Morning Rays

Chapter 1

A shriek came from the nursery. "The kits are coming!" someone called.

Silversprout dashed through the tunnel entrance, dropped the herbs he was carrying, and raced to help with the kitting. Riverwhisper was already by Stormheart's side.

There was already a small, golden bundle of wet fur lying beside Stormheart.

"One more coming!" said Riverwhisper. This was his first kitting as a full medicine cat.

Stormheart shrieked again, and a silver kit slid out.

"That's all. Congratulations, Stormheart!" Riverwhisper meowed happily.

Silversprout was staring at the two newest members of the Clan. Are they the ones? he asked himself. He shook out his fur. No sense suspecting every kit born. If they were the ones, they would show themselves when they were older. Silversprout blinked at his former apprentice, proud at his accomplishment. Riverwhisper dipped his head is graditude.

Silversprout turned back to Stormheart. She had stopped wailing. Instead, she was curled around her kits, purring loudly. The other queen in the nursery, Fawnspeckle, was staring at her friend, her eyes shining happily. Quickkit, Turtlekit, and Oatkit were looking at the newborns, eyes wide.

"Did we look like that when we were born?" asked Oatkit, his huge eyes wide.

"Yes, darling, you did," confirmed their mother, Fawnspeckle. Oatkit squeaked in surprise, and Quickkit and Turtlekit reeled back.

"They look slimy!" Quickkit squealed quite bluntly. Fawnspeckle hushed them, and shooed them back to their nest.

As the three bigger kits discussed just how weird the new kits looked, Cloudchaser walked in, back from a hunting patrol. "Velvetcloud told me th-" He stopped abruptly, and stared down, wide-eyed at his kits. Then his gaze softened.

"They're beautiful!" he exclaimed. He twined his tail with Stormheart's. The couple purred loudly, vibrating the air around them.

"What should we name them?" Stormheart asked. The kits' fur was beginning to dry, making a perfect time to name them. The female was silver, and the tom was golden.

"I think we should name the golden one Sunkit," Cloudchaser meowed softly, brushing his tail over the little tom.

"How about Moonkit for this one?" asked Stormheart, gesturing to the silver she-kit.

"It's perfect," purred Cloudchaser, curling his body around his family. "Our little sun and moon."

. . . . . .

"Catch this, Moonkit!" called Sunkit. He flew the ball right over his sister's head.

"Not fair! You have to throw it to me, not over me!" Moonkit whined.

The moss ball landed right by the medicine den. As she went to pick it up, she noticed that Silversprout was watching her with a gleam of interest in his eyes. She shuddered. Ever since she and her brother had been born, Silversprout always seemed to be watching them with more interest than the other kits. She at first thought perhaps it was because they were newborns, but now, two moons from training, he still watched them with the same expression.

Maybe...

A call interrupted her train of thought.

"Hey, Moonkit! Whatchya playing?" Moonkit's friend, Turtlekit, tottered over to her.

"Me and Sunkit are playing moss ball," Moonkit informed her.

Turtlekit nodded. "Okay. Can I play?"

"Sure! Hey, Sunkit, Turtlekit's playing, too!" she called to Sunkit.

"Okay! Turtlekit, catch!" Sunkit hurled the ball over to Turtlekit, and Turtlekit leaped up and caught it in her teeth.

"Moonkit!" called Turtlekit. Turtlekit threw the ball to Moonkit, and Moonkit clapped her paws together on the the ball.

They played for a while, throwing and catching the moss ball, and Moonkit soon completely forgot about SIlversprout. Instead, she had thought up a new idea.

She beckoned her tail for Turtlekit and Sunkit to come closer. She huddled in beside them, in the shadows of the medicine den.

"Listen, I'm bored. How about we head out of camp, just for a little while? It could be fun!" Moonkit proposed to her friends.

Turtlekit's eyes widened, and Sunkit's tail whipped from side to side in excitment.

"Look, guys, I'm so close to becoming an apprentice! Our ceremony will be in just a few days! I don't want Oatkit and Quickkit to become apprentices before me!" Turtlekit wailed.

"Shhh, keep it down, or the warriors will hear us and still punish you just for knowing about our plan!" hissed Moonkit. "You don't have to join in if you don't want to, though, it would be more fun if you did."

Turtlekit sighed. "I can't, though I won't tell if you do. In fact, I could cover for you." she offered.

Sunkit twitched his ears. "I'll join in with Moonkit. It would be a good idea to have someone stay in camp for us."

Moonkit nodded. "Alright, Sunkit, let's go. Bye, Turtlekit!" Moonkit meowed cheerfully.

The two kits walked over to the dirtplace tunnel, faking a cramping belly. When they got inside, the stopped the act and rushed out the other side.

The kits were both met by a wave of scents when they exited the smelly tunnel. Birdsong rang through the trees, squirrels were chattering to one another, and they could hear the sound of the river in the distance. Sunkit and Moonkit glanced at one another before dashing off into the forest.

The greenery away from the camp was much different from what it was like back at home. The green was a much more vibrant color, due to the wildfire that had raged through their camp many, many moons ago. The ancient cats had settled in the burnt section as to not disturb the more prey-rich areas.

Moonkit stopped for a minute, pondering where they should go. She decided that heading towards the thicker forest area would be a good idea, because if a patrol came by, the kits were small enough to hide under some of the dense undergrowth. She beckoned to Sunkit to follow her, and they both plunged into the plants.

The two kits dashed around for a while, playing hide and seek, chase the mouse, and more. They didn't realize how much time had passed until the sun slanted down into Moonkit's eyes. She glanced at the sky.

They had left camp around sunhigh, and now the sun was only half-visible, part of it blocked out by a mountain. The moon was three-quarters full, and translucent-looking in the sky.

Sunkit dashed over to his sister, and then noticed she looked worried. Following her gaze, he too looked up at the sky, eyes clouding as he saw how much time had passe.

"Uh oh," was all her brother said.

"We better be getting back," Moonkit said timidly.

Sunkit nodded in agreement. He suddenly grew rigid. "One problem," he started. Moonkit froze.

"Which way is back to camp?"

Any mistakes? Please correct me! I like constructive criticism! :)