Golden light streamed through the entrance of the den, warming the smooth rock walls of the cave. A small silver kit lay sleeping in a mossy nest, her chest rising and falling gently. As the sun shifted, and light pooled onto her spotted fur, she twitched. Slowly, she blinked open her kit-blue eyes, her jaws stretching wide in a huge yawn as she raised herself to her feet.
She clambered out of the nest and took a few disorientated steps forward, gazing around the large, brightly lit den. Suddenly, something barreled into her side, knocking her to the ground. She let out a faint mewl of protest as paws pinned her down against the sandy floor. "Come on, Echokit!" a voice meowed impatiently. "Icefeather said we could explore the camp today."
Echokit slowly raised her head to see a white she-kit standing over her, her whiskers twitching slightly. She purred, realizing it was a game, and batted at the she-kit's gray nose. The snow-furred kit jumped backwards, before dropping into a crouch and wiggling her hunches, preparing to leap.
"Be gentle with your sister, Frostkit," a calm purr sounded. The kits paused there game and glanced toward the back of the den. A pure white she-cat was sitting on a patch of fresh, green moss, her emerald eyes twinkling as she gazed warmly at the two kits.
"Yes, Icefeather," Frostkit purred innocently.
"Kits are stronger than they look," a voice mewed from behind them. The kits turned towards the entrance of the den, where a light gray tom was sitting, watching them play.
"Bubbleleap!" Echokit yowled, racing towards her father. He bent down and nuzzled her cheek softly, before giving her a lick on the ear. While Bubbleleap was busy greeting Echokit, Frostkit snuck up behind him, ready to pounce on his striped tail - which was waving lazily back and forth.
Slowly she crept forward - her paws making no sound as they sunk into the sandy floor with every step. When Frostkit was in striking distance, she pushed off with her hind legs, and caught his tail between her paws, purring with delight as she bit down with her small kit teeth. She growled softly, then, with a small squeak of surprise, she tumbled backwards, tripping over her large paws.
Bubbleleap spun around and was at Frostkit's side in an heartbeat, nudging her to her feet. "You'll make a fantastic warrior one day," he meowed encouragingly to her, brushing sand off her pelt with one of his cloud white paws.
Frostkit wriggled away from him, shaking her fur to get rid of the last specks of sand. "Can we look around the camp now?" she whined pleadingly to her father, quickly becoming bored with the confined area of the den to play in.
Glancing over at Icefeather, who nodded in agreement, Bubbleleap meowed, "Alright, you can go now. Just stay away from the bottom of the waterfall."
Echokit tilted her. "What's a waterfall?" she asked the greeneyed tom, gazing up at her father in confusion.
"The waterfall is a tower of tumbling water that rains down from the top of the cliff," he told them briskly, "Listen, you can hear the sound of it hitting the rocks."
Everyone was silent as the kits pricked their ears, listening for the sound of the waterfall. Sure enough, they could hear the faint noise of it pounding on the stones. "It's louder when your outside," Bubbleleap added, "But you'll get used to it after a while." He turned away to talk to his mate, leaving the kits to explore on their own.
"What are we waiting for?" Frostkit mewed, bubbling with excitement. Without giving Echokit any time to reply, she raced through the entrance of the den, heading up the tunnel that lead to the rest of camp.
Echokit followed Frostkit out of the nursery, taking it a bit slower than her impatient sister. Once they reached the end of the tunnel - it was only about a tail-length long - the rumbling sound of the waterfall was almost deafening. Strangely enough, they still couldn't see it.
They were in a small clearing, surrounded by a wall of ferns that was blocking their view of the rest of the camp. On the left side of the clearing was a massive pile of rocks, covered in thick moss with clumps of ferns sprouting out of the cracks. A small creek wound its way around the pile of stones, before disappearing through a gap in the fern wall.
The kits decided to follow the stream to see where it came from. They carefully edged their way around the boulders, pushing through several patches of ferns that were growing between the river and the rockpile. As they shoved past one particularly thick clump, they came to a halt, gazing wide eyed at the massive tower of water in front of them.
Echokit gasped in amazement at the sight of it. Carefully, she crawled forward over the smooth, flat stone that lined the river, being sure to not get too close the the churning water, as Bubbleleap had warned her earlier. A shower of pebbles suddenly clattered down on top of her, hitting her on the back of the head. "Ouch!" she squealed, spinning around to try and see what had dislodged the stones.
"Frostkit!" she yowled as she spotted her sister scrambling up the mound of rocks. "Get down," she called, running to the bottom of the pile. She half jumped half dragged herself onto the first rock, trying to get a better view of her sister. "What are you doing up there," she asked Frostkit loudly, trying to be heard over the roar of the waterfall.
"I wanted to get a better view," she yowled back. Echokit growled in annoyance, can't she see it's dangerous? "Okay, okay," Frostkit meowed, rolling her eyes. "I'm coming do-" Frostkit's mew was cut of by a screech. "Help! My paw's stuck."
Echokit placed her paws on the next stone and pulled herself up. "I'm coming, Frostkit," she yowled, climbing higher up the rock hill. Her limbs ached, she had never done this much exercise before! "Why did you stick your paw in there?" she asked Frostkit once she had reached her sister. The snowy she-kit had her foot jammed in a small crack in between two rocks, and was trying - unsuccessfully - to pull it out.
"I saw something shiny in there," she grunted, tugging on her paw to try to get it loose. Echokit moved closer, peering into the shadowy crack to try and see what her sister had been looking for. Suddenly, Frostkit jerked away from the hole - her paw coming free - but before she could regain her balance, she went tumbling backwards off the boulder they were on.
As Frostkit cried out, Echokit spun around and lunged forward, grasping her sister's scruff in her jaws. She felt her paws slipping as she began to be slide towards the edge, weighed down by Frostkit's greater size. Echokit tightened her grip and pulled backwards, hauling Frostkit back onto the rock just as she started to let go.
They lay there panting for a moment, before Frostkit spoke. "Th-thanks," she meowed shakily, draping her tail over her sister's shoulder. After they caught their breath, Frostkit got to her feet, wobbling slightly at first. She then carefully made her way back down the pile of stones, wanting to have her paws back on firm ground.
Echokit stood up, and was about to follow her, when she remembered the glimmering object that Frostkit had seen in the hole. Her paw was thinner than her sister's, so she reached into the gap, groping around for it. Her claws closed around something, and she pulled it out into the open.
It was a small, almost transparent pebble, and as the sun hit the glimmering orb, beams of light bounced off it in all directions. "Are you coming?" Frostkit's voice called from below. Echokit mewed to her that she would be down in a moment, and quickly grabbed the strange stone in her jaws before leaping down the rockpile to where Frostkit was waiting.
"Lets go explore the rest of the camp now," Frostkit meowed as soon as Echokit had reached the ground. She then turned and headed back towards the front of the rockpile, Echokit right behind her.
Once they had returned to the nursery clearing, Echokit left her stone on a mossy rock so she could come back and get it later. They then pushed through the ferns blocking them from central camp, ready to explore.
A massive sandy clearing stretched out in front of them, only broken up by a thick clump of ferns that was growing near the center. On one side of the clearing was the glimmering river, and on the other was a ginormous piece of rock, covered in ferns and moss, with a couple of dark holes in its side.
Cats lay sprawled out on smooth, flat stones at the edge of the clearing, enjoying the warm sunlight. Some sat talking near a well stocked pile of freshly caught fish, while others headed off to do their tasks. Nervously, the kits edged away from the nursery, gazing around the many cats.
A few cats glanced their way, but most didn't pay any attention to them. Echokit let out a sigh of relief. She turned to ask Frostkit what they should do now, but she was gone. Her heart started to beat faster as she began to panic. "Over here!" Frostkit's voice called from over near the large rock.
Echokit raced over to her sister, relief swamping her. As she came closer to where Frostkit was, she scented a sharp tang coming from inside a hole near where her sister was standing, along with the smell of water and stone. Curious, she squeezed past Froskit to get a closer look at what seemed to be a small den.
As she gazed around inside, struggling to make anything out in the dim light, a golden beam sliced through the dark cave, illuminating bundles of leaves that lined the cracks in the walls and a neat pile of mossballs sat in the corner next to a small pool of water.
"Let me see!" Frostkit pushed past her, trying to find out what was inside. Echokit backed out of the cave to let her look around, and a few moments later, Frostkit leaped out of the hole shaking scraps of leaves from her fur. Without another word, she bounced off to explore the rest of camp, Echokit right behind her.
