Cinders to Flames

Chapter 1

Cinderkit woke to her sister, Featherkit, tugging on her tail. "Wake up Cinderkit!" she whined. Cinderkit turned around, burying her muzzle into her bedding. She closed her eyes tighter, trying to shield her tired eyes from the blaze of the morning sun. "Come on Cinderkit, you're such a sleepy head! Usually, I'm the one who sleeps in." Featherkit mewed, irritated. Cinderkit sighed, she was now far too awake to get back to sleep anytime soon.

"Fine, I'm coming," she moaned, pulling her head out from beneath the moss bedding. She squinted, blinking a few times, adjusting to the sudden change of light. The nursery was empty, except for her, Featherkit, and her mother, Sootslash. Featherkit sat in front of her, her fluffy white fur standing up. Her dark blue eyes shone with annoyance. Although, her fluffy tail tip twitched, betraying her excitement. Sootslash sat next to her, her sleek dark grey fur standing out against the white sun, and her green eyes disapproving. It looked as though the other kits were already out of the nursery. Sunlight dappled the nursery floor, and the moss and feather bedding felt soft and welcoming under her paws. She reluctantly pulled herself away from her nest and trotted over to her sister.

"Why did you wake me up so early? We must be doing something interesting or I'm going back to bed." She meowed, yawning.

"We're going outside of the nursery today!" Featherkit meowed, puffing her chest in a business-like fashion.

"I did not agree to that." Meowed Sootslash, butting into their conversation. Sootslash had an increasing habit of trying to ruin the two sister's fun.

"But Blackkit and Aspenkit went outside yesterday, and they're younger than us!" Cinderkit argued, trying to make her squeaky mew serious.

"Only for a few days," she paused, "I will let Featherkit outside, but not you," she meowed after a few seconds of thought.

"That's not fair!" Cinderkit protested, her ears flattening with frustration.

"You are not fit to go outside." Sootslash meowed stiffly, motioning towards her hind leg.

Cinderkit quickly hid it with her tail. Her leg had been injured when she was just a few moons old in a forest fire. It had healed, but left her with a limp, and she hadn't been able to run as fast as the other kits. Sootslash always used it as an excuse for her to stay inside of the nursery, and Cinderkit always complained to her father, Iceleap, that Sootslash didn't think she could become a warrior. Iceleap claimed that Sootslash was just being over-protective, but Cinderkit didn't think so.

"If you don't let me outside of the nursery, I will never get as fast as the other kits!" She complained, fed up with her mother's "over-protective" attitude.

"Fine. Both of you can go outside, just make sure you don't get in the way of the warriors," she meowed, giving Cinderkit a stern look. The two kits cheered gleefully, racing out of the nursery. Sootslash watched as Cinderkit limped after her sister, and she sighed.

Cinderkit gazed wide-eyed around the clearing. She watched as huge warriors passed her on their way to go hunting. A strong delicious aroma came from a pile of fresh prey in the middle of the camp. Three older cats approached the two kits. They were smaller than warriors, but bigger than her and Featherkit.

"Hi, I'm Twistpaw!" Meowed one of the cats. He was the biggest of the group, a light brown tom with friendly amber eyes. "We're the apprentices of FrostClan."

"Why is your name Twistpaw?" asked Featherkit.

"I used to walk weirdly when I was a kitten, but I grew out of it. Now I'm just stuck with the name." He meowed fondly. He motioned to the cat behind him, "That's Wolfpaw, he's a new apprentice."