Chapter 1
Cloudkit stumbled out of the nursery, her dark blue eyes blinking against the sudden harsh light. A heartbeat later, her sister came out after her, nearly knocking her off her paws as she crashed into her, having been blinded by the sun's rays just as she had been.
"Tawnykit! Watch where you're going, you nearly made me fall over!"
The white she-cat with patches of tawny colouring lining her fur blinked her sun-gold eyes at her littermate. "Sorry, Cloudkit. I didn't see you. The world was too bright!"
A white she-cat with splashes of black tabby markings poked her head out of the den. Her dark amber eyes stared down at her two kittens, giving them both a lick on their heads, a soft purr rumbling from her throat.
"Remember what we talked about, kits. Don't get under any cat's paws, and stick together!"
"We will, Ivyflower! Come on, Cloudkit, I want to see the camp!" Tawnykit mewed, racing away from the entrance to the nursery, completely forgetting what their mother had just told them.
"Wait for me!" the white she-kit squealed, stumbling after to catch up with her littermate. "Mama said to stick together!"
Unfortunately for her, she had already lost sight of her sister thanks to how large the camp was. Cloudkit looked around, trying to spot her anywhere.
How can she be so fast?
"Tawnykit! Where'd you go?"
As she wandered along, she crashed into a larger wall of fur. Startled, she stumbled back with a fight squeak of surprise. She loved up to see warm blue eyes staring down at her. A long grey tail brushed against her back, pools of water showing concern.
"Are you alright, Cloudkit?"
"I'm okay, Mousetail." She pressed against her father as he wrapped his tail around her. Ever since her mother died giving birth to her, Mousetail had been coming by to check up on her, spending as much time with his only kit as he could. He was forever grateful that Ivyflower took her in as her own kit after her real mother's death.
She loved her and Tawnykit as if they were her actual siblings, and Lionroar, Tawnykit's father, treated Cloudkit like she was his own kitten too. She had two fathers in a way, and she loved them both.
"Where were you off to in such a hurry?" Mousetail asked, pulling his tail away from her, making her wish she had the warmth back.
"I was looking for Tawnykit. Ivyflower said we could go play, but she ran off without me."
"I see..." Blue eyes glanced up from her as Mousetail looked around for her sister. "I think I saw her disappear into the Elder's Den. Why don't you head over there? You might get a story out of one of them."
"I see..." Blue eyes glanced up from her as Mousetail looked around for her sister. "I think I saw her disappear into the Elder's Den. Why don't you head over there? You might get a story out of one of them."
"Okay! Thanks, Mousetail."
"You're welcome. Run along now, Cloudkit. I'll bring you back the fattest vole I can. You have to be good though."
"I will!" A surge of excitement came over her at the mention of her favorite prey. Her father was always looking out for her. As Mousetail padded away, it dawned on her that she didn't know where the Elder's Den was.
I don't want to call him back. I can find it on my own. Plus, I want to show Mousetail, I'm a big kit! I don't need help!
Cloudkit made her way along with the clearing of the camp, nose twitching as she tried to pick up Tawnykit's scent. If she was going to be a warrior one day, she would need to be able to track her prey under the heavy undergrowth that covered HazelClan territory.
She noticed there were several cats around. Mousetail was heading over to a patrol of four other cats. Among them were Sharpbramble, Brackentail, Hawkthorn, and Batscar. From what her father had said, they were going out to hunt.
Lazying around the camp, she spotted Squirrelpounce laying under some large rocks. Her dark russet fur looked almost black in the shade. Her long tail rested against her side as she dozed. Not far off from her, Mosspath and Crowflight were shading themselves against the Greenleaf sun.
Starlingwing and Lionroar were coming back from a border patrol along with Sungaze, Timberflame, and Fawndapple. Cloudkit could see on the dappled she-cat's face that she was troubled. Her yellowish-green eyes were dark, and the rest of the patrol looked ruffled.
I wonder what that's all about...
Forgetting about going to the Elder's Den, the white kitten watched as the patrol slipped into the Leader's Den. Cloudkit waited until they were all inside, and a few heartbeats after that to be sure they weren't coming right back out, or no one else was going in, before she slowly crept towards the entrance, making sure no cat saw or heard her.
Finchstar's den was located below a hollowed-out rock that had been carved throughout many seasons of harsh weather. She glanced into the den, allowing her eyes time to adjust to the darkness, being able to see all the cats that had entered, plus HazelClan's leader.
"—we need to do something about this," Fawndapple was saying as Cloudkit listened in. "What do you think, Finchstar?"
The old she-cat listened to her warriors express their concerns, much to the kitten's annoyance that she had missed part of it by trying to be careful to not get caught. Her piercing green eyes glowed in the darkness of her den, and her white paws and speckled underbelly seemed to also admit light.
"I'll speak to Adderbite about it once he returns from patroling CreekClan's border. And I'll bring it up at the Gathering in a few nights' time. However, this does concern me..." Finchstar said, her voice thick with unease, though she tried to mask it for her warriors. "Where did you see it?"
"Just beyond—"
Sungaze's reply was deaf to her ears, as a sudden weight on her tail, drew Couldkit's attention. It wasn't harsh, nor did it hurt much, but there was just enough pressure for her to notice it. She flinched in surprise more than pain, turning her blue eyes up to see who loomed over here.
Viperstalk's sage-green eyes stared back at her.