“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Grumbled a voice while the sounds of branches being pushed aside filled the night air.

“For the thousandth time, Kestrelkit - I know where I’m going.

Please, for StarClan’s sake, stop asking me that question,” replied an irritable voice.

Emerging from the undergrowth first, was a slender she-cat whose pelt was the color of the night sky dotted here and there with white speckles. Brownish green eyes scanned the landscape in front of her as she paused halfway from a thorn bush, ears flicking to and fro to any sound.

Small grunting and groans made her look towards her paws, where a brown and red kit suddenly pushed himself out of several roots that had ensnared two of his paws. “Oof!” Tumbling to the ground after losing his balance, Kestrelkit lightly chuckled before catching the eye of his guardian.

As the small kit scrambled to his paws with a sheepish grin, the she-cat would widen her irises in annoyance. “Why do I have to get stuck with him,” She mumbled to herself before fully stepping away from the bush, tail tip flicking a little.

“Come on, hurry up, Starfleck!” Whined Kestrelkit as he began stomping his front paws in impatience.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Starfleck with a tight grimace. The claws of Starfleck pricked the ground, sliding in and out of their sheathes. ‘StarClan can give me strength not to strangle this kit.’

While walking through the dark forest, and Kestrelkit bouncing a little ahead of her, Starfleck couldn’t help but admire the nighttime and its tranquility. Though the wind was small, it was still strong enough to ruffle her pelt while cooling the entire landscape. It was the one thing from ThunderClan that she enjoyed more than anything: able to feel the breeze without having to breathe in something dirt scented.

“Enjoying your thoughts, Starfleck?” Purred a voice as the large robust figure of a brownish gray tom with pale amber eyes emerged from the hidden tunnel covered by brambles.

“I was,” She answered before stopping a whisker-length away from him. Eying him with a cold stare, Starfleck sighed. Watching as Kestrelkit pushed past them into the tunnel, she waited until the kit was beyond earshot before speaking again.

“Why was I chosen to watch Kestrelkit?” Starfleck asked with genuine confusion. “Your’re his father, Nighthawk.”

“And you’re his mother,” Nighthawk answered with a bit of steel in his tone while lightly glaring at her. “You have as much duty to him as I do.”

Staring at him in silence, Starfleck looked away while grumbling deeply beneath her breath.

Smirking as though he won the argument, Nighthawk turned around to head back into the tunnel, with Starfleck following close behind him. ‘Yeah, I have as much duty as you, but I’m the one who always watches him.’ She thought bitterly.

Though her mindset was in a bit of a stormy mood, it started to relax as the sounds of chattering came from the camp of ThunderClan at the end of the tunnel. A sound that started to get louder the closer she got close to the exit, before she fully emerged and breathed in the familiar scents of every cat, sand, and plants that grew within that space.

‘Home at last,’ Starfleck thought with warmth and pride.

The Broken Path

The Broken Path

Chapter One