HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Sorry for updating so late, things got hectic. I actually went to school today, to participate in my school's celebrations. I didn't have much time to edit this, so forgive any mistakes!

Oh, and I've recently joined a forum here! If you're interested in roleplaying warrior cats with yours truly, check out: forum/TreeClan-FieldClan-LakeClan-CaveClan-RP/137124/

EDIT: I forgot reviews! Silly me.

Pandean wrote: "Ahhhh yay I see nettlekit! She better not die! None of them better die! But especially Nettlekit because OC lol

Of course your fic, your story! :) so I won't be too mad.

But man damnit otterpaw that was mean.

I hope Eslsposts gets punished soon! I hope I can get another update I'm so addicted to this story! It's great. :)"

Reply: "I thought you'd like seeing Nettlekit! I don't see Otterpaw's actions as mean...I mean, Lichenkit is the biggest one, and they're all pretty tiny. On top of that, it's leaf bare. Tactless, maybe, but Otterpaw is supposed to be pretty blunt.

Anyway, I would say you should be treated for that addiction, but then I'd lose a regular reader, so keep being addicted to this story! All of you! MWAHAHA!"

King simba rules wrote: "Is frost heart a male or female ?"

Reply: "Female. I would elaborate, but I sent you a PM. Glad to see you like the story!"

Crazywarriorsfan wrote: ".SHE TO MY REVIEW!?EEEEEEE"

Reply: "I always reply, darling! I like you to know that I read and think about each and every review I get."

Crazywarriorsfan wrote: "Omg,she had her kits 3"

Reply: "Buckle in, reader, it's about to get wild!"

Anyway, on with the story!

~Topaz

The next four days were almost a blur for Brightpaw. She slept and ate mostly, though the fact that she was regularly being woken by mewling kits didn't help matters. Her kits didn't try to run away like Mistystream's did, but when they weren't sleeping or eating, they were pawing at her body with curiosity, yanking her tail, gumming her fur, and so on. One morning Brightpaw woke up to find that Nettlekit had managed to crawl across Brightpaw's back and fall there. Nettlekit wasn't hurt, but Brightpaw's heart just about stopped when she almost lay down on her daughter. They all wailed loudly when they wanted attention, too, meaning that Brightpaw was constantly awake and trying to comfort them to avoid disrupting others. She would have been up already, since Blueshine had given birth two days after Brightpaw, and Blueshine's kits were even louder than Brightpaw's. The worst part of being in the nursery with these kits, as she learned the day after they were born, wasn't a lack of sleep, but was making dirt. Brightpaw had thought Lilystep was joking when she said young kits had to be washed briskly in order to stimulate bowel movements. She wasn't. After that, Brightpaw could see why the queens visited the stream almost every day when their kits were young. The taste of that motherhood experience took quite a bit of water to scrub out.

So far, no cat had commented on her kits likeness to Eelspots. In fact, the only cats to come visit her kits had been Goldensky and Pebblefall, checking to make sure Brightpaw and her kits were healthy, Otterpaw and Scorchpaw, visiting their sister in the nursery to bring news, Brightpaw's mothers, to check on their daughter, and the other queens, usually coming to reel in an older kit who was paying too much attention to Brightpaw's kits. Eelspots had come in once to visit Dawnpool, but Brightpaw huddled over her kits, not wanting him to see them. She saw him look over with a gloeam in his eyes. He may not have said anything, but he knew, Brightpaw sensed, that they were fathered by him. Brightpaw wondered why he didn't admit that he was the father of her kits. After all, he had told her what was going to happen. Well, sort of. But it wasn't his fault she didn't understand! Was it? For the first time in almost a moon, doubt flew through Brightpaw's mind as to whether it was her fault. Maybe mentors were supposed to know better. For a moment, Brightpaw felt like she might be on to something that made sense...then she cast it out of her mind. No, that was ridiculous. She was supposed to listen to her mentor, no matter what. After he had left, she tried to sleep, but it was hard. The thought lingered after that, even if it was at the back of her mind.

Brightpaw had been told that Featherstar would visit the nursery after a queen gave birth, to visit future warriors of RiverClan. She had vague memories of a cat visiting the nursery that could have been Featherstar after she was born, though it could have been Troutface or Frostheart. Still, she was unpleasantly surprised when Featherstar shrugged through the mossy entrance. "I'm here to see Brightpaw," the pale grey leader said when Mistystream asked what she was there for.

Brightpaw began to shake as Featherstar came closer and looked down at Brightpaw. Brightpaw's kits were nursing or asleep, and Lichenkit had almost rolled to the edge of the nest. Almost without thinking about it, Brightpaw drew Lichenkit closer to Brightpaw and laid her tail over them. "Yes?"

Featherstar looked down at Brightpaw and her kits, a stony expression on her face. "They're quite small," the leader said finally, after what felt like seasons of silence. "Are you producing enough milk for them?"

Brightpaw was surprised by what seemed like a caring thing to say. "I-I think so," she said, finally, "Goldensky gave me some borage and said it was for milk production. He said since they were born so early, and because I'm still developing myself, that they didn't get enough to eat inside or something, so they would take a bit longer to catch up to their proper size."

Featherstar hmmphed. "I see. Having five kits in itself does tend to result in undersized kits." Her gaze fell on Lichenkit. "What are their names?" Brightpaw answered quickly, wishing that Featherstar would leave already. Instead, the silvery-grey leader sat down, indicating that she would be a bit longer. Gesturing to Lichenkit, Featherstar said, "I notice Lichenkit there already has a nice long coat of fur. That will doubtless help keep her warm through leaf-bare." Brightpaw said nothing. Brightpaw herself had rather short, sleek fur. Lichenkit looked practically nothing like Brightpaw. "I suppose it would be too much to hope that you're willing to name the father?" Brightpaw busied herself with grooming some stray furs on Tumblekit's head. "I expected as much." Featherstar rose. Brightpaw couldn't help but notice that Featherstar's eyes, which had been so cold before, now looked sad. "Brightpaw...I know that I've been hard on you. I know you must dislike me very much right now, but I want you to know..if the father of these kits is pressuring you to keep quiet, you can tell me. I can't promise to keep quiet, but I can-and will-promise to keep you safe. Please think about that, Brightpaw." Brightpaw shut her eyes, unable to look at Featherstar any longer. When she opened them again, Featherstar was gone.