Tragedy {A Warrior Cats Fanfiction}

» Chapter One «

"Mom! Mom! Can I go outside now?" squeaked a small brown kit. "I promise I won't get into any trouble. I'll be back in time for the ceremony."

"Absolutely not," said a tall brown cat between licks as she groomed her fur. "You know how I feel about you getting hurt."

"But I'll be quick! I want to see the camp," whined the kit.

"You'll see it when your ceremony starts."

Kestrelkit gave up, knowing it was useless. Morningleaf was very frantic and nervous ever since Darkpatch died. Kestrelkit had never been out of the hollow she was in now. She was even kitted in here. Morningleaf never let her out, and she was always by her side. The only time either of them got out was to make dirt, which only allowed Kestrelkit to catch a glimpse of the camp.

Morningleaf would get out to get fresh-kill, but she refused to let Kestrelkit tag along with her on the short trip. Apparently the short walk from the hollow to the fresh-kill pile was too far.

Now, after so many moons of waiting, Kestrelkit couldn't wait to be outside the hollow for the first time. Today was her apprentice ceremony, and now that she was an apprentice her mom couldn't keep her inside all the time.

She just couldn't wait until it was time. Not only was she excited to see the camp, but she was also anticipating the moment she would meet him.

It would be today. It had to be today. She could feel it. She could close her eyes and clearly see his ginger pelt, which was smooth and had only one feature: the dark tabby stripes that made him look so much tougher. His amber eyes burned like fire, but were also clear with wisdom and understanding.

It would be today she'd meet him. She couldn't wait to hear his name. She had some ideas in mind based on his appearance. Tigerkit made sense from his color and stripes. Or possibly Lionkit, which for some reason didn't sound as cool. Firekit, perhaps. Waspkit. Bumblekit, which in her opinion seemed too soft of a name for him. Beekit. There were just so many names that made sense for him! Which one would it be?

She kept thinking about these things, along with what the camp would look like, up until it was time. She knew it was near when Morningleaf started giving her fur fierce licks. She was scolded several times for squirming too much, but she couldn't help it. Her whole life was about to change!

Finally, she was nudged out of the hollow. She bolted out and raced in through the dirtplace and barreled through the tunnel that led to camp.

She immediately took in the scents. She had been smelling them all the time, but now they were really strong and made the whole clan feel a lot closer. It was open to the sky, unlike the cramped hollow she had spent her whole life in. Trees lined around the border, keeping attackers out. Hollows and logs clearly were the dens, which were lined around the border the trees created. The whole area was much more open than she had imagined, the clearing smooth without a single pebble. The only thing was in the center of the camp. It was a huge boulder, big enough for three full grown cats to stand on. Underneath it was a small opening. Based on what she had heard, she realized it must've been the leader's den.

She felt a burst of excitement. It would be so much fun to meet all the other cats in her clan and play with the other apprentices. Especially him.

She looked back for her mother. Morningleaf padded up behind Kestrelkit and kept looking back and forth as though she expected an attacker to leap out of nowhere.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Morningleaf nervously. "If you're scared, I can just tell the leader you're not ready and you can do it another day."

"Mom!" exclaimed Kestrelkit. "You're the only one who's worried. I'm excited."

Morningleaf gave a heavy sigh and followed Kestrelkit deeper into camp. Other cats started looking at them, some who had faces of shock and disbelief. Kestrelkit felt a moment of worry, wondering why they were looking at her like that. But she realized it wasn't her they were looking at, but her mom.

Kestrelkit felt a flash of irritation. What had her mom done? Was she going to ruin this day for her?

Morningleaf led her up in front of a tree with a huge hollow inside, similar to the one she had lived in, but much bigger. Inside it smelled of fresh milk and she heard some squeaking inside. This was the nursery. This was where she was supposed to grow up.

Next to her stood a small cat about her age. He had fluffy white fur and a giant gray splotch on his forehead. But what really captivated Kestrelkit were his eyes. His eyes were a beautiful, bright, sparkling blue. It reminded her of stars sparkling during the day, against a light blue sky instead of a dark blue one. But that was about the only interesting thing about him. He didn't look near as cool as him.

Bringing up the thought led Kestrelkit to look around for him. She was pretty sure he was supposed to have his ceremony today too. Where was he?

"Who are you?" suddenly asked the white cat next to her. Even his voice sounded pathetic, wimpy. Not strong at all. "I have never seen you before. Are you having your ceremony today too?"

"Firstly, I'm Kestrelkit. Secondly, yes I am."

"Oh," was all the cat said at first. Kestrelkit tried to hide the smirk that was pressing her lips. Everything about this cat was wimpy compared to the strong cat she was waiting for.

"I'm Rainkit," he finally said. He moved his bright blue eyes towards her. "Why have I not seen you in the nursery?"

"My mom was scared or something," said Kestrelkit with a hint of disgust. "She kept me in a hollow my whole life until now."

He blinked. "Sorry. That sounds... strange."

Kestrelkit laughed hard. "Oh, yes. I suppose it was."

She liked how she had said was. She wouldn't be worrying about that anymore.

She waited until a spark finally ran up her spine. He was here! She could sense him coming from her right.

She looked over and leaned forward, anticipating the moment they'd share their first conversation. She closed her eyes and pictured him in her mind. She remembered that look. Then she opened them and waited to see what she saw.

He looked exactly how she had imagined. Same dull ginger fur and dark tabby stripes like a tiger. Same firey but clear amber eyes. The only thing she hadn't been able to picture correctly was his limbs, which were strong and rippling with muscle, which flexed with every step. He already had the legs of a warrior—and he hadn't even started training yet.

Then their eyes met.

And Kestrelkit felt sparks igniting beneath her pelt.

A/N::

So what do you think so far? What do you think will happen?
Also the photo above is by cat-patrysia on deviantart

//Edited