A/N: I apologize in advance for the kind of abrupt end to this chapter, but if I'm being honest I'm really just trying to get these kits made into apprentices sooner rather than later lol. Anyways, I want to give a quick thanks to the two beautiful people that followed and favorited this story! I really appreciate the interest, and I look forward to a lot of input and feedback as the story goes on!

Without further ado, here's chapter... Here's the second chapter. That was awful. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

It was warm in the cave. Birchkit would often try to prompt Hollykit to play with him and the other kits, but it was warm. She couldn't remember ever falling asleep warm, and it was nice. Ferncloud never left her side, constantly forcing her to take herbs and eat fresh-kill that smelled of the cool air outside the cave. When she finally did work up the energy to get up, Ferncloud stopped her by wrapping her tail around the tiny she-kit.

"You must rest," she murmured gently, bending to lick Hollykit's head.

Hollykit huffed and ducked away from her mother's tongue. "I'm not tired anymore!" She insisted. "All I've done is sleep, I want to play with Birchkit!" She tried to rush past her mother's paws, only to run headfirst into Leafpaw's leg.

"I've brought traveling herbs," the medicine cat apprentice set them down gently before Ferncloud.

"Not more leaves," Hollykit wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I feel like I'm turning into a rabbit!"

Leafpaw's whiskers twitched in amusement. "These aren't all for you," she reassured the kit. "There are some for your mother and Birchkit as well."

"I know!" Hollykit's tail stuck straight in the air. "I'll go find him to tell him to take his herbs. Please, Mother?" She turned pleading amber eyes to her mother. Ferncloud glanced at Leafpaw.

"She seems to be a lot stronger today," the apprentice murmured. Hollykit had a feeling she wasn't meant to hear, but the thought only made her strain her ears harder to catch the whispered words. "It should be fine, but I'll keep an eye on her if you'd like."

Ferncloud's concerned green gaze raked Hollykit from her startlingly pink nose to the tip of her fluffy tail. "I suppose," she finally conceded. "But hurry back as soon as you find him. He's probably playing with the other kits over…"

Hollykit had only heard the first few words, already eagerly charging across the large cave. "Birchkit!" She squealed when she spotted her brother play-fighting with a few larger kits. She forced her kit-clumsy paws to move faster and barreled into his side.

"Hollykit?" Birchkit stood, blinking in surprise. "You finally decided to stop playing hedgehog over there?"

"I'll show you who's a hedgehog!" She sprang at the bigger kit, and they tumbled and tussled for a few moments before he easily pinned her down.

"Still you!" Birchkit taunted.

Hollykit squirmed and struggled to no avail. Finally, she gave up. "Fine," she sniffed. "But guess what? You have to eat herbs today, too!"

"No I don't!" Birchkit bounced away from her. "I'm not sick."

"I'm not either!"

"They're not for being sick," Hollykit whirled around to face a pretty she-cat that smelled of milk and the other kits Birchkit had been playing with. "They're to give you strength for the journey ahead." She turned her warm gaze to the three kits still tussling in play. "Come now, Marshkit, Applekit, Toadkit." As she called to them, the kits rushed towards her. "You should go eat your herbs as well, Birchkit."

"Yeah!" Hollykit squeaked, giving her brother a nudge. "Come on, let's go already!"

Birchkit mewed a quick goodbye to the other kits and followed his sister as she bounded across the cave towards their mother.

"See? I told you there was some for you!" Ferncloud had divided the herbs into three small piles. Wanting to appear strong, Hollykit approached her own pile with her shoulders squared and lapped them up without making a face. She was please when Birchkit gagged and wrinkled his nose, struggling to eat the bitter herbs.

"Well done, you two." Ferncloud purred softly. Her pile was gone as well, and she stood to stretch. "Stay close to me as we're leaving or I'll have to find warriors to carry you."

"I'm going to walk now," Hollykit insisted. "I'll stay right by your paw, I promise!"

Their mother's whiskers twitched with amusement as she nodded. She beckoned with her tail for them to follow her as she joined the growing throng of cats at the cave's entrance. They stood there for what felt like an eternity before they finally began to file out of the cave.

"Will there be water like this in our new home?" Hollykit exhaled, awestruck as she finally saw the waterfall from the outside of the cave as they left.

"I hope not," Birchkit flattened his ears. "It's too loud."

Everything was a wonder to Hollykit as she plodded alongside her mother. The mountains fascinated her, though the cold was seeping back into her tiny body. It was only once she started tripping all over her numbing paws and shivering that Dustpelt swept her up into his jaws again.

"I can walk!" She whined pitifully. She felt the slightest motion, and imagined that her father rolled his eyes.

"You're slowing us down," he growled around her scruff. You can walk when we're out of the mountains."

True to his word, once they had escaped the frigid stone, Dustpelt put her down. The grass was soft and springy beneath her paws, prompting her to bounce gleefully around her father's paws.

"It's so soft!" She squealed happily. "Is this our new home? Can we stay here, Dustpelt?"

The big warrior shook his head. "Not yet, little one. We'll know once we've found our new home. StarClan will tell us."

If ever the kit had doubted their warrior ancestors, it was all swept away when she saw all of Silverpelt reflected in the lake the next morning.

"Is this our new home?" She whispered quietly, a thrill racing down her spine.

"Yes," Ferncloud murmured, dipping to lick the top of each of her kits' heads. "This is where StarClan meant for us to be."

Hollykit was excited to see her new nest in the ThunderClan's camp, and thoroughly disappointed when she learned that ThunderClan didn't even have a camp.

"Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw are on their way to find it now," Ferncloud purred gently. As soon as they get back, we'll get to see our new home."

"Will we be able to play with Toadkit, Marshkit, and Applekit when we get there?" Birchkit piped up curiously.

Hollykit wrinkled her nose. "Why would you want to? They smell funny."

She received a sharp cuff on her ear. "Now, Hollykit, that's not polite." Hollykit rolled her eyes at her mother's scolding tone. The dappled queen then addressed Birchkit, "But no, dear, I'm afraid Toadkit and his siblings will have to go their own home, in ShadowClan."

Hollykit felt a twinge of jealousy at how crestfallen Birchkit looked. "You can still play with me!" She mewled, giving her brother a gentle nudge. "I'm not sick anymore, we can play all day, every day!"

The light brown tabby purred. "You're right," he reared up on his hind legs playfully. "And we'll be apprentices soon, anyways!"

"The best apprentices!" Hollykit confirmed as she launched herself into a play fight with her brother. Playing with Tallpoppy's kits was fun while it lasted, but Hollykit was more excited to hear that Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw had found a place for ThunderClan to call home than she ever was to play a game with the three ShadowClan kits. And the only thing more exciting than that was to watch Squirrelpaw's warrior ceremony.

Hollykit managed to stay silent through the entire ceremony, despite Birchkit and Toadkit whispering beside her. Her amber eyes glowed with a mixture of awe and jealousy. That's going to be me one day.