"We'll be back in a moment," a silvery gray she-cat murmured to her sleeping kits. She and the other nursery queen, a cream-and-brown she-cat, silently slipped out of the nursery.

It was early morning, and the watery dawn light just barely seeped through the thick bramble covering on the nursery walls. A tiny brown she-kit sat up as soon as her mother was out of sight, excitedly blinking her emerald green eyes open.

"Fawnkit!" she hissed to her littermate, a brown and white she-kit. "Wake up!"

Fawnkit blinked. "What is it, Rosekit? It's barely morning yet!"

"Shh," Rosekit murmured. "Wake Wildkit and I'll tell you."

Fawnkit yawned widely, showing tiny, perfectly white teeth and a very pink tongue. "Fine." She rose to her paws and licked some moss off of her tail. Arching her back in a stretch, Fawnkit prodded a calico kit with her front paw.

"Wildkit! Wake up! Rosekit wants to tell us something."

It took a few moments to convince Wildkit to wake, but she finally did.

"Ok, what's this big important thing you have to tell us?" Fawnkit asked.

"Last night, just before I fell asleep, I thought of a way to get back at the toms for scaring us yesterday morning."

"We scare them back?" squeaked Wildkit, her blue eyes bright.

"No, we use a power only she-cats have," Rosekit replied, tail flicking with excitement.

"What power is that?" asked Fawnkit.

"It's called she-cat power. I saw Icepaw using it on Lightningscar the other day."

"Ok, what do we do?" Wildkit mewed.

Rosekit motioned with her ears to the sleeping gray and black heaps of fur on the other side of the nursery. "Watch."

Lightly stepping over to the toms, she bent down until she was barely half a whisker from the gray kit's ear.

"Stonekit," she whispered sweetly. Stonekit instantly raised his head. Rosekit licked his ear.

Stonekit let out a yowl that could've woken StarClan. "Cooties!" he moaned, vigorously rubbing the side of his head on the moss bedding. After the second lick, he was up and running, waking his black littermate.

By that time, Fawnkit and Wildkit had joined Rosekit and were dashing madly around the small den, chasing Stonekit and his littermate. Moss was being scattered everywhere.

"Come here, Webkit!" Fawnkit screeched to the black tom, her amber eyes sparkling. All of the she-kits were sincerely enjoying themselves.

The chase soon moved to the main clearing of the camp, where the zooming kits tripped many warriors as they rushed out of their dens.

"What's going on?" one cat yowled. The kits stopped in their tracks. Tawnystar!

"Rosekit! Fawnkit! Wildkit!" a second cat meowed harshly, her cream fur bristling.

"Hello, Mother," Rosekit squeaked sheepishly. The she-cat still glared.

"Stonekit, Webkit, are you hurt?" the silvery gray queen asked, licking her two kits vigorously. The toms nodded. "I think they were just playing, Appleblossom," she meowed to her friend.

"That doesn't get my kits out of any less trouble, Silvermist," Appleblossom said back. "Was this your idea, Rosekit?"

Rosekit bowed her head. Glancing over at Stonekit, his yellow eyes betrayed only sympathy. At least he's not gloating, Rosekit thought. That's something.

Later in the day, around sunhigh, Rosekit awoke from a nap. The moss beside her was cold, so she decided that her mother must have gone out hunting.

"Patrol the border by MagicClan," Rosekit heard a cat meow from just outside the nursery. "Make sure the markers are renewed. Tawnystar says to look for any signs of trouble."

The voice belonged to Sweetleaf, the brown tabby deputy. I wish I could go on the patrol, Rosekit thought. But after the trouble she had gotten in that morning, Rosekit and her sisters had to stay within two tail-lengths of the nursery entry.

But this only made Rosekit more eager to leave the camp. She had never been beyond the gorse and bramble walls, and she was eager to explore. Suddenly, she had an idea.

"Fawnkit!" she hissed, prodding her sister awake for the second time the day.

When Fawnkit blinked awake, she groaned. "Not another one of your brilliant ideas!" Rosekit twitched her ears.

"Just wake up Wildkit," she replied.

Rolling her eyes, Fawnkit rolled over and battered at the mound of orange and black fur beside her. "Wildkit!"

Before long, Rosekit's sleepy sisters were up and eager to hear Rosekit's idea.

"Ok, before Appleblossom or Silvermist gets back, we're going to leave camp. I figure that a little bit of exploring wouldn't hurt us."

"What about Stonekit and Webkit?" Wildkit asked. "Won't they want to come, too?"

"Well, it might be a good idea to let them know that we're leaving. I know that at least Stonekit will cover for us," Rosekit said.

Rosekit padded over to the sleeping toms and rudely poked Stonekit with one of her tiny, thorn-sharp claws.

"Eeowww," Stonekit started to yowl, but Rosekit cleverly stuck her tail in his mouth.

"Shut up. I have to tell you something. Fawnkit, Wildkit, and I are going exploring. Will you cover for us?"

"Why? Can't I go?" Stonekit mewed after spitting out a mouthful of Rosekit's tail fur.

"Maybe next time, but we really need you here," replied Rosekit, grooming her tail smooth. Stonekit looked disappointed.

Wildkit glanced at him sympathetically. "We'd better get going," she decided.

"Yeah, otherwise we'll never get another chance!" Fawnkit bounced, eager to leave.

"Fine. Bye, Stonekit," Rosekit said softly to the gray tom.

"Good bye, Rosekit," he murmured back. "Be careful out there. I'll cover for you."

Rosekit blinked appreciatively, and then turned to lead her sisters out of the nursery. Stonekit watched them with sad amber eyes.

Once the three she-kits had left the nursery, Rosekit looked around.

"What do we do now?" murmured Wildkit. "The only way out is the entrance tunnel, and that's guarded all day!"

"Shh," hissed Rosekit. "I found another way out yesterday. Follow me." She crawled around the edge of the camp until she was on the other side of the warrior's den, which was right beside the nursery. Fawnkit was the first to spot a tiny, kit-sized hole where they could just squeeze out of the camp.

"Oh, cool!" Fawnkit whispered, sticking her head through the hole. Wildkit head-butted Fawnkit the rest of the way through, pushing herself past Rosekit to be next.

Soon, all three kits were rushing away from the camp and into the thick forest.

Rosekit stopped. "Now that we're here, what should we do?" she asked.

"I've always wanted to try hunting," Wildkit replied quietly, her eyes watching a nearby mouse.

"Go for it," murmured Fawnkit. "Icepaw showed us the hunter's crouch, remember?" Wildkit nodded, and sprang for the mouse.