MoonClan Fiction: Chapter 1

Dawnkit opened her eyes to the rays of moonlight streaming through the nursary. The little clearing already abuzz with squeals and yelps as the other kits played. Dawnkit had had a long night the night before, while the other kits didn't. She had gotten in trouble, and she was assigned her first apprentice duty..as a kit.

Her mother, Whitewhistle, was washing herself becasue she had just eaten a peice of fresh kill. Nightstreak, a black she-cat, was watching as Dawnkits brother and Basilhearts kits played in the far corner of the nursary. Basilheart was no where to be seen Probably doing warrior dutys Dawnkit thought.

Her brother, Stonekit, saw that she was awake and he bounded over to her. "Morning sleepy-head." he cuffed his sisters ear with his paw and she battted it away. "Oh, not so friendly!" Stonekit pounced on Dawnkit and they tousseled around the nursary.

Leafkit, Bloomkit, and Polenkit, the eldest of the nursary kit, watched on and pretended to reminise on when they used to toussle like that. They're like a bunch of grumpy old elders! Dawnkit let her concentration slip and Stonekit pinned her to the ground during her lapse of attention. "Pinned 'ya!"

At that moment Basilheart padded through the nursary entrance carrying some fresh kill. "There's no pride in beating a cat whos dead on their feet" she mewed. "Who said he beat me?!" Dawnkit replyed to the warrior crossly. She wriggled free from Stonekits pin and rolled onto her paws. Then she crouched and sprang at her brother, and he fell under her weight. "NO FAIR!" Stonekit grumbled, "Everyone knows your too fast! gerr-off me!" Dawnkit spat at the earth and sat straight again. She began to wash her head. Stonekit grumbled past Basilhearts kits, and Dawnkit watched hm pad away with triumph in her eyes. She sunndenly caught the eyes of Leafkit, and she looked away quickly. No cat will ever beat me in battle! I'll we the fastest, most skillful warrior this forest has ever seen!

...

Later that night, Dawnlit woke from her moonhigh nap to see Stonekit and Polenkit sharing tongues. She looked away from the kits and searched for the other two in the nursary, Leafkit and Bloomkit. They were nowhere to be seen.

Dawnkit stubled out of her nest and stretched. She looked for Whitewhistle, but she was napping too. She decided to find Basilheart and ask her about her kits. She found Basilheart washing herself in the far corner of the nursary. Nightstreak was sitting at the entrance.

Dawnkit padded up to Basilheart, and Basilheart flicked her ears toward Dawnkit in greeting. Dawnkit sat beside her and began to ask her questions "Basilheart, I noticed that Leafkit and Bloomkit arre missing. Do you know where they are?" As soon as Dawnkit spoke of the kits dissapprearance, Basilhearts face lit up with alarm. "They're not here?!" She jumped up at once. "I was only washing for a few seconds! Where could they have slipped off to?" Basilheart left Dawnkit sitting dumbfounded. She padded out of the nursary in a hurry to find Foxstar. Nightstreak watched Basilheart leave and then she turned to Dawnkit. "Don't fret about the kits, dear, they'll turn up." she paused.. "Shouldn't you be doing those apprentice dutys?" Dawnkit shuffled her paws. She didn't want to go back to caring for the elders right now, but if she didn't.. she'd be in BIG troubble. She glanced outside. But I want to to know where Leafkit went! She paused. It was weird.. out of the two missing kits, she wanted to know where Leafkit was more than Bloomkit.. She shrugged then and padded out of the nursary to the elders den.

She padded in to see Wood-down picking at his fur, and Mudtail was snoozing in her nest. Wood-down stared at Dawnkit as she approached. "So you've come, eh? Bout time! Now get some mouse bile and take these ticks out! They're killing me!" Dawnkit grumbled un-contently and padded away to Featherbells den. It was in a hallow fallen tree on the other side of the clearing from the nursary. Dawnkit stepped in. "Hi Featherbell," the white cat was deep in the darkness and the smell of herbs came off her pelt when she came to meet Dawnkit. "Hello Dawnkit, do you need some herbs for the elders? Or some fresh moss?" Dawnkit nodded " Mouse-bile. Wood-down's got ticks" Her face wrinkled in disgust when Featherbell gave her the Mouse-bile soaed moss. "Be sure you get every tick," the medicine cat meowed, "Wood-down would claw out your fur if you left any behind." She grabbed the Moss delecately and went to the Elders den.

When Dawnkit arrived in the elders den, she was surprised to smell the scent of one of her denmates. She peered inside to see Leafkit murmuring to himself and cleaning the elders bedding. Dawnkit dropped the mouse-bile-soaked moss at the entrance and ran to him.
"Leafkit?! We thought you and Bloomkit had gone off somewhere! What happened!?"
Leafkit opened his mouth to say something but Wood-down beat him to it. "You kits can gossip later. Right now all you need to know is that your both in troubble, and your both her doing apprentice dutys so get at it!" the grumpy elder meowed feircely. Mudtail just stirred a little in her sleep.
Leafkit shugged and turned back to Wood-down's nest. Dawnkit ran to get her moss, and then started working on Wood-downs ticks.

The two kits did their apprentice dutys untill a little before dawn, and they were getting tired from their days work. They trekked back to the nursary, tails and heads bowed, and ready to sleep.

Dawnkit woke up the next night to faint moonlight. Her head was abuzz with questions to ask Leafkit. She lifted herself form her sleeping spot beside Stonekit, and trotted off to where Leafkit slept. She prodded him awake with her paw. "Leafkit! Leafkit wake up! I need to ask you something!" Leafkit mumbled a little , then he jumped up suddenly, "what? what!" "Shh!! You'll wake your sisters!!" Leafkit turned slightly to look at his littermates, then he padded quietly out of his nest. "What do you want?" he demanded. His tone was calm , not irritated.
"What happened yesterday?" Dawnkit asked. "WHy were you put on apprentice dutys too?" She was sort of happy that he was doing the dutys with her though. If it was just her and the grumpy elders... she didn't know how she would have gotten through that day.
Leafkit looked around the nursary and then started to meow "Bloomkit and I thought we'd go outside the camp to hunt for the Clan.. Well, it was my idea.. And then Bloomkit chickened out at the beggining and stayed near the three stump at the entrance to the camp. She said she would go back inside to the nursary and pretend like she didn't go in the first place" He scoweled a litlle under his breath "And she said she wouldn't say anything about where I went.. But she told our Mother when they found her sneaking back into camp. Then A whole Patrol left to track me down-" he broke off gasping "- They took your father too (Snaketail) . Did you know he's the best traker in the Clan? And when they found me, I was going back to camp with my catch" He puffed out his chest proudly. "I caught a Mouse! You should have seen it Dawnkit! It was as big as me!" Dawnkit was somewhat puzzled. "Ok.. so why'd you end up doing apprentice dutys with me?" she meowed. Leafkit looked alittle embarassed about himself. "I broke the warrior code. Thats what Foxstar said, and that even though I brought back fresh kill, Food isn't food if it isn't brought into the Clan properly.." He mumbled Foxstars words "And that means that If I brought freshkill against the warrior code, then I should still be punished." He concluded.

Dawnkit looked at Leafkit, a bit stunned. She had always thought of him as a cat who followed the rules. She guessed she was wrong. "Well, I guess its OK that your getting used to apprentice dutys.." she meowed a bit shyly. "Your going to be appreticed soon right?"
Leafkit puffed out his chest proudly. "Yeah, I am. Just another half-moon, and I'll be Leafpaw" He glanced back at his siblings "Along with Bloomkit & Polenkit" He looked back at Dawnkit "Well, you've woken me, so I'd better get going to the elders den. Coming?" Dawnkit brightened when she remembered her sentence. "I don't need to go anymore" When she said that, Leafkits ears drooped. He had an odd habbit of doing that when he was sad, and everyone was able to tell his feelings that way. "I was only supposed to go for two days.... " She added quicky "But I'll come anyway to listen to their tales" His ears pricked happily again and Dawnkit purred. "I think I've gotten used to their chatter." And the two kits headed to the elders den.