Maplekit crouched, her muscles tense as she prepared her tiny body to pounce. Her vision tunneled in on the creature in front of her, a small gray mouse snuffling through the brush. She could feel its every movement as if it were her own, every twitch of its whiskers, every turn of its ears, and the nervous darting of its eyes. Its tiny heartbeat thundered through her ears.

She was ready now, waving her striped tail through the air like a snake, and gently brushing the dry leaves behind her. She wiggled her body and leaped, soaring through the air.

"Maplekit!" A voice startled her, causing her to loose her focus and tumble to the ground. The forested area around her faded away, giving in to her real surroundings. She was in the nursery, a large hollowed out bush with feather and reed nests lining the inside. The mouse...err...moss ball lay in front of her. Maplekit's sister, Featherkit, sat in front of her.

"Shadepool told us to play outside, she wants to get some sleep," Featherkit mewed, eyeing the grumbling black queen in the corner. Her kit, Singekit, lay curled up against her, almost invisible against her mother's matching black pelt. Her tiny orange-tipped tail twitched gently with sleep.

Maplekit finally nodded and headed out of the nursery with her sister at her side, carrying the mouse...err...moss ball. The sun blinded her as she padded out of the shaded nursery, burning hot on her fur. The two kits headed into the cool shades patch of trees lining the clearing, where they could hear the loud churning of the river.

"Catch!" Maplekit squeaked, tossing the ball of moss into the air.

Featherkit squealed as it spiraled towards her, jumping in a flurry of frantic silver-and-white flecked paws, only to have it land on the ground by her tail.

She pounced on it, tossing it back into the air and sending it flying back to Maplekit. She stopped, distracted, as Thornkit padded into the middle of their game.

"She-kits can't do anything," Thornkit scoffed playfully, striding past them with his tiny, spiky tail held high. His bright green eyes, speckled with gold, were teasing and filled with amusement at Featherkit's miss.

"Oh really?" Maplekit crouched, waving her tail in the air like a snake. She pounced, tumbling into Thornkit at full speed and knocking him on his side, pinning him to the ground and letting out her fiercest hiss.

"Alright, alright, now get off of me," Thornkit laughed. She released him, allowing him to get back on his paws.

Featherkit squealed with laughter, entwining her tail with Maplekit's in an act of gratitude for avenging her. Her vibrant blue eyes glittered in the sunlight, like large blue gems.

Maplekit glanced over at their mother, Silversky, who was laying comfortably on the sunny rocks in the clearing, sharing tongues with Amberfoot.

Their dad, Suntail, was setting out on a hunting patrol with a few other cats Maplekit didn't recognize, his golden fur gleaming in the sunlight. She wanted to be just like him when she grew up to be a warrior.

Cats bustled everywhere along the RiverClan clearing, some sharing tongues in the patch of sunny rocks by the elder's den, and some joining hunting parties and training with the apprentices. The clan leader, Stormstar, sat atop the pile of large boulders in the center of the camp leading up to his den, his silver and white splotched fur gleaming in the sun and his tail wrapped neatly over his chest. His broad shoulders were relaxed and his dark blue eyes were filled with pride as he watched his Clan below him. Maplekit loved RiverClan, it's sparkling rivers curling through the territory, and eating an occasional bite of fish instead of her mother's milk. It was perfect here. She didn't understand why the other Clans would want to live anywhere else but here.

Maplekit jumped as Featherkit pawed her shoulder.

"Can we practice fishing by the river?!" She squeaked excitedly.

Thornkit and Maplekit nodded in excited agreement, simultaneously.

The trio scampered through the crowded camp, making their way to the to the trees lining the main river flowing through the clearing, and crouched by the water's edge, watching the wind gently ruffle its surface. Maplekit struggled to part the reeds around it to make room for herself, craning her neck to peer down into the water.

Maplekit let out a silent squeal, gesturing to the others, as she saw a large carp passing through the stream. Or, at least it looked large to Maplekit's tiny frame.

Thornkit batted the water clumsily, only scaring the fish away. Maplekit glared at him, preparing herself as the next fish floated down the river.

She crouched waving her tail through the reeds, and looked determinedly at the fish, before pouncing forward it a flurry of orange. She landed ungracefully at the very edge, teetering. She yelped as the ground suddenly began crumble from underneath her, sending her plunging into the freezing water.

She quickly flailed out her paws, hooking one onto the shore's edge. She managed to grab on with the other, digging her small claws into the muddy soil. Featherkit was quick to place her paws over Maplekit's, holding them onto the shore. The white, churning water of the river tugged roughly in her tiny body, threatening to pull her away from her sister.

"I'll go get help!" Thornkit yowled, his green eyes wide as he scampered at full speed into the clearing.

"Help...me!" Maplekit squeaked weakly, her mouth filling with water. She coughed, the fierce water tugging on every strand of her fur, exhausting her as she struggled to hold on.

"I've got you, Maplekit. Just hold on. Mommy's coming!" Featherkit comforted, managing to lick Maplekit's ear.

Maplekit's vision blurred, her limps shaking with exhaustion and her lungs burning as more and more water poured into her throat. She felt her claws sliding loosely through the mud, but Feaherkit clung onto her, trying to haul her up onto the shore.

"I'm not strong enough!" Featherkit yowled over the sound of the gushing water.

Maplekit squealed in terror as she felt her claws slide out from underneath Featherkit's. She frantically scrabbled at the mud, trying to get a firm hold, but the ground was too loose.

She slipped off and into the swirling water, Featherkit screeching her name. She tumbled into the dark abyss, the water churning and tossing her through it. She opened her mouth to yelp but water flooded in, burning in her throat. For a horrifying moment she was stuck swirling in endless blackness, her lungs screaming for air. She let out a pained yowl as she felt her tiny body tumbling across the river bed, her side slamming into a rock.

Pain like Maplekit had never felt before surged through her, causing her to go completely limp as a burning sensation raged in her ribs. She felt something land in the water beside her, followed by a small set of teeth clamping on her scruff, slowly pulling her to the surface. Maplekit struggled to breathe the air as her head broke the surface, hacking up water. She cleansed her deprived lungs with a breath of air, turning to see her savior.

"Featherkit!" Maplekit rasped. Featherkit opened her mouth to respond, but suddenly began to sink, barely strong enough to keep herself above the surface. Maplekit helped her bag up, and the two struggled to churn to a rock in the middle of the current. They flopped down, struggled to stay on the rock's wet, slippery surface as water pounded over them.

Maplekit barely noticed the blood staining over the rock, coming from her side. She felt everything begin to blur around her, the world around her a jumble of distorted images.

"Maplekit! I can't hold on!" Featherkit squeaked feebly. Her claws scrabbled across the surface, slipping. Maplekit dove to grab onto her before she fell, but she had already sunken into the water's depths.

"Featherkit!" Maplekit wailed. She turned to see a strong current headed towards her, spraying up against the rock and knocking her into the river. She was smashed against another rock, more pain flooding through her. She tumbled against the rocky floor, her paws flailing around her. Her claws hooked onto something near her, and she weakly hauled herself back to the surface.

She had caught onto a small log, her claws digging into the bark. "Featherkit!" She called, searching the water frantically. Her vision was slowly fading, blackening around the edges and spreading. She spotted a small body floating through the water, headed towards a rocky waterfall.

"Featherkit!" She screeched. The small white and silver kit paddled wildly through the water. Maplekit reached out her paw, struggling to grab onto her. The tips of their claws touched as she passed.

"No! Featherkit, keep paddling!" She glanced to the shoreline, where Suntail was racing across the muddy soil towards them. "Dad's coming!"

She continued to uselessly flail through the gushing water her movents growing slower and weaker. She looked up at Maplekit with terror in her wide blue eyes as she hung over the edge, clawing desperately.

Maplekit was losing conciousness, the blackness in her vision beginning to take over. "Featherkit!" She called again, weakly. Finally, she gave in to sleep, feeling herself being tugged away from the log and onto the shore by strong jaws before she slipped completely into unconciousness.