Chapter one.
Leaves brushed Jaykit's pelt like falling snow.
More crackled underpaw, stiff with frost and so
deep that he struggled with every step.
An icy wind pierced his fur, still nursery soft, and made him shiver.
Wait for me, he wailed.
He could hear his mother's voice ahead, a warm body always a few steps out of reach.
You'll never catch it, a high pitched mew sliced into his dream and
Jaykit woke with a start.
He pricked his ears, listening to the familiar sounds of the bramble nursery,
his sister and brother scrabbling in play.
Ferncloud lapping her dozing kits.
There was no snow now, he was in the camp, safe and warm.
He could smell his mother's nest empty but still fresh with her scent.
[NOISE] he let out a gasp of surprise as the sister, Hollykit,
landed heavily on top of him, watch out.
You're awake at last.
She rolled off him and pushed her hind paws into his flank.
With a leap, she twisted away and grasped for something just out of reach.
Mouse, Jaykit could smell it.
His brother and
sister must be playing catch with fresh kill newly brought into camp.
He sprained his paws and
gave a quick stretch that sent a shiver through a small body.
Catch this Jaykit, Hollykit mewed.
The mouse whistled past his ear.
Slow slog, she teased as he turned too late to grab it.
I've got it, Lionkit called.
He pounced on the fresh kill,
his paws thudding on the nursery's packed earth floor.
Jaykit wasn't going to let his brother steal the prize from him so easily.
He might be the smallest in the litter, but he was fast.
He leaped toward the Lionkit, knocking him out of the way and
stretching his forepaw to reach for the mouse.
He landed in a clumsy skid and rolled over,
feeling a jolt of alarm as he realized it wasn't moss underneath him, but
the squirming warmth of Ferncloud's two tiny kits.
Ferncloud gave him a shove, pushing him away with her hind paws.
Jaykit gasped, have I hurt them?
Of course not, Ferncloud snapped, you're too small to squash a flea.
Foxkit and Icekit mewled as she tucked them closer into her belly.
But you three are getting too rough for the nursery.
Sorry Ferncloud, Hollykit mewed.
Sorry, Jaykit echoed, apologetic,
even though Ferncloud’s comment on his size had stung him.
At least the queen's anger would not last,
she would easily forgive kits she had suckled.
When Squirrelflight’s milk had not come, it was Ferncloud who had fed Jaykit,
Hollykit, and Lionkit in the moons before Foxkit and Icekit were born.
It's about time Firestar made you apprentices and
moved you to the apprentice den, Ferncloud meowed.
If only, Lionkit sighed.
It won't be long, Hollykit pointed out, we're almost six months old.
Jaykit the familiar surge of excitement as he imagined becoming an apprentice
warrior.
He couldn't wait to begin his training.
But without even seeing Ferncloud's face,
he could sense the flicker of doubt that prickled through the Queen's pelt and
knew that she was looking at him with pity in her eyes.
His fur bristled with frustration,
he was just as ready to become an apprentice as Hollykit and Lionkit.
Ferncloud answered Hollykit, unaware that Jaykit had sensed her moment of unease.
Well, you're not six moons yet and until you are,
you can do your playing outside, she ordered.
Yes Ferncloud, Lionkit replied meekly.
Come on Jaykit, Hollykit called, bring the mouse with you.
The branches of the bramble bush rustled as she slid out through the nursery
entrance.
Jaykit picked up the mouse delicately in his teeth.
It was newly killed and soft, and he didn't want to make it bleed.
They could have a good, clean game with it yet.
With Lionkit close behind him, he scrambled out after his sister.
The barbs of the entrance tunnel clawed satisfyingly at his fur,
sharp enough to tug at his pelt, but not so sharp that they hurt.
Outside, the air smelled crisp and frosty,
Firestar was sharing tongues with Sandstorm below Highledge.
Dustpelt sat with them.
We should be thinking about expanding the warriors den,
the dark tabby advised his leader, it's crowded already and Daisy and
Sorreltail’s kits won't be apprentices forever.
Nor will we, thought Jaykit.
Brightheart and Cloudtail were grooming each other in a pool of sunlight on
the other side of the clearing.
Jaykit could hear the steady lapping of their tongues like water dripping from
a rain soaked leaf.
Like all the ThunderClan cats, their pelts were leaf-bare thick, but
the muscles beneath had grown lean with scarce prey and hard hunting.
Hunger was not the only hardship leaf-bear had brought.
Molepaw, one of Sorreltail’s kits,
had died of a cough that had not responded to leavepool's herbs.
And Rainwhisker had been killed during a storm, struck by a falling branch.
Brightheart paused from her washing, how are you today, Jaykit?
Jaykit placed the mouse between his paws,
safe from Hollykit's grasp, I'm fine, of course, he meowed.
Why did Brightheart have to make such a fuss over him?
He'd only been sleeping in the nursery, not out raiding the ShadowClan territory.
It was like she was always keeping her one good eye on him.
He grew to prove he was just as strong as his brother and sister.
Jaykit had flung the mouse high over Hollykit's head.
As Lionkit thundered past him and grappled with Hollykit to be the first to catch it,
Squirrelflight’s voice sounded from the side of the nursery.
You should show more respect for your prey.
Their mother was busy pressing leaves into the gaps in the prickly walls that
surrounded the Queen's den.
Daisy was helping her, kits will be kits, the she-cat purred indulgently.
Jaykit's nostrils flared at Daisy's strange scent.
It was different from the Clanborn cats' and some of the warriors still
referred to her as a kittypet because she had once lived in the horseplace and
eaten Twoleg food.
Daisy wasn't a warrior because she showed no sign that she ever wished to leave
the nursery.
But her kits, Mousepaw, Hazelpaw, Berrypaw were apprentices and
it seemed to Jaykit that they were as Clanborn as any of his Clanmates.
They won't be kits much longer, Squirrelflight told Daisy,
sweeping more leaves to her side with her long tail.
The brutal rustling noise reminded Jaykit of his dream.
All the more reason to let them enjoy themselves now, Daisy replied.
Jaykit felt a wave of affection for the cream-colored she cat.
Though Squirrelflight was his mother, it had been Daisy who had warmed and washed
him alongside Ferncloud when Clan duties had kept his mother away from the nursery.
Squirrelflight had returned to her warrior duty soon after her kits had been born.
Though she still had a nest in the nursery, she used it less and less,
preferring to sleep in the warriors den where she wouldn't disturb the kits and
nursing queens when she left on early patrols.
Can you feel the draft now, Ferncloud,
Squirrelflight called through the nursery wall.
No, Ferncloud's voice drifted out through the tangle of branches,
we're warm as fox cubs in here.
Good, Squirrelflight meowed.
Can you clear up here, Daisy?
I promised Brambleclaw I'd help him check for loose rocks around the hollow.
Loose rocks, Daisy gasped.
It's good to have such solid defenses, Squirrelflight's voice echoed a little as
she gazed at the sheer stone cliffs that enclosed the camp on almost every side.
But the frost might have loosened stones and
we don't want them falling into the camp.
Jaykit's attention was distracted by the bitter stench of mouse
bile that came from the elders den.
Leafpool must be removing a tick from Longtail of Mousefur.
A much nicer odor heralded the return of two of Daisy’s kits, Mousepaw and
Hazelpaw, were bringing fresh kill back from a hunting expedition.
They hurried excitedly into the camp Mousepaw carrying two mice, and
Hazelpaw with a large thrush in her jaws.
They dropped them at the fresh kill pile.
Dustpelt padded over to greet them,
looks like you did well Hazelpaw, he praised his apprentice.
You both did, the apprentices purred.
And Jaykit noticed how much they sounded like their mother,
as though their purrs were muffled by their thick soft pelts.
A sudden rush of wind and fur knocked Jaykit off his paws.
Are you playing with us or not, Hollykit demanded.
Jaykit leaped up shaking himself, of course, I am.
Well, Lionkit's got the mouse, and he won't let me have it, Hollykit complained.
Let's get him then, Jaykit hared to cross the clearing toward his brother.
He bundled into Lionkit and pressed him to the frosty earth,
while Hollykit dragged the mouse from Lionkit's claws.
Unfair, Lionkit protested.
We don't have to be fair, Hollykit squeaked triumphantly,
we're not in StarClan yet.
And you never will be if you keep playing with food that way.
Stormfur had paused beside them on his way to the warrior's den.
His words were stern, though his voice was warm.
It's leaf-bear, we should thank StarClan for every morsel.
Lionkit wriggled out from underneath Jaykit.
We're just practicing our hunting skills, we have to practice,
Jaykit added sitting up, we'll be apprentices soon.
Stormfur was silent for a moment, then he stretched forward and
gave Jaykit a quick lick between the years.
Of course, he murmured, I was forgetting.
Frustration flared in Jaykit's belly, why did the whole clan treat
him like a newborn kit when he was nearly six moons old.
He shook his head crossly, Stormfur wasn't even a proper ThunderClan cat,
his father, Graystripe, had once been ThunderClan's deputy.
But Stormfur had grown up with his mother's clanmates in RiverClan and
his mate, Brook, had come from faraway in the mountains.
What right did he have to act superior?
Hollykit's belly rumbled.
How about we eat this mouse instead of playing with it?
You two share it, Lionkit offered, I'll get something from the fresh kill pile.
Jaykit turned toward the heap of prey caught by the warriors that morning.
A faint odor disturbed him, he took in a deeper breath,
opening his jaws to draw this sense into his mouth.
He could smell Hazelpaw's freshly killed thrush and
Lousepaw's mice, their blood still warm.
But below, there was a sour smell that made his tongue curl.
He padded past his brother, his tail held stiffly behind him.
What are you doing?
Lionkit asked.
Jaykit didn’t answer, he nosed his way in among the small dead bodies,
caught hold of a wren, and pulled it free.
Look, he mewed, rolling the bird over with his paw.
The creature’s belly was alive with maggots.
[SOUND] Hollykit squealed.
Leafpool emerged from the elders den, a lot of moss in her jaws.
Jake it could smell the mouse bile on it, even over the stench of the rotten wren.
She paused by the three kits, well spotted,
she praised them, dropping the bile soaked moss at her paws.
I know prey is scarce at the moment, but
better to eat nothing than to eat something that will hurt your belly.
Jaykit found it, Hollykit told her.
Well, he's saved me a patient, Leafpool meowed,
I'm busy enough as it is, Brackenfur and Birchfall have white cough.
Do you want help gathering herbs, Jaykit offered.
He had never been out of the camp, and he was desperate to explore the forest.
He wanted to smell the boundary markers.
Up till now, he had tasted only the weak sense of ShadowClan and
WindClan carried from the borders on the pelts of ThunderClan patrols.
He wanted to feel the breeze fresh off the lake,
untainted by the sense of the forest.
He wanted to learn where the markers were along each boundary so
that you could defend every paw step of this clan's territory.
You could gather far more herbs with us to carry them back to camp, Lionkit put in.
You know you're not meant to leave the camp until you're apprentices,
Leafpool reminded them.
But you'll need help if there are sick cats, Jaykit insisted.
Leafpool silenced him by flicking the tip of her tail over his mouth.
I'm sorry, Jaykit, she meowed, it won't be long until Firestar gives you your
apprentice names, but until then, you'll have to wait like any other kits.
Jaykit understood her meaning, their father was the clan deputy and
their mother was Firestar's daughter.
Leafpool was reminding them yet
again, that it did not entitle them to special treatment.
His tail twitched crossly.
Sometimes it felt like the rest of the clan went out of their way to make sure he
and his littermates never got special treatment, it wasn't fair.
I'm sorry, Leafpool meowed, but that's just the way it is.
She picked up the foul-smelling moss and padded back to the medicine den.
Nice try, Lionkit whispered in Jaykit's ear,
but it looks like we're stuck in the camp for a while longer.
Leafpool always thinks she can win us over just because she brings wool for
our nests from the moorland, Jaykit hissed.
Or pieces of honeycomb to lick.
Why can't she just give us what we really want,
a chance to explore outside the camp?
Hollykit swished her tail over the frozen ground.
Jaykit knew she wanted to explore beyond the camp walls as much as he and
Lionkit did.
But she's right, she mewed grudgingly, we must stick to the warrior code.
They ate, sharing the mouse and the vole between them.
As Jaykit washed his face afterward,
drawing his paws over his ears to give them a thorough cleaning, he noticed Brook
emerging from the warrior's den to join Cloudtail and Brightheart in the Sun.
She carried a different scent from the other warriors,
the scent of mountains and tumbling water.
It seemed to make her the strangest of all the cats who were not Clanborn.
Was it just her scent, Jaykit wondered, or was it something more he sensed
in the mountain she-cat, some weariness that it never left her?
He could not quite put his whisker on it, but
he was sure that Brook felt out of place here in the forest.
A rustle in the thorn barrier that protected
the entrance to the camp signaled Berrypaw’s return.
Daisy's third kit charged over to the fresh kill pile and
threw down his catch, a plump wood pigeon.
Where's Brambleclaw?
Berrypaw called out to the kits.
Brambleclaw was Berrypaw's mentor and Jaykit could help but
feel the small pang of jealousy that Berrypaw spent so much time training with
Brambleclaw when his own paws ached to hunt in the forest with his father.
He's with Squirrelflight, Jaykit replied, they're checking for loose stones.
He pricked his ears, listening for the sound of his mother's and father's voices.
He could not hear them, but the breeze blowing down from the cliff behind
the medicine den carried their scent.
Up there, he told Berrypaw lifting his nose toward them.
You're sharp today Jaykit, Berrypaw meowed, I wanted to show him my pigeon and
ask him if we were doing battle training after Sunhigh.
Jealousy gnawed harder in Jaykit's belly,
why can't I be an apprentice now?
You must be really good at hunting, Lionkit sighed,
clearly thinking the same thing.
It's just practice, Berrypaw told them,
look, he crouched down, this is how you begin.
Lionkit's belly swished against the ground as he tried to copy Berrypaw.
Get your tail down, Berrypaw ordered, it's sticking up like a bluebell.
Lionkit's tale slapped against the frozen Earth.
Now, pull yourself forward, smooth as a snake, Berrypaw commanded.
You look like you've got wind, Hollykit crowed.
Lionkit gave a playful hiss and leaped at her, rolling her onto to the ground.
She fought back purring with amusement while Lionkit pummeled her belly with his
hind paws.
They were so busy in their play fight,
that they did not notice the sudden noise outside the camp, but Jaykit did.
Cat's paws were pounding toward the camp entrance.
Jaykit recognized the scents of Spiderleg and Thornclaw,
the patrol was returning, but something was wrong.
The warriors' paws drummed the forest floor in a panicked rush,
their scents bitter with fear.
Jaykit's fur first stood on end as Spiderleg and
Thornclaw burst through the entrance.
Firestar and Sandstorm were on their paws in an instant.
What is it, Firestar meowed.
Spiderleg drew in a deep breath then announced,
there's a dead fox on our territory.