Fading Shadows (A Trail of Shadows book two)

chapter one

Cinderkit could hardly contain her excitement as she waited anxiously by the entrance to the nursery.

She had gotten up earlier than her littermates and mother, all in hopes that she would be the first to see Thistlefang come in from the dawn patrol. Cinderkit was excited, the thought of seeing her father making her small silver pelted body wiggle from happiness. She could barely feel the early morning chill that came along with leaf-fall, her thick pelt coming in handy.

Cinderkit was the more outgoing of the warriors' three kits. She was the smallest of her litter, with the same silver tabby pelt as Skyfeather but with copper eyes much like her father's. More than just his eye color, Cinderkit shared Thistlefang's short tempered nature. Although, where the golden pelted warrior seemed to have matured and learned how to control it better, his more rebellious daughter seemed to constantly be in trouble.

Cinderkit's siblings, Rainkit and Stormkit, were less outspoken than she was. Out of all three of the kits, Stormkit resembled their father the most,  with thick golden brown tabby fur and a large frame. The only tom-kit even had his father's eyes. Rainkit seemed to be the only one of the three who didn't physically resemble their father in any form. She had sleek blue-grey fur and blue eyes, her frame tall and lanky. It was thanks to her long legs that she attributed her clumsiness, often being the one to stumble over her own paws.

"Thistlefang!" Cinderkit chirped as she left the nursery entrance to greet her father as he entered the camp, Wrenflight, Falconstrike and Mistyrain following.

Cinderkit liked the former Riverclan shecat well enough, especially since they were kin, and she hoped that the dark grey shecat would be her mentor; admiring the shecat's humor and easygoing nature.

Mistyrain and Falconstrike shared a warm look as they padded past the silver shekit towards the freshkill pile, the grey warrior leading her mate. Cinderkit could hardly remember when the two weren't together, only that Lionclaw, one of the elders and her grandfather,  had mentioned that Mistyrain had originally joined ThunderClan after the great battle with Duskheart. According to him and Cinderkit's grandmother Willowstep, Mistyrain had fallen in love with Falconstrike as an apprentice, and had wanted nothing more than to be in the same clan with him. Despite the shecat being apart of ThhnderClan for many moons, she still received suspicious looks from many of the other warriors.

Thistlefang purred as he looked down at his kit, his whiskers twitching. "Shouldn't you be asleep with your mother?" He rumbled softly as he leaned down to lick between her ears affectionately. She batted at his nose playfully as she shook her head, her nose wrinkled.

"No. Rainkit and Stormkit sleep all the time and I'm bored. Will you show me how to hunt?" She spoke, her tail flicking. Thistlefang grinned, his eyes soft as he listened to his daughter speak, his own mouth opening before he was interrupted.

"I could have Tigerpaw show you some moves?" Falconstrike offered as he looked up from the rabbit he and Mistyrain were sharing, his ear flicking. Cinderkit felt a tinge of cautiousness as the black furred warrior spoke up. Falconstrike seemed nice enough, but he was one of the more stoic warriors. She could hardly remember a time when the dark pelted warrior smiled away from his mate.

"Oh can he? Please Thistlefang?" Cunderkit begged, her eyes stretched wide as she looked up at her father hopefully.

"I don't see why not. My little warrior should start training early." He purred warmly as he watched her jump up and down.

Falconstrike nodded as he sat up a bit, his tail flicking as he gestured for his apprentice to come over. The black tabby apprentice had just emerged from the apprentice den, his dark fur fluffed up against the early morning chill.