Chapter 3

Cometkit rocketed after her brother Birchkit through busy the Sunclan camp. They both zoomed underneath Gorsetail as he was taking his apprentice, Sweetpaw, out of the camp, and nearly crashed into Yellowheart, who was smart enough to get out of the way with a startled meow. While Cometkit was chasing her brother, he tried to swerve and lose her in the tall grass that covered the plains like ice over a frozen lake, but she kept on his tail, her paws pounding on the ground. "I'll get you!"

"Never!" he yowled back as he suddenly turned around on his front paws and faced Cometkit, amusement glimmering in his eyes. She tried to stop in order to avoid crashing into him, but ended up tripping over her own paws. Birchkit pounced on her then while she was still struggling to get up. He landed on her side and gave her a quick nip to the ear. He was about to strike her with a paw when she heaved herself up. Birchkit, surprised, fell off her with a hiss.

"Aha!" Cometkit cried pinning Birchkit's paws down. "I'm going to be the strongest medicine cat ever!" She quickly lifted her paws and pranced around in the long grass like a baby deer might on it's first visit to a meadow. She turned to Birchkit with a glare of disapproval. "How dare you attack a medicine cat! You would be in a lot of trouble for that!" She stared at Birchkit with such menace that he looked away, sadness flickering in his green eyes. "Oh! Sorry Birchkit!" She cried. I forgot for a moment. Birchkit is so reserved and soft-spoken! Her brother was often offended by the slightest things, and he couldn't really tell whether someone was joking or giving their honest opinion.

Birchkit continued to look upset, so Cometkit offered the only thing that ever seemed to make him happy. "Do you want to visit the elders? Maybe we could get them to finish that story about that ghost cat, what was her name? Goldenwillow?." Cometkit didn't really like that story, but Birchkit did, so it might cheer him up.

Birchkit shook his head. "That story was finished three sunrises ago, weren't you paying attention?" When Cometkit stayed silent Birchkit continued. "That does sound good though. Silverleaf said she wanted to tell a me a story about some cat named Featherfrost, and Wolfflight wanted to speak to me as well.

"Lets go then!" Cometkit squeaked with false enthusiasm. Going to visit the elders was the most boring thing to do. How can Birchkit stand going in there? Why should he care about cats that aren't related to us?

"Oh, and Cometkit."

"Yes?"

"You don't have to come if you don't want to, I know you don't like going in the elders den unless they are telling the story about Pineheart. Pineheart is the reason you want to be the medicine cat, right?"

Cometkit bristled. How dare Birchkit say that! Pineheart was our great- great-grandmother, and she did great things! What's wrong with following in her pawsteps? Birchkit apparently didn't notice her reaction, for he continued.

"I know you like that story because Pineheart is one of our ancestors, but there are other cats that have done great things as well, and their stories are worth listening to."

Cometkit was outraged. How could Birchkit say that? "I don't know why you care about cats like Featherfrost that have absolutely nothing to do with us!" She shot back "Pineheart is our ancestor, and I'm going to be a great medicine cat just like her! Obviously, you don't care about our ancestry, but I do! I don't see you trying to become the next Sunclan medicine cat!" and with that she stormed away from her brother.

The grass was annoying; it kept getting in her eyes and at last she lashed out, claws extended, but of course, it didn't do anything. Stupid grass! Stupid Birchkit! she thought savagely. Seething, she stormed off to the medicine cat den to see Turtlespot. Like all the dens, the medicine den's entrance was concealed by a layer of thick grass. She pushed through it and looked up to see the dim eyes of Turtlespot, the clan's medicine cat.

"What's wrong Cometkit," he chuckled, "you look more upset than a fox in a fit."

"Birchkit has absolutely no respect for our ancestors," she spat, "he thinks that the only reason I want to be a medicine cat is because of Pineheart!"

Pineheart was the medicine cat of Sunclan before Turtlespot's mentor. She was originally a warrior, but became a medicine cat when her mate, Blackflight, was killed in the same battle that the clan's medicine cat apprentice was killed in. When she became the medicine cat apprentice, she received a prophecy, "Shining ice over the darkest snow". As it turned out, the prophecy was about two half-siblings, Frostfang and Whiteheart, who were the two cats that the current leader wanted for deputy. Pineheart, aware that these two cats were the "Ice and Snow" of the prophecy, knew that one was full of greed, and the other had the clan's best interests at heart.

At the moment of the ceremony, Pineheart discovered which was which. Frostfang had shining blue eyes, which were often akin to ice when anything threatened his clan or family. Whiteheart on the other hand, had fierce green eyes, like snow settling on the pine trees that bordered Sunclan territory. Her eyes were often like ice when defending her clan as well, but it was all an act. Two moons after Frostfang became deputy, Whiteheart launched an attack on Sunclan with some rogues and loners that had an obsession with blood and self-preservation. The leader of Sunclan then, Willowstar, lost his last life early on in that battle. Pineheart's current mentor, Rabbitear, was also killed. However, Frostfang showed amazing leadership skills and led his clan to victory in their time of need. Pineheart was then revered as a legendary medicine cat due to her part in the prophecy of ice and snow.

"Pineheart is my ancestor, and I plan to follow in her pawsteps and become a great medicine cat just like she did!" Cometkit declared.

Turtlespot stayed silent for a moment, as if going over something in his head. "Are you sure you would enjoy being a medicine cat Cometkit?" he asked, and it sounded as if he actually wanted to know. "Cats must follow the path they feel they would be the happiest with, whether it be a kittypet, loner, warrior, or medicine cat. You may be related to Pineheart, but you shouldn't let that sway your choice. If you truly want to be become a medicine cat with every fiber of your being, then I will not hesitate to teach you, but you must be ready to cope with all the responsibilities, whether good or bad.

"Yes!" Cometkit exclaimed, slightly frustrated. "Of course I do!"

"Very well," Turtlespot answered, solemn. "your ceremony will be in about a moon. Until then, enjoy your last days as a kit. Life gets much harder as an apprentice." And with that he whisked her away, saying he had to gather herbs.