"We want to hear a story! We want to hear a story!"
The bouncing kits chanted at Mistystar.
"Alright, alright!" Mistystar waved her tail to silence the kits. "What would you like to hear about?"
"The NightClan battle!" Mintkit cried.
"How the foxes attacked!" Willowkit mewed.
"When the tides flooded the camp!" Lightkit meowed in excitement.
"No!" Orangekit yowled, silencing the rest. "We've heard about all THAT! I wanna hear something new!"
"Then what?" Lightkit faced her brother.
Mintkit bounced up and down. "I know! Tell us about you, Mistystar! We wanna know your story!"
"Yeah!" The rest of the kits agreed. "Your story!"
Mistystar purred. "Alright. Calm down. Sit down just there, and I'll tell you my story."
***
"She seems too small."
"No, she's fine. All kits are small."
"But she hasn't opened her eyes!"
"She'll be fine. They'll open in her own time."
I woke to hearing my mother and father arguing. My eyes weren't open, but I could tell what was going on. I mewled in protest against all the talking and nuzzled closer to her mother. I felt a tail-tip stroke my spine.
"Rest, little one," She whispered.
"Open your eyes soon."
"No way," I thought, and drifted off to sleep.

The shuffling of paws woke me the next morning.
I wanted to see the world, my mother, my siblings! I took a breath and stretched my eyes open. I looked up at my mother. She was beautiful! She was a striking silver gray tabby. Was mine silver-gray too? I looked over beside me. A small ginger kit was nestled beside me. I poked the kit. Mewling, the kit woke and opened her eyes. They were bright blue. She immediately leaped to her paws. "Shiningmist!" She cried. "Mistykit's opened her eyes!" I looked around, confused. What was happening? Shiningmist opened her own eyes. They were blue, too! She looked at me warmly. "Yes, she has, Flamingkit. Settle down." Flamingkit laid grumpily down. "I wanna go out and explore!" She said. I tipped my head to the side. Flamingkit? Shiningmist? Well, if Flamingkit was the cat next to me, she must be my sister, and my mother must be Shiningmist. "Flamingkit, where are we?" I asked.
Flamingkit looked at her happily. "You're in the OceanClan camp!"
I looked at her, suddenly understanding everything from instinct.
I looked around. I was in a large bramble bush. Two other cats laid in their nests. One had two mewling kits in her nest with her, the other had a blue gray kit. I got up and walked over to the queen with kits.
"Mistykit!"
Mistykit! That must be my name.
I turned and looked at my mother.
"Don't disturb Doveflight," She warned.
I looked at Doveflight's nest. A small golden kit laid in the nest with a solid gray one.
I looked questionally at my mother.
"The gray one is Nickelkit, and the golden one is Sprucekit." I nodded and looked at the other queen. Shiningmist got up and stode over to me.
"That's Cardinalheart. And her kit's named Bluekit." I blinked and looked outside. It was blue outside! I bolted out.
"Hey, wait up!" Flamingkit came after me.
"Wow..." I looked at the camp. It was all soft, tan, wispy stuff on the floor, gray walls rising above me. Dens and nest, either caves or bushes, were along the sides. I must be in a boulder!
"I wanna see everything!" I mewed to Flamingkit. She nodded and pranced up to her side. Shiningmist looked out from the nursery.
"Don't go far!" She cried.
"We won't," Flamingkit assured her.
"I wanna go out there!"
I turned to a small tunnel. Outside the same tan, soft stuff covered the ground and blue water stretched far away. I raced to go outside.
"Woah!"
Flamingkit grabbed my tail.
"Hey!" I looked at her in annoyance.
"We can't go out there," She explained.
"I can take you out, if you want." A voice behind us startled me.
We whipped around, and a silver she-cat with bright green eyes.
"Who're you?" Flamingkit asked fearlessly. I looked at her. How did she DO that?
The she-cat smiled. "I'm Echostar. The leader. Come with me, I'll take you out. Echostar began to walk out, and the two followed her. Flamingkit blasted her with questions.
"What's outside? Where are we going? What's that sound? Can I lead?"
Echostar just shook her head. "You'll find out soon."
We walked through the stone tunnel to outside. Something tan and wispy was on the ground. "What's that?" I asked.
"Sand," Echostar answered simply.
I stepped onto it, and flinched back.
"It's hot!" Flamingkit complained.
"You'll get used to it," Echostar promised.
We trekked down the hot sand. Crystal clear blue water stretched out as far as she could see until it met the sky.
"Woah..." Flamingkit mewed.
"That's the ocean," Echostar explained. "You can catch fish and play in it. But today we're just going to stand in it."
I flicked my whiskers in protest but didn't say anything. It was Flamingkit who ran her big mouth. "I wanna play!" Echostar sighed. "You kits..." Squoosh...My paw sank into the wet sand. "Eeew," I mewed, shaking my paw. Echostar purred. "I hope you don't think it's gross! OceanClan does most of the hunting in the ocean." I sat up. "No way I'll let my Clan down!" Echostar smiled. "Then come on. Look at your reflection in the water." I stepped into the water and peered down. At first all I could see was sand and shells, but then I could see my face. I wasn't meaning to be vain, but I was startled by my own beauty. I was a tortoiseshell! My left cheek was pale ginger but my right cheek, forhead and brow were gray-brown tabby. There was a white streak down the bridge of my nose, and my nose was reddish pink. My white lower jaw melted down to my bright white chest, so I looked down at my paws to keep looking. My front legs were only white on my paws, but my back legs were white to my knees. I turned to look at my flank, and it shone in dozens of shades of browns and ambers and tans and blacks, so reached my tail down to touch my flank. My tail! I turned to look at it, and it was long-haired and gray brown with a few golden hairs. Glancing down at the water, I realized my eyes were a bright and icy blue, just as I'd wanted them to be. I looked at Echostar proudly.
She smiled. "Your eyes are so bright they could burn holes in the sand," She purred.
I smiled, and just as I turned to follow her back, Doveflight, Nickelkit and Sprucekit came stumbling down the slope of sand. Nickelkit's eyes were a piercing yellow. Sprucekit's were green. Nickelkit was so handsome! His silvery gray pelt shone in the sunlight, his yellow gaze like a window to the sand.
His paws were dark gray, and his nose was pink with black around the edges.
Sprucekit was golden with light brown stripes, with one white paw. Her ears were a sandy tan. Doveflight was white with yellow eyes. "Hello." Nickelkit said, eyeing me. Sprucekit just looked at her curiously.
"Mistykit! Flamingkit!" Shiningmist was at the tunnel. Her eyes softened as she saw us returning. "Come on, kits, time for dinner."
She turned and trotted back inside. I glanced back at Nickelkit, he was peering at his reflection in the water. "Hopefully," I thought, "He will be as startled by his own beauty like I was."
***
"Mistypaw! Mistypaw!"
Six moons and two days had passed since I had journeyed to the ocean. I had started training as a medicine cat, but I decided to switch. Now I was a warrior apprentice! Shiningmist wreathed her tail around me. "I'm so proud of you," She murmured. I glanced at Nickelkit. He was looking at me too. I smiled, and he smiled back. Warm love glowed in my chest.
I pranced over to Winterfrost, my mentor. She touched her nose to mine. Her white pelt glimmered. "What're we gonna do?!" I mewed loudly.
"Shh, keep your voice down. Come on, let's go outside." I leaped up and pranced after Winterfrost as she headed for the entrance.
Winterfrost was fast! I could barely keep up. She was at the shoreline by the time I was in the middle of the sand. I hurried to catch up.
"Okay," Winterfrost said once I'd got there. "Watch me." The stalked slowly up to a tidepool. "This is how you catch a fish, Mistypaw. Be very quiet, and don't let your shadow fall on the water, or else they'll know your there." Winterfrost turned and stared fixadedly at the water. A few heartbeats later, she lashed her paw out so fast I gasped. a plump silver fish came out of the water in an arc of drops. It landed on the sand and flopped for a moment, until Winterfrost pounced on it and killed it. I was amazed. "I wanna try!" I squealed. Winterfrost stepped aside to let me try, and I crouched at the water's edge, focusing on the water.
A gray fish swam past me, and I grabbed it, pulling it out of the water. It flipped in the air and landed back into the water. I lunged out to get it, but it swam away, sending dozens of other fish out it the ocean, too. Embarrassed, I yanked myslef back onto shore. "Maybe," Winterfrost said slowly, "we should start by teaching you how to swim."
I looked at her shyly.
"Alright," I mewed, and followed her as she waded into the ocean. "Now," Winterfrost said, "when you get to the point where you can't touch, move your paws like you're running." I nodded and waded out. Soon the sand dropped out from under my paws and I began to paddle. Winterfrost observed my form. " Use your tail for balance," She instructed. She lifted her own tail out of the water and positioned mine. Its tip flicked across the water when I moved it. Fascinated by that, I kept watching my tail.
"Concentrate!" Winterfrost mewed sharply.
Embarrassed, I mumbled an apology and concentrated on swimming. I could see my white paws churning the water, and I began to move forward. My muzzle was just above the surface, and before I had time to feel proud of myself, a wave slapped my muzzle.
"Blech!" It was salty and sandy and made my throat dry when I swallowed it.
"Mistypaw!" I swam to the shallows and gagged at the taste in my mouth. Winterfrost was looking at me angrily.
"Did Shiningmist not teach you not to drink seawater?" Why was I messing so many things up?
"I'm sorry," I mewed. Winterfrost sighed.
"I guess it's okay," She mumbled. I could now tell Winterfrost was not a good teacher, and that she knew it.
"Do you know how to hold your breath underwater?" Winterfrost asked, changing the subject. I shook my head and copied her as she took a deep breath and held it in her mouth, then ducked underwater.
I opened my eyes underneath. It was blurry at first, but then I saw light brown sand speckled with tiny white shells.
I ran out of air and plunged back to the surface.
My fur felt as thick and absorbant as a sea sponge. I smiled at my accomplishment and proudly trotted out of the water with Winterfrost. All day we trained, she taught me how to dig for crabs and fish properly, and even brought me into the wide forest far behind our camp. "Just move your paws like this..." Winterfrost meowed, positioning my paws. "Keep you tail low, but don't drag it on the ground." I did as she said. "There." Winterfrost backed up and twitched her whiskers. In triumph, I always thought, because she had actually taught me something.
Just then a woodmouse waddled out of the gorse bush in front of us. My whiskers twitched in interest and I pounced. My paws landed on either side of the mouse, but it darted off to a hollow beneath a tree root.
"Mouse dung!" I yowled, sending birds shooting out of their trees, calling alarms.
"Mistypaw!" Winterfrost mewed dissaprovingly.
"Now the whole forest'll know we're here!"
I ducked my head in shame. Could I catch anything? I had learned to fish right with a clump of seaweed!
I sat there feeling sorry for myself when Winterfrost sat up abruptly and tilted her ears toward the deep part of the forest. "Invaders!" She hissed.
I scented the air. "They don't smell like Clan cats," I commented thoughtfully.
Winterfrost looked at me gravely.
"Even worse!" She mewed in distress, panic lining her mew.
"These cats follow no warrior code! They will kill to win battles!"
I was not convinced.
"We can take 'em," I assured her, slashing my claws in the air. A twig cracked just ahead of us. A dark brown shape emerged from the gorse bush.
There were four big cats standing in front of us. One was a dark brown tabby with sad yellow eyes, a tom, by the broad shoulders and strong big paws. The second was a skinny silver tabby she-cat, her eyes so dull and hopeless that I could barely make out a green tint. Next to her was a black tom with cold amber eyes. There was something about the way he looked at me that sent shivers down my spine. The last cat was another she-cat. Her fur was light brown, wiry and drab, it looked as if she hadn't washed in days. She seemed nervous, and one of her eyes was blue and the other green. These cats looked to me like the last thing they wanted to do was get in a fight. Winterfrost wasn't so sure.
"Who are you?" She hissed, narrowing her green eyes.
"We're just passing through," The silver she-cat said nervously, her gaze darting from me to Winterfrost.
Winterfrost hissed at them. "Then tell us your names," she growled.
"Well, my name's Cloudburst," The silver she-cat mewed. "And this is Jinx-" She pointed to the black tom, "And Stormy-" the dark brown tom, "and Calypso." she finished with the light brown she-cat.
Winterfrost nodded. "Well, if you really are just passing through, then going this way'll get you nowhere," she advised. I looked up at my mentor. Why was she being so nice to them?
But she continued. "There's nothing but the ocean that way." The cats exchanged nervous glances. I eyed them suspiciously. What were they here for?
"Well-okay," Jinx meowed, "we'll go." Cloudburst and Calypso looked at eachother in fear. "Thanks for the directions," Stormy rumbled, and the four cats turned and padded back toward the edge of the forest.
I looked curiously up at my mentor. "Why didn't we fight them?" I asked, almost crossly. Winterfrost looked down at me, eyes dank and unreadable. "They were rogues, Mistypaw," she mewed. They don't know what Clan life is about." I wasn't so convinced. "But what about the scent marks? They must be fresh enough!"
Winterfrost sighed. "Mistypaw, I don't know why they were here, but all I know is that they were just trying to go elsewhere." I sighed. "If you say so."
We didn't talk as we walked back to camp with the news of the rogue cats. I was unhappy with Winterfrost, mostly because she'd made me miss my first skirmish, but nonetheless I followed her into the camp, curled into my nest, and fell asleep.
***
I stuggled to keep up with Winterfrost as we hurried through the forest, following a wild Sprucepaw through the trees. She had come to the camp yowling about trouble, but nobody could hear her right. So they just followed her to wherever the emergency was. Mistypaw looked up at Winterfrost. "What do you think it is?" I asked, in half-fear, half curiosity. "I think it might be foreign-Clan invaders, she mewed. I was about to reply when an anguished yowling echoed through the trees, and I knew this was no invasion.
To be Continued...