Dandelionkit lay stretched out in the sun, her dark pelt hot in the burning midday light. She was sprawled in a brightly-lit clearing of soft grass in the middle of the ThunderClan camp. The kit stretched her muzzle upwards, cracking her neck as she rolled it around. She settled with a contented sigh, her muzzle falling to rest on her paws. One ear instinctively pricked up as she heard a happy squeal from the other side of the camp. A mossball came bouncing towards her, leaving little bits of emerald bedding scattered across the camp. Dandelionkit purred and shoved herself to her paws, taking the mossball in her teeth. She bounded across to her sister, Sparkkit, who was bouncing excitedly as she watched Dandelionkit's approach.

"Hey, Dandelionkit, wanna play mossball with me?" she mewed, dropping into a play-crouch. Dandelionkit shook her head serenely and smiled, purring,

"Sorry, sis. I have a patrol." Sparkkit tilted her bright ginger head, scowling.

"We're just kits, Dandy! We can't go on patrols!" she said indignantly. Her sister lifted a paw to her face, licked it, then drew it over her ear.

"Please, Sparkkit, don't call me Dandy. My name is Dandelionkit." The other kit stamped her paw.

"You just said it! You're Dandelionkit!"

"So? I'm still a warrior!"

"No, you're not! What's your warrior name, huh?" Sparkkit's green eyes were narrow as she glared at her sister. Dandelionkit sputtered, searching for a good comeback.

"I-I... I don't have one, okay? Congratulations! You win! You ruined the game!" the dark brown kit hissed, lifting her tail and trying to stalk away, but stumbling over her painfully large paws. She turned her head and snarled at her sister again, her yellow eyes gleaming out of her brown and white face. "Ruined it, Sparkkit!"

She stormed into the nursery and flopped down in her nest, set apart from her littermates' like a real warrior's nest. How dare she say I'm not a warrior! I am too! Or at least I will be! Dandelionkit thought, ears flat. Why do we always have to play her games? Hunt the this and catch the that and somethingball, blah, blah, blah. I don't see the warriors playing games, so why should we? We'll be warriors someday too, won't we? The soft sound of moss shuffling underpaw interrupted Dandelionkit's mutinous monologue, and a rough tongue rasped over her ear.

"Will the others still not play warriors?" her mother inquired. Dandelionkit narrowed her eyes and whipped her head around to glare at her.

"It's not playing, mama! I'm a real warrior!" she retorted, fixing her mother with a baleful yellow stare. Squirrelflight nodded quickly, wrapping her long, bushy tail around her kit.

"Of course you are, sweet one. Would you like me to give you your own warrior name?" The ginger queen smiled, the corners of her green eyes crinkling. Dandelionkit's golden orbs grew wide, and she bobbed her head emphatically. Finally, a real warrior! 

"Yes, please!"

Squirrelflight lowered her head until she was even with her daughter. 

"I, Squirrelflight, deputy of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this kit. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Dandelionkit, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" The dark-furred kit bounced on her toes, full to bursting with excitement.

"I do!" she mewed, repeating the words she had heard at Ambershine, Dewsplash, and Snowstorm's warrior ceremony.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Dandelionkit, from this moment you will be known as Dandelionflower. StarClan honors your spirit and creativity, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." She bent her head to lick her kit's shoulder, then drew back, smiling. "There. Now you can tell all the others that you got your warrior name before them!" Squirrelflight poked her head out of the thorny den, inspecting the sky. "Hurry, though. It's getting dark. And bring dinner with you!" Dandelionkit spun in a happy circle before charging out of the den, skidding to a halt beside Alderkit and Juniperkit, who were trying to decide what they wanted to eat.

"I want a mouse," Alderkit mewed, reaching for a fuzzy body. His tabby littermate stopped his paw with an authoritative shove, moving in for a fat water vole. He clamped his small jaws around it and started to tote it back to the nursery, tripping a little bit over the weight of the fresh-kill. Dandelionkit gave her brother a kind look, snatching up the tails of two mice. I hardly ever see him playing with the others, either, she thought, the still-warm bodies bumping against her chest as she made her way back to her mother. He just seems to sit in the medicine den all day. Dandelionkit and Alderkit pushed their way through the prickly gap in the den wall, settling down in the mossy dust to eat. Dandelionkit chewed thoughtfully at a large mouthful of mouse, then absentmindedly pushed the rest to Squirrelflight. Her mother bent her head and finished what was left of the mouse in quick bites, swiping her tongue over her mouth. There was a clattering outside, and the bramble framework of the nursery quivered, then Sparkkit burst in, her pelt spiked, panting.

"Hollypaw caught me putting sand in her nest," she explained, plopping herself down next to Juniperkit and grabbing the vole. She ripped away a large mouthful and chewed sloppily. Squirrelflight glared at her.

"Didn't I teach you how to eat properly?" she grumbled. Sparkkit shrugged, swallowing and going in for another bite.

"Sure, ma."

They all lay there, bellies round, in a happy, sleepy, bliss. Dandelionkit let out a huge yawn, and a little chunk of mouse slipped out from behind one of her teeth. She nibbled on it, then swallowed and curled herself tightly into a ball, straining with her tail to see if she could wrap it around her muzzle and paws like her mother did. Disappointed by her failure, Dandelionkit sighed and tucked her muzzle under a stray bit of moss. Maybe tomorrow will be better. She blinked her eyes open sleepily and fixed her blurry gaze on her mother. Squirrelflight was curled around her other kits, but her head was high and her ears pricked, almost as if she were waiting for something to happen. Worry and fear clouded her green eyes, and she wrapped her tail tighter around her kits. Dandelionkit barely caught her murmur, but she did hear,

"Please, not them. Anyone but them."

There was a rustling from outside and a large tabby tom shoved his way in, his eyes softening immediately at the sight of his mate. Bramblestar placed himself by Squirrelflight's head and sat, licking her ear tenderly.

"Couldn't sleep either?" he asked, leaning his broad head into her dark ginger one.

"Not when it's tonight."

"No, I know. I still can't believe it's time already. I can't believe it could be one of us..."

Deep into the night, the forest went silent. And then came the scream.

Deaths: Perchwing of RiverClan

A/N: Alrighty! First chapter is up! So, how did you guys like it? Feedback? Suggestions? I love to hear from you guys!