Dragonflykit blinked his hazel eyes open, pale gray fur clouded his vision. He pushed himself onto his paws; three tiny kits bordered the nest that he shared with Avocetwhisker. "Who are they?" he asked his mother, after staring at the other kits.

"They're your littermates," she purred and stroked his brown tabby pelt with her tail.

"Oh," he nuged the other tom with his nose. "Who are you?" he asked the smallest kit.

The tom kit blinked his blue eyes open. "I'm Egretkit, who are you?" White circles lined Egretkit's eyes.

"Dragonflykit," he glanced at the two sleeping she-kits, "What are their names?"

"Hydrangeakit," Avocetwhisker's tail tapped the cream colored she-kit, "and Koikit," her tail moved and touched the orange and white she-kit.

"Oh," he curled back next to Avocetwhisker's side and fell asleep again, softly snoring.

"Achoo!" he sneezed himself awake.

The den is so cold, he thought to himself as he began to shiver. Clambering out of the cozy moss nest, he went to the nursery entrance and peeked out.

"Oh!" he gasped, it was cloudy and little flakes fell from the sky coating the ground in a fine white layer of dust.

"Avocetwhisker!" he ran back to his mother and shook her awake.

"What is Dragonflykit?" she asked, her eyes sleepily open.

"There's something outside and its everywhere!" he excitedly mewed.

Avocetwhisker sat up, "It must be the first snowfall of leafbare,"

"Yay! Snowfall!" he cried and went to jostle his littermates awake.

"What?" Koikit yawned, her tiny pink tongue becoming visible.

"There's snowfall to play in," he began to jump around the nursery as if his tail was on fire.

Avocetwhisker let out a mrrow of laughter, "Its snow to play in not snowfall,"

"Snow?" Egretkit stretched, his pale gray fur was matted in every which way.

"Let's play," Koikit rushed outside into the chilly camp clearing.

All the cats were beginning to wake and form the dawn patrols.

Dragonflykit followed Koikit. She seems bigger today. He thought.

His large paws stumbled over the uneven terrain. "Whoa!" he tripped :3 over paws and tumbled into a ball, knocking Koikit down in the process.

"That looks fun," a young white she-cat purred, "But I have patrol,"

"Lilypaw!" a dark ginger tom called her name.

"Coming Firepaw," she turned and began to pad over to the patrol of cats, "I'll play with you when I get back," she called over her shoulder.

"Yahhh," Hydrangeakit yowled as she messily pounced on Dragonflykit's tail.

"Hey!" She seemed bigger too, what is happening, he thought as ideas rushed through his head. Even tiny Egretkit is larger.

He played in the snow with them until Lilypaw came back and she convinced Firepaw to join them.

Exhausted he returned to the nest in the nursery.

Slowly day by day his littermates grew bigger and there was less and less food to go around.

"I'm hungry," he complained.

"We all are," Hydrangeakit snapped at him.

"We'll be apprentices soon," Egretkit shook his thick coat of fur. He now towered over Dragonflykit.

"Yeah," Koikit nodded, "I have an idea," her voice lowered.

"What?" Dragonflykit inquired curiously.

"Lets go hunt for the Clan," she suggested, then she picked up her head and surveyed the clearing.

"No cat heard us," Egretkit nodded, "when do we go,"

"How about at dusk after the cats leave for patrol?" Dragonflykit suggested slyly.

"Yes," Koikit agreed.

The sun rose and lowered. The temperature plummeted as the last rays of sun lingered on the horizon.

"Lets go," Koikit whispered and crept out from the shadows.

Snow crunched under his paws, Koikit's orange and white tail flashed in front of his face before disappearing.

"Koikit?" Her tail flicked past his face pointing at Firepaw and Lilypaw, who were now Firefly and Lilypad sitting vigil for their warrior ceremony.

"Oh," he munbled and padded forward.

"I can't fit," Egretkit squealed and backed up.

Dragonflykit looked ahead. There was a small gap in the camp wall.

"Let me try," he squeezed past his bigger littermates and slipped through the gap.

He heard a gasp from Egretkit. He blinked in awe at the frost covered pine trees before him.

"Dragonflykit get back here!" Hydrangeakit's shrill voice called.

"What are you three up to?" Firefly's gruff mew asked.

"We thought we saw a mouse," Koikit peeped.

"Let me see," Firefly's narrow yellow eye peered through the gap and settled on him.

"Dragonflykit get back in this camp right now," Firefly commanded.

Dragonflykit held his tail between his hindlegs, ashamed of his behavior.

"You are naughty kits," Lilypad scolded them and sent them back to the nursery.

"We only wanted to catch some prey," Dragonflykit mumbled glumly to his mother who was waiting for them.

She sighed. "You'll be an apprentice in a moon,"

Dragonflykit curled up next to his littermates. I'll fill the fresh kill pile when I'm an apprentice, he thought, his stomach grumbled in response with him.

For the Tournament on this account!!

833 words