Starlight

Chapter 1

A soft breeze blew over Shoreclan's camp, letting the nearby trees dance to it's song. The tall grass that surrounded the sandy clearing were swaying to the wind, their strands flicking back and forth. The sun was a glowing orb against the blue sky, shining down on the camp with its radiance. Through all the calmness of the scene, it was shattered with a disturbance.

"Aw, come on, Sleekkit, why can't we play something else instead?" 

"Don't be like that, you're just mad that you have to play the villains, huh?"

Two kits stood in the sand, outside of a den made of thick grass and rocks. Half the clan watched them in silent amusement, their whiskers twitching as they purred in laughter.

"Am not!" The smaller of the two, a tom with russet fur, said defensively.

"Are too, I can tell by the way you're glaring at me." The larger kit, Sleekkit, replied smugly. "Aw, look at you, you're so mad and fluffy! It's a shame you're too weak to actually do something about it."

The russet tom snarled, leaping forward to land on the larger kit, pinning him to the ground. Sand flew up in a cloud, getting in his eyes and nose. Sneezing, the russet tom glared down at his littermate, his ears flattened against his head. Sleekkit stared up at his littermate, a drop of blood running down from the side of his face to his chin, his eyes teary from the sand cloud. Berrykit glared at his brother for a few moments more, before standing back up.

"That'll teach you to make fun of me." The russet tom hissed, before turning around to head into the den behind them.

"Don't be like that, Berrykit." The grey tom mewed as the smaller kit disappeared behind the rocky entrance. "It's only a game!"

Berrykit snorted as he entered the den, immediately turning around to lay in his den. The tom had been pestered by his brother for a few moons now. Their mother, Clifftail, had left the nursery, her dreams of being a warrior for the rest of her life blinding her from her kits and their needs. Berrykit hated his mother with all his heart. She did nothing to stop his ugly-minded brother, and even made nasty comments of her own.

The sun was hanging lower in the sky now, indicating that Berrykit had lain there for quite some time. It seemed to be a little past sunhigh, which only meant one thing: Sleekkit was going to come in for his rest time. 

Berrykit groaned as he thought of it, not wanting to get up to leave. His ears pricked as a second thought flooded into his mind. If he was fast asleep by the time Sleekkit came in here, he might not bother him on the way to his own nest. The idea of sleep excited him, and his already tired body made it easy to grow restful. 

His eyes closed as he began to drift off to sleep, before a paw prodded him in his side. Quite annoyed at this point, Berrykit blinked open his left eye, focusing on a familiar pair of black paws.

"Hello, Nightpaw." Berrykit mumbled, resting his head on his auburn paws.

"Come walk with me, yeah? I want to talk to you about him." Nightpaw flicked his tail outside, gesturing towards the figure of Sleekkit.

"Can't we do this later?" Berrykit complained, before sitting up. "I was trying to get some shuteye."

Nightpaw laughed, before leading the way out of the den, his dark figure disappeared into the glaring sunlight ahead. Berrykit smiled, getting up on his tiny paws to follow the apprentice.

Nightpaw was only a moon older than Berrykit, and he was the only cat that understood him. The black tom spent countless nights with the russet tom as they talked about life and all the cats around them. He was the only cat Berrykit knew that actually spoke about how unfair life was in the clan, under Redfur's rule. The black tom had grown significantly, and Berrykit noticed his muscles shining through his thick black fur.