Warriors: Mosspath's Choice (REWRITTEN)

Chapter 2

Mosskit woke up with no remembrance of what she saw.

Moonkit yawned, her yellow eyes squinted up a little as her tiny mouth parted, taking large gulps of air. Then she stopped, closing her jaws and stared at Mosskit with such a fierce intensity that she couldn't help but wonder if Moonkit stared at her like that before.

Mosskit shook off the thought, getting up and looking over to see if Skykit was awake. The gray tabby bundle of fur was still curled up, breathing long breaths of sleep. Mosskit exchanged a knowing look with Moonkit, who circled Skykit around the other side. At her signal, both kits jumped on Skykit, claws sheathed.

The small kit jumped up, snarling with fierce rage, and her eyes turning back to ice as she hissed, leaping on Moonkit. Moonkit reared back in surprise, before smashing her paws onto Skykit's chest, rolling her over until her belly was exposed. But before she could pummel the fur, Skykit lifted her haunches and heaved, bringing Moonkit off the ground and flinging her across the nursery with surprising strength.

A thump brought Mosskit's mind back to the present. Moonkit was sprawled on the ground, her legs splayed on the ground. Skykit and Mosskit immediately rushed to the kit, their eyes rounded with anxiety and concern.

"Sorry, Moonkit! I didn't mean to hurt you," Skykit exclaimed, her meow high pitched from worry.

Moonkit lifted her head, and Mosskit was relieved to see a glimmer of amusement in the pale yellow. "Wow, Skykit! You're really good at fighting!"

Mosskit's littermate ducked her head shyly in embarrassment, though her blue eyes were glowing with pleasure and victory. "Guess you better start practicing."

Moonkit purred, scrambling to her paws. "I suppose I should."

The three littermates padded back to their nest, where Silverheart was still sleeping. Mosskit guessed that their mother had gotten up in the night or morning and went for a walk. There was a distinct smell of musty earth and leaves on her pelt, along with a faint trace of unfamiliar scent that made Mosskit's lip curl.

"Come on!" Moonkit's excited mew broke Mosskit's train of thoughts. "Let's go explore the camp!"

Another queen appeared out of the shadows before they could move: Lightfoot. She was the mother of another litter in the nursery. "Where do you kits think you're going?"

"So much for a quiet exit," Skykit muttered, barely audible, though she spotted Mosskit's ears twitch with amusement at her grumbling.

Before she could answer the queen, Moonkit sprang in, "We're going to explore the camp!"

Lightfoot's blue eyes glimmered with amusement. "Well, have fun, kits! And remember not to get under the warriors' paws."

"Don't worry, we won't!" Moonkit called back, scrambling towards the nursery entrance with Mosskit and Skykit followed her, their paws more resigned than Moonkit's, though excitement fizzed in their eyes.

As the three kits burst from the nursery entrance, Mosskit's eyes were rounded with amazement as she stared at the camp. She could feel that Moonkit and Skykit felt the same way when their pawsteps paused as they took in everything about the camp.

The camp was in a ravine that led steeply back up to the forest. Clumps of bushes spread out among rocks, serving the cats as dens. The heated rocks were directly under the sun rays, warming the cats sunning on it. A blasted tree trunk served as the elders den, since Mosskit could smell the mouse bile from the nursery entrance. As she looked more closely at the camp, Mosskit noticed that the entrance was in a gorse tunnel with ferns encircling it. Thick curtains of gorse and ferns shielded the camp from the rest of the forest. A high boulder was set on smaller ones, giving it the name Highrock. Mosskit assumed that was where the clan leader summoned the clan for meetings. She had heard Blazestar's powerful voice from the nursery when she and her littermates were sleeping. Behind the rocky path led to the Highrock, there was a small cave with lichen covering it. The leader's den.