"Mom, tell us a story," Sycamorekit begged, her thick downy kit-pelt fluffed up in insistence, having been shoved into the nursery and into their nest.

Larchflower opened her mouth to reply only for her youngest son Birchkit to respond to her pleas. The young tom was growing fast and she knew that he would be a fine warrior, still covered in kit fluff he had already tried convincing Bettlepaw to teach him the few moves he had learned. While at first disappointed that Bettlepaw wouldn't tell him anything, he padded after the tom and in turn for his attempts to help the apprentice patch a hole in the elders den, which actually only made the growing hole worse, he agreed to teach him and his sister a few moves.

"I'll tell you what aunt Sorrelclaw told me," Birchkit announced smugly.

Sycamorekit snorted, "About the time father got his paw stuck in the dirt and how her apprentice said that the beetles would eat his paw."

Birchkit looked crestfallen, "So you heard."

"Yeah, I was fake sleeping," Sycamorekit crowed.

Larchflower raised an eyebrow deciding to indulge her kits, "I never heard of this story before."

Birchkit looked at her mother in surprise blurting out, "But, your mates and Sorrelclaw says mates don't keep secrets."

Sycamorekit looked less surprised then her brother, playfully pushing him she mewed, "Starclan, are you feather brained."

Before Larchflower could do much besides raise her hackles, Birchkit called his sister out, "At least I am not a dormouse."

Sycamorekit in response to the insult suddenly sprung at her brother, catching him off guard with his chest puffed up with pride and knocked him out of the nest. Before springing at him again only to be caught mid leap by Larchflower.

Letting out a shrill squeak Sycamorekit, Birchkit was thankful that no other queens had moved into the nursery. Dropping Scamorekit harshly, nearly spitting her out, Larchflower growled, "Who do you think you are?"

Sycamorekit was shocked by her mothers change in behavior and looked at her wide eyed.

"Is it alright to attack your clanmates, let alone your brother?"

Sycamorekit laid on the sandy floor at this point, still slightly dazed by her mother's reaction her ears were pinned against the back of her head and eyes wide. Filled with terror, she was unable to speak and just stood there and gurgled. Larchfower stood nearly over top of her daughter, eyes lit with fire, her golden-brown pelt ablaze and her claws unsheathed, reaching into the ground like the twisted roots of trees.

It was only when Birchkit dared look away from the sight that he saw his aunts shadow reflected through the moonlight into the nursery, "Mom," he whimpered.

Despite Sorrelclaw being an elder the she-cat was still as formable as their mother who had spent the last few moons in the nursery alone. The dark tortoiseshell snarled, "Back away from my niece and nephew," her tail lashing in the nursery's entrance.

Larchflower slowly took a step back from her kits, only to be slammed and pinned swiftly, albeit sloppily, by her aunt in law. Larchflower hardly flinched and didn't even rise to meet the she-cats challenge.

"This is not how a mother should act," Sorrelclaw quietly hissed before flicking her tail as an indication for them to leave. As if in a daze, Larchflower exited the nursery and followed the elder out, not even bothering to dust her pelt off or glance in her wide eyed kit's direction.

-0-

"Sycamorekit, Sycamorekit get up," Birchkit pleaded quickly hurrying over to her sister who still laid on the ground petrified.

Yowling, as if the trance was finally broken, the tortishell she cat reached out for her brother who reeled back in shock at her sudden movement. Her front forelimbs wrapped around the back of his neck and she buried her head in his chest.

"Leafy," Birchkit said quietly, "You're all right," placing his head above her own.

Sniffling she whispered, "I thought she was going to kill me."

"She seemed so mad."

"Is she sick?"

"If she was the medicine cat would be here," Birchkit retorted.

Taking deep breaths, she whispered, "If mom attacked me, would you have protected me."

Birchkit looked down at his sister, slightly confused, "Yeah, you're my clanmate . . ."

Sycamorekit let out a deep sob which caused Birchkit to quickly add, "and my sister." Sycamorekit pulled her head out from underneath her larger brother's own muzzle, eyes glittering with grief before pulling her forelimbs back underneath her.

Birchkit tried to stand up only to feel his sisters sharp claws dig into the front of his legs, "Don't leave me," she begged.

Birchkit looked down before mewing, "Let's get to our nest then."

Slowly rising to her paws alongside her brother, Sycamorekit pressed herself into her bothers side as they climbed into the abnormally plush nest filled with feathers. Sycamorekit let herself fall in the middle of the nest while Birchkit briefly circled around digging around for a particularly long feather.

Laying down with the golden brown stripped feather between his paws he began to tell the story Sorrelclaw told them, " Seasons ago when our father Rowanheart was an apprentice, he decided to try to catch a vole.

Sycamorekit reached out, touching the feather which had broken, and would sit lopsidedly when placed upright, in one of their numerous arguments over it, before adding, "mouse".

"He decided to catch a mouse near a tree. When the mouse escaped, and went down the hole he placed his paw inside the hole and his paw became stuck. Thistlepaw told him that the mouse would eat his paw."

Sycamorekit reached out once again touching the well worn feather and flicking her ear in mild irritation with her brother's mistakes, "beetles".

Birchkit nodded smiling before continuing, "Well his claw became stuck and the more he pulled the more it hurt so her thought the beetles were eating his paw. So in his panic he tore his claw off."

Sycamorekit reached out touching the feather, "And Thistlepaw ran back to camp laughing with Rowanpaw on his tail begging him to be quiet."

Birchkit placed his large paw on top of the feather, "Sorry for calling you a dormouse."

Placing her white paw on the feather she mewed "and you a feather brain."

Birchkit thought for a moment before placing his paw on top of hers, "though it is kind of true."

Sycamorekit purred curling up against her brother.

Placing his head on her back before lifting his head up and looking at her in concern, he mewed, "Your heart is beating awfully fast, should I get the medicine cat?"

Sycamorekit flicked her tail and yawned, "Naw, I'm just worried still"

"Sleep tight," Birchkit began.

"And may we not fight till we meet again," Sycamorekit purred.

-0-

"What in StarClan were you doing", Sorrelclaw hissed as they exited camp.

Awakening form her daze Larchflower spat, "So they learned that rubbish from you."

Sorelclaw flinched as is she had been struck, "While at least they are around."

Horror reflected across Larchflowers face only to be just as suddenly replaced by anger, "Don't you dare speak

about them."

Sorelclaw grimaced at the wound she had reopened before speaking a few moments later, "I know you and my nephew struggled. I thought I had found the love of my life, but that snake-faced tom kept on lying. Chasing other cats around the forest in the night, when I was convinced I need kits to keep the relationship together, it was your mother who put me straight."

Larchflower sat down tensed and still clearly irritated as Sorrel claw continued rambling, "I know of the difficulties you had, you were so happy when you had Russetpool and hoped to give him some siblings early on, but you couldn't, not for a good while. When you finally moved to the nursery, again I would have thought StarClan themselves came down and blessed your kits until the littlest one who still smelt of you died.

Larchflower silently mewed, "Spiderkit".

No even seeming to mind Larchflower's comment, Sorrelclaw continued, "I know you still miss Nightingalepaw, I do to. But you can't take it out on your young, my niece and nephew."

The two she cats sat in silence for a few more moments, Sorrelclaw looking to the sky and Larchflower the earth. Sighing Sorrelclaw steadily rose to her feet and opened her mouth and slowly begain to figure out exactly where they were, after a few moments of spinning around she looked back towards Larchflower and calmly mewed, "Come, it's not fair to let a half blind cat lead the way home."

Larchflower dipped her head and rose to her paws, stepping forward and towards the former warrior and quickly led them back home.

Sorrelclaw lifted her head up as a number of scents flooded her nose as they neared the camp, "Take good care of your family Larchflower, your kits need you and don't you dare let the grey set in."

-0-

Larchflower had not slept well that night, her outburst and her talk, a one-sided conversation with Sorreltail, had left her restless. Her kits were sleeping, wrapped around each other, by the time she returned and Larchflower chose not to wake them heading for an empty nest. When she did finally drift into sleep, she did not dream and simply felt numb and hardly hear the cries of her son hours later.

"Mom, mom, get up," Birchkit begged before growing tired of her not choosing to answer and biting down upon her tail, forcing Larchflower to respond.

"What is it," she yawned, halfway asleep.

Birchkit looked at their nest before announcing, "Sycamorekit is shaking, she says she's cold."

At this mention Larchflower shakily rose to her paws and quickly headed towards their nest, quickly adding, "Birchkit, go get the medicine cat."

Sensing the urgency in her voice, Birchkit quickly ran out of the nursery and toward the direction of the den. Pulling her daughter close to her, Larchflower realized how cold her daughter was, she was still breathing albeit roughly. When Sycamorekit realized who it was that was comforting her, she pinned her ears back and tried to wiggle out of her mother's grasp. Though the tortoiseshell struggled to lift her paws and was only able to throw her head back in protest. Larchflower looked down shocked, she hadn't meant to scare her daughter earlier, only to get her to listen though she had taken it way to far, again. She had already pushed her mate, her children's father, Rowanheart away following Spiderkit's death. Licking her kit, who still attempted to wiggle away from her, she attempted to warm her up. And was very thankful when the medicine cat finally arrived, with Birchkit on her heels.

The aging she cat, quickly examined Sycamorekit, looking at her forelimbs and poking them before thanking the kit for being good. Larchflower looked on in worry and hardly noted that the medicine cat was flicking her tail tip for Larchflower to follow her. Looking at her kits anxiously she slowly treaded towards the medicine cat.

Whatever she may have said about Sycamorekit's condition fell upon deaf ears, Larchflower blankly stared ahead at her two younger kits, the larger warped around the smaller, lying in the nest.

"I fear she doesn't have much time left, something is wrong with her heart," the she-cat said, reaching out and placing a paw on hers, "All we can do now is make her comfortable. I'll go get her some poppy seeds."

Larchflower looked inside the den and saw Birchkit looking up at her; confusion was etched upon the small tom's face and worry was evident in his green eyes. The sun was just starting to rise; red, yellow and orange were smeared across the sky, still the warmth produced had barely affected the queen. Before she could take a step forward, the golden she cat had returned and had quickly entered the nursery.

"Good morning, Sycamorekit," the golden pelted cat mewed, "These are poppy seeds they will help you get some rest. " Laying three small seeds on a leaf she placed them next to her. "From what I heard last night, it sounded like you hardly got any."

"Why," Sycamorekit asked," Are they going to get rid of the tingly feeling in my paws?"

"Yes," she solemnly replied.

Sycamorekit rolled over to Birchkit, "Am I sick?," she questioned win.

Birchkit, confused mumbled, "I don't know". Dropping his head to his paws and looking up at the roof of the den.

"Maybe Sorrelclaw can tell us some stories," Sycamorekit suggested rising to her paws then taking a small step forward where she immediately started to teeter before falling back, nearly knocking the small seeds off the leaf. Looking at her brother who laid on the mossy nest with a slight smile on his face she snorted in disgust at his laziness, "Are you going to give me a paw, Pinecone."

"Sure, dormouse," Birchkit teased as Sycamorekit rolled her eyes.

Sycamorekit leaned against Birchkit and they slowly made their way outside towards the elder's den where Sorrelclaw lay inside outside the den in the sun.

After a quick greeting, Sorrelclaw told the pair stories for the rest of the day about her days as an apprentice and the trouble she got into within the clan; pretending to be a Dark Forest warrior to scare a clanmate, which caused far more panic then it was worst and had resulted in the thin scars that graced her ears. How much she had both enjoyed and became annoyed with her apprenticeship; with her mentor who insisted that her white markings had to be covered with mud. When the sun started to set the deep colors of the dusk had started to appear in the sky and the kits had hobbled back to their nest. Much to Sycamorekit's annoyance she had been forced, convinced to eat the seeds and soon drifted into a deep sleep, heart still beating ferociously. Larchflower settled into her nest wrapped around her pair of kits and much like the last night rest eluded her so she lay awake watching her kits.

Sycamorekit's breathing eventually slowed and then stopped as Larchflower finally fell asleep.

-0-

"Mom, mom," Birchkit screeched his green eyes were wide open, his fur stood on end and his claws were unsheathed, "Sycamorekit isn't moving."