So none of you have probably seen this, but a while back, I posted a short human AU dialogue on Tumblr. In this dialogue, Longtail calls a pregnant Princess fat and she slaps him for it, which he ends up thinking is hot. It was a joke, but it inspired me to write something for a human AU that wasn't one from my existing timeline.

Yeah, it's gonna be one of those stories.

I have to find Fireheart.

That was the one thought going through the mind of Princess as she ran through the forest, leaving the city she'd known all her life behind her. It was no longer the safe haven she'd thought of it as, now that BloodClan was in charge. She wanted safety. She wanted to protect her unborn children that were inside her belly. And she could only think of one place outside Chelford where that was even possible for a woman like her.

ThunderClan. They took in my brother; surely, they'd let me in?

Her chest ached from the effort. She'd never run this far before, but then again, she'd only climbed the walls of Chelford once in her life before now. Her brother had climbed them daily until he joined the Clans, and even now, he had climbed them time and again to visit her. How would he react to seeing her outside her home, outside of town?

"Stop, trespasser!"

She froze at a man's voice. She turned to see three people—two men and a woman. One man had a mean look to him, with dark gray hair and a seemingly-permanent scowl on his face. The other was younger, with hair colored dark brown and a look that suggested he was only defending their territory. The woman had blonde hair down to her waist, tied in a braid. She and the younger man appeared about Princess's age.

"How dare you enter ThunderClan territory, you Softlife?!" the older man snapped.

"Darkstripe—" protested the younger man.

"Quiet, Dustpelt!" Darkstripe growled at the young pregnant woman and moved towards her, making her fall backward onto her bottom. "We need to teach her a lesson!"

To Princess's shock, the blonde woman stepped between Darkstripe and Princess, acting as a barrier to the man who had drawn a knife and stepped closer.

"She's pregnant! You'd attack a defenseless pregnant woman, Darkstripe?!"

"Sandstorm. I knew you had a soft spot for Softlifes!"

"It's not a soft spot; it's common decency!" Sandstorm had a determined look and Princess recognized the name; Fireheart had mentioned her on his last visit, saying that the warrior had been treating him with more respect lately.

"What's going on here?" asked another man, this one with white hair and yellow eyes. He had an air of dignity to him.

"We have a Softlife trespasser!" spat Darkstripe.

"I don't see a trespasser. I see a terrified and exhausted young pregnant woman who needs shelter for the night. What's your name, young lady?"

"I-I'm Princess."

"Well, Princess, you can come with us to our camp and rest for the night. My name is Whitestorm. I'm one of the senior warriors."

"Thank you, Whitestorm." He smiled and offered her a hand, which she accepted graciously. Sandstorm narrowed her eyes at Darkstripe, following right behind Princess to ensure the dark warrior didn't get any bright ideas. Darkstripe and Dustpelt followed behind the others, Darkstripe grumbling about soft-hearted warriors and Softlifes.

They reached the camp a few minutes later, Princess feeling vulnerable. However, it took a few moments for her to be noticed. Most of the people in camp were cooking, cleaning, talking, or working on clothing. Whitestorm stopped and nodded to Princess.

"I'm going to let Bluestar know we have a visitor," he told her. "Go over by the nursery; the queens there will take care of you." He gestured to a building where a pretty woman was stroking her pregnant belly and humming.

Sandstorm, Dustpelt, and Darkstripe dispersed, leaving Princess alone in the middle of camp. She turned towards the nursery Whitestorm had pointed out and took a deep breath. Before she could go there, though, she was stopped by a man with pale hair. There were dark streaks in it, though, and he was fairly tall.

"Hey, what are you doing here, you Softlife?!" he hissed.

"I'm…"

"We have enough mouths to feed!"

"I was offered shelter for the night."

"Like I said, we have enough mouths to feed without adding a fat Softlife like you!" She narrowed her green eyes.

"You want to try that again?" she asked in a low voice.

"How stupid are you?! You're a fat Softlife who needs to get out of—"

WHAP!

The man stopped talking and held his cheek.

She slapped me!

"You need to learn some tact!" she snapped. "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant!"

"I-I'm sorry!" he stammered, still shocked that this outsider—this Softlife woman—had slapped him.

"You should be. Be more aware and tactful next time." She headed for the nursery, where the pretty woman greeted her with kind words of welcome.

"My name is Brindleface," the pretty woman introduced herself. "Don't mind Longtail; he treats all outsiders that way. What's your name?"

"I'm Princess. Is it really okay if I stay here?"

"It's fine. Frostfur, Goldenflower, Speckletail, and I will help you adjust. Is there a reason you're out here?"

"It's not safe where I lived before. I came here hoping to find somebody."

"And who would that—"

"Princess?!"

The two women turned at the voice to see Fireheart, bright orange hair blazing in the sunlight, staring at his sister in shock.

"Fireheart!" she breathed, running over and hugging him.

The Clan stared in shock.

"Fireheart, who is this?" asked a female voice. A woman with blue-gray hair and bright blue eyes was looking at them, her armband telling of her rank as leader.

"This is my sister, Princess. She's from Chelford, same as me."

"I had no idea you had a sister," Whitestorm commented, stepping beside the leader.

"Why are you here?" Fireheart asked Princess.

"It's not safe in Chelford anymore," she replied, bowing her head and releasing her brother from her grip. "I came here because I figured it was safer with you."

"Not safe? What about the wall?"

"The wall is part of why it isn't safe—nobody can leave. I didn't want to go somewhere where I didn't have anybody, so I came here. I want to join ThunderClan, for the sake of my children and my own safety."

Whispers rose among those gathered. An older woman with dark gray hair and orange eyes watched from a cave that was in the corner of the camp. The leader held up her hand and the Clan silenced, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"Princess, you earnestly wish to join ThunderClan?" she inquired.

"Yes… er…"

"Bluestar," her brother whispered in her ear.

"Yes, Bluestar. I do."

"Then I welcome you, Princess, as a member of ThunderClan."

Princess smiled, then noticed a man with dark hair and orange eyes glaring at her. She felt a sense of fear at his appearance—he was covered in scars and was a massive man, even by the standards of these wild Clans. Fireheart glanced at her, then at the man, before taking her back towards the nursery.

"Don't go near Tigerclaw," he warned her.

"Is that his name?"

"He hates Softlifes more than most warriors. Especially me."

"Okay. Thanks for the warning."

"Are you sure you're comfortable?"

"Yes, Frostfur. I'm fine." Princess smiled at the white-haired woman. "You don't need to fuss over me so much!"

"You're young, and this is your first pregnancy. It's only right that you're as comfortable as possible—especially with leaf-bare approaching."

Princess nodded. She'd felt the chill in the air and knew that snow wasn't far off. Yellowfang (the dark gray she-cat who'd been in the cave) had made regular trips to the nursery to ensure that the queens and their children (who the Clan called 'kits') were warm and well-taken-care of.

It had been a month since she'd arrived in ThunderClan, and she was adjusting well. More than a few of the Clan cats had become more friendly, given her warm and inviting nature. Some still distrusted her, but she'd pretty much been almost completely accepted.

"Um, excuse me?"

Both women looked up at the voice. It was Longtail, looking very nervous and biting his bottom lip pensively. Frostfur crossed her arms at the warrior, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say.

"I, er, wanted to talk to Princess. Alone."

"Fine. But don't pull anything." She left him alone with Princess, who was sitting on her bed, her arms over her belly protectively.

"What did you want to say?" Princess asked.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry for calling you a fat Softlife, and I hope you can forgive me. Especially since we're Clanmates now."

"I forgive you. Besides, Fireheart told me that he had even less of a warm welcome from you when he joined the Clan, so it could have been much worse." Her smile was gentle, and Longtail suddenly realized something that had been bugging him since he learned she was pregnant.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Not at all."

"…where's the father of your children?" Her smile faded.

"I was more committed to our relationship than he was, and he left me to join the people who were terrorizing Chelford."

"Your husband left you?"

"Boyfriend. Fireheart never liked him, anyway. He said he was too flaky and never would have stayed with me long-term. But I'm fine. I have my children on the way, and the entire Clan with me now."

"Good to note." He gave her a smile.

Then there was a cry from outside. Both of them peeked out to see Fireheart running across the camp, carrying his apprentice, Cinderpaw. The young girl's leg was badly twisted, making it obvious something horrible had happened to her. She was also barely conscious, crying in pain.

"Cinderpaw!" yelled Brackenpaw, a horrified look on his young face as he ran towards his sister.

"Bring her here!" Yellowfang called to Fireheart, worry crossing her face.

"Oh, my!" gasped Princess, covering her mouth. "What happened?!"

"She was hit by a car," explained Tigerclaw with a grave expression. "It was an unfortunate accident."

"Well, if it was a car, then it could have been much worse," Princess stated. "At least it was only her leg. She's alive, for now."

"Right," agreed Frostfur, nodding. Princess knew the white-haired woman was the mother of the injured apprentice.

"I'm sure she'll recover."

Princess ignored the slight pain in her belly for a while, waiting to hear news about Cinderpaw. She thought it was just Braxton-Hicks contractions, ones she'd been told about when she lived in town and went to a normal doctor. But as they continued, she realized that they weren't. They were real, and she was in labor.

"Get Yellowfang!" she gasped to Brightkit, who was watching her with concern. The young girl nodded and ran to the medicine den while Princess laid on one of the birthing beds that had been set up.

Within minutes, the Clan medicine woman was in the nursery.

"You stupid queen, waiting until you're this far into labor to send for me…" the old woman muttered. Longtail poked his head into the nursery.

"Can I help?" he asked.

"Get me water!" Yellowfang instructed. "And I'll need towels and blankets."

Longtail nodded and ran off, returning soon with the items. Princess grabbed his hand and Yellowfang nodded.

"She'll need the support if she's to deliver successfully. Stay right there!"

Frostfur reentered the nursery and took Princess's other hand.

After two hours of labor, it was over.

Just one child—a son. He had pure white hair, just like Frostfur, once the blood was cleaned away. Princess held him close to her chest as he began to suckle, tears filling her eyes.

"He's perfect," whispered Frostfur comfortingly.

"His name is Cloudkit," the new mother declared. "I want him to have a Clan name."

"Of course." Frostfur nodded in agreement. "He'll be a fine warrior one day."

Fireheart entered the nursery; he'd heard that his sister had given birth, and he wanted to meet his nephew. His bright orange hair caught the light as he crossed the threshold. A smile crossed his face.

"He's amazing, Princess!"

"He is, isn't he?" She frowned. "How's Cinderpaw?"

"Stable, for now, but Yellowfang says she's in the hands of StarClan now."

"I'm so sorry this happened to her. I'm sure she'll pull through."

"But her leg will never heal completely."

"You don't know that."

"I do, actually. Yellowfang has done all she can for her. Even if she wakes up and gets better, she'll never be a warrior."

Princess felt tears in her eyes again. It wasn't fair. Cinderpaw had so much ahead of her, and it had been ripped away by a single accident. And Fireheart no longer had an apprentice.

Clan life was harder than she'd thought, but she was going to stay.

You'll probably noticed I skipped around a lot. This is an AU, and I'm creating an alternate timeline from the typical human AU.

Also, my sister and I have agreed that Princess and Longtail is our favorite Warriors crack ship. Check out my Tumblr (KamijeCeleek) to see the original post, as well as various projects I have in the works!

So long and thanks for all the fish!