"Did you bring Olivestar her mouse?" The soft voice of Mossykit whispered from next to Starlingkit.
              "Of course I did! Everyone knows that you can't confront a leader unless you bring a sacrifice!" Bearkit argued from across her.
              Owlkit cut in. "It's not a sacrifice if we didn't catch it! We're not even old enough to confront a leader! Can't we just go back to the nursery and stay with Mothwhisker and Mousestep? Rowanfur wouldn't want us doing this!" His high-pitched voice whined against the otherwise quiet kits.
              "Who cares what that mouse-brain thinks; we're here to confront a leader whether we like it or not! If you're not brave enough then you might as well just leave!" Bearkit puffed up and growled.
              "Leave him alone, Bearkit! Owlkit can stay or leave; it's his choice! Why are we even here? We don't have anything to talk to Olivestar about!" Starlingkit replied, her sweet tone calming the kits around her.
              Bearkit rolled his eyes and turned to Starlingkit. "Listen here, fox-breath. If you can't figure out why we're here, then you shouldn't even be here. Olivestar said she would make us apprentices a long time ago, but you clearly don't care enough about it! One of us is bound to become Duskstar's apprentice, and we all know it's going to be me."
              Now it was Starlingkit's turn to roll her eyes. "You have got to be kidding. Duskstar could choose any of us to be his apprentice. For all we know, it might be me." Bearkit laughed and narrowed his eyes.
              "That's not how apprentices work, fox-breath. Everybody knows that toms get apprentices that are toms, and she-cats get apprentices that are she-cats. A tom has never had an apprentice that was a she-cat! So, obviously, it's not you, it's me." He spat harshly as Starlingkit took a step back.
              "For StarClan's sake, leave her alone! You kits never stop arguing!" Starlingkit looked up to meet the soft brown eyes of Almondpaw. She smiled slightly and turned back to Bearkit.
              "Yeah, Bearkit! Leave me alone!" She squeaked as her white and brown pelt fluffed up.
              "Says who? Almondpaw? How long has she even been here, anyways?" His whiskers twitched in anger as he looked back at the brown she-cat.
              Starlingkit was starting to lose her impatiece. "Who cares how long she's been here, snake-heart! What matters is that she's older and you have to listen to what she tells you to do!" Mossykit trembled in fear as Starlingkit hissed at the larger kit. Almondpaw stood by, gazing at the young kit in awe. What had happened? Why were they afraid of her?
               Before she had the chance to ask, two Guardians emerged from the large stone boulder cave that served as Olivestar's den. Starlingkit recognized them as Flamemask and Milkfeather.
              "Olivestar is ready to see you." Flamemask grumbled, her eyes distant.
              "I would be careful. She seems awfully cheery to see you kits." Milkfeather's brown pelt shook as she spoke.
              Starlingkit dipped her head in respect for the Guardians; they were so powerful. She wished to be one of them one day, tough and brave. It was very obvious that she wasn't going to be one though, because she had plenty of flaws and would barely scrape past becoming a warrior. She knew that.
              The small troop of kits scampered into the cave, moss lining the floors and walls, providing a soft but smooth living space. A moss bed was in one corner of the cave, and a small pool of water was in the other, a pile of neatly stacked fresh-kill next to it. 
              Mossykit and Owlkit strayed to one side, staring at their reflections in the pool of water. Bearkit and Swiftkit padded off to the other end, exploring the space around the moss bed to see what they could find. Starlingkit was left by herself, watching the others play and muse, while all she did was sit down silently and wrap her thin tail around her paws. They would come around and learn that life in a Clan isn't all fun and games. Eventually.
              "Very watchful, I see." Starlingkit looked next to her as she heard Olivestar's voice.
              "Yes, I don't really have much to do in this den. It's kind of boring, if you don't mind my stating." Olivestar's eyes shimmered, but she didn't smile.
              "Well, for one, I'm glad that you didn't get scared when I came out of nowhere. True warrior quality. And, very bluntly, yes, my den is 'boring', but all for the right reasons. If there was stuff to do in my den, I would be distracted from the jobs I am in charge of outside of my den." Starlingkit nodded in understanding.
              "We came here to ask about our apprenticeship. I'm sure you already have that figured out though, so we might as well be on our way." She quickly murmered. It was weird talking to one of her leaders. Olivestar was so respected that it got to a point where it was scary.
              "Oh, yes. Your apprenticeship." Starlingkit turned back to face the leader. "We have to get that over with. I find assigning apprentices is one of the hardest jobs. Would you agree?" The white she-kit nodded, not sure of what else to do. "Well then, we might as well do that now, shall we?" Olivestar flicked her tail and padded out of the den, leaving Starlingkit to gather up the rest of the kits and lead them to where their leader was standing. Olivestar called Cedarshine over and whispered something to him. He scanned his eyes over the kits next to her and flicked his tail. She nodded and turned back to the gathering Clan.
              Getting into a line, Bearkit took the front, waiting for Duskstar to sit down and speak.
              "Bearkit," Duskstar began, watching as the last of the Clan settled in around them. "You will be mentored by Tansypool. May you become as brave and tough as the rest of the Clan."
              Starlingkit practically laughed as she saw the annoyance in Bearkit's eyes as he didn't get chosen to be the leader's apprentice.
              "Mossykit," Olivestar spoke, "You will be mentored by Ivyfrost. May you become a strong warrior of this Clan."
              Duskstar and Olivestar traded places once more. "Swiftkit, you have been chosen to be Cedarshine's apprentice." Starlingkit's heart plummeted to the ground as she heard Duskstar's words. Her dreams of training with her littermate by her side just got swept down the river. Now she had to do it alone.
              "Starlingkit," The she-kit looked up to see Olivestar patiently waiting by the Blessing Stones. "Come here." Starlingkit slowly padded up to the Blessing Stones. Why was she there? Did she do something wrong? 
              "Don't be afraid. Kits who are afraid are weak. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Starlingkit shook her head and looked up to her leaders. "Very well then. Starlingkit, you have been chosen to lead the next generation of cats in FallenClan. You have been assigned to be Duskstar's apprentice." Olivestar nodded to Duskstar, who padded over and sat next to Olivestar.
              Starlingkit wanted to yowl. She didn't want to be the next leader. She wanted to be a Guardian. There was nothing she could do, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bearkit practically exploding with anger. As the two leaders talked, the she-kit escaped from their view and padded over to Bearkit.
              "Listen here, fox-breath. When I get my paws on you-" Starlingkit cut him off as fast as possible.
              "First, listen to me. I don't want this as you do. In fact, I never wanted it. But I'm not going to confront a leader by myself. And trying to trick them isn't up my ally." Her amber eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
              "I'm not going to confront them either. And even though it is up my ally, I won't do it alone. Not when I can get killed if I'm caught." He dared her with his gaze.
              "Fine," She started, her tail waving as she spoke to him. "We'll do it together."


A/N||
Hey, Lovelies! So, welcome to the end of Chapter One! I hope you enjoy the book so far! Tell me what you think of the characters and their personalities! As for the updating schedule, I've decided that I will update Lost every other day, and The Rain Will Fall every two days. I've already fallen in love with the characters, and I hope you have too! This book is gonna turn out amazing (I hope)! Please leave your suggestions in a comment below, and as always, thank you for reading voting, commenting, and sharing, and I hope to see you soon!
Love Ya,
~Briar