The leaves of the trees rustled in the wind and made a sound similar to the flowing of water.

Larkkit stood there with her eyes closed and let the different scents take effect on her. It was shortly after sunhigh the next day.

In the past, Larkkit used to think that the life in MoonClan was individual and exclusive to it, however, as she was watching the RoseClan cats spending their time, it occurred to her that they were also just normal Clan cats. They share tongues, go on patrols together, care for each other. What a mousebrain I must have been for believing they were different!

Now Larkkit scented the arrival of Amberkit. Silent as always, the golden tabby she-cat trudged away and began grooming her fur.

"Couldn't you sleep too because of the waterfall?" Larkkit wanted to know from her. She wasn't able to sleep for most of the night because of the constant rushing. She didn't even know if she had slept at all.

"I didn't sleep too." Demonstratively, Amberkit curled her mouth into a yawn and shook herself before sitting down and grooming herself.

Great, we'll probably never sleep again! Larkkit rolled her eyes.

Lightshine slid out of the nursery. "Don't worry, at some point you will get used to it, and then you won't ever be able to sleep without the rushing sounds," she purred.

"That's very nice to hear, thanks." Larkkit couldn't help but sound a bit sarcastic. That's a likely story!

"Well, how about you two get acquainted with your new life, now that you're here?" Lightshine suggested as she cautiously lied down to sunbathe in the first rays of daylight. "Look! Mottlepaw and Lakepaw are back from their training. I remember that they were supposed to show you around camp."

Suspiciously, Larkkit peered over to the apprentices' den. "All right," she mewed resignedly, although she would have much rather looked around herself.

"See you later, then!" Lightshine called after them, then Larkkit and Amberkit ran to the apprentices' den.

Lightshine seems to be much friendlier than yesterday, Larkkit realised. But that's probably because we're still new here. Her fur bristled as she began to feel uncomfortable. All of the cats she talked to so far were unusually kind. This didn't fit the stories she had heard about them at all.

At the soft sound of pawsteps, she whirled around and found herself eye to eye with Lakepaw. Before she had the chance to even make a sound, he had already arched his back in hostility. "So you're those 'given away' kits?"

His derogatory tone almost lit a fire of anger in Larkkit. Where did this crowfood-eating, disrespectful cat get the right to talk about her like that? Larkkit hissed at him with bared fangs. "We were not 'given away'!" she clarified, trembling with anger. "We have a right to be here! After all, we were born here, in case you didn't know," she added in a bitingly sarcastic tone.

To her disappointment, Lakepaw was not impressed by her tirade. He just licked one paw and eyed Larkkit out of narrowed, light blue eyes. "Have you had a look at yourself?" he asked with a sneer. "No wonder those sissy MoonClan mice wanted to get rid of you. Who would want to look at your disfigured face anyway?"

He's talking about my eyes. Larkkit was suddenly so dejected that she couldn't think of a retort. Of course they disfigure me. I look hideous.

"That's not true at all!" Larkkit twitched her ears in astonishment as Amberkit jumped forward and stood in front of her. It was hard not to notice that she was unsure about her behaviour, but then she continued, "Larkkit is special because of that! No one has ever said anything bad about it. I'm sure you're just jealous because you look so boring!"

Never before had Amberkit defended Larkkit. It seemed like a surreal dream to the tortico she-kit.

Even Lakepaw was taken aback by Amberkit to hiss at him like this. "Calm down," he said, clearly annoyed. "No need to almost rip me to pieces!"

Amberkit flattened her fur again and shyly went back to hiding behind Larkkit.

"That was great," Larkkit whispered. "Where did you learn that?"

Amberkit remained still and did not move, only her whiskers moved gently in the wind.

"Unbelievable, no one else treats Lakepaw like that." Mottlepaw strutted towards them, admiration and amusement in her tone of voice.

"Have you been watching us all this time?" Larkkit asked suspiciously, peering over at the remaining two apprentices who were watching the situation with twitching tails.

Mottlepaw stopped in front of Amberkit. "Finally someone showed that cocky furball," she sighed in an exaggerated way.

"Hey!" Lakepaw jumped up and arched his back. "Don't talk about me like I'm not here!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even notice," the dark reddish apprentice remarked dryly. "So, you're Larkkit and Amberkit, aren't you?"

Larkkit and Amberkit nodded at the same time. I'd have thought that everyone would have realised who we are by now.

Slowly, the RoseClan apprentice stroked around them. "You do have extraordinary eyes, Larkkit. You're lucky to be special."

"I'll be glad when no cat says this to me anymore," Larkkit replied slightly sourly. "I don't want to be reduced to my eyes all the time. I'm a cat like everyone else."

Apologetically, the apprentice lowered her head and stepped back. "Alright. Oh, now I remember that we were supposed to show you around camp."

The idea of being led around by Lakepaw after he had belittled her like that made Larkkit feel disgusted, as if numerous spiders were crawling over her fur. "Um, well, I think I already know most of it," she quickly interjected and told Mottlepaw about her suspicions last night.

When she had finished, Mottlepaw looked impressed. "That's all true," she confirmed, "you only forgot two dens, Fruittail's and the elders'."

Larkkit thought about which den belonged to whom. "Can we visit the elders?" she asked.

"I was just planning to." Mottlepaw flicked her tail. "You come with me, too, Lakepaw."

Oh no, don't do that! Larkkit froze. That was exactly what she was supposed to prevent.

"No, thanks."

Had he just said no? Larkkit couldn't believe her ears.

"What do you mean, no thanks?" Mottlepaw poked her head forward. "Palestar said that you and I should show the kits around. You probably don't want to disobey her orders."

But Lakepaw remained unmoved. "I'm certainly not going to show strange cats the most vulnerable places in the camp."

Mottlepaw hissed angrily and unsheathed her claws. Before she could say anything back, however, Larkkit jumped in. "For the last time, we're not strange cats!" she clarified. Lakepaw's words had drilled into her heart like a long thorn. But at the same time, she realised that Lakepaw was right. They were still strangers in the camp.

Mottlepaw snorted snidely. "Then why don't you stay here and deal with the consequences on your own?"

Larkkit was surprised by the way Mottlepaw treated her denmate. She shouldn't be annoyed under any circumstances.

"Then off to the elders." Mottlepaw twitched her whiskers. "I'm sure they'll be happy to meet new kits."

Arriving at the elders' den, Mottlepaw added, "Kestrelpelt and Pebblefall are the parents of Sunbrook, by the way."

Even more relatives! Larkkit was beginning to feel ashamed that she had thought she had no family apart from Amberkit.

Mottlepaw pushed herself through a gap at the back of the bush. Larkkit followed her expectantly and immediately stopped so that Amberkit bumped into her. Larkkit stepped aside apologetically and made room for Amberkit.

The first thing she noticed was the darkness. All the holes in the ceiling had been closed up, with only a little sunlight coming through the gap.

"Kits!" A grey tabby she-cat pulled herself to her paws and lumbered towards Larkkit and Amberkit.

"I'm Larkkit and this is Amberkit," Larkkit squeaked, which immediately earned her an offended look from Amberkit and a nudge.

"I'm Wavesplash. Welcome to the Clan," the elder purred softly, turning her head around. "Kestrelpelt! Pebblefall! Come and see who's visiting us."

A dark brown tabby she-cat and a red spotted tom lying in their nests raised their heads almost simultaneously.

"Who's there?" the she-cat gasped, looking around wildly.

A fourth cat, a tom who looked very much like her, nudged her. "Don't be like that, Kestrelpelt. Don't you recognise her? They're the kits of Twilightwing and Sunbrook."

At the mention of Sunbrook's name, Kestrelpelt's ears twitched in surprise. "Really?" She stood up and trotted over to the kits.

Larkkit backed away cautiously when she saw the she-cat's ruffled fur, covered in scars. She seemed to have been a powerful and dangerous warrior in the past, but now the strength and fire of passion had left her body.

"So you're the kits who were brought to MoonClan," Kestrelpelt stated. "Did your foster mother give you your names?"

A strange, oppressive feeling made itself felt in Larkkit, as if she were sad. But why? I can't be sad. I hate Swallowfern. Nevertheless, the longing for her began to grow incessantly.

Amberkit answered in Larkkit's place with a curt yes.

"She made a good choice," Pebblefall, who had stayed in his nest, remarked. "I just think it would have been better if your real Clanmates had done it."

The dark brown tabby tom snorted. "We were in a hurry. Worrying about names was the least appropriate thing to do in a situation like this."

"How right you are, Jayheart," Pebblefall replied.

During a moment of silence, Mottlepaw meowed quickly, "We'd better get going."

"Goodbye!" Kestrelpelt called after them before Mottlepaw pushed Larkkit and Amberkit outside.

They seem nice, Larkkit thought. "Where to now?"

For a moment, Mottlepaw looked around the clearing helplessly, then she seemed to have spotted something. "There are Mushroompaw and Birchpaw up ahead. My littermates," she added. "Let's go to them."

The thought of getting to know her future denmates delighted Larkkit.

The three of them ran over to Mottlepaw's littermates and intercepted them before they had a chance to leave.

"What do you want, Mottlepaw?" the calico tom asked. He looked exhausted and stared past Mottlepaw. "Hurry, I barely have time before I have to go out next time."

Mottlepaw twitched her whiskers in amusement. "Flareblaze seems to be taking you pretty hard, doesn't he?"

The spotted tom rolled his eyes. "Two patrols in one day! I don't know what he's thinking," he whined.

"Good luck for later," Mottlepaw meowed supportively. "By the way, I just wanted to quickly introduce you to Amberkit and Larkkit." Mottlepaw motioned to the kits to come forward with a flick of her tail. "So, Amberkit and Larkkit, these are Mushroompaw and Birchpaw, my dear littermates."

"Dear," Birchpaw repeated in a mocking tone. He was a petite tom with brown and white tabby fur and amber eyes. Larkkit quickly realised why he had been called that.

Mottlepaw's eyes flashed. "What?" she asked innocently. "That's right!"

Birchpaw just shook his head and pushed Mushroompaw. "We have better things to do now," he explained. "Sleep, for example. Oddly enough, Duskfrost thought it was an incredibly good idea to torture me like this too."

"Oddly enough," Mottlepaw echoed in an exaggerated tone. "Well, I won't disturb you then. Sleep well!"

When Birchpaw and Mushroompaw had disappeared to the den, Mottlepaw let out a sigh. "Luckily I don't have to patrol again until tonight. Mothspark was kind enough to give me the rest of the day off to show you around."

"Who are you going to introduce us to next?" Larkkit interrupted. She was slowly beginning to enjoy it. She hardly thought she would ever be able to remember the names of all the cats, but she really wanted to meet them all.

Mottlepaw tilted her head thoughtfully. "Hm, for example..."

***

"It won't be long before the patrol comes back," Mottlepaw promised as she kept glancing quickly at the Birchtunnel, the entrance to the camp.

Larkkit could hardly sit still with excitement. "I can hardly wait!"

Mottlepaw had spent the whole day dragging her and Amberkit from one cat to another. Now Larkkit's head was buzzing with names. The only ones she could really remember were Reedpaw and Elderpaw, Lakepaw's sisters.

Now they were waiting for the arrival of Sunbrook, Twilightwing's former mate. Suddenly Mottlepaw jumped up. "It's time," she meowed. "Wait here for a moment. I'll give you a sign when you can come."

The dark red she-cat dashed towards the coming patrol and immediately picked out a golden tabby tom.

Larkkit trembled with excitement. "We finally get to meet our father," she whispered happily and moved closer to Amberkit.

"Swallowfern never told us about Dashkit's and Leafkit's," Amberkit interjected with a bitter voice.

"I know." Larkkit lowered their gaze to the ground. "That's why I'm so happy."

She looked over again. Sunbrook looked quite similar to Amberkit, with the difference that his golden pelt looked much yellower and his pattern had wider stripes.

Mottlepaw takes a long time, Larkkit thought. Even though she didn't want to, she was beginning to worry. "Why are they still talking to each other?" she hissed.

Amberkit only shrugged her shoulders in reply.

Eventually Mottlepaw returned to them - without Sunbrook.

Larkkit ran towards her. "What's going on?" she asked challengingly. "Why isn't Sunbrook coming?"

"I'm sorry." Mottlepaw looked glum. "I... I couldn't convince him."

"What do you mean, you couldn't convince him?" Larkkit extended her claws. She didn't understand. Why didn't Sunbrook want to get to know his own kits?

"He doesn't want to see you for the time being," Mottlepaw replied. "I did everything I could, but I just couldn't change his mind."

Larkkit turned round, rigid with grief. "Thank you anyway," she murmured in a choked voice.

There had to be a reason why Sunbrook rejected them, and she had to find it out.

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Read what happens to Larkkit and Amberkit in the next moons before their apprentice ceremony in the bonus book. All chapters available.