Echo: Now what kind of meanie would I be if I only uploaded the Allegiances?

Chapter 1

"Oh, how sweet!"

"Congratulations, Swanheart! They're beautiful!"

The blurry face of Clovertail, the ThunderClan medicine cat, loomed in front of her and the she-cat was vaguely aware of the voices of the other queens congratulating her. She couldn't think straight, her mind still addled from the pain; what were they congratulating her for? Slowly her vision began to clear and Clovertail's pretty tortoiseshell face came into focus. Something small and warm nudged her belly and she looked down to see Clovertail's paw gently pushing two tiny kits into the soft white fur.

"Swanheart?" the medicine cat's soft voice roused her from her thoughts. "Everything's completely fine. You have two healthy she-kits."

Swanheart stared at her uncomprehendingly for a few moments. Then it all came back to her. She was in the nursery. She had been in the nursery for the past half moon. She had been kitting since before dawn. What time was it now? As if sensing her thoughts, the medicine cat informed her that the dawn patrol was just about to leave.

The same dawn patrol that she, ideally, should be leading.

Pushing the bitter thought to the back of her mind, Swanheart instead focused on the kits suckling at her belly and felt an unexpected surge of pride. These were her kits. These tiny balls of fur would one day become great warriors of ThunderClan.

"I'll bring you small borage," Clovertail said quietly. Swanheart briefly looked up and nodded in acknowledgement as the medicine cat turned to exit the bramble bush. She turned back to the kits.

"I want to see them!" a voice exclaimed suddenly from across the nursery. Swanheart glanced over at where Sweetkit was trying to scramble over her mother and brother to get a glimpse of the new arrivals.

"Well, go ahead and ask Swanheart if you can take a look," her mother, Lilypetal, instructed her gently, nudging Sweetkit's golden rump towards the white queen. The young cat, now four moons old, and growing quite large for the nursery, creeped forwards. Behind her in the nest, Duskkit stared with wide amber eyes at the wriggling newborns.

"Can I please see them, Swanheart?" she asked and the snow-coloured queen chuckled, flicking her tail invitingly.

"Go ahead."

"They're very small," the golden kit commented, tilting her head to one side.

"They've only just been born," Birdwing explained from her own nest in the other corner of the nursery. The dark reddish-brown she-cat was lying on her side, displaying the roundness of her pregnant belly.

Sweetkit reached out with a paw and poked one of them, which automatically mewled in protest. Swanheart bit back an instinctive snarl and the golden she-kit quickly withdrew. The queen forced herself to relax; she knew Sweetkit didn't mean to cause any harm.

"They're too small to play with," she complained.

"Will your kits be any bigger?" Duskkit, who was now also out of his nest, asked Birdwing.

"They'll be small too," the expecting queen told him, "but don't worry. Swanheart's kits will grow fast, and then you'll have someone else to play with."

"Yeah, but they're all she-kits," the dusky brown tom muttered.

"Better than toms," Sweetkit shot back, swatting her brother on the ear.

"Oh, yeah?" Duskkit mocked, pouncing on her.

"Sweetkit! Duskkit!" Lilypetal berated as the two began to tussle. "Swanheart's kits are very small; you can't play rough around them."

The two halted their game and Sweetkit approached Swanheart once more.

"What are their names?" she asked.

"Yes," Birdwing agreed, "have you thought of anything?"

"Well…" Swanheart looked down at the two kits, analysing them with calculating blue eyes as she tried to pick out names. "The black one will be Nightkit and the black and white one will be Badgerkit," she decided finally.

"Those are lovely names," Birdwing praised.

"I'm sure Blackfur will be proud," Lilypetal added.

Swanheart froze. Blackfur. How could it have slipped her mind? Did he even know she'd begun kitting? Her thoughts were interrupted by Clovertail's re-entering the nursery, borage leaves grasped between her teeth. She put them down in front of Swanheart.

"They'll help your milk come," she explained.

The borage leaves tasted repulsive but she eventually managed to swallow all of them without much of a fuss.

"Who was on the dawn patrol?" she asked Clovertail when she was finished, attempting to sound as casual as she could manage. The medicine cat's green eyes gleamed with amusement.

"Roanfur, Weedwhisker, Skyfall, Dustcloud and Mumblepaw, I believe."

Swanheart nodded.

"As far as I'm aware, Blackfur is still in the warriors' den," she added.

"Good," Swanheart replied somewhat curtly, "thank you," and began grooming Nightkit and Badgerkit, rasping her rough tongue over their fluffy pelts.

She glanced at Lilypetal and Birdwing who were exchanging entertained glances. Sweetkit and Duskkit were playing obliviously in the corner. The white she-cat's eyes narrowed. Blackfur would hear the news soon enough and she couldn't decide whether she wanted to see him or not. She was still angry with him, and would doubtlessly remain so for a long time, but a part of her – that silly, sentimental part – longed for him to visit her, to see a spark of affectionate pride in his eyes as he looked upon their kits. What would he think of them?

She didn't have to wait long, for only a little while later a broad-shouldered, black-pelted tom pushed his way into the nursery. One of his front paws was white, as was the very tip of tail. There was a small white patch on his chest and one eye was also rimmed with white, contrasting curiously with the rest of him. His amber eyes were wide and his tail twitched nervously as he squeezed into the bramble bush.

"Hello, Blackfur," Swanheart greeted coolly, wrapping her thick tail around the kits, shielding them from his view.

"Swanheart!" he seemed startled. "I heard about the kits-"

"They came before dawn," she interrupted him.

"Can I see them?"

She removed her tail and he moved closer, peering down at the tiny bundles sleeping against her belly.

"They're names are Nightkit and Badgerkit."

"They're perfect…" he murmured and Swanheart's head swivelled to stare at him with shocked blue eyes. Had she heard him right? But she must have because only once before had she seen such a tender look in his eyes and she had never seen them filled with such delight. She suddenly felt very warm inside.

"They are," she agreed, gazing down at the two bundles. In that one moment with Nightkit and Badgerkit suckling at her belly and Blackfur by her side, Swanheart's world felt so perfect in a way that it never had before and she was sure it never would again. There was never any peace between her and Blackfur but she was fully prepared to revel those few precious seconds.

"I'm so proud of you," Blackfur purred, rasping an affectionate tongue over her ear. "I'm taking Tawnypaw to the sandy hollow but I'll bring you some fresh-kill later," he told her, nuzzling her face before leaving the nursery, presumably to train with his apprentice.

Stunned, Swanheart watched him go before looked across at Lilypetal who just shook her head and purred.

"I'll never understand you and Blackfur," she meowed, "I just hope your kits will be easier to deal with."

Swanheart's ears twitched at Lilypetal's teasing and out of the corner of her eye she could make out Birdwing's blue eyes gleaming in amusement. With a sigh she turned her attention back to her kits, rasping a tongue over the mewling Badgerkit's soft pelt. Her relationship with Blackfur always seemed to be either a cause for entertainment or concern amongst her clanmates. Pushing her own worry about Blackfur to the back of her mind, she raised her head to look again at Lilypetal and, curling her plume-like tail around her two miracles, she replied: "Well, we'll have to wait and see, won't we?"

Indeed, she thought to herself, what will the future hold for these kits?