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     "Cottonkit... Cottonkit!" Soft, warm light flooded Cottonkit's vision as he cracked open his eyes. Grasses tickled his nose from where he lay, tucked safely in a feather and moss nest. He picked his head up to see who had called him, and let out a small mew of hello as he recognized the dark form enter his den. Hollydapple. The charcoal she-cat entered the small bush that he called home, laying down next to him. She brought with her a sweet scent and a soft light seemed to glow from her. Her tongue rasped over his snowy fur, fixing it straight. "It's time to wake up, little one."

      "G'morning, Hollydapple...!" the tiny tom let out a large yawn, his body shaking with the effort. His own pelt emit a slight glow, and speckles of white light were caught in his fur. The older she-cat had been looking after him since he could remember, but once his eyes had opened she had been sure to tell him she was not his mother. And that Mother is very far away. She's stuck in the Below! Cottonkit sighed and picked his head up to look at Hollydapple's face. He blinked brightly, his eyes still a newborn kit blue, and not yet developed into his grown eye color.

      "You know, in the Below, my kits never let me groom their fur, they always complained!" Hollydapple reminisced. Cottonkit purred and leaned into the she-cat as she groomed him.

      "I like it though! ...Hey, how many kits did you have in the Below? Why don't they come and see me like you come see me?" He fired off questions and she waved her feathery tail.

       "Now, I've told you, Cottonkit. Cats who live in the Below can't see or talk to us here in StarClan. They have to live there until one day when they get to come to StarClan."

      "When's that day? I wanna meet your kits; I haven't met any other kits!"

      "You haven't met any other kits because you've been too young! Besides, my kits are apprentices now, so they're too big to play with you," she gave him a lick behind the ears and she gave him a thoughtful look. "I think you're old enough now, though! Today's the day when they give you your special job." His ears pricked at this, and his short tail flicked with happiness.

      "Really?!" He stood up shakily, his legs still too young to properly propel him.

      Hollydapple nodded warmly, her green eyes closing as she did.

      "Mmhmm! Chaffinchstar decided what your special job will be this morning." Hollydapple stood up.

      "Your special job is to look after me, right?" The dark she-cat nodded, padding slowly alongside the tom kit as the exited the bush den. Tall, lush golden grass met them, dotted with white flowers and glowing with stardust. A clear trail led away from the grass den, parting the flowery field. The sun wasn't exactly present, but the warm feeling and a soft, welcoming daylight took it's place. The sky still shown with stars along the peachy colored backdrop.

      "You'll get an extra special job, too."

      "Since I left the Below reeeallly early, right?" He grinned worth satisfaction that he knew the right answer, and Hollydapple gave a nod again though it was accompanied by a solemn expression.

      "Yeah, right." Cottonkit purred and stepped quickly to keep up with the queen. His eyes wondered to the field around him, which opened up to a vast expanse of hills dotted with copses of trees and bushes. The white tom slowed down in awe; this was the first time he had ventured further than just outside of the den. He could see cats in the distance running and playing, some were even chasing down rabbits. Their fur, like his, was glowing ever so slightly and filled with stardust. Some had fur glowing with a pinkish light, while others had a cheerful green. Others were a neutral white, and he noticed white that was a faint blue. He continued on, his nose was filled with rich scents of prey and cats.

      "Wow, Hollydapple! Wow, wow!" He jumped with excitement, and she purred. It was then that he noticed her own aura was tinged faintly with a bright grassy green. "Why are some light's different colors?" He looked over to two cats passing with slight rose quartz colored light emitting from them, white stardust flying behind them in their wake.

      "It can tell you how a cat is feeling. Usually you'll see a white light, but when they're feeling a particular way, it'll change colors. You're glowing a little green, Cottonkit!" His eyes widened as he noticed a faint green light trailing behind him.

      "I never noticed!" He gaped, and she laughed.

      "Come on, Chaffinchstar is just up by the creek."

      The pair continued on, but he couldn't shake the feeling of other cats watching him. As he glanced around, he noticed, yes. A few somber glances met him as they noticed his presence, and even one's aura gained a faint blue glow as they looked away.

      "Hollydapple... why do they look at me like that...?" He whispered, but she nudged the young tom along.

      "Don't worry. Here, look! The creek, and there's Chaffinchstar!" Cottonkit's eyes lit up as  his eyes fell upon a tortoiseshell tabby she-cat sitting proudly under a tamarack tree by the water's edge. A creamy white tom with a ginger face and paws sat next to the she-cat along with a young, light reddish brown, spotted tabby tom.

      Their faces lit up as they saw the two approach, their own faint white starry auras glowing in their fur.

      "Cottonkit! I've heard all about you." The white and ginger tom purred, lowing his head. "I'm Morningleaf."

      "Yeah, and I'm Pistachiopaw!" The light cinnamon tom stepped forward proudly, a gleam in his eyes. Chaffinchstar raised her tail, giving the apprentice a side-eye of annoyance. He backed down apolitically, but a glow of confidence still warmed his eyes.

     Cottonkit looked between the three cats, eyes wide with a bit of a panic. He had never really been so close to any other cats, he had only known Hollydapple his whole life. The dark she-cat nudged him gently, and he glanced up to look her in the eyes. She was warm and reassuring, and he timidly smiled to the new faces.

      "Well, I'm sure Hollydapple has told you that you're going to be getting an extra special job," Chaffinchstar sighed and swished her tail. Cottonkit gave a meek nod from where he stood close to Hollydapple. "Your job," Chaffinchstar stepped toward the creek's edge, waving her tail for the kit to come closer. "Is important. We need you to watch over a kit from the Below." He stepped close, eyes wide with interest.

The leader touched her paw to the surface of the crystal clear water, and in the ripples an image formed. A kit, not younger nor older than himself. They had creamy fur tinged with brown begging to show around their nose, paws, ears, and tail. Their eyes were also a bright kit-blue, though they held an indignant confidence to them. Cottonkit glanced up to the ginger and brown mottled tabby. "This is Acaciakit. She would've been your dentate if you hadn't left the Below so early, and we know she'll need your guidance one day," the leader took a step back as Cottonkit let his eyes fall back down to the image in the water, just as it started to fade.

      "I can do that...!" He purred.

      "Good. I'm happy you accept; it's an important job. Pistachiopaw came to StarClan as a kit as well, so he's been watching over ZephyrClan's medicine cat apprentice."

      "ZephyrClan? Medicine Cat...?" Cottonkit tipped his head to the side, one ear twitching with interest and confusion. Pistachiopaw grinned broadly.

      "ZephyrClan, one of the Clans from the Below! Jeez, Cottonkit, there's a lot you don't know, huh?" the pale red-brown tom strut dramatically toward the small kit.

      "Pistachiopaw, he's just a kit! You had to be taught everything you know, too, when you got here," Morningleaf groaned, and the spotted apprentice paused to look back. Chaffinchstar started away, flicking her thin tail behind her.

      "I'll be off then, I've done my part," she murmured to the ginger-faced Morningleaf as she passed. The tom nodded softly. Cottonkit gazed back down into the water, which reflected the sky above. As he squinted though, he could see past the reflection, and see the stones below. He squinted even more, and further he could feel a chilling breeze as he could make out... a camp?

       "Can you see ZephyrClan?" Pistachiopaw murmured. Cottonkit jumped, not realizing the tom had come up to join him at his side.

      "Is that what that is? I can see... an area walled by bushes. It's in a valley... but it isn't all warm and starry like it is here. It chilly, and... dull." Pistachiopaw laughed with a full belly laugh, and Hollydapple purred a smile as well.

      "Yeah, it's pretty dull in the Below. They don't have auras or stars. They have blue skies, and get this: a circle of light in the sky called 'the Sun!' Crazy, right?" Cottonkit nodded in agreement, focusing his attention to squint down to see the image in the magic waters. However, the view was the same: much too high up to see any details. He could only make out the forms of cats. "You can't see much more than that from here. We'll have to go to the Pool of the Below to go down and be with them." Cottonkit felt his chest lighten with excitement.

      "We can go to the Below? We can visit them?! I want to see Mother; Hollydapple says Mother is down there! Oh, Pistachiopaw, have you met my mother? What's she like?!" Cottonkit bounced on his toes. The cinnamon tom paused, and the first indication of hesitancy was visible from the tom.

       "Why don't we go back and rest, Cottonkit? You've had a long journey coming all the way out here. Tomorrow, you can go with Pistachiopaw to visit ZephyrClan in the Below, and get all the answers you want. How does that sound?" Cottonkit let out a large yawn, and nodded.

      "I'll see you tomorrow, then, Pistachiopaw!" Cottonkit ducked behind Hollydapple as they parted ways, and the apprentice gave a big, cheesy grin in response.

      The trek back to the grass den was just as bright and exciting as when they had left. The fields were beautifully glistening with starlight, and cats still chased and played. Cottonkit watched with interest as they passed by, Hollydapple scooping him up at one point to carry him the rest of the way back.

      Acaciakit, huh? She's a kit, just like me...! We'll be the best of friends, I'll make sure of it!

//
an

fun fact: Siamese cats are born all white! Little Acaciakit will grow into her markings :—)

I hope you enjoyed this part!! I wanted to flesh out StarClan a bit more than what it is in the books, so cats emit a bit of an aura. Usually it's white with stars, but it can be tinged with color based on strong emotions. Green is happy, blue is sad, etc. Lowkey basing colors off of the Sims 4 mood colors haha.

-tea