Gray Skies - Book One

Chapter Three

The next eight days seemed to fly past Nightkit's eyes like a blur. Three nights ago, the Clan had gone to a Gathering at the island with the other Clans. Nightkit had always dreamed of going to a Gathering. She wondered when she would be able to attend her first Gathering. It sounded like so much fun.

But tomorrow was when she and Hazelkit would be apprenticed. Nightkit hoped she got someone like Minnowcall or Brokenpad as her mentor. Minnowcall was nice and had mentored Windsnow when she was Windpaw. Brokenpaw would be a good mentor because she and Nightkit got along well together, and they already knew each other. 

Brokenpad had taught Hazelkit and Nightkit how to stalk prey using leaves and sticks from outside of camp. The gray and white she-cat had also taught them the hunter's crouch along with stalking. Five days ago, Nightkit had pretended Crouchbeam's twitching tail was her prey and she was a warrior stalking her prey. She'd quietly stalked her prey before crouching and leaping, landing with her front paws on Crouchbeam's tail.

Crouchbeam hadn't even known she was there until she felt her daughter's paws secure her tail to the ground. "You'll make a good hunter," Crouchbeam had purred, praising her kit. "I didn't even know you were there!"

Now the sun was setting behind the treetops as most the warriors headed to their nests. Greengaze was on guard outside of camp, watching the forest around the camp alertly for any signs of danger.

Lightningtail had tucked her kits into their nest as they fell asleep while Crouchbeam and Hazelkit argued about going to sleep early in the nursery. Nightkit had snuck outside, wanting to watch the sunset before she fell asleep in the nursery for the last time before she was apprenticed. 

Nightkit sat down outside of the nursery and looked up at the sky. She could barely see the oranges and pinks of the sunset from where she sat. The pine trees blocked her view, and wherever she moved her head to wouldn't improve her sight. 

Turning around, she looked at the nursery which was underneath a bramble thicket with a narrow entrance and sandy floor. Nightkit looked away from the nursery to the elder's den. The elder's den was made under a yew bush lined with brambles. There was a puddle nearby to drink from if they got thirsty.

Nightkit let out a sigh and continued looking for somewhere she could sit to see a better view of the sunset. Nightkit looked around the camp until her gaze landed on the leader's den. The den was in a gap behind a huge boulder with a bramble entrance and beneath the low-growing branches of a pine tree. The Pinebranch sat above the den.

The Pinebranch!  The Pinebranch was where Spiderstar sat atop of to make Clan announcements. Nightkit knew it was the perfect spot to sit to see the sunset. Trotting toward the leader's den, she jumped on one of the lower branches and carefully placed her paws on one of the branches in front of her.

One jump at a time, Nightkit made her way up the tree until she stood on the thickest low-growing branch. She now stood on the Pinebranch and looked out over the clearing in amazement. She could see the whole hollow from where she stood. Sitting down, Nightkit craned her neck back to stare at the beauty of the sunset.

A branch underneath of her creaked and Nightkit whipped her head back to see a brown and white kit climbing up the tree. He looked up from where he had stopped on a branch to meet Nightkit's gaze with his own blue-green one. "Hi," he mewed, continuing to climb up to her.

"Hi!" Nightkit knew it was Tigerkit climbing up to see her. Once he got up to the Pinebranch, she shifted toward the right to make room for him to sit. 

"I'm watching the sunset before I go to sleep," she whispered to him, aware of Spiderstar sleeping in his den below them. "Since tonight is the last night I go to sleep as a kit, I wanted something to remember it by."

Tigerkit nodded and looked up at the sunset. It was fully below the horizon as the moon shone brighter in the sky. Stars twinkled faintly around it as twilight settled to dusk. Nightkit felt something furry touch her tail and noticed Tigerkit's brown and white tail laying overtop of hers. She blushed and looked at her paws, hoping Tigerkit wouldn't notice.

"Well, I'm going to go back to my nest before Lightningtail notices I'm gone." Tigerkit stood up and took his tail away from Nightkit's. "Are you coming?"

Nightkit nodded as a yawn escaped her muzzle. "I'm getting sleepy. I also don't want to be caught up on the Pinebranch!  My apprentice ceremony would probably be postponed." She followed Tigerkit down the tree trunk and jumped onto the ground.

Tigerkit and Nightkit scampered across the hollow to the nursery and slipped inside. Their mothers and sisters were all fast asleep, their breathing steady and Cottonkit snoring lightly. Nightkit climbed into her nest, careful not to disturb her sister's sleep as she curled her tail over her nose and closed her eyes, speaking to herself in her head before falling asleep.

Tomorrow I'll be an apprentice! I'll be Nightpaw. I'll try to be the best apprentice any Clan has ever laid eyes on. 

Nightkit wriggled away from her mother's paw as her tongue scraped over her fluffy fur. Hazelkit was rolling around on the sandy floor of the nursery, trying to get her pelt as dirty as possible to give Crouchbeam a harder time when cleaning her.

"I'm clean enough!" Nightkit squeaked, standing in front of her. "If anyone needs cleaning, it's Hazelkit!" She pointed toward her sister who was still rolling around like a Twoleg's dog. Nightkit had heard the elders tell stories of the nasty, cruel creatures and hoped she never encountered one. 

"Hazelkit!" Crouchbeam gasped and quickly fished her kit out from the nursery, beginning to lick the sand and dirt out of her fur with her tongue. "I don't want your Clanmates to think I've raised rogues instead of warrior kits!"

Nightkit looked toward the Pinebranch where the Clan was gathering to see Nightkit and Hazelkit's apprentice ceremony. Nightkit looked toward where Spiderstar was sitting on the Pinebranch and remembered sitting there last night watching the sunset next to Tigerkit...

Spiderstar suddenly looked toward Crouchbeam and tilted his head in question. Crouchbeam licked Hazelkit's fur a couple more times with strokes of her tongue before nodding to her leader. Spiderstar nodded back and silenced the Clan.

"Today ShadowClan gets the pleasure of welcoming two new kits into our Clan as apprentices." Spiderstar looked over toward Nightkit and Hazelkit. "Nightkit, Hazelkit, please come forward."