The Fading Sky

Chapter 1

At the TalonClan camp, two kits played. They were pretending to hunt the leaves as though they were mice.

"Watch me hunt this! I've already caught my first squirrel outside of camp," bragged Leafkit. "I bet this will be easy! Have you ever caught a piece of prey?"

The younger kit looked down at the ground and nervously shifted her paws. "No," she murmured quietly. "But you're twice my age. I probably will have when I'm as old as you."

Leafkit's eyes softened. "Of course, Starkit. You'll be a great warrior one day."

"You sound like an elder," Starkit teased. "But honestly, Leafkit. It's going to be lonely when you leave to become an apprentice."

Leafkit sighed. Starkit was right. "I know. But you'll come and join me soon after. And besides, we'll always be best friends. When we're kits, and apprentices and warriors. I'll teach you everything my mentor teaches me."

Starkit blinked. "Really?"

He cuffed her ear. "Of course I will, mouse-brain. You know, I'll be the first cat your father Drizzlestorm makes an apprentice."

Starkit purred happily. "You mean my father Drizzlesky," she added.

Leafkit purred too. "I wonder who he will make his deputy. Maybe Whitefeather, since she's his mate and all."

His friend rolled onto his side. "Maybe. But that won't be until I'm six moons old since she'll be a queen. And Drizzlesky wouldn't just make her deputy because they're mates. Although it would be cool to have my father as leader and my mother as deputy."

He nodded. "Yeah. Maybe Moonclaw or Snowshine."

"Which one though?" Starkit asked. "They're littermates so they've been warriors for the same amount of time. And neither she-cat has became a queen. They also both have had two apprentices."

"Well Daisypaw isn't a warrior yet so Moonclaw has really only had one and a half apprentices," Leafkit pointed out.

"True," Starkit agreed. "You know, the apprentice den is going to be packed once you move in. Tansypaw, Fauxpaw, Rosepaw, Lavenderpaw, Stormypaw, Daisypaw, Willowpaw and soon to be Leafpaw. Eight apprentices in one den."

Leafkit snorted. He knew very well that Starkit was just showing off his knowledge of the clan members. "Smart-ears. Stormypaw, Daisypaw and Willowpaw might not be warriors when you become an apprentice so that would be nine."

"Who's the smart-ears now?" Starkit countered teasingly.

"Leafkit!"

Leafkit identified Brightstripe's, his mother's, voice.

"It's smells like it's going to rain soon! You and Starkit need to come in!"

Leafkit shared an eye roll with Starkit. "Coming, Brightstripe." To Starkit, she added, "I guess we can't play anymore."

He headed in the direction of the nursery with Starkit. As he came inside, he smelled something strange. It was a cat, but the cat smelled nothing like TalonClan.

Then the scent was gone. Leafkit wondered if he had imagined it. That couldn't have been a cat from another clan in the TalonClan camp. He shrugged it off. But something made him wonder if the scent had been more than his imagination.