AN: I'm very sorry for the late update! I was at a graduation openhouse with some old friends (one coming from out of state) and I didn't have the time to write! This chapter, I think, is a bit shorter than the others. I stopped where I did because of the next scene that I have planned. What's a good story without some drama, right? :D Well. This will only be the slow beginning of what is yet to come.

By the way, and this may sound strange, but if you have a cat that you want in the story, I can do that for ya! I always need cats (cause a normal sized Clan averages out to be 28-35 cats including kits and elders) so if you have a Warriors OC or something you can request and I can try to add you in!

I prefer stories to be not all about my "main character" me, y'know? I like to give the spotlight to my friends! (You will see later a great example of this with Icepaw and Silverpaw once they're warriors)

Why do I babble? Enjoy this chapter!

-Hawkshadow, out.

Chapter Three

Hawkkit awoke with a start. The wind howled outside, and from the cracks in the front of the den, all she could see was white. Rosefoot licked Hawkkit's head, "It's okay, little one. Nothing to fear." Barkpelt raised her head, her nest now empty of kits. "A snowstorm." She remarked. Hawkkit turned to say something to Icepaw, then paused. 'Oh...that's right. Icepaw sleeps in the apprentice's den now.' The gray kit sank back with flattened ears. Rosefoot gently nuzzled the kit's back with her nose. "No playing outside today, I'm afraid." Hawkkit nodded, but that wasn't what she was upset about. She wanted to see her old denmates! Sure it's only been one night, but still...

Snowkit crept up behind Hawkkit slowly and clumsily, tail rustling the moss underpaw. Then...

"Got'cha!" She yowled, pouncing on the youngest kit. Hawkkit let out a surprised shriek and the two rolled on the mossy den floor, Snowkit finally winning and sitting on the gray kit's belly. "I win!" The white kit squeaked, Hawkkit squirming underneath her. "G-Get off me!" She kicked at her friend and tried to trip her off by hitting Snowkit's black paws. The white kit, however, was just too big.

"Oh no! I'll help you Hawkkit!" Swiftkit bounced out of Browntail's nest, trampling Sharpkit in the process, and proceeded to swat at Snowkit's black tail-tip and ear-tips. Snowkit squealed in delight, falling off of Hawkkit. The tiny kit took the chance to get up and, tag-teaming with Swiftkit, they attacked Snowkit.

Sharpkit, irritated that his brother woke him from his sleep, watched the scene as Swiftkit, who was much bigger than both Snowkit and Hawkkit, batted at Snowkit. She did the same, swinging her paws and the brown tom's paws. Hawkkit watched the "battle" with an amused purr. Sharpkit snorted, "Geeze, you two mousebrains don't know the difference between fighting and just swinging limbs."

Snowkit ducked a long reach from Swiftkit and turned to the darker brown tom. "Oh, and I suppose you do?"

Puffing out his chest, Sharpkit mewed, "Well, I don't mean to brag, but-"

"You can't fight!" Berrykit growled sleepily. All the noise had woken him up. "I've seen you 'fighting' and it's pretty pathetic." The pale orange tom began grooming his fur, his darker orange "tiger marks" as he liked to call them smoothing down against his body.

Sharpkit began to snarl something at the younger kit when the nursery entrance trembled and Lightningpaw came shoving past, his fur dappled with snow and small bits of ice and he was carrying some mice by their tails and two snowbirds by their wings. "Lightningpaw!" Both Swiftkit and Hawkkit bounded over to him as he set down the fresh-kill and shook the snowstorm's remains off his pelt.

"Would that fresh-kill happen to be for us?" Rosefoot mewed playfully. The tom dipped his head, taking the snowbirds to the queens. The older kits grabbed their own mice and began ripping mouthfuls off in huge gulps. Hawkkit blinked. "What's that?" Nightkit asked Rosefoot.

"It's fresh-kill." She mewed. "You and Hawkkit are still too young to eat solid food."

Swiftkit and Sharpkit appeared to not have bothered chewing their fresh-kill; it was all gone in a small pawful of heartbeats. Berrykit finished his right after them and sat in front of Lightningpaw, asking him questions. "What did you do yesterday?"

The apprentice licked his paw and rubbed his ears, "I went on a border patrol with Redfur and after that we practiced night hunting." Berrykit's fur bristled. "You already caught prey?" Lightningpaw nodded, "And it's looking like I'll need to go hunting in this storm. The fresh-kill pile has shrunk considerably in the span of a few days." Hissing angrily, Berrykit stomped over to Softsong's nest and sat down in a corner of the den. Softsong laid her tail on his shoulder in understanding. Lightningpaw angled his ear and pointed at the snowbird Rosefoot and Barkpelt were sharing. "Silverpaw caught those snowbirds yesterday. He practically ordered me to give them to the queens." He shook his head and sighed, "It's like he wants to show how good he can be."

"I don't blame him." Dapplekit mewed, looking up from his mouse. He licked his jaw. "I saw some of the dirty looks a few of the warriors were giving him yesterday. They don't think he'll make it."

Hawkkit bristled her fur, meaning to look scary but just ending up looking like a soft gray cloud, "That's not fair! He's like any one of us, no matter how he looks!"

Lightningpaw laid a comforting paw on her flank, "Life is not always fair. His trials and hardships will be much more tedious than ours will be, and he has accepted this fact. Silverpaw isn't afraid to challenge others for his right to stay here."

Hawkkit's eyes widened, "You mean they could kick him out of the Clan?!"

The apprentice looked away. "...It isn't common, but I've heard that it has happened before." The kit whimpered. "But do not worry, they won't throw him out." He said hastily.

"Lightningpaw is right, Hawkkit." Dapplekit mewed. "Silverpaw, for all the headaches and trouble he's worth, is a very loyal Clan cat. He doesn't seem like it, but he's a Clanmate you can turn to no matter what for just about anything."

Hawkkit sniffed. "R-Really?"

"Really."

The nursery creaked above the cats. The roof of the den popping under all the weight of the snow from the storm still raging outside. Lightningpaw frowned, "I better go clear out the snow again. Redfur must be waiting for me." He stood up. "Thanks for visiting, Lightningpaw." Barkpelt mewed warmly to her son. He dipped his head and exited the nursery.

Berrykit was mumbling to himself lowly; the only word Hawkkit heard was "sleep". Snowkit padded over to Sharpkit. "You said you could fight?" The brown tom blinked, "Um. Yeah. A little bit. Sunshard showed me some moves." Snowkit purred, pawing at the mossy floor. "C-Can...you show me?" Sharpkit's eyes widened. "Yeah! Yeah! Show us what Sunshard taught you!" Swiftkit piped, his tail curling to and fro like an adder. Sharpkit could feel his pelt burning up as two pairs of brown eyes stared at him. "Oh. S-Sure...I guess I can do that."

Hawkkit climbed into Rosefoot's nest and observed Sharpkit's demonstrations with a chunk of moss. 'Snowkit seems awfully close to Sharpkit.' She thought as she watched Snowkit trying to copy the brown tom's sloppy moves. With a yawn, she nestled against the moss and the feathers sometimes lining the nests. Slowly, the tiny kit drifted off to sleep.

"Where is Berrykit?! Berrykit is missing!" Softsong yowled uncharacteristically loud. Hawkkit was startled out of her dream with a short, curt shriek. The snowstorm was still bellowing outside and now the roars of leafbare were reflecting off the gorge walls. Browntail lifted her head in dazed confusion. "What...?" Rosefoot and Barkpelt also woke up. "What's this about Berrykit?" Barkpelt murmured.

Softsong was out of her nest now and pacing back and forth. "Berrykit...Berrykit isn't here! He's gone!" She let out a wail of despair.

Barkpelt got up, "I'll go check the camp and see if he's somewhere out there." The sandy-brown queen mewed calmly to her sister and briskly padded out of the warm nursery and out into the snow.

Browntail got up and stood next to the worried warrior. She bumped flanks with the gray she-cat, "Hey, calm down now. You need to be concious of your other kit as well." She mewed, flicking her tail towards Snowkit. Softsong took deep breaths. "Y-Yes, you're right..." She spun to look at her remaining kit, "Snowkit, do you know where he went?" The white kit shook her head fiercely, eyes wide and scared. Dapplekit, Nightkit, and Hawkkit shared a look. Something was up.

Swiftkit had the same owled expression as Snowkit, "Why would he go out in that bad storm?" He chirpped. Softsong was pacing again, anxious and terrified. "I don't know." She moaned, sitting down and hanging her head. Browntail glanced at Rosefoot for help, but the white queen couldn't think of any words of comfort for the distraught queen. "I have to go look for him." The gray queen meowed determinedly, springing to her paws. The oldest queen opened her jaws to reason with the young mother, however the fierce persistence glistening in Softsong's mint-green eyes changed Rosefoot's mind. She nodded once. "I will watch Snowkit for you." Rosefoot motioned for the white kit to come to her nest with a prodding ginger paw. Snowkit scurried into Rosefoot's nest and huddled against Hawkkit.

Softsong purred gratefully at her denmate. "Thank you, Rosefoot." She dashed out of the nursery with quick feet. "I have to tell Blacksky!"

Swiftkit whimpered softly and Sharpkit nudged his flank reassuringly. Snowkit was traumatized by her mother's behavior. Softsong never acted like that about anything! Hawkkit groomed her denmate's fur, in hopes that it would soothe her frazzled nerves. "Don't worry, Snowkit." She would murmur between licks, "Softsong and Barkpelt will find Berrykit." Eventually, the kit did calm down some.

Just then Barkpelt came in with Moonstar. "I heard what happened." The Clan leader meowed. "We looked as well as we could in the blizzard for him, but could not find Berrykit. It seems like he's left the camp and wandered off into NightClan territory." The gray she-cat shook her head. "It's too dangerous for me to send out warriors and look for him; I can't risk loosing any cat to chills or greencough." Barkpelt lowered her head. "...I could smell Softsong's scent near the warriors den. Blacksky will be worried as well."

"So we're going to risk a kit freezing out there?" Browntail mewed in surprise -and disbelief. Moonstar sighed, "We have no choice but to wait until the storm has subsided. All we can do is pray to StarClan that that kit hasn't frozen to death."

Moonstar left the nursery just as Softsong was entering. Her head was hung low and her tail dragged on the ground, trailing in clumps of snow. "I heard." Was all she whispered before she crawled into her nest and, after looking to see how Snowkit was doing, buried her nose under her paws. Softsong's dull green eyes stared out the nursery tunnel, waiting for the storm to go away. No one in the den knew how to ease the mother's anguish.