A/N: Here we go! Chapter 3! Sorry guys, I meant to have this finished last night but I got super addicted to Beastars and literally could not stop until I reached the end of episode 4. I was up until 1am last night and that's bad because I had work at 7am. I have had no sleep. D:

Londenvetgirl25: Heyo! Welcome to the Legacy Series! I'm not sure if I touched on this in the last few chapters of The Legend Begins - I was in a rush to complete that and I tended to very loosely stay on top of my notes back then - but Foxstar asked Dustpelt to stay in ThunderClan to take care of her kits. She couldn't stand the thought of them being without both of their parents especially since she was duty bound to StarClan to keep her promise and save SkyClan. Hope that answers your question. :)

Hazel Ashwood: Thank you so much! That's probably because I couldn't write Darkpaw, Firestar, and Tawnypaw as anything other than boring background characters. I made a grave mistake when I didn't give them enough to do. But now we have Spiritkit and there is so much to do with him that I am struggling not to just pad out the story with his shenanigans. I'm trying my hardest to stick with the original outline, even though I'm smoothing that out as I go along LOL.

Spiritkit jerked awake at the sound of Dustpelt almost yelling. It was strange to hear one of the senior warriors getting angry, and Dustpelt was borderline ready to claw someone's ears off.

"-dishonorable! Do you understand?"

"The Warrior Code-" started Viperpaw.

"-says a warrior should defend the Clan. How does provoking fights against Clanmates defend ThunderClan?"

A tail rested on Spiritkit's ear and he turned and blinked up at his father, Ravenfeather. He looked worried, staring at his ear instead of his eyes. "How do you feel?"

Spiritkit flicked his ears back, ignoring the feel of cobwebs in his fur. "It doesn't hurt so much anymore."

Ravenfeather nodded. "Good. Do you remember what happened?"

"Viperpaw mocked me," mewed Spiritkit, feeling a flash of pride as he remembered pinning her down. "And I pinned her!"

Instead of looking pleased, Ravenfeather looked disappointed. "A warrior should never fight their own Clanmate."

Spiritkit felt his heart sink. "But I was defending my honor."

"You tarnished your honor when you raised a claw against your Clanmate," mewed Ravenfeather sternly. "You should only use your claws to defend yourself and your Clanmates."

Spiritkit pinned his ears back and looked away, staring down at his paws. "Sorry."

Ravenfeather sighed. "But you did prove to the Clan that you could fight."

Spiritkit perked his ears forward. "Do you think I could be a warrior?"

Ravenfeather's whiskers twitched. "Yes," he mewed. "I've always thought so."

Dustpelt padded closer to them. Spiritkit realized he must have come from one of the other dens further back, one of ones used for isolating sick cats. The tom stared down at Spiritkit, purposefully staring at his forehead instead of his eyes. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Spiritkit mewed, feeling sulky.

Dustpelt nodded, satisfied, and Spiritkit appreciated that he didn't make any noise. The senior warrior looked at his brother. "I will be outside."

"All right," mewed Ravenfeather.

They watched Dustpelt leave, and almost immediately Spiritkit heard him yelling again. He could see Oceanpaw's spirit outside, with Brockpaw beside him. Before long, Dustpelt was dragging his largest son across the camp by his ear, Brockpaw slinking behind them both, looking more chastised than Oceanpaw did. Spiritkit's whiskers fluffed in amusement despite himself.

But as the noise faded, Spiritkit picked up another noise in the den. His gaze turned back to where Dustpelt had come from and he almost jumped out of his fur at the sight of Viperpaw and her mentor, Ashfall, leaning close together and whispering. Ashfall was the only cat in all of ThunderClan that looked scary to Spiritkit. He wasn't the normal misty spirit in the form of a cat, or the starry spirit of an ancient cat, but a faded version of his real self with black orbs for eyes and blue irises. Spiritkit hadn't realized until then how normal Ashfall looked with his gray spotted fur.

His eyes made Spiritkit's fur stand on end, and his grumpy mood and the rumors about what he'd done as an apprentice made everyone leave him alone. Viperpaw had been his first chance to redeem himself to the Clan, and she was turning out to be almost as bad as Ashfall when he was an apprentice.

Spiritkit tore his gaze away and settled it on Ravenpaw's older spirit, before he finally remembered his dream.

"I had a strange dream last night," mewed Spiritkit quietly, looking up at his father. "There were two cats, and they were trying to get me to wake up."

"Oh?" mewed Ravenfeather curiously.

"Yeah," mewed Spiritkit. "One was Foxstar and the other was an old cat named Yellowfang. You ever heard of her?"

Ravenfeather had gone completely still. "What were Yellowfang and Foxstar talking about?"

Spiritkit shrugged. "All I really remember is that Foxstar told Yellowfang, 'He will become ready without your interference, Yellowfang. Let him sleep.' Become ready for what?"

"I-"

A loud noise like a pile of branches falling down made Ravenfeather's head snap around to stare at Ravenpaw. The medicine cat apprentice blinked at them both and mumbled an apology before hurriedly moving around the den as if he was cleaning up a mess. Ravenfeather stared a moment longer before he finally relaxed.

"Yellowfang is a StarClan medicine cat," mewed Ravenfeather instead. "I am not sure what Foxstar could have meant by what she said. Perhaps Yellowfang thinks you're going to make a good medicine cat apprentice?"

"But we already have a medicine cat apprentice," Spiritkit pointed out. "We have Ravenpaw."

Ravenfeather's whiskers twitched in agreement. "Perhaps Foxstar could explain it." He looked troubled. "I should inform Firestar just in case. Foxstar may have lost another life or..." He trailed off and looked away, looking anguished.

Spiritkit wondered if he was thinking about his apprentice-hood with Foxstar and how both of them had become warriors together after fighting a fox. Spiritkit had always wondered what a fox looked like after hearing that story and had listened to Dustpelt boast about how Oceanpaw and Foxstar were both as big as foxes. He shuddered to think of fighting one for his warrior assessment.

Ravenfeather rose to his paws. "I'll be back," he mewed. "Don't get into anymore fights."

"Yes, Dad," mewed Spiritkit. He watched Ravenfeather's spirit hurry off into the distance towards the orange fiery glow of Firestar's spirit. He jumped out of his fur when Ravenpaw tore the cobwebs off. "Hey!"

Ravenpaw mumbled what might have been an apology, but Spiritkit could see the anger in his Clanmates' eyes. Ravenpaw quickly put the old poultice and cobwebs aside and scrambled to come up with a new one. "Did Foxstar really say that to Yellowfang?"

"Yeah," mewed Spiritkit, wondering why Ravenpaw was getting so fierce.

The medicine cat apprentice's tail lashed into Spiritkit's face. "What makes you think you can be a medicine cat?" he mewed harshly. "You can't even see!"

Spiritkit pulled away from the angry tom. "What is wrong with you?" he demanded right back, glaring at the tom. "Are you asking for me to claw your ears off?"

The moment he said it, Spiritkit realized that wasn't what a warrior should do. But this wasn't about being a warrior. This was about defending his right to be whatever he wanted to be despite his disability.

"You probably can't tell wormwood from dock leaf." Ravenpaw seemed more like he was trying to convince himself of this as he snorted and turned away.

Spiritkit's fur prickled hotly with newfound temper. "I can smell them better than you could."

Ravenpaw snorted. "That won't help you apply a few cobwebs. Or catch a fish or a squirrel."

The medicine cat apprentice reached for Spiritkit's ear but the smaller tom stepped out of the way, suddenly not wanting the tom to touch him at all. "I can prove to you that I can hunt," he snapped. "I'll bring back the juiciest prey in the forest."

Ravenpaw suddenly looked worried and regretful. "You don't have to prove yourself."

But at that point Spiritkit had stopped listening to Ravenpaw. Of course he had to prove himself. With a furious flick of his whiskers, Spiritkit stormed out of the den. They curled forward, allowing him to feel his way around the medicine cat den and out of the entrance. He padded determinedly towards the dirtplace, knowing full well that any apprentice or warrior standing guard at the camp's entrance would turn him away. He was out and in the forest before he could really convince himself otherwise. The sounds of water trickling down stone walls, of birds chirping quietly overhead as if trying to not be heard by cats below, and the sounds of squirrels chattering on tree branches filled the strange new world. He felt as blind as when he was a newborn kit, and the world was suddenly a lot larger and scarier than he had thought. He almost thought of turning back, but remembering what Viperpaw and Ravenpaw had said made him stay. He thrusted his nose out in the darkness and padded forward, his whiskers bushed up and out to detect even the faintest of air currents.

The smells were the hardest to sort through, at first. He smelled so many things, like herbs from the medicine cat den and prey from the freshkill pile, but also so many other things like wet dead earth and large animals that he had never heard about before. But his ears and nose locked onto a thrush, and he slowed in hopes of pouncing on the bird. He could feel bushes and trees around him on his whiskers, and felt pleased that the long and thick hairs could pick up so much. It was almost like he wasn't blind at all, at least for a full tail length in front of his face.

The bird ruffled its feathers. He could almost imagine the long soft and oily feathers sliding against each other as it prepared to take flight. Was it staring straight at him? Spiritkit had no idea what was more than a tail length in front of him. If he pounced now, would there be a bush in his way? He wished he knew every paw-step of territory in ThunderClan so he didn't have to guess.

If I don't pounce now, he thought, I'll lose this catch.

He leaped high. A stir of air ruffled his whiskers before something solid tried to fly passed his face. He twisted, his hind legs slamming down towards the ground and his foreclaws reaching up to snag a wing. The bird let out a cry as Spiritkit dragged it back down to the ground and stuffed it into his mouth, crushing it between his teeth. His heart was pounding in his ears and his tail was lashing at the bush around him, but he was on the ground and he had a bird in his mouth. He felt a twinge of pride.

But then he smelled the scent of herbs, fresh and sharp. He blinked and nearly dropped his freshkill as his whiskers ran across the ground under his paws. A soft juicy herb had been crushed under paw.

"Well done!" Mistleleaf bounded towards him, looking more pleased than upset. "I was almost certain you'd missed it."

Spiritkit felt suddenly guilty. "I'm sorry I crushed your herb."

"It's tansy," she mewed, with a shrug. "Herbs are always trampled by warriors when they're hunting or fighting. Want to learn how to gather it?"

"Is it still good?" Spiritkit wondered if the dirt might have ruined it.

"Of course," mewed Mistleleaf. "A little dirt won't hurt any cat. We'll set it out to dry over here."

They moved the plant over to the nearest warm boulder and spread it out carefully so the warmth touched every part of it.

"What does this do?" he mewed curiously.

"We're drying the herb," Mistleleaf explained. "That way it can survive longer in our stores and won't turn into mulch. The sunlight will heat it up for us and get rid of the water."

"Oh," he mewed, remembering how his father would lick his fur backwards after he'd been soaked in the rain. "Why don't we lick it?"

"Licking it would make it decay faster," mewed Mistleleaf. "We want to avoid getting any of our spit on it."

Spiritkit realized with a jolt that Mistleleaf reminded him of someone else. "You sound almost like Brackenfur."

"I'm sure Brackenfur got it from Foxstar." Mistleleaf's whiskers twitched in fond amusement. "Foxstar always prided herself on her lessons and knowledge. She taught me why some things medicine cats do are important while she was still in the camp."

"Foxstar is amazing," mewed Spiritkit, happy to hear that his adopted mother knew so much about many different things. I want to be just like her. He wished there was a way to be both a medicine cat and a warrior of the Clan.

"Hmm," Mistleleaf answered noncommittally. "It'll be a while before these herbs dry. I'll come back for it tonight. I should bring you back to camp. I'm sure everyone will want to know what you did."

Spiritkit remembered his prey and quickly fetched it. He lifted his whiskers triumphantly and trotted after Mistleleaf. When they reached the edge of the ravine, Spiritkit was shocked to find that the ravine wall was steeper than he thought. He had no idea how far down it went and wished he had made his way up the ravine wall when escaping the camp. Maybe then he could know whether or not he could jump into the dark abyss. Spiritkit focused his entire attention on where Mistleleaf landed and kept his body pressed against the rock face. The ledges had to be as wide as a paw's. He carefully followed in her pawsteps, for once grateful that he had her tail to help guide him. The last paw step down was the worst. His stomach turned in circles as he leaped the last tail-length and landed safely on the ground.

Am I going to have to get used to that? he wondered. He was not looking forward to climbing up and down the ravine every day to collect herbs, check on herbs, or hunt.

The whole Clan seemed to be awake, worriedly padding around as if looking for something. His father was the first to spot him, a green spirit trailing along after him.

"Spiritkit!" Ravenfeather pressed close to his face, a worried look in his green eyes. "What were you doing outside of camp?"

Spiritkit dropped his thrush and puffed out his chest in pride. "I was out hunting, and I caught a thrush."

Forestpaw sniffed the dead prey, looking impressed. "Whoa." He beamed. "No one can tease you about your eyes now."

A warmth filled him from head to toe at the praise. Thank you, Forestpaw, Spiritkit thought.

An older tom stepped forward. "Really?" The ghostly form of Ashfall stared at him with piercing eyes. "Are we sure the medicine cat didn't catch this for him?"

"Is there blood on my claws?" asked Mistleleaf, sounding strangely serene and calm despite the obvious challenge in her words.

Ashfall glanced down at their claws and huffed. "A kit shouldn't leave the camp, anyway."

"Ashfall's right," mewed the young gray warrior, Graystone, who frowned at Spiritkit. "You were just injured and now you're going off into the forest where there might be predators? They'd smell your blood and track you back to here."

As his Clanmates nodded in agreement, Spiritkit suddenly understood how Nightkit felt.

"Don't be ridiculous, Graystone," mewed Sandstorm. "If that were true, everyone who caught prey would be bringing back all the predators in the forest. You really think that they'd consider cat blood special? Every hunter knows that the best prey is prey that can be easily caught." She gestured pointedly towards the freshkill pile.

Some of the older warriors mumbled in agreement, causing Graystone to duck his head and flatten his ears.

"It doesn't matter about the blood," growled Dustpelt. "Spiritkit should never have left the medicine cat den to go hunting." He turned his glare on Ravenpaw. "You shouldn't have allowed this to happen."

The medicine cat apprentice ducked his head, ashamed. Spiritkit almost felt sorry for him.

Mistleleaf touched his shoulder with her tail. "I'll take him back to the den to look at his ear." Her tone was firm and commanding, and the Clan didn't stop her from padding to the medicine cat den.

When they were alone, Mistleleaf mewed softly. "Why did you leave the camp, Spiritkit?"

Spiritkit shifted on his paws. "Ravenpaw said I would never be a good medicine cat," he mewed finally.

"And yesterday?"

"Viperpaw said I would never be a good warrior," he admitted.

Was Mistleleaf going to agree with them and say he couldn't be a warrior or a medicine cat? What exactly was he supposed to do? He couldn't stay in the nursery forever!

"You have to stop letting other cats provoke you like this," Mistleleaf mewed instead. "It is unbecoming of an adult."

Spiritkit winced at the rebuke but felt a wave of frustration. "I'm six and a half moons!" he cried. "If someone could just show me around the territory, I could already be the best hunter in the Clan!"

Mistleleaf's odd-eyed stare brought him to a halt. "You think you can become a great hunter just because you caught one bird today? Cloudtail can come back with six prey in a leafbare day, which is more than any other warrior. Can you really beat him when you're barely more than a kit?"

"No," mewed Spiritkit sulkily.

He hated being compared to Cloudtail. The white tom had been adopted into the Clan by Foxstar after his mother was found dead near the thunderpath. He was technically Firestar's nephew, and had a permanent limp from his apprentice days after he led a patrol of apprentices to fight off a pack of dogs. Yet somehow, Cloudtail still managed to be the best hunter in the Clan, even in the coldest days of leaf-bare.

Mistleleaf flicked her whiskers in a brief frown. "You are more than capable of becoming the best Clanmate no matter what you do, Spiritkit, and Clan cats do not jump at every remark another cat makes about them."

Spiritkit lowered his head into his paws with a sigh. You don't understand, he wanted to say, feeling his growing frustration only get worse. I have to prove myself to everyone. The medicine cat started to apply a poultice to his ear and some cobwebs as well. I have to work harder than anyone else in the Clan because I can't see the same way they do!

A/N: Don't forget to leave a review! Especially if you have any questions/concerns/problems/complaints/confessions/flames! I live off them reviews. :3