I breathed in the sweet smell of my mother's milk as I cuddled closer to her. I could hear the breathing of another queen, Crowpelt. I kept my eyes closed like always, I wanted to be out of the nursery before I opened them for the first time. It would be more special that way.
I squeaked as a paw prodded me in the side.
"Will you open your eyes today, Sunkit?" I recognized the voice immediately, Snowkit. Him and his sister, Darkkit, were Crowpelt's kits, we were the only kits in the whole clan. I heard Featherstar, our leader, was beginning to worry we won't have enough new warriors in the near future.
"I need to be outside first, you know this, Snowkit." I whispered, trying not to disturb my mother, Ashfeather. I heard a grumble from across the den.
"Oh Sunkit, you have to do it eventually. You'll never be a warrior with your eyes closed," Darkkit huffed, "besides, me and Snowkit need to show you around camp before we become apprentices." Darkkit and Snowkit were 5 moons old, to be an apprentice you need to be at least 6 moons old, I was only 4 moons old. I sighed.
"I will, just not now. I don't want to open my eyes only to see a gross, moldy old nursery." I laid my head on my paws. My mother shifted behind me and purred sleepily.
"Sunkit, maybe if you opened your eyes you would see that the nursery is not some gross, moldy old den. It's quite nice actually." I could hear the smirk in her voice. I was Ashfeather's only kit, she had many more, but they were all in Starclan now. I've had this silly lecture every morning.
"Ashfeather, I can smell the mold growing already. I just want to be an apprentice already so I can sleep in the apprentices den." I whined. Ashfeather laughed as I listened to Snowkit and Darkkit playing just across the den.
"Sunkit, you need to open your eyes to be an apprentice, you know this. You can't fight enemy cats or catch prey without being able to see." I huffed in frustration. Ashfeather licked my head gently lulling me to sleep again.
I awoke with a fright from one of my frequent nightmares. These large things would chase me. I couldn't see in any of my dreams, I just heard and smelled what I could. I think I was running through the forest, even though I couldn't see I somehow always knew where I was going. These beasts smelled of crow-food and death, I always heard low, deep growls and barking. I don't know what they were, but it scared me nonetheless.
I licked my paws roughly, trying to rid myself of the horrible dream. I sniffed the air and smelled the fresh scent of a recent rain. I loved the rain, it relaxed me so easily just to hear the tap tap tap of the raindrops as they fell upon the dens' bramble roof. This would be a good day to open my eyes.
I stopped licking my paw at the thought, it would be a good day. Purring happily, I got up and pawed at Ashfeather's flank to wake her. She jerked awake.
"Huh? What?" She said startled. She must've seen me cause she then said, "Oh, it's only you, Sunkit." I purred as I asked,
"Can we go outside today?" I mewed, innocently. I was suddenly thrown about as Snowkit jumped onto my back.
"Did you just say you'd go outside today?" He shrieked loudly.
"Quiet down, some cats are still trying to sleep." His mother scolded from across the den.
"What's happening?" Yawned the sleepy voice of Darkkit. I heard her pad across the den to her brother's side and he jumped off of me. I shook out my pelt before replying.
"I just want to go outside, that's all. It rained last night and I want to know what it feels like." I didn't say how I planned to open my eyes today. Let them be surprised to see me looking around with my actual eyes.
My mother purred, "Of course! We can all go outside and play today." I felt her get up slowly and shake out her soft fur. I wonder what Ashfeather looked like. I wondered what I looked like. "Come on, Sunkit, lets see if you can get out without hitting into anything."
I stepped out into the clearing, I knew I was out because the sudden rush of wind and the strong scent of many cats were all around me. I took everything in without the experience of sight. I wondered if I'd miss the darkness. Nonsense, if I did get tired of it I could always close my eyes again.
I felt Snowkit and Darkkit brush past me, "Come on, Sunkit, you're in the way of the opening."
I bounced forward a little and hit into something hard.
"Ouch!" I cried. I shook my head to get rid of the stinging.
"Watch out there little one," the tom purred, "keep bouncing around like that and you'll bounce your way into a fox hole." His tail swiped my nose as he walked away. My senses were beginning to get overwhelmed with the amount of activity in the clearing.
"That was Lizardbelly," mewed Ashfeather, I jumped, I hadn't realized how close she was to me, "just don't go running into everyone, you'd be on elder duty for a few moons like that." She purred and I heard her pad away toward where I believe Snowkit and Darkkit were.
It's now or never I thought. I began to work my eyes open. For some reason I couldn't get them open, no matter what I did it was still dark and lonely. I heard the gasp of Snowkit and everything else suddenly didn't seem to matter.
"Sunkit! You opened your eyes!" I turned my head towards the sound of his voice.
"Sunkit! I'm so proud of you!" My mother mewed. What were they talking about? I couldn't see anything.
"What are you talking about?" I meowed, voicing my concerns.
"Sunkit, isn't it beautiful out here? And look at the sun today, you can look at it because it's behind the clouds, so it won't hurt your eyes." Darkkit purred from beside me. I jumped not knowing she had gotten so close.
"Sunkit, are you okay?" it was Snowkit again, "Didn't you see Darkkit beside you?" I turn to his voice again. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Snowkit hissed.
I jumped away from him at the sound of his voice suddenly too close. "Looking at you how? I can't see you."
"What do you mean you can't see?" Ashfeather mewed from farther away, "Your eyes are open, Sunkit. Just look around." My head flopped down.
"Ashfeather, I can't see. What's wrong with me?" I tear escaped my eye and rolled down my muzzle.
"What's happening here?" It was Cloudrunner, our clan's medicine cat, "all this noise is going to wake the rest of the camp." Cloudrunner had visited the nursery from time to time to check up on us to make sure we are healthy as can be.
"Sunkit, says she can't see." Cries Ashfeather. More tears escaped hearing her mother in distress.
"Well, lets see," I heard Cloudrunner pad closer and he did something with his paw right in front of me, "Sunkit, how many marks did I draw in the dirt right here." I keep crying as I stretch out a paw to feel on the ground.
"Where are they, Cloudrunner?" My mother hiccuped in the background. The clearing of Thunderclan had grown quiet, and without the noise I knew in my heart something was wrong.
Cloudrunner took a step back, "I'm sorry, Ashfeather, but it looks like this young kit is blind." Ashfeather wailed and I heard some cat run past me. I started to panic.
"No wait, I can tell how many. There are three, right? Three marks?" I kept my paw outstretched feeling over the ground. Everyone seemed to be walking away from me. "Please," I cried, "I want to see. I want to see everything." I felt fur brush by me. A paw bumped into mine spraying dirt onto mine.
"Good job, Sunkit. There are three marks." Snowkit said sadly. He licked away my tears and laid his tail on my back to guide me back to the nursery.
Chapter 2Three moons had passed in darkness. I'm tired of it. I want to know why I was named after the sun, by actually looking at myself and then back to the glowing orb in the sky. I asked Ashfeather what I looked like. She had told me that I had a pelt of glowing gold with eyes the color of the moon. Course I had no idea what all that meant, but Ashfeather said it was beautiful and I trusted her.
Snowkit and Darkkit were now apperentices