Chapter 2

(Dustkit's POV)

Dustkit sat in the camp, his tail flicking boredly. He looked over at Shykit, his gaze casual as he mewed, "You wanna go play?"

"Play what?" Shykit asked, "I don't wanna do mossball again and anyways, Dapplebreeze's kits are using the mossball."

Dustkit huffed with annoyance. Didn't those kits have anything that was theirs? All they had they had taken from him and Shykit.

"Let's go out of camp." he whispered to his sister in a soft voice so no others would hear.

Shykit's eyes widened, "B-but that's against the rules!" she hissed back.

"So? Do you think those fights are supposed to be by the rules? Tidalstar only allows them because she's afraid that if she doesn't, they might do something against her!"

Shykit flattened her ears, looking torn between wanting to obey the warrior code and her own boredness. Both littermates had always wanted to go outside of the camp and Dustkit was sure that she wanted to go now as much as he did.

Finally, the she-cat nodded and got to her paws, "As long as we don't get caught. If we do, I swear to StarClan, I claw your ears to shreds."

Dustkit grinned, "We won't get caught, don't worry!"

Shykit still looked rather unconvinced but she nodded, her eyes flashing with eagerness to see the world outside the camp.

It was easy enough for the two kits to slip out of the camp unseen. It wasn't like anyone actually watched them anyways. Everyone else was always busy taking care of Driftkit, Talonkit and Grasskit. Shykit and Dustkit were the oldest kits in the nursery, being six moons old while Dapplebreeze's litter was only three moons old so they were always pushed to the side while the younger kits got all the attention.

"Wow..." Dustkit breathed as the wind caressed the fur on his face. His kit fur had begun to grow out, leaving him with a sleek pale brown tabby pelt. Shykit, too, was growing into a soft black and white pelt of fur that brought out her shining amber eyes. "It's really big out here."

"Yeah..." Shykit mewed in an awed voice. "It's huge."

The territory stretched out before the two kits, the lake shimmering in the sharp sunlight, making them blink the sparkling light from their eyes as they swept their gazes across the seemingly endless expanse of land. Dustkit could see mountains in the distance, giant and looming high above them and when he turned his gaze to across the lake he could see tall pine trees and a small river running to the left while a thick forest of oak trees grew to his right.

This was his home. The young tom felt pride growing in his chest as he suddenly took off at a run, his long legs making barely a whisper against the smooth, grassy ground. He could hear Shykit laughing out loud as she ran behind him, her fur rippling in the wind that raked across their territory, both wild but tamed at the same time. It felt wonderful.

Once they were far from camp, still running as fast as their legs could carry them, Dustkit threw back his head and let out a loud yowl. He was free and it felt as though he was invincible.

Eventually the two kits slowed down, panting and laughing as they sat down behind a large rock near the treeline. Suddenly, a familiar scent reached Dustkit's nose and he stiffened, swiftly stuffing a paw into Shykit's mouth. "Shh!" he whispered, barely audible as he removed his paw, "Someone's coming!"

Shykit nodded and the two kits swiftly hunkered down, nestling down under some tall grass so they wouldn't be noticed as a WindClan patrol swiftly came into view. Dustkit could pick out the pelts of his father, Stormpaw, Embercoal and- Great StarClan!- Tidalstar was leading the patrol, her blue-gray fur plastered at her sides as she ran.

There was a crack of thunder and Dustkit suddenly noticed the dark clouds that had been gathering, despite the nice, seemingly clear weather they had had just a little while ago. The heavens swiftly opened up, releasing their drenching pour onto the WindClan cats.

Shykit let out a soft squeak and pressed close to Dustkit to conserve the little warmth they could gain from each other as the air was rent with another blast of lightning. Dustkit bit back a yowl of warning as he saw the claws and teeth that flashed in the burst of light and a blood-curling caterwaul filled the air, making the young kit gasp as the area was filled with fighting cats, blood spattering the ground as the unknown cats pounced upon Tidalstar and her patrol.

Nightburn let out a screech and leaped at a dark tom, his claws flashing in the pouring rain while Stormpaw was grappling with a tom nearly twice his size, snarling and spitting with rage. Tidalstar was fighting like LeopardClan against two other cats while Embercoal let out a screech as her shoulder was raked by a scrawny she-cat's claws.

"We have to help them!" Dustkit whispered, his eyes wide and his unsheathed claws digging into the muddy ground. His fur was plastered to his sides, making him look small and miserable.

Shykit didn't look much better as she hissed back fiercely, "We wouldn't be able to do anything rabbit-brain! Do you think two kits could help fight against those cats? We'd just make it worse because they'd have to save our fur from them!"

Dustkit let out a hiss of frustration, "We can't just do nothing!" he growled, unsheathed claws kneading the ground in anger. "They could die!"

"They're trained warriors and can take care of themselves! We, however, don't know how Dustkit! I, for one, want to live to be able to help my clan!"

Dustkit let out another hiss but he stayed where he was, watching as his clanmates fought for his life and unable to help them.

((A/N {Supernova750} Hey guys, sorry this is super late, we've both been super busy and stuff but for now, here you go with Chapter 2, part 1! Part 2 will be up when we can get it up and once more, so sorry for the long wait, everything's been pretty crazy lately! Hope you enjoy!))