Rootkit grunted as a prod from Pearkit's paw awakened him from sleep. He blinked his eyes against the morning light, but could see his brother looming above him with a sly smirk tugging the edges of his lips. Rootkit quickly shut his eyes and was given an additional prod in return.

"Wake up," Pearkit mewed, tackling his brother with hefty paws. "It's morning! It's time to get up!"

Rootkit groaned, rolling over onto his back. He pawed at Pearkit until the tabby jumped off his shoulder. "Why do you wake up so early?" Rootkit grumbled, quietly, somewhat irritated at his brother's intent to always wake him.

"Dad said he was going to bring us something back from the dawn patrol," Pearkit responded, licking his paw. "Do you think it's meat? I've asked Mom so many times but she's never said yes…" The tabby tom-kit rolled his eyes, flashing a sideways glance to Yarrowstem who was sharing tongues with Streamstone in the corner of the nursery. "She still says we're too small."

Rootkit sat up, quickly licking his pelt that had been dirtied by the nursery floor. "Maybe a new moss ball," the smaller kit replied, loosely batting a nearby ball of moss. "Or a pretty rock. Have you seen some of the rocks that Ashenhawk has? I tried to go find them again, but Mom wouldn't let me leave."

"Rocks?" Pearkit spat, sticking out his tongue towards his brother. "Why would he bring us a rock? We can't play with that."

Rootkit shrugged his shoulders and fixed his gaze towards the nursery's entrance, where the greenleaf sunlight filtered through the brambles. "I guess we will just have to wait for him."

"You can wait…" Pearkit snickered, lowering himself on his haunches. "I will just attack you!"

Rootkit swung his head backwards before he was met with his brother's paws on his back. His tiny body clashed against the moss, and his attempts to shove Pearkit off him were unsuccessful as the tom kept Rootkit pinned down steadily.

"Boys," meowed a gruff voice, causing both of the kits to quickly whip their heads towards the nursery's entrance. Peeking through the ivy leaves was Coalshadow, holding a bright blue feather in his jaw. Pearkit instantly leapt off of Rootkit and bounded towards his father, a loud purr rumbling in his throat.

"Dad!" Pearkit chirped, rubbing against his father's long legs. "What did you bring us? Is it a bird?"

Rootkit rose to his paws and padded towards his father, his eyes rounded with curiosity. Coalshadow dropped the vibrant feather at his sons' paws. "It's a blue jay's feather," the black tom meowed, gazing over his shoulder at Yarrowstem who was now walking towards him. "I figured the color is much prettier than a plain old sparrow's feather."

Rootkit purred, pouncing on the blue feather that had been placed in front of him. "Thanks, Dad," he chirped. Before he could dive at the feather once more, Coalshadow licked his son over the head.

Rootkit admired his father. Coalshadow seemed so strong, with the way the sunlight outlined his muscles in a golden sheen. When Rootkit would wake up early enough to listen to Flintstar organize the dawn patrols, he would often hear his father's name. Rootkit wanted to grow up to be as big as his father, since Pearkit would often tease him for his small size.

"Can you stay and play with us?" Pearkit mewed, his tiny tabby tail lashing behind him.

"I wish I could," Coalshadow replied, purring as Yarrowstem rubbed against his soft cheek. "Tinyfire asked if I could accompany her and Finchpaw to the hollow for some battle training. How about I take you both around the camp when I get back?"

Rootkit and Pearkit nodded eagerly, exchanging excited glances with one another. "Okay," Pearkit chirped, playfully pawing at Rootkit's ear. The kits watched as Coalshadow gave Yarrowstem one last affectionate lick before rising to his paws. With a dip of his head, the dark tom exited the nursery, leaving Yarrowstem alone with her sons.

"You two better behave until he gets back," the queen murmured affectionately, bending down to quickly lick Pearkit's head. "That means no pouncing on Streamstone's tail." Yarrowstem narrowed her glance at her striped son.

"Fine," Pearkit mewed with a purr. He looked at his brother curiously. "What do you want to do? Do you want to wrestle? Or we can play moss-ball?"

Rootkit's gaze drifted away from his brother's. He held a disdain for wrestling, due to his brother usually pinning him to the ground in a matter of heartbeats, and the two of them had played moss-ball for the entirety of the day prior. Rootkit just sighed in response to his brother.

"Do you want to do anything?" Pearkit grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Are you just going to stare at the ground until Dad comes back?"

"What if I do?" Rootkit retorted, settling his haunches on the moss beneath him. "What's wrong with just being quiet for a little bit?"

"That's boring," Pearkit groaned, shoving his paw against his brother's shoulder. "I wish I had a brother who liked to play more."

Rootkit flattened his ears, flinching as his mother instantly rose to her paws. Yarrowstem stepped in front of the black and white kit. "Pearkit," she scolded, holding her son's gaze. "You will not speak to him like that. Rootkit is your brother, regardless of whether or not he wants to play with you. Let him be and go play outside!"

Pearkit's eyes fell to his paws. "Fine," he murmured, his mother's scorn visibly dampening his confidence. "I'm sorry Rootkit, I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay," Rootkit mewed, meekly. Pearkit was always outspoken and brazen – Rootkit was just the polar opposite of him. It was what made them close, and sometimes, it was what made them butt heads. Pearkit flashed Rootkit a fleeting glance, and then he bounded away. Rootkit watched him go, wondering what was on Pearkit's mind that made him act this way.

Yarrowstem's gaze followed Pearkit, and she let out a sigh. Rootkit turned his small head over to gaze at his mother. Shadows covered her blue gaze. "Mother, what's wrong?"

"Mm?" Yarrowstem glanced at Rootkit. "What do you mean?"

"You look so sad," Rootkit remarked quietly. "What is it?"

"Sad…?" Yarrowstem trailed off. "Why do you say that, Rootkit?" The yellow she-cat scrutinized her kit, her eye whiskers furrowed. Rootkit could feel the sadness coming off her in waves – and her eyes held a shadow that they normally didn't. In addition, her jaw was clenched and her ears were ever-so-flattened.

Rootkit repeated what he saw in her, and when he finished, Yarrowstem's eyes widened. She laid back, sighing, and there was a flash of vulnerability in her eyes. "Rootkit…" she murmured. "I don't know if you're aware, but my pregnancy with you was very hard. There were many days where I thought that you may not make it. I suffered ill health, and there were moments I thought I – or you – wouldn't make it. But I gave birth to two beautiful healthy kits. However…" She paused for a moment, pressing her lips together. "I don't want you to drift apart from each other. The pain, the illness… it wasn't worth it, if my sons are unable to get along."

"Mom," Rootkit said softly as he nestled against the dappled golden fur of his mother. "Pearkit and I fight sometimes, but that doesn't mean we don't get along. We're different, that's all. But we're still brothers, no matter what. And that's not going to change."

Yarrowstem touched her nose to Rootkit's small, narrow head. Rootkit breathed in the soft scent of his mother, sun-blooming flowers, as she murmured softly, "Thank you, my love." She sighed. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

Rootkit flicked his tail to his mother. He wondered why she got so upset. Just because Pearkit was a little pushy didn't mean that they hated each other. Rootkit just preferred to look at moss balls rather than play with them, that was all. But it wasn't as if he hated playing. He searched for the only other kits in the nursery – Lightningkit and Flamekit. Streamstone and Maplefall were the other queens, but they had not given birth yet. In fact, they were still early on in their pregnancies, but Ashenhawk was a firm believer in the fact that any expecting queen should live in the nursery as soon as possible.

"Lightningkit?" Rootkit called out, searching for the pale golden tabby tom. He wasn't sure where Flamekit was, but he could catch a trace of Lightningkit's musky scent. "Want to play hide-and-seek with me?" He peered into the shadows for the kit, and when he spotted Lightningkit's glowing green eyes, he could tell from the light in them that he was on board. Lightningkit squeezed out of the shadows and pushed against Rootkit lightly.

"You go hide," Lightningkit told him. "I'll look for you."

"Fine." Rootkit blinked in amusement and waited until Lightningkit shut his eyes. When the pale tabby tom's eyes were almost glued stuck, Rootkit skipped away from him, softening his pawsteps on the packed earth so Lightningkit couldn't hear them. He exited the bramble thicket, pushing through the thick woven branches, and glanced around camp, searching for a place to hide from the keen Lightningkit. The stone hollow stretched out for miles in front of him, with the earth stretching all the way to the cliff walls that enclosed the hollow, so tall that it rivaled the length of the trees themselves. Even so, Rootkit could see a few beeches overhanging the stone walls. Several dens were built with the cliffs used as the backdrop, big and cozy to accommodate the large size of ThunderClan. Rootkit breathed in the greenleaf wind but didn't mind as it brushed against his pelt.

Rootkit recognized the senior warriors, Longbranch and Oakfire, meeting with the ThunderClan deputy, Sootfall in the center of camp. Rootkit peered his ears, wondering what they were talking about, but they were too far away for Rootkit to make out their conversation. Tinyfire and Falconheart were herding Brookpaw towards the entrance of camp. Rootkit guessed that they were going out to train. Flintstar, the massive Clan leader, appeared out of his den on top of the Highledge. His mate, Nettlesnow, was by his side. Vinestep and Sorrelfur were sharing tongues near the warriors' den, while Rootkit caught a glimpse of his brother, Pearkit. Pearkit was at Coalshadow's paws, and his father was teaching him the hunter's crouch.

Rootkit heard Lightningkit's pawsteps and he realized that he had to hide. The black-and-white kit looked around and spotted the closest den near him – Ashenhawk's cavern, near the tallest part of the cliffs. A curtain of ferns hung over the entrance, and Rootkit immediately bounded in, hiding behind the trickle of water that fell from a crack in the cave wall down into a small pool. Rootkit pressed himself against the rock wall, and he found his amber gaze drifting towards a stunning, blue flower with multiple shades of dark and light, with thin but many petals. Rootkit leaped over the pool and touched the petal of it, feeling how soft it was against his paws. The scent that drifted from it was intoxicating, to say the least, and it embedded itself into Rootkit's thin fur and drifted around him.

What a beautiful flower, Rootkit thought. What a shame that it's already picked. "I would have loved to see it bloom," the black-and-white kit thought out loud, studying every petal intently. He could see small drops of dew right in the center, most likely from the trickle of water. What did Ashenhawk use this herb for? It was so vivid in comparison to the rest of the green herbs she had stocked against the cave walls.

"That's called a night-blooming water lily," said a disembodied voice from behind him. Rootkit didn't have to turn around to know that it was Ashenhawk. "You won't find it blooming on the ground, because it's usually in water."

"What is it used for?" Rootkit asked as Ashenhawk appeared from the shadows, her amber eyes glowing. She approached Rootkit and nudged the flower with a silver paw. She had the same coat as her brother, Flintstar, but she was smaller, and her pelt was thick with the scents of flowers and berries, different from the wilderness-tinged scent that Flintstar wore.

"Nothing." Ashenhawk shrugged, gazing at the flower with softness in her eyes.

"So, why do you have it here?" Rootkit inquired, baffled. He thought that every flower or berry in the medicine den would be used for treating injuries or illnesses. Who heard of a medicine cat cultivating flowers for no reason?

"Because it's beautiful," Ashenhawk replied, her eyes crinkling. "I love it."

"If you loved a flower, wouldn't you keep it where it was, so it could continue to bloom?" Rootkit asked quietly.

"Maybe," Ashenhawk said, "but then I'd lose the opportunity to see it every single day in my den. It was such a beauty that I couldn't resist."

"I can understand why," Rootkit meowed, marveling as the dark blue petals shone in every shade. "What other flowers do you have?" He straightened his posture, completely forgetting about the game he and Lightningkit were playing. Now all he wanted to know was everything Ashenhawk had.

"I have quite the collection," Ashenhawk purred. "Would you like to see?"

"Yes." Rootkit nodded. Ashenhawk led Rootkit away from the cave walls where her healing herbs were stored and into a corner at the very end of the cavern. In this corner laid multiple flowers, of every single shade and color, all different shapes, with sharp or round petals, small or massive, long or short. Each petal was illuminated by the rays of sunshine that penetrated the small cracks in the ceiling of the cavern. Rootkit gasped, watching the rainbow dance on the waves.

"These ones, I've planted here," Ashenhawk replied. "They bloom. Some at night, some in the day." She pointed with her tail to a long white flower, with four curled petals that emitted a pleasant scent. "This is called a moonflower. See how its petals are curled? At night, they'll unravel, and the moon will catch their petals. It's stunning to look at."

Rootkit touched the moonflower with his small white paw. Stunning, he thought as he took a few moments to intently examine the shape and its pure white color, alongside the softness of its petals. When he had ingrained the moonflower's look in his mind, he turned to glance at the flower that bloomed right beside the moonflower. This one was round, with four yellow petals, and a few folds in the center of them. Its color was almost the same shade as his mother's pelt, and as dazzling as the sun. "What's this one?"

"An evening primrose," Ashenhawk meowed. "All these flowers are night-blooming – in other words, they're twice as beautiful – and bigger – at night. In the corner, you'll see the day-blooming ones." She nodded with her striped head towards the day-blooming flowers at the corner of her den.

"The night-blooming ones are the most interesting to me," Rootkit remarked. "It really is the most beautiful ones that bloom at night, isn't it? They're not ready to show their true beauty to the sun, but they trust the moon with all their heart."

"Maybe." Ashenhawk's ears twitched. "If you like the night-blooming flowers so much, I can find a few seeds and plant them near the nursery."

Rootkit shook his head. "No, they're yours." He sat down, parking himself near the moonflower as he gently brushed his small paw down its petals. "But I'd love to see this flower bloom."

"Then come here when the moon is at its highest," Ashenhawk meowed. "I'm sure Yarrowstem won't mind."

"I'd love to," Rootkit breathed out a sigh. "I don't really care for play-fighting like Pearkit does. It's the small things in life – the flowers, the rocks, the moss… that I really enjoy."

Ashenhawk arched an eye whisker. "We all like different things," she said lowly, bending down to meet Rootkit's gaze. "No one should judge you on that."

Rootkit looked up at Ashenhawk. "Will it get in the way of me being a warrior?" he asked quietly.

Ashenhawk blinked twice. "Why would it?" she questioned.

"I don't like hurting other cats if I don't have to," Rootkit murmured quietly. "I see how intent everyone is to fight, and I just don't feel that way."

"Key words," Ashenhawk said. "Don't have to. A warrior doesn't hurt cats all the time. He only fights when he has to – and that's to protect the ones he loved. Don't tell me that if the cats you loved were in danger, you'd sit aside idly and let them get hurt?"

"I don't think so," Rootkit replied quietly.

"Then that's exactly the type of warrior we need in this day and age, when all the Clans are at war," Ashenhawk told him, tousling his head with her thick, black-striped tail. "You don't have to worry so much. You're still a kit, right now, all you need to think about is flowers and playing. Let the big cats handle the semantics." She nudged Rootkit away. "I'm glad you got to come here, Rootkit, but I need to go see your mother to check up on her."

Rootkit nodded in acceptance, and Ashenhawk brushed against the small kit as she exited the medicine den. Rootkit cast another glance at the night-blooming flowers. Should he come here in the evening, to watch them blossom? He was about to touch the petals of the water lily when he heard a crash in the den. He turned around, his amber eyes wide, and he spotted the pale tabby pelt of Lightningkit. Lightningkit slipped in and bounded over to Rootkit.

"Honestly!" Lightningkit exclaimed, shaking his head. "I know you're good at hide-and-seek, but did you have to pick the medicine den? I was even looking in Flintstar's den!"

"Did he catch you?" Rootkit asked.

"No, thank StarClan," Lightningkit replied, shaking his head. "I would've been in for a mouthful by Whitejay." He let out a sigh. "C'mon, Rootkit. My turn to hide!"

Rootkit nodded and shut his eyes, listening for Lightningkit's scamper of steps. He would continue this game with Lightningkit. Later in the night, he'd come to watch the flowers bloom. For now, he'd show Pearkit and Yarrowstem that he was like any other kit – enjoying a game with a fellow denmate.