Well hello there, here's chapter two. I hope y'll like it because now the plot really gets going.

Enjoy :)

The sun had just started to sink below the horizon, casting long shadows across the rolling grassy hills on MeadowClan's territory. In a gorse bush surrounded clearing, beneath a dense patch of nettles, a black tom kit lay tucked up against his mother's soft tabby flank. Beside him was the pale brown shape of his younger foster brother, sleeping just as soundly as his mother. Despite the dimming light and the soft relaxed mews coming from the rest of the camp outside, Beetlekit was restless.

Amber eyes scanned the rest of the nursery; the dappled brown queen Seedpelt was asleep in her own nest, her belly swollen with unborn kits, and there was no sign of Skyfern or her litter so they must be out in the clearing.

Now's my chance.

Beetlekit knew it wasn't a good idea, and StarClan knew how much trouble he would be in if anyone found out, but the day before he had found a small gap beneath the normally impenetrable wall of woven fern and thorn bushes that protected the camp. A gap just big enough for a kit to squeeze out of if he was careful. Rationally he knew that he should do the right thing and tell some cat what he found, but the bigger part of him wanted to go out and explore. He was due to become an apprentice in about a moon and his paws were itching to get out of camp and see what the territory was like, especially now that he knew of a secret way out. The front entrance was always guarded by at least one warrior so there was no way he would ever be able to sneak out that way, but now as the darkness of night began to set in and most cats had retired to their nests to sleep, it should be easy enough for him to slip out unnoticed.

Mind made up, Beetlekit carefully got to his paws and pulled himself away from his mother's side. As much as he had tried not to, he must have jostled them somewhat because his foster brother's yellow eyes blinked open. "Where are you going?" The brown tabby kit mewed softly, yawning.

"Don't worry Owlkit," he shushed, quickly coming up with a lie. "I just uh, need to go make dirt. I'll be right back."

Owlkit started at him for a moment, but then nodded, eyes drifting closed again. "All right," he murmured. "Just hurry back, Rabbitleap will worry."

The black tom stood there motionless for several heartbeats, breathing a sigh of relief when the other kit seemed to fall back asleep. Owlkit was several moons younger than he was and not related to him by blood, but his mother and siblings had been killed in a MarshClan raid on their camp a moon ago and Rabbitleap was the only nursing queen at the time who could care for him. Since then the little tabby had been terribly nervous and jumpy, not that Beetlekit could really blame him after what had happened, but a friend who was afraid of his own shadow most days hardly made for a good playmate. Sure he'd been scared too when that huge scared MarshClan tom had burst into the nursery, attacking kit and queen alike, but Beetlekit had the heart of a real warrior, or so he told himself, and he would not let one scary moment put him off from his dream of becoming the best leader MeadowClan ever had. He wanted to be greater than even Goldenstar on day, if that was even possible.

After he was sure Owlkit was really asleep, Beetlekit crept out of the nursery, keeping to the shadows along the camp wall; thankful for his black pelt to help him blend into the darkness. Several warriors were lounging around the clearing, sharing prey and mewling with each other, and he spotted Skyfern a little way off watching her two tiny kits tumble around in the dirt. None of them were anywhere near the gap, nor looking in his direction. Thank StarClan.

Not wanting to waste time and lose his chance, the black tom padded forward carefully, and after casting one last glance back to make sure no cat had noticed him, he flattened himself to the ground and carefully squeezed his way beneath the brambles and out of camp. He winced as the leaves rustled around him, but by the lack of alarmed meows behind him it seemed no cat thought it anything other than the breeze.

Sighing in relief, Beetlekit straightened up once he reached the other side, and gazed around at the area ahead of him in wonder. Meadowclan's camp was located atop one of the several rounded hills on their territory, and he had a good view now of the rolling grassy plains that stretched on way farther than he thought even possible. In one direction, he could just make out the dark shape of a forest in the distance, and in the other the last rays of sun glittered off what he assumed was a stream. From the warriors talk, he knew their territory went on well past a river before turning into MarshClan land, so he headed that way to be safe. He didn't want to accidentally stray into enemy territory so he figured he would explore all the way to the stream before returning to camp, hopefully before any cat noticed his absence.

However, brave as he tried to be, the farther Beetlekit padded from camp the more a sense of unease rose inside him. I shouldn't be doing this. He almost turned around and went back, but shook his head, flexing his claws into the soft ground. "No Beetlekit," he scolded himself. "You have the heart of a warrior; warriors don't get afraid in their own territory."

His ears twitched at the sound of prey rustling in the underbrush as he pushed on, and he recognized the scents of mouse, ground squirrel and even rabbit. Maybe he would try and catch something on his way back; that way no cat could say he wasn't worthy of becoming an apprentice now. He only had one moon left to wait, but Beetlekit was tired of waiting; he was bored. Owlkit was too skittish and Skyfern's kits were too small and weak to make good playmates yet. He missed the games he, Cinderpaw and Applepaw used to play before they became apprentices and seemed to forget about him. Cinderpaw was always out training with his mentor or busy caring for the elders now, and Applepaw became the medicine cat apprentice, which seemed to be just as boring as his current situation even if she didn't think so. Beetlekit didn't want to spend all his time with old Birchwhisker learning about herbs, he wanted to fight!

Night had fully set in over the meadow by the time Beetlekit finally reached the river, and he let out a little mew in surprise when he saw just how big it was. In the distance it just seemed like a thin sliver cutting between two hills, but in reality it was several fox lengths wide. That paired with the swiftly moving water would make it hard for any cat to cross.

Curious now as to how any cat did, Beetlekit padded upstream for a while to find out. It wasn't long before voices reached his ears, and he ducked back into the undergrowth before he was spotted. Peering out, he saw a patrol of cats making their way along the opposite bank before leaping over on what looked to be a series of stones sticking out of the water. In the moonlight he could just make out the black pelt of his father, Thistletail, as well as the dappled Leopardwing and her apprentice Brightpaw.

Beetlekit knew he should do the right thing and make himself known to them so they could escort him back to camp, because if he was honest, he wasn't sure if he could find his way back on his own at this point. Plus, he was sure Thistletail would go to the nursery when he got back to check on him and Rabbitleap, and he would alert the whole Clan if his son was missing.

Despite this, and mainly because Beetlekit knew he would get into trouble anyway now and wanting to make his trip worthwhile, the kit stayed in his hiding place until the patrol was well out of sight before emerging back onto the bank and bounding up to where the other cats had crossed.

The river was narrower here, though not by much, and there were only three rocks to use to get across. Normally Beetlekit would be confident he could make such leaps easily, but now he was doubtful. He was alone out here now, and if he were to slip and fall into the rushing water he wasn't sure he would be able to swim to safety.

No. Black fur bristled and the tom shook his head at the thought. Warriors don't act like fearful kits, warriors are brave and face their fears head on.

Taking a deep breath, Beetlekit positioned himself and bunched his muscles in preparation before leaping at the first stone determinedly. He let out a startled squeak when he landed sloppily, quickly scrambling to steady himself. Huffing, he eyed the second stone; this one was much closer and he made the jump easily. This isn't too bad.

He hesitated at the last one; the gap to this rock was the farthest and it sat lower in the river than the others, water lapping up around it. Narrowing his eyes, Beetlekit balanced himself carefully at the edge of his stone, judging the distance carefully before he committed and launched himself into the air.

At first he thought he would make it, but the jump brought him just short and his front half crashed heavily onto the rock, knocking the breath from his lungs with a startled gasp as his back legs splashed into the freezing water. Wheezing, he attempted to claw himself up, but the rock's surface was slippery and the river's current strong and a heartbeat later he was swept away and pulled beneath the surface.

Beetlekit twisted and thrashed, desperately trying to right himself and get back to the top but the river was unrelenting. Water rushed into his ears and lungs as he struggled, an overwhelming panic welling up inside him.

What have I done.

Suddenly, he felt solid ground beneath his paws and he kicked himself upwards. He broke through the surface with a gasp, eagerly taking in as much air as he could into his aching lungs. The water threatened to drag him under again, but Beetlekit managed to stay afloat, splashing blindly towards the shore and soon his claws caught dirt instead of water as he reached the shallow river's edge, and with the last bit of strength he dragged himself up onto the bank where he collapsed; gasping for breath and shivering pitifully against the chill that had set over his soaked body.

Black spots dotted his vision, and soon his eyes drifted closed as he sank into unconsciousness...

Beetlekit didn't know how long he had been laying there when suddenly a yowl snapped him awake. "Hey Thornscratch, come look at this!"

The kit shuddered at the she-cat's unfamiliar voice, as well as at the name she had spoken. Thornscratch. He knew that name; that was MarshClan's deputy, which could only mean that this was a MarshClan patrol trespassing on MeadowClan's territory. And they had found him...

Oh StarClan, how could I have been so mouse-brained?

"What is it, Ivytail?" A tom meowed, and Beetlekit heard several pairs of pawsteps pad over to him.

"A kit," the she-cat, Ivytail, replied, and a paw prodded him roughly in the flank.

"Is he alive?" A third cat asked, coming closer to nose curiously at him.

Beetlekit gave a weak growl, lashing out wildly in his direction with unsheathed claws and the tom leaped back, spitting angrily as Beetlekit made contact with his muzzle.

"Little piece of fox-dung!"

Ivytail purred in laughter. "I suppose that answers that question, huh Cedarclaw?"

He hissed at her savagely in response, but the she-cat didn't seem to pay it much mind.

"What should we do with him Thornscratch?" she wondered.

"Hmm," the deputy grunted thoughtfully. "It's a MeadowClan kit, that's for sure. He probably wondered from camp and tried to cross the river alone, nearly drowning himself instead."

"Leave it to MeadowClan to lose track of their kits," Cedarclaw huffed bitterly, but Thornscratch ignored him.

"If he survives he could be of use to us."

"How?" Ivytail sounded puzzled. "He doesn't seem any older than three or four moons, what good would a kit give us?"

"And kits are treasured by every Clan, are they not?" Thornscratch meowed. "If they were to find out we have him, we could perhaps persuade Goldenstar to give us something in return. Such as, oh I don't know, a nice chunk of their territory."

Beetlekit started at that. They can't do that, can they? His eyes opened a sliver, and he could just make out the blurry shapes of the three cats standing over him.

"And if she refuses, we can just kill him," Thornscratch shrugged. "One less enemy warrior to worry about in the future."

"And hedgehogs will fly, you mangy pieces of fox dung!" Beetlekit spat weakly as he rolled over and forced himself to struggle to his paws.

"Seems this one has the spirit of TigerClan in him." Thornscratch remarked, amused, making the words seem taunting rather than the compliment they would normally be.

"I say we kill the little maggot now and be done with it," Cedarclaw hissed, and when the kit turned to look at him he felt a sense of satisfaction at the sight of blood welling from the cut on the tabby warrior's muzzle.

Thornscratch shook his head coolly. "That's for Wildstar to decide. If she wants us to simply kill him, we will kill him, but not until she gives the order."

A fresh wave of dread washed over Beetlekit. "You can't do that, you crow food eating-" he took a shaky step forward, but his legs gave out and he fell forward with a pitiful whimper.

Ivytail swooped in from behind and snatched him up by the scruff, ignoring his weak struggles and attempts to claw at her.

"Let's go," Thornscratch ordered. "Before that patrol we scented earlier comes back looking for him."

Sun broke through a gap in the thick curtain of leaves that sheltered MarshClan's nursery, shining directly into the face of a sleeping ginger spotted kit. The young tom's whiskers twitched in annoyance, and he shifted to bury his face into his mother's white and tortoiseshell fur.

"It's time to wake up, Emberkit," Snowtiger purred in amusement, rasping her tongue lovingly over his ear.

The kit just grunted and curled up more tightly, white tipped tail coming to rest over his nose.

However, it did not seem like he would be able to get the extra sleep he was yearning for because the sound of rapid pawsteps reached his ears right before another kit barreled straight into him.

"Come on, lazy bones!" His sister squeaked. "Get up and play with us already!"

The tom squirmed beneath the weight of the grey she-kit, pawing at her irritably. "Sootkit, get off." WIth a final shove of his hind paws, she shifted off him.

Emberkit sat up, shaking out his white and ginger fur, and shot his sister a playful glare. "Foxbreath."

The grey she-kit gave a snarl in response and the two young cats leaped at each other, rolling around and batting at each other for awhile before Emberkit managed to pin her to the soft moss-lined floor of the nursery.

His whiskers twitched in triumph, tail high, but Sootkit's gaze darted to something behind him and Emberkit then felt teeth in his scruff, yanking him back off of her with a yowl of surprise. Twisting around, he met the gleaming amber gaze of his other littermate.

"Toad-brain." Nightkit taunted, and in an instant all three kits were going at each other in a mess of fur and paws, screeching in delight.

"Kits," their mother's stern voice cut in and they all froze.

"Yes mother?" They chimed, blinking innocently at her.

Snowtiger purred, her amber gaze softening. "Go play outside, you're going to disturb Deerpelt and her kits."

Emberkit glanced towards the pale brown queen, dozing in her nest across the nursery and the tiny shapes of the newborn Cloudkit and Rainkit tucked protectively in the soft curve of her belly.

"Yes mother!" The three kits echoed obediently, turning to scramble out into the camp's main clearing.

The majority of MarshClan's territory was made up of swampy wetland; the ground nearly always soft and muddy underpaw. Even the camp itself, located in the heart of their territory at the base of an ancient, drooping, willow tree, often pooled with water when it rained. Only the den's themselves offered any escape from the constant dampness; not that any cat minded of course. MarshClan cats were well accustomed to the feeling of mud squishing between their toes and streaking in their fur; they took a sort of pride in it. Warriors of other Clans may curl their lips at them and hiss mud-pelts as an insult, but those silly drypaws didn't know what they were missing.

"What should we do now?" Nightkit asked, shaking out his grey and black tabby fur.

Emberkit blinked, looking around the clearing. Several warriors were scattered about, sharing prey and mewling among themselves, and as he watched Darkflight and his apprentice Ravenpaw pushed their way through the fern tunnel into camp, carrying a load of fresh kill which they added into the pile at the base of the willow tree. Calm hung in the air as MarshClan went about their lives, and he was about to suggest they go visit the elders when a yowl sounded from just outside camp.

A hush fell over the clearing and every cat bristled, ready to defend against a sudden attack, but they relaxed again as Thornscratch appeared through the fern tunnel, followed closely by Ivytail and Cedarclaw.

"Is that a kit?" A tortoiseshell warrior named Mossyheart gasped, gazing at the dark scrap of fur that Ivytail had carried in.

"A MeadowClan kit," the tabby she-cat confirmed, setting him down.

Emberkit peered curiously at the young black tom; he'd never met a cat from another Clan before, and despite them being enemies he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for him. The kit was clearly terrified; frozen in place where Ivytail had dropped him, crouched low and shaking while his wide amber eyes took in the MarshClan cats who were gathering around. Even those who had been in their dens were slipping outside to see what the commotion was about.

"MeadowClan scum!" Sootkit screeched from beside him suddenly, her grey fur bristling, looking as if she was ready to fling herself at the kit like he was an invading warrior, and Nightkit hissed encouragingly from her other side.

"Hush," their mother suddenly appeared behind them, scolding the two softly. Emberkit glanced back at her and was surprised to see the grim look on Snowtiger's face. Other warriors had taken to muttering between themselves and hissing at the MeadowClan cat, so why did she seem so sad? Maybe because she was a queen and it was against her nature to see such a young cat as an enemy, but Emberkit was conflicted too. This kit couldn't have been any older than he was, and how would he feel if he had been captured by another Clan?

"And what is this?" The muttering stopped, and every cat turned their gaze upward as Wildstar emerged from her den in the willow tree. Seasons ago an owl had made their nest in a gnarled hollow low in the trunk, but now for generations it was where MarshClan's leaders kept their den. "What have you brought me, Thornscratch?" The tortoiseshell leader dropped down from her perch on a low branch and strode closer to where the patrol stood around the kitten.

"We found him by the river in MeadowClan territory," the deputy explained, bowing his head to her respectfully. "Hemust have wondered from camp and fallen into the river. He was half drowned and unconscious and I thought he was with StarClan at first. When I realized he wasn't, I thought he might be useful."

Wildstar was silent for a long moment, her green eyes narrowing thoughtfully down at the kit, who flinched back fearfully. Not that Emberkit could really blame him; the she-cat was surely a terrifying and intimidating sight to those who didn't know her. Her spotted tortoiseshell fur was littered with long scars, her ears were shred to nearly nothing, and her lip had been torn open seasons ago in a battle with ForestClan, leaving half her sharp teeth bared in a permanent snarl. She had been a new leader then, and had lost her first life in that battle, but the horrifying scar had remained.

"What is your name?" She mewed eventually.

"Beetlekit," the young tom answered so softly that Emberkit had to strain his ears to hear him at all.

"Well, Beetlekit," Wildstar mused. "Let us both pray that your life is quite valuable to Goldenstar… I don't think I'll be ready to give you back until my Clan has a nice new stretch of territory." Raising her voice, she addressed the assembled cats, "What do my warriors think? The land all the way to that river of theirs? The water would be a much easier border to remember and patrol, don't you all agree?"

It seems they did, because the cats of MarshClan all yowled their support of the plan.

Pleased, Wildstar glanced back to Beetlekit. "Pray to StarClan your leader gives in easily, little one. Or maybe not, my warriors love little more than shedding MeadowClan blood, so I would hate for them to miss an opportunity like this." Then, tail curling, the she-cat turned away and began to organize patrols to seek out MeadowClan cats at the border to inform them of her terms.

Sootkit and Nightkit seemed very excited by this new development, muttering to each other and squealing in delight as they described what they would do to MeadowClan if they were trained warriors.

Emberkit however, stayed silent, unsure of how to feel. Of course new territory would benefit the Clan, but he didn't think he agreed with it being won like this. He didn't dare speak up and be labeled a cowardly mouse-heart, but warriors won battles with tooth and claw, not by kidnapping kits.There is no honor in this...

Well that's that. Next chapter will switch back to Dawnkit and Featherkit so be sure to follow if you want to know what happens to poor Beetlekit ;D

Review and let me know what you think! Chapter three will be out next week