A/N: Woo, sorry for the long wait. I wanted this out yesterday but had no motivation to write. :( I'll try to post again later today.

Hazel Ashwood: Aw, I wish I was quarantined. I mean, I don't want anyone to be sick at work or anything, but there is so much I could be doing that isn't work. I work in the shipping industry moving boxes and telling other people to move boxes, which is very essential, you know. I am slowly losing my mind and I have to squeeze in writing these chapters between everything else. D8

Spiritkit sat beside the entrance to the nursery and looked out at the camp, wondering when Forestpaw would be back from his hunting patrol. It was so lonely in the den without him. All thirteen of the other kits had been made apprentices. Because prey was in high demand, Spiritkit suspected that none of the younger apprentices would recieve any real training until after the older ones were given their first assessment. Even though he was glad not to hear them constantly mewing at each other about how excited they were to become warriors, the den felt unnaturally empty without them. Only he and his two biological sisters remained in the nursery, and neither of his sisters were particularly happy about that.

"Why do we have to stay in the nursery?" wailed Cottonkit. "It's so boring!"

"We're big enough!" Nightkit loudly agreed. She looked sharply out of the den. "We're bigger than Forestpaw!"

Cinderheart looked down helplessly at her kits. "We don't have any warriors to train you yet," she mewed. "You're just going to have to be patient."

"Graystone, Slatefang, and Harrierflight don't have apprentices," Cottonkit mumbled.

"Yeah!" agreed Nightkit.

"They're young warriors," mewed Cinderheart. "They need to learn how to be respectable warriors first before they can be given an apprentice, and there are already three apprentices who don't have mentors yet."

"We can be apprentices after they get mentors," mewed Cottonkit.

"But Ashfall has one!" mewed Nightkit.

"Ashfall is moons older than them," mewed Cinderheart.

"But he was made a warrior at the same time as them!" cried Nightkit, stubbornly.

Cinderheart looked helplessly at Brindleface, but the older she-cat looked just as lost as Cinderheart.

"Maybe Sandstorm can teach you some hunting moves," Cinderheart conceded.

Nightkit and Cottonkit cheered at their victory and nearly bowled Spiritkit over as they raced out of the den. Spiritkit squinted, trying to recognize the silvery cat-like shapes that padded across the blackness of the rest of the world. His sister raced up to an older spirit, with a collection of smaller spirits near her belly. More than likely, neither of his sisters would actually get any training today. Sandstorm had only grown more and more snappish as she started to show more and more of her pregnancy.

It had been strange, waking up one day to discover he could see. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that he couldn't see what every other cat saw. Everyone around him acted like they were somehow able to see the differences in the darkness and step over things that Spiritkit himself tripped over. He hated having to drag his whiskers across the ground because he knew none of the other cats needed to do it in order to see the ground. It was frustrating.

At least I have a cool mom, he thought. He had heard murmurings about Foxstar ever since he was born. The she-cat was the largest cat in all the Clans, and had come to the Clan about the same time as Firestar, but that was where the similarities ended. She had become mentor to one of Tigerclaw's former apprentices, a dark tabby, and was trained by the dark warriors before she helped to exile them. Without her, his father, Ravenfeather, wouldn't have stayed and had kits with Cinderheart.

Maybe that would have been a good thing, he thought sulkily. A warm breath ruffled his ears. His fur prickled and he turned to look up at his mother.

"How are you doing?" Cinderheart asked, a touch nervously. After how loud his sisters had been, he almost wasn't surprised.

"I'm just waiting for Forestpaw," mewed Spiritkit neutrally.

Cinderheart flicked her tail thoughtfully, unsure what to say in response. "Do you want to be a warrior?"

I don't know, he admitted to himself. Ever since Foxstar had told him he could be a warrior, he realized that he had only wanted to be one because everyone had acted so strangely to the idea of him being one and he had wanted to prove himself to them. But now that he could sort of see, his world view had shifted. He understood why cats didn't want him to be a warrior. It wasn't strange of them to not want him to be one. He could turn out very useless.

But I can see now, he thought. He could practice hunting crouches without having his paws shoved into the proper places. He could be useful. Forestpaw, at least, understood that. It was one of things that Foxstar said he'd excel at if he became a warrior, and he still wanted to excel at it regardless of which path he ended up choosing.

"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled.

Cinderheart shuffled on her paws. Her spirit was a beautiful silvery white. The smoke and mist swirled around inside of her form, but he couldn't see any stars in her pelt. Not like Foxstar, Firestar, or Forestpaw. She seemed incomplete, somehow, without it. Her face morphed into one of frustration, and he wondered if she would make that face if she knew he could see it. She hesitated to lean down and touch her nose to his ear, the touch light and gentle, as if she was afraid he'd suddenly fall apart at the touch.

He looked away and flicked his ear across her nose, as if he hadn't seen her gesture. She hesitated before finally walking out of the den. When she spotted his father, she immediately perked up and raced off, as energetic as Nightkit when someone told her she could finally eat meat.

Spiritkit spotted Forestpaw. His spirit was distinct, green, and solid, with flickering lights in his pelt. He wasn't the same fiery red as Firestar or the bright yellow of Foxstar, but he glowed and felt complete, unlike everyone else. His heart pulsed with excitement and he raced across camp until his nose brushed against the bramble entrance. He crouched, eager to pounce, as the first two cats entered the camp. Their spirits were misty and starless. Then, Forestpaw stepped into camp, like a beacon of bright green light.

Spiritkit leaped, knocking him off his paws and onto his side. "How was it? Did you see a fox? Did you smell an enemy warrior? Did you catch a squirrel?"

"Mmmmfh!" responded Forestpaw, and Spiritkit quickly hopped off. The two of them were the same size, and Spiritkit wasn't used to it. Forestpaw had always felt so big and strong when they'd both been kits.

He heard something his the ground and realized he must have knocked some of the prey out of Forestpaw's mouth. The green spirit was bent over the darkness and Spiritkit quickly padded up to join him in sniffing the ground, feeling his whiskers brush against prey and the scent fill his nose.

"See for yourself!" Forestpaw mewed, purring triumphantly.

Spiritkit could smell each individual and didn't both nosing through the small pile. "Two mice, a shrew... and a squirrel!"

"You can have it," mewed Forestpaw knowingly. "I prefer moles anyway."

Spiritkit didn't question it and quickly snapped up the squirrel. The tail was fluffy and tickled the roof of his mouth, but he didn't care. He was going to eat it and be big and strong like Foxstar.

"I went to see Foxstar," mewed Forestpaw, lowering his voice. As if the whole Clan didn't already know that he would constantly duck out just to meet his mom. Their mom. "She says SunClan has adjusted to the cornfields well and that Freezepelt has finally figured out how to properly bow."

"I wish I could see her again," mewed Spiritkit. If there was one thing he really hated about not being an apprentice, it was that he couldn't leave the camp. "I wish I was learning every inch of the territory."

"Me too," mewed Forestpaw. "She's amazing! Better than the stories say."

Better than Cinderheart, I'm sure, Spiritkit thought. "Maybe she can come visit us again?"

"Foxstar doesn't want to leave the camp while they're still adjusting to the new territory," Forestpaw mewed, sounding as disappointed by the news as Spiritkit felt.

"It's been three moons!" Spiritkit explained. "How long does it take?"

Forestpaw let out a hm-hrm that Spiritkit had long ago associated with a shrug. Now he could watch the green spirit's shoulders rise and fall along with it.

Spiritkit decided to change the subject. "Can you tell me about the forest again?"

"I'll do one better!" Forestpaw sounded much happier now. "I'll show you a few hunting moves!"

Excitement prickled in Spiritkit's pelt and his tail rose. It was like a dream come true!

"Show him?" echoed another cat.

Spiritkit had already flattened his ears even as he turned his head towards the noise. Viperpaw stood in front of her posse of siblings. Oceanpaw towered over all of his siblings, maybe even his own mother, with his long legs and massive coat. Brockpaw, a thick tom in his own right, looked like a kit beside him.

"Spiritkit can't even see the nose in front of his face," Viperpaw mewed hotly.

"Yeah," mewed Brockpaw in agreement.

Spiritkit felt Forestpaw tremble nervously beside him even though his mew sounded brave. "Then it shouldn't bother you if I do or don't."

"It's a waste of time," Oceanpaw mewed disapprovingly. "You've already got his head full about being our brother. Now you're gonna try and teach him how to be a warrior, too?"

"Yeah!" mewed Brockpaw, and Spiritkit thought that the bulky tom might prefer his brother Oceanpaw over his sister Viperpaw.

"Mind your own business!" Forestpaw growled, his claws sinking into the ground.

"Of course," mewed Viperpaw, cutting Oceanpaw off from a retort, "it bothers us. We're his Clanmates. How can we trust a blind warrior to defend our border when he can't even see cats?"

Spiritkit's fur spiked up in anger. Unlike Oceanpaw, Viperpaw was a normal-sized ThunderClan cat. Spiritkit was confident he could pin her down. Without hesitating, he lunged.

Brockpaw and Forestpaw gasped at the same time. Viperpaw didn't even move, holding her breath as Spiritkit landed in front of her.

"Pff, you miss-!"

Spiritkit slammed his head into her chest and slashed her paws out from under her. Viperpaw let out a startled shriek before the two were tumbling end over end through the camp. Spiritkit bit down on Viperpaw's tail until he tasted blood, and Viperpaw shrieked with pain. Her teeth connected with his ear, threatening to rip it clean off. For a heartbeat, Spiritkit envisioned a future where he couldn't hear like he could now and suddenly he released his grip with a shriek.

"Let go!" he cried out, heart pounding with sudden fear. "Let go!"

Viperpaw growled with triumph and twisted her head, yanking hard on his ear. A yowl pierced the air and Spiritkit smelled Forestpaw before he saw him. Spiritkit clamped a paw down on his now free ear, twisting to watch as Forestpaw and Viperpaw writhed and screeched at each other. Oceanpaw looked downright mutinous and ready to intervene, but Brockpaw was a half a tail in front of him, watching the fight with his fur on end and blocking any leap Oceanpaw might make.

In a move as fast a lightning, Viperpaw knocked Forestpaw's paws out from under him and pinned him with his face in the dirt. Before she could demand him surrender, Spiritkit rose to his own paws and knocked her down and pinned her. Viperpaw wiggled in an attempt to break his hold but Spiritkit adjusted his weight quickly to press her cheek into the ground.

His heart soared. It felt good to end up on top.

"ENOUGH!" yowled a tom. "What is going on here?"

Spiritkit's eyes went wide as he took in the familiar outline of Brackenfur. The ThunderClan deputy looked more than a little angry that his apprentice had been involved in a fight. "Forestpaw, explain yourself."

"Viperpaw was taunting Spiritkit about how he can't see," Forestpaw mewed. "Then she bit his ear."

"He attacked her!" mewed Oceanpaw defensively.

"Viperpaw provoked him," mewed Brockpaw, more calmly.

Who's side are you on, Brockpaw? Spiritkit wondered, but decided not to look a gift rabbit in the stomach.

Oceanpaw snarled lowly, unhappy that he'd been out voted.

"Spiritkit," ordered Brackenfur, "get off of Viperpaw."

Spiritkit quickly obeyed. For a heartbeat, Spiritkit wondered if Brackenfur was going to punish him. Brackenfur was a fair and intelligent cat, having been trained by Foxstar herself. Surely he understood that Spiritkit's honor had been at stake here?

Brackenfur continued. "Now tell me in your own words what happened here."

"Viperpaw said I would never be a warrior because I 'can't see my nose in front of my face'."

Brackenfur looked steadily at Viperpaw. "Is this true?"

Viperpaw mewed wisely. "How can we trust blind cats to see?"

The deputy made a face at this response. "So you questioned his honor and you lost."

Viperpaw bristled at this declaration. "I didn't lose," she spat. "Forestpaw interfered."

"You lost," Brackenfur mewed firmly. "Spiritkit didn't need his eyes to pin you down."

Viperpaw almost made a retort at this declaration but Brackenfur spoke over her. "You will spend the next quarter moon removing ticks from the elder's pelt and helping Mistleleaf and Ravenpaw collect herbs." Brackenfur turned to Spiritkit. "Go to the medicine cat den and get that wound tended to."

Spiritkit dipped his head politely and turned away. He wondered briefly if the deputy was shocked that he could perform a respectful nod without having seen one before.

But I have seen one done before, he thought, feeling a tiny bit frustrated. But the victory he had accomplished today eased that frustration and he almost felt giddy to have his first battle wounds treated.

As he stepped closer towards the medicine cat den and felt his way inside, he was greeted with one of two strange cats in ThunderClan.

Ever since Ravenpaw had been small, he'd always been big. It had taken almost a half-moon before Spiritkit figured out that the spirit in front of him and the five moon old cat he had known as a kit were in fact two very different cats. Ravenpaw looked old and had a starry pelt, like Brindleface, but Spiritkit knew that the tom was actually very lean and scrawny.

"Mistleleaf isn't here," the tom mewed.

The spirit pawed through the invisible herbs with the skill of a born medicine cat, easily picking out the herbs that would be needed to treat the wounds. He put his tail on Spiritkit's shoulder to guide him to a nest but Spiritkit simply lowered his head and padded out of reach of his tail. He found the nest through scent and the feel of moss under his paws. Ravenpaw immediately began applying a poultice and cobwebs.

"These poppyseeds will help with any pain."

Spiritkit didn't realize until that moment that his ear hurt. The excitement of the fight had finally left him and he felt exhausted. He hesitated to lick up the poppyseed, fully aware that too many or one at the wrong time could kill him, before remembering that Ravenpaw was a skilled medicine cat with a spirit older than anyone else here. He licked one up and settled down to sleep.

As sleep slowly claimed him, the medicine cat den was filled with a rush of noise. Many cats seemed to move in and out of the den, but Spiritkit couldn't open his eyes to see any of them.

A raspy voice breathed on his ear. "Wake up, kit."

Spiritkit blinked open his eyes and stared up with wide eyes. The world was dark except for starlight filtering through the branches above, and he was amazed to finally put sound to the leaves and branches he had been hearing since he was a kit.

Then he saw cats! They looked so different. A massive dark brown she-cat with reddish fur along her spine and white throat and chin stared down at her, her glowing yellow eyes flashing brightly.

Beside her, an older flat-faced she-cat with dark gray fur and pale yellow eyes gazed down at him. She pulled back when Spiritkit looked at her. "Welcome to StarClan, Spiritkit."

Panic shot through him and he sat up. "Am I dead?"

"No," mewed the massive she-cat and he was shocked to recognize her voice.

"Foxstar?"

The massive she-cat nodded grimly. "I am Foxstar."

Spiritkit's voice rose high with panic. "Are you dead?"

Foxstar gave a low purr of amusement before she looked away. "He is not ready."

"Give him time," rasped the older she-cat.

Foxstar stared hard at the she-cat. "He will become ready without your interference, Yellowfang. Let him sleep."

Spiritkit opened his mouth to protest, to ask a question, to say hello to the massive brown she-cat, but they both disappeared.

A/N: Don't forget to leave a review! :3