Flight to the Stars

This is a collaboration by Artimas Hunter, Birdpaw, Maplefern, and RedPandaPotter.

It is about four young kits (Mosskit, Hazelkit, Echokit, and Sootkit) in different Clans. Enjoy!

ShadowClan

Sootkit

I wake up, opening my eyes for the first time and seeing nothing but a lot of black and white fur.

I realize that it is my mother, Cinderflower, her speckled flank rising and falling slowly as she breathed, in and out, up and down, the soft sighs of breath escaping her lips calming me. I glance around the den, empty save for my mother and me. There are no other queens or kits, though ShadowClan isn't scarce on warriors.

Even though I've only been in ShadowClan for two days, what I've heard the passing warriors say about us convinces me we are the best Clan. Our leader, Sagestar, is one of the fairest leaders of them all. We have the best territory as well, pine trees, a bit of the lake, bramble thickets, it's all great.

"Sootkit?"

I jump when my mother calls my name, and turn. Cinderflower's big blue eyes are large and amused, her whiskers twitching.

"Do you want to see your father?"

I nod. "Ferretwillow!"

It takes a moment, but a cream and gray tom with dark blue eyes pads slowly into the den, looking around. "Cinderflower?"

"Meet your kit," Cinderflower mews, and I look at Ferretwillow with wide eyes.

"This is Sootkit?" Ferretwillow asks, not taking his eyes off of me. I can tell he's probing me, examining me, curious if I'll be an asset to ShadowClan or not. His eyes preform a quick flick to his mate, and then back to me, now skeptical. "What's on his ear?"

I raise my paw, which is a bright, clean white, and bat at my ear. Ferretwillow's tail flicks out from under him and brushes a piece of moss off of my left ear. I sit back down, somewhat embarrassed.

"He seems a bit scrawny," Ferretwillow observes, and I shrink back against Cinderflower.

"He's three days old," scolds Cinderflower, twitching her ears at her mate. "Be polite."

Ferretwillow snorts, whisks his tail around (catching me on the ear), and pads out of the nursery. Cinderflower draws me closer to her, wrapping her tail around me.

"Don't worry about him," Cinderflower says. "He's just..." But what Ferretclaw really is is interrupted by the entrance of another cat to the den, with a ShadowClan scent but he's a face I haven't seen before.

"Blizzardbelly!" Cinderflower says. The tom is pale gray, with a white chest and lower belly, which is probably how he got his name. "Sootkit, go outside for a moment while I talk to Blizzardbelly."

I nod obediently and nervously pad outside. The sky is a bright, clear blue with white clouds floating serenely across it.

A tortoiseshell she-cat with a white chest races into the middle of the camp, her voice joyful as she announces, "The river's frozen!"

Frozen? I look down at my fur, and notice for the first time that it's fluffed up against the frigid breeze whispering around the camp. I suppose I just hadn't noticed it when I was warm in the nursery.

"Olivecloud! Really?"

The she-cat, Olivecloud, nods excitedly. "We could skate right over to RiverClan territory if we wanted."

"Yes, well, don't go walking on it just yet," mews a voice off to the side of me.

A pale gray, almost white, she-cat emerges from her den, and I recognize the cat as Sagestar.

"Don't," continues Sagestar. "Walk across it until a warrior has tested it first."

"But I did test it," Olivecloud insists. "So can we skate on it?"

Sagestar deliberates for a moment, before giving a reluctant nod.

"Mother! Mother!" I hurry back into the den. "Can I please go on the ice?"

"Ice?" Cinderflower asks, distracted.

"Yes, on the lake!"

Blizzardbelly smiles, turning to Cinderflower, who looks aghast all of a sudden.

"Of course not," Cinderflower mews. "You're not allowed out of camp!"

"But Cinderflower--" She cuts off my whine with an annoyed hiss.

"No! You heard me, Sootkit. Now take a nap or play outside. I need to talk with Blizzardbelly." The tom dips his head to me, apologizing. I pad outside, stomping angrily.

"What's wrong, Sootkit?"

"My mother."

"What--"

"She won't let me go on the ice."

Sagestar laughs. "You'll be able to go on the ice in six moons."

"Thanks," I say slowly, as though I really appreciate her words.

I don't.

Mistfoot

"Mistfoot, have you been training again? I sent you out on a hunting patrol!"

I turn, heaving a sigh. Sagestar meets my gaze evenly and I meow, "We don't need fresh-kill as badly as we need good warriors with excellent battle skills! So I took Foxpad and Swiftheart to practice our skills!"

Sagestar heaves a sigh of her own. I can feel her frustration pulsing from her pelt and I barely contain a hiss. Listen to me! Just because I'm not Blizzardbelly doesn't mean all my ideas are awful! My claws pierce the soggy marsh ground of the camp and I look at Sagestar, waiting for her answer.

Her gaze softens, "I know you just want what's best for the Clan Mistfoot. You're a good and loyal warrior, but remember, we need prey if we're to make it through leaf-bare."

I raise my head in excitement, "That's what I've been saying though! We can invade ThunderClan. The mangy squirrel-brains won't even know what's hit them. And we-"

Sagestar squares her shoulder, "No," she meows, "Leaf-bare has been hard, but we will not invade ThunderClan. Now, have you seen Blizzardbelly?"

"I think he was in the nursery," I mutter. Sagestar nods, her eyes not on me.

"Probably visiting Cinderflower's new litter. That's good. As deputy he needs to get involved with the Clan." she pads off, muttering a little to herself. I flex my claws. I hate my brother with a fiery passion. Blizzardbelly is deputy, good with the kits, and everyone loves him. Mistfoot can't do a single thing right.

A deputy gets involved with the Clan...

"I should go to the nursery!" I gasp, "A good deputy would...it'll show Sagestar I could be a good deputy too!"

I pelt off to the nursery, pushing into the bramble thicket. A few brambles scrape at my pelt and I hiss. I scent the air and find Cinderflower in the back corner. A small tom-kit is by her side, sleeping serenely. Cinderflower speaks in hushed whispers with my brother. Blizzardbelly looks up to see me. He gives me a nod, "Mistfoot." I nod back and he turns to his friend, "Sorry Cinderflower, I should go."

He pelts out of the den as if organizing the next batch of hunting patrols will decide the entire fate of ShadowClan. I flick my tail in annoyance.

"Come to see little Sootkit?" Cinderflower asks, her eyes on her kit. I nod, remembering why I hate queens. Sure they're nice, if you're a kit, but trying to talk to them otherwise is like trying to pry brambles from your fur. Utterly impossible, especially when they're staring at scraps of fur like Sootkit.

"Blizzardbelly says he's going to make a great warrior," Cinderflower meows.

"Oh, well if Blizzardbelly says so...."

"I don't know why you two fight so much..." Cinderflower meows, her familiar blue eyes making my scuff my paws on the mossy floor of the den. "You know I hate it when my kits fight!"

"I'm not a kit anymore," I remind her.

"You'll always be my kit," she purrs. Her gaze drifts back to Sootkit, who clearly holds priority over me. "I'm just glad you came to see your little brother."

"Yeah," I meow in a dead tone, looking down at my tiny kin. "Isn't he fantastic."