It wasn't long before the effects of the unusually bitter leaf-bare began to take a toll on the Clan. Mousepaw and Runningpaw both contracted whitecough and were confined to the medicine den. More often than not, hunting patrols returned with nothing to show for their efforts. The Clan couldn't spare enough fresh-kill to eat every day, and everyone had lost weight. Even Lionheart and Whitestorm looked scrawny despite their thick coats.
Fireheart found it strange, therefore, that the outside world still looked so beautiful. The ground was covered in a blanket of snow that sparkled whenever the sunlight hit it. It was peaceful and quiet, the only sounds coming from the occasional gust of wind through the trees. Indeed, if it weren't for the fact that her Clan was suffering, she was quite certain that she would have loved the bitterly cold season.
As queens, Fireheart and Bluefur were entitled to more prey than the rest of the Clan. They needed to keep their strength up, after all, as they were eating for multiple cats instead of just themselves. Yet even with the extra fresh-kill, it wasn't enough to combat the shortage of food.
Fireheart was lucky. Since she was only nursing one kit, she still had enough milk to provide for her daughter. Unfortunately, Bluefur, with her three children, didn't have nearly enough milk to feed all of them. More often than not, Fireheart and Stormkit were woken up by the sound of the older molly's kits crying out in hunger. Fireheart offered Bluefur a share of her fresh-kill on more than one occasion, but it wasn't enough to make a difference.
"I don't know what to do, Fireheart," Bluefur murmured as they watched the four kits playing in the snow together. "No matter what, there's no way I'm going to have enough milk until the prey comes back, and who knows how long that will take? And Featherwhisker doesn't have enough borage in his stocks either. Mistykit and Stonekit have been managing fine, but Mosskit..."
Fireheart could definitely understand her friend's worry. Mosskit had always been the weakest of her litter, and her ribs were starting to show beneath her fluffy gray and white fur. Not that Mistykit and Stonekit were particularly well-fed either, but they at least had more fat to show for it.
If Mosskit doesn't get more milk soon, she'll die.
"What if I helped nurse her?" she offered.
Bluefur looked at her hesitantly. "Would you really be okay with that?" she asked. "You do realize that if you're nursing Mosskit as well, it means Stormkit won't be getting as much milk."
"I know," Fireheart admitted. "But Stormkit's still doing well even though we're short on food. Besides, let's face it. We both know that if you keep trying to nurse all of your kits, there's no way Mosskit is going to make it to newleaf. Look, you can already see her ribs starting to show and the season has barely started. I don't know how much of a difference it will make, but surely sharing milk with just one kit will do more to feed her than sharing milk with two kits."
The older warrior hesitated for another heartbeat, then pressed her nose to Fireheart's ear. "Thank you," she murmured, her eyes brimming with gratitude.
Fireheart purred briefly in reply, then turned to watch as Stormkit tumbled over to land at her paws. The little tortoiseshell looked up at her with wide, cheerful eyes, her pelt coated with snow. Gently, Fireheart leaned down to brush the snow off her daughter's fur.
"Hello," Stormkit meowed happily.
"Hello there, sweetheart," Fireheart replied, giving her kit a gentle lick between her ears.
"Can we go inside now? I'm hungry," the little molly whined, looking at her mother pleadingly.
"That sounds like a good idea," Bluefur agreed. "I'll call my kits in as well. I'm sure they're starting to get cold by now anyway."
Fireheart nodded and led Stormkit back inside the nursery as Bluefur rounded up her own children. Once they were inside, the two queens settled back into their nests. Stormkit immediately latched onto Fireheart's belly and began suckling as Mistykit and Stonekit did the same with Bluefur. Mosskit tried to join her siblings, but her mother gently pushed her towards Fireheart's nest.
"Bluefur?" Mosskit meowed, looking at the blue-gray molly in confusion.
"It's alright, Mosskit. Fireheart is going to be feeding you now," Bluefur meowed gently.
"But why?" the gray and white kit pleaded. "I want to stay with you!"
"I know, and I promise you'll still be sleeping in my nest," Bluefur soothed her daughter. "But Fireheart has more milk to spare than I do. She's going to feed you and then you can come back to my nest."
When Mosskit hesitated, she pressed on, "Don't you want to grow up to be a big, strong warrior?"
"I guess," Mosskit agreed, looking down at her paws.
"Don't worry, Mosskit," Fireheart spoke up, trying to comfort the saddened kit. "Your mother will be right there. She's not going anywhere."
Reluctantly, Mosskit nodded and padded over to settle herself at Fireheart's belly, casting one last mournful look at her mother over her shoulder. Fireheart felt a twinge of sympathy. She knew how hard it must have been for Mosskit not to have Bluefur and her littermates beside her, and she could only hope that the young kit would realize that there wasn't any other option. To her relief, however, as soon as she began suckling, Mosskit let out a purr of contentment.
"Looks like she's settled in," Bluefur purred.
"I'm glad," Fireheart replied. "I was starting to worry that she might refuse my milk."
"Kits can be stubborn, but they won't turn down food. Besides, Mosskit likes you," her former mentor meowed.
"Really?" Fireheart asked, looking down at the still-suckling kitten. "That's nice to know."
Later that afternoon, with a full belly for the first time in days, Mosskit padded back to Bluefur's nest and curled up in between Mistykit and Stonekit. Fireheart watched as she dozed off, her tiny flank rising and falling. The rest of the occupants in the nursery had fallen asleep, leaving Fireheart alone with her thoughts. Feeling a wave of drowsiness wash over her, the flame-pelted queen let out a yawn and allowed her eyelids to slid shut.
When Fireheart woke up the next morning, she found Stormkit pressing a flower in between her paws. Her daughter looked up at her happily, and she leaned over and brushed her nose against her cheek.
"Hi, Fireheart," Stormkit meowed. "Do you like the flower? Tigerclaw brought it to me so I could give it to you."
"I do. It's very pretty," Fireheart purred, licking her daughter's ears. "Thank you, sweetheart."
Stormkit gave a pleased mew and burrowed herself underneath her mother's chest fur. "Guess what? I learned how to say a bad word today too!" she meowed excitedly. "I heard Stormtail say it when Smallear woke him up. Want to hear me say it?"
"No, no, that's quite alright," Fireheart replied quickly. "I'll take your word for it."
"Bad word?" The flame-colored molly cursed silently as Mosskit's voice piped up from Bluefur's nest. "Are we allowed to say them now? I know one too!"
"No, no!" Fireheart exclaimed, keeping her voice low so as to not wake Bluefur, Mistykit, and Stonekit. "Nobody is going to say any bad words! Fox dung, I swear you two are even more of a pawful than–"
She clamped her jaws shut as she realized what she had just said. Stormkit and Mosskit stared at her with shocked expressions. Slowly, however, their faces morphed into identical looks of glee. Fireheart let out a groan, knowing it was too late to do anything now.
"Fox dung!" Stormkit meowed happily. "Fox dung! Fox dung!"
"Fox dung!" Mosskit echoed.
"Oh no," Fireheart groaned, dropping her head onto her paws. "Bluefur is going to kill me. Or she'll maim me. Or worse, she'll maim me and kill me! StarClan, if you could save me right about now..."
"What's going on here?"
Well, looks like it's time to say my final prayers.
Blinking sleep from her eyes, Bluefur looked around the nursery at Fireheart's pensive, guilty expression and Mosskit and Stormkit's proud, cheerful ones until–
"Fox dung!"