*DISCONTINUED* Warriors: SE: Silverstar's Path

Chapter 1

Silverkit slowly blinked her tiny eyes open. The hollowed-out nursery was stuffy and warm, the presence of the other kits and queens becoming overwhelming. The morning sun shone brightly through the nursery entrance, a beacon of gold light penetrating sticks, undergrowth, and dust. She sluggishly sat up, yawning from ear-to-ear. Silverkit was 5 moons old, which meant she was close to becoming an apprentice, and her mother, Moonrise, now allowed her and her sister Rainkit to roam the ThunderClan camp. Silverkit eventually stood up and began to trot out of the dense nursery. Outside of the den, the hollow was cool to the point of the air being refreshing, and Silverkit sighed happily with her new and squeaky kit voice. She lied down in the middle of the camp, feeling more relaxed and she fell into a comfortable sleep.

From what had seemed like a few moments, Silverkit felt a paw prodding her side.

"Get up, you lazy mousebrain!" She heard a small voice squeal. It was deep, but not deep in the sense of rumbling the ground. But it was definitely deep for a kit's voice. Silverkit immediately knew who it was- her best friend, besides her sister, Pinekit. The silvery little kit spun around hastily and swiped at the annoying paw that kept poking her behind. Out of annoyance, she pricked the paw with a set of tiny, razor sharp, thorn-like claws. "Ouch!" Pinekit wailed. "Why did you do that?" He whined, emphasizing to what he thought would hopefully give his friend more guilt.

Silverkit merely snorted in his direction. "I wouldn't have swiped if you didn't keep swatting my flank!" She sharply retorted.

"Sorry, I was just curious on why you're out here instead of in the nursery."

"Oh, I just felt cramped and uncomfortable, that's all. No big deal!" She explained with a toothy grin that exposed her white-as-snow fangs. Pinekit sulked.

"Well, at least just swat me with your tail next time, okay?"

Silverkit giggled in a bubbly manner. "Ok!" She paused for a long time, staring at her itty-bitty paws. "Hey, want to go on an adventure?" She quietly mewed with an optimistic tone.

"You mean out of the camp?" Pinekit replied. Silverkit eagerly nodded. "But won't we get in trouble if anyone finds out?"

"Oh, don't be such a kittypet! Everyone's asleep; as long as we're quiet and don't say anything, we can leave and be back before anyone's awake!" Silverkit stood up, wriggling her long tail behind her in excitement.

"Well, if you think we can get away with it, then surely we can! You never get in trouble," Pinekit meowed, trying hard to reassure himself on the situation. Silverkit nodded.

"Let's go, then."

"What? Right now?" Pinekit questioned with surprise.

"Well, here's our choices: we leave now and come back shortly, before anyone is awake, or we wait until broad daylight when everyone is up and about, when we'll have more of a chance of being caught. What do you suggest we do?" Silverkit mewed with sarcasm.

"Okay, I guess you're right," Pinekit finalized. The two kits then snuck through the brambles that guarded the entrance to the camp, skipping along together, matching each other's paw steps.

~ ~ ~

Silverkit and Pinekit had ventured about in the ThunderClan forest for what seemed like moons. They'd both
seen different types of prey, climbed up small trees, and gotten to know their home's lands well. By the time they'd returned to camp, they only saw Rainkit, Silverkit's sister, awake. Her icey eyes were wide with curiosity and relief as she spotted her two comrades.

"There you are!" Rainkit squeaked. "I thought you both were captured and were eaten by wild dogs!"

"Pfft, that'd never happen to us! Well, me, at least," Pinekit teased.

"Hey!" Silverkit hissed. "I can hold my own as much as you can!" She snorted with dismay and blinked the irritation out of her oceanic-blue eyes. She was ecstatic to see her sister, but was also slightly discouraged. She loved her sister, but Rainkit had always thought less of Silverkit, trying to make her sound weak and vulnerable. Yet, the real truth was that their sisterly relationship was quite the opposite- Silverkit had brains and brawn, but Rainkit never accepted it. Silverkit abruptly shook off the tension.

"So, where did you both run off to?" Rainkit asked, beginning a heated discussion about the forest. It was mostly Pinekit who explained their tour with optimism, his vibrantly glowing green eyes wider than full moons with expression. Through boredom, Silverkit trudged her way to the fresh-kill pile. Throughout the entire pile, only one odd piece of prey appealed to her eye and taste buds: a single trout was stacked at the top of the pile. Why would a ThunderClan cat catch a fish? She thought with skepticism. She neutrally shrugged off the thought. Maybe someone just found it and figured, 'Eh, food is food!' Silverkit pleased herself with her conclusion, and happily picked up the speckled trout that was about the same size as her. She took a few bites, thoroughly enjoying her first taste of fish. After about five bites, Silverkit felt as if she'd burst. She thankfully set the prey to the side, and trotted, returning to the nursery. She found that Moonrise was still asleep, and Silverkit happily purred at the sight of her mother. She padded over to the queen, curled up at her side, and fell into a safe and untroubled sleep.