Chapter 2

Wildkit pricked her ears with interest and alarm. Tigerlily was giving birth? Right now, somewhere among the trees and bushes of ThunderClan's territory? What if badgers or foxes found her? What if they stole one of her kits? Did any warrior even stayed back with her? she thought worriedly.
"Did any of you stay with her?" asked Hazelstar sharply. "How did you find her, anyway?"
"Icestorm, her apprentice Sapphirepaw and Willowshade are with her, and we found Tigerlily somewhere near the borderline with ShadowClan. Oh and Cloudpaw! Brightnose’s apprentice!" answered Ashwhisker urgently. A white she-cat with creamy patches all over her fur and a very pink nose, looked up, but ducked down when Longwhisker, a black-and-white tom with long whiskers, turned his blue gaze on her. "What should we do, Hazelstar? Sagewhisker went out to collect herbs near the WindClan border, we haven't finished our patrol yet and my sister is giving birth near the ShadowClan border!"
Wildkit watched her father take a deep breath, calming his mind. She admired the way he took charge when he suddenly mewed, "Ashwhisker, finish leading the patrol." The gray tom nodded and he led the patrol out of the hollow with a flick of his tail.
Hazelstar turned to where a small group of apprentices had gathered around, and ordered, "You all search the forest for Sagewhisker and lead her to the place where Tigerlily is giving birth, got that?"
The apprentices nodded eagerly and bounded out of the hollow into the forest.
"I'll go with Ashwhisker's patrol. I need to check on ShadowClan, anyway. They've been pretty strange, not marking their borders and all." The ThunderClan leader padded through the bramble tunnel and out of the stone hollow, her brown tail flicking one last order. “And Longwhisker chose two cats to go on a hunting patrol. We need to restock the fresh kill pile!” Wildkit watched the tom shyly choose Brightnose, who looked thoroughly happy, and Fernfall, a light gray she-cat with darker flecks and pretty leaf-colored eyes. They bounded out of the camp, after a swift check of the fresh-kill pile to see how low it was. Wildkit’s attention was undistracted now and remembered Hazelstar had just left.
Wildkit’s pelt was fluffed up with excitement. "Stargaze, can I go with Hazelstar?" she asked eagerly, turning to her mother. Her mother turned to her, shock flickering across her beautiful face. "No, Wildkit! It's dangerous out there, and Hazelstar wouldn't want you to go out anyway!"
"But I want to," whined Wildkit.
"No, Wildkit. Go back and stay in the nursery. Now that goes for you to, Cherrykit and Sunkit."
Stargaze added when the two kits exchanged looks full of excitement. Wildkit threw her a sulky look and stormed back into the nursery, her sisters behind her with their tails drooping. She couldn't believe her mother wouldn't let her follow Hazelstar! I'm big enough to take care of myself! thought Wildkit angrily, tearing out clumps of moss from her nest.
"What's wrong, Wildkit?” Creamkit asked, tipping his head to one side. He and Fawnkit had probably been wakened by Ashwhisker’s panicked meowing. They were Cherrykit’s littermates and five moons old.
"Why are you ruining your nest?""Stargaze won't let me out of the camp!" growled Wildkit angrily, glancing at the entrance as Lilykit and Cherrykit trudged in. Sunkit’s golden head popped up out of the nest she had been dozing in and joined Creamkit.
Fawnkit and Creamkit were silent for a while. Then suddenly Creamkit mewed, "Then let's sneak out!"
Wildkit's eyes went wide with surprise. "Sn-sneak out?" she squeaked. "Won't our mothers and Hazelstar be mad?" Sunkit, Cherrykit, and Lilykit shot astonished looks at the tom and wandered to the corner of the nursery as not to be a part of his mischievous plan. Wildkit watched as Lilykit launched herself onto Sunkit, who in turn wiggled from underneath and pushed up with all her might. Lilykit went a mouse-length into the air and landed on top of Cherrykit, surprising the ginger she-kit. A cuff on her ear brought Wildkit’s attention back to Creamkit. Glaring at her, Creamkit tossed his milky head and mewed, haughtily, "So? Don't you want to get out of the camp?"
"Well...yeah," Wildkit meowed slowly, her ear still stinging from the cuff. "Yeah..." Excitement grew inside her, stretching and stretching until it filled her up from the tip of her whiskers to every hair on her pelt. "Yes! Of course I want to get out of this stuffy nursery and camp!"
"Then let's go!" Fawnkit lead the way, Creamkit’s sister led the way out of the nursery. Wildkit followed the two kits to a small, but strong smelling, hazel bush that was close to the bramble tunnel. Wildkit realized Fawnkit had intentionally led the kits to this bush to cover their scent. I wish I had thought of that! She squeezed in with the creamy tom and light brown tabby she-cat, pushing herself between them. No cat must have seen them because nobody poked their muzzle into the small bush, demanding them to get out.
"Okay, now we have to sneak through the tunnel," whispered Fawnkit, her amber eyes alight with
anticipation. "That's where the warriors and apprentices always go to get out of the camp.""We know mousebrain!" Creamkit reached across Wildkit, ruffling her already messy pelt, and gave his sister a friendly swipe on the shoulder.
"What are we waiting for, then?" demanded Wildkit, getting impatient. "If we waste anymore time, we’ll miss the excitement! No cat is looking at us, so we might as well take the chance to get out now!"
"Follow me." Fawnkit wriggled out of the bush, Wildkit and Creamkit close behind. She glanced around warily, and then crept through the bramble tunnel. Wildkit hesitated, but after a nudge from Creamkit, who was behind her, she scooted quietly after her friend. Then she emerged from the tunnel, and her eyes widened in awe. The forest was so big! Trees, and even bushes, larger than the small bush they had hidden inside just a few minutes ago, loomed above her, blocking out the sun's hot rays. The other two kits were looking around in awe; too, forgetting that they were just outside the bramble tunnel and that any cat could pad through it, and see the kits outside the camp. "Wow..." Fawnkit’s mew trailed off.
“Wow…” echoed Wildkit, looking around with wonder. How could the forest be so big and she so small?
Creamkit nodded in agreement, and then he suddenly snapped out of his awe in seeing the forest for the first time. "You guys, I want to see ShadowClan!" He bounced around them anxiously, reminding them why they were sneaking out of camp and were not to be seen by warriors. "I heard Ashwhisker say that Tigerlily was kitting near the ShadowClan border giving birth, so why not we see her too?"
Wildkit and Fawnkit nodded eagerly. The three kits adored Tigerlily, with her creamy-white pelt, her hazel eyes and her stories the most. The elders, Dawnheart and Scorchstone, were always too tired to tell them stories, so Tigerlily told them instead. Scorchstone slept all the time because his joints were always aching and Dawnheart was just really, really old. Tigerlily told them stories about how the ancient cats found the lake, how the Three Great Warriors of ThunderClan named Dovewing, Lionblaze and Jayfeather saved all five Clans. The five Clans RiverClan, WindClan, ShadowClan, ThunderClan and StarClan from the attack the Dark Forest cats launched. Wildkit, Fawnkit and Creamkit always wished they would also save the Clans, become legendary cats, and be the main character of nursery stories someday.
"Where's the ShadowClan border?" asked Fawnkit, tipping her head to one side. "I think it's...that way." Wildkit flicked her tail in a random direction.
"You’re sure?"
"Yes! Now come on!" Wildkit took over the lead, leading them through the forest, over large tree roots, around thick bushes, when suddenly they reached a small clearing with a stream rushing past at the bottom. A breeze picked up that moment, and a disgusting stench wafted into their nostrils. All three disgusted kits recoiled at once, Fawnkit exclaiming, “Dear StarClan, what’s that stench?”
"That must be ShadowClan!" Wildkit wrinkled her nose in disgust. And I thought mouse-bile stank! "No ThunderClan marker stinks that bad!" exclaimed Creamkit, loyal to his birth Clan.
"Their territory looks boring," remarked Fawnkit, gazing across the border. "Only boring pine trees and that's it. What kind of cat would rather live among pine trees than among thick trees and bushes with berries and flowers and grass everywhere?"
"Weird cats like ShadowClan cats," Wildkit answered. "Now where's Tigerlily?" Her gaze traveled around the forest, but only the sight of my trees greeted her.
Suddenly a yowl of pain came out from the direction the stream was rushing down to. "That must be Tigerlily! Come on, this time I lead." Creamkit added and followed the stream, with the other kits right behind him.
They followed it for a while before another yowl drew them back into the forest. And there, in a small clearing, padding anxiously around was Icestorm, her white pelt stark against the leafy green back ground; her apprentice Sapphirepaw, a blue-gray she-cat; Cloudpaw, a white tom with gray patches and green eyes; and, Willowshade looking like a ShadowClan cat with her pale gray pelt in the shadows.
Then rustles sounded and the three she-cats and tom tensed, hackles rising, claws sliding out, ready to defend Tigerlily if it were enemy cats. A heartbeat later, Featherpaw, an almost silver light gray she-cat; Squirrelpaw, a light brown she-cat with a white chest, burst through to ferns, flanks heaving. The ThunderClan medicine cat, Sagewhisker followed after them and hurried over to Tigerlily, a bundle of herbs freshly collected in her mouth. The she-cat began reassuring the creamy queen that everything was just fine.Watching her, Wildkit decided she didn't want to be a warrior apprentice; she wanted to be the apprentice of a medicine cat.