Disclaimer: Spottedmoth123 does not own Warriors.

DarkstormShadowClan~ Yeah, that's the main reason why I did that. Plus, there's another she-cat with needs to see Lion in an upcoming chapter. *hint hint*

SandyFire~ It must be your lucky day because there's a LOT of Dove X Toad in this chapter haha. And no problem, you're probably one of my most loyal reviewers EVER. Thank you for everything. 3

WARNING: Gore, gore, and more gore. Plus implied cat reproduction *wiggles eyebrows* near the end of the chapter. Don't worry, nothing too bad. Enjoy!

Dovewing blinked open her eyes sleepily to the sound of coughing echoing in the den. She rose her head and yawned loudly. Her gaze focused on Mosspelt's nest, in which a tiny grey kit was coughing repeatedly. She rose to her paws, padding over to the tiny kit and touching her nose to its chest; the tiny tom's heartbeat was no more than a flutter and his breathing was labored.

"Good morning, Dovewing."

The grey queen spun around to see Toadstep standing in the entrance to the den, his sleek black-and-white fur bright in the morning sunlight. She purred, padding forward and touching her nose to his cheek. "And the same to you," she murmured, stepping back. "What's wrong with Puddlekit?"

In the three days since the cats had arrived at their make-shift camp, Mosspelt had named three of her kits: Puddlekit, Blackkit, and Ripplekit for the only tom. She had yet to name the last kit, the eldest.

Toadstep cleared his throat, blinking. "Mosspelt insists it's just a cough but Lionblaze and I are convinced that he has whitecough."

Dovewing sighed, her tail drooping. "Whitecough. That's the last thing we need right now, especially now that Jayfeather's herbs are running low." The cats had used almost all of the herbs on Lionblaze, who had only woken up the day before. He had needed nearly constant support, and after learning of Cinderheart's death they had used all of their shock supplies on him.

Toadstep rested his tail on her shoulder. "Why don't you come visit the kits? Mosspelt's been dying to take a walk."

Dovewing dipped her head, following the tom out of the den and into the open plains. At first she was blinded from the sudden change of lighting but her eyes adjusted after a moment and she spotted the tortoiseshell queen sitting a few tail-lengths away, her three kits crouched in front of her. She quickly walked over, her whiskers twitching.

Mosspelt looked up, her blue eyes exhausted. "Oh, hello Dovewing," she glanced down at her kits. "Enjoy the time before your kits are born- they're quite a pawful!"

Dovewing laughed, looking down at the squirming bodies. "Have you decided on a name for the eldest yet?" She gazed down at the tortoiseshell-and-black she-kit curiously.

Mosspelt blinked. "Actually, I've decided that I want you to name her. I, nor my kits, would be alive without your help and generosity."

Dovewing widened her eyes in shock.

Me? Name a RiverClan's queen's kit? Well this was unsuspected!

"Y-You would really give me that honor?" She meowed in awe, looking up at the tortoiseshell queen.

"Of course," Mosspelt murmured, flicking her tail. "Now, what are you waiting for?"

Dovewing looked back down at the kit, wonder clouding her gaze. Her clear blue gaze scanned the kit, taking in all of her features; her smooth, dappled pelt with its ginger and black and white markings, her tufted ears, tiny paws, and white underbelly.

She looks almost like the red flowers that dot WindClan territory in new-leaf…

She looked up, smiling slightly. "Her name will be Redkit," she purred, touching her tail-tip to the kit's forehead, causing her to purr quietly.

Mosspelt purred as well, shifting slightly into a more comfortable position. "Redkit… I like that name." She rose to her paws, shaking out thick tortoiseshell fur. "Do you think you could watch them for a little bit? I just want to go stretch my legs for a bit."

Dovewing shook her head. "Of course not, it's the least I could do." She settled down beside the kits, whisking her narrow tail around their slender bodies. Ripplekit snuggled up beside her, his tiny muzzle searching for milk. "Sorry little one, I don't have food for you," she chided, stroking his head.

Mosspelt purred, her eyes gleaming with a sudden energy. "Thanks again, Dovewing." She turned and bounded out towards the river, her plumy tail flying behind her in a streak of ginger, white, and dark brown.

Toadstep padded over to Dovewing, his amber eyes gleaming. "You're really good with kits," he murmured, settling beside her.

The grey queen purred, shifting slightly to allow her belly to rest on the ground. "I just wish they could be born in a better time. I mean, they may never even meet their father."

Hurt flashed in the black-and-white tom's eyes and he looked down, shuffling his paws. "Dovewing… you have to accept that you may never see Bumblestripe again, and you can't just… I don't know, keep waiting. You have to move on and survive."

Dovewing's eyes widened in shock and her claws unsheathed. "Are you suggesting I just forget about my mate? The cat that I love? The cat that got me pregnant?" Her mouth gaped open and Redkit let out a pitiful squeak at the sudden commotion.

Toadstep sighed, looking up and meeting her gaze. "Of course not. I just don't want you to be upset if you make it all the way out of the games and… no one's there. I mean, BloodClan never promised that our families would be safe."

Dovewing gritted her teeth. "But you don't have a mate. You won't feel responsible for their death if they do die. You won't be stuck taking care of a litter of kits by yourself."

Toadstep growled, digging long claws into the ground. "You're blind, you know that right? I may not have a mate but I have Rosepetal, and Spiderleg and Daisy," he paused, drawing in a shaky breath. "You don't think I'd feel guilt if they died? Rosepetal has no one now. She's never been one to make friends easily and she always relied on me to help her."

Dovewing lowered her head, licking her dry lips. When she looked up again, the light of defiance had died from her gaze. "I'm sorry," she murmured, sighing. "I just feel like I have to cling to… something."

He nuzzled her head comfortingly. "How about we go for a walk? Maybe it would clear your head."

Dovewing hesitated, glancing down at the kits. "What about them? I suppose if we stayed within earshot…"

"We'll only go up to the edge of the hill," Toadstep promised, rising to his paws and helping her to hers. He led the way up the hill, his tail waving in the breeze. They paused at the top, looking out over the territory.

"Look, there's ThunderClan territory," Dovewing meowed, motioning to the charred forest. Pain clawed at her heart and she looked away, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.

Toadstep pressed against her, touching his muzzle to hers. "I know it hurts but you have to accept that they're gone. We can get through this together."

Dovewing leaned forward suddenly and licked him on the muzzle. He reeled back in surprise momentarily but then leaned in and licked her back, fiercely. He fell on top of her, pressing her body to the ground as their bodies moved together in unison. Dovewing closed her eyes in bliss, resting her paws on the ground behind her with his on top of them.

The tom pulled back for a moment, panting. He looked down at her, his eyes gleaming. "Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?" He then leaned in again and licked her even harder, sliding his tongue inside of her mouth. Their tongues battled for dominance and Dovewing pressed her body against the tom's, enjoying his warmth.

Suddenly she pulled back, her eyes snapping open. "Did you hear that?"

Toadstep scrambled off of her, looking around wildly. "What?"

Dovewing jumped to her paws, her eyes wide with fear and the excitement leaving her. "It sounded like-"

A deep growl echoed over the hills and the two cats exchanged a terrified look.

"-dogs."

They bolted down the hill, skidding to a halt beside Redkit, Blackkit, and Ripplekit. Mosspelt stood a few tail-lengths away, her lip trembling as if on the verge of a wail.

Dovewing's eyes followed the she-cat's gaze and she unsheathed her claws; there, standing just mere paw-steps away, was a massive dog. And even worse, it held Puddlekit's limp body in its jaws.

Toadstep let out a yowl of rage and launched himself at the dog, his teeth bared in anger. He leapt onto the creature, biting into its leg, but he was quickly shaken away.

"No!" Dovewing raced forward but she was knocked out of the way by a blurred golden form. She scrambled back to her paws, shaking her head to clear the dizziness.

Lionblaze!

She watched as the golden tom leapt at the dog, fastening his teeth into its neck. The dog whimpered, trying to throw the tom off, but Lionblaze clung, his eyes narrowed in determination. Suddenly the dog began to bend down under the tom's weight, and as Lionblaze scrambled for grip the dog's neck ripped, and he thudded to the ground.

Dovewing gagged as the dog collapsed behind him, its throat torn out and oozing blood all over the ground. It blinked its dark eye once more, then gave a heaving breath and died. She turned away, closing her eyes and trying to get the image out of her mind. She felt a soft tail-tip on her shoulder and turned to see Toadstep standing beside her. She let out a choked sob and buried her face in his shoulder.

"It's okay, it's okay," he comforted, his eyes shining with sympathy. She ignored all the scents and motion around her and instead concentrated on the tom's masculine scent and the soft touch of his fur.

"We can't stay here."

She looked up to see Lionblaze padding towards them, a smear of blood on his flank. The golden tom's brow was furrowed and his eyes shown with anger.

"If there are any more dogs, this one's scent-" he flicked his tail at the limp body on the ground. "-will lead them straight to us."

A sudden muffled sob caused the three cats to look up; Mosspelt sat crouched over the limp body of Puddlekit, her body shaking.

Dovewing sprinted over, her heart breaking for the queen. She settled beside her, stroking her flank with a gentle tail. "We have to bury her," she murmured sympathetically. "Cinderheart will take care of her in StarClan."

"I-It's my fa-fault," the tortoiseshell queen sobbed, tears falling onto the ground and pooling around her dirt-covered forepaws. "If I had brought her out with the rest of the kits-"

"You didn't know this would happen. None of us did," Dovewing cut her off. "What's done is done."

Toadstep's right. We have to move on. I have to accept that I will never see Bumblestripe again.

She noticed Lionblaze sitting at the base of Cinderheart's grave, looking at the ground. She turned away, looking down. "It might be hard to accept that she's gone but it is reality and we can't shove it aside and live in a fantasy world." She stalked away, not pausing as Toadstep tried to catch up to her.

"Dovewing, are you okay," the tom asked, his amber eyes gleaming with concern.

She sighed. "Yes. No. I don't know," she muttered, flicking her tail. "This attack was just so unsuspected. We were doing so well-"

Toadstep licked her muzzle. "As I said before, we'll get through this together."

She purred, giving into her temptation and falling on top of him.

They did not come back to camp until the next morning, and when they did, they looked wide awake as though they hadn't slept at all.

Mystery POV: Two days earlier, sunrise:

The tabby tom padded through the thick undergrowth, the herbs still clutched in his jaws. His slender legs slid around obstacles, hardly tripping except over the occasional root. He made his way towards the edge of Clan territory, his brow furrowed in determination.

By sunhigh the Clans may be saved… my moonrise they may be doomed.

He suddenly paused, his whiskers twitching.

It is time. I cannot turn back now. Be with me StarClan.

He padded out into the open, setting the herb bundle on the ground. He sensed two cats in the clearing, one female and one male.

"What are you doing here, Clan scum," the male growled, stepping forward. The female followed closely, her claws unsheathing.

The Clan cat whimpered, shrinking to the ground. "You wouldn't hurt a blind cat would you? I got lost when my Clan was being led by you foo-" he caught himself, hissing under his breath at his close call. "-you folks."

The tom laughed, turning to the female. "Well, what do you suppose we do with him, Briar? Feed him to the dogs?"

Briar laughed. It was an ugly laugh, high-pitched and echoing. "I would say yes, Cobra, but Shard already released them."

Dogs… hopefully Dovewing and Lionblaze are okay. Cinderheart and Toadstep too, I suppose.

Cobra padded forward until he was directly behind the tom. "Well I suppose we can't let you just get away unscathed…" He drew an unsheathed claw over the tom's ear, drawing blood. Suddenly he paused, as though realizing something. "Are there any more of you coming?"

The tom growled. "I won't tell you."

Cobra slashed the tom's face, and the tom cried out in pain.

"Fine! T-There's a she-cat and two apprentices! They're back in the forest!" The tom lied, his ears flat against his head.

Cobra hissed under his breath. "Briar, go find them and bring them back here."

The she-cat hesitated. "Shouldn't you? I don't think I can handle three cats by myself yet."

"What kind of BloodClan cat are you?" Cobra exclaimed in annoyance, flicking his tail. "Fine." He turned and ran off into the forest, his scent lingering for a moment before vanishing into the air.

At once the Clan tom sprang to his paws, charging at the female.

"Hey, hey! There's no need for that!" Briar yowled in alarm, moving out of the way. "If you want to survive, come with me!"

The tom growled. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Briar smirked, flicking her tail. "Oh Jayfeather, it certainly has been a while, hasn't it? It is I, Honeyfern."

This is literally probably the worst chapter I've ever written! *facepalms* I'll probably re-write it later, but it still is full of important plot information! You're probably all wondering "How is Honeyfern alive? She died!". Well, you'll find out! Teehee I'm keeping you waiting for a couple more chapters.

You're probably also wondering if Dovewing and Toadstep actually did... youknowwhat. Yes, yes they did. XD Seem rushed? Oh don't worry, it's supposed to.

Anyways, remember to review!

-SplashXx

P.S. Poor little Puddlekit. Don't worry, you'll be seeing more of her later on!