Yay, my first story ever! :D
Sorry, I'm just so happy! Anyways, I just wanted to say that this was rated T because I do expect it to get a bit gory as in blood and such as I go along, but this first chapter doesn't seem so bad. Please read AND review, and please don't be TOO harsh. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Nothing at all.
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"Hawkfrost." Hawkfrost turned at the sound of Mothwing's voice, coming from somewhere behind him. In the deep-red-sunset light, the golden tabby she-cat had the bright hint of scarlet tinged into her fur and her eyes shone in a brilliant golden hue, glittering with crimson.
At the turning of her brother, the smaller, more delicate cat dipped her head and, though her expression was one of pure happiness and joy, Hawkfrost could easily see the undercurrent of uncertainty and fear that made his sister's movements ever slightly jerky as she lowered her head in greeting. Even the flick of her tail-tip held a certain amount of tenseness and Hawkfrost knew that his sister was thinking about him. Him and his secret.
But Hawkfrost would never mention it to her, and, before his littermate could speak, Hawkfrost meowed, rather hurriedly, "Is she alright?"
Mothwing lifted her head, her golden eyes smiling in the dying rays of sunlight. "Of course she is. Willowpaw and I took excellent care of her."
A wave of relief flooded over Hawkfrost and he allowed his eyes to slip shut as he knew that his mate, his beloved, was fine from her ordeal.
A small purr of amusement escaped his sister and a moment later she meowed, "Well, Hawkfrost, don't you want to go meet your kits?"
Hawkfrost opened his eyes, his frosty-blue gaze catching his sister's warm, golden one. In his stare was the glitter of excitement, one that seemed barely controllable. But, realizing how silly he must look, staring wide-eyed at his littermate and medicine cat, the great tabby tom gathered himself together in a heartbeat's time and gave Mothwing a nod. "Of course I would like to see my kits."
Mothwing smiled, waving her tail toward the thick clump of reeds and brambles that indicated the nursery walls. "Go right on in."
Taking not another glance at the golden she-cat, Hawkfrost quickly stepped into the shelter of the nursery walls, feeling the bramble-thorns slide harmlessly through his pelt at his passing. Ducking his head as to not scrape it against the roof, Hawkfrost briefly allowed himself to picture the half-brother that these bramble walls reminded him of. But the image was driven away as the tunnel-like entrance suddenly opened up into a rather large, cave-like area where several moss-and-reed-filled nests lay.
In one corner, a brightly colored tortoiseshell she-cat lay on her side, two small kittens curled up in the curve of her belly. Her blue eyes glowed in the dimness of the den and her breath stirred the moss she lay in as she watched the powerfully-shouldered brown warrior squeeze into the main part of the nursery.
But Hawkfrost barely noticed her. Instead, his gaze fell into the center of the den where three cats were bunched together; two of them crouched while the third lay heavily on her side, her breathing slow and even and her eyes half-closed.
Her pale ears flicking at the sound of heavy paw steps entering the den, a smaller gray she-cat, whom Mothwing had mentioned earlier as Willowpaw, glanced up from the round-bellied queen at her paws and glanced at Hawkfrost who continued to move toward the center of the nursery. Turning and bending down to pick up a bundle of herbs in her jaws, the gray apprentice dipped her head to Hawkfrost and slipped past him on her way out of the den. Hawkfrost took no notice. His attention was all for the queen in the center of the den, three tiny bundles of soft fur curled up against her dark gray belly.
The other cat, who still crouched over the gray queen, nodded her head to Hawkfrost and quietly slipped over to the far side of the den where the tortoiseshell still lay. Together, they watched the young father approach his new family.
Hawkfrost was now standing over the gray she-cat, his ice-blue eyes brimming with pride as he set his eyes first upon his kits, then resting his gaze on their mother.
Truly wishing he did not have to disturb her, bust also desperately wanting to know how she was feeling, Hawkfrost leaned down close to the gray cat's head and mewed softly, "Duskface."
"Hawkfrost?" The she-cat's voice sounded slightly groggy, as if she were tired. But all the same she lifted her head at her name and blinked her bright amber eyes at the dark face of her mate.
He smiled back at her, a purr beginning to throb in his throat. "How are you feeling?"
Duskface blinked slowly at him, casting a beaming expression his way. "I'm feeling quite alright, now that you're here." Hawkfrost's purr deepened.
Duskface, now here eyes wide and bright, being careful to not move her belly too much, propped herself up on her shoulder, shifting her gaze from Hawkfrost to the three tiny bodies that lay at her belly. Hawkfrost did the same.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" Her voice was soft, but it contained all her pride and joy as she stared down at her tiny litter of kits. Hawkfrost, not being able to find his voice, nodded in reply.
Duskface wrapped her body more protectively around her kits as a slight but nippy breeze rushed down the nursery tunnel and one of the kits, a tiny brown tabby tom, shivered with chill.
As her brother shifted beside her, the smallest one and the only she-kit who was a tiny jet-black-pelted kitten, managed to lift her head up and open her tiny mouth to expose two small sets of shining white teeth, and let out a high-pitched squeak of indignation.
Hawkfrost tensed, lifted his haunches off the ground and crouched against the mossy bedding. Excitement coursing through his body, nose to tail-tip, he turned towards
Duskface who watched their daughter with tired satisfaction.
"Did you see?" the great tabby warrior meowed excitedly. "Did you see that?"
Duskface nodded, her amber eyes half-closed but a smile of pride written across her face. "Yes. Yes, I did see."
Hawkfrost turned back to his daughter, blue eyes wide with joy. "Her first little battle-cry," he meowed avidly. "Her first little yowl." He looked back at Duskface who's eyelids had drooped even farther over her eyes. "She'll be a great warrior one day," he vowed. "I can sense it."
His mate just nodded sleepily in reply.
Hawkfrost turned back towards his litter, his eyes resting on his tiny daughter almost squashed between her two larger brothers. "She must have a name," he murmured quietly. "They all must have names. Something that means strong and powerful, untamable, unstoppable-"
"How about tempest?" Hawkfrost glanced at his mate who had forced open her eyes once more to gaze upon her three beautiful kits. Her stare shifted to Hawkfrost who was eyeing her with a puzzled look. "We can call her Tempestkit." Duskface stretched open her jaws wide in a sleepy yawn. "And for the tabby tom, who looks just like you, we can call him Stripedkit. And for the little gray tom, his name can be Stonekit." Again, Duskface let out another tired yawn. "There," she meowed with a final note in her voice. "Stripedkit, Stonekit, and Tempestkit. Those are their names."
Her eyelids now fell across her eyes and her head began to fall toward her outstretched forepaws, but before her head could fall all the way, Hawkfrost stretched out his muzzle to break her fall and lower her head onto her nest, letting her lie with one ear against the moss and one ear stretched towards the ceiling.
Quietly, Hawkfrost drew himself away, letting his ice-blue gaze for a final time fall onto his kits. "Stripedkit, Stonekit, and Tempestkit," he murmured to himself, blinking slowly at the three tiny bundles of fur who's bodies were squashed so close together that their pelt's overlapped one another.
"They will be great warriors one day. Especially Tempestkit." A great, deep voice sounded in Hawkfrost's ear and he turned suddenly, with a small gasp as a faint, but definite form brushed against him, sitting himself beside the identical tabby tom, resting his amber gaze onto the three kits.
Hawkfrost's eyes widened. "Tigerstar!" Quickly, almost fearfully, he looked over the massive tabby's shoulder at the two queens on the far side of the den. To his relief, they were both sound asleep, their quiet breathing reaching his ears.
Tigerstar's still-intact ear flicked. "Don't worry about them; you are the only one who can see me." Hawkfrost didn't answer, just twitched his ear to show that he'd heard.
Tigerstar shifted, letting out a heavy sigh. "Your kits shall become great warriors," he went on, blinking at the three tiny bundles. "They are all healthy and strong."
Hawkfrost nodded, trying to regain himself and following Tigerstar's stare towards the three kits that lay at their sleeping mother's belly.
Tigerstar let out another gusty sigh. "Do you know of your brother Brambleclaw?"
Hawkfrost shifted his weight from forepaw to forepaw, searching for a way to answer. "Do you mean do I know if we can trust him?" he growled.
Tigerstar nodded. "You know, Hawkfrost, that we cannot tell Brambleclaw all of our plans; he must not know what we really plan to do."
Hawkfrost wrinkled his forehead in question. "Then how shall we not tell him? He joins us every night at our gatherings."
Tigerstar let out an irritable hiss, turning on Hawkfrost in a small rage of irritation. "Do you not know how to lie?" he spat, hair rising. "We can easily fool him, all we must do is tell him out basic plans; we must not elaborate or he shall catch on to the truth."
Tigerstar's amber stare narrowed. "Do you wish to share your rule of the lake?"
Hawkfrost flattened his ears. "Of course not."
"How far shall you go to maintain your power?"
Hawkfrost unsheathed his claws, flexing them at the soft moss under his pads. "I'll do whatever it takes."
Tigerstar instantly relaxed, falling back onto his haunches and returning his stare to the three kits before him. Hawkfrost did the same.
"They shall be great warriors," Tigerstar repeated. "They shall follow in your paw prints well." He cast Hawkfrost a amber-eyed glance. "Especially Tempestkit."
Hawkfrost nodded, staring at his kits in determination. "Yes, Tigerstar," he promised. "I'll be sure to make them great warriors."
Tigerstar gave his son a final nod, then his dark fur began to fade, blending in to the bramble walls before disappearing completely, leaving Hawkfrost to remain in the nursery with his three kits.