Dawnkit opened her eyes as sunlight, that had been breaking through the linen to the entrance of the nursery, hit her face. She squinted and hid her face into her mother's soft fur, then groaned about not wanting to get up, but it was mostly unconceivable.

"Dawnkit, precious… Time to get up." Her mother's sweet and serene voice coaxed her head away from soft sanctuary. Dawnkit glared up at her mother. She didn't want to get up! She stuck out her tongue and attempted to wriggle under her mother's stomach. She was stopped, eventually, when her mother picked her up by the scruff and set her down on the cold hard ground. Hissing in discomfort, Dawnkit shook her paws around before she found it comfortable to step around.

She spotted Kestrelkit stretching out amongst his sleeping siblings, and she immediately dropped into a crawl. Practicing her hunter's crouch, she stalked forward, imagining herself in the paw steps of huge mountain lion about to pounce of a deer.

One… Two… Three… And then Kestrelkit screeched as Dawnkit landed on his rump and grappled for control. Except he was much bigger than she and shook her off easily. He turned on her, his eyes sparking with challenge and, before Dawnkit could prepare herself, he flung himself at her. They rolled around the den giggling, without a care in the world. This was their usual day in the den.

Shrewpelt watched solemnly from the corner of the den, a sadness in her eyes. She had been pregnant with four kits and they had all died at birth. But she cared for all of them like a second mother.

"Be careful you two." She purred, eyes twinkling as she watched them.

Dawnkit was, out of all the kits, the most excited to be made an apprentice, and she only had a month left before she would. Though she had not seen the camp yet, her mother promised her she would. When she asked to go play outside, Featherdust always shook her head. Over the last couple months Dawnkit noticed that her mother was becoming quieter and skinnier. She had started eating less of her meals and she had not been getting too much sleep. When asked Featherdust always exclaimed that she was fine and encouraged Dawnkit to go play.

"Okay, Okay children." Featherdust laughed airy, standing up on her thin bony legs. She looked like the wind would blow her over any moment. "Settle, settle. Smokestorm is still sleeping… Let her sleep."

"Too late for that." Smokestorm, a dark gray tabby she-cat with sky blue eyes laughed, watching Dawnkit and Kestrelkit wrestle. "My kits woke me up hours ago…" Ivykit and Rosekit's heads poked out from behind their mother as summoned, watching the rest of the kits mischievously. Dawnkit and Kestrelkit rolled near Smokestorm, and the unexpected attack from the two sisters prompted both Kestrelkit and Dawnkit to turn around and run screeching.

Giggling the queens watched their kits bounce around. It wasn't long before a warrior from outside the nursery ordered them to keep quiet. Featherdust, who was always so sweet to the kits and the queens, turned a furious, withering glare to the guard who had poked their head in.

"Why? This is the only place where they get to live, they can't even go outside. They haven't smelled fresh air since the day most of them were born." The warrior sighed, looking half sympathetic and half anxious. It was Beechpelt, a cream colored tom who was usually there to watch them. He was the kindest out of all their guards.

"You know we can't allow you to." He explained, his eyes twitching back toward the outside world. The world that Dawnkit had never seen. The world she had never been able to savor. The world Dawnkit yearned for everyday she was stuck in this den. But soon… Soon she would become an apprentice and then she would be able to leave.

"And why is that?" Featherdust snapped, just like every time she tried to talk to the guards, or tried to get information, the guards turned and ignored her and the questions. Apparently there had been a time where guards hadn't existed, but Dawnkit had never lived in that age. The only explanation they got was that they were in trouble from outside clans. Duskstream told them that they guards were there to protect them. But after waking up to finding her mother crying and the times where Featherdust stared longingly at the entrance Dawnkit didn't think so.

"I want to speak to my mate. Let me speak to Blazestar." Featherdust snapped, her anger exploding and fraying out into an uncontrollable rage.

"You don't have a mate. Medicine cats don't have mates." A strange black cat Dawnkit had never seen walked in, her piercing green eyes solely pinned on Featherdust. The same cat who had showed up when Shrewpelt had been having her kits.

Dawnkit, who had frozen when the guard first popped their head in, now rolled off of Kestrelkit. Her fur began to bristle along her neck. She felt defensive. This cat was part of their clan, and Dawnkit should have respected her, but she didn't. For some reason this cat seemed like an enemy. Maybe it was the way she walked or the way she talked, but Dawnkit didn't trust a lick of it.

"Where is Blazestar, Hollyberry." Featherdust's voice was desperate, and Dawnkit felt her heart ache. Blazestar was but a story to Dawnkit, she had never met her father, nor had she had she heard much about him. Whenever Featherdust talked about him she would burst into tears and then fall into days of silence. As long as they had been in this den they had not seen many of the clan cats, only the occasion guard of faces none of them recognized.

"It's not of any of your concern, Featherdust." Hollyberry murmured coolly, eying her mother with a level of hatred that Dawnkit did not understand.

"What do you-" Featherdust was about to start shouting, but then a second silver she-cat ambled in with swagger than could have owned the world.

"Featherdust, darling, everything is fine. We've been having some trouble sorting out… clan values the last couple months, but it's all finally been settled. The other clans didn't approve of your actions, as to why we had to keep you in here. We have finally come to terms of agreement, and Blazestar has finally been able to let you go. As he should." Dawnkit's mother wavered, and in that moment Dawnkit wished she were bigger. She wished she could puff up her chest and let out an ear deafening roar that would scare these mean cats away.

"Wh-What do you mean Doveheart. I want to talk to him." She snapped, shaking more aggressively. Her mother was so scared.

She came close to her mother, and entwined herself in between her paws. Her mother's breathing seemed to slow when Dawnkit came near, and her kits presence calmed her. Doveheart looked down at Dawnkit, and in retaliation Dawnkit puffed out her chest. She wasn't about to be scared off by this mean cat and her nasty sidekick.

"All in due time Featherdust, but thankfully it will not take long. For we have a clan meeting and you are invited." Featherdust's eyes blazed, but she kept her composure. She nodded, and the moment Doveheart realized that Dawnkit was determined to follow she added a few more words hastily. "And no kits. All the queens but not the kits… We will have a warrior here to watch them."

Featherdust glared at Doveheart, and for a moment it looked as though she would fight the decree, but Duskstream's tail came to rest on her mother's shoulder. After there were a couple of soft words murmured Featherdust managed to relax and give in.

"Fine." Featherdust finally decided, and she then turned around to the kits, looking at Dawnkit specifically. "Now be good my precious, stay safe and don't cause trouble." Dawnkit simply smiled and nuzzled her mother's legs.

Then with a reluctant stride, the queens followed Doveheart and Hollyberry out into the clearing. Nothing about the entire encounter settled well with Dawnkit and she watched them with a hollow feeling in her stomach.

"What do you think is going to happen?" She asked quietly, but none of the other kits seemed to be paying any attention.

"Who cares?" Brindlekit, Kestrelkit's brother, said lazily, as he batted at a leaf that was fluttering throughout the den.

"It's probably something to do with our apprenticeship." Now that had Dawnkit more excited, and she was even more reluctant to sit in the den and let all the cats do something without her.

"Why don't we go and find out?" Dawnkit asked, watching the entrance to the den like a hawk. When she looked back all the kits were watching her in horror, as if she had just suggest murder.

"B-But we aren't allowed out there without permission… We would get in trouble…" Rosekit offered her opinion, and Dawnkit nearly snapped back at her. But she gathered herself and kept her head up tall.

"What can they do to us that's worse than spending nearly 6 moons in the nursery. Nothing. I'm going." No other kit in the nursery opted to follow her, not even Kestrelkit. He watched her with wide, terrified eyes just like his brother. Dawnkit rolled her eyes and stepped cautiously to the entrance of the den, there were no warriors.

They were probably at the meeting Doveheart had talked about. Kestrelkit stepped forward behind her, but it wasn't an eager step.

"Don't… I don't want you to get in trouble." His reddish, brindle brown fur was on end, but Dawnkit hardly listened.

"Like she'd care if she got in trouble, don't let her get us into trouble." Brindlekit snapped aggressively, narrowing his eyes at Dawnkit. He still hadn't gotten over that time Dawnkit had gotten them all in trouble after pretending to be sick.

"Well I don't care. I want to see what they are doing. I'll come back quickly… I just want to see." Kestrelkit's tail fell, but he nodded and stepped back. No one else questioned her as she slid out of the den.

The clan camp was beautiful. Dawnkit felt her chest swell when a fresh breeze rolled by and parted her fur. The scents of air and wood filled her, and for a moment she was lost in the sensation of the outdoor world. Never had she wanted to stay out and lounge in the sun so badly, but she quickly pulled herself together. She was here for a reason. Then she realized a huge gathering of cats surrounded a large rock that Doveheart was currently standing on, with an unrecognizable golden cat next to her.

Looking around Dawnkit saw that the camp was circled by a huge amount of brush and forest, which meant great hiding places for her. She crouched down and began to creep forward toward the high rock and the mass group of cats. The bush's leaves and twigs lightly touched her pelt and ticked her legs, but nothing snagged or caught against her. For her first time using the hunter's crouch in a serious situation, she thought she was doing a good job.

No one seemed to notice Dawnkit prowling around, because they were all focused on Doveheart. Her mother had told her about that rock before, had told her it was where the leader sat to give announcements and orders. But she didn't see any cat that Featherdust had described as her father up there. No dark pelt stood on that rock, in fact she couldn't see any cat in the crowd that even resembled her father.

She came up to a thick trunked shrub that sat tall enough to see over the crowd, so with her quietest feet she attempted to climb it. Whenever the branches began to sway, or shake, she would freeze and wait for them to silence again. Still, no cat noticed. They were either really focused on whatever Doveheart was talking about, or she was very good at sneaking.

Finally, she was in earshot of Doveheart, and could even see her mother, so she settled down on her branched and watched on.

Doveheart with an air of authority, her head high and tail raised. She looked as though she owned every inch of earth she could step on, and when she finally saw the look on her mother's face she felt a cold stone hit the bottom of her stomach. Featherdust had tears streaked down her face. Fear was firm in her eyes.

"Dovestar has finally come to a decision about what we will do with you traitors…" Since when was Doveheart Dovestar, where was her father? Dawnkit thought her father was leader, where was Blazestar? Dawnkit felt sick, because everything seemed so wrong. The golden cat who Dawnkit didn't know stood down, and let Dovestar step forward.

"What do you mean Dovestar?" Duskstream shouted, looking angrily around at the clan. "Blazestar was at the peak of his life. What happened to him?" The queen shouted, but Featherdust said nothing. She looked broken and hollow, like a shell. Featherdust looked as though she had given up.

"Blazestar… Wasn't fit to lead this clan, everyone saw it…" Dovestar explained, watching the cats below her as if they were less than the dirt she stepped on. Murmurs of agreement spread throughout the cats of the clan, and Smokestorm looked around wildly. It seemed she didn't recognize anyone around her.

"Dovehea-star. Who are these cats, they don't…? Where is my mate? Where is Cedarfur?" She growled, her hackles raising in fury.

"We also… Saw that some were more willing to follow Blazestar than their own code. We couldn't let cats like that continue on in the clans…" Dovestar murmured, her eyes watching the queens like a falcon on prey.

"So you kicked them out, because they didn't agree with your terms?" Shrewpelt shouted, her voice filled with scorn.

"Our terms are the warrior code. A long known code that you purposely defied. A code that is our flesh and blood. We are responsible for following it as cats of this forest." Dovestar roared, her pristine elegance shattering for a moment in a fit of rage. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull with anger, but the sleek silver cat quickly re-figured her expression and stared down coldly at all the queens.

"They warrior code is important, but rules aren't always meant to be followed." Featherdust said boldly, and it was the first thing she had said the entire time Dawnkit had been watching. "Just because our ancestors thought those rules were best years and years ago, does not mean they would be best for us. We are a newer generation; we are allowed to change rules." Dovestar laughed, and Featherdust cowered, because it was a malicious and powerful laugh.

"You sound just like Blazestar…" Dovestar, who toyed with something that no one else could see atop the high rock. "Well… I should say sounded… Since he's no longer speaking about anything." Dawnkit watched on in horror as Dovestar rolled the skull of a cat down from the high rock and down in front of the cats. Dawnkit felt sick, her stomach twisted itself over in knots. It was painful to stay still upon the branch she was perched, but it was also impossible to move.

"Blazestar…." Featherdust whispered, inching forward to the severed head that was half rotted away. Black fur matted the rotting flesh and Dawnkit had to hold her breath to keep from vomiting. It was not a recent kill.

Dawnkit felt tears sting at her eyes, and her heart hammered rapidly on the verge of bursting. How could they do this? How could the warrior code have brought them to this?

"No…" She weakly cradled the skull in her tiny paws, not knowing what to do with herself. The queens watched on, all horrified. Duskstream stepped back, her ears flattening against her skull. A couple of cats stepped behind her, blocking her entrance.

"I want to see my kits. Now." She said quietly, looking around with a wavering calm gaze. But Dawnkit could see the lie, there was a burning fear the glimmered in her old gray eyes. Her dust colored fur stood on end as she looked around, trying to find an exit.

"Sorry…" Dovestar murmured, smiling like a cat gone mad. All of them had gone mad. "Hollyberry… She has spoken to Star clan and our ancestors… They say that all of you are tainted… Our gods have demanded a purge."

"Tainted?" Featherdust choked out amid her silent sobbing, looking up at Dovestar now as if she had spawned straight up from all the layers of hell.

"Cats who have lineages to… Kitty pets, loners, rogues…. They do not earn the approval of Star Clan. Hollyberry knows who you are, our ancestors have told her who are the true warriors here." Dovestar explained, and all the queens grew taught as strung branches.

"Dovestar you are mad… You have gone crazy!" Smokestorm wailed, backing up alongside Duskstream. "W-We'll go. Let us take our kits and leave!" She started crying. Maybe she began crying because she realized they weren't going to let her go, or maybe because she assumed all of her kits were dead already.

A small panic spread throughout Dawnkit at the mention of what could have happened to her den mates, but she couldn't go back and check. She was stuck to the branch. The vine that had tangle her back paw pulled painfully at her skin and fur.

"Oh no… Just like those who didn't agree with us… We cannot let them go… Oh no. It is the will of Star clan that we eradicate all those not worthy from the forest. And you all are tainted, you are tainted by blood and by Featherdust's misdeeds." In that moment, Dawnkit was sure that they would all turn on Featherdust, ready to throw her under toe to save themselves, but that is not what she witnessed.

All the queens looked around at each other, fear and horror plastered against their weary faces, but they nodded strongly. Even though they were all shaking like leaves in a strong wind, they all walked to each other, side by side, and faced Dovestar.

"You cannot do this Dovestar… This is not Star clan's will. There will be consequences." Featherdust's rasped, but her voice echoed throughout the clan, camp clear and certain. Before Star clan had been cut off from her, she had been one of the most connected cats in all four clans. She knew something that Dawnkit didn't, and faced the last minutes of her life with dignity.

"You have insulted the stars and your ancestors, they yearn for your death. Hollyberry has told me all. Our gods deserve recognition… And if any of us want to join them in the stars then we must follow their will." And at the bottom high rock, that dark she-cat from before watched on with eyes as cold as ice, but blazing with so much hatred they could have been glowing like fire.

"May Star clan lead me to smite the unworthy and evil of this world." The yowls that followed nearly cracked Dawnkit's ear drums.