A/N: Sorry I've been so long! Well, here's the next chapter! More of the kits, mostly. Please review! Your feedback is very helpful!
Dawnkit yawned, bored out of her mind. It had snowed a lot the night before, and so Cinderheart had deemed it too deep for such a small kit to go outside. She had to say, she was a little irritated. Badgerkit, Redkit, and Wolfkit were all outside pouncing through the snow while she sat in the den doing nothing.
Suddenly, however, she saw three small shadows on the wall behind her and turned slowly around.
"Hey, Dawnkit," Wolfkit hissed, beckoning with her tail.
Dawnkit sighed, knowing full well that Wolfkit never wanted anything but trouble, and walked past Cinderheart's sleeping form over to her denmates. "What?" she asked, icily, hardly in the mood for her teasing.
Redkit's eyes gleamed mischievously. "Aren't you coming out?"
"You know I'm not allowed to," Dawnkit replied, rolling her eyes at him. It was a low blow.
Redkit smirked. "Well, we're not exactly allowed to leave camp, either."
Dawnkit's eyes widened in disbelief. "Seriously?" she hissed, "I could tell on you, you know. This is mousebrained, Redkit."
Wolfkit laughed, "You could tell, if you were a tattle-tale!"
"I am not a tattle-tale!" Dawnkit protested.
"Are too!" argued Redkit.
"Am not!" she squeaked.
"Great," Wolfkit meowed, grinning. "Then I guess we three are going then. Come with… if you're warrior enough!"
Dawnkit felt ice fill her veins. She whirled on Badgerkit. "You're seriously going through with this?!"
Badgerkit shrugged. "Why not? I mean, we can handle ourselves, and this will be great experience for our upcoming apprenticeship," he pointed out, eyes pleading with her to not resent him for going along with one of his littermates' schemes.
Dawnkit scowled at him, not convinced. "I thought you would at least know better than this! We'll never be apprentices if we can't prove ourselves responsible!"
"You sound like my mom," grumbled Wolfkit, annoyed. "Get a spine, mouseheart!"
"Yeah, what about proving our courage?" asked Redkit.
Dawnkit's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why are you even inviting me?"
"Why not?" Wolfkit asked, innocently, "You are our denmate."
"Oh, come on!" Dawnkit scoffed, "You guys hate me. Something's up."
"True," Wolfkit replied, "We do hate you, with a passion, actually, but-"
"Dawnkit, can I speak to you alone for a moment?" pleaded Badgerkit, cutting her off.
She sighed, but followed him a small distance from his littermates. "I'm not going," she stated, coldly.
"Look, Dawnkit…" he began, but the calm, rational tone of his voice and the warm, pleading look in his topaz eyes only made her more irritated.
"Can't you see how mousebrained this plan is?!" she snapped.
He turned around a little, so that their faces were mere inches apart, apparently to reduce the probability of his littermates' eavesdropping. "Look," he whispered, "This could be a really good opportunity for you."
"Why me specifically?" Dawnkit asked, looking a little hurt. She didn't like being singled out. She didn't need special opportunities. She was fine!
"I hate to bring this up," sighed Badgerkit, regretfully, "I know how hard it is, and I know you try, and I know how sensitive you are… And don't get me wrong, I still believe in you… But…"
"But what?" Dawnkit growled, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"Don't get all defensive," Badgerkit murmured, "I just worry about you, that's all… Not everyone realizes how great you are, Dawnkit. They don't see the bright, determined, special cat that I do. That any intelligent cat does! Starclan knows you have a warrior in you! I'm just worried-"
"You think they won't let me be a warrior," she sighed, dejectedly, "That's it, isn't it? Wolfkit's right, isn't she? How can I hope to defend my clan when the mice I'd hunt would take me down?" Dawnkit felt the bitterness rising up inside, years of pain coming out anger. "I know, I guess. I always have! It's just… What else is there? Will they exile me, Badgerkit, because I'm a burden to the clan?! That's what a wise leader would do! Bramblestar is no fool. And now you, going along with your littermates, because you're beginning to believe it too! Or perhaps you always have… Is that why we're friends?! Because you pity me?!"
Badgerkit gaped at her in shock, unable to speak for a moment. Then, he closed his mouth, and with an irritated flick of his tail began to speak. "Is that what you think, then? That I'm friends with you because I'm the only one you've got?! Well, you're wrong, Dawnkit! About everything! If you'd just stop wallowing in self-pity long enough to-"
"To what?! Lie to myself until I go delusional, seek a fight, and get torn to shreds by Shadowclan thinking I'm something I'm not?!" She couldn't believe her ears. Why was Badgerkit doing this?
"You're twisting my words!" Badgerkit protested, "That's not what I said at all! What I meant was… Dawnkit… I'm not friends with you because of pity. I'm friends with you because you're you! And I'd still be your friend, even if you had a thousand others, because you… you… You shine like a Starclan warrior even in the daylight, with thrice the brilliance and-"
She smiled, laying her tail across his mouth. "Stupid furball," she giggled. "What does that even mean?"
He shrugged, looking shyly down at his paws. "So, you're not mad anymore?"
"…No. Just upset with your decisions," she responded.
"Well, I… I know that everyone will someday understand that you'll make a great warrior… But… I thought that maybe this plan would help them out, you know, so we don't have to wait until hedgehogs fly. I don't want to be alone in the apprentice den with Wolfkit and Redkit any longer than I need to!" Badgerkit shuddered.
Dawnkit laughed. "Well how will this help, then?"
"Dawnkit, nobody doubts your responsibility. However, we do need to show them that you can be brave and strong, so even if you're caught, it wouldn't be altogether bed to show them that you actually have a sense of adventure," Badgerkit explained.
Dawnkit sighed, relenting. "But… Why did Wolfkit invite me in the first place? She hates me."
At that moment, Wolfkit and Redkit had started approaching them. "Actually," she cut in, "That was all Badgerkit's idea, including you I mean. He kind of begged us."
Badgerkit looked away, awkwardly as Dawnkit stared at him.
"Thanks" she whispered, "I understand now."
He nodded, relieved. "So will you come?"
Dawnkit hesitated, and then grinned. "Wolfkit, I don't even care why you're allowing this-"
"Because he's my brother and he begged me-"
"But I'm not backing out anymore. This is a new Dawnkit, ready for adventure. I will become a warrior, you'll see! They all will! Maybe even more…"
"Yeah," Redkit sighed, "Whatever, you're holding us up. Let's go!"
The four kits nodded in mutual agreement and with one look back to check that Cinderheart wouldn't see, tiptoed out of the den.