And bye bye Sunkit. What is to happen to Brightkit now that the MoonClan kit is gone?
Also, I'll also start using the three "{*}"s for both POV changes and time lapses. Sorry if its confusing!
As Brightkit watched Sunkit turn tail and bound up to the dripping wet MoonClan leader, Sunkit looked back at her with his ice blue eyes with a bittersweet look in them. She felt her heart sink as well.
He's so close to my brother. Why in the name of StarClan would he choose to live with those cold-blooded MoonClan cats instead of us?
Brightkit looked up at Gingermoon whose eyes, too, were clouded with grief.
Gingermoon's going to miss him as much as I will. He would've made a great friend and family member for the four of us.
"Mama, where's Sunkit going?" mewed Drizzlekit with confusion. Gingermoon sighed as she looked down at her tiny daughter.
"He has chosen MoonClan over us." the queen choked, "MoonClan. Drizzlekit, tell me, am I really that bad of a mother?" Drizzlekit shook her head almost instantaneously.
"I think that you're the perfectest and couldn't be better!" Drizzlekit reassured her honestly, "But it was Sunkit's decision, and he thinks of MoonClan as his birth clan. That's probably the reason why he went back."
"Thank you, Drizzlekit." Gingermoon purred, but still had a slight lingering sadness within her gaze that refused to let up.
"Yeah, you're the best!" agreed Squirrelkit as he leapt onto her back playfully. Oddly, he acted almost indifferent to Sunkit's departure. Happier, almost.
At least someone's happy about losing him. Brightkit reasoned.
Gingermoon then looked down upon Brightkit. Before she could ask for her opinion, the grey kit spoke her thoughts about her.
"I think that you are just as kind and beautiful as my birthmother," Brightkit whispered quietly. Gingermoon's amber eyes were suddenly lit with a new flame that even evaporated the cold depression within them. The same warmth rebounded onto Brightkit right after she spoke.
Gingermoon, Squirrelkit, and Drizzlekit add up perfectly to Frostbreeze and Shadowkit. After all, they are my true family now.
{*}{*}{*}
Two moons had passed since Sunkit had left the clan, and Darkstar had decided to hold a clan meeting. It was sun high, when the shining flames of the Fire Rock were highest, when Darkstar said the words the three kits had been waiting for moons. Gingermoon had been grooming them all morning, taking an especially long time on Drizzlekit who had gotten her long, white fur caked with muck. Though, being a FlameClan cat, Gingermoon could never get the smoke stains out of her once snow-white fur.
Now, at last, it was Brightkit's turn.
"Brightkit, step forward!" Darkstar commanded.
"Brightkit, from now on you'll be known as Brightpaw. Your mentor will be Ebonyflight! We hope your cheerfulness and sense of awareness shall give FlameClan a great," Darkstar seemed to struggle with his ending word, "gift."
"Brightpaw! Squirrelpaw! Drizzlepaw!" cheered the Clan. Squirrelpaw stood beside his mentor, a dark grey cat called Duskstorm, while Drizzlepaw muttered something under her breath about Sunkit. Brightpaw rolled her eyes.
Drizzlepaw had been acting different ever since Sunkit had left FlameClan, and most of the Clan was worried about her.
Brightpaw met Squirrelpaw's blue-lavender gaze, gave a slight nod towards Drizzlepaw and rolled her eyes. Squirrelpaw looked like he was fighting back a laugh as the meeting came to a close.
Brightpaw bounced around her black mentor, swamped with an excitement she had never experienced before. "Can we go hunting?" she begged. "Please, please, PLEASE?"
"Now, now, calm down!" giggled Ebonyflight, clearly over-excited herself with her first apprentice finally having arrived. "We're going on border patrol with Drizzlepaw and Wolfheart."
"Which border?" piped up Drizzlepaw. Brightpaw noticed a hopeful look in her green eyes that she could hardly detect, but it was definitely there.
"MoonClan," growled Wolfheart, Drizzlepaw's scruffy brown mentor,
"Thank StarClan," Drizzlepaw breathed under her breath, and Brightpaw looked at her in surprise. What's so important about patrolling MoonClan?
"Are you okay?" she hissed at her friend, kindly shouldering her ribcage.
Drizzlepaw looked startled, but nodded. "Oh, y-yes! I'm fine! Now, let's get going!"
Their trek through the ash-filled air and charcoal trees was a long one, but beautiful. The colors of orange and grey that floted in the air, the crunch of the golden grass beneath her pads... Brightpaw wanted to do this again and again every day until the day she died.
Both her and Drizzlepaw struggled to contain their awe during the four's run. Eventually, they slowed when they began to see slightly patchy green trees.
They trotted along the border, Brightpaw gazing about her with big light green eyes, trying to take in everything her gaze could see.
"Everything's HUGE!" Drizzlekit shouted, no longer able to contain her excitement.
"Big, isn't it?" laughed Wolfheart. "I remember my first time out of camp."
Brightpaw didn't even remember this wasn't her first time out of camp; she was drifting so far from her memories. She had almost forgotten everything.
Except for Shadowkit.
She remembered him vividly, his shimmering golden fur, his sweet blue eyes, his teasing voice, his jet black paw that matched hers exactly…
Hold on, Brightpaw. You swore that you'd give up on him! the new apprentice scolded herself.
But the memories came back anyway.
"Come on, Blossomkit! Let's go fight off some mangy foxes!" Shadowkit cried, rushing along the forest floor. She noticed a scattered green leaf floating to the earth and before she could do or say anything, Shadowkit gave a huge leap and his black paw snatched it right out of the sky.
"Nice catch!" she mewed.
"Thanks!" he said humbly, but anyone could tell he was extremely proud.
She purred and licked him right behind his ear, and then picked up the leaf in her jaws, but promptly spat it out again. It had a sharp, bitter taste that was totally gross!
Looking next to her, she saw Shadowkit laughing like crazy. "Why you—!" she cried out, and
chased him around the clearing...
Brightpaw laughed at the memory. She could still taste the bitter leaf juice in her others looked at her weirdly but didn't say anything.
The group then reached the edge of the MoonClan border. It smelled strongly of… turtles? Brightpaw remembered Frostbreeze smelling of them on those very rare nights. She would always say how much they'd enjoy them as soon as they came of age.
"What's with that smell?" asked Drizzlepaw, wrinkling her nose at the scent.
"That is the scent of turtles." Wolfheart answered, gagging. "You know, little shelled creatures?"
"MoonClan cats eat turtles—I'm sure you've heard nursery tales about it?" said Ebonyflight, looking slightly sick at the smell herself.
"Yeah, but I didn't think that was true at first!" Brightpaw said. "Oh—yuck!"
As they were talking about the weirdness of MoonClan—("They must be weird if they actually eat turtles," reasoned Brightpaw)—pawsteps were sounded behind them and suddenly four cats appeared. Two were fully grown, their fur fluffed up, but the other two huddled close behind them, unsure of who these strange cats were. One was a ginger and white she-cat. The other was a cat that Brightpaw recognized—and Drizzlepaw made it clear that she knew him, too. The two warriors were far stockier than her escorts, and their paws appeared so swollen that it was gross.
Though one scent was familiar. Drizzlepaw seemed to recognize it first.
"SUNKIT!" Drizzlepaw yowled loud enough to scare the prey from the MoonClan to MistClan.
Wolfheart looked at her questioningly. Ebonyflight muttered an explanation in her ear, making the suspicion cease.
Though, the two bulky MoonClan warriors growled and stepped in front of the two smaller cats behind them. The golden tom walked around the bold toms and responded to the black and white apprentice.
"Its Sunpaw now, and thank you, Drizzlekit," he said curtly; obviously he didn't want his companions to see he had friendships in FlameClan. The two clans weren't allies, after all; MoonClan was allied with EarthClan and FlameClan was with MistClan.
The black-and-white she-cat seemed to be in such a daze she didn't even correct Sunpaw. She was just happy to see him.
"Come on, Sunpaw," growled one of the MoonClan cats. "We'll just leave the FlameClan dirt alone, shall we?"
The ginger and white companion who looked Sunpaw's age nodded and pulled Sunpaw away with her tail. Her own blue eyes, lighter shade than the golden tom's, traveled back to Drizzlepaw. A hidden warning seemed to be laced in with her concern. Drizzlepaw, only for a second, looked like she'd tear the larger she-cat's throat out.
Wolfheart's hackles raised and he was about to snarl something at the tom but they swept along before he could react. "Fox-hearted killing shells," she muttered.
Brightpaw was shocked. "Do you actually believe that story?"
"They can be so rude sometimes, I find it hard not to believe," Wolfheart said to her. "You'll understand when you're older."
FWUMP
Brightpaw spun back around only to see her friend had run head-first into one of FlameClan's many blackened trees, successfully ending their conversation. Drizzlepaw hissed in frustration and shook the charred tree bark out of her fur.
"Are you okay?" asked Ebonyflight approaching her friend's apprentice.
"Fine," muttered Drizzlepaw, but only Brightpaw noticed the moony look in her eyes.
Chapter Nine Edited!