Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter, not to me. Only the alternate universe presented in this story is mine. The characters, settings, etc. are not. Everything belongs to its respective owner(s). Thank you, and enjoy the story.
Leafpool looked on, laying comfortably by the den entrance, as her moon-old kits played. It may have been leaf-bare, which meant snow was covering the forest floor, but what did that matter? All of her kits had thick coats to help them face the harsh season; besides, playing would warm their little bodies and toughen their muscles at a young age.
They deserved to relish in the easy days of kithood. Being loners would not take that away from them.
The eldest, Wolfkit, resembled her father in every way. She had his short coat, black fur, long legs, lithe build, and tufted ears. However, she had Firestar's emerald green eyes that shone every moment of the day.
The second oldest, Pouncekit, was big and broad-shouldered with the build of a ThunderClan warrior. His long, fluffy golden tabby fur and amber eyes were full of life and youth.
The youngest, Windkit, was a nice mixture of both Clans. He had the lithe build, blue eyes, and short fur of his father. His pale gray tabby fur also likely came from his side. However, he had the short legs and long whiskers of his mother. He was quite a scrawny little thing too.
Windkit was currently trying to tug a leaf from Pouncekit's jaws. Wolfkit was lurking behind her youngest brother, relishing in his unawareness as he fought for the crumpled orange object. His almost white eyes narrowed in anger, his claws digging into the snow-coated ground. The leaf suddenly broke, sending Pouncekit and Windkit back about half a mouse-length each. While Windkit was trying to get back on his paws, Wolfkit pounced on him and began attacking with sheathed claws.
"No fair!" he yowled as Pouncekit joined his sister, and he began desperately trying to fight back.
A black tom raced up to them, a rabbit in his jaws. "Who's hungry?" he asked after dropping it in the snow.
"Crowfeather!" The trio stopped playing immediately and began crowding around the warrior, the white flakes caught in their pelts.
Crowfeather took turns nuzzling all three, purring loudly with them. They ignored the prey, instead aiming questions towards their father. However, only one was heard.
"What took you so long today?" Pouncekit asked.
"Breezekit made me bring him feathers," Crowfeather responded with a chuckle.
"What a bossy furball!" the golden tom snorted.
"So are you," Crowfeather retorted teasingly. "So who wants to try their first prey today, huh? I hunted the plumpest I saw just for you."
Leafpool stood and padded over to the four. "Are you sure it isn't too early?" she questioned worriedly.
"Of course," Crowfeather assured his mate. "I asked Barkface, saying I wanted to know for Breezekit, and he said close to two moons was good. And guess how old ours are? Almost two moons!" He nudged the fresh-kill towards the kits. "Come on, just one bite?" he begged jokingly after they gave him wary looks.
Windkit took a slow bite, chewing thoughtfully. He nodded after swallowing. "It's good," he told his littermates.
His brother and sister both took a bite, Wolfkit's tentative and Pouncekit's more eager. They didn't say anything, but their faces lit up with delight. All three kits began scarfing the scrawny rabbit down.
"Sorry I couldn't get anything bigger," Crowfeather apologized to his mate. "It's the time of the season that prey begins getting skinny. I can go and hunt another for you now, if you like."
"Only if it isn't too much trouble," Leafpool ordered. "You have your Clan to feed, Crow. I don't want you putting us above them."
"I'm not!" the black tom told her. "I'm treating all of my responsibilities equally."
"Speaking of responsibilities, how are you doing with Breezekit?" the brown and white tabby asked.
"Good, actually," Crowfeather replied, sitting beside her. "Nightcloud told me she was suspicious that I wouldn't care about him because I might still be grieving my loss of you, but she's glad to see that I spend so much time with him. I just... can't stand being with her anymore! I respect her as a warrior and as a mother, and I love Breezekit as much as our three. But... I can't keep pretending, especially while being mates with you. It feels wrong! Tell me what to do, Leafpool. I need a she-cat's advice."
Leafpool looked at the moody tom with a gentle amber gaze. "Just tell her that the love you once felt for her has faded, and that you regret not being able to care for her as a mate anymore," she meowed carefully. "But be sure to remind her that you'll still be there for Breezekit as a father, and that you hope you can still remain close - platonically." She licked his cheek. "It'll be fine," she comforted the warrior. "You'll see."
Crowfeather nodded slowly, telling her, "I'll do that." His milky blue eyes brightened. "What about that extra rabbit, though? Should I go get one?"
Leafpool shrugged. "I already gave you my answer, you mouse-brain," she teasingly replied.
Her mate flicked her with his tail as he got to his paws. "Don't speak to me that way, ThunderClanner!" he meowed.
"Oh?" Her eyes narrowed. "All of that rabbit you skinny cats eat must've gone to your head, and is fogging your senses. ThunderClan warriors are just as capable as your kind."
"Says the one who's been eating it nonstop for over a moon!" Crowfeather retorted.
"Only because you'll hunt nothing else for me!" Leafpool growled, smirking. "Oh, how I've dreamed of tasting squirrel and thrush meat again... your scrawny prey is inferior compared to ThunderClan's specialty." She purred as she got onto small, delicate white paws. She lashed her fluffy tail in the taller cat's face. "Go hunt for me!" she ordered. "And maybe something other than your precious rabbits?"
Crowfeather snorted. "I suppose," he hissed, trying not to chuckle. He waved his tail and ran off, back towards his own territory.
"Why were you fighting?" Pouncekit asked quietly.
Leafpool looked down at her kits, licking their ears gently. Purring, she explained, "We weren't. We were only joking. Couldn't you tell by the tones of our voices?"
Windkit lifted his chin. "I could," he bragged.
Wolfkit playfully wacked her brother over the ear. "Shut up!" she mewed. This caused all three kits to begin play fighting in a bundle of golden, black, and gray fur.
"Calm down, you three," Leafpool gently ordered. She was able to use her paws to separate them, all of which whose fur was messy. "Look at you now!" she fretted. "I had you all looking nice for your father's daily visit, and you have to go ruin it. Come here; I'll fix you troublemakers up." She quickly groomed their little pelts and sent them off to play again.
It wasn't long before Crowfeather returned with a scrawny robin. "Sorry," he mewed. "It was the best ThunderClan prey I could find."
Leafpool snorted with a smirk, then took the prey from her mate. "Thanks," she meowed as she began tucking into the bird.
As she ate, she thought over her life in ThunderClan. One question made her pelt itch with nervousness, which was why she'd never asked it before. She swallowed the last bite of her meal and looked up at Crowfeather. He looked back, having been watching their kits play in the snow.
"Yes?" he mewed, seeming to sense that she had something on her mind.
"Who's the medicine cat of ThunderClan?" Leafpool asked. "Who have they chosen to replace me?"
"Brightheart volunteered to cover for you while you were gone, but it became permanent when it was clear you wouldn't return," Crowfeather responded. "Apparently she'll go back to being a warrior after she fully trains an apprentice."
"Has she started training one?" Leafpool became more and more interested, which was obvious through her brown tabby ears perking.
"Not yet," the black tom replied. "It can't be long, though. She always seems restless at Gatherings when she's sitting with the other medicine cats. She probably misses her mate too."
Leafpool immediately felt guilty and selfish. How could she leave her position to a she-cat that had a mate and daughter, and who wanted nothing more than to hunt and fight? Perhaps I should return, admit my secret, split my relationship with Crowfeather, and have my kits grow up discriminated because they're half-Clan. But as her thought went on, she realized how far she'd gone and how awful her life would be if she dared even look back. She could tell that most, if not all cats wouldn't give any of them a warm welcome.
"Leafpool, are you okay?" With these words, Leafpool snapped out of her negative thoughts. "You okay?" Crowfeather repeated. "You seemed lost there. Your eyes kinda went out of focus, and you were staring at nothing."
"Yeah, fine," Leafpool told him, shaking herself as if trying to release her regrets. "I'm just thinking."
Crowfeather seemed to want to respect her privacy, and so didn't ask further. Instead, he got to his dark paws. Snow was caught all throughout his fur. "I should be going," he mewed. "It's nearing dusk, and my Clanmates will get suspicious if I stay out any longer."
"Sleep well, Crowfeather," Leafpool meowed, giving him a small nuzzle right before he padded over to the kits.
"You're leaving?" Pouncekit asked, stopping their game. "You can't go! Why not stay with us for tonight?" His littermates mewed in agreement.
"Because I can't," Crowfeather replied. "I'm sorry. Maybe one day we can." With that, he gave a final nod and sped away.
The three kits looked after him even after he'd disappeared, and Leafpool could relate to their pain. Never once had they spent an entire day with their own father, yet they loved him and looked up to him so much.
I'll make sure that one day, even if it's far into the future, you'll stay the night with him.