"Pebblekit stop! Let go!"

With that shriek, Sootkit was snapped out of his sleep.

The support he had been leaning on all night abruptly shot up and disappeared, leaving him to awkwardly fall on his back.

With an angry sigh, the kit accepted that he wasn't gonna be able to fall back asleep again and opened his eyes.

His mother, also known as the wall he'd been resting on, was now peeking her head outside of the nursery.

Beside him, Antkit was peacefully curled up, miraculously unbothered in spite of the screaming.

Sootkit ungracefully rolled onto his belly and stood up, padding over to his mother to see what the commotion outside was about.

Icefeather's kits were in the very center of the camp. The large gray one, Palekit, was screeching in distress, desperately trying to buck off the smaller, dark gray one, Pebblekit, who was clinging on to her back. Looking around, he could see several huge furry heads peeking out of the dens next to his, muttering angrily to each other about the three kits already being awake and causing trouble before sunrise.

"Pebblekit, what are you doing?!" A familiar voice screeched from behind him.

Palekit immediately skidded to a halt. Pebblekit stiffened and awkwardly rolled off his sister's back.

Sootkit turned around to see who had shouted, only for a huge, white blur to brush past him and get to the center of the camp in what felt like a heartbeat. Icefeather was now standing over the two, furiously scolding Pebblekit for his obliviousness.

Although annoyed about the queen shrill screaming, Sootkit couldn't help but agree with her anger. Even from inside the nursery, he could clearly see large clumps of gray fur caught between Pebblekit's claws.

"Are you that clueless?! Do you not know what the word 'stop' means?!" The furious she-cat snarled. In a heartbeat, she was bringing down a huge white paw on the tom's head.

Then Hickorypelt was gently nudging Sootkit back towards the nest. "Let's not embarrass them more than they already have themselves." She murmured.

Wordlessly, Sootkit allowed himself to be settled back into bed, despite the commotion having stolen his tiredness. So as the rest of the nursery settled back down to sleep, the tom lay wide awake, and bored.

Eventually, the sound of pawsteps caught his attention, and he raised his head to see Pebblekit enter the nursery. The dark gray kit gave him a depressed glance before curling up in his mother's empty nest.

Curiosity peeked, Sootkit lifted himself up and went over to the entrance of the cave to peek outside.

It looked like the commotion had finished. Icefeather was no where to be seen, and Palekit and Lilykit were now passively laying down, locked in a hushed conversation.

"Are you going outside?" Hickorypelt rasped, making Sootkit jump. He turned around to see her gaze fixed on him.

He nodded.

Hickorypelt sighed and stood up, leaving Antkit alone in the nest. "I'll keep an eye on you." She said. "It's about time you got to see the camp."

"I can go by myself, if you want." Sootkit murmured, noting her tired yellow eyes.

"Don't worry." She replied, stretching. "There's a place I have to warn you about anyways."

~~~

Stepping outside had been another sensory overload for Sootkit. Who would have thought that you're not supposed to look directly at the sun?

After getting his sight back, the exploration had gone smoothly. It consisted entirely of Hickorypelt leading him from den to den, explaining which cats slept there, and then explaining the purpose of the cats who slept there.

At one point, the kit came across a cave that was noticeably much bigger than the other dens. He immediately began excitedly clambering towards it, only for his his mother's huge black paw to block him.

"Not in there." The she-cat mewed. "At least, not for a few moons."

"Then... who sleeps there?" Sootkit asked, trying to peek over her paw. Now that he was closer, he could see quite a few shadows moving frantically inside.

"That's the medicine den." Hickorypelt answered. "It's where Sparrowflight, the medicine cat, sleeps with his apprentice, Sagepaw."

"Well why aren't we allowed to go in there."

The she-cat stayed silent for a while, before lowering herself to Sootkit's height.

"It's not the best time of the year to go in there. Many cats get sick this season, and end up having to sleep in there for a while. I don't want you catching anything."

Not completely understanding, but also having no choice but to just listen to her advice, Sootkit just nodded.

Visibly tired, Hickorypelt pointed at the last den with her tail instead of just walking to it. This one was positioned on the opposite wall of all the other dens in the quarry that made up MountainClan's camp.

"That there is the leader's den. It's where the leader of me, you, and all the cats of this Clan sleeps." The queen said. She looked at her son for a few moments, anticipating questions. When none came, she stretched and lead Sootkit to a shaded corner, where she was finally able to settle down.

Sootkit absently laid down beside her, surveying the camp. He glanced towards, the nursery once wondering if Antkit knew he was sleeping by himself. After a brief panic, he remembered that Redwing was also in there, and relaxed.

Life was slowly arriving to camp. The sun was shining brightly overhead, and warriors were emerging in groups from their respective dens. Some settled down in random spots to chat, some pawed dejectedly at the empty fresh-kill hole, and some sat down in front of the leader's den, awaiting directions. Eventually, a dark brown tom Sootkit had never seen before emerged from the warrior's den, positioned himself in front of the leader's den, and began assigning tasks to the waiting cats.

A group began making their way to the exit of camp, and just happened to pass Icefeather as they headed out. The queen was holding a small creature between her jaws, and a few younger cats began to halfheartedly cheer at the sight of it as she laid it in the hole.

Sootkit had wondered where she had gone after she finished yelling at Pebblekit.

A very dark gray tom looked up and smiled at her. She smiled back, and the two touched noses. She laid down in front of him, and the two began talking.

Sootkit stared in shock. This was probably the first time he'd seen Icefeather in a good mood.

The two sat and chatted pleasantly, both equally absorbed in the conversation. At one point, the tom seemed surprised by what Icefeather told him, and hurried towards the nursery, Icefeather doing nothing but extending a paw after him. Moments later, he emerged from the cave, this time with Pebblekit dangling between his jaws. Icefeather let out a cry of protest, which he pretended not to hear. He casually laid back down in his original spot, gently setting Pebblekit down before him, and looked at Icefeather with contempt. She returned a look of resigned annoyance. Pebblekit just sheepishly clung to the tom.

Sootkit couldn't help but smile. Yesterday, the whole world was the nursery, and everyone had only one face.

Redwing was now leaving the nursery, the morning sun glinting beautifully off her fur. Moving dignified awkwardness, she made her way over to a small group and nudged a gray-brown tom with her head, pointing towards the entrance of camp with her tail. The tom reluctantly got up, and together they settled down in a sunlit area.

Such a peaceful day, thought Sootkit. I wonder what's gonna happen next.

A high pitched squeal came next. One that snapped most of the cats out of their activities and had them looking directly at the nursery. Very slowly, a tiny brown shape stumbled outside.

Who'd have thought? Intense screeches of pain wouldn't wake him, but being alone in the nursery for a few moments? Immediate effects!

Hickoypelt let out a yelp and quickly hurried to her other son. Sootkit, who was chuckling dumbly at his own joke, suddenly caught light of the situation. Antkit had opened his green eyes for the first time, and found no one.

His mother was immediately on Antkit, covering him with loving licks and whispered apologies. Sootkit got to his feet and padded towards them. He was overcome with excitement. It felt like he was finally going to meet his brother.

Looking up, he was surprised to find a new cat sitting with Hickorypelt, also fussing over Antkit. A thin, black and white tom.

Sootkit paused and raised his own paw to his face. The paw was white while the rest of his leg was black. Just like the new stranger.

He began approaching again, carefully this time.

He pawed at his mother, silently asking for a passage to his brother, when the stranger laid his green, eyes on him. Now close enough, Sootkit caught a whiff of him,

A familiar smell flooded his lungs, one that brought immediate recognition.

This wasn't a stranger. It was his father. He had just never seen him yet.

Two pairs of warm green eyes, shared by his father and his brother, looked at him, and he gladly buried himself in their fur.

I've rewritten this part 3 times, which, coupled with severe writers block, is why this chapter took so long.