Bramblestar pads softly into the nursery, where Squirrelflight quietly converses with Cinderheart and Daisy. He blinks, eyes not yet adjusted to the dim light barely streaming through the roof of the den.
"...and don't let them out of your sight," Daisy is meowing sternly, eyes fixed on Squirrelflight in a serious, intense stare. "That happened to me, once, you know. I had my back turned to my kits for only a few words with Graystripe, and when I looked back down, Mousekit was gone!" She sighs in exasperation.
"Oh, yes, I-" Squirrelflight begins.
Bramblestar gives a meaningful cough. "Sorry to interrupt."
Daisy's head jerks up at him. Then her eyes soften, and she purrs in delight. "That's fine, Bramblestar. Did you come to check onthe kits? THey're asleep right now, bless their little hearts. Honestly, they-"
He chuckles. "I just came to check in with Squirrelflight." He presses his nose into her warm ginger pelt and sighs. "I can't believe I went all those moons without you."
His mate eyes him wearily. "Yes, well, I missed you." She stretches out her hind legs and yawns, just as a bout of squeaking erupts from beside her. Cinderheart groans and mumbles under her breath, "Here we go again. And to think, I used to want this so badly when I was Cinderpelt!"
Firekit, Sparkkit, and Blazekit all pounce on their father simultaneously. They swat at his ears and bat his muzzle with tiny paws, squealing in delight. Sparkkit's rough pink tongue swipes Bramblestar's ear affectionately, and the ThunderClan leader's amber eyes gleam in adoration.
Watching his kits bounce around and tackle each other, pretending to be ThunderClan warriors fighting off Tigerstar, Bramblestar notices the way his mate's eyes shine with grief, probably over her dead father and dear friend, Mousefur. As he licks her ear supportively, he meows, "Maybe things will go back to normal someday. After all, we have new warriors-" He flicks his tail towards Cherrystream and Moleclaw- "and new apprentices-" His eyes travel to Seedpaw and Lilypaw- "and now we have our kits."
When the two cats' gazes lock, Bramblestar knows exactly what Squirrelflight is thinking: And a new leader. "But," he continues softly, "Firestar left behind a blaze of glory and a spark that forever binds the Clans together. Keep that in mind."
"Yes," Squirrelflight whispers. "A spark and a blaze. Always fire."
Just a little something I wrote after I read The Last Hope (: How many of you have read it? It's sooo sad omg ;-; I cried so hard when Firestar and Mousefur died! I was like, No, it can't beeee! I mean, just think about it. Everything Firestar did... and now he's gone! idkidkokay. I guess it's sort of a bittersweet ending, you know? So, when you review, tell me what you thought of The Last Hope :)