𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧 #1: 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

"Ha ha! We got it!" Mousepaw declared. "I am the most powerful warrior any cat has ever seen!"

"Playing games, are you now, Lynxstar?" Acornshade, a pretty tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat, came into the den with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. She still looked mournful after Softcloud, her kit, died.

Lynxstar opened her eyes and sat up. "Well . . . er . . ." She licked her ruffled chest fur quickly. "I was telling these apprentices to leave."

"She was a fox!" Mousepaw squealed, standing in front of her mother.

"She was going to eat us!" Dovepaw added.

Acornshade purred. "Well, I have to talk with this fox," she mewed. She had a glimmer of bittersweet laughter in her eyes. She must have been remembering when her two kits were playing in the nursery.

Lynxstar nodded. "Off you go." She nudged Dovepaw and Mousepaw away with her tail.

Mousepaw and Dovepaw raced out of the den. "Bye!" Mousepaw called over her shoulder. They ran to the middle of the camp and stopped, panting. "Nursery! I miss all the scents and the peacefulness of it."

"Tawnyflight and Softcloud's kits are in there," Dovepaw reminded her, flicking her tail over her sister's ear.

"I'm sure she'll welcome us." Mousepaw darted away before Dovepaw could stop her.

Wait! That's the warrior's den! Dovepaw opened her mouth to warn her sister but it was too late. Her sister disappeared in the den. Dovepaw hissed softly and limped after Mousepaw. "Mousepaw! This is the—"

"Shh! Sparrowfeather's sleeping!" Mousepaw was sneaking out of the den. She brushed past Dovepaw, looking back. She let out a small gasp when an unsheathed claw snagged at her tail, stopping her.

Sparrowfeather let out a low growl in his sleep as if he was having a bad dream. Dovepaw stared, expecting something to happen. She almost forgot about Mousepaw, but her sister had already gotten free. Sparrowfeather opened his eyes. They were a green glow-in-the-dark color. "Apprentices in the den!" he exclaimed, sort of sleepily. He shook himself and bared his teeth. "Out! How can I get a blink of sleep with you two running around like foxes in a fit?"

Dovepaw and Mousepaw let out a squeak of alarm and raced out of the den. The patrol that was just coming back walked right in their path and Dovepaw crashed into Dawnsplash. She looked up at the pretty ginger-and-white she-cat. "I'm sorry! It's just—Sparrowfeather—"

Snowtail and Dawnsplash exchanged confused looks. "What do you mean, Sparrowfeather? Did he do something?"

Mousepaw was shaking with fear. "W-we wandered into the den a-and Sparrowfeather caught my tail in his t-teeth. And it really scared me!"

"And then he told us to go out. He bared his teeth at us!" Dovepaw exclaimed, hoping that the two young warriors would understand.

"He's been muttering in his sleep quite a lot these days," Blizzardpelt, who was Sparrowfeather's brother, muttered. "I tried to ask him once what was going on, but he just muttered something under his breath and left."

"Maybe Hareleap and Brownfur will tell us," Mousepaw suggested, nudging Dovepaw in the side. "Come on! Thanks," she added to Blizzardpelt.

Blizzardpelt seemingly didn't hear; he padded away with Frostfeather to the fresh-kill pile. The way they had their heads close together made Dovepaw suspicious. Did he love Lynxstar anymore? Did he love his kits? Maybe I'm being overly dramatic. He and Frostfeather just friends, Dovepaw thought. Her worries were quickly forgotten as they entered the elder's den under a patch of briar.