A/N: I would really, really like feedback on this chapter about the portrayal of Beechkit and its accuracy. I haven't seen any stories about mute warriors so I'm sort of just playing it by ear. But yeah, drop me a review and tell me what you think.

CHAPTER 1

Brightkit stuck her head against the branches of the nursery. The bramble vines were interwoven with branches and leaves to protect from the dawn chill, but the small eyes of a kit could peek through the gaps to observe without being observed. She pressed against a small crack in the wall, staring at the clearing that was the ShadowClan camp.

"Hollytail thinks we're still asleep," she whispered. "I can see her talking to Lightningfoot in the clearing. And Morningcloud and her kits are still sleeping. The coast is clear!" she whipped back around. Her littermates stared back at her, eyes round with excitement. "We can work on the secret passage now!"

"Yes!" Lilykit bounced in the nest. She was the smallest of Brightkit's litter, with soft white fur and eyes so blue they reminded Brightkit of a clear newleaf sky.

Owlkit nudged her with his shoulder, fur fluffing with annoyance. "Shut up!" he muttered. "You'll wake them up." He glanced at Morningcloud, but the cream-colored queen was still asleep, Swallowkit and Oakkit tucked against her belly.

Brightkit bounded over to the far side of the nursery. Although the brambles seemed securely woven in place, over the past moon the four kits had been moving the branches aside and creating a tunnel through the bramble bushes that encircled the ShadowClan camp. The tunnel would run close to the other dens, allowing the kits to eavesdrop on the other cats.

"We're almost through the next bush," Lilykit said, fighting to keep her voice down as her excitement grew. "We're going to hit the medicine cat's den. Soon we'll be able to spy on Dawnwing and Mousepaw."

Owlkit made a face. "Medicine cats are boring," he huffed. "All they'll talk about is herbs. I want to hear what the warriors are saying!"

"No way! Medicine cats are the coolest!" Lilykit said, eyes flashing. "They get to talk to StarClan! I want to be a medicine cat."

"Dawnwing already has an apprentice," Owlkit reminded his sister. "She can't have two."

Lilykit deflated with disappointment, then perked up again. "Maybe when Dawnwing moves to the elder's den I can become Mousepaw's apprentice," she mewed.

"Maybe we shouldn't be spying on medicine cats," Brightkit said. "I'm not sure Dawnwing would be very happy about that."

Lilykit looked stricken.

"I'm sure it's no big deal," Brightkit said quickly, not wanting to upset her sister. "What do you think, Beechpaw?"

There was a pause. Lilykit, Owlkit, and Brightkit turned towards their last littermate. Beechkit sat huddled in the nest that the kits shared, his dark fur fluffed up. He shook his head slowly and narrowed his eyes in disapproval.

"Spoilsport," Owlkit jeered. "You're just a scaredy-mouse." he pulled the tangles of bramble branches aside, his stubby brown tail sticking straight up into the air.

Beechkit bared his teeth and lashed his tail in frustration. Brightkit felt a pang of sadness in her heart. Beechkit had been born healthy and hungry, as all kits were, but oddly silent. As his littermates grew older and began to speak, Beechkit remained mute. The scruffy black kit could not talk.

"You don't have to be mean," Lilykit mewed. Her eyes glowed in the dim light as she glared at her littermate. She turned to Beechkit. "Don't listen to him," she said. "He's a mouse-brain."

Owlkit bared his teeth. "You're the mouse-brain!" he hissed back.

Beechkit calmly padded over to Owlkit and whacked him on the ear with a well-aimed forepaw. Owlkit yelped in pain, then flung himself on his brother. The two kits tussled on the nursery floor, throwing up pine needles and moss.

"Stop it!" Brightkit whispered frantically. In her nest, Morningcloud was stirring. The four kits froze, but relaxed when the queen didn't wake.

Beechkit carefully released his grip on Owlkit, who he had been pinning to the ground. Owlkit sprang up, dusting himself off. "I could have won if you'd let us keep going," he huffed.

Beechkit glanced at Brightkit and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. Lilykit purred and Brightkit stifled a snort. Despite his muteness, it was easy to understand what Beechkit was thinking.

The nursery entrance rustled and Hollytail padded in. "I could hear you four from the clearing," she said, whiskers twitching in amusement. "It's a wonder you didn't wake up Morningcloud."

Brightkit felt a rush of happiness as she smelled her mother's warm scent. Lilykit squeaked and bounded over to Hollytail's side, nuzzling against her side.

"I was wrestling with Beechkit," Owlkit said, bounding over to Hollytail, "but I let him win."

Hollytail glanced at Beechkit, who was vehemently shaking his head. She purred. "Your brother doesn't seem to think so." She padded over and began to lick and smooth Beechkit's ruffled fur.

Beechkit is the better fighter, Brightkit thought, and Owlkit knows it. He's just jealous. As if sensing her thoughts, Owlkit glanced at her in annoyance.

"I have news for you all," Hollytail said, between licks. Beechpaw flattened his ears in annoyance and tried to bat his mother away. "I talked to Froststar. The four of you will be having your apprentice ceremony tomorrow—all four of you."

All of us! Brightkit glanced at Beechkit, who had stopped swatting at Hollytail and was sitting still in shock. Lilykit's ears pricked up, eyes shining. Owlkit gave a yowl of excitement. "We're going to be apprentices!" he howled.

"Shh!" Hollytail hissed. "Don't wake up Morningcloud."

"It's a bit late for that," Morningcloud said sleepily. "This den's going to feel empty without four kits to wake me every sunrise."

"Want to share a mouse?"

Beechkit looked up at Brightkit. A mouse dangled from her jaws. He nodded.

"Great!" she flung the mouse down at Beechkit's feet. It bounced slightly as it hit the dense bed of pine needles that coated the ShadowClan camp. Beechkit bent his head and began tearing into the skin.

"So," Brightkit said as she picked over their meal, "are you okay?"

Beechkit's ears pricked and he jerked his head up to stare at her. Brightkit resisted the urge to sigh. Her brother had been wearing the same dazed expression all morning, ever since Hollytail had announced the apprentice ceremony.

"How are you feeling?"

Beechkit flattened his ears and deliberately glanced from one patch of grass to the other, as if he was trying to choose between two pieces of fresh-kill.

"Picky?" Brightkit guessed.

Beechkit frowned at her and shook his head.

"Unsure?"

Beechkit nodded.

"Unsure about whether you can become an apprentice?" Brightkit guessed. Beechkit looked away, eyes darkening.

"You'll be great," Brightkit said. "Really, it'll be fine. You can outwrestle Owlkit already, and he's a lot bigger than you."

Beechkit's tail whipped across the ground, scattering leaves and dirt. A shadow fell over them, and the two kits looked up to see their father, Brindlespots.

"What's this I hear about Beechkit being worried?" he meowed. His tortoiseshell fur gleamed black and gold in the sunlight.

Beechkit flattened his ears. Brindlespots bent down and nuzzled him. "Listen to me. There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to serve your Clan," he said. "You're smart and strong. Froststar will be proud to say you're one of her warriors."

Beechkit leaned into his father's touch, his eyes closed.

"I want you to remember what I'm going to say next, Beechkit—and you too, Brightkit," he added. "There will always be cats who support you—your littermates, your parents, your friends. But there are always going to be cats who speak against you, who say you can't do it. The best way to convince them, at that point, is this: prove them wrong." He straightened up and stared at them. "I couldn't have asked for better kits. You're going to be fine cats, all of you."

Brightkit felt dazed by her father's words. He has so much faith in us! We're going to make him proud.

Beechkit pressed his face against Brindlespots's pelt, trembling slightly. His body shook like he wanted to speak. But although he spoke no words, both his sister and his father understood.

The pine needles of the tallest conifer rustled in the wind. Stark among the sea of deepest green shone the white pelt of Froststar, perched on a branch overlooking the camp. Below her ShadowClan gathered, triumphant and strong from a full greenleaf season. In the center of the clearing stood Hollytail, her dark pelt blending in with the earth, and four nervous kits.

"Today, ShadowClan welcomes four new apprentices into its ranks," Froststar meowed. Her white pelt seemed to glow in the sunlight. Brightkit felt a sudden rush of anxiety as she looked upwards at the powerful old leader. She was going to be an apprentice!"

"Owlkit, step forward."

Brightkit watched her brother stumble forward, brown pelt bristling, eyes shining. He seemed ready to leap up and yowl in excitement.

"Owlkit, from this day forth, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Owlpaw. Your mentor shall be Wolfheart."

Lucky! Brightkit saw Owlkit's fur bristle in excitement. The gray tabby she-cat was one of the best fighters in the Clan. She towered over Owlkit as she bent down to touch noses with him.

"Beechkit!" Froststar continued. Beechkit shuffled forward, eyes flicking nervously from side to side. Hollytail stiffened, as though she was daring any cat to say a word against her son.

"Beechkit," Froststar meowed, looking straight into the black kit's eyes, "until you receive your warrior name you shall be known as Beechpaw."

Beechpaw's eyes shone. Brightkit felt proud of him—no cat in the lakeside territories was going to say her brother couldn't be a warrior!

"Lightningfoot!" Froststar beckoned with her tail. The black-and-white warrior stepped forward. Brightpaw recognized her; she was Hollytail's friend, a lithe and strong she-cat. Lightningfoot dipped her head and purred as Beechpaw stretched his neck, standing on his toes to reach her muzzle. Brightkit watched them, amused by her brother's efforts, and was surprised when Hollytail nudged her with a paw.

"Froststar called you up!" she whispered. Startled, Brightkit bounded forward to stand in the center of the pine clearing. From the pine branch where she perched, Froststar seemed unbelievably high up.

"Brightkit," Froststar meowed, "until you receive your warrior name you shall be known as Brightpaw."

Brightpaw! Brightkit—no, Brightpaw felt her heart thumping in her chest. She felt bursting with energy, like she could leap into the air and fly like a sparrow. I'm going to train to be a warrior! She waited anxiously to see which cat would be her mentor.

"Spottedpelt," Froststar called, and Brightpaw watched her mentor step forward. He was smaller than Wolfheart and Lightningfoot had been, and didn't look nearly as fearsome or majestic as her littermates' mentors had been. But his eyes held a spark of friendliness in them and he nodded encouragingly at her. She looked more carefully and noticed the hidden strength in his muscles and the easy grace with which he moved.

"Hi," she mewed.

Spottedpelt purred encouragingly. "Hello," he meowed as he bent his head to brush noses with her. Brightpaw felt reassured. Her mentor was nice!

"Lilykit!" Froststar called the final kit. "Your apprentice name shall be Lilypaw. Your mentor shall be Leaftail." And Brightpaw watched her sister hop forward and touch noses with a sleek brown she-cat.

"Owlpaw! Beechpaw! Brightpaw! Lilypaw!" The Clan yowled, calling out the names of the four new apprentices for all to hear. Brightpaw's spirits soared. I'm going to serve my Clan and be the greatest warrior in all the territories!

"Remember this day," Spottedpelt whispered in her ear. "This is the beginning."

"This is the ThunderClan border," Spottedpelt meowed as he and Brightpaw stopped by a small stream. Brightpaw strained her eyes. Beyond the stream she could see a forest of trees, not the comfortable dark green pine of ShadowClan territory but leafy clumps of oak.

"The leader of ThunderClan is Hawkstar," Spottedpelt continued. "He's a bit prickly and it's easy to ruffle his fur the wrong way. The deputy, Raintail, is more reasonable—there'll be less battles when she becomes leader."

"Thornpelt told me that the ThunderClan forests lose their leaves in leaf-bare," Brightpaw remembered. Her uncle often came to visit her and her littermates in the nursery.

"Thornpelt's right," Spottedpelt said with a nod. "Leaf-bare is hard for all the Clans, but ThunderClan often suffers the worst."

Brightpaw stared at the strange forest, imagining what it would be like to live in another Clan, to run under trees that changed with the turn of the seasons with cats who lacked the dark, mottled pelts of ShadowClan. Or if she had been born in RiverClan instead, and lived across the trickling stream that separated pine forest from grassy field and learned how to swim instead to hide in shadows.

"WindClan doesn't share a border with us," said Spottedpelt, snapping Brightpaw out of her musings. "I'll tell you about them anyways. WindClan cats live in the hills. Their leader's name is Runningstar. They're fast runners and smell like the rabbits they eat." His whiskers twitched. "Speaking of eating, I'll bet you're hungry. Let's get back to camp."

"I'm not tired," protested Brightpaw.

"It's because you're excited," said Spottedpelt, turning and heading back into ShadowClan territory. Brightpaw followed him grumpily. "You'll feel it when you get back to camp."

They walked silently towards the camp. The pine needles rustled as a breeze blew through the trees. The sky was clear and bright, but slightly chillier than before. Leaf-fall was approaching rapidly, and the trees all along the lake would soon turn red and orange like fire. But ShadowClan territory would retain its hues of lush, dark green, the pine trees as resilient and eternal as the cats who dwelt under them.

"Not bad," Spottedpelt said, "For your first day."

Brightpaw nodded, but deep down she wished they could have explored a bit more. Spottedpelt seemed to sense her thoughts.

"Don't rush," he said. "You have many, many moons ahead of you to serve your Clan, and soon you'll know every mouse-length of ShadowClan land."

"—and when Wolfheart took me to the RiverClan border we ran into two RiverClan cats, and they stopped us and tried to ask us questions about what we were doing, but Wolfheart just told them it wasn't any of their business since we were still on our side of the border and she glared at them, and they growled and went away—"

"Okay! Okay!" Brightpaw interrupted. Owlpaw stopped his excited rambling and stared at her. "We get it! Wolfheart is—"

"The coolest mentor ever," said Owlpaw in delight, rolling in the grass in excitement. The four littermatess had gathered together to eat after they had explored ShadowClan territory for the first time. Owlpaw was completely in awe of his mentor and proceeded to, to Brightpaw's frustration, talk about his day for the entire time they were eating.

Owlpaw stopped wriggling in the grass and sat up, pelt ruffled. "Wolfheart's going to teach me some basic battle skills tomorrow," he said, tail swishing in excitement.

"Spottedpelt is going to teach me battle skills too," said Brightpaw. "And Lightningfoot's teaching Beechpaw. And Leaftail's teaching Lilypaw. We're all learning about battle tomorrow."

"Leaftail's really strict," Lilypaw said halfway through a mouthful of squirrel. "But she's smart. Really, really smart. Is Lightningfoot smart, Beechpaw?"

Beechpaw, who had carefully grooming his ears, sat up and nodded.

"What's Lightningfoot like as a mentor?" Brightpaw was curious to find out what kind of teacher their mother's friend was. "Is she nice?"

Beechpaw nodded.

"Is she a good teacher?"

Beechpaw tipped his head on one side and stared at her with a hint of exasperation in his eyes.

"Oh, right, I guess you don't really know yet since it's only been a day," Brightpaw said, ears growing a bit hot. "Is she funny?"

Beechpaw, very seriously, shook his head.

Brightpaw bit back a mrow of laughter. Lilypaw's sides shook as she purred. Owlpaw snorted in amusement. "Better not let her catch you saying that!" he meowed. Beechpaw sat up in alarm and glanced around him with such a comical expression that Lilypaw began to shake again.

"Alright, alright," Brightpaw finally said. "Spottedpelt's very nice, too. And smart. Smarter than Wolfheart," she couldn't resist adding, and Owlpaw sat up in outrage.

"Is not—" he began, then he caught Brightpaw's expression of stifled laughter. "Very funny," he said, and Lilypaw began to purr again.

There was a sound of paws thudding on pine needles and the two older apprentices, Alderpaw and Stormpaw, bounded into the clearing and skidded to a stop by the ivy-covered stump where the four littermates were eating.

"You're back! How was your first day?" asked Alderpaw. Brightpaw greeted the golden brown she-cat with a purr. Alderpaw had been a kit in the nursery when Brightpaw and her littermates were born. Her mother, Specklethorn, was Brindlespots's sister.

"It was great!" Owlpaw sat up straighter, fur bristling with renewed excitement. "Wolfheart took me to the RiverClan border—"

Brightpaw and Lilypaw groaned. To the older apprentices' confusion, Beechpaw stood up and pushed his mouse aside, wrestled Owlpaw to the ground, and sat on him until he promised to stop talking.

"This is where we sleep," Alderpaw meowed as she led Brightpaw through the entrance of the apprentice down. The bramble branches poked against Brightpaw's skin, and she jumped a bit even though they didn't hurt her. It was different from the nursery, where every protruding branch and every sharp twig was removed to protect the soft pelts of the kits.

But I'm not a kit anymore, Brightpaw remembered. I'm an apprentice. The thought sent a thrill through her.

"Stormpaw and I set aside this patch for you and your littermates," Alderpaw said, pointing at a large patch of soft moss with her tail. "The moss is already laid down for you, but if you want to do any fancy nest-weaving, add feathers or down to make it softer, you'll have to do that yourself."

Brightpaw sniffed at the moss. It smelled oddly clean, completely absent of Hollytail's soft scent. "Thanks!" she mewed.

"No problem." Alderpaw stretched, yawning. "I'm probably going to sleep after a quick wash. Weaselthroat tired me out today—we were hunting crows. Those birds are smart! Hard to catch."

Brightpaw pushed back through the opening of the den. Outside, Owlpaw was meowing rapidly to Stormpaw, lashing his tail in excitement. Probably about Wolfheart, Brightpaw thought. Beechpaw was sprawled lazily in front of Lilypaw, who was grooming his ears.

Breaking her gaze, Brightpaw ducked back into the apprentice's den. Alderpaw was already curling up in her nest. "You should sleep soon," she said in a muffled voice. "The first few days of training are pretty tiring and there's a lot to do. You'll learn battle skills, hunting crouches, tail commands..." she yawned.

"That sounds like a lot," Brightpaw commented.

"You'll learn it all," Alderpaw said sleepily.

Of course I will! Despite the older apprentice's advice, Brightpaw felt too excited to sleep. Her nerves were thrumming with energy. She was on her way to becoming a warrior at last!