"Tag!" Raspberrykit called, lightly touching her tail to Lemonkit's shoulder.
"Hey!" Lemonkit called in response, beginning to chase after Raspberrykit. The ginger she-cat giggled, racing around the nursery. Thymekit raced around too, though he couldn't yell "tag" like the others. He was good at playing at hide-and-seek though.
Lemonkit leapt into the air, tagging Thymekit. "Tag," she purred.
Thymekit smiled then began to chase after his sister and friend. Lemonkit giggled as she raced around the nursery. Grumpy queens trying to sleep opened an eye as she went by, and younger kits looked around, gazing at their older playmates.
"Lemonkit," Frostflight's familiar voice came.
"Pause the game, guys," Lemonkit announced, padding over to her mother. "Yes?"
Frostflight let out a gentle smile. "I need to walk around. Can you watch the kits or at least let them play with you?"
Lemonkit looked down at her four siblings, all of them eager to play.
"I guess," Lemonkit said, still uneasy about the decision.
"Great, thanks," Frostflight told her, padding out of the den.
"Can we play again now?" Raspberrykit asked.
Thymekit nodded in agreement with his sister.
"I don't know," Lemonkit admitted. "We have to play with them now."
"We could play tag," Desertkit boasted.
"But we don't want to trample you guys," Lemonkit explained.
"We're one moon old!" Pearkit complained. "We won't get trampled!"
Lemonkit turned, facing her friends. "Should we let them play?"
Thymekit nodded while Raspberrykit shook her head.
"I don't know," Lemonkit said, turning back to the four kits.
"You're not a very fun sister," Spotkit complained.
"I don't want you guys getting hurt," Lemonkit told the four.
"Just let us play!" Deserkit begged. "Please, we won't get in the way."
Lemonkit looked back at her friends one last time and sighed. "Well, okay, but try not to annoy the other queens and kits. Be careful too."
"We will be," Troutkit assured her.
"Who starts off?" Raspberrykit asked.
"I will!" Desertkit called, waving his ginger tail into the air.
"Okay, Desertkit starts off," Lemonkit called out. "Everyone, run!" she shouted.
The cats began to race through the nursery, laughing and giggling. Though Desertkit was fast for his age, he couldn't run quicker than three four-moon-old kits.
"Tag!" Desertkit called.
"No fair! I was resting!" Pearkit complained, her fluffy fur spiking up in anger.
"You got tagged, so you're it," Spotkit told her.
"That's not fair though!" Pearkit complained once again.
"You're it, Pearkit," Lemonkit told her.
"Fine," she grumbled, beginning to chase her siblings and other kits through the nursery. Koikit and Windkit sat next to each other, growling as Troutkit tumbled into one of them.
"Lemonkit!" Koikit complained.
Lemonkit paused for a moment, causing Spotkit to collide with her.
"Sorry, Spotkit," Lemonkit said, looking down at the calico tom. "You okay?"
"Fine," Spotkit replied, standing back up.
Lemonkit looked up at Koikit, waiting for an explanation.
"It's too crowded in here for seven kits to be running around!" Koikit complained.
"They're small kits, Koikit! They won't take up much room, honestly," Lemonkit told her. "If you're so bothered by that, go outside. Get some fresh air!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" Koikit complained.
"Lemonkit is right, Koikit," Raspberrykit announced to her sister. "If you need some quiet then go outside. Go to the elders' den if you want for some stories."
"You don't rule the nursery," Koikit hissed.
"Girls, quit fighting!" Daisyfeather spat, obviously getting annoyed of her kits' arguments by now. "Koikit, take your brother outside. Raspberrykit and Thymekit you can also play tag outside. Where's Mangokit?"
Thymekit pointed his tail to Arcticpaw who sat outside, playing with Mangokit.
"I have to watch my siblings though," Lemonkit argued. "I don't know if Frostflight wants me bringing them outside."
"I didn't say your name, Lemonkit," Daisyfeather told her. "Raspberrykit, Thymekit, out! Let your mother sleep!"
Raspberrykit headed out of the den. Thymekit stood in the doorway, waiting for Lemonkit, but she shook her head.
"Sorry guys," Lemonkit told them. "I'll catch up with you later."
Thymekit disappeared outside, leaving Lemonkit alone with four kits to look after.
"That's no fair that our game was cancelled!" Troutkit complained, sitting down on her nest.
Lemonkit felt bad for her siblings. It wasn't fair that the game had gotten cancelled. She sat down for a moment and thought of something for them to do. It was as if a lightbulb had gone on when Lemonkit got a sudden idea.
"How about we go to the elders' den?" she suggested. "They tell really good stories."
"But I thought you just went there to learn sign language," Spotkit complained.
"No, the elders are really good at telling stories," Lemonkit admitted.
"Frostflight tells good stories," Pearkit told Lemonkit.
"Yes, but the elders tell better ones," Lemonkit told them. "Come on, let's go!" she announced.
The four kits followed in a single line behind her as they walked about ten pawsteps to the elders' den. Bluefur's face lit up to see Lemonkit entering with the four kits.
"What have you brought here, Lemonkit?"
"I have to watch them," Lemonkit explained. "We're here to listen to stories."
"Ask Poppyfur for some," Bluefur suggested. "She tells great ones!"
Lemonkit turned, spotting the brown tabby she-cat near the corner of the den. At the sound of her name, her ears pricked up.
"What was that?"
"We're here for a story, Poppyfur," Lemonkit explained.
"Has Bluefur been telling stories again?" Poppyfur laughed, sitting down. "And you brought Frostflight's kits with you!"
"She's our sister," Pearkit corrected.
Poppyfur looked up at Lemonkit and tilted her head.
"Just go along with it," Lemonkit told her.
"Oh, well," Poppyfur said, tilting her head as she thought of a good story. "Why not tell the story of the battle between SnowClan and NightClan?"
"I thought we were allies!" Lemonkit pointed out.
"No clans are allies. We may work together in battle, but we are enemies," Poppyfur explained.
"What about the MoonClan battle?" Spotkit asked. "I always hear cats talking about it."
"Well, there were two, but I am not a SnowClan elder, so I can't tell you about the first battle."
"When did the first one take place?" Lemonkit asked.
Poppyfur shrugged. "Many generations ago, before NightClan stepped foot in this forest. But I can tell you all about the other battle," she suggested.
"I want to hear about it!" Pearkit exclaimed.
"Okay," Poppyfur said. "It was leaf-fall, and the first few leaves had just begin to fall. It was a quiet day when the attack began. Early in the morning, Silverstar made a huge announcement that we were going to fight alongside with SnowClan. Cats had thought we'd take place in the battle for awhile, but we'd never had any official announcement.
"Cats stepped forward to fight. Even I decided to fight, being my old self. At first, it seemed like we would not win the battle. Then, out of the crowd came a cat I had never seen before. She looked a lot like you, Lemonkit. Her pelt was white and gold, and her eyes were a fierce blue. Her name was Shinypelt.
"Right at that time, Moonstar appeared as her Dark Forest-self. She claimed Shinypelt could not defeat MoonClan and all the powers of the Dark Forest, but Shinypelt ignored her and told her she could. Unsure what was happening, we all gasped as Shinypelt's pelt lit up bright. It blinded most of us. What I could see though was her being lifted into the sky before a large gleam of light blasted through the entire forest.
"When we could all regain vision, the MoonClan cats were gone. At first, we went to celebrate, but we found that Shinypelt was dead."
"That's terrible!" Pearkit screeched.
"She made a sacrifice for all of us," Poppyfur explained. "Right when we were about to leave, blue lights began to dazzle around her, and she was lifted into the sky. The light was brighter this time, and when I could see again, I saw not a body on the ground, but a newborn kit."
"A newborn kit?" Lemonkit asked.
"StarClan works in mysterious ways," Poppyfur explained.
"Frostflight says I was found the day of the battle," Lemonkit explained. "Was I the newborn kit?"
"Don't be silly," Poppyfur laughed. "That kit is growing up in SnowClan. Shinypelt's mate took the kit. No, you were found in NightClan territory. You were a young kit too, but you weren't the SnowClan kit."
Lemonkit felt her heart sink. Just when she thought that maybe she had found who she was and what she had come from, it hadn't been the right cat. She wondered what that other kitten was doing in SnowClan. Lemonkit didn't even know her name.
"Thanks for the story," Deserkit squeaked.
"Yes, thank you," Lemonkit said, dipping her head towards the elder. She exited the den with her siblings, leading them back to the nursery. Only a few moments later, Frostflight entered.
"Mommy, Poppyfur told us stories!" Spotkit exclaimed.
"Did you take them to the elders' den?" Frostflight asked Lemonkit.
"Yes, I thought it would be all right," Lemonkit explained, hoping she wouldn't get a lecture.
"Yes, that's fine," Frostflight purred. She turned her head, watching the kits play. "It seems like they had a good time. I know I can trust you with them."
"Oh, thanks," Lemonkit purred.
She padded over to her nest, listening to the distant cries of her siblings. "I'm Moonstar! You can't beat me!"
"No, I'm Shinypelt!" That was Pearkit's voice.
Maybe taking them to the elders' den was not the best idea, Lemonkit thought. Still, she had learned a bit more about what had happened that day. Maybe she'd discover her past sooner than she expected.