"This draws the first official warriors ceremony of DarkClan to a close." Novakit says, jumping down from a branch.

    "Sparrowsong! Sparrowsong! Sparrowsong!" Nettlekit and I call. Sparrowkit walks amongst us, obviously embarrassed by the attention.

    "So what now?" I ask.

    "Border patrol!" Nettlekit replies.

    Sparrowkit nods, and Novakit nods for us to go. "I'll guard camp." he says.

    We patrol the exterior of the bush together, proudly, trying to imagine it as a massive territory instead of one bush on the edge of camp. It's really easy to imagine it as a lot bigger if I lower myself close to the ground, but the warriors are all staring at us, including my mother, who I can see watching her kits play eagerly.

    My ears prick as I hear pawsteps and see Sharpkit wander towards us with a smirk on her face. I dive into the bush, gesturing for my clanmates to follow. They do so, confused but both excited.
    "What's going on?" whispers Sparrowkit.

    "Intruder!" I hiss lowly. I indicate Sharpkit.

    Sparrowkit is about to say something but Nettlekit says to me, "We should ambush her!"
    "Great idea! One two three GO!" I jump out of the bush and Sharpkit yowls as I crash on top of her. She looks up and her claws unsheathe, but she can't get me off of her. I purr, enjoying how much larger I am, which comes mainly from my larger share of milk and ability to grab the biggest prey first.

    Sparrowkit looks nervous. "Maybe we should ease up. She's not really an intruder."

    "Alright." I say, begrudgingly. I lift myself off Sharpkit, but she immediately flings herself on top of me, tail lashing. Her face is bared into an ugly snarl.

    "No one likes your stupid weird kit clan! You're always trying to keep me out of it." Sharpkit hisses, her claws unsheathed. "You attacking me is as far as this goes!"

"You can join us, if you want. We never said any of that." I tell her, through gritted teeth. My fur is hot. Of course I don't want her in DarkClan but nothing I say will keep her out now and I don't want her to go tell Shadowstar.

"W-what? You're just saying that so I don't tell Shadowstar!"

Well, obviously, but I'm not going to tell her that. "No! You can be Sharptooth! You could be our medicine cat if you want!"

"Look, I'm sorry that she attacked you-" Sparrowkit says, but Sharpkit puts a paw to his side, cutting him off with narrowed eyes.

"I don't want to hear it from you!" She spits at my brother, her eyes narrowed. Everything about her indicates fear but she keeps going, shaking at the confrontation. "You betrayed me for them! We were supposed to be friends, with big heroic destinies but you're one the wrong side! Shadowstar's gonna- she's gonna-"
    "I'm 'gonna' what?" Shadowstar snaps, standing overhead. My ears flatten and my eyes widen, knowing it's too late now. Whatever apologies I could've issued, now Shadowstar's going to end the clan.

"They have a KIT clan!" Sparrowkit says proudly, as if she's just discovered a conspiracy from other clans to kill us all.
    Shadowstar looks as if we murdered her father. "You kits made what?"
    "It's just a game!" Novakit says, dashing out of the bushes. "We didn't mean any harm!"

"Kit clans are not just a game. They're a dangerous way to foster rebellion in impressionable minds and set up a hierarchy between kits who should all be learning and training together as equals. You have no idea what you're doing and it needs to be disbanded, right now."

    "Mom, you can't disband it!" pleads Nettlekit. "It's fun!"

    I hiss back at the leader, infuriated. My heart races faster. No, no, no! You can't disobey the leader. says part of me. You're about to get in huge trouble and you'll never get to be an apprentice and you'll be stuck here in the nursery forever!
    Another part of me whispers, Of course we'll get in trouble, but you'll get to prove her wrong.

    Not this early.

    Right now. We know why she's afraid.

    I realize, still staring up at Shadowstar, that the voices in my head are carrying on a conversation without my involvement. I don't even have to put the words there for them to say, they just talk as if... as if they're real.

    I look down at my paws and a voice comes out of my mouth, sliding out like water over the waterfall. Another force takes over me as easily as if it had never happened. My whole body tingles with energy. "You're still bitter over WillowClan."

    Shadowstar's eyes slit until the pupils are barely visible. "How do you know about WillowClan?"

    I look back up at her and she gags as I see myself reflected in her eyes. My eyes are glowing gold, as if illuminated from within.

Titanpaw watches from a distance, her pupils slit and her eyes wide. "Golden eyes! Golden eyes!"

Multiple warriors, at least those still in camp, rush over. My mother watches from a distance, scared, but she's no longer my parent. This ancient cat walking on my legs, using my mouth, no longer has any family here. However, she does have infinite years of knowledge and the power of a warrior in the soul of a kit.

    "I know a lot of things about you, Shadowstar. I know how you miss your mate. I know how you ran away when you were an apprentice and only came back when your friend starved to death. I know how when Crowtalon died, you-"
    There's a loud THWACK and I realize my body is flying through the air, like a bird jumping from a tree only to find it can not fly, and Shadowstar has hit me with unsheathed claws. I land, bleeding, on my side, and a pained mewl escapes my throat as the spirit who possessed me leaves as quickly as it came.

    Shadowstar rounds on me, but this time Scarletsky is holding her back. "Not my child! She didn't mean it! She didn't mean it!"

    Shadowstar throws her off and Sparrowkit, who has been standing in shock the whole time, runs to her. Novakit attempts to lunge at Shadowstar but is thrown aside. Shadowstar finally advances on me as I stagger to get up, unable to defend myself, looking into her furious eyes as she screeches, "I don't know what you are, but I know what I've seen in my dreams and you will never," She unsheathes her claws again, "Ever," She lifts her paw.

    "Stop!" Knottedspeech jumps in the way of Shadowstar's next attack. "She's just a kit!" Her patrol, having just returned, stands behind her. They're all shocked, and a few have dropped their prey from their mouths.

    Knottedspeech and Shadowstar face off for what seems like a silent eternity before Tinyblossom walks in. "Shadowstar."

    "It's her. She's here."
    "Shadowstar!"
    "We have to kill her. We have to kill her right now or she's going to kill all of us."

    "She's just a kit!" argues Knottedspeech. "You're letting your nightmares control you!"

    "Maybe you're letting your eyes deceive you." Shadowstar snarls. I've never seen her so angry. Her head whips around as she looks at every single cat in the clan in turn, at least everyone here. "She's going to destroy us all, and you're all going to regret not listening!" Shadowstar rushes into her den, as if she's the kit and not the leader. Tinyblossom follows.

    The clan sits in shocked silence, and not a purr is heard for the rest of the night. That night, I notice Nettlekit has moved away from me. I enjoy Novakit's fur against mine, but even he can not keep me safe from the nightmares that await me.

    It's my fault.

    Why did I do it?
    What controlled me?
    I realize that for the first time in my life, I don't know what I'll wake up to.

    ***

There's a dark figure in camp the next morning, lying still as a log or a stone would, but my fur prickles and something tells me this is neither the second I stumble upon it. As I walk towards it, I find multiple cats are clustered around it, all talking in anxious tones.

"She had six lives left!"
    "Was she murdered?"

A wail goes up from one of the kits sitting there, who I recognize as Sharpkit. While she was adopted, she was also arguably closest to...

Shadowstar.

    A scream chokes itself in my throat as I look at Shadowstar's dead form. She's sopping wet, and her eyes are blank and glossy. There's no fear on her face, only an empty, completely blank expression. Water falls from her open mouth as well as her pelt.

    "No." Tinyblossom says. "She wasn't murdered. She drowned herself."

    The clan looks shocked. My heart beats faster. Was it me? Was it my fault? After the arguement, small as it was, was Shadowstar really angry enough to take her own life? Knottedspeech says worriedly, "Why would she do something like this? Is there something we haven't been told?" The clan echoes her concerns.

    "It was Rushkit!" whines Sharpkit. "She was what sent her over! We should exile her!"
    Luckily, no one agrees with her. The rest of the clan does not share the sentiment, thankfully enough for me. Everyone discusses reasons, of which 'age' and 'nerves' are two but the biggest one seems to be 'lack of leadership qualities'. Shadowstar was not as respected by the clan as she would like to have thought.

    "The blame falls on my shoulders." Tinyblossom says, her ears flat and her lithe form shaking with sadness and suppressed emotion. "I tried to help her but there was simply nothing I could do. She was getting worse by the day."
    "What? What was wrong with her?" yowls Sandstorm.

    "We deserve an explanation!" Amberstreak protests.

    "Does this have to do with the constant trips to the medicine cat den?" asks Carbonfrost, still eying the body.

    Tinyblossom nods. "While down in the tunnels, Shadowstar saw some things involving a prophecy still to come for this clan. I believe it was not the message but what it entailed and the way it was delivered that drove Shadowstar to insanity. I've been to the place where she claims she saw it myself, but there's no tunnel there. It would appear this was an omen for her alone."

    "So what was the omen?" presses Titanpaw.

    "Why would our mother kill herself?" wails Goldenkit, nudging her mother's body.

    "Are we being punished for something?" Titanpaw asks.

    "Quiet! I do not wish to reveal how she found out about the omen, but the message was as follows: 'When water meets sky and dark seeks sun, the twin cursed souls return as one.'"
    There was a loud roar across the clan at this, everyone yelling this and that, but the message was clear enough. "Quiet down! Quiet down!" Knottedspeech hisses, but no one is listening. The panic rises in my throat as my ears ring, pure terror coursing through my body. I want to run but there's nowhere I can go. Worse yet, I know who all the cats are talking about.

    "It's her!"
    "She had the golden eyes!"

    "We need to get rid of her!"
    Dozens of pairs of eyes turn to me.

    I am the curse the prophecy spoke of, and I've just indirectly killed the leader.

((Like the cover? It's a temporary affair while I work on the other one (along with the cover for Retold) but for now it should be okay. Discuss it in the comments! Speaking of things to discuss in comments, what was THAT? I wanna hear some theories! DC cats, don't spoil it!))