A Beautiful Past, To A Glorious Future

[ezelia]

A beautiful, gray Bengal cat emerged from the nursery to welcome the orange dawn sun. Her three kits were asleep but she guessed that they would be arising soon. Leopardheart, clean her self until her pelt shined almost as bright as a full moon.

[Crosshatch♠]

Grasskit was the first to wake. She stretched her eyes open and looked around. The nursery was quiet, and her mother was gone. Could this be another chance to escape? No, she thought, remembering she and her brothers last mistake in doing so. A fox had chased them and most killed her. She glanced over her brothers' sleeping bodies. She heaved a sigh of relief as she saw their chests rise and fall as they breathed in air. Every sunrise she thought she would wake up and see her brothers dead. She didn't know why, it was just some fear she had. She looked over at her brother, Jaykit, and hissed in his ear. "Wake up!" Grasskit growled impatiently as she waited for her brother to open his eyes.

"Wake up!" The words jolted him awake and he sat up straight. He let out an irritated snarl as he realized it was just Grasskit. Leave me alone." he growled and laid back down. He gave a protesting hiss as his sister nipped him. "Fine." he grumbled, sitting back up. Why did Grasskit have to be so grumpy, he thought, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. He studied her carefully. She look worried, and relieved at the same time. What's her problem? He shook his head to clear his mind. She'll be fine, he decided. He turned over to Harekit, watching the brown body rise and fall. He nudged it gently. "Hey, get up before bossy here makes you." he murmured quietly.

Harekit pawed at his brother's nose and turned over to face him. As soon as he noticed that his mother was gone, he leaped up. Freedom, he thought. They could go out into the forest again! Unlike his siblings, he wasn't afraid to go out in the forest. He could already feel his paws racing past the trees, seeing a blur of everything he passed. A slight wind breezed through the nursery, going through the brambles. Harekit shivered, but not with cold. His fur stuck up straight, and he licked it until it sleek. Satisfied with his look, he purred and looked at his brother and sister. "Where's mom?" he asked, studying the nest where Leopardheart usually slept.

Jaykit glanced over to where Harekit was looking. "No, she's probably just outside the nursery, though." he meowed. He yawned and glanced at Grasskit. "What about you; you were up first." he asked her.

Grasskit looked at him, narrowing her eyes angrily. She was still a little upset about Jaykit being snappish with her, but she answered anyway. "She left before I woke up. If I had known, I would already be out there with her!" she snapped, her tail lashing. She wanted to box her brother's ears when he rolled his eyes and turned to the nursery entrance.

All three kits padded towards the entrance and walked out. Spotting their mother, Leopardheart, they made their way to her and called a greeting, though Jaykit's was a bit quiet.

[ezelia]

Leopardheart breathed in deeply the warmth and freshness of the moist air. She turned when she heard Grasskit, Jaykit, and Harekit coming twards her. " Good morning my dears." She purred." Sit, all three of you." She sighed. She had heard what went on in the nurery this morning and was going to have to talk to them for a moment...

[Crosshatch♠]

Grasskit ran up to her mother, pressing her muzzle against Leopardheart's. Her mother felt warm, and she purred happily. "Yes mother?" she asked, sitting down.

Jaykit sat beside his sister. He held back the words, 'I don't want to listen to you give us another lecture!' and grunted in annoyance.

Harekit jumped, blue eyes wide with excitement. "What is it?" he asked.

[ezelia]

Leopardheart smiled at her kits. They look harmless and joined at the tail, but will it stay that way? she thought." Grasskit, Jaykit, Harekit. Do you love me? Do you accept that I love you as my kits?" She looked at all three of them." Do you love each other? as your own kin?" This time she paused for an answer...

[Crosshatch♠]

"Of course! Why do you ask?" Grasskit asked, laughter shining in her beautiful eyes. Why would her mother ask her such a mouse-brained question?

Jaykit murmured a "Yes." and looked at his sister. "Yeah, why?" he repeated her question. His tail twitched nervously. Did his mother not like them anymore?

Harekit let his fur bristle with fear. Was his mother going to leave them? He loved his littermates and his parents, but why would his mother ask this?

[ezelia]

Leopardheart smiled as they all said they did. " Good." She sighed and then looked at them." The reason I ask is because when I heard you, it sounded like you didnt..." She didnt want to have to watch them seperate from each other, like her and her sister did... Leopardheart smiled at her litter. " I am going to get something to eat. You can play near the nersury until I return..."

[Crosshatch♠]

"Alright!" the pale gray she-cat meowed. She heard her brothers pad away and back into the nursery. Perhaps they're tired, she thought, giving a snort. Mouse-hearts, she thought. She shook out her fur, and ran off towards the camp entrance. Without a thought, she peeked her small head out. Whoa, the forest is huge! It was like a painting laid out in front of the young kit. She gasped, but didn't back away. She put one paw forward, then the other. Eventually, she was out of camp, racing through the forest until she came by a huge tree. The Ancient Oak! It was tall, and she craned her neck upwards to look up at the very top. No wonder squirrles ran up this tree; no predator could get them! She glanced around cautiously. Hopefully none of my Clanmates will see me, she thought.

[ezelia]

Wolfeyes had just watched a squirrel run up the ancient oak and he silently cursed uder his breath.just then he saw one of the kits from his camp walk up to the ancient oak and see the top of the branches. He padded up to her." What are you doing out of camp, Grasskit? Why do you dids obay you mother and father and even the Warrior code!!!" The warrior's amber eyes were calm but he ment his words just like his battle cry ment he was at war...

[Crosshatch♠]

Grasskit looked the warrior in the eye, not at all fazed at his harsh tone. "The Warrior Code is too restrictive." she mewed indignantly. She glared at the tom, her eyes blazing with fury. So what is she was a kit, she had been out before, and she was almost an apprentice. "And my father isn't here!" she hissed. Her father was probably out on a patrol in the ThunderClan territory. "Mother doesn't even know I'm out here, and be quiet; your loud voice is hurting my ears!" she snapped. She couldn't believe that she had just snapped at a warrior. I'm going to be is so much trouble, she thought. But at the moment, she didn't really care.

[ezelia]

Wolfeyes shook his head at the young kits words." Many cats had died to defend the code that you find too restrictive..." The warrior took in a deep breath." Including my mentor, and parents."Then he snapped his head up and glared at the kit angrily." Do what you want, but now that you are a disappoint ment to the clan of our ancestors when you brake their laws..." With that he dashed away twards the iner forest to continue his hunt and to calm himself...

[Crosshatch♠]

Grasskit hissed at the retreating form that she had once thought was a respectable warrior. How dare he say that she was a disappointment to her Clan! Words echoed in her head. StarClan will judge him. She nodded her head in agreement to her thought. She bared her teeth in anger, though Wolfeyes couldn't possibly see her at the moment. She'd show him! She sniffed angrily and held her head high in a gesture of dominance. I'll show him that I'm not a disappointment to my Clan. She swung her head around to see a mouse nibbling at a seed. She looked around cautiously to see if any other cat was already stalking it. Nope, I'm okay, she thought. She never learned the proper way to hunt, so when she tried to stalk closer, the mouse felt her lumbering paw steps and ran away.

"Fox-dung!" she snarled, ears flattened to her narrow head. Her beautiful eyes were sparked with fury, and she closed them and breathed deeply, desperately trying to calm down. StarClan will judge him. StarClan will judge him! She was going crazy over his words. "I'm not a disappointment, you are you lazy fat kittypet!" she screeched to the forest. Her words were aimed at the warrior, but he wasn't with her anymore.

[ezelia]

Wolfeyes was at a small pond after he had ran from the kit. Redfur, I wish I could have your gidence. He shook his head. Does that kit realy believe that running away from camp and breaking the warrior code doesnt matter? Wolfeyes shook his head. Then he heard a shrill screech. He padded tward the camp and decided to tell Leopardheart where her kit is...

[Crosshatch♠]

The pale she-kit let out another growl as she padded further into the ThunderClan territory. She tripped over brambles, until finally, she arrived at her destination. Grasskit laid down when she entered a bush that was semi like the nursery. "This is better than being near that flea filled mouse-heart." she muttered angrily.

Tail lashing, she closed her eyes, though she didn't go to sleep. She didn't want to sleep; she just wanted to enjoy the shade of the big bush. Something red caught her eye as she opened them again. Bright red berries! She sniffed at them. I wonder what they'll taste like. Cautiously, she came out from under the bush and began to try and eat one of the red berries. She didn't know that they were the feared death berries, because, after all, she was a kit.

[ezelia]

Leopardheart had just recived the news that Grasskit had left the camp and was in the forest. Fear struch her heart and she ran out of the camp with Wolfeyes at her side. She padded franticly along her tiny kits scent trail and stopped when she saw grasskit eating bright red barries. The queen felt like a eagle had just ripped her throught out as she relized that the berries, are Death berries.

Wolfeyes padded along side the queen and gazed in shock when he saw the kit eating death berries. No!! he thought and was about to lurch forward.

Leopardheart ran infront of the warrior and pushed her kit gently away from the berries. " No!!! Dont eat those berries Grasskit!! They are Death bearries!!!