I would like to thank everyone because I got the most amount of reviews I have ever gotten. (Violetsong, Marshmellowtime, Moonblaze 13, The-Endless-Hourglass, SUPAHSPLASH34, Moonfur 10, Mintfrost29, Stormbreeze of WindClan, SilverWolf1499, Phantonflower, RedWolf, ScrougeloverBirdwing, LarkThatSingsAtDawn, KTDlover, The Last Sketch, dragonFELL, Princess of Xing, Peacemakr, Redleaf) I am finally giving you BloomClan.

Time: Day 3

Character: Brightkit of BloomClan

Ch. 8 Gifts

Images flashed through my unconscious mind. A large flowing river, bigger than the small creeks that snaked around BloomClan's camp. White foam formed on the tips of dangerously large rapids.

A creaking, aching sound echoed through the forest. When I made a move to run for it, I saw that my paws weren't their usual white, but a black as deep as the nursery at night. It rattled me up, but my dream-self kept running.

The strange paws didn't stop till they reached a towering, ancient maple tree. The broad leaves were almost as wide as I was. Some had fallen early, and the damp ground was littered with them.

It was leaning over the bank of the river, its lower branches skinning the surface, creating small ripples. As I watched, more leaves bent down to reach the surface. In time, full branches were completely submerged.

Than, the creaking and aching sound became louder. My eyes were drawn to the base of the tree where the ancient bark was beginning to crack and peel. The tree was slowly bending to the will of a greater being.

When I thought it wouldn't bend any farther, it's weakened trunk snapped. It threw itself across the river and shook the earth on the other side. Jagged pieces of dried bark stabbed up from the stump.

Not knowing why, I felt compelled to leap up onto newly fallen tree. On my first try, the bark shifted beneath my changed paws, and I tumbled back to earth. The landing jarred my bones, and it ached to stand back up.

I aimed for the smooth wood on my second pounce. I sailed cleanly through the air, and my sharp claws latched onto the tree. Using a weak branch, I heaved myself up.

I almost fell off when I saw a body emerge from a reddish leaves. It was a small white she-cat with brilliant green eyes and gray patches; an exact replica of myself.

"Hello Brightkit," called myself. I jumped back in surprise as a different voice came out of my mouth. To my amazement, it sounded like my leader, Petalstar. "There is no need to be surprised."

I wanted to shout out that there was a very good reason to be surprised; someone else was in my body. But I could see my mother scolding me, and all the toms laughing that I was no better than them.

Instead, I crossed over the fallen maple tree, determined to make use of my new, sharpened claws that graced my black paws. My fluid movements came to a stop when I looked over into the water at my reflection. It wasn't my face staring up at me; it was Petalstar's.

Nothing seemed to make sense; I was in Petalstar's body and she was in mine. "Why am I you and you me?" I called out to my body. "What has happened to us."

She didn't answer my question right away. Instead, she bounced away from the cluttering of branches until she stood directly in front of me. It felt strange staring into my own eyes; it was like looking into a puddle.

Petalstar seemed to understand what was happening. "StarClan has shown you to me like Bloomstar was shown Riverstar. It is our gift for remaining above the toms." She sounded confident in her answer, but it just scrambled my brains even more.

"Who is Riverstar," I asked. "Was she a previous leader? Was Bloomstar the first leader? Is she a brave she-cat Dapplemist told me about? The one who put toms in their rightful place- below she-cats."

Petalstar moved her kit head, and smiled my toothy grin at myself."Everything you said is right and wrong," she told me. "You have to discover the truth like I did. Nothing ever comes easy to the ones StarClan favors."

With those strange words, she pounced toward me and nailed onto my side. Her tiny body turned into a deadly missile that threw me off balance. My claws dug into the smooth surface of wood ans I tried to remain upright.

But even though I had the body of a seasoned warrior, I still had the strength of a kit. My claws popped out of the soft wood, and I tumbled towards the lashing fury of the river.

Before I could feel the bone-chilling waters encase me, a vision of a silvery she-cat and a tabby tom flashed before my eyes. The names Bloomflower and Oakfire seared into my mind.

When my eyes flashed open, I was shocked to find myself back in the nursery. Risking a quick glance at my paws, I was relieved to find them back to their normal frost white. The cool waters of the raging river were far away from my cozy nest.

My nest no longer seemed cozy to me. My mother's soft silvery fur was suffocatingly hot; my own fur was drenched in a cold, fear induced sweat. Soft moss placed by the toms was sticking to my fur.

Trying to find a cooler spot, I tossed and turned around in my nest. In response to my movement, my mother curled her fluffy tail even closer around me. I felt like I was being cut of from the endless supply of air.

I tried wriggling to escape the sudden heat wave, but I was just smothered more by my mother and the moss bedding. There seemed to be no escape from the boiling temperature,

Nearby, Fernkit nestled closer to her mother and in the process, pushed Pantherkit and stupid Duskkit to the side. The two toms squirmed as they got squished together.

Lightcloud slept through her kit's movements, but shifted in her nest. Her tail slackened around the kits , and I'm sure I could see a pocket for cool air to gather.

I tried the same thing on Moonstripe. I nestled close to her stomach, nearly swallowing some fur in the process. As I coughed up a fur ball, my mother shifted in her nest, just like Lightcloud. Her tail curled up into a compact little ball.

Finally feeling a breath of cold air, I scrambled out of the nest. The cold rock felt like a stone-cold river under my paws. The chill spread through my body like ripples in a puddle.

There was a cool breeze ruffling my fur and a unexpected shiver went down my spine. It came a a breath of relief from the extreme temperature.

My mother was sleeping like a rock, and she showed no signs of waking. My well calculated escape had been completely success full. The cool air that brushed against her stomach didn't seem to disturb her at all.

Never had a better time arisen to explore camp than now. I could peek my little nose wherever I wanted and no one would ever know. It was the perfect crime, in a certain sense.

Lightcloud's kits were settled down once again. My mate, Duskkit, was sleeping on the cold ground. I couldn't help but laugh as he shivered under his thin coat of black fur.

I tiptoed out of the nursery, careful not to disturb my mother or the other queens. Her tail curled back to its normal position at my disappearance, but she showed no other signs of movement.

At the back of my mind, a small seed of resentment was growing. My mother should know when her only daughter, her only kit, disappears. She should have realized that I was gone. What if...

I lost my train of though when my head started to pound. It felt like it was being run over my a monster and being attacked by raccoons at the same time. Twos words echoed over and over again.

Bloomflower, Oakfire, Bloomflower, Oakfire, Bloomflower, Oakfire.

I curled up on the hard ground, praying to StarClan for the voices to disappear. They seemed to drag my unconscious thought to the surface. I had to bit my tongue to keep myself from screaming and waking the whole camp.

Just when I was positive death was coming, the voice quieted. As the pounding receded slowly into nothingness, I rose slowly to my paws.

My legs were shaking like they were when I stood on the maple tree bridge as Petalstar. I felt like running back to my mother, cuddling in her fur, and drifting into the night, but I knew sleep wouldn't come for me.

I wiped my mind of the names and tried to make my paws land as lightly on the nursery floor as I could. Thick layers of moss absorbed any sound I would have made.

Breezekit started to cry out in hunger as I walked by. I froze in the shadows, terrified that Stormbreeze would wake. Instead, she stuffed her fluffy gray tail in the kit's mouth. He let out a stifled mew then quieted himself.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. My escape was almost ruined by a stupid tom that couldn't keep its mouth shut.

With anymore delays, I scuttled out of the nursery. The camp seem bigger, more threatening without anyone in the clearing. The shadows seemed to stretch from the dark corners and invade my small halo of vision.

It seems eerily quiet. Even the cricket's seemed to have dulled their harmonious music. Besides the murmurs of sleeping cats, the only sound was the gently rushing water. It flowed over the stones, wearing them away to nothing.

Feeling like I was being called to the river, I tried to make my way towards the exit. I could see the shadow of the camp guard standing alert against the light of the moon.

The silhouette turned towards me, and I dove into the shadows behind the fresh-kill pile. My heart was in my throat as I imagined how visible my white fur would be. I couldn't help but wondering if it would turn black if I willed it to.

It didn't appear to shift colors, yet the guard turned away. She had apparently lost interest in whatever lay inside the camp. I could almost hear her thought, Just a stupid tom. I'll talk to them as a group later.

While my eyes were on her, another shape crept up behind me. I nearly jumped out of my paws when a claw tapped me on the shoulder. "Brightkit," said the voice. It wasn't loud, but it echoed around me in the still of the night.

I whipped around, prepared to run back to the nursery if it was one of the warriors. When I saw a creamy she-cat, I relaxed. "Oh," I sighed, exaggerating the tiniest bit. "I thought you were an actual warrior, Lynxpaw."

The medicine cat apprentice ducked her head. "Cloudblossom wanted to see... um ...talk to you. She mentioned something about black paws and a maple bridge. I couldn't make heads or tails about it." She ducked her and smiled remorsefully at the ground.

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh. "Of course she can't see me; she is blind. That is almost as bad as being born a tom." I felt a little bad at saying that because my mother was one of Cloudblossom's friends, but it was too late to take it back.

Lynxpaw didn't say anything, but it looked like she was biting her tongue. Instead, she motioned me over to the medicine den. My only sensible choice was to follow and beg Cloudblossom and Flamewhisper not to tell my mother.

Inside the den, Cloudblossom was wide awake. Bags were forming under her pale, blind eyes, but she looked wide awake. Flamewhisper was sleeping in the corner, his chest heaving rhythmically.

"I brought Brightkit like you asked," said Lynxpaw shyly. Her voice barely reached her mentor's ears, but it was more confident than before. "She was hiding behind the fresh-kill pile just like you said."

"Of course she was there," said Cloudblossom, exasperated. "Just because I can't see doesn't mean I completely clueless to what is going on. I just glad you found her before Spiritclaw decided to investigate. I wouldn't trust her to keep Flamewhisper safe."

"Do you want me to wake him?" she asked, speaking as though Flamewhisper had rights. "He needs his sleep after treating Adderblaze."

Cloudblossom seemed to delve deep in thought before speaking up. "Yes," she said softly. "I don't want to explain this twice. It would be a pain."

When Lynxpaw scrambled over to her mentor's mate's nest, I let out a small cough to remind them that I was still in their presence. The love of toms was clogging the air and choking me.

Cloudblossom turned to me, staring at the air with pale, sightless eyes. I couldn't repress the shudder that went through me. I felt like they were staring into my soul and dragging something to the surface.

Oakfire, Bloomflower, Oakfire, Bloomflower, Oakfire, Bloomflower.

The names tore through me, and Cloudblossom seemed to hear them. "We have a lot to talk about, little Brightkit," she said to me. "I regret waking Flamewhisper up because we need one more cat."

Flamewhisper stretched his front legs and smiled warmly at his mate. "Why shouldn't I have been woken up, love?" I wanted to show him the true meaning of love; the love my slaughtered father showed my mother.

But I didn't. I couldn't because they all knew I had been sneaking around camp.

"Brightkit had a dream," smiled the medicine cat, looking in the direction of her mate. "She is going to stay here for the night."

"I don't want to stay here the night," I said, struggling to keep my voice down. "I'm not sick or injured, and the toms would see my staying here as a weakness. I can't have Duskkit growing brave."

Flamewhisper curled his tail around his paws. "I guarantee toms won't think any less of you because you stayed with us. And, we won't tell your mother you tried to go down to the river."

My mouth hung open as I realized I had been bested by a tom. The blind medicine cat's mate to make it even worse.

"We won't tell your mother if you stay," said Cloudblossom, sensing my reluctance to listen to a tom. "We will even tell we grabbed you because you showed signs of some illness."

A viscous smile graced my face. "It is a deal," I said.

"Oh," said Cloudblossom, sounding as if she had forgotten something. "You also have to talk to Petalstar in the morning. I know she will want to speak to you."

"No way you blind, old she-cat." I snarled at her, fluffing my fur so I appeared twice my normal size. "I'm not talking to Petalstar just because I sneaked out of camp. I'm not a stupid tom that needs to be punished."

"You don't really have a choice," said Flamewhisper calmly. "You already made a deal with us."

"I don't make deals with toms," I snapped back. "I would rather be scolded by my mother than have a meeting with Petalstar." Don't you know I stole her body.

"You honestly have no choice," said Lynxpaw, speaking up for the first time. "You received Bloomstar's gift. That isn't something you can throw away."

"I can do whatever I want with this stupid gift," I shouted, not caring if the entirety of BloomClan heard me. "It is mine, not yours."

Cloudblossom gave me a worried look, her pale eyes filled with more emotion than I could understand. "Please stay here. It is just for one night. We made a nice bed for you."

Lynxpaw pointed to a fluffy nest in the corner. Between large pieces of moss was rare feathers that were softer than my mother's fur. I could even see a nice breeze regulating the air temperature.

"Maybe I'll stay just one night," I said. I quickly added, "that doesn't mean I will speak to Petalstar."

"Of course it doesn't" sighed Cloudblossom. She moved to her own nest as Flamewhisper lead me two my own.

"I don't blame you for not wanting to speak to Petalstar," he said to me quietly. "All the toms are scared of her."

"I'm not scared of her like a stupid tom," I said, offended by his nerve. "I will talk to her tomorrow, just you see."

With that, he shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it is your decision. I would hate if you were too much of a wimp to carry through with your promises."

"I don't make promises to toms," I chuckled, haughty. "But I swear to StarClan that I will talk to her because I will never sink as low as to act like a tom."

When I said that, Flamewhisper walked to where Cloudblossom was sleeping, and I had a strange feeling that I had been tricked.

This chapter basically sets the stage to why Brightkit is going to be important to the story. She will be in the next chapter with Blossomfrost. Surprise! We won't be seeing Duskkit for several chapters. Poor guy isn't very important until the very end.

If you want a little background for the setting of her dream, read chapter 3 of Tales Left Unwritten. It will also mention the names that are driving the poor kit crazy.