Chapter 1

"Gingerspeck! Gingerspeck!" A small white-brown tabby called to her mother. "Yes, Skykit?" Gingerspecks' head appeared from the nursery. "I caught a sparrow!" Skykit said proudly, holding up a tattered brown feather. Gingerspeck began to purr and licked the top of the kits' head. "My little hunter. You'll grow up to be the best warrior in LightningClan." She meowed. "Hey! What about me?" An outraged Foxkit said, sitting next to her sister. "And me?" Shallowkit and Sparklekit both exclaimed. "You all will be the best cats in the clan." Gingerspeck chuckled and walked out of the den, stretching. "Now be dears, and get me a piece of fresh-kill, would you?" The four kits were already racing towards the fresh-kill pile. "I got a mouse!" Shallowkit boasted and pulled a thin, with mouse from the pile. "Well, I got a thrush!" Skykit replied proudly and managed to drag the heavy bird to the entrance of the nursery. The four siblings sat side-by-side with their catch in front of them. "Well, well, well. Aren't you hungry?" A deep voice sounded from behind them. They jerked forwards and Skykit was the first to speak: "Smokeberry!" She squeals and hurled towards her father, jumping on his back. The other three copied her movements and soon, the gray tabby Tom was buried under a mass of kits. Gingerspeck poked her head out of the nursery. "What's this about?" She smiled. "They were apparently hungry." Smokeberry jokes and got hit with Skykits' small paw. "It's not for us, it's for Gongerspeck!" She meowed and nudged her thrush towards her mother. "I chose the thrush because I know you like them and hate voles." Skykit gave Sparklekit a pointed look and the black-yellow kit shuffled her paws and trie to hide the brown vole behind her back. Gingerspeck gave another low chuckle. "It's okay." She reassured Sparklekit. The brown-black she-cat then glanced at the sky and meowed: "Okay then. Let's take the thrush and the mouse inside and eat it in the nursery. It's getting dark. Smokeberry can take the remaining fresh-kill back to the pile." With that, she picked up the prey and and brushed against her mate, who licked her ears, and disappeared in the den. "Bye, father!" The kits called and hurried after their mother. Smokeberry flicked his ears an turned around, walking back to the pile of prey. Skykit was just about to follow her siblings, when a flash of black leaped through her vision and vanished in the thorn barrier that surrounds the camp. She looked back into the nursery. All four cats where busy eating. 'They won't notice that I'm gone.' She thought and made a split-second decision. Skykit can kicked down and took a giant leap into the middle of the camp. She has never strayed farther then a few mouse-lengths from the nursery and to the fresh-kill pile, which was two tail-lengths away. Skykit gazed in awe at the huge beech trees that stood in every corner of the camp, shielding it with their mighty branches and leaves. To her right was the camp entrance. She could just barely see the hole that was made for entering the camp. Across from the nursery was the elders den, which was now empty. The last of the elders died this leaf-bare from green-cough. 'Thank StarClan it's new-leaf now!' Skykit thought. Next to the elders den was the apprentice den. One wall was made up of bark, which the apprentices used for sharpening their claws. At the end of the clearing stood a small pine tree. At the base of it was Poisonstars' den. He would climb the tree and address the clan from the lowest branch, which was still pretty high. On the left of it, is the medicine cat den, where Spiritleaf takes care of sick and wounded cats. Skykit shuddered, remembering the time she twisted her paw jumping off the nursery roof. And on the right of the leaders den is the warriors den, where the fighters of the clan slept. She puffed her chest proudly when she spotted Smokeberrys' gray tabby pelt. "Oh, StarClan!" Skykit meowed out loud when she remembered the black pelt. She looked around and pelted towards the entrance. She glanced back one more time and disappeared into the thorn tunnel.

"Wow!" Skykit breathed out. The forest towered before her, rustling and moving consistently. She took a deep breath, scenting all the smell and traces of prey, trying to find the scent of her friend Shadowpaw. It was his pelt she saw. Finally catching it, she slowly crept in the direction of it. Trying to make no noise while brushing against a dry bracken proved to be impossible. "Who's there?" A voice boomed and Skykit leapt a cat-length into the air with a squeak. The white-brown tabby out turned around and spotted Shadowpaw with amusement etched in his face. "A little scared?" He teased. The kit fluffed up her fur and tried to make herself taller and bigger. "No! I'm almost an apprentice." She retorted back hotly. Shadowpaw chuckled. "3 moons." He reminded her. "That's almost an apprentice!" The black an white Tom chuckled again and then grew serious. "We need to get you back to camp." Shadowpaw meowed, all mirth gone now. Skykits' face fell. "No, please! A few more minutes!" She pleaded. He ignored her and grabbed her scruff in his teeth. She let out a screech and started to wiggle, trying to free herself. "Shadowpaw carried her to camp, plopped her down in front of the nursery and called: "Gingerspeck?" In a flash, Skykits' mother ran out of the nursery and started to lick the white-brown tabby. "Hey!" She cried out and tried to dodge her mothers furious licks. Skykit glanced shyly at Shadowpaw. He was purring with amusement. A hot, red blush crept from her neck to her cheeks. The black-white Tom noticed and winked at her. Skykits' blush grew even more. "Hey, Skykit! Why are you red?" Foxkits' evil smirking face appeared next to Shadowpaw. "Am not!" She replied and managed to wiggle out of Gingerspecks grasp. Her mother then looked her in the eye and said seriously: "You must NEVER do that agin, do you hear me? I was cared sick!" Skykit shuffled her paws and looked at the ground. "Yes, Gingerspeck." Foxkit snickered and got a cuff around the ears. "Don't be rude!" Gingerspeck scolded her kit. "Now, come along. It's way past your bedtime. Skykit, thank Shadowpaw for bringing you back. She told her kit. "But I didn't want to come back!" Skykit protested. Her mother fixed her with a cold stare. "Alright! Thank you Shadowpaw!" She meowed sarcastically. Shadowpaw smiled. "No problem." And with that, he bounded towards his mentor Blackwhispers. "You're staring at him!" Sparklekit accused. "No, I'm not!" Foxkit and Skykit said at the same time. Sparklekit licked her paw awkwardly. "I was talking to Skykit." She meowed quietly. Foxkits' eyes clouded with embarrassment and without a word, she ran into the nursery. "Oops." Sparklekit muttered. Skykit just laughed and touched her sisters shoulder with the Tom of her tail. "She deserved it." Skykit promised and both kits walked into the den. They laid side-by-side and Skykits dreams were filled with the warmth of his green eyes.        

"Hey Skykit! Wake up!" A paw prodded the kits side. She mumbled something and turned around, drawing her tail over her nose. "Skykit!" The voice became more fled. It was Shallowkit. "What?" Skykit meowed grumpily and sat up, blinking sleep out of her eyes. "There was a fight on the PineClan border today!" Shallowkit squealed and Skykit was on her paws in and instant. They both pelted out of the nursery to find Blackwhispers, Midnightmoon, Beechtail and Shadowpaw lying on the ground, covered in wounds that were bleeding heavily. Skykit wanted to go comfort Shadowpaw but Spiritleaf and Songpaw were already tending to them, shooing away any cat that came too close for comfort. She turned to Foxkit, who was looking at Shadowpaw in anxiety. "What happened?" She asks her sister. "The dawn patrol got attacked." Foxkit meowed, not taking her eyes off of Shadowpaw. "PineClan accuse them of crossing the border." Skykit gasped. "Did they?" Foxkit shot her a look. "Of course not! Anyway, there was aright and the patrol barely got out with their fur intact!" She finished and gazed at Lionclaw. Shadowpaw was her and Whitemouses' Kit. Moonpaw pressed against her and she licked his ear gratefully. Skykit looks up to see Poisonstr and Oceanwind emerge from the leaders den. They exchanged a glance and Posionstar jumped up onto the Pine. He didn't have to call the clan, because almost all the cats where already gathered in the clearing. "Cats of LightningClan! This will not go on unanswered! This is the third time PineClan accused us of wrongdoing! We will plan and attack right after the gathering!" And he jumped off, stalking back to the leaders den. Oceanwind cat an uneasy glance at the clan and disappeared after him. Skykit sighed. "Too bad we're not apprentices yet. We could go to the gathering and-" "And tear the fur off those PineClan warriors!" Shallowkit but in and Gingerspeck glared at him. "Stop that!" She hissed and Skykits brother shrank back. Gently, Gingerspeck grabbed him by the scruff and motioned her kits with her tail to follow her. Foxkit and Sparklekit obeyed, playfully tripping each other on the way to the nursery. Skykit stayed behind, gazing at the leaders den. 'That's my place. Deputy.' She thought. "Skykit." A hoarse meowed aero used the Kit from her thoughts. She turned to see Shadowpaw, eyes glowing as he looked at her. "Yes?" Skykit asked, padding closer to him. He coughed a little, blood dribbling from his mouth. Her eyes widened. "Did anybody die?" Shadowpaw muttered, eyes closing. "No." She whispered. He smiled. "That's good." He closed his eyes and laid his head back, relaxing. "Skykit!" A growl made Skykit jump. She hurriedly raced back to the nursery, not noticing Shadowpaws' amused smile.