Mousekit had it hard from the beginning. He was born a Tribe kit, named Mouse Who Eats Berries. The other kits happened to find his name... well... ironic. You see, Mouse had always been a little on the plump side. So the other kits were fairly horrid about it.

"Your name should be Mouse Who Eats Everything, because you're so chubby!" yowled Bird That Flies Across Water. The other tribe kits giggled. Mouse just sighed. He was a quiet kit, and very timid. It didn't help that he never stood up for himself.

Mouse also had some strange habits. Every day, whenever he could sneak out, he would go climb the rocky mountain that was the Tribe's home. Near the top of the peak, there was a rocky overhang. At only one moon old, he learned how to sneak up there. He knew it was wrong, but he would even hoard prey up there. He would always look up at the sun and think "That must be a beautiful place. Warm, and yellow, and bright. Someday, I'll touch the sun. And from then on, my life will be perfect because I will have touched the sun." It all made sense in his mind.

His mother, Tree That Sways In Breeze, or Breeze, was very traditional. She was the kind of mother who liked to parade her kits around and show them off. Whenever one of them did something a little unusual, she felt like it reflected on her badly, not the kit. So it was bad when she caught Mouse doing his sun-staring one day.

Mouse had been gone for hours, and she was getting worried. She ran outside the Tribe caves. "Mouse!" she screamed. There was no reply. She decided that she had to go up the mountain to search for him. She climbed up the rocky slope, screaming his name every once in a while. There was never a reply. Finally, she saw his cliff. It was full of fresh-kill, which was breaking the rules. And he was sitting there, staring at the sun. How dare he?

Brook snarled and swiped at her son. "What are you doing?" she screamed. Mouse kept his cool. "Sungazing." he mewed quietly. She yowled in anger and pinned him under her. "Go!" she screamed. She whacked him in the head, claws unsheathed. "Leave! Never come back!"

So Mouse did. He ran, almost falling off the mountain as he went. When he knew he was out of harm's way, he followed an old trail with a very, very faint scent of cat. But being a three moon-old kit presented some problems. First off, he couldn't hunt. He knew that he couldn't last long on the dead mouse he had found and water. And he didn't. Following the scent, he wandered through the seemingly endless forests.

Finally, he made it to a large lake. But that was where the scent stopped. There weren't any other cats. Starved, exhausted, and let down, Mouse collapsed on the hard ground. He couldn't make it any farther. He knew that he was going to die. "I'll touch the sun now." he squeaked, and passed out.

It was Ferncloud who found him, out on a hunting patrol. She screamed when she saw the plump, but dead-looking, kit. Berrynose, who was on the same patrol, saw him too. "We've got to take him to ThunderClan." he said calmly. Ferncloud nodded numbly. They managed to lug him back to camp, leaving all their prey in the middle of the forest.

The first place they took him was Minnowpelt, the young, kind medicine cat. She gasped when she saw him. "Is he dead?" she asked. "No." confirmed Berrynose. "What's wrong with him, then?" asked a dazed Ferncloud. Minnowpelt examined the brown kit thoroughly. "He's dehydrated, starved, and exhausted. He probably won't make it through the night."

Ferncloud and Berrynose left the den to go to sleep, leaving only Minnowpelt and Mouse in the small herb-smelling choked down the herbs, which Minnowpelt made him swallow. Minnowpelt looked at Mouse. "You need a nest, little kit." she said. She grabbed some of the soft green moss that she kept in her den and laid Mouse down on it. "There you go." she mewed, smiling. Suddenly, Mouse opened his big brown eyes.

Minnowpelt gasped. "Y-you're alive!" she stuttered. Mouse nodded. "What's your name?" she asked. "Mouse Who Eats Berries." he said in his quiet, sweet voice. Minnowpelt smiled. "Well, that's not going to work. How about Mousekit?" Mousekit nodded. Anything to get away from his old life. Suddenly, he blurted out "I want to touch the sun."

Mousekit prepared for humiliation, but Minnowpelt just smiled. "That's a good dream to have, Mousekit." she said kindly. "Do you want to stay with me? I can help you with that." Mousekit nodded happily. Bramblestar made arrangements for him to live in the medicine cat den.

It was a perfect arrangement. Mousekit and Minnowpelt would go to Sunningrocks to stare at the sun every day. Mousekit planned to become a medicine cat apprentice soon. But their happiness was short.

When Mousekit was five moons old, a large mountain lion invaded the camp. The kits were told to hide in their dens while the warriors fought it off. But Mousekit was transfixed by the sun-like color of it's pelt. He stepped closer and closer. The warriors backed away as the mountain lion moved toward Mousekit. 'This is the sun's messenger, here to take me.' Mousekit thought. 'I understand now.'

Minnowpelt was horrified as the little kit stood there. Suddenly, she jumped in front of him when the lion tried to swipe. She crumpled and lay in a bloody heap on the ground. Mousekit ran toward her. "I'm so sorry." he mewed quietly. She smiled and rasped, "It's not your fault." "We never got to touch the sun." said Mousekit wistfully.

Minnowpelt looked at him. "Mousekit, soon you'll be a great medicine cat. I know that you can train yourself. And Mousekit, I'm leaving. I'm not coming back. But don't miss me. I'll be up there, and someday you'll join me." Mousekit nodded. He licked her cheek as she said, "I'll touch he sun for you, Mousekit." Her spirit slowly drifted away to touch the warm, StarClan sun.