my fur. I didn't shiver though, as if I was used to it. I was looking far out, and I could see more of the strange tall rocks.

Mountains…The word came into my head without me really knowing it. Suddenly, I was aware a gurgling noise next to me. I moved to the left, and looked down.

Rushing about a tail-length away from my paw was a narrow expanse of water.

River…This word came to me the same as the word, 'mountains,' had. The river rushed past me for about ten tail-lengths and then disappeared. I wanted to go and see where the river disappeared to, but I wasn't able to control where I went.

"Snow! Snow!" Someone was calling. I began to climb down a slope, and caught the faint outline of another cat coming closer before I was brought back to the present.

So that's where I've seen a river…

For some reason, when I was still on the ledge back a home, when I had tried to think of a word for the river, this memory had come to me.

A strange slurping noise and the sound of giggling made me turn around. Blackkit, along with Brokenkit and Snowkit were sitting in a shallow area of the river, farther upstream than Earthpaw was. I padded over to them, ready to feel the water, when I realized that they weren't sitting in water.

It was mud.

"Um, guys," I said, wrinkling my nose, "What're you doing?"

Only Snowkit looked up, "Oh, there you are, Icekit. You've got to see this!"

"See what?" I asked, trying to peer around Brokenkit.

"What're you doing? You won't be able to see from there! Come on in! You'd think the water's awful, but it's really nice," Snowkit coaxed.

"Snowkit, this, 'water,' you're talking about is really mud," I replied.

Snowkit frowned, "So? Come on in; it's not like it'll hurt you."

"Oh, but Snowkit, your fur!" I shrieked. Snowkit's white pelt was belly-deep in mud.

Snowkit looked down at her paws as Brokenkit and Blackkit giggled once again. Her gaze moved from herself, back to whatever Brokenkit was sitting in front of.

I sighed, making Snowkit look at me once again, "Oh, come on, Icekit! Don't be a sissy."

"Oh…fine!" I snapped, and looked down at the mud. I took a deep breath in, and lowered my paw down slowly.

The mud's not that deep…Just keep your head up, you'll be fine.

Well, it turns out the mud was pretty deep.

When I expected my paw to touch the ground beneath the mud, it didn't. It wouldn't have too bad had I not already leaned forward. My paw sank down farther, and then down went the rest of me into the wet, sticky mud. After my paw went under came my head, and then I flipped over, landing on my back.

I sat up, spitting mud out of my mouth.

"Oh, Icekit! Icekit!" Snowkit came rushing over to me, looking worried, but also like she was about to laugh her head off. "Are you okay?" She said this with a small giggle.

"It's not funny!" I said, sitting up fully.

"Yes it is!" Brokenkit said, coming around to my other side. I scowled and stood up, shaking the mud off as best as I could. I turned around to see where Blackkit was still sitting, his eyes fixed on me.

"You okay?" He asked. I was shocked; there was absolutely no laughter in his voice at all.

"Yeah," I said quietly.

"So, do you still want to see?" Snowkit asked, coming around to her spot from before.

"Well, it's not like I can get any dirtier," I remarked a bit sourly.

"You sure about that?" Brokenkit challenged, getting ready to scoop up a glob of mud. Snowkit beat him to it.

"Cut it out, silly!" She said, pouncing on him.

"'ey! Cut it out yourself!" Brokenkit whined. Snowkit purred good naturedly, and leaped off.

Blackkit sighed, "Are we going to see this, or not?"

"Okay, Mr. Impatient!" I said, padding closer, "What is it?"

"Okay, now you're going to be so amazed at this," Blackkit stated. I rolled my eyes.

"Sure."

Blackkit didn't seem to see me roll my eyes, and instead gazed down into the mud. He moved his paw over until it was exactly in between us, and then began to slowly pull it upward. As soon as he paw broke the surface, a huge splatting, gloshing noise erupted out of the air bubble that had been formed.

I shrank back, "EW! How is that cool?"

"Because it's hilarious!" Brokenkit said, who had stood up, and was trying to shake the mud out of his pelt.

"Yeah," Snowkit added, "Don't you think so?"

"Well, it is strange, I'll give you that, but how is it funny?" I asked.

"Well…" Snowkit thought, "I'm not sure. It's just the sounds, I guess. It sounds funny!"

"It is weird noise," I said, "But it was made with mud, one of the most disgusting substances known. There's no way that I could find something like that funny."

"You know, the only way to have fun with it, is to actually play in it," Brokenkit said slyly. I looked at him.

"Oh, no," I mewed, "There is no way-"

"Well sure there is," Blackkit said, the same sly look creeping into his eyes. The two toms began to creep closer. Snowkit looked at them.

"Oh, come on guys," She mewed, "She didn't even want to step in the mud in the first place; don't make her play in it now."
"No, I think their right," I said calmly. Snowkit looked at me in disbelief.

"What?"

"Yeah; they're right. I should play in it," I said, coming up with a great idea. I stepped back a little, and slowly dropped my tail down into the mud.

"Oh," Snowkit said, seeing my movement. She too lowered her tail. I looked to her, and nodded.

We both lifted our mud-covered tails into the air, flinging the mud towards our brothers.

As the mud hit their faces, they both yowled in disbelief.

"Hey!" Brokenkit called out, "No fair!"

"Let's get 'em!" Blackkit yowled, dipping his tail into the mud. Brokenkit did too. I stiffened, waiting for the attack. Right as their tails came up, I ducked down and avoided the mud. But Snowkit, who was now behind me, wasn't so lucky.

Snowkit gasped as the mud dripped down her face. I expected her to turn and run, but instead she shot a mud-ball straight back at the toms.

The mud-ball shot straight through the air, landing on Brokenkit's back. He squealed in shock, then shot one back at us.

By then we were all throwing mud-balls left and right, and I couldn't even tell where they were coming from or where they were going.

At first, I dodged the mud the best I could, but soon, I just gave in and let myself get battered with it. I didn't care anymore; everyone was getting dirty, so why wouldn't I?

Suddenly, I found myself laughing my head off. I don't know where it had come from; I just started laughing and wasn't able to stop. I suddenly fell down onto my back, still laughing. I didn't even care that I was lying in mud. Then it seemed to spread; suddenly Brokenkit tumbled down into the mud too, laughing his head off. Then Snowkit fell down, laughing for all she was worth.

For a moment, Blackkit just stared at us like we were psychos, but then a gleam of laughter crept onto
is face. He soon was rolling in the mud with us, laughing lauder than the rest of us.

"What the heck is going on?" Earthpaw was at the shore now, looking like he had missed something important.

None of us could reply; we were too busy laughing. For a moment, Earthpaw looked worried, but then he laughed a little.

"You guys are crazy," He mewed affectionately.

"We know," Brokenkit was able to get out.

Finally, sides splitting, I was able to stop laughing. I lay next to Brokenkit and Snowkit, looking up at the clouds through the trees. Snowkit yawned.

"Sleepy?" I asked, yawning myself.

She nodded, "Should we go home?"
"No way!" Brokenkit said, taking his turn to yawn, "We have to stay here…forever."

We waited for Blackkit to add something, like he usually did, but instead there was a terrified shriek. I scampered to my paws, and so did Snowkit and Brokenkit. When Brokenkit tried to stand up, his paws slipped in the mud, and he went back down, face-first. Snowkit giggled.

"Silly, Brokenkit," She mewed, but then looked around for the cat that had called out.

"It's Blackkit!"I cried. I could see his shape moving down the river. He'd been washed away into the current! Snowkit and Brokenkit tried to move into the current and follow him in the water, but I knew that that was no use.

Feeling alarmed, I raced out of the mud area, and leaped back onto the ground, where I actually had footing and was able to move faster. I raced past Earthpaw, and down the shore, following my brother, hoping I could catch up. As I ran, I could hear the thundering of paws behind me. I turned my head around for a second, and saw Earthpaw padding after me, a worried look in his blue eyes. I turned my head back around, but at the last second.

Right as I turned around my eyes caught sight of a huge boulder arching out of the ground. I would've stopped, but I was already too close. I tried to stop, but instead went tumbling toward the rocking, tripping, and flipping tail-over-ears. I called out in fear, and landed on my back.

After the shock had worn off, I stood up to Earthpaw standing a few feet away, near the shore. He was staring at Blackkit's squirming shape, moving away. Suddenly I saw him flex his paws and suddenly a huge rock suddenly broken the surface of the water, lifting Blackkit into the air. I silent gasped; how was that even possible? As the rock moved over, Earthpaw's gaze followed it, seeming almost to be controlling the rock. As soon as the rock was over the shore, it lowered, and Blackkit slid off. The rock dropped straight back into the water, as if had never even been there.

Earthpaw sat down, shaking and panting. I didn't understand why he seemed so tired all of a sudden, but I shook it off; Blackkit needed help! As I raced past Earthpaw I could hear him muttering, "Ah, that was too much, Earthpaw! Why couldn't you have just gone with a simple ground lift?"

What is he talking about? I wondered. I wanted to shake this off too, but I just couldn't; something was up with Earthpaw.

"Blackkit?" I asked.

"Is he okay?" It was Brokenkit. He and Snowkit had padded in from the river, tails flying.

"I don't know!" I exclaimed worriedly.

"Just let me see, Icekit," It was Earthpaw, who seemed to have recovered from his strange tiredness. Snowkit and Brokenkit stepped aside, and Earthpaw padded closer.

He bent down, and held his ear closer to Blackkit's chest. "Still a heart beat…" he murmured, "But he's not breathing…" Earthpaw stood up, his eyes now worried. Then the usual gleam returned, and Earthpaw gently pressed his front paws on Blackkit's chest.

Blackkit coughed and a lot of water spilled out of his mouth. He looked around warily.

"Wha-what happened?" He croaked.

"You got carried away in the current," Earthpaw said calmly.

Blackkit looked up at Earthpaw, "What? I-I don't- Oh, I did…How'd you get me out?"

"I'm not exactly sure," I replied, "but I think Earthpaw-"

Earthpaw cleared his throat, "I got you out. That's all that happened." Earthpaw looked at me, and for the first time ever, I saw a slight iciness in his eyes. I shrank back.

Suddenly the ice in his eyes was gone. He looked back at Blackkit, "Do you feel okay?"

He nodded slowly.

"Okay, then we should probably get back home before Bluetail's head explodes from worry," Earthpaw mewed.

Snowkit giggled. "Explode…," she murmured, "funny."

I fell into line with Snowkit and Brokenkit, ready to leave.

"Blackkit, are you coming?" Brokenkit asked.

Blackkit was silent for a moment. "But-but, why do we have to leave now?"

"Blackkit, you could've gotten seriously injured," Earthpaw told him sternly, "I don't think it's a good idea to stay out here any longer. We need to get you back to get some rest."

"But I want to stay here!" Blackkit mewed, "We were just beginning to have fun! You can't make us leave in the middle of the fun!"

I thought that this was going to make Earthpaw blow his top, but Earthpaw was still calm. "Blackkit, let's go. We'll get another chance to come back."

Blackkit sighed, "Fine."

Earthpaw began to lead the way back home. Blackkit padded next to me, looking low-spirited.

"Blackkit," I mewed, "It's okay. It's not like you were going to die or anything."

"It's not that, Icekit, it's that it's my fault for ruining our fun," Blackkit replied.

"But-"

"No, that's enough," The sadness was gone from his eyes, and was now replaced with fury. "It was my fault, and now we have to go home when we were having so much fun."

I stared at him in silence for a moment, and then left him to his own thoughts.

Why is so angry all of a sudden?

All of a sudden, I saw a strange light glow in Blackkit's eyes. They almost changed from their usual blue to a dark stormy gray. Right as I saw the light, the bright sky was covered with dark rain clouds.

What is going on with my brothers?

Earthpaw's Siblings

Part 4

The Storm, the Snow, the Fox, and the Flame

I grumbled again. I felt so…weird. It was like there was water running through my body or something. I didn't understand why; this had never happened before. It wasn't as if the feeling was uncomfortable or anything, but it made the whole day just a little worse. My thoughts drifted back to what had happened at the river.

I can't believe myself! We finally get to go and do something and then I have to go and ruin it!

SPLAT!

An icy raindrop landed on my nose. I shook it off, and sneezed.

"What in the world?" Brokenkit asked, looking up at the sky. "The sky was clear when we were on our way to the river!"

"Well, that's weather for ya'," Earthpaw replied, "It's unpredictable."The sudden rain didn't seem unusual to him, but I thought for a split second I had felt his gaze on me.

What did I do?

As we walked, I had a crazy idea. And I mean really crazy; like ridiculously crazy.

Did I make it rain?

I guess I could have done it…But that's crazy! That's not even possible! I shook my head, brushing off the matter.

The sky was darkening when we made it back to the hollow. Also, to Earthpaw's relief, Bluetail was already asleep. He probably hadn't noticed we were even gone.

Snowkit snorted and muttered something like, "Doesn't surprise me."

Earthpaw led us to our den, and made sure we were all settled down in our nests.

"Sleep well, kits," Earthpaw murmured.

"Goodnight," I called as he turned to go back to his den.

I closed my eyes, and tried to fall asleep, but something kept from it. I'm not sure if it was the strange forest noises, or the thought of me actually able to make it rain. I wanted to tell myself that to control the rain was impossible, but somehow I just couldn't bring myself to think that.

I sighed and told myself that I could worry about it tomorrow, and listened to the murmur of the rain. Just as I was about to drift of, an irritated yowl screeched out.

"Okay, that's just IT!" I heard Snowkit say.

I groaned, "What? Can't you let us sleep?"

"How can you? There's so much noise!" Snowkit snapped.

"Calm down, Snowkit, it's just rain. You'll get used to the noise," Icekit replied.

"Yeah, but not tonight!" Brokenkit complained, "It's so loud here! How can anything sleep with the pounding of the rain?"

"What?" I opened my eyes, "The rain bothers you?"

They all looked at me.

"Well, duh!" Snowkit said.

"Of course it does!" Icekit replied.

"Yes, yes it does," Brokenkit said, irritated.

"Not to mention…," Snowkit muttered, "This mud itches!"

" You can have Earthpaw help you was it off tomorrow," I said, but then went back to the subject of the rain, "How does the rain bother you? It blocks out the sounds of the other animals," I replied, "Just let the sound of it lull you to sleep."

There was silence again as they all stared at me.

"Okay, just because it blocks out other noises doesn't mean that the rain itself isn't a noise!" Snowkit snapped. "And I'mitchy now!"

"Wait, you think it's soothing?" Icekit asked, "How?"

"I just like the sound of the water," I told her.

This time, instead of staring at me like I was a featherless bird, Icekit nodded.

"It makes sense," She said.

"So Blackkit can get to sleep," Brokenkit mewed, "Great. Now what about us?"

There was a small chuckle at the entrance to the den. I flipped around, and there was Earthpaw. He padded in, dripping wet, but he didn't seem to mind.

"I thought you might have trouble sleeping," he said, sitting down. "The forest is really noisy compared to the quiet Twoleg nest you are used to."

Icekit nodded, while Snowkit flicked her tail as if saying, "duh!" I yawned, wishing that I could just go to sleep; it wasn't as if I was having trouble sleeping!

"So how do we fall asleep?" Brokenkit asked.

"Well, it'd help if you were lying down," Earthpaw mewed.

We all lied back down without a sound.

"Now what?" Snowkit asked after a moment.

"Now, I'll tell you a story," Earthpaw said quietly.

"Oh, what about?" Icekit asked excitedly.

"How about a story about Bluetail and Snowy?" Earthpaw suggested.

"Who's Snowy?"I asked.

Earthpaw looked surprised, "Our mom."

"Our mom?" Snowkit asked, who seemed to have forgotten the mud completely, "You mean, like Rusty, Princess and Tiny's mom?"

Earthpaw laughed, "Sort of. Except Star isn't your mom, she's Rusty's."

"Oh," Snowkit said, "So what's the story about?"

"Well, if I told you, it wouldn't be as exciting, would it?" Earthpaw mewed. "Just let me tell it, and you'll see. So, long ago, well, I guess not that long ago, Bluetail used to live in a clan."

"What's a clan?" Brokenkit asked.

"It's a group of cats that live together. They support each other, and live by a special code that tells them how to live," Earthpaw explained. Before anyone could ask anything else, he continued. "The clan was called Thunderclan. He had lived there his whole life, with his two sisters Snowfur and Bluefur. But not that long ago, Snowfur had had an accident on the Thunderpath-"

"What's a Thunderpath?" Brokenkit interrupted.

Earthpaw gave him a tired look, "It's a Twoleg-thing. They use it to get around in Monsters." Brokenkit opened his jaws to ask another question, but Earthpaw continued on quickly. "A monster is a huge metal thing Twolegs ride in. So, Snowfur had an accident on it, and had been killed."

Snowkit and Icekit gasped, but still listened intently.

"Soon after, Bluefur was made deputy, and later leader. There were some other details, but that'd take too long to tell you about. So, Snowfur had her place in Starclan, and Bluestar had her place as leader. But where did Bluetail belong? He didn't feel like he belonged in Thunderclan; he was clumsy, hated working, and some cats didn't like him that much."

"That sounds awful," Icekit murmured.

"So what did he do?" I asked.

"Well, one day, Bluetail was sent to go hunting. He left camp alone, and trekked to a spot near Twolegplace. Now, remember how I said he didn't like to do work?"

We all nodded.

"So do you think that he hunted all that he could?"

We all shook our heads together.

"That's right. He just wandered along the fence of Twolegplace, talking to himself," Earthpaw went on. "When suddenly, there was a voice from above. Bluetail looked up, and there was a white she-cat sitting on top of the fence."

"Was she from another clan?" Brokenkit wondered aloud.

Earthpaw shook his head, "No, she was a Kittypet."

"A Kittypet?" the rest of us asked together.

"Yep, a Kittypet. Her name was Snowy. She jumped down from the fence, and she and Bluetail began to talk. They met again that night, and then every day after that. One night as they met, Snowy talked about running away from her Twolegs. She said that she was scared to run away, but she cared about Bluetail more. She was willing to face her fears to be with him."

"Wow," I breathed, "That's some sacrifice."

Earthpaw nodded, and continued, "At first, Bluetail thought that she meant she would come to Thunderclan. But Snowy really meant that she wanted to travel to the wilderness. But the thing was, she wanted Bluetail to come with her.

"Of course, Bluetail accepted. He had begun to like Snowy, even like her a lot. And seeing that he didn't exactly fit in with Thunderclan, he decided he was best. He left without saying goodbye.

"So, they traveled a long way. Soon, they found this exact hollow, and Tigerpaw and I were born. They had a good life together, and were great parents. Snowy gave the gentleness and patience both Tigerpaw and I needed, and she always seemed to understand us."

"What about Bluetail?" I asked.

"Well, Bluetail's a good dad," Earthpaw replied, "But I think it's time this story came to an end." He beckoned behind me. I turned my head around, and saw Snowkit, Icekit, and Brokenkit, all fast asleep.

"Oh, okay," I mewed, yawning.

"Can you fall asleep okay?" Earthpaw asked. I nodded. "Okay, sleep well, Blackkit." He backed out of the den.
"Goodnight," I murmured, and settled down to sleep.

When I opened my eyes, it was morning. I quietly padded out of the den, and saw Bluetail eating a vole. I padded closer, the scent of fresh-kill dragging me onward. As I padded closer, my eyes caught sight of the sky. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still cloudy. I noticed with a pang of fear that I wasn't so gloomy either. I didn't have much time to ponder this; I was right next to Bluetail.

"Hi," I greeted.

"Good morning," Bluetail replied, turning to see me. "You're the first one up. Even Earthpaw's still asleep."

"And Tigerpaw?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, he's still asleep," Bluetail mewed. I stared at the vole at Bluetail's paws. I licked my chops, wondering what it tasted like. Bluetail shot a look at his paws, and then back at me.

"Do you want to try some fresh-kill?" Bluetail asked.

"Really?" I asked.

Bluetail nodded, "What else can you eat? No more milk here."

I laughed, "Yeah. What should I try?"

Bluetail thought for a moment. "Whatever you want to, but I suggest a mouse. That was what I first tried when I was a kit."

"Okay," I mewed, purring; it was so exciting to eat my first prey! Bluetail nodded, and purred back. He began to dig, looking for a mouse. As he dug, I imagined Bluetail as a kit, looking with round eyes at a mouse sitting in front of his paws. His two sisters sat next to him, staring with eyes just as big as Bluetail's.

"Here you go, Blackkit," Bluetail set a mouse down at my paws. "Enjoy." He sat down a few feet away, and licked his paw, watching me from the corner of his eye.

My eyes drifted back to the mouse. I stared at it for a moment, then reached down and took a small bite. I chewed for a moment, and that's when everything went weird.

I swallowed, and then my tail started vibrating like crazy. I sat for a moment, confused. Was this normal when you tried your first bite of prey? I shrugged, hoping it was. I took another bite, and then my tail started vibrating faster, and my paws joined in.

What's going on?

I looked to Bluetail to see if he knew what to do, but he was too busy grooming himself that he didn't even notice me.

Should I eat more? It's pretty good…and maybe this is normal.

I took another bite, and the vibrating grew stronger still. I wanted to call out, but what if it was only normal and I was freaking out from nothing?

I pushed myself to finish the whole mouse.

By the time I was done, I felt like I was going to explode. I was buzzing so fast and hard I thought that I would be lifting off of the ground soon.

Suddenly, there was a zap in the sky, and a bolt of lightning flew right onto a dead tree, lighting it on fire.

Bluetail jumped up the same time I did, except he waeyes screaming.

"What in the world!" Bluetail screeched, rushing over to the tree. I followed.

I closed my eyes, begging that if I was able to make it rain, it would pour down now.

Nothing happened.

I opened my eyes, and then everything was silent. It was as if something was clogged in my ears, shutting everything else out. I thought that I had suddenly gone deaf, but then there was a noise.

"Flame and Storm shall soon rise, to train to be faithful fighters. Snow and Fox will see through new eyes, seeing the flaming and the flying."

The fire spoke in a metallic voice, like nothing I'd ever heard before. I stepped back, and a strange ringing started in my ears. Bluetail was standing in front of me, saying something, but I couldn't hear it with the ringing blocking it. Suddenly the fire disappeared, and the ringing stopped.

"Blackkit! Can you hear me?" Bluetail was still looking frazzled.

"Yes," I replied calmly, "Of course I can."

"Then why didn't you reply before?" He asked.

"Huh?" Should I tell him about the weird voice? He clearly didn't hear it… I decided not to; Bluetail wouldn't understand. The best place to go would be to Earthpaw. "I- uh…just was busy staring at the fire. Sorry."

"Oh," Bluetail looked relieved for a split second, but then his eyes flashed with worry, and he spun around. His fur lied flat once he saw that the fire was gone. "Wha-"

"Maybe the wind blew it out," I suggested.

Bluetail turned around. "Maybe." His eyes drifted to the remains of the mouse behind me. His expression quickly changed from confused to impressed. "Did you eat that whole mouse?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Wow, I wasn't able to eat a whole mouse when I was your age," Bluetail remembered. "Then again, Bluestar and Snowfur had to share it with me, so there wasn't exactly a chance." He sighed longingly, "I can't wait for us to go back."

"We're going to Thunderclan?" I asked. I knew that we were going to be apprentices, but somehow I never pictured us going to the place where Bluetail was born.

Bluetail nodded, "Of course. I didn't give you a clan name for no reason."

I nodded, "Oh, and about the tree…Let's not mention it to anyone, okay?"

"Alright," Bluetail agreed. Then he shook his head in wonder. "I really don't know what happened to make it catch on fire."

"Well, maybe the lightning," I suggested. Please tell me he saw the lightning!

Bluetail looked straight at me, "There was lightning?"

Guess not…"Yeah," I replied, "but it was moving pretty fast. I think your back was turned at the time."

Bluetail relaxed, "Oh, okay." He looked at the ground. "That's never happened before, though. Lighting striking a tree, I mean; not the fact that my back was turned when something important happened." He looked at little regretful then, but I didn't get much of a chance to ask why. "Well, not that we don't have a lot of food, but I think that I'll go hunting…" He turned, and was gone before I could say goodbye.

"Brokenkit!" I turned around to see my littermates appearing out of the den. Brokenkit was jumping on top of Snowkit, an amused expression on his face. "Knock it off!"

"Then admit that I'm not a mouse!" Brokenkit retorted.

"Okay, okay, you're not a mouse," Snowkit said irritably. Brokenkit jumped off of Snowkit, who sniffed and started talking with Icekit about how annoying brothers were. Brokenkit met eyes with me, and padded over.

"Hey," He greeted.

"Hi."

His eyes drifted to the remains of the mouse, a few feet away. "You got to eat fresh-kill?" A jealous look appeared on his face.

"Yes," I said, my mind drifting back to the lightning and the weird voices. "Um, but Bluetail went hunting, so you'll probably have to wait until he gets back before you eat some."

Brokenkit nodded. "Okay. So do you wanna' play Moss-ball or something until he gets back?"

Darn! That sounds fun, but I need to sort out the whole lightning thing. "Sorry, I need to talk to Earthpaw about something."

Brokenkit didn't look the least bit disappointed. "Okay, I'll see if Icekit and Snowkit want to play. You can join in when you're done."

I nodded. "Okay, have fun." I watched Brokenkit pad away, and the headed to Earthpaw and Tigerpaw's den.

As I drew nearer, I discovered that Tigerpaw and Earthpaw were asleep. Tigerpaw must have heard my paw-steps, because his amber eyes flew open when I got closer.

"Hi," I said. Tigerpaw ignored my greeting.

"What do you want?" He snapped.

"Um, I came to talk to Earthpaw," I answered, taken aback by his sourness.

"Well, he's asleep, so go away," Tigerpaw said in the same sour tone.

"Why is he still asleep?" I asked, trying to ignore his tone.

"He usually sleeps a little longer, because he goes and sneaks off during the night," Tigerpaw replied. I realized that the sourness in his tone was gone, and was replaced by smugness.

"He does?" I asked, slightly exasperated. I didn't think of all cats that Earthpaw would be one to sneak away during the night. Then I remembered the story.

"Well, he came and told us a story last night," I said, hoping that that was the reason.

Tigerpaw shook his head, "I was just getting back when he came from your den."

"Oh," I replied, shocked. How could Earthpaw sneak away? I'll ask him about that later.

Tigerpaw nodded, "Shocking, right? Who'd have thought perfect 'wittle Earthpaw would be so bad." He laughed at his lame joke, then added, "He thinks I don't know, but I do.

As if right on cue, Earthpaw rolled over, and opened his eyes sleepily.

"Hi," He blinked.

"Good morning," I said. "Did you get enough sleep last night after that story?"

Earthpaw nodded, "Yep, since Bluetail let me sleep in." He sat up and looked around. "So, is anything wrong?"

"Oh, yeah," I remembered, "there's something that I needed to tell you."

Earthpaw looked concerned, while Tigerpaw asked, "What?"

"Well, actually I was only planning to tell Earthpaw," I replied.

Tigerpaw rolled his eyes, "Of course. That's all anyone wants to talk to." Tigerpaw snorted, and left the den, and then the hollow.

Guilt swelled in my stomach, "What'd I do?"

"Don't feel bad," Earthpaw coaxed. "Tigerpaw just acts that way. Now, come this way. I have a place more…private to talk."

"Okay," I said, and followed him out of the hollow. We turned to the left, and I realized we were circling to the back of the hollow.

Earthpaw led me to a slope that I recognized as the same slope that borders the hollow. We stopped about halfway along the slope, and Earthpaw tentatively looked around. For a split second, I saw a worried look that Bluetail often wore, but it was gone as fast as it had appeared.

"Okay, in here," Earthpaw whispered, and he seemed to disappear into the wall.

For a moment, I stood awe-struck; Earthpaw had disappeared into the wall! But when I looked past the vines that grew on the wall, I discovered an open tunnel. I relaxed; he had only gone down the tunnel. I took a tentative sniff before venturing inside. It smelled safe; no unknown animals, just the familiar scent of my older brother.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, and sprang inside. Soon the daylight from behind me disappeared, and I was tunneling through pitch black darkness.

What if there're two different ways to go, and I don't see them? I might end up going the wrong way!

But the tunnel stayed straight and simple. I could feel both walls of the tunnel brushing against my sides from time to time, so I knew that if I just kept going straight, I'd make it to Earthpaw.

Suddenly, there was a light ahead. This didn't make sense! Since when was there light underground? I shrugged it off; lots of weird things had been happening lately.

The light grew brighter, and soon the tunnel opened up into an underground den.

"Whoa!" I said, and my voice echoed on the walls a little.

"Glad you like it," I whipped around, and there was Earthpaw, sitting calmly.

"Oh, hi," I said.

"Hi," Earthpaw mewed. "So, what's the problem, Blackkit?" His eyes were filled with concern.

"Well, some strange things-" My gaze drifted to the corner of the den, where a small ball of fire was sitting. Earthpaw looked at it.

"That's just my light source," Earthpaw assured, "it's a piece of the core of the Earth."

"How'd you get it?" I asked, completely forgetting the subject at paw.

"That doesn't matter," Earthpaw replied. "Just tell me what's been happening that's so strange."

"Well," I said, remembering why I was here, "yesterday, on our way home, I was really upset. When I got upset, I got this weird feeling inside of me, and then it started raining."

Earthpaw's eyes widened, "Okay, anything else?"

I nodded, "Today, I tried my first piece of fresh-kill, and when I did, I started vibrating. Like, I mean really fast and crazy. I thought it was normal, and kept eating. When I was done…" I paused. What will he say when I tell him?

"Yes?" Earthpaw asked. "Go ahead."

I swallowed. "Well, then…there was lightning, "I said quietly. "It struck a tree nearby, and when I walked up to it, there was this weird voice."

"Oh-kay…" Earthpaw said, looking a little bewildered. "I was going to say that you shouldn't worry about it, but if you heard voices…."

"Is something wrong with me?" I spilled out suddenly.

Earthpaw shook his head, "Of course not. There's nothing wrong with you. Now, tell me. What did these voices say?"

"Ummm…," I thought, "Something about Flame and Storm fighting or something, and then Snow and Fox seeing through new eyes…"

"Hmm…" Earthpaw said. He paced back and forth across the den. Suddenly he stopped, and turned sharply to look me straight in the eye. "Blackkit, are you wondering why I have a piece of the core in this den?"

I nodded.

"Okay, well the reason I have it here is because I need it to stay warm. I was able to get it because I can dig through the Earth in a super-natural way."

I started wondering how a conversation about me turned into one about him.

"I was able to go to the center of the Earth," Earthpaw explained, "and get it."

"But, wouldn't you burn up?"

He shook his head, "No."

"Why not?"

"Blackkit, I'm not a normal cat."

I stared at Earthpaw. What was he talking about? Of course he was! He looked like a normal cat, at least. "What do you mean, exactly?"

"I have…special abilities, you could say," Earthpaw replied, looking at the ground. He kept staring down for a moment, but then he looked up. "The best way to tell you, is to tell you a story." He sat down. "When I was about your age, three moons old, I had a weird dream. There was this cat that I'd never seen before, and she told me something weird."

"What'd she tell you?" I asked.

"It didn't make much sense to me," Earthpaw explained. "She said something along the lines of, 'Earth shall turn to mud, then to flame, and then to snow.' Then she said something about a fox… I don't remember the whole thing, but you get the idea." He sat staring at me for a moment. "Blackkit, do you know what that was?"
I shook my head, "No idea, but it sounds like the thing that the tree said today."

Earthpaw nodded, "It's exactly like what the tree did. It was a prophecy."

"Uh…what's that?"

"It's a message from Starclan. It tells you something that you're going to do," Earthpaw replied. "It's something really important, because it basically maps out your whole life."

"If it's so important, then why does it have to be all confusing?" I asked.

"Because it only seems confusing at the time. When all the bits and pieces fit together, then it seems simpler," Earthpaw explained.

"Oh," Then I realized something. "Earthpaw, in both of our prophecies, it mentioned Flame, Snow, and Fox."

"Yes," Earthpaw nodded.

"So what if our prophecies had something to do with each other?" I asked.

"That's what I thought," Earthpaw mewed, "And since it didn't say 'a flame,' or 'a fox,' that means that they must be cats."

"But what about the earth turning to mud?" I asked, "Is the world going to end?"

"Remember, Blackkit, it said 'earth will turn to mud,' not 'the earth will turn to mud,'" Earthpaw mewed gently.

"So Earth and Mud are cats?" I asked.

"Most likely," Earthpaw mewed.

"Well, your name is Earthpaw," I said.

"Yes, that's what I thought," Earthpaw said, nodding, "but who is Mud?"

"Well, in my prophecy it mentioned Storm," I said. "But in yours it mentioned Mud..."

"I think that they're the same cat," There was a twinkle in his eye.

"You know who it is?" I asked, excitement rising inside of me.

Earthpaw nodded, "I think so. Now, tell me Blackkit, yesterday before it started to rain, did you feel as if water was rushing through your veins?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I said that."

"Okay, and before the lightning struck, did you feel," He paused, seeming to search for the right word, "well, like you made it happen?"

"Yeah, and then came the prop-"

"Blackkit, you have powers." Earthpaw interrupted, "And you are Storm and Mud. By 'Earth will turn to Mud,' it means that you, Mud, or Storm will join me in my prophecy."

I stared at him. This is the weirdest day ever.

"But…how can you tell?"

"Because, before the rain, the water through your veins…that's what it feels like when your powers first start working. It's only a little thing at first, like a rock breaking the surface of the water, or a tiny rainstorm. But then later, when you do something that triggers emotions, like your first fresh-kill, then something bigger happens," Earthpaw explained.

"But-but…that's impossible! We can't have powers!" I exclaimed.

"You wanna' try me?" Earthpaw challenged playfully. He did a side flip, and suddenly a rock appeared right under his paws where he landed. "I have a piece of the core of the earth in my DEN! You've gotta' believe me! I actually dug down there!"

I stared at him, "But-"

"Blackkit, I just gave you plain proof," Earthpaw sighed. "And you still don't believe me?"

"Well, I believe that you have powers, but I…" I trailed off.

"Blackkit, we both have received prophecies, and both made something out of the ordinary happen," Earthpaw mewed. "-You- -have- -powers-. I know it's hard to accept, but…" a sly look appeared on his face. "Think about rain."

"What?"

"Just do it."

"Okay…" I thought about the dark clouds from yesterday, and the rain that had poured down.

"Ack!" Earthpaw jumped off of his rock. I almost jumped back in shock; he was wet!

"What- what happened?" I asked.

"You made it rain in here," Earthpaw replied, "See?" His eyes drifted upward.

When I looked up, there was a dark storm cloud along the ceiling of the den, pouring down light rain-drops on top of us.

"I did that?"

Earthpaw nodded. He looked proud, but then suddenly a look of fear appeared on his face. "Oh no…"

"What?"

"Make it stop raining, Blackkit, make it stop!"

"Bu- but I don't know how!"

"Just think of something dry!" Earthpaw screeched.

I closed my eyes, and tried thinking of a dry nest, or a plain dry rock. I took a deep breath in, and tried to relax, but when I opened my eyes it was still pouring down on top of us. I noticed with fear that the water was over my paws.

"Why isn't it draining out of here?" I asked.

"I put a special earth-seal on it, so the ground would preserve the heat," Earthpaw called over the sound of the water. "Now, let's get out of here! Follow the light from the tunnel!"

I ran to the tunnel, and made my way out as quickly as possible.

"That-was-awful-," I panted once both Earthpaw and I were out of the den.

Earthpaw nodded, "But you still need to make it stop raining. It might be easier out here, since it's already dry."

"But, Earthpaw, it didn't work! I can't control my own power! I thought as hard as I could, and it didn't work!"

"Shh, Blackkit, calm down. It's not that big of a deal," Earthpaw mewed, padding closer. "It's okay if it's hard; you just found out that you have powers. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of patience as well. Now, first you need to calm down. Take a slow, deep breath."

I breathed in slowly, and let it out just as slow. "Okay."

"Okay, now, close your eyes," Earthpaw instructed slowly.

Still breathing slowly, I let my eyelids relax.

"Now I want you to think of a warm, sunny, relaxing afternoon. Nothing's going on, there's just the warm sun above, making you relax," Earthpaw mewed calmly.

I thought about the warm sun, and a nice relaxing nap in it. Then the feeling of water rushing through me came back, but this time much slower. After it was gone, I opened my eyes.

"It stopped," I said quietly.

Earthpaw purred, "You did it!"

I purred back, "Yeah! I did!" Then I remembered where we had just escaped; Earthpaw's strange den. "Is that den where you sneak off to during the night?"

Earthpaw's gaze turned serious. "Did you see me leave last night? I thought you said you would sleep fine by yourself."

"Oh, I slept fine. I fell asleep right after you left," I replied.

Earthpaw stared intently at me for a moment, then a look of realization flash across his face. "Tigerpaw."

"How'd you know he told me?" I asked, standing up.

Earthpaw scoffed, "Tigerpaw thinks that he's so cool, just for knowing one ridiculous fact about me!" He started pacing in circles. "He thinks he'll get me in trouble just becausehe knows I sneak away during the night! But you know what? I have to! I don't have a choice. I'll freeze if I don't go to this den." He seemed to be talking to someone other than me.

I stepped back awkwardly, "Um, Earthpaw?"

Suddenly he was back to the normal Earthpaw I knew. "Oh, sorry, Blackkit…Got a little carried away there…" A twinkle appeared in his eyes, "Now, let's get some practice in. We've got a destiny to fulfill."

… … … … … … … … … … … …

My stomach growled, "Can't Bluetail come back any sooner?"

Brokenkit and Icekit paused their game of Moss-Ball, making the ball, mid-toss, land on Brokenkit's head.

"Ow!" He called out.

Icekit giggled, "You have to keep your eye on the ball."

Brokenkit stared at her defiantly, "I was, but Snowkit distracted me!"

I shrugged, "Sorry, I'm just hungry!"

"We could find some fresh-kill ourselves." Icekit mewed, "There's got to be some buried somewhere."

"Okay," Brokenkit agreed, "I'm hungry too."

Icekit sniffed the air, "I think there's squirrel buried somewhere nearby." She took a few steps forward, and stopped suddenly. "Found it."

She dug into the earth, and soon pulled a squirrel out of the hole. "Ooh, it smells pretty fresh, too."

"I want it!" Brokenkit hollered. He jumped, and grabbed the squirrel out of Icekit's jaws as he passed her.

"Hey! I wanted that! I found it!" Icekit called.

Brokenkit shrugged, "Well, it's mine now." He took a bite.

Icekit scowled, and sniffed the air again.

… … …

I took a bite into the mouse Icekit had found for me. She sat a few feet away, with a vole.

Bleh!

The mouse was okay, but nothing like I'd hoped it would be. I sighed, and took another bite.

Why isn't this what I wanted it to be?

I forced myself to eat the whole things. Had I not been so hungry, I probably would've given it to Brokenkit, who had stuffed his squirrel down in about a minute.

My gaze drifted over to him, sitting over towards the edge of the hollow. He was sitting, a nervous look in his eyes.

"Brokenkit?" He looked at me. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, I just feel a little weird…," He mewed.

"It's….probably normal," Icekit mewed, "I feel weird too, like something weird's going through my veins."

"Oh, so you feel it too," Brokenkit relaxed a little. "Do your veins feel hot?"

Icekit shook her head, "No. Well, at times. But then the temperature will drop, and I'll feel cold. Then, I'll be feeling hot again." Then she turned to me, "Do you feel weird, Snowkit?"

I shook my head, "No, I feel fine."

"Oh," She looked worried now.

"What do you think is happening?" I asked.

Icekit froze for a moment, the way she always does when she starts to think. She sat still for longer than usual, and Brokenkit and I ended up exchanging worried glances. Finally, she unfroze.

"I-I…don't know!" Icekit screeched. "This is the worst day ever!"

"Calm down, it's no big deal that you don't know one fact," I mewed. "It's probably nothing."

Just as I said that, Brokenkit started blubbering worriedly.

"Ah!" He called out, and jumped to his paws. "It's- it's- getting hotter!"

I didn't know what to say, and by the look on Icekit's face, she didn't seem to know either. We just stared at Brokenkit and hoped that he would be okay.

Brokenkit danced around for a moment, and then with a tiny squeak, a fire sparked right out of his fur.

I jumped back in shock, "What!"

Icekit didn't move.

"Icekit! Get out of there! He's on fire!" I called.

She still didn't move. Suddenly her ears flicked lightly, and Icekit wasn't Icekit anymore.

Icekit grew, and her fur changed to a dark rust. The bottom half of her legs were dark brown, and she now had a pointed snout. I sniffed the air, wondering what had happened to my sister, when an unfamiliar tang entered my scent glands. I hadn't ever scented it before, but I was sure of one thing.

It was the scent of fox.

Icekit's a fox!

So I have a sister's that a fox, and a brother who's on fire. Where's Earthpaw when you need him!

Brokenkit and Icekit stepped closer together, and looked at me, as if I knew some unknown answer to their problem. I just shrugged.

They kept staring.

I sighed, and said the only thing that I knew to at that moment, "Let's…find Earthpaw."