Four cats walked in silence, side by side.

"I think she's the one." The first, a brown tabby tom with bright golden spots argued.

"Are you sure?" asked another, a pretty tortoiseshell she cat with bright green eyes.

"Positive" The first cat answered. The pretty tortoiseshell glanced at the other two other cats. "What about you, Reedstar? Snowstar?" The white and reddish toms glanced at each other, before the white one answered. "We have watched her carefully these past moons, and I believe she is, Leafstar," He rasped. Everyone turned to the last leader Reedstar, who hasn't spoken yet, their gazes fixed on him.

He nodded slowly, after a few heartbeats. "I believe she is."

Leafstar nodded to the other three leaders. "Then it is decided. I still have my doubts, but I have been proven wrong." She turned to the first tom. "Duskstar, keep watching her. You are the closest to her than any of us." as she finished, lightning cracked above, as a storm rolled in.

"It has never rained before in Starclan!" Reedstar yowled, clearly shocked.

As lighting cracked again, Duskstar gasped. The three other leaders turned to him.

"What is it?" Snowstar asked. Duskstar was trembling. He took a deep breath and answered: "The darkness has enfolded us."

Dawnkit dashed under Sandclaw, her father. "Hide me!" She squealed as four kits came out of the nursery. Dawnkit felt Sandclaw shuffling his front legs closer as the kit patrol came sniffing out of the nursery. She knew her fur blended in well, with Sandclaw's light yellow with darker stripes, but she knew that her white belly stood out.

"I think I smell her!" Her brother, Rainkit meowed. He came sniffing the trail until he was standing right next to her. He yowled with triumph and the other kits came after him. Her sister Moonkit bounced around her as Sandclaw backed away, meowing "Found you! Found you!" While Featherkit and Deerkit sat next to them, meowing happily. They never did much, except meow. Sometimes they can be so boring! Since they were born, their mother, Willowfern, always had her tail wrapped around them, with their father unknown. Everyone thinks it's a rogue or a cat from another clan. Dawnkit recalled. Both the she kits were light gray with almost the same black markings. They both also had light blue eyes, making them look nearly identical, just like their mother. She thought they were lucky to live in Thunderclan

While Dawnkit was deep in thought, She saw a flash of light blue a moment befor Moonkit's weight crashed down on her. "Hey!" They tussled, fighting until the knocked something. They looked up and saw Watersplash, the deputy.

"Watch where you're going!" His voice was stern, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes, and his whiskers were twitching.

"S-sorry…" Moonkit mumbled. The sun rays hit her pelt and it gleamed, bright blue in the sunlight. She had always admired her littermates pelt, but always happy when she reminds herself that they both had the same color eyes. Rainkit's pelt was dark gray, almost blue with the same markings of Moonkit, but with blue eyes. The two kits scrambled back towards the other three kits. While they were play fighting, Snakekit and Wolfkit, the oldest kits in the clan were sitting outside the nursery, amusement lighting up their eyes. They were more than five moons, and could be apprenticed any day. Impatience churned in her belly. When can I start my training? She knew she was still four moons old, but she couldn't wait. She licked her chest in embarrassment as Rainkit circled her.

"What were you thinking?" He whispered in her ear, his own ears twitching. HIs eyes, too were lit with laughter.

The rest of the day was spent hunting butterflies, until Deerkit and Featherkit had to go back to the nursery.

"Ok, now that they're gone, we can go explore outside camp!" Moonkit exclaimed. Rainkit pricked up his ears.

"Really?" He asked.

"What if we get caught?" Dawnkit murmured, though she wanted to go out, too.

"Then we'll have to make sure we don't." Moonkit answered back. They started to creep out of the Dirtplace tunnel, when their leader's yowl made them freeze.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the highledge for a clan meeting!" The familiar words rang across the clearing. Dawnkit looked up to the highledge and saw him staring at the three littermates.

"We're in trouble!" Rainkit hissed, anger and fear in his meow.

"Moonkit? Rainkit? Dawnkit? Where are you?" Their mother, Stormberry called. They shuffled back from the Dirtplace tunnel, to meet their mother's intense and curious gaze.

"Umm, we uh… went to… um make dirt…?" Dawnkit answered.

"All three of you?" Stormberry looked at them disbelievingly. "You wanted to explore outside camp, didn't you?" While the littermates shuffled their paws, Stormberry's gaze softened.

"Don't worry, my little warriors." She came over and licked them each in turn. "You'll be apprenticed in time." While she was speaking, Hawkstar was already announcing something. What was it like to stand there, announcing to all cats? She wondered. A sudden thought struck her. I want to be leader one day! Then she could make decisions about when to call a clan meeting and when to fight… And have nine lives! How great would that be? She snapped back to the present when she heard her denmates name called.

"Snakekit, Wolfkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and are ready to be apprenticed." No fair! "Snakekit, step forward. Stonecloud, you have mentored Honeysong, and are ready to take on another apprentice"

Stonecloud stepped forward and touched noses to Snakepaw. Then they went of to the side to watch.

"Wolfpaw, your mentor will be Silverflame. Silverflame, you are ready to take on an apprentice, I hope you will pass down all your patience and fighting skills down to him." Wolfpaw looked a little disappointed, but when Watersplash came over and whispered in Wolfpaw's ear: "Don't underestimate her," he straightened up and went forward respectfully to touch noses with her.

Don't underestimate her? What does that mean? Dawnkit wondered, but quickly shook the thought away. Watersplash was Silverflame's mate, of course he would say that!

While she was lost in thought, she hadn't noticed Hawkstar walk over to her and her littermates.

"Oh-oh…" She whispered in Moonkit's ear.

As he approached, Stormberry seemed to get uncomfortable under his piercing yellow gaze. When he got to the spot where they were standing,He called Stormberry. Stormberry dipped her head "Yes, Hawkstar?" She asked.

"I just saw your three kits trying to sneak out of the Dirtplace tunnel. Are you aware of that?" He asked.

"Y-yes, I am" She stammered. Is she in trouble?

"Please make sure they don't do that again. I don't want them to get lost or hurt." His gaze grew distant. Dawnkit remembered the story of Hawkstar's two kits who went off wandering in the forest, and then found their scent trails leading to a fox den. She felt sorry for him, and Stormberry seemed the same.

"I'm sorry for your loss, and I will keep them in camp" she swept her tail around her kits. Guarding them towards the nursery. "Come on, time to go to sleep…"

"But we're not tired!" she wailed.

"Come on now." Stormberry's voice was more stern this time, but it was enough to make the kits going to the nursery.

"Now promise me that you will never, ever try to go out of camp again." Dawnkit was surprised that her mother was so upset now. Rainkit was the first to agree.

"Ok…" Dawnkit hesitated.

"Dawnkit…" her mother meowed.

"Fine…" she answered.

"Well, I don't promise not to go out of camp again!" Moonkit meowed definitely.

"Moonkit! You have to!" Stormberry was very stern.

"...Fine!" Moonkit answered.

Stormberry's tone softened. "I know you want to explore, but it's a very dangerous place out there… Now go to sleep"

Dawnkit reluctantly curled into a ball next to Stormberry and closed her eyes. I'm too old to sleep in the middle of the day! But while her thoughts were swirling, she sunk into sleep, her last thought was realizing it was almost nightfall.

"Come on!" Moonkit was begging Dawnkit and Rainkit.

"But we promised Stormberry not to!" Rainkit protested. Earlier that day they watched Snakepaw and Wolfpaw go out of camp for the first time, and Moonkit got really jealous.

"Come on! If Wolfpaw and Snakepaw can do it, so can we! Just imagine the things out there! We could visit Windclan!" I want to visit Windclan! It sounds so awesome!

"I'll come with you" Dawnkit exclaimed, not so sure.

"Great! What about you Rainkit?" Moonkit turned to him.

He lifted his head. "I'll come to protect you" he meowed, dout still in his eyes.

"Ok, let's go!" they scuffled to the dirtplace tunnel, and waiting until the area was clear before sneaking out. They emerged in a forest full of trees.

"Wow! It's so big!" Moonkit exclaimed in awe.

"Let's go this way!" Dawnkit pointed to a grassy area. "I smell water!" She ran toward the direction, tripping on every bramble and tree root possible until she felt like her legs would fall off. Suddenly, she stumbled out of the trees to see a vast lake of water.

"This must be the lake!" Moonkit exclaimed." It's amazing!"

"Ok… guys? Now that we saw the lake, can we go back to camp? Someone will notice us soon…" Rainkit meowed. Suddenly Dawnkit picked up a mouse scent and followed it.

"Dawnkit? Where are you going?" Rainkit meowed, worry edging his meow. Dawnkit ignored him and kept going until she saw a dead mouse.

"Moonkit! Rainkit! Come here!" She heard paws scuffle the earth a moment befor her two littermates appeared and stared at the mouse.

"Did you catch that?" Moonkit atared at it in awe.

"No! I ju-just found it here."

"We should bring it back to the clan!" Moonkit exclaimed

"Don't you think it's kind of suspicious that there's a dead mouse in the middle of the forest?" Rainkit's question was drowned by the yowls of cats. The three littermates turned their head and stared a the direction it came from.

"Let's go and see what it is!" Moonkit exclaimed. Dawnkit picked up the mouse and scurried after her, Rainkit hard on her paws. They came to a halt when they saw a moor open in front of them with a stinking stench.

"That must be Windclan!" Her exclamation was drained with a snarl. They whirled around to see a big red creature with a disgusting stench approaching them. There was a screech and a Windclan warrior jumped on top of the fox, with three more joining him. The creature was already wounded, so Dawnkit guessed that the creature was already after a battle.

"Move!" A red and white she cat nudged them under a boulder, where they could watch.

"Who are you?" Dawnkit asked shakily, dropping her mouse.

"I'm Brightflower, now stay quiet or the fox will get you!" Her words set enough terror through Dawnkit to keep her quiet.

Moons seemed to pass, the fox ripping and tearing until she could only hear screeching. In the midst of the fight, a dark pelted warrior came and pushed them out of the boulder.

"Go! Get back to your clan!" Dawnkit saw him turn and vanish in the battle. She turned around to follow her littermates who had already went ahead, she remembered her mouse under the boulder.

"Wait!" she called to her littermates. They turned to look at her. "I forgot my mouse!" She turned and crawled under the boulder. There was suddenly a loud Thump. There was a creaking sound, but Dawnkit didn't hear it.

"Dawnkit!" Moonkit's voice was full of terror. "Get out of there!" Dawnkit didn't understand why her sister sounded so distresses. The creaking sound came again. Dawnkit ignored Moonkit and went under the boulder. The space under the boulder seemed smaller, and the mouse seeme to be getting squished. Suddenly, the a loud creaking sound came, and Dawnkit looked up to see the boulder rolling down on her. She shrieked and turned, but too late. The most piercing pain she had ever felt gripped her hind legs. Dawnkit saw a blurry and soundless Moonkit shrieking, the dark Windclan warrior running around the edge of the territory, yowling, while the other warriors were rushing towards her. She felt herself go limp and closed her eyes.