When Olivekit first opened her eyes, she saw red. Red on the mossy, cozy nests, red on the nursery walls, and red on her mother's pelt. In the distance, she heard sharp yowls and caterwauls, shrieks of pain, and screeches speaking of revenge and hate.

Suddenly, a tom barreled into the nursery. A dark ginger queen sprung up besides Olivekit and her littermates, hissing as the gray-black tom grappled with her mother. Red splashed against the she-cat's dark-gray flank, staining the fur. Olivekit's mother snarled and lashed out at the tom.

"I thought ThunderClan had dignity and honor, Coalstar!" she growled, swiping a paw at him.

He twisted out of her grasp. "We have nearly no prey, Swallowwing. Hunger is driving my warriors insane. They started this battle, so the least I could do is help them."

"But you attacked the nursery!" Poisonflower, the dark ginger she-cat, spat, throwing herself on top of the tom. "Even you, Coalstar, have to admit that's the lowest of all."

Coalstar shook her off, his eyes glinting in a way Olivekit didn't like. "Tell Birchstar to give us your prey, and we'll call it off," he promised.

"Never!" Swallowwing clawed the tom's shoulder and hauled him out of the nursery, a low growl reverberating in her throat.

Olivekit shrunk away, fright coursing through her, making her paws itch. What was happening? she asked herself, glancing at her littermates. Poppykit's almost-silver fur glowed in the darkness as she curled up, trying to block the noise with her paws. Poppykit was the only kit who hadn't opened her eyes yet; Olivekit felt grateful she didn't open them now, when she had.

Red. The first color she saw. The red had a metallic, stingy scent to it, too, making the black kit queasy. I need fresh air. Where's Swallowwing?

Olivekit staggered outside, gulping in air, only to find that the metallic scent remained, making her stomach churn now more than ever. She picked out her mother's dark gray shape from the mess of cats just as she turned to face her.

Swallowwing's eyes grew as round as full moons, and she dashed for her kit crouching helplessly in front of the nursery. "Frog-brain!" was all she caught before her mother swept her up in her jaws and tossed her back inside.

Olivekit scrabbled to her paws and reached for Swallowwing, not being able to bear to see her vanish in the crowd again. "Mommy, why is the Clan fighting?"

"Just stay in the nursery," was all she meowed before leaping back into battle. She shivered, even though it was unbearably hot with the body heat of all the cats, and crawled back to her brother and sister.

Duskkit's amber eyes were wide when she padded back to him. "This is scary," he whispered, flinching as another loud yowl echoed around the camp.

Olivekit snuggled between him and Poppykit, her heart pounding. "Just stay in the nursery," she repeated her mother's words.

Four moons later, Olivekit poked her sister's side.

The sun was shining weakly through the nursery entrance, the sky bright with oranges, blues, pinks, and yellows streaming everywhere. Even though the sun barely warmed Olivekit, the camp was beginning to bustle with activity.

Olivekit prodded Poppykit's side again. When she opened a sleepy eye, she hissed, "Come on, Poppykit, let's go play!"

"I'm tired," the gray-furred kit complained. "Go back to sleep!"

"Let's go hear a story from Avalanche!" Olivekit insisted. "Or we can hear about Wolfclaw's warrior days, before he was a medicine cat!"

At the mention of a story, Poppykit's ear perked up. "Elders do tell good stories."

"Come on! We should say hi to Wolfclaw!" She began scratching her sister's bedding.

"Stop, Olivekit! You're ripping it!" Poppykit sprang out of her nest and bowled Olivekit over, pummeling her belly lightly with her paws.

Swallowwing raised her head sleepily at the two she-kits' noise. "If you're going to wrestle, do it outside," she meowed groggily before curling more protectively around Duskkit.

The two kits tumbled outside, swatting at each other with mrrows of laughter. After a few heartbeats, Olivekit wriggled free of the fighting match.

"Let's go see Wolfclaw now!" she urged, scampering towards the medicine den.

But Poppykit shook her head and padded to the elders' den. "Avalanche tells better stories!" she argued, flicking her tail towards the den. "Wolfclaw is so boring."

Olivekit rolled her eyes. "Go, then. Don't be upset if I come back with a better story from Wolfclaw!"

"In your dreams!" her sister purred before vanishing inside the den. Olivekit purred and bounded into the medicine den, the smell of tangy herbs hitting her like a force.

Wolfclaw was nowhere to be found, not even in his nest. She frowned and glanced around until two bright-red berries caught her attention.

Red. Olivekit's mind drifted to the day she opened her eyes, when ThunderClan attacked ShadowClan. She was no older than a quarter-moon then, and the sight of the battle terrified her. She still had memories now, especially when she saw the color red. She gulped and picked the two berries up in her jaws. They looked really juicy and tasty. I'll give one to Poppykit, and we can both eat one!

Tail lifting happily at the thought, she trotted out of the medicine den. Who cares about hearing a story when you could snack on some berries? Olivekit padded past Swallowwing and Poisonflower, who were sunning themselves outside the nursery, but slowed down when her mother meowed her name.

"It's so wrong, Olivekit going out of the nursery to see the battle that day," the dark gray queen sighed. "Poor kit, she was so shell-shocked."

"ThunderClan used to be a Clan of heroes, who were noble and brave and had a sense of justice," Poisonflower recited. "They seemed to lose that to something as simple as hunger. We've all went hungry before, so it surprises me they lost their nerve to that."

"It was a harsh leaf-bare," Swallowwing reminded her friend. "We lost many cats that season."

"Olivekit once told me she saw red when she opened her eyes." Poisonflower rested her chin on her folded paws. "Blood, though I doubt she knew that."

"Blood," Swallowwing echoed. "I'm glad Poppykit didn't see that. She's so fragile." Her mother's eyes grew misty. "But whenever Olivekit sees the color red, she freaks out."

"She'll get over it," Poisonflower meowed cheerfully. "Your kit will grow to be a strong warrior, Swallowwing. Long live ShadowClan, right?"

"The best Clan," Swallowwing agreed.

Olivekit resumed her journey to the elders' den, not wanting to hear any more. Blood, she mused when she slid through the entrance. What is blood?

"Hey, Poppykit!" she greeted her sister, setting down the two berries. Avalanche was dozing off, not noticing the two kits. Noticing Poppykit's disappointed expression, she assumed her sister didn't get a story. "Look what I found in Wolfclaw's den." She rolled a berry to the gray-furred she-kit.

"Thanks, Olivekit! I was getting hungry." Poppykit lapped up the bright-red berry without hesitation. Olivekit waited, wanting to see if it was yucky or delicious.

Poppykit's eyes widened, and she collapsed to the floor of the den. Olivekit gasped as her mouth frothed at the edges, her eyes rolling back into her head. Avalanche was shouting something, but she didn't hear as she buried her muzzle in her sister's pelt.

"Poppykit!" she wailed. "Poppykit, what's wrong?"

Wolfclaw barged in and hauled Poppykit up by her scruff, rushing to his den without a word. Abandoning her berry, Olivekit sprinted after them, her tail streaming behind her.

She almost made it inside until Swallowwing blocked her path, her eyes glowing with fury. "Why is your sister getting treated by Wolfclaw?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice calm.

Olivekit stuttered through her answer. "I-I went into W-Wolfclaw's den t-to hear a story, b-but he wasn't there, and I f-found two berries a-and I gave one to P-Poppykit."

"Did you eat the other one?"

Why is she so curious? "No. I wanted Poppykit to see if it was yucky for me."

"What color were these berries?" Still infuriatingly calm. Olivekit growled and made a dash for the medicine den, but Swallowwing roughly shoved her back with a paw.

"Red. Bright red." She shuddered at the looming memories. Red like blood.

Her mother finally lost her calm composure. She opened her mouth, her eyes flaring with indignity and... was that fear? "Deathberries," she breathed before rushing behind the gap in a boulder, which led to Birchstar's den.

Deathberries. Blood. They seemed connected somehow. Lost, Olivekit began to pace, fear for her sister gnawing at her.

What have I done?

Olivekit was six moons now, lying in the nursery as dawn light filtered in the cracks. Wolfclaw had cured Poppykit, who was snoring beside her, but he reported that if he had come any later her chance at survival would have been very low. Too low for comfort.

On the day she accidentally fed her sister the deathberry, she was wandering around the camp hopelessly. She happened to pass by as Birchstar, ShadowClan's leader, was whispering to Snakebite, a senior warrior, and Frogleap, the deputy. Snakebite's nosy apprentice, Sunpaw, joined in the conversation even though she had no right to. Arrogant fox-heart.

"Olivekit is a danger to the Clan! She almost killed her sister with that deathberry, and didn't even eat one on her own! I think she was trying to poison her," Snakebite spat with such ferocity that Olivekit flinched.

Birchstar swept her tail over the ground in a calming gesture. "She is merely a kit, Snakebite. She had no idea what deathberries were, and she stumbled upon them accidentally. She thought they were a tasty snack, and wanted to share with her sister. We should be grateful she didn't poison herself as well."

"I agree with Snakebite!" Sunpaw chimed in. "It's too coincidental to be labeled as an accident."

The warrior rubbed the snake bite on his paw absentmindedly, the bite for which he was named for. "She will be a danger to ShadowClan, Birchstar! She'll end up like Tigerstar and Brokenstar, the evil cats of long ago. Our Clan hasn't been ruled by fox-hearts for a very long time, and I certainly don't want to continue now!"

"Olivekit is just four moons old," Birchstar reminded him patiently. "We are talking too far into the future."

"I say we give her a chance." Frogleap, who was silent before, spoke. "Anyone could make that mistake, even a warrior. Her sister just so happened to be the receiver of her mistake." He meowed his words carefully, as though he could make a tree crush the camp if he rushed his words. "We can't kill or banish a kit, Snakebite. If she proves she's dark-hearted, then we will banish her from ShadowClan. Is that a deal?"

"Sounds good to me!" Sunpaw meowed. Olivekit twitched her tail irritably. Who asked you?

Snakebite nodded curtly and beckoned to his apprentice. "Come on, Sunpaw. Let's go battle-training with Snowpaw."

Members of her own Clan didn't even trust her, Olivekit thought miserably, rolling over. That just proved she needed to be more of a loyal warrior than ever, defending ShadowClan even at the cost of her own life.

"I will be the best warrior ever," she vowed under her breath.

Red like blood. How could I be a warrior if I'm scared of blood?