"Agh! Smokekit, you got snow in my eyes!"

"C'mon it can't be that bad, Moonkit!"

"Hey, knock it off, you two."

"Smokekit started it, Volebriar!"

Volebriar sighed and forced herself to frown. Iceflower's kits had recently been let out of the nursery and allowed to explore camp, and ever since then, it felt like ShiningClan never had a moment of peace and quiet. The three were always out and about, pestering the poor elders into telling them a story or clinging to a warrior's legs until they gave into their pleas for a ride around camp.

Today, Volebriar had taken up the duty of watching over the rambunctious three so that Iceflower could spend the chilly morning with her mate, Ashpuddle. The two's bodies were currently intertwined as they spoke with Stagheart and Cloverpelt, who was expecting his kits. When they found out, Fallenpaw had commented on so many kits during leaf-bare not being a good thing.

Volebriar didn't see why that was a problem, seeing as the forest almost always seemed to be plunged in cold, spare the two or three moons of real green-leaf they received. The warriors never had much trouble finding prey in the snow for the queens anyways. There was always a crow crying up in a tree or a lemming daring a venture out of its burrow. And if there wasn't, it wasn't difficult to find crowfood that had been left behind by a pack of wolves or a bear. It never came to that, though.

She was snapped out of her brief spell by a little puff of air that ruffled her shoulder fur. Silverkit was gazing up at her with narrowed blue eyes from where she lay curled up in the curve of Volebriar's stomach.

"They're so noisy all the time," she huffed.

Volebriar grinned. The little gray she-cat already possessed the grace and maturity of a warrior, and was often scolding her littermates for their immature behavior. Her attitude reminded her a bit of Wolfstep when he was a kit.

"That's just how kits are," she replied. "I'm sure that once they're apprenticed, they'll calm down."

Silverkit sighed and leaned her head on Volebriar's shoulder again. "I sure hope so."

Volebriar turned her attention back to Moonkit and Smokekit. The two kits had gotten past their argument about snow and were now play-fighting. Smokekit had her brother pinned to the ground, a triumphant smirk on her face. The dark gray she-cat was fierce and determined. She was sure to make a great warrior someday. Their brother Moonkit, had been incredibly reserved when he first came out of the nursery, but now, he hardly ever stopped chattering. His white and gray tabby pelt always seemed to be ruffled as if he had just emerged from a scuffle.

Despite the fact that camp was never quiet anymore, the cats of ShiningClan were all very fond of the kits. The three were a breath of fresh air in the cold, miserable camp. It only ever seemed to get colder, and the kits were like three tiny suns to the Clan.

"The dawn patrol's back!"

Smokekit's excited squeal tore Volebriar away from her thoughts. Oaktail, Vinemask, and Hareleap had appeared at the entrance, and Smokekit and Moonkit were already bounding towards them. The three of them had received their warrior names not even a moon ago. Volebriar sighed and gently nudged Silverkit.

"Let's go make sure your littermates don't pester them to death," she murmured.

Silverkit nodded and got to her paws, already stomping over to where they stood. Volebriar followed.

"Did you meet any DuskClan patrols?"

"Did you have to fight them?"

"If I saw 'em, I would've shredded their tails!"

Volebriar affectionately rolled her eyes. "Leave them alone, you two. I'm sure they're extremely tired."

"Nah, it's fine Volebriar," Oaktail purred. "That patrol wasn't very exciting."

"Nothing but snow and ice out there," Vinemask grumbled, "same as every other day of leaf-bare."

Hareleap sighed. "Better than battle-ready DuskClan patrols. We should enjoy this peace while we have it, y'know."

Vinemask rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. A little bit of excitement wouldn't hurt, though."

"Ooh!" Smokekit suddenly squeaked. "Hareleap, Vinemask! Tell us about the battle with the rogues!"

Moonkit's eyes sparkled. "Yeah! None of the other warriors will tell us about it."

"For a good reason," Hareleap said grimly. "That battle was terrible. The other warriors probably don't want to remember it."

Moonkit's eyes had widened considerably. "Was it really that bad?"

"Yes," Vinemask answered. "That's how I got my limp." She stuck her back leg out, showing off the scars that split the fur there. The kits gasped. She smirked. "Although, I suppose if none of the other warriors will tell you…"

"Yay!" Smokekit bounced over to the gray-and-white she-cat. "Thank you, Vinemask! You're the best!"

Vinemask smiled. "We have to make a quick report to Adderstrike first. I'll be right back, okay?"

Smokekit nodded excitedly, watching as Hareleap and Vinemask turned and padded away. Before Oaktail left, he leaned towards Volebriar and brushed his cheek against hers and murmured a quick "see you later." Volebriar tried, and failed, to bite back the happy purr that rose from her throat.

She and Oaktail only grew closer after they received their warrior names. Now they shared a nest in the warriors' den. Fallenpaw constantly teased that soon there would be more kits than just Iceflower and Cloverpelt's in the nursery. Volebriar would reprimand her with burning ears and Oaktail merely laughed. Even Otterpelt, her own mother, poked at the two, giving Volebriar tips on mothering kits and telling Oaktail to be a good mate to her.

Volebriar loved her family more than anything, but they were really pushing it.

"I hope that Vinemask will be my mentor," Smokekit gushed once the warriors were out of hearing range.

"You two would make a good pair," Volebriar agreed, "but it's completely up to Ivystar and Adderstrike."

Silverkit sighed and leaned her head against Volebriar's leg. "I want you to be my mentor, Volebriar."

She felt her ears heat up. "R-really?"

"Mhmm," Silverkit hummed, her eyes sliding shut again. "You're really brave and strong, and all the other warriors say you're the best hunter ShiningClan's ever seen."

Volebriar chuckled bashfully. "Oh, I'm not so sure about that last part."

"Sure you are!" Moonkit piped. "Oaktail told me you caught a huge rabbit during the coldest part of leaf-bare when you were an apprentice!"

"Yeah!" Smokekit mewed. "And Cloverpelt said that she saw you knock a bird right out of the sky once!"

Volebriar laughed bashfully. "I just got lucky with those. That chickadee practically flew right into my paws."

"Ooh!" Silverkit gasped from below. "What about the time you killed a weasel?"

"Yeah!" Moonkit squeaked. "Ashpuddle told us that weasels are mean and nasty."

"That's how you got that scar on your nose, right?" Smokekit inquired.

"Yes," Volebriar replied, "but that was just another lucky catch. Adderstrike chased it towards me. All I did was kill it."

"Still not an easy task," Vinemask's mew came from behind, announcing her return. "Those little things have claws like thorns."

"Vinemask!" Smokekit squealed. "Time for the story about the battle!"

Vinemask smiled. "Sorry, but I'm gonna need you to wait a little bit longer for that. I need to speak with Volebriar for a moment."

"Aww," Moonkit whined. "You promised."

"I'll be with you before you know it, ok? Wait for me in the nursery."

"Alright! Race you!" Moonkit squeaked, his mood turning around completely. Not a heartbeat later, he was tearing off across the camp.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Silverkit cried, racing after him, Smokekit at her side.

Vinemask sighed, her breath billowing out in a cloud. "They sure are energetic."

"Yeah," Volebriar purred. "We were probably the same way when we were kits."

Vinemask hummed, an uncharacteristically gentle look on her face. She was probably reminiscing her time in OneClan as a young kit. She and Hareleap probably still missed it terribly.

Volebriar felt a sudden pang of sympathy for the two warriors. They had been through so much in such a short amount of time. Their Clan had slowly died off in front of them, and they were powerless to stop it. Vinemask had suffered a permanent injury and was cursed to limp forever. Then, they had to leave their home and adapt to a completely new life. The old she-cat, Thornheart, had suffered the same as them, of course, but Hareleap and Vinemask were so much younger. They could have had a long life ahead of them in OneClan.

"So what was it that you needed to speak to me about?"

The she-cat blinked. "Oh, yeah. Adderstrike's organizing the next hunting patrols. You should go ask her if you could go join one. You deserve it after spending the whole morning with those kits."

She nodded. "Alright, thanks. Good luck with them by the way!"

Vinemask rolled her eyes, already turning to leave. "I'll be fine. They love me!"

Volebriar smiled as she watched her go. The sudden sensation of another pelt pressing against her side stole her attetntion away. Oaktail had approached from behind and wrapped himself around Volebriar.

She purred. "No warning at all?"

"Nah," he sighed. "I'm so tired I could fall asleep right here."

Volebriar felt Oaktail begin to lean all his weight on her back. She gave a yelp as she felt her legs nearly collapse under the extra weight. Oaktail purred, and Volebriar felt the low sound rumble in his chest against her spine. He pushed himself off of her, but not enough to fully separate them. Gently, he rasped his tongue over Volebriar's ears, eliciting a blissful sigh from her.

"Hey, didn't you just say that you weren't tired?"

She felt Oaktail smile more than she saw it. "Yeah, I lied about that. I couldn't let those kits know that they had more energy than me. They would've wrestled me to the ground in a heartbeat."

Volebriar purred. "You could've taken them."

Oaktail pulled away to smirk at her. "Have you ever tried to fight those three? They're unstoppable when they all team up on you."

Volebriar laughed, and she felt Oaktail do the same as he pressed his chin against her forehead.

And for the first time in a while, everything felt just fine.

((A/N)) Hey guys, I'm back~! Here is the long-awaited sequel to Falling Snow ((which you should really read before this one)). I feel like I've done really well on the chapters I have written so far and hope that you think so, too. It's been a little bit hard since I've been getting ideas for later series faster than I have been for this one. Speaking of, I have four more series planned for after this one, two take place after this arc and two take place before. I also have a couple of "Special Editions" planned. I can't wait to share all of them with you guys.

I'm also gonna try to follow a set update schedule. I'm going to try to post every Saturday from here on out, excluding this chapter of course. I think that's all. Until next time~!

~Kestrel