Chapter 3

I was just a few tail-lengths outside of the nursery when I was tackled into the dry ground. Two pairs of tiny jaws grabbed my scruff and dragged me behind the bramble den. I squealed quietly, the breath was knocked out of me from being tackled. A paw was clamped over my muzzle before the dust cleared from my eyes, and I saw who my attackers were.
Coalkit and Moonkit peered over me with wide and excited eyes. Coalkit had me pinned down under his large paws, and Moonkit watched from beside me, her amber eyes filled with concern.

"Are you sure she's not hurt?" Moonkit mewled.

"Positive. You should see what I can do when I'm actually trying," Coalkit boasted.

"You know I'm still here, right?" I huffed. "Why'd you tackle me?"

"We're going exploring!" mewled Moonkit.

I shook the dirt out of my pelt. "But we just toured the camp, I'm tired now."

"Geez Frostkit, you sure can be mousebrained. We're not staying in the camp, we're going outside to see what else there is." Coalkit rolled his eyes and gave me a 'no duh' look.

"But we aren't allowed near the river, and we have to cross the river to get out of camp."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that." Moonkit looked down at her paws. "Had you, Coalkit?"

Coalkit ignored Moonkit. "No matter, we'll find a way across."

Coalkit motioned with his tail for us to follow. We shared reluctant looks at first, but eventually we trotted on behind him in a line like ducklings behind their mother. Very quiet, furry, trying-not-to-be-seen ducklings.

Coalkit disappeared behind some rushes and grass as we neared the edge of camp. I squealed a little, afraid that he had been swept into the river. But then again, he probably would have yowled for help if he had been carried by the current. There was a clicking of tiny claws on the other side, then my brother's black head peered through the foliage.

"C'mon, there's stepping stones on the other side. We can get across!" Coalkit purred.

We padded through onto the marshy bank, mud squelching through our toes. The rushing river was a few tail-lengths away from my paws, making the hungrily lapping waves sound like miniature thunderclaps. Sure enough, the stepping stones dotted a slippery path of rock across the water.

I was the first to cross. I wouldn't have if I had a choice, but Coalkit kept calling me a coward, and Moonkit was too scared to cross. She needed someone to prove it was safe. I needed to prove to myself it was safe.

The first stone was flat, an easy one to cross. The next one… not so much. It was rounded and slippery with foam and river spray, not to mention I had to jump to reach it. I bunched up my haunches and leaped towards the rock. I landed splayed out on my stomach, paws scrabbling for a firm hold. Luckily there were only a few stones left.

The last few were easy jumps and soon I was on the opposite bank. Moonkit went next with Coalkit close behind if she fell. Moonkit's size helped on the smaller stones, while Coalkit's long legs allowed him to step from stone to stone instead of jumping. After a few slips and paw splashes, we were all safely across. Wet –that was for sure- but safe and unscathed.

Coalkit shook the water droplets out of his fur. "Well now that we're out, where do you want to go?" he mewed.

I was unsure I wanted to do this anymore, until I remembered what Burnscar had been talking about.

"How about the lake?" I mewled. If I caught that fish, maybe Duskstar would make me an apprentice a moon early! And Cloudfeather would be so proud of me for catching something so large without any training. Of course this was impossible for a kit, but all I was thinking about was making my mother proud. Little did I know trying to get that fish would get me into a load of trouble.

"I've always wanted to see the lake," Moonkit purred. "I want to go, too. How about you, Coalkit?"

"Sounds good to me, let's go!"

"So," I mewed. "Do any of you know how to get there?"

My littermates shook their heads.

"What if we follow the sound of the waves?" suggested Moonkit.

Coalkit and I purred in agreement and perked our ears. The sound of the river was still loud and drowned out most of the noise, but there was something fainter. The slight slosh of lapping waves off in the distance signaled the presence of the lake.

"I found it!" I squealed and bounded off towards the sound of the waves. Two other padding sets of paws followed close behind me on the way to the shore. As we bounded through wet grass and the occasional shrub, the sound of the pounding surf grew louder and louder. Then right when I thought we were there, the wave noise was revealed to be another part of the river, not the lake.

"Well, what now, mousebrain?" sneered Coalkit.

I growled. "I don't know, I thought this was it!"

"Oh, are we lost, Frostkit?" mewled Moonkit.

"Of course not," I huffed. I knew we were lost, though. I just didn't want to admit it. It would mean letting my littermates down. "I just got a little off track."

I perked my ears to listen for the lake, but the noise of the swaying rushes and swiftly flowing river clouded my hearing. I tried tasting the air, angling my ears in different directions, and trying to feel the waves' vibrations through the earth, but the lake was avoiding my un-adapted senses.

"There, it's this way," I exclaimed suddenly, surprising Moonkit. I set off in a random direction, not wanting to kill my pride by admitting I didn't know the way.

Sunhigh was starting to roll in as we traveled on. It wasn't newleaf anymore, as it was when we were born, but the days had grown hotter and greenleaf was here. In other words, we were all about ready to jump in the river due to the heat. At least there was some wind, but it was slowly fading as the sun's rays took over. Coalkit was complaining, Moonkit was wearing down, and I was ready to collapse.

"Are we there now?" whined Coalkit for the thousandth time.

"No, and if you don't shut up I'll throw you in the lake when we get there!" I growled.

"Are you sure you even know where you're going?"

"I'm sure. Now be quiet so I can concentrate!"

We continued on, dragging our paws and breathing heavily as the sun beat down on our fur covered backs. The thick coat Moonkit and I shared added on heat to our small bodies, but Coalkit's sleek, short coat kept him cool. He might have seemed lucky then, but wait until leafbare rolled by. Brrr!

"Um, Frostkit? Could we take a break? I'm getting tired," mewed Moonkit.

"Absolutely." I lied down on the grassy ground, exhaling in exasperation. "It's time for a rest anyway."

"Whose dumb idea was it to go out in the first place?" growled Coalkit.

"I remember pretty clearly being tackled to the ground because you wanted to explore!" I hissed.

"Well you were the one that got us lost!"

"It was still your idea!"

"Stop it!" shrieked Moonkit, prompting surprised looks from Coalkit and me. "Just stop fighting! Frostkit, all of us, including you, know that we're lost. Coalkit, we weren't supposed to leave the camp in the first place, and we're going to be in a lot of trouble when we get back. Both of you were wrong, so just be quiet. Okay?"

I swallowed hard and nodded. I'd never seen Moonkit as more than a shy, quiet little kit, but now seeing her speak her mind… I now knew what she was like. All she wanted was peace, and not arguing or play fighting was her way of showing it. She already had her own inner peace, now her mission was to spread it to others. She'd make a good medicine cat when we were older.

Now that the arguing had ended, the only sound was the grass swaying in the slight breeze and the distant burble of the river. I flipped over onto my side to let the wind cool me off, and was ready to fall asleep when the tranquility was broken.

"D' you think that they'll delay our apprentice ceremony for this? You know, for sneaking out of camp. Because we're so close, only three moons away," mewed Coalkit.

"Maybe," I meowed. It was possible, seeing as the Clan was probably searching all over for us. It proved we weren't responsible, but we were just kits. On the other paw, our Cloudfeather had told us not to go near the river, and we had walked right over it. Disobeying Cloudfeather, leaving camp, worrying the Clan, we were in for a pile of trouble when we got back.

If we could find our way back.

AN: Well, this chapter was a challenge to make. It wasn't the all-dreaded writers block that made it hard, but the fact that the computer isn't saving documents for some reason. So I had to use copy and paste, then edit it into paragraphs. The saving issue will be fixed soon, and then I can get working on chapter 4! Big thanks to all of my readers!