Guardian
Prologue
A harsh leaf-fall gust battered the tightly woven nursery, amplifying the agonised wails from within.
"Get Olivenose!"
A heavily-pregnant white and ginger queen eased her way out of the den, narrowing her eyes against the lashing rain, as she hurried to the other side of the clearing. She returned moments later with a scruffy brown she-cat carrying a bundle if herbs.
Inside, a pale gold queen lay sprawled out on the reeds, with rippling motions running down her flank. A young grey tom slipped through the entrance, grasping a stick in his jaws.
"The kitting's started!" Gasped the golden queen.
"I can see that," grumbled Olivenose. "Skypaw, put the stick in Blossombreeze's mouth, and fetch me some soaked moss." The young tom did as he was told, then padded out to fetch the moss with a cautious glance over his shoulder.
"Blossombreeze, when I say so, push." The other she-cat grunted in acknowledgement, as another contraction coursed through her. "Ok, push, now!"
Blossombreeze hissed with effort, biting down on the stick, and a small shape slithered onto the ground. Skypaw re-entered the nursery and lowered the moss next to Blossombreeze, just as the other queen bent forwards, and began to lick the little kit fiercely, despite it's squirming.
"It's a tom," she announced, squinting in the early dawn light at the dark kit. The queen, Pearlshine, purred, and placed him carefully next to his mother. At the other end of the nursery, two other queens looked on, their kits watching curiously.
Blossombreeze gasped as a strong ripple wracked her body, and another kit flopped onto the nest, to be greeted by Skypaw's rasping tongue. "A she-cat," he declared, and put her next to her brother, who was already suckling.
"How many more?" Groaned Blossombreeze.
"Just one more, I think," soothed Olivenose, stroking the queen's belly with her tail.
The golden she-cat screeched, and shattered the stick, as a third lump slide into the world. He was also a tom, and was placed along side his litter mates. Sounds of Clan life were gathering outside, most likely an early hunting patrol.
A smaller ripple flowed down the queen's flank. "Shouldn't they stop now?" She murmured.
"There's probably one more to come," Olivenose meowed. Blossombreeze shuddered once more, and a much smaller kit plopped out. The medicine cat looked at it worriedly, and she began licking it furiously, but relaxed when it took in a deep breath.
"That's two toms and two she-cats," she grunted, watching Blossombreeze's eyes widen in horror at the latest kit. She was smaller in comparison to the others, and she also had a starkly different coat, which seemed to be silver with black spots. Identical to her brother's, thought Olivenose. She hesitated, then said, "You will need some borage, to help with your milk. Four kits is a lot for one cat," and briskly gave her a few leaves. She then turned to Skypaw, who had been watching the scene unfold. "Go and tell Sunfur, when he gets back from the dawn patrol, he has four healthy kits, and that he may visit them." He nodded and padded out. She turned to follow him, casting one last glance over her shoulder and shuddering at sight of the small silver kit.
A while later, a large, russet tom nosed his way through the den entrance, and purred as he saw his mate and new born kits. The purring hitched when he spotted the silver kit, but a small smile passed over his face.
"Do they have names yet?" He asked, his gaze not leaving the smallest kitten.
"No, I was waiting for you," she replied, gazing fondly at each of the kits, but she too stiffened at the sight of the fourth. "Do you have any ideas?" Blossombreeze murmured.
The kits' fur had now dried out, and their markings were much clearer. The two toms were russet like their father, the larger one with a white chest and tail-tip, and the other with white paws and black stripes running down his back.
"How about Foxkit for the larger tom?" Sunfur meowed. Blossombreeze nodded.
"And Pinekit for the other tom?"
Sunfur purred. "But what about the she-cats?"
Both she-cats had a slender build, similar to their mother. One had short, light golden fur, with a pale chest and an unusual tinged pink tail-tip. The smaller kit was completely different, and her coat bore no resemblance to either of her parents. She was tiny compared to her siblings, with silver fur and black spots that faded down her legs, and a small, pink nose.
"Rosekit, for the golden kit," Blossombreeze mewed lovingly. "She's certainly as pretty as one, and those claws look as sharp as thorns! She's already a perfect warrior!"
"..And how about Echokit for the silver kit?" Sunfur suggested quietly. Blossombreeze paused, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"Very fitting," she whispered. Then she continued, "She could almost have been his reflection, when he was that age. Except for his white paw."
"I'm sure she won't turn out like him," Sunfur comforted. Blossombreeze turned to him, her eyes suddenly wide with worry.
"But what if she does? He was so good at hiding his ambitions, how could I know if she's the same? We were so close when we were younger.." she broke off with a whimper. Sunfur lay down next to his mate to comfort her.
"Frostfoot is dead. He will never hurt anyone you love again. I've made sure of that." Blossombreeze's eyes darted nervously around the warm den, despite her mate's efforts to calm her down, and they came to a stop at Echokit.
"But she might; we-we've got to get rid of her – before the Clan finds out. Oh, but Olivenose and Pearlshine have already seen her.. and so has Skypaw! Maybe if I just don't feed her, she'll die quickly.. she's so small anyway-"
"Blossombreeze!" Sunfur stared at his mate in horror. "Are you crazy? You can't kill our kit!"
"But wouldn't it be doing the Clan a favour? We're only just getting used to being safe in our own dens again: you only killed Frostfoot a couple of moons ago!" Blossombreeze's breathing had quickened, upsetting the kits kneading at her tummy.
"No! I can't believe you won't accept her just because of her appearance! Just because she looks like him doesn't make her a murderer!" Sunfur hissed. His mate flinched at the word, so he softened his tone. "I will always love our kits equally, can't you promise me you'll do the same?" He looked at her with pleading eyes.
"..Alright," she replied eventually, but a burning hatred was growing in her eyes, unnoticed by Sunfur.
Satisfied, he stood up, his head bumping into the densely woven roof a few times as he made his way out of the narrow entrance, but he froze as he heard Blossombreeze snarl, "Well she is no kit of mine."
A.N. Hello! This is the prologue/first chapter in my first fanfiction, so if you have any feedback/advice, PLEASE post a review, it's greatly appreciated! :) I'm planning on updating every few days in the holidays for this story, so I'll try to stick to that as much as possible, but I kinda suck at sticking to schedules so... I'm also creating the Alliances at the moment, so if you want to submit any OCs, feel free! (This story is set in the old forest, waaay before Firestar turns up, but after SkyClan leaves, so I'll be using the four usual Clans.) Thanks again for reading, and enjoy!
-An anonymous bookaholic
