"HA! Look who it is! Birdcat!"

Skypaw barely looked up at the insult. She left her hawk on the fresh-kill pile and went to the nursery. 

Two of the kits were playing outside, batting a ball of moss between them. When they saw Skypaw approaching, one of them-Streamkit-let out a squeak of fear and dove between a pair of ferns. 

The other one raced up to Skypaw and jumped on her back, pulling at her wings with unsheathed claws. 

"Birdcat! Birdcat!" Beechkit taunted, his silver-and-black fur catching the light. As Skypaw walked into the nursery, Myrtleflower glanced up, gave her kit an approving nod, then turned back to the mouse in her paws. 

As she walked into the back of the nursery, Skypaw looked down. A line was drawn in the earth. 

"MoonClan, attack!"

The mock-fierce battle cry rose from the opposite side of the nursery. Four kits-three black and one ginger and white-came hurtling out of a small patch of bulrushes woven into the wall and knocked Beechkit off of Skypaw's back.

The Streamkit, who'd hidden in the ferns now popped out of them to fight alongside her brother, and their littlest sibling, Wrenkit, joined in the fake battle as well.

As the kits fought, Skypaw looked around the den. It was slightly different. For one thing, the kits had built two fake camps on opposite sides of the line in the dirt-which Skypaw now realized was a boundary. For another, the kits seemed to have worked hard to create a waterfall and running streams through the nursery.

Skypaw's heart warmed as she watched her little sisters fight Myrtleflower's kits-to defend Skypaw, she realized. 

Finally, Beechkit, Streamkit, and Wrenkit retreated to the safety of their camp. Skypaw's sisters and their friend, Moonkit, Ravenkit, Sunkit, and Nightkit bounded up to her, shaking dust off their pelts and licking tiny scratches.

"Was that good? Huh? Was it, was it?" Nightkit asked, turning her green-yellow eyes to Skypaw. 

Moonkit answered. "Of course it was! That was great, Nightfeather!

"Hey, guys. What are you playing?" 

Moonkit looked at her with glowing amber eyes. "I'm Moonstar and we're MoonClan," the kit explained. "That's my loyal deputy, Nightfeather, my mate, Sunstrike, and my best warrior, Ravenclaw!"

Skypaw looked around. "Where's Whitekit?" she asked. "Also, your mate?"

Sunkit nodded proudly. "I love Moonstar."

Moonstar twined her tail around his. "Whiteout is at the camp, waiting to treat our injuries."

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we go back to camp?" Ravenkit asked, lashing her tail nervously. She'd come off worst in the fight, with a long, shallow scratch along her tail.

Moonkit nodded. "Yes. BeechClan has no problem attacking injured cats!"

"BeechClan?"

"Yeah, they're BeechClan. Their leader is Beechstar. And Streamheart is his deputy, and Wrenfang is his best warrior," Moonkit explained seriously. 

"So, what about when Rosepetal's kits come? Who're they going to be?" Skypaw questioned. Moonkit thought for a moment. 

"Well, they might make their own Clan, or they might join ours! Or BeechClan," she added.

"But don't they stick with their siblings?" 

"Not always. They can split off."

"Like me!" Sunkit jumped in. "I joined MoonClan 'cause Beechstar is a meal old bully! And 'cause I love Moonstar."

Nightkit nodded. "Anyways, when a kit joins, they're a kit. Oh, and they have to have opened their eyes to join. Then Moonstar will make 'em apprentices, then warriors. She wants someone younger to be deputy, anyhow," Nightkit explained, shooting a sour look at her older sister.

Moonkit rushed to defend herself. "Well, when we become apprentices, won't we want someone to be leader of MoonClan? Otherwise they might take over."

Skypaw laughed. "I don't think you need to worry. You're only two moons old, and Rosepetal's kits are due any day now."

As if the words had summoned her, Rosepetal let out a shriek of pain.