To her own surprise, Leopardkit found herself in the cool shade of the elders' den a half moon later. Mousekit sat at her side, his black fur softly brushing against hers. The little black tom gazed up at Rockface patiently, who was rambling on about some ancient clan. Goldentail crouched at his flank, her yellow eyes gleaming in amusement at her mate's exaggerated storytelling. Stripedfur lay off to the side, his massive body stretched out. His eyes were closed to slits but his tufted ears were turned forward, listening carefully.

Although so much had changed in the past few moons, life had returned to normal for the most part. Visiting the medicine den was no longer an option, as neither Mousekit nor Leopardkit were welcome there, unless they had a serious injury. So the pair had to find other activities to keep them busy, all while trying to stay out of Weedkit and Longkit's path. As Gingerstorm's litter began to grow, their cries became louder and sharper to Leopardkit's ears. Her fascination with the tiny kits had quickly worn off, and now she found them unbearable. Even worse, Stonedusk, their father, was always in the den spending time with his mate, taking up a huge amount of space. Hiding in the nursery was hardly an option either.

The elders' den was a safe place for the two kits. Weedkit and Longkit were too full of themselves to care about stories of their ancestors, so they never visited the three aging cats. Sandstreak, apparently still listening to Darkstar, hardly interacted with Leopardkit and Mousekit at all. The pair could come and go as they pleased. Besides, the elders were always kind to them.

      "There were many ancient Clans," Rockface meowed loudly, waving his scruffy tail for emphasis. His white-flecked face was alight with wonder. "They were here long, long before any of us. There was LionClan, TigerClan, CheetahClan, and even LeopardClan!" The tom's joyful green gaze found the she-kit, his eyes twinkling. "Your name is an honorable one, young she-kit. It represents mighty strength and speed!"

        Leopardkit curled her lip and tilted her head at him skeptically. "Sandstreak told me she only named me that because I had spots, and not to think that it meant anything special."

       Goldentail quickly answered her from beside her mate. "Of course it's special!" she insisted, voice heavy and eyes glittering sympathy as she glanced at Leopardkit. "I know Sandstreak can be hard on the two of you, but her harsh words are nonsense."

       'Hard on us' is an understatement, Leopardkit thought bitterly, her amber eyes narrowing at the fluffy golden she-cat. Mousekit nudged her shoulder gently and casted her a warning look.

       "What were the ancient Clans like?" the black tom asked innocently. "Did they have hunting and border patrols, like us?"

        "Oh, yes!" Rockface purred, delighted at the question. "They had all sorts of patrols! But, the prey they caught were bigger than two-legs!"

         Leopardkit suppressed a yawn. She fought against the urge to roll her eyes. What prey could possibly exist that was bigger than a two-leg? She didn't believe a word of what Rockface said, but she sat patiently and put on the most interested expression she could muster so as not to crush the old tom's enthusiasm.

         After several tales about deadly battles between LionClan and TigerClan, Leopardkit couldn't sit still any longer. "I need to use the dirtplace," she suddenly meowed, cutting Rockface off. Before Mousekit could protest, she rose to her paws and darted out the elders' den in a flash, sighing with relief.

        The air was still and calm outside, but frigid. A light cloud layer covered the sky, inching along sluggishly. The fresh-kill pile was bare, only a small dip in the ground indicating where it was. With a rumbling belly, Leopardkit hoped the hunting patrols with return with fresh prey soon. The stone hollow was empty, save for the sunhigh patrol, which was departing by the thorn tunnel as she watched. Leopardkit's paws were numbed by the cold within heartbeats, and her little nose felt raw.

       Leaf-bare had only begun.

A bright figure suddenly emerged from the medicine den. Redpaw.

Leopardkit felt a stab in her heart at the sight of her former friend. She would never admit it, but she longed to speak to him again. The she-kit enjoyed time spent with Mousekit for the most part, but she often found herself missing certain aspects of her days with the medicine cat apprentice. It was the little things, like when Redpaw had to practice applying poultices to her pelt while she complained, or how the pair whispered jokes about Firetail as the old cat threatened them, or when Leopardkit helped him memorize certain mixtures all day, and how he always rushed to her side to support her if she had a spell of dizziness.

    All of that had stopped at the moment Leopardkit had blown up on him. Had she been wrong in doing so? Of course not! It was Redpaw's fault in the first place that she had gotten in trouble. So why did she feel pricks of guilt every time she saw him?

    Leopardkit fixed her amber gaze on him, but the apprentice never met it. Redpaw kept his green eyes trained on the ground in front of him. Once bright, his gaze was now bitterly cold. Leopardkit noticed a wad of moss clamped in his jaws, and the rancid smell of mouse-bile drifted into her nose. He must be going to remove the elders' ticks.

    There was no doubt he noticed her; the she-kit was the only other cat standing out in the clearing. But he passed by without a single word, his expression blank. His fluffy tail whisked out of sight as he disappeared under the branches of the elders' den.

    Leopardkit curled her lip, frustration brewing and a spark of anger in her belly. Who was Redpaw to ignore her? He was just a medicine cat apprentice anyway. She would be a warrior one day, and she wouldn't ever need him.

    Her head and tail raised haughtily, Leopardkit padded toward the dirtplace, figuring that she might as well try to go since she had lied to the elders. She headed toward the entrance, the quick pattering of her paw steps echoing off the lonely cliffs. 

       "Not thinking of sneaking out again, are you?" a deep, amused voice said, breaking the silence.

        Leopardkit's head snapped toward Darkstar, who was lying atop the High Ledge. The massive black tom watched her curiously, his wide forepaws dangling over the edge.

        "Darkstar!" the she-kit exclaimed, happiness and relief flooding through her. But the weight of his words quickly sank in, and her entire pelt burned. Leopardkit stared down at her paws, shuffling them nervously. "Firetail told you?" she asked meekly.

The ThunderClan leader gazed down at her. His voice grew more serious, but not unkind. "Yes, of course she told me, as well as Dawnleaf. And what you did was very reckless. But I'm sure she has punished you accordingly."

Leopardkit nodded solemnly and hung her head. "It won't happen again," she muttered.

     Darkstar purred, a deep, rumbling sound. "I know it won't. Besides, you won't have to worry about being stuck in camp much longer: your apprentice ceremony is coming up!" he added.

    Leopardkit brightened at the news. It was true; she would hit the sixth moon mark in about a half moon. Her entire kithood had felt so long, each day dragging by as slowly as the sun trailed across the sky. But soon, everything would change. Instead of lying around camp all day, she would be out in the wilderness, tracking down prey and fighting enemies.

    Darkstar stood from his position on the High Ledge, arched his back in a stretch, and swiftly leapt down, landing in front of Leopardkit with a soft thud. He settled his large body smoothly on the stone. "Excited?"

    The she-kit practically bounced on her paws. "Of course!" She caught sight of the ThunderClan leader's twitching tail behind him, and she dropped into a crouch, creeping toward it.

    Darkstar's green eyes sparkled with amusement. "Lower your haunches," he corrected gently.

    Her amber eyes fixed with determination on the slim back tail, the she-kit's back end sank lower to the ground. She took a couple more steps, then pounced. Just as her paws were about to grasp Darkstar's tail, it swished away.

    "You have to be faster than that!" the leader taunted playfully.

    With a high-pitched growl, Leopardkit sprang onto his flank and pummeled his ribs with her sheathed claws. The leader purred in amusement, his whole body vibrating. "You're a bit small to be attack me straight on," he remarked. He gently batted her off his back with a massive dark paw. The she-kit yowled her indignation as she rolled on to the ground.

    "How else am I supposed to attack?" she complained, jumping back to her paws.

    Darkstar's whiskers twitched. "Since I can overpower you with my strength, you have to be quick. Use distractions to your advantage, and then go for a weak spot."

    Leopardkit crouched down, the leader's instructions whirring through her head. In the end, she ended up launching herself at his neck. Darkstar easily shifted out of the way, and the she-kit sailed past him and landed on the ground with a frustrating thud.

    Darkstar shook his large head in amusement. "That's not what I told you," he said with a chuckle. "You're quite headstrong. You'll have to listen better if you want to learn anything from your mentor one day."

    Leopardkit crouched down, searching for any kind of weak spot, and finally gave up. She glanced to Darkstar with a curious glint in her eye and decided to change the subject. "Have you decided who will be my mentor?" she asked slyly.

      Darkstar purred, his whole body rumbling. "You won't find that out until your ceremony, you sneaky furball!" He gently cuffed her across the ears.

        Leopardkit groaned, flopping on to her back. "Please, tell me!" she pleaded, pawing the frigid air.

Darkstar flicked her ear with his long tail, his lip curling into a smug grin. "No can do."

Leopardkit huffed impatiently, rolling back onto her paws. "Well, if you won't tell me, then I'll give you some of my recommendations," she said haughtily, sticking her nose in the air.

Darkstar's whiskers twitched, his green gaze alight with mirth. "Well, what are they?"

        Leopardkit thought for a brief moment, considering all her Clanmates. "Brackenpatch, definitely. Or Cougarheart—Stripedfur told me he's one of the greatest fighters in the Clan!"

        Darkstar nodded his head, seemingly in consideration. "He certainly is, but Cougarheart is already mentoring Blossompaw, so he's not an option."

        Leopardkit pinned her ears back in disappointment. "Oh yeah," she muttered, thinking of the young golden she-cat. Blossompaw had always been irritatingly uptight and anxious; how had she gotten so lucky to be assigned to such a magnificent mentor?

       "What about Dawnleaf?" Darkstar proposed, his green eyes glimmering. "She's an excellent fighter and hunter."

         Leopardkit shivered at the thought of the harsh, stoic she-cat. "The deputy of ThunderClan? But she's so strict!"

"Maybe that's what you need," Darkstar said with a chuckle, lightly cuffing her. "With all this business of sneaking out of camp."

         Leopardkit felt a prick of guilt at the leader's words. She flattened her ears and looked away. Would she only be remembered for her mouse-brained mistakes?

         Darkstar must've noticed the change in mood. His deep voice took on a lighter tone, as if trying to cheer her up. "What other mentors have you been thinking about? We have plenty of good cats: Leafnose, Grayfoot, Sharpwing—"

        Leopardkit stiffened. She had completely forgotten about her distant father. "Darkstar, did you know that Sharpwing was my father?"

        The black tom's body stiffened at the mention as well. Leopardkit noticed his back fur bristle and his eyes flash, although the emotion was unreadable. "Yes," Darkstar murmured. His green gaze was locked on the she-kit, calculating. "Who told you that?"

         Leopardkit bristled. She wasn't even supposed to know who her father was? The she-kit sat in front of the massive black tom, her head held defiantly high. Her amber eyes stared at him, unafraid. "Firetail did. Why aren't they mates anymore?"

         Darkstar hesitated, his large paws flexing uneasily. "Well... It's... It's a very long story, Leopardkit..." He averted his green gaze.

         The she-kit huffed impatiently. Her curiosity was burning like a flame. Why was every cat so reluctant to explain what happened? Why didn't she have a father in her life?

        Before Darkstar could awkwardly continue, there was a rushed patter of pawsteps on stone behind them. The ThunderClan leader glanced past Leopardkit, his green eyes growing even wider. Then a smooth, cruel growl—one that made Leopardkit's stomach drop—reached her ears.

        The she-kit slowly turned around, coming face to face with the mother who hadn't spoken to her for days. But Sandstreak's piercing gaze wasn't on her daughter; it was locked on the cat behind her, and glowing yellow with rage.

        "Are you feeding lies to my daughter?" the cream-furred queen hissed at Darkstar, stepping between him and Leopardkit.

The she-kit bristled in anger and stared at Darkstar expectantly. He'll show her who's in charge.

The huge black tom only stared at her, dumbfounded. "Sandstreak..."

Sandstreak let out a furious snarl. "I don't want a tom like you speaking to my kit!" The lithe queen whipped around and roughly shoved Leopardkit with her paw. "Back to the nursery, now," she said in a low, menacing hiss.

Leopardkit ignored her mother, trying to catch Darkstar's nervous gaze. You're the leader! Why don't you do something?

But the black tom only lied there, gazing at them with a forlorn expression.

Suddenly, a shrill screech pierced the crisp air, echoing off the cliff walls. It came from the direction of the nursery. Leopardkit's head snapped around at loud rustling.

Two little figures burst from the entrance of the large bramble den, bolting away with tails raised and pelts bristling. Weedkit and Longkit dashed toward Sandstreak, their eyes wide.

What in StarClan's name... Leopardkit wondered. A heartbeat later, a beast emerged.

Gingerstorm exploded from the nursery in a fireball of fury. Her blue eyes were round with a frenzied light, her flaming red fur fluffed out to make her appear twice as big. Leopardkit had heard of how terrifying the queen was during battle, but she hadn't believed it until now.

"Where are they?" Gingerstorm hissed, the fury clear in her voice.

Leopardkit used the momentary distraction to slip away from Sandstreak, darting back to Darkstar's side. The she-kit hunkered down beside the massive tomcat, watching the proceedings with nervous amber eyes. She had an uneasy feeling in her gut.

Gingerstorm's seething blue eyes landed on Sandstreak, with her two sons crouched behind her, peering out. The bristling ginger queen stalked toward her cream-furred denmate, hackles raising and a dangerous glint in her gaze. Darkstar silently rose to his paws behind them.

When the two she-cats were nose to nose, Gingerstorm let out a low, threatening growl. "Your kits are monsters!"

        Weedkit glared at the red queen from behind his mother, and Longkit narrowed his eyes in disgust. Sandstreak met the queen's stance unflinchingly, her expression unconcerned. "You aren't talking about my lovely sons, are you?" she replied in a sickly sweet voice, curling her thin tail around the two little toms.

        Gingerstorm arched her back, her face contorted with rage. "Your lovely sons were trying to kill my kits!" she shrieked, a note of distress in her voice. Cats began poking their heads out of their dens, ears turned toward the commotion. Mousekit emerged from the elders' den with wide eyes, followed by Stripedfur and Rockface. Yellowcloud, Leafnose, and Spidergaze slipped out of the warriors' den, watching curiously. Gingerstorm continued furiously, unbothered by the gathering crowd. "I woke up to see them holding their paws over Burrkit and Sapkit's faces! They couldn't breathe!"

"They were being so loud!" Weedkit suddenly burst out. "We were just trying to shut them up!" he growled, his green eyes staring at the queen angrily. Longkit nodded enthusiastically beside him, although he seemed less confident than his brother.

Sandstreak titled her head mockingly at Gingerstorm. "Your kits certainly are very loud," she agreed. "Maybe you just need to control your litter better. My precious Weedkit and Longkit never cried as much as them." She sneered at the other queen.

Gingerstorm stiffened, and for a moment, Leopardkit thought she might launch herself at Sandstreak. Instead, the ginger queen's gaze shifted to Darkstar, still infuriated. "Aren't you going to do anything about this?"

      The ThunderClan leader was speechless, staring at the two she-cats with his jaw parted. The black tom seemed reluctant to say anything.

        Gingerstorm let out a hiss of frustration. "If you won't take care of this, then I will!" The hysterical queen turned her attention back to Sandstreak. She took a step closer and hissed, "If your kits ever come near my litter again, I will claw those little fox-hearts to shreds!" Leopardkit hoped that didn't include her.

Sandstreak shook her head calmly, giving her fellow queen a disdainful look. "Now, Gingerstorm, that would be against the Warrior Code, to harm kits—especially perfect, strong little toms like mine." She nuzzled the two tom-kits affectionately before meeting Gingerstorm's stare again. "My kits are valuable—they all survived from birth," she noted, an insolent gleam in her cold yellow eyes.

Leopardkit gasped, along with the other warriors gathered in the clearing.

Sandstreak let out a mocking gasp, forcing her yellow eyes wider. "Oh dear, I didn't say that, did I? Oh, I can't imagine what it must be like to have kits so weak that they can't survive the first few hours of their life!"

Leopardkit expected her to attack Sandstreak. However, Gingerstorm's face was eerily blank. The red-furred queen slowly looked Sandstreak up and down, her blue eyes conveying deep, unhidden disgust and hurt. "Just because you didn't get what you wanted, doesn't mean you have to take out your hatred on everyone else," Gingerstorm growled, a stony look in her gaze.

This time, Sandstreak went rigid. The slim queen raised her hackles and stepped closer to Gingerstorm. Now, both she-cats seemed to be heartbeats away from attacking each other.

        "What did you just say, mange-pelt?" Sandstreak hissed, seething with rage. Her ears were pinned to her angular head, and pointed fangs bared.

        Most of the warriors had gathered in the clearing by now. Some, like Yellowcloud and Squirrelheart, snickered in amusement at the quarreling queens. Others, such as Silverstripe, Maplefur, and Skyleap, watched with concern but seemed hesitant to intervene.

One warrior finally broke free from the crowd, walking slowly toward Sandstreak. It was Sharpwing.

Leopardkit held her breath. She had never seen her mother and father together. Not once.

The muscular tabby and white tom strode confidently toward the agitated queen, his brow furrowed. His face was set firmly. As Sharpwing drew close to his former mate, he uttered, "Sandstreak, don't do this..."

         The cream-colored queen jumped away from him as if she had been touched by fire. She rounded on him like a snake, yellow eyes wild. "You, stay away from me!" she spat, voice filled with pure hatred.

         Leopardkit watched with round amber eyes.

         The crowd began to murmur. A loud, commanding voice drowned out the others. "Stop this nonsense!" Dawnleaf roared, leaping between between the two riled she-cats. The powerful brown and white deputy glanced between the enraged queens, her gaze stern. "Both of you, stand down!"

       For a few heartbeats, nothing happened. The bristling she-cats continued to glare at each other. Finally, Gingerstorm reluctantly stepped back, relaxing her defensive stance. But her fiery fur was still bristled, and her blue eyes were livid. Once Sandstreak observed her rival back down, she also calmed.

        Dawnleaf narrowed her eyes at the queens. "What are you two thinking? You're acting like rogues—picking a fight in the middle of camp! In front of kits as well!"

       Leopardkit furrowed her brow at the deputy's comment. What was the matter with her watching this all unfold? She craved to know what was happening.

       Gingerstorm dipped her head sheepishly. But Sandstreak held her head high, staring haughtily at the deputy.

Dawnleaf went on seriously. "Any final decisions about this mess will be made by Darkstar." Then she raised her voice, her stony eyes scanning the crowd of cats watching apprehensively. "The rest of you, back to your duties!" she boomed. "There's nothing to see here."

The throng reluctantly dispersed, although many remained out in the clearing, whispering among each other and casting judgmental looks at the queens. The cold air no longer mattered; Clan drama was too good to miss.

Gingerstorm shot Sandstreak one last irate glare before whipping around and stalking back toward the nursery. The cream queen remained in the clearing. She appeared relaxed enough, calmly grooming Weedkit and Longkit, despite their protests. However, the pale fur along her back still bristled.

Leopardkit stared at her mother from Darkstar's side. Frustration twisted her insides as she thought about the black tom's reluctance to control Sandstreak, but that wasn't the main thought on her mind. Gingerstorm's spiteful words echoed in her head.

The spotted she-kit observed Sandstreak with a burning curiosity in her amber eyes. What did you want that you didn't get?