A/N: Sorry about the formatting, for all ~15 people who saw that. I'm new to this site, so I didn't know that would happen.
Darkflower laid on a bed of moss, painstakingly prepared and decorated with fresh flowers. Her paws were tied down with ivy. She looked around warily around the leader's den. She was in a dark corner, far back from the entrance. She felt a pang of pain, but kept her mouth shut. She knew what happened when she talked when he wasn't around. She looked down at her distended stomach, bearing kits that will never truly be hers. She knew they weren't hers, despite carrying them for a little over a moon. They belonged to their father, and there was nothing she could do about that.
The already dim room went darker as a large tom entered. Darkflower tensed up as he made his way towards her. His amber eyes made primal fears rise in the dark she-cat. She felt her ties being undone, and something in her also be unbound. She missed the forest. She missed talking with her friends. She even missed the Carrionplace. Ever since he forced motherhood onto her, she'd been stuck in the leader's den for most of her days. She went outside only on his supervision, talked only to those around him, and never left his sight. When he had to leave, he'd bind her up and leave her.
"You stay here," the tom said, "Agreed?"
Darkflower nodded solemnly. Even if she had an opportunity, her children made her too slow to have a chance of escaping.
"I'm getting the medicine cat. My kits are almost here."
Resting her head near some dandelions, she sighed. Soon, a grey tom came in. He sniffled in-between sentences as he made awkward conversation. The kits' father and the gray tom looked like antitheses of each other in every way. Darkflower could see the fear in the small tom's eyes. As soon as he caught her gaze, his ears perked up in surprise. Darkflower gave a weak smile in return.
"How are you feeling?" he spoke, sitting by the she-cat.
"As good as I can, Runningnose," she mewed. The tabby tom gave an emotionless smile.
"Seems like the kits will come at any second," he spoke as he turned to the other tom, "Are you ready to become a father, Brokenstar?"
He nodded. Darkflower felt another pang of pain, allowing herself to cry out. The medicine cat jumped to his feet and looked at her. He turned to Brokenstar, and both came to the mutual understanding that her pregnancy was ending. Through a difficult, painful kitting, she released his children to the world. After cleaning the three kits, she saw their coats. One was dark grey, nearly black, while the other two were dark tabbies. She felt relieved, as a flicker of something other than malice came into Brokenstar's eyes. Two of the kits were placed by her stomach.
"I'm sorry," he said, gently laying down the tabby kit on the edge of her bed, "This she-kit didn't make it."
Tears flowed from her eyes, but not out of sadness for the loss of a kit. They were tears of fright, of a mouse cornered by a fox. Runningnose said his goodbyes and left the two alone. Brokenstar stared at the dead kit, and then to the living ones, then back at the dead one. He glared at the stillbirth, then at Darkflower.
"At least I have two kits out of this," he spoke, no emotions in his voice. "The black one will be called Crowkit, and the other one will be called Briarkit."
"What about the other one?" Darkflower whispered, ears flattening and voice shaking in fear.
"You name it."
Her tears came out of her eyes like the water pouring from the Falls. Staring at the dead tabby, she gave a small mew of "Bramblekit."
Brokenstar took Bramblekit into his mouth and took her outside. Darkflower curled around her kits, weeping quietly as she fell asleep.
