found them at last, Larkkit set about dashing off, but a warning look from Leafkit made her pause.

"They mustn't know we're out here," he hissed.

Larkkit knew he was right, yet she didn't want him to think she was a mouse-brain. "I know," she muttered more gruffly than intended.

This time it was Leafkit who didn't respond to her.

Pressed close to the ground, the two crept off, heading straight for a barrier of bushes. The grass scratched Larkkit and she tried to ignore the sting. To be hurt by grass — huh! How pathetic.

The many scents behind the bushes were so strong that Larkkit had to close her mouth. She picked her way through the undergrowth, thankful that she was still small.

Reaching the other side, she lifted the tip of her tail as a signal for Leafkit to stop. Cautiously, she peered through a small hole between the leaves.

In front of her was a valley surrounded by bushes, which looked a little bit like a tiny camp. Except that there were no dens here, just a small, shallow pool with some stones on the shore. This is the Moonvalley? Larkkit felt disappointment rise in her. I imagined this would be more exciting. She looked at Leafkit, but in his eyes she could detect neither excitement nor boredom.

Larkkit searched the Moonvalley for Swallowfern. Her mother was standing at the shore of the pool with the tip of her tail turned towards Larkkit, her dark amber gaze fixated motionlessly on the dark grey surface. Who were her offerings for? Maybe for our relatives? Larkkit could count on all her claws the number of times she had asked Swallowfern about the rest of her family. To her frustration, she always replied that she was still to young to understand. Larkkit was getting hot under her pelt. I wish she wouldn't make such a secret of it!

Next to Swallowfern stood Thornstripe. The tawny tabby tom had just dropped a small object, probably a pebble, into the pool.

"This is boring, isn't it?" Larkkit flinched when she heard Leafkit's voice. "Let's go back to camp."

Resignedly, Larkkit shook her head. "All right," she mewed. "This wasn't the best idea." Hopefully Sandblossom didn't notice anything! I wonder if Dashkit and Amberkit have kept their mouths shut.

Larkkit was about to set out to walk back the same way when a bad feeling started to settle in her, preventing her paws from moving.

"What in all StarClan cats are you doing here?"

What a mouse dung!, Larkkit scolded herself in her mind and whirled around. What was the point of running away now, too? They have been found.

Mapleblossom was standing in front of the bush barrier, staring at the kits with a mixture of surprise and irritation. "You're not old enough to leave the camp yet. You shouldn't be here." The tortoiseshell tabby warrior had whispered, but it was only a matter of time before her Clanmates wondered why she was talking to the bush and would come to check.

"Please don't tell on us!" Larkkit hissed, her eyes wide. Leafkit remained silent, but he didn't seen eager to be discovered by the others either.

Indecisively, Mapleblossom turned to her Clanmates, who were still gathered around the pool. "I don't know if this is the right decision."

Larkkit wanted to cry out in frustration. Why couldn't Mapleblossom just cover for her? She had once been a kit as well. Had she never gone on adventures with her littermates in the same way? Then surely she would understand Larkkit and Leafkit.

"Did you sneak out of camp?" Larkkit's heart sank to her paws as she recognised Hailstar's voice. The grey tom, flanked by Nightblossom and Blazedew, padded towards them, tail lashing. Unlike Mapleblossom, he didn't bother to be discreet.

Within a few heartbeats, all the cats knew. Numerous green, amber and blue eyes glowed in the night darkness, all focused on Larkkit and Leafkit.

The tortoiseshell and white she-cat turned away, intimidated. Suddenly she really wished she had never come here.

"Larkkit? Leafkit?" Swallowfern sounded puzzled, but not as much as she should be. She was probably used to such situations.

Larkkit looked down at her paws. This is so embarrassing.

"It's too dangerous for you out here," Hailstar snarled. "You could've seriously injured yourselves. Where did you even get the idea?"

Is there anything worse than being scolded by the Clan leader? Larkkit opened her mouth, but not a sound did she make.

Nightblossom stepped forward. "Is it just you two here?"

"Of course!" Larkkit replied fiercely. The memory of this afternoon was still all too fresh. "Amberkit and Dashkit stayed in camp. They have nothing to do with this. And neither did Leafkit. It was all my idea."

Hailstar twitched his whiskers. "It's nice to see you defending your littermates."

I'm not defending them! This is all my fault. They didn't want this in the first place. Why doesn't Hailstar believe me?

"It's best we take you back to camp," Hailstar comtinued. "Then we'll see."

Larkkit wanted nothing more than to be invisible as she was grabbed by Swallowfern by the scruff of her neck and hoisted onto her back. Hailstar isn't going to banish us, is he?