Yeahhh so I was gonna update this sooner, but then my computer closed my web browser window and it wasn't saved, so I lost all I had written. Obviously I still could have updated in the three months since, but I didn't, and I apologize. Anyways, the three OCs I chose to be along with Coldkit in Auburnnose's litter are:

Ravenkit (white with black streaks, she-kit) - Snowfall16

Featherkit (light brown and ginger, she-kit) - leafie

Hailkit (white, tom) - an anonymous fan

Thanks for submitting them! They won't be major characters, but they won't be completely background ones either. They'll be around especially during Pine and Needle's apprentice moons, and as Coldkit gains more attention.

-Mossy


Chapter Six - POV - Needle - Moon 3

"Surely kitbirth isn't that painful," sighed Pinekit.

Needlekit glanced over at his brother. The black kit identical to him was crouched on the ground with his rump in the air and his paws stuffed in his ears. Needlekit smirked and nudged Pinekit so that he would unclog his ears a moment.

Unfortunately, it was bad timing. As soon as Pinekit's paws were unscrewed from his ears, another caterwaul exploded into the air, as abrupt as startled birds flying out of a thick-leafed tree.

"Sorry," Needlekit apologized, wincing, as soon as he could hear himself think again. "I was just going to say that it's like Auburnnose and Mistcloud are having a contest for who can screech louder."

Right on cue, Mistcloud shouted some encouraging words to the kitting queen. Even though the elderly medicine cat's worn voice was muffled by the nursery walls, Needlekit could make out every syllable from beginning to end.

"Ha, ha. That was totally worth busting an eardrum over," Pinekit replied tartly.

o3o

Ten screams, five exclamations of encouragement, and fifty anxious father-to-be laps around the camp later: all is silent. It's been seasons since the cats of ShadowClan have experienced peace this long, peace this quiet, peace this extraordinary...

Needlekit paused the log in his head, lifting his chin from his paws and opening his eyes. They had been closed a while and the camp looked as if a blue film had settled over Needlekit's eyes. The small tom shook himself and rose to his paws. He finally realized that Pinekit was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, the camp was deserted, save for some cats exiting the nursery. Oh... everyone must be visiting the newborns.

And that's exactly what it was. Needlekit squeezed between Evesky and Chillgaze's flanks, barely able to breathe. The nursery was the stuffiest it had ever been, and the black tom was winded thanks to the depleted oxygen supply by the time he reached the front of the line.

"Hey, line cutter!" Needlekit turned to see Amberpaw, with her fangs bared. "Back of the line if you want to see the kits."

Needlekit glared up at her and wrinkled her nose as if she was crowfood. "All I want to know is if anyone has seen Pine-"

"He's with me, Amber," Pinekit meowed, appearing out of nowhere to stand at Needlekit's side. The other black-furred kit eyed the riled apprentice's face. "Hey, calm down. Take a few poppy seeds, eh? It's just kits."

Pinekit steered his brother around and led him deeper into the den. "Thanks for saving me back there," Needlekit breathed in his ear. "I'm afraid my handsome pelt might have become lining for her nest."

"What? I didn't catch that, that's my bad ear," Pinekit told him, flicking his other ear. Needlekit repeated what he said on Pinekit's other side, and his littermate nodded and smirked. "Yeah, skinning you sounds like something she might do. Anyway, sorry about the whole ear thing. Though I guess it was worth losing some hearing to be able to see these kits. They're not just kits. They're the darnedest little things; tiny little paws and tiny little tails and tiny little ears..."

They finally reached the front of the line, and slipped between Crowflight's bouncing paws to look down into Auburnnose's nest.

Needlekit was stunned. "T- these are cats?" His incredulous outburst was immediately regretted, as proud father Hivefur narrowed aloof amber eyes at him. Needlekit backtracked. "I mean... I mean, they're just so amazing, I can't believe they're only little cats!"

"Hey, we looked like that once. Just stop before you get smacked," Pinekit grunted, settling down to watch the wriggling, half-dry bundles of fur.

Needlekit scuffed his paws on the ground; then he decided to redeem himself instead of face an awkward silence. "Have you named them yet?"

Hivefur's expression considerably softened, and he answered, "Yes." He leaned forward and gingerly placed a paw on a black-and-brown tom. "This robust fellow here is Coldkit. A good, fierce name for a strong, fierce ShadowClan warrior." He moved on to a she-kit who at first looked white, but when Needlekit looked closer, he realized that there were black streaks on her back that looked similar to wings. "Ravenkit." The next newborn was light brown dappled with ginger; she was Featherkit. The final, smallest kit was pure, ivory-white just like Auburnnose excluding the russet muzzle. He was Hailkit.

"Those are fantastic names," Pinekit gushed. "You lucked out: two toms and two she-kits."

Needlekit blinked down at Coldkit, Ravenkit, Featherkit, and Hailkit. So far, they were blind and deaf and their only goal in life was to drink milk until they burst. They had yet to discover so many wonderful and horrible things in the world. They were still innocent.

Needlekit wondered if he could say the same.

o3o

A half-moon later, Auburnnose finally released her energy-charged kits from under her overprotective wing so they could explore outside.

Pinekit and Needlekit sat a safe distance away, their tails curled neatly over their paws. Needlekit glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye, and noticed that they had the exact same posture and content grin on their face; one could look their way and think they were seeing double.

Hivefur was giving his children a tour of the place, and the golden warrior led the multicolored crew over to the twins.

Needlekit was pleasantly surprised to see how much the kits had developed in such a small amount of time. Their stubby legs had lengthened enough for them to toddle rather than crawl; their eyes were open and bright with curiosity as they flitted about the camp; and their ears were perked up and taking in every grunt even a mouse produced.

Featherkit clung close to her father as they advanced on Pinekit and Needlekit. "Daddy," she whispered to him. "There's... there's two of the same cat!"

"Not at all, darling," Hivefur disagreed gently. He used his tail to pull Featherkit out from underpaw and presented her and her siblings to the two toms. "This is Pinekit, and this is Needlekit," he introduced them. Then he frowned quizzically. "Right?"

"Right," Needlekit said, even though he was pretty sure Hivefur, when pointing to him, had said "Pinekit".

"Yeah, we see them in the nursery all the time. Big whoop," squeaked Coldkit. His amber eyes were already trained on the next thing, the fresh-kill pile. "Woah, is that dead prey?" Before Hivefur could respond, he raced over to it and poked a dead lizard in the eye. "Cool!"

Needlekit rolled his eyes. Well, he's that kit in the litter.

Ravenkit stepped forward from behind Hailkit, blinking huge dark eyes at the brothers. "H- hi," she whispered.

Needlekit's heart trembled a little between beats. He swallowed and said back, "Hi."


Cuteness overloaddddd