CHAPTER ONE Emokit opened her eyes to see the cool stone on the nursery floor. Her mother was talking to another queen in the nursery, Shallowstone. Her brown tabby tom-kit stretched, his broad shoulders gleaming. He turned his head to see Emokit, and trotted over. Emokit stood up and walked steadily towards the tom. “Good day, Owlkit.” Emokit bowed her head. Owlkit tilted his head, his expression filled with confusion. Suddenly, the tom’s look turned to playfulness. “Stop joking!” He batted Emokit’s arm with his paw. “We’re not warriors!” “Not warriors, but almost apprentices!” Wrenwing padded in, his mouth full of vole. “You two are almost six moons!” Wrenwing licked Emokit between the ears. Emokit turned red, and she shook her head to shoo away the black tom. Wrenwing got up and padded over to Poppyseed. He dropped the vole at pretty she-cat’s feet. “Thank you, Wrenwing,” Poppyseed pushed the vole away. “But I’m really not hungry. Owlkit, Emokit, why don’t you share?” Wrenwing gave Poppyseed a look of concern, but nodded his head in understanding. “I have to go. I have dawn patrol soon.” Wrenwing touched noses with Poppyseed and scurried out of the den. Emokit leaped at the vole and flung it to the other side of the nursery. “I caught this vole!” she boasted jokingly and she ran to the vole and picked it up. Owlkit giggled, but Shallowstone stopped their fun before Owlkit could have a turn. “Show some more respect for your prey!” The gray she-cat hissed as she grabbed the vole. “We’re lucky StarClan gave us vole to eat at all!” Emokit’s ears dropped. “We’re sorry, Shallowstone.” she mewed weakly. Owlkit nodded his head. “Can we eat it now?” Shallowstone sighed. “Kits…” she mumbled. “You don’t need to ask to eat when you’re a kit! A warrior and apprentice, yes. You have to catch at least one piece in order to eat.” Owlkit raised an eyebrow. “Actually?” “Actually?” Emokit repeated. The two kits laughed and lunged at each other. Emokit batted Owlkit’s nose with her paw. “Emokit slaps at Owlkit’s face! He is defeated!” She annouced, smiling. “Hey! That’s not fair!” Owlkit protested. “Maybe you just have skill issues.” Owlkit scoffed. Brightwillow padded in, clean moss clenched between her jaws. She chuckled when she saw Owlkit and Emokit play-fighting. “Having fun, kits?” She mewed in amusement. “I beat Owlkit in battle!” She boasted. “She batted Owlkit with her paw,” Poppyseed explained. Brightwillow dropped the moss. “Briardawn is moving in today,” she said. “That’s great!” Shallowstone purred. Brightwillow patted the moss into a wide oval for the cat. “This is boring,” Emokit whispered in Owlkit’s ear. “Let’s go outside and ask Lemonpool for a story.” Owlkit nodded, and the two cats ducked under the stone that made up the nursery and trotted towards the elder’s den. “I smell Owlkit and Emokit!” The old elder croaked. “Have you come for a story?” Emokit nodded. “That would be great!” She mewed. “Shall I tell you about how ShineClan was created?” The pale yellow elder asked, her sightless eyes twinkling. “Oh, yes please!” Emokit really liked Lemonpool. Unlike a lot of the clan, the blind elder appreciated her for who she was, not her looks, which was probably the case because the elder couldn’t see. Sparrowfern, who was curled up in the corner of the nursery, snarled when she saw Emokit and tried to keep her distance. “Ungrateful little kits,” she would mumble as she pierced Emokit with her icy gaze. “Well, it all started when Pearlsong of Thunderclan became deputy,” the elder began. “She did her duty better than any deputy before, but she found that her father, who was the only person in her family who loved her, had passed away from murder. She felt so wrapped up in grief, that she ran away. She ran away to another forest where StarClan would still watch over her.” The elder stopped and turned to Sparrowfern. “She was Sparrowfern’s grandmother. They decided to name this Clan ShineClan. Pearlsong, now Pearlstar, gave birth to Sparrowfern’s mother. They asked passerby rogues to join. A lot of them did. That’s how ShineClan came to be.” Lemonpool lay her head on her paws. “You kits should go back to the nursery,” She added. Emokit and Owlkit groaned. “Bye, Lemonpool!” Owlkit called as he fell into step with Emokit, who was already beginning to leave. Her midnight black pelt shone in the sunlight.
"Maybe you just have skill issues" -Owlkit, April 2026 First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1203122782/ Previous: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1203122782/ Next: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1206642050/