Chapter 1

"Hey, watch it, Branchkit! That's my tail you're yanking on!"

"Sorry, it just looks so tantalizing! I wanna eat it!"

"Ow, cut it out!"

"Kits, settle down, now!"

Thump, thump, thump.

"Yes, Mama!"

Heatkit tilted his ears slightly as he followed the progress of his fellow littermates' squeakings. His eyes weren't open yet, but he was planning on opening them soon, so he could go play too. The thing was, he just didn't feel ready yet. But when he did, that's when he would open them.

Thump, thump!

"Hey, Mama?"

"Yes, Lizardkit."

"When will Heatkit open his eyes? He just lies there all limp, his ears twitching like crazy!"

"I'm sure he will when he feels ready."

Heatkit suddenly felt a painful crash, and it felt like Lizardkit had jumped on him. She sat on top of his shoulder, and bent her head into his ear. Her whiskers tickled the inside of his ear and he squirmed to get her off. "Heatkit!" she shouted. "Open your eyes! Or I'm gonna thrash ya!"

"No..." he whimpered, snarling pitifully.

Lizardkit laughed, the sound coming out in wheezing snorts. "You're so weak," she giggled. The she-kit bounced up and down on the tiny tom, crushing his ribs and lungs until he couldn't breathe.

"Lizardkit! Get off of him!"

Suddenly the weight was lifted and Heatkit could breathe again. "Thank you, Mama," he rasped.

But his mother didn't pay any attention to him. Instead she went back to talking to the other two kits. "Now you two, go outside and play, alright? I'm gonna take a nap, and I don't need you disturbing me."

Heatkit felt dejected. Nightbird had only ordered Lizardkit off of him so she could go out and play. Then again, his mother only paid attention to his other two littermates and only paid attention to him when she had to. He didn't know why. Was he too small? Too weak? Not handsome enough? The tiny kit thought for a while before finally drifting off to sleep.

When he woke up again, it was past sun-high. He wasn't sure whether Branchkit or Lizardkit had come back inside yet, since it was unusually quiet, but he knew that he was ready. 'Ready or not, here I come...' Slowly, slowly, his eyelids opened, until his eyes were wide. He looked around him. Everything seemed so big and intimidating... He looked up at the big black fuzz next to him, and Nightbird turned her head around to look down at him. Her ice-blue eyes flashed.

"Oh, you're awake," she purred. "And your eyes are open too!"

Heatkit nodded uncertainly. "Are you my mother? You smell like her."

The big she-cat's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, I am," she whispered softly.

Heatkit buried his nose into her fur. "Everything is so big..." he whispered too.

Nightbird licked the top of his head. "You'll get used to it," she murmured. "and you'll grow big too."

The black kit nodded, and stumbled to his feet. "I'm gonna take a look around," he announced, fluffing out his fur. He tottered forward a few steps and tripped to the ground in front of another big cat that was at the back of the den. "Wh-who are you?" he asked the cat in fright.

The she-cat lifted her head and looked down at him. "I'm another queen, my name is Snowflight." Her lustrous white fur looked glossy and well-groomed.

Heatkit dipped his head. "Nice to meet you, I'm Heatkit." He crept closer to the queen's bulging belly. "Why are you so big? Did you eat a lot?"

The queen purred in amusement. "No, I'm pregnant," she told him. "That means kits just like you are growing inside me."

Heatkit gazed up at her in wonder. "Wow," he said. Then he scampered to the other corner of the den and poked at a ball of moss. "What is this?" he asked, looking at Snowflight and Nightbird. They were both watching him, their whiskers twitching.

"That's a moss-ball. Your siblings were playing with that earlier," Nightbird meowed.

Heatkit's eyes shone as he batted gently at it with his claws sheathed. "That's cool," he observed.

The kit turned away from the ball and gazed up at the ceiling of the den. It was so high up, he had to sit back on his haunches to see the very top. "It's sooo high up there!" he mewed. "How can you reach up so high? I'll bet I would have to grow a lot if I could ever reach up there."

Nightbird chuckled, and then her gaze shifted to the den entrance. "Oh, Heatkit, you have company," she meowed, right before a large black tom strode in. "Hello, Tanglefire," Nightbird greeted him.

Tanglefire dipped his head to her, and stepped forward. He lowered his head and stared at the kit.

Heatkit stepped back, and sniffed cautiously at the tom. He smelled similar to himself, but he wasn't sure who he was.

"Son," purred the tom. "How good to see your eyes have opened.

Heatkit stared at the tom. "Are you my dad?" he whispered.

Tanglefire sat up straight and regarded his son from up high. "Yes, and I have wanted to meet you so much, Heatkit."

The kit smiled warily and rubbed his body against his father's legs. "Nice to meet you, dad," he purred.

Tanglefire smiled and laughed. "Hey, come on, I'll take you for a tour of the camp," he offered.

Heatkit grinned and dashed over to Nightbird. "Can I, Mama?"

Nightbird frowned a little and glanced cautiously at Tanglefire. Her eyes narrowed and she turned back to Heatkit. "Yes, you may."

Heatkit didn't wonder at his mother's odd behavior. She behaved secretively all the time. The kit did wonder about her, though, but usually kept his thoughts at the back of his mind. He scampered back over to Tanglefire. "I'm ready," he squeaked, kneading his paws in anticipation.

Tanglefire smiled down at him and they exited the den together.

Heatkit looked around himself in awe. "Wow," he breathed. The camp was so big! There were dens lined up around the clearing, each bigger than the last. As the two neared the biggest den, Tanglefire mewed, "This is the warriors' den, it's where all the warriors sleep. The senior warriors and the deputy get to sleep in the middle of the den, where it's warmest. The other warriors have to sleep around the edges, because they haven't earned the right yet to sleep in the middle."

Heatkit gazed up at him. "How do you get to be a senior warrior?" he asked, twitching his whiskers curiously.

Tanglefire sighed. "Well, you have to be very experienced, and you have to have been a warrior for a very long time."

Heatkit nodded. He vowed to be the very best warrior in all of ShadowClan! Nobody would dare fight him, he would be so strong.

He sucked his chest in and strutted around his father. "I will be the best warrior ever!" he squeaked mightily.

Tanglefire nodded and smiled in amusement. "I'm sure you will be," he purred. Still smiling, he led his son forward through the tour.

Later that day, Tanglefire dropped Heatkit off at the nursery. The tiny black tom looked up at him, his eyes shining and little whiskers twitching. "When can I see you again?" he squeaked. "I had so much fun!"

Tanglefire smiled bitterly. He had cherished his time with his only son, but now he had to go. He was joining ForestClan to be with his mate, and he was leaving little Heatkit behind. But he would be taken care of, he was sure of that. "Well, you'll see me around..." he sighed. "Um, but you won't see me at camp anymore."

Heatkit blinked. "Why?" he asked.

Tanglefire hung his head. "I'm sorry, son. But Nightbird isn't your real momma. My mate, Shadefeather, is. She lives in ForestClan and I'm going to join her now. So, good-bye son, good luck with your training, and... I love you."

Heatkit blinked back tears. "B-But, you can't leave me!" he wailed. "If Nightbird isn't my momma, then I wanna be with my real momma! Take me with you!"

Tanglefire shook his head and pushed the kit away. "No. DarkClan is your home, not ForestClan. You must stay here." He turned away, holding back sobs in his chest.

Heatkit stared up at him with wide eyes. "But... papa? ...Papa?" The black kit took a tentative step forward and poked timidly at his father. "Papa, I don't want... please don't leave!"

Tanglefire whipped back to face his son and growled. "I'm not your papa anymore!" he screamed at the kit. "I broke the code by mating with your mother, and now I've been exiled! I can't be in DarkClan anymore! Don't you understand that? And I can't take you with me!" The broad tom dashed out of the camp, his face distorted with pain and loss.

Heatkit stared after him, his eyes brimming with tears. "Papa..." he whimpered and collapsed to the ground.