"Come on, Mistkit! Flamekit, Stormkit, and Puddlekit are already outside! " Cloudkit was complaining. "And Swanglide won't let me go unless you do!" The white she-kit poked Mistkit's side with a paw.
Go away, Cloudkit.
Mistkit snuggled closer to her mother with a huff of annoyance. "Don't you ever sleep?" Three days old, and Cloudkit was already the liveliest kit in the Clan.
Morning sunlight was shining through the nursery. On the other side of the den, Willowcloud was curled up in her nest, grumbling something about the kits having too much energy. Cloudkit had opened her eyes yesterday, while Mistkit had opened hers last night during a nightmare.
The nightmare still haunted her. There were cats screeching at her, their pelts matted with blood. Falling leaves fell around her, but as they touched the ground they turned black and evaporated into dust. The cats all had blank gazes.
"Why go back to sleep now? I've already woken you up. Puddlekit said that he was going to show us around camp. " Cloudkit mewed excitedly.
Mistkit grunted, then padded out of the nest and headed for the entrance, with Cloudkit racing beside her.
"Where are you two going?" Their mother's soft mew sounded from the nest.
"We were going to go play outside." Cloudkit squeaked. Swanglide let out a approving purr.
"Going to become warriors, I suppose."
"The best in the Clan!" Cloudkit agreed. She turned towards the entrance again, padding out. Mistkit followed her.
"Don't get under any warrior's paws!" The queen called from inside.
"We won't!" Mistkit called back, pushing her way into the open. She gasped as a bright light hit her eyes, and slowly it cleared.
The sun was already up and warriors were padding around camp. The clan deputy, Rainclaw, was assigning the morning patrols. Mistkit watched with wide eyes as the camp entrance shivered and several cats came through the enclosure.
That must be the dawn patrol, Mistkit thought in wonder.
Cloudkit butted her sister's shoulder with her head. "Come on." The fluffy white kit raced over to the middle of the clearing where three kits, much bigger than she, were batting a ball of moss in the air. Excited squeals were coming from them.
"I got it! I got it! "
"No, I got it!"
"Hey, it was my turn!"
"Catch!"
The ball of moss came hurtling towards Mistkit and rolled at her paws. She stared at it for a heartbeat, unsure of what to do. Cloudkit squealed as she rolled it back to the dark tabby tom.
He caught it with a paw. "Your Mistkit and Cloudkit, right?" He asked, blinking at them with wide amber eyes.
"Yep." Cloudkit confirmed. Mistkit just simply nodded.
"Hey, you're here! Now we can show you both around camp. " A dark grey tom-kit mewed, coming to stand by his brother.
"What about our game?" The other she-kit asked.
"We can play later, Flamekit." The tabby tom answered, which she guessed was Stormkit.
So the grey tom was Puddlekit. She guessed that meant the flame-colored kit was Flamekit by what Stormkit called her, and by the looks of her, she didn't look like she was very pleased that Mistkit interrupted their game.
"Let's go!" Stormkit meowed, and began walking toward a den in the corner of camp.
"This is the apprentices' den. We'll be sleeping here in two moons. " Flamekit announced, puffing her chest out proudly.
Mistkit peered into the den. Inside, there were just two nests. To her, the den seemed really empty. But she and Cloudkit would be sleeping here in six moons.
"Where are the apprentices?" Cloudkit asked.
"Probably training." Blossomkit murmured.
Stormkit lead them to another den next to the apprentices. But this one was stinky and dusty.
"This is the elders' den. This is probably the best one. The Elders tell really cool stories! Like about LionClan and TigerClan. "
The three kits lead them into the den. Inside were four nests. Four old cats lay in them. They gasped as they saw the five kits.
"Wha? What y'all be gospin' bout?" A blind tom sniffed the air. "Kits! Just what we need."
"Don't be rude, Marigoldspots! Kits are a blessing. " A tortoiseshell she-cat purred.
Mistkit stared at the Elders. Marigoldspots grumbled and settled deeper into his nest. The she-cat glanced affectionately at them.
"So what brings you three here?" She asked.
"We brought Mistkit and Cloudkit to show them around camp." Stormkit stepped aside to reveal Mistkit and her sister.
The other two elders sat up, their gazes intense. Mistkit shrunk under her pelt, not liking all the attention.
"Welcome to the clan." A tom with reddish-brown fur greeted them.
A purr escaped the she-cat sitting beside him. Her green eyes shown with warmth. "The clan always needs more kits."
Cloudkit jumped up. "Can you tell us a story?"
The tortoise purred, "Maybe next time, you still have a whole entire camp to explore."
Cloudkit didn't seem too disappointed. Flamekit turned and let the kits out of the elders den. They wove around the clearing, until they came to a very small den. As Mistkit approached, she instantly recognized Mudstar's scent. Her father wasn't in the den; only a large nest.
"Mudstar's den," Puddlekit said simply.
They all turned till they came to the last den. This one smelled strange. A curtain of ivy made the door to the den.
"What's this den?" Cloudkit asked. She peeked inside through the ivy and came out with a sneeze.
"Medicine cat den," Stormkit said.
"Why does it smell strange?" Mistkit asked, the air had a tangy scent to it.
"It's because of the he-"
"Let's go inside!" Flamekit interrupted and charged forward into the ivy, disappearing inside.
"Wait! We can't go in there! " Stormkit called.
"Sneezefeather isn't here!" She called.
"We'll still get in trouble!"
"Scardy-paws!"
"I am not!"
Flamekit peeked her head through the entrance. "Oh come on! It'll be fun. Plus, what are the chances of seeing inside when Sneezefeather is here!" The she-cat disappeared through the ivy again.
Puddlekit hesitated, "But we were supposed to show Cloudkit and Mistkit-"
"They can see the outside, but what about the inside? Seriously guys, don't be such wimps. " Flamekit's voice sounded from inside.
Puddlekit stiffened. "I'm not a scardy-mouse, you are!" He charged inside with a squeal. Stormkit followed his littermates with a huff of annoyance, but there was curiosity in his gaze. Mistkit glanced at Cloudkit. Cloudkit's eyes sparkled. They barely took a step towards the entrance before a growl stopped the sisters in their tracks.
Oh no.
"What are you kits doing in my den?" Mistkit turned to see a she-cat with brown and white tortoiseshell fur. Her eyes blazed with suspicion.
This must be Sneezefeather, Mistkit realized. She gulped.
"I-I-we didn't mean to- " Mistkit stammered, fear burning under her pelt. She didn't like the way Sneezefeather was glaring at her. She shrank behind Cloudkit.
There was a squeal inside the den. Sneezefeather turned and padded inside. Then there was a moment of silence before she heard a hiss. "Get out!"
Then Stormkit, Puddlekit, and Flamekit all scurried out. Flamekit glared at the medicine cat.
"We weren't doing anything!" She retorted.
Mistkit backed away. She didn't want to get into trouble. Cloudkit followed her back into the nursery. As the milky scent of the Nursery filled Mistkit's nose, she realized how tired she was. Swanglide was chatting silently with Willowcloud. Their mother turned as she saw her kits enter.
"Did you enjoy your adventure?" She asked as Mistkit climbed into the nest.
"Yeah..." Cloudkit yawned.
Mistkit didn't want to bring up what happened in the medicine den. Instead, she mewed, "We saw the whole camp." She felt her mother's tongue rasp her pelt.
Mistkit slowly drifted into sleep. She heard Cloudkit purr beside her. Soon, both kits were asleep.