Starlight

Chapter 2

The sun rose yet again that morning, illuminating Shoreclan with it's brilliant light. Strands of golden sunlight poured in through the nursery entrance, shining upon the sleeping cats inside. The silence of the morning was briefly interrupted several times by the calling of gulls, nearby, as they hunted by the seashore.

Berrykit fluttered open his eyes, staring ahead at the nursery entrance with a deep sigh. He remembered last night, and how he'd stayed awake long after dark, which wasn't a normal habit for him. As the tom sat up, he noticed that there was an empty nest in the nursery, the one belonging to Mossfoot and Mistkit. With a soft snort, Berrykit poked his head out of the nursery, his eyes searching for the white kit outside.

"Looking for your mate?" Sleekkit called from inside. "Mossfoot took her outside to help Wolf with medic duties."

Berrykit bit back an insult to his brother, flicking his tail in annoyance. "Mistkit doesn't want to be a medic." He replied coolly, turning around.

Sleekkit smiled, his nose upturned in a smug look. "Doesn't matter what she wants. She's weak, Berrykit. Too weak to be a warrior by any means."

Berrykit flinched, his ears pinned to the back of his head. With an angry hiss, he turned back around and left the den, unable to listen to his brother any longer. There was something about the way the tom talked that made him so angry. Maybe it was the way Sleekkit insulted the ones that Berrykit cared about, or it was his tone of voice, or it was the way he didn't care how hurt he could make others when he flat out insulted them to their face.

The russet tom's pelt was hot with anger when he spotted Mistkit. His eyes lit up and he padded up to her, a new joyful spring in his step. The white she-cat was laying down beside her mother next to the freshkill pile, silently sharing a fish with each other.

"Hello, Mistkit." Berrykit greeted his friend, his voice light.

"Hey, Berrykit." Mistkit smiled, taking a bite out of her fish halfheartedly. "Saw you outside last night with Nightpaw."

Not wanting to talk about the whole star talk with Mistkit, Berrykit just shrugged. "We always talk at night. That's when it's most quiet."

Mistkit's mother, Mossfoot, shook her grey head with a sigh. "You kits be careful what you talk about around here. Redfur and Mothburr are always listening, even when it seems as if no one is there."

Mistkit docked her head to the side, confused by her mother's words. Berrykit narrowed his eyes, looking at Mossfoot, clearly perplexed.

Mossfoot's eyes told Berrykit that she was deeply conflicted about speaking every single word that ran out of her mouth. She was silent for a few moments, before she sighed.

"It's about time you knew about the rules. Redfur tells me you and Sleekkit will become apprentices in a few days' time anyway." Mossfoot stood up, stretching her legs. "Before a cat is a warrior, they know everything about Shoreclan's history. Bring Nightpaw in the nursery too, he deserves to hear this."

Berrykit, excited by the idea of getting answers, raced across the camp to fetch Nightpaw. The rising sun warmed his back as he followed the path of stone up the cliff to the apprentice den, where the black tom was still sleeping. Alone.

Nightpaw was the only apprentice at the time, meaning he had to sleep alone in the den for a whole moon now. Berrykit felt awful about it, but he knew that since he was eight moons old already, he would have to join Nightpaw in there soon.

"Mossfoot's gonna tell us all about Shoreclan." Berrykit heaved. "Maybe she'll talk about the stars?"

Nightpaw's eyes fluttered open as he gazed at the russet figure in the entrance of the den. The black apprentice slowly rose to his paws, as if his muscles ached from a long night of running.