Shadowstar's Curse

Chapter 1

So you might be thinking: "How do kittens open their eyes, and all of a sudden start walking already?" Well, I looked it up. It takes them 3 weeks to open their eyes, and start walking, but they are wobbly. Then it takes them 4 or 5 weeks to leap and pounce. You learn something new everyday! :D
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A group of dust sprung into mid air as a kit struggled to open her eyes. She kicked dirt, but they wouldn't budge, her brother and sister had trouble too.
"I don't think they are ready." Mewed a shecat, Willowcloud, her mother to Rivertail.
"Tallkit and Hopekit opened their eyes right as they were born!" Boasted Rivertail.
"And so will they, just watch, and they'll be ready right as their eye's budge again!" Willowcloud purred.
Nightkit was first to open his eyes, his mewling in determination stopped when he opened his eyes, and saw Willowcloud and Rivertail.
"Aww.. Nightkit's eyes are wonderful." Willowcloud's tail poked up as she padded up to Nightkit, and nuzzled him to his paws.
"I can get up myself!" He squealed as his mother backed away.
Nightkit's paws were shaking, but he still rose on his paws.
Then Shadowkit was next, she tried to open them, but only one peaked out, the other one still wouldn't open.
Willowcloud then helped with her other eye, and finally opened it, fully.
Finally, her sister, Dawnkit.
She opened her eyes right away, without having any real trouble like Shadowkit.
Dawnkit then got to her paws slowly, and padded over to Shadowkit, almost falling over.
She slowly poked at her sister, and then nuzzled her to get up.
Shadowkit then got to her paws finally.
"Well Willowcloud?" Rivertail continued, "Are you going to let them outside the nursery for the first time?"
"If they want to!" Willowcloud looked at her kits, again.
"Yeah!" Dawnkit meowed, happily.
"Come on, Shadowkit, let's go play!" Dawnkit looked over at her sister.
Nightkit raced and scrambled over to them, "Hey! Don't go without me!" Nightkit's fur puffed out.
Dawnkit nodded, and padded out from the brambles of the huge den.
They went up hill a bit, it was steep, and long, but the kits climbed to the top.
Dawnkit then spotted some brambles, and went through a hole, due to her slick body, it was easy to slip through.
Nightkit was next, but then caught in a group of brambles, and let out a quiet squeak of alarm.
Shadowkit hurried over to Nightkit, and started ripping and untangling brambles.
Dawnkit then poked her head through the brambles again, then her shoulders stopped tensing, and she rolled her eyes.
"If your going to get out of the nursery for the first time, don't act like such a mousebrain!" Dawnkit spat.
Nightkit finally fell from the brambles, and Willowcloud appeared from the tiny hill.
"Are you okay?" Willowcloud asked, worried, and gripping onto a thorn, and pulling it out.
Nightkit then nodded, "Fine, let's just keep going!"
Willowcloud looked down at Nightkit. "No, Nightkit, you are too hurt." She looked up at Shadowkit and Dawnkit, "You two can keep going if you like."
Dawnkit shook her head, "Once we know everywhere to go, we can be a guide for Nightkit the next time he goes out!"
"I don't need a guide!" Nightkit snapped.
Willowcloud's eyes widened a bit, "I think that'd be nice," Willowcloud meowed, "come on, Nightkit." She gripped him by the scruff, and slid down the hill.
"I don't like that Nightkit has to stay in the nursery!" Shadowkit's fur bristled.
Dawnkit looked at her sister, "That is what he gets for being a mousebrain!"
"Let's just keep going..." Shadowkit meowed, and raced out the opening of the brambles, her fluffy fur sliding through the tough thorns, and one got caught in her fur.
"Foxdung!" She yelled out as she slid through the gap, and finally out of the brambles of the nursery.
"Come on, I bet I can race you to the fresh kill pile!" Dawnkit challenged, already out of the spikey thorns.
"Your on!" Shadowkit took a headstart, and into the clearing of the fresh kill pile, but then Dawnkit used all of her strength, and went right past Shadowkit.
She made it to the freshkill pile, and hopped up and down, happily.
"Beat ya!" Dawnkit felt proud.
"Wow, your fast!" Shadowkit purred.
The two then turned towards the fresh kill pile, and gripped onto a piece of prey.
Shadowkit picked up a mouse, while Dawnkit picked up a crow bigger than her own size.
Dawnkit then meowed, "Watch! I bet they'll let me in battle one day as a kit!"
"Oh yeah?" Shadowkit then crouched down, and drooped her tail down.
Dawnkit then crouched down, and crept up onto her fresh kill, then finally leaped and pounced onto it.
"I can do the same!" Shadowkit meowed, copying her sister.
Then, two apprentices padded up to them.
"You'll scare the prey away before even touching it!" Purred an apprentice, it was Chasingpaw.
Sneezepaw nodded, "Want us to teach you how to do a correct stance?"
"We already did the correct stance!" Shadowkit heard Dawnkit mumble to herself.
"Of course!" Shadowkit purred.
Sneezepaw then crouched down to her paws, and the fur on her belly brushed against the ground, quietly.
She then crept forward, her tail was not dragging, nor up straight in the air.
Shadowkit then crouched down on her paws, and Dawnkit joined her, slowly taking paces forward.
"You are already naturals!" Chasingpaw complimented.
"Before you two even taught us." Dawnkit snorted.
Chasingpaw and Sneezepaw ignored her, and picked up a piece of prey, and carried it away.
"Come on Dawnkit!" Shadowkit nuzzled her sister, and raced across the clearing to Tallkit and Hopekit.
"Hey Shadowkit!" Hopekit meowed, "We're becoming apprentices today!"
"Cool! I'll be the first to greet you two!" Shadowkit meowed.
Tallkit and Hopekit smiled, "Would you like us to show you around?" Tallkit asked.
"No th-" Dawnkit got interrupted by Shadowkit, "Sure thing!"
"Okay, follow us!" Tallkit waved his tail around, signaling them to follow.
"Shadowkit! We don't need a tour! It's more fun to explore on our own!" Dawnkit hissed, "I say we go by ourselves! And run away!" Dawnkit whispered over to her sister.
"B-but.. We can get into trouble without knowing what den is which!" Shadowkit flattened her ears.
Dawnkit then nodded, "Okay."
Shadowkit and Dawnkit finally stopped at a den, hearing Hopekit and Tallkit talk in mid sentence.
"This den is where we are going to be!" Hopekit meowed, happily.
"Okay, so the apprentices den."
"Come! We'll show you the-" They got cut off as Rivertail padded up to them, "Your ceremony is about to start! Come to the nurse-"
Shadowkit stopped listening as soon as Dawnkit started whispering to her again, "Come on!"
"Fine!" Shadowkit mewed, and followed her sister sneakily away.
They quickly climbed a pile of slabs, and rocks, a pebble fell down, but the two kits were still with Rivertail, so they didn't take notice.
She scrambled up, she pushing herself up, and tried to boost herself up with her hind legs, finally pulling herself up the rocks, and helping her sister up.
She quickened her pace, and into a tall den with huge moss beds, and tucked in corners.
"Let's hide in those corners!" Dawnkit suggested.
"This is a really bad idea!" Shadowkit mewed, and hid with her sister in the wide corners.
She peeked out, seeing Tallkit look around for them, and then shrug to his littermate, and follow Rivertail into the nursery.
"What are you two doing in here?" A voice rose above.
Shadowkit turned to see who it was.
"Specklestar!"