Hello, and welcome to Chapter 2! Thanks for all of the warm reviews! :D ;)

CHAPTER 2

Nightkit woke up, a weird, oozy feeling in her chest. She looked down at it and saw that blood was slowly oozing from her chest. She screamed, and woke up, for real this time.

"What. Just. Happened," she gasped out loud. The chest wound was gone.

"What is it?" a voice growled. Nightkit glanced up to see a dark tabby tom staring at her out of the bushes.

"What is it, slave?" the voice repeated. Suddenly, Nightkit saw something. A flash of ginger fur; the splatter of blood; a scream of pain.

Her sister's. Her sister…. her only sister was in pain, somewhere, where, Nightkit did not know, but she was in pain.

Nightkit screamed, and woke up for real this time.

"What is it, Nightkit?" Ferncloud asked, a bit desperately.

"What?" Nightkit raised her head, looking straight into the worried eyes of Ferncloud. "I'm fine, really. Just a bad dream, that's all."

"Are you sure it wasn't something more?" Ferncloud pestered.

"No, yes, I'm sure, mom." Nightkit recoiled inside her mind as she said the word. Mom. Ferncloud wasn't her mother, and never would be. "Now go back to sleep." Nightkit curled up and closed her eyes again, but the screaming wouldn't stop inside her ears.

***

Nightkit awoke disheveled and un-rested.

"Ugh. I didn't get to sleep last night. At least, barely," she mumbled to herself.

"What are you talking about?" Eggkit was looking at her, curious.

"Nothing that you need to know—oof," Nightkit panted as Eggkit jumped on her. "Get off."

"But I want to pla-ay!" Eggkit whined.

"Maybe later. Now go away," Nightkit ordered. Reluctantly and slowly, Eggkit jumped off her back and slowly padded sadly out of the nursery.

"Pttff," Nightkit scoffed. "I bet she was just faking that. She loves to be annoying."

"You know, I agree." Nightkit whipped around. Treekit, a white tom with brown paws and golden brown stripes, and one of Maplefur's litter, was staring at her with curiosity in his amber eyes.

"You do?" Nightkit was surprised, but she couldn't help feeling flattered by Treekit's sudden show of kindness.

"Yes. She wakes me up every morning with her instinct to play, then we play 'til sunrise, and then she forgets all about me and does something else, and then it's too late to go back to bed because then Maplefur covers up the nest for the day…." Treekit looked down at his little brown paws sadly. "And now I have lack of sleep," he whispered.

"I'm sorry; that's so terrible," Nightkit mewed sadly. Inside her head, she was yowling, Stupid Eggkit! Stupid Eggkit! Why does she have to be this way? But Nightkit knew the answer. She was an energetic, yet ambitious kit who was cute enough to get away with whatever she wants. Well, it's not going to work on me! At least, not yet, Nightkit added to herself mentally, in her head.

"Hey." Applekit's soft voice interrupted her thoughts. "Do you want to go see the elders?"

"Sure," Nightkit replied, after jumping a little. Applekit had startled her!

"Then let's go!" Applekit jumped to her paws, and started running in the direction of the old cats' den. "You get them some mice, okay?!" she called over her shoulder.

"Sure!" Nightkit called back, dashing towards the fresh-kill pile and grabbing two mice and a sparrow. Whitepaw, the handicapped apprentice with a crushed foreleg, liked mice, while meanwhile the small sisters Spottedleaf and Grassstripe liked to share a sparrow, and still, on top of all that, the lazy elder Longclaw would want a mouse. Grabbing the prey carefully in her teeth, Nightkit ran off to join her friend.

Barreling into the elders' den, Nightkit bumped right into Applekit.

"Sorry!" she gasped. "I didn't see you there—"

"It's okay," Applekit interrupted her quietly. "I'm not hurt."

Nightkit took that as a sign it was okay and walked up to Whitepaw.

"How are you feeling?" she asked sympathetically. Two moons ago, Whitepaw had been in a Thunderpath accident, crushing her leg, and just a quarter-moon ago, actually, Amberleaf, the medicine cat, had announced that Whitepaw could never be a warrior. The apprentice was devastated, but she understood what Amberleaf was trying to say. Her leg couldn't be healed, so therefore, she couldn't be a warrior.

"I'm fine." Whitepaw looked down at her small white paws, pretty in contrast to her dark gray body. She sighed. "I wish I could be a warrior."

"I know," Nightkit agreed. "I would be devastated." She watched as Whitepaw tore into the mouse.

"You're welcome," she muttered before turning to Spottedleaf and Grassstripe. The two pretty tortoiseshells were sitting, waiting for her, looks of expectation glued on their faces.

"Good afternoon, Spottedleaf, Grassstripe," she said, nodding to each of them. She handed them the plump sparrow.

"Thank you," they chorused in their prettily soft musical voices. Spottedleaf bent down, biting daintily into the mouse, while Grassstripe gave Nightkit a lick between the ears.

"Thank you," she murmured. "This was thoughtful."

"It was nothing," Nightkit answered, embarrassed. "I hoped you're happy…. I'm glad you're happy, in fact." She smiled at the crinkly old elder.

"I am," Grassstripe agreed, and bent down to the mouse to knock Spottedleaf out of the way so that she could have her share. "Hey! I'm hungry too, you know!" she complained.

Nightkit smiled and shook her head. Elders, she thought. "I have to go soon…." Nightkit decided suddenly. "Um…. is it okay if I just leave you here?" She smiled wanly at Applekit, and her friend nodded. "See you later, I guess," Nightkit said, and swept out the elders' den entrance.

Outside, she shivered. It's cold! She wished that it wasn't leaf-bare. I wonder what my sister is thinking. She sighed. Flamekit was probably in the Dark Forest. Was it cold there, and dark? Was her sister being tortured and sick? I hope not. That was the last thing that PhoenixClan needed right now. A sick, injured, tortured kit whose soul is in the Dark Forest. That's great. Just…. great.

Nightkit sighed, and continued on toward the nursery. Then she turned around. Hey, why not the medicine cat den? she thought. Amberleaf might need my help there. She had never told anyone, but she had wanted to be a medicine cat all her life. One of the other kits had teased her about it, but that kitten had always wanted to be a warrior. So I have a different dream than them. What's so wrong about that? Nightkit wondered. Oh well. Doesn't matter now, I guess.

Nightkit suddenly stopped and realized something. She was just sitting in the newly-falling snow and getting cold and wet! That wasn't good. She quickly scampered back into the nursery, which was nice and warm-feeling after all that snow. She turned around and settled herself just by the entrance, looking out and watching the snow falling, falling….

"What are you doing?"

Oh, no…. Nightkit groaned. It was Eggkit again!

"Oh, nothing, really; just watching the snow," Nightkit replied stiffly.

"Cool! Can I watch with you?" the excited kit begged.

"Sure. Then be quiet," Nightkit told her firmly.

"Sure!" Eggkit nearly yowled. Nightkit hissed and covered her ears with her paws.

"I told you, not so loud!!! Don't you ever listen?" she demanded loudly of Eggkit.

"Um…. yes," Eggkit said. Now she just looked confused. "I do listen. But I'm loud. But does anyone care? NO. It's all, 'Oh, Eggkit this,' and 'Oh, Eggkit, you're too loud.'" She imitated the funny voice of an adult cat perfectly. Nightkit couldn't help but smile. "I hate it. I hate it. I HATE IT!!! Nobody ever understands me," Eggkit suddenly said silently, as though she sensed that she had said something very personal.

"It's okay, you can—" Nightkit began when, all of a sudden, there came a shout.

"ROGUE ATTACK!!!"