Snowkit latched her sharp kit teeth onto the moss ball that was thrown at her.

"That's ten!" her brother, Mountainkit, exclaimed.

In their game of moss ball, the four kits had reached a new high of how long they could catch the ball without dropping it.

Snowkit tossed the ball up and shouted, "Shadekit!"

The black she-kit snatched it out of the air and smiled at Snowkit as best she could.

"Eleven!" Mountainkit yelled.

Shadekit tossed it back up in the air and called out, "Ashkit!"

The small dark gray tom had his golden eyes on the ball and said, "I got it! I got it! I got it!"

"Kits!" A voice called from inside the nursery.

Ashkit look towards the nursery and the moss ball hit him in the face. The other three burst into a fit of laughter.

A light brown head popped out of the nursery, amber eyes fiery with anger.

"You four get in here, now," Leaffrost said.

The kits, who were all terrified of Leaffrost, made their way towards the nursery.

Ashkit picked up the moss ball and followed the others. Snowkit slowed down to talk to him.

"It's okay, little brother," she said, cuffing him playfully in the ear. "Everyone makes mistakes!"

It was true that she was the oldest of the litter. You could obviously tell because she was a little bit stronger, a little bit faster, and a little bit taller.

It also didn't help that Ashkit was the smallest and the youngest.

Ashkit grinned and the two dashed off into the nursery. Once inside, they saw Leaffrost, whose belly was quite swollen, and Goldenspirit waiting.

Ashkit set the moss ball down and asked, "What is it?"

Goldenspirit smiled at her youngest kit and said, "Oh, my dear kits. I love that your playing, but you four should know better. What have your father and I been telling you for the past two moons?"

Suddenly, the thought clicked in Snowkit's head.

"Our Apprentice Trials!" she shouted. "They're tonight!"

Goldenspirit nodded.

"If you want to at least look decent, you should go practice by the river," Leaffrost suggested.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Mountainpaw exclaimed, nearly leaping out of the nursery.

"Wait!" Goldenspirit called. "Go ask your father if you can. He's in his den with Sorrelfoot."

The four kits nodded and raced out towards the leader's den.

Slowly and quietly, Snowkit led her younger siblings into their father's den. They could hear Sorrelfoot's loud laugh and bright voice from outside.

"Thornstar," Snowkit called.

The two older cats looked at her. Thornstar grinned at her as the other three rushed in.

"Thornstar! Thornstar!" Shadekit shouted.

"What is it, my kits?" Thornstar laughed.

"Can we go out to the river to practice our battle moves?" Mountainkit asked.

"We wanna beat Tigerpaw and be warrior apprentices!" Shadekit announced.

Thornstar laughed. "I would let you, but you four need a chaperone and no warriors are available."

"Well," Sorrelfoot said, "I could go."

"Oh, would you really?" Ashkit asked. "Please?"

"Sorrelfoot, you don't have to," Thornstar told her.

"It'll be fun! Besides they need some practice for their Apprentice Trials," Sorrelfoot declared.

"Alright," Thornstar agreed. "You be careful!"

"We will!" the four kits chorused.

"Sorrelfoot!" Thornstar called.

"Don't worry!" Sorrelfoot told him as they were walking out. "I'll watch over them the best I can!"

In the thinner part of the forest, more towards the territory of NightClan, a river ran through an empty patch of land. The blue water rushed down towards the center of the four territories.

"We're here, kits!" Sorrelfoot announced.

Mountainpaw lept into the clearing and shouted, "I AM GOING TO BE THE BEST FLAMECLAN APPRENTICE EVER."

Sorrelfoot laughed. "I don't know about that, but I know that with me helping you you'll pass you Apprentice Trials."

"I hope I pass..." Ashkit said quietly.

Snowkit nudged him with her shoulder and told him, "Don't worry! Sorrelfoot's one of the best fighters in the Clan! You'll be fine."

"Okay, kits. You will battle each other and I'll give you tips about certain things. First, we'll have the closest in size battle so you can get the hang of things. Then you'll battle someone bigger and stronger because Tigerpaw is not a kit anymore. Understand?" Sorrelfoot announced.

All the kits nodded their heads, eager to begin their lesson.

"Ashkit and Shadekit will face off. Mountainkit and Snowkit, you'll battle after them."

Ashkit gulped and Snowkit whispered in his ear, "Sorrelfoot will make sure you can defeat Tigerpaw before your Apprentice Trial."

"Come on, Ashkit," Shadekit called.

Ashkit tentatively stepped away from Snowkit and towards Sorrelfoot and Shadekit.

"Ready?"

The two nodded, Ashkit's more hesitant than Shadekit's.

"Begin!"

Shadekit launched herself headfirst into Ashkit. Ashkit, terrified, stood there and let her hit him. Ashkit rolled over at least five times and Shadekit fell to the ground after impact.

"Okay, looks like I've got some work to do," Sorrelfoot muttered. "Shadekit!"

Shadekit sat up and looked at the big cat.

"While your strategy was... interesting... you shouldn't go headfirst like that. Usually you give yourself some time to evaluate your opponent and figure out a strategy. And Ashkit!"

Ashkit continued to lay on the ground, but lifted his head to listen.

"If a cat does attack like that, you should roll out of the way. Stand up and let me show you."

Ashkit slowly stood up, grass and dirt covering his dark gray pelt.

"You want to wait for the last second, especially if you're opponent is bigger than you. Bigger opponents will get thrown off balance if their strategy doesn't go the way they planned. And once their about to hit you..."

Sorrelfoot pushed off the ground with her right paws and swiftly rolled towards Ashkit.

"...you roll out of the way."

Ashkit, eyes wide with amazement, nodded quickly.

"Let's try this again."

Ashkit and Shadekit stood opposite of each other again and waited for Sorrelfoot's shouts.

"Begin!"

Shadekit waited a second before charging at Ashkit. Her skinny, agile build allowed her to move faster than most cats. Ashkit stared her in the face waiting for Shadekit.

When Shadekit realized he was going to roll, she reached for the left, but Ashkit rolled right. Shadekit plunged face first into the ground, her mouth full of dirt.

"Yeah, Ashkit!" Snowkit yelled. "Way to go!"

Ashkit smiled sheepishly and Shadekit got up and told him, "Nice moves. I never expected you to do the opposite of what Sorrelfoot showed you."

"That was good strategy, Ashkit," Sorrelfoot told him. "With that kind of mind you could be FlameClan's best warrior!"

Ashkit's face brightened up. "Really?"

"Really. You two can practice more or watch while I evaluate my work with Mountainkit and Snowkit."

Ashkit and Shadekit decided to sit and watch the other two.

Snowkit and Mountainkit stood opposite each other, like Ashkit and Shadekit did.

"Ready? Begin!" Sorrelfoot yelled.

Snowkit waited for Mountainkit to make the first move. Mountainkit charged at her like Shadekit. Knowing he had a thicker build than she, Snowkit faked rolling right, but rolled left and pounced on Mountainkit's small flank.

Mountainkit tried to lay on his back to kick her off, but Snowkit pinned him down.

"Yay, Snowkit!" Ashkit cheered. "You're the best!"

"That was awesome, Snowkit!" Sorrelfoot said. "You're a natural!"

"Thanks," she murmured and let Mountainkit up.

"Since you two did so well I'll work with Ashkit and Shadekit more. Mountainkit, I want to talk to you before I let you go practice."

Snowkit looked out to the denser part of the forest and saw a pair of glowing hazel eyes staring out at her.

With Sorrelfoot distracted, Snowkit slipped into the shadows where the cat was hiding.

"Snowkit?" a familiar voice called.

"Who is it?" Snowkit asked.

"It's Tigerpaw."

Tigerpaw, the apprentice the kits were going to face at sunset, was a lithe she-cat whose pelt looked like a tiger, hence the name. Her hazel eyes could pierce through the hardest of souls, but she was a nice cat.

"What do you want?" Snowkit questioned.

"I wanted to talk to you about the Apprentice Trials."

"What about them?"

"I don't want to... I mean, it's just..."

"What?"

Tigerpaw sighed. "I don't know if I want to compete."

"What do you mean by that?" Snowkit asked, very worried for herself and her littermates.

"I mean, I don't want anyone to fail. I'd feel really bad. Especially if Ashkit fails because he's so small..."

"So you want to throw the Trial?" Snowkit declared.

"Yeah— well, only if it's alright with you."

Snowkit thought about this for a second.

"Who would you throw it for?"

"Anyone you think won't make it."

Snowkit looked back at the other three, working really hard.

"Ashkit," she finally said.

"Hm?"

"I want you to throw it for Ashkit," Snowkit told her.

She felt really guilty for telling Tigerpaw to throw the Trial for Ashkit.

He's so small and afraid of failure, Snowkit justified, trying to make herself feel better about the decision. I should give him a free pass. Just this once...

Ashkit was on Shadekit's back and she couldn't shake him off.

"C'mon Shadekit!" Mountainkit shouted. "Get him off!"

Shadekit tried to roll over on top of Ashkit, but he jumped off before she could. While Shadekit laid on her back, Ashkit put a paw on her throat and pinned her down.

"Good, Ashkit! Very good!" Sorrelfoot praised. "Now I want you to face off against Mountainpaw and see if you can beat him."

"Ashkit, I've got a good place for us to practice!" Mountainkit told him.

The two toms raced off into the forest as Sorrelfoot yelled, " Don't go too far, you two!"

Sorrelfoot sighed and turned to Shadekit and Snowkit.

"We're ready!" Shadekit announced, nearly bouncing with excitement to challenge her older sister.

"Alright, then. Begin!" Sorrelfoot shouted.

Snowkit raced at her younger sister. Shadekit tried to roll, but rolled to early. Snowkit caught that and ran into her mid-roll. Shadekit recovered rather quickly and jumped on Snowkit's back.

How do I get her off?

Snowkit tried shaking hard. Sadly, Shadekit wouldn't get off. Snowkit then tried to roll over. Shadekit leaped off Snowkit's back before she got squished underneath her flank.

After Snowkit got out of the roll, she found Shadekit launching herself at Snowkit. Snowkit was able to bat her out of the air and get Shadekit on her back. With Shadekit on the ground, Snowkit pinned her down.

Suddenly, a loud screech came from the forest. Snowkit released Shadekit and looked to Sorrelfoot, who was running towards where Mountainkit and Ashkit headed.

Upon arriving in a dense part of the forest, Snowkit saw tragedy. Mountainkit stood next to Ashkit, who was lying on the ground. A gray, jaw-like thing was wrapped around his back left leg and wouldn't let go. Blood dripped off his stained dark gray fur and seeped into the brown and green earth.

"Sorrelfoot!" Mountainkit cried, tears in his eyes. "We we're practicing and Ashkit stepped into those gray jaws!"

"It's okay, it's okay," Sorrelfoot replied, trying to keep calm. "You four stay here and be very careful when you walk. I'm going back to the camp to get Shiningcreek and Thornstar. Stay calm!"

The tortoiseshell cat darted off into the shadows and the three kits waited for her return, watching their injured brother intently.