Author's Note: First chapter! We don't own a thing!
Dried leaves swirled in the cold autumn air as a silver long-haired queen padded across the Quad and by the Gym, making her way over to the nursery. As she neared inviting entrance that lead to a place promising shelter from the freezing autumn air, her paws halted to a stop due to a sudden surge of immense pain. She could feel the kits in her belly wriggling and weighing her down with every pawstep she took. Taking a few deep breaths of air, she hurried into what had once been a classroom.
A bright light greeted her, blinding her for a split second. Flopping down on the carpeted floor, her chest heaved up and down as she desperately gasped for air. There was a yowl before the other queen, a cream tabby, came running over, her dark green eyes full of worry. "I alerted Snowflake, Echomist. Don't worry. Your kits will be fine."The other queen reassured her. A smile appeared faintly on the silver she-cat, comforted by the thought that her friend was always there for her. She opened her mouth to thank her friend but before she could, another surge of pain washed over her, wiping away the sentence and her thoughts.
A small white she-cat hurried in with Frostedpaw following closely behind her. Dropping the herbs she carried in her mouth, Frostedpaw hurried over to Echomist. A few moments later, a black tom with a white chest and belly padded in, carrying a thick branch in his jaw. Seeing Echomist, he pushed his way past the two medicine cats, dropping the stick at her paws as he laid down by her side.
Weakly, Echomist picked up the stick with her mouth and clamped down on it. Her head felt dizzy but the waves of pain kept her awake. She saw Snowflake pushing her way through, herbs carried in her mouth. Letting them fall to the ground, her paws felt Echomist's belly. "Four kits."She announced.
"Four? That's the most we've ever had."The cream tabby she-cat nearly gasped, waving her two moon old kits back with a swish of her striped tail.
Silence echoed throughout the room as Snowflake silently checked the silver queen again. Suddenly, Echomist bit down on the stick, splintering it a bit as the first kit slid out. Gasping for air, she looked at the kit, a brown and white striped tom. The kit was quickly slid to his father by Snowflake, who worked on licking him. A violent spasm of pain passed through her once again before the second kit, a black one with a cream chest and belly slid out. Echomist barely had enough time to look at the kit before it was passed over to Frostedpaw.
As another spasm went through her body, she bite down on the stick, splintering it even more. The small she-cat had a silver pelt and a white chest. Running out 0f options, Snowflake slid the she-cat over to Lilycove, who licked her fur the opposite way, trying to warm her.
Gasping for air at this point, the silver queen was caught off guard by the final kit who came out suddenly. The stick splintered and broke in her mouth as the final kit, a tiny white she-cat with a cream chest tumbled out and was placed before herself. Spitting out the broken shards of wood, her tongue lowered, licking at the tiny she-cat. The brown and white tom was nudged over by her mate, Shadowclaw, who curled up next to her. The black and cream she-cat was passed over by Frostedpaw and the white and silver she-cat by Lilycove. "They're beautiful."The other queen purred before returning to where her own kits were waiting.
"What should we name them?"Shadowclaw asked, gazing down at the four kits affectionately as a purr rumbled in his throat. "Aquakit."Echomist replied, giving the white and silver she-cat lick on her forehead. The kit shrunk away slightly, before returning to suckle at her mom's stomach. "And Frostkit."She added, giving the tiny white she-cat a lick as well.
"Then these two shall be Arctickit and Lightningkit."Shadowclaw purred,drawing his tail tip over the two kits as he stated their names. "They'll grow up to fine warriors."
"I hope so, Frostkit looks rather small."Echomist replied, worry showing in her voice for the first time.
"I'll leave you some Juniper berries to increase your strength."Snowflake mewed, pushing the small blue berries over by her paws before leaving with Frostedpaw close behind them.
The sound of paw steps alerted the couple to another pair of cats approaching the den. A white she-cat with silver paws padded in followed by a large light gray tom with a slight limp. "Greetings, Snowstar and Blizzrdfur."Lilycove mewed, standing up from her laying position. "Hello there, Lilycove."Snowstar replied, a small purr rumbling in her throat.
"Congratulations, Echomist! New kits mean new warriors for the clan."The leader mewed, gazing down on all four kits. Nodding his agreement, Blizzardfur eyed the small white and cream she-cat, uncertainty flashing through his eyes for a second. Catching the deputy glancing at Frostkit, the runt of the litter, she wrapped her tail around all four protectively. They were all suckling milk, though she caught a few kicks here and there.
Echomist started licking all four kits at a time, keeping them warm. They snuggled even closer to her and lots of relief flooded out of her heart.
Later that day, Shadowclaw's hunting patrol came back laden with fresh-kill. Picking up a plump rabbit from out of the pile in the center of camp, he made his way over to the nursery and dropped it at Echomist's paws with a thump, waking her up.
"You need to keep up you strength if you're going to feed our kits."He meowed affectionately. "Thanks. I'm still pretty tired from giving birth to our kits."Echomist replied, lifting her head and sniffing the rabbit delicately. "You're welcome."murmured Shadowclaw in reply, before lying down next to her.