Fireheart was the first to recover. Spinning around, she meowed to Whitestorm, "Run back to the camp and tell Sunstar and Featherwhisker that we've found two lost kits on our territory. Tigerclaw and I will carry them back."
Whitestorm nodded and raced back in the direction of the camp. As soon as he had left, Fireheart picked up one of the kits, holding her carefully in her jaws so as not to accidentally pierce her skin. She waited for Tigerclaw to pick up the other kit–Fireheart assumed they were sisters since they carried similar scents–before turning around and pelting after Whitestorm.
Don't worry, we'll make sure you're both safe, she silently promised the bundle of fur dangling from her jaws. We won't let you die of hunger in the middle of the forest.
As her paws pounded against the forest floor, Fireheart felt a surge of anger towards the kits' mother. She couldn't believe that a queen would abandon her children to starve in the middle of the forest. Perhaps she couldn't take care of them herself for some reason, but that hardly excused her actions in Fireheart's eyes. Kits didn't deserve to die just because their parents were selfish and only ever thought about their own wants and needs. If she had been unable to take care of Stormflare, she would never have even thought about abandoning them.
When they arrived back home, Sunstar and Featherwhisker were already waiting for them. Fireheart felt a pang of nervousness when she saw her Clan leader. What if he told them that they couldn't keep the kits? She searched the bright ginger tom's eyes for any sign of disapproval but found nothing more than sympathy and compassion.
"Fireheart, Tigerclaw," Sunstar greeted them. "Whitestorm tells me that you three found these kits near Fourtrees. Is that correct?"
"Yes, Sunstar," Fireheart replied, dipping her head respectfully.
"And did you find any sign of their mother?" the ThunderClan leader asked.
Fireheart shook her head. "When we arrived at Fourtrees, we only found two scents–both belonging to these kits. I did notice that there was another rogue scent, a molly, but it was very stale and I expect she hadn't been there for quite a while. Probably at least a day if not longer."
"I didn't even notice the molly's scent," Tigerclaw admitted. "At the time, the only scents I caught were the two kits'. And, well, the stale scents of other patrols, but that's to be expected."
Sunstar nodded and turned to Featherwhisker. "Take the kits to your den and check them over to make sure they're not sick or injured," he ordered.
Featherwhisker dipped his head and took the two tiny mollies from Fireheart and Tigerclaw before turning and heading off in the direction of the medicine clearing. Once he was gone, Sunstar turned his attention back to the two younger warriors with a serious expression on his face.
"Alright," the bright ginger tom meowed. "Now that Featherwhisker is tending to the kits, we need to discuss the issue of what we're going to do with them."
Fireheart stared at her Clan leader. "What do you mean? I'm going to raise them, of course. What else would we do with them?"
"And I'll help," Tigerclaw added, padding forward to press his flank against hers. "These kits don't have anywhere else to go, Sunstar. Leaf-bare will be coming again soon and the other Clans won't like it if we give them even more mouths to feed right now. We found them on our territory; perhaps it's a sign that we're meant to take care of them. Besides, the warrior code says we can't neglect a kit in pain or in danger."
Sunstar looked at them and nodded. "Very well, then," he agreed, his eyes glimmering slightly with approval.
"Thank you, Sunstar," Fireheart meowed, letting out a breath of relief she hadn't even realized she had been holding in. "I'm going to go see how they're doing now."
Together, she and Tigerclaw walked over to the medicine den, pushing their way in through the fern tunnel. To Fireheart's immense relief, both mollies were sitting up now, looking perfectly alert as they stared around at their surroundings. When their gazes turned towards her, she could have sworn she saw their eyes light up with excitement. Feeling her heart soften, Fireheart padded forward and touched her nose to their heads.
"Hello, you two. How are you feeling?" she asked gently.
"We're okay," the larger of the two kits piped up. "He–uh...Whiskerfeather said we're not sick or hurt."
"You mean Featherwhisker," Fireheart corrected her, chuckling slightly. "And that's wonderful news, dear."
"Who are you two?" the smaller kit asked, looking at her curiously.
"My name is Fireheart," the flame-colored warrior introduced herself. "I'm a warrior of ThunderClan."
"So am I," Tigerclaw meowed. Then, apparently realizing the implication of his words, quickly amended, "I mean, I'm also a warrior of ThunderClan, but my name isn't Fireheart. I'm called Tigerclaw."
"Wow," the first kit breathed, staring up at the two warriors with wide eyes. "You have such funny names!"
"I want a funny name too!" her sister added.
Fireheart purred, struggling hard to keep from laughing. She had been living in the Clans for so long, she didn't even think about how their naming system sounded to outsiders. Then again, she supposed she could see where the kits were coming from. After all, she had probably felt the same way when she met Bluefur, Thistleclaw, and Tigerclaw as a kittypet all those seasons ago.
"Well, I think we can arrange something," she chuckled. "Tell me, what are your names?"
At that, the two mollies exchanged a glance. Finally, the first one stepped forward and meowed, "Well, uh, our mother named both of us after flowers but...the names are kind of hard to say."
"Not a problem," Fireheart meowed gently. "We'll just give you two new names if that's alright with you."
The two kits nodded eagerly, their eyes sparkling with excitement. Fireheart was surprised at how well they appeared to be taking their mother's abandonment. She would have thought they would be in considerable distress, but instead they hardly seemed to care at all. Then again, perhaps the truth just hadn't fully sunk in yet.
"They both kind of look like you," Tigerclaw murmured in her ear. "You all have the same fur color. If I didn't know any better, I would say the three of you were kin."
Slightly startled, Fireheart took a closer look at the kits and realized that her mate was right. Their fur color did bear a heavy resemblance to hers; the only noticeable difference was in the smaller kit, who had a series of dark ginger tabby stripes. It was certainly a strange coincidence, considering her pelt color wasn't exactly common in wild cats. She brushed it off, however. Their fur color wasn't important right now. What mattered at the moment was thinking of names for them.
Studying the larger of the kits, Fireheart meowed, "I think I like Petalkit for her name. What do you think?"
She had intended for the question to be directed at Tigerclaw, but before the dark tabby could answer, the kit piped up, "I love it!"
Tigerclaw laughed and shook his head fondly. "Well, if she likes it, who am I to stand in the way?"
"It's settled, then," Fireheart meowed, touching Petalkit's flank gently with her tail. "She's going to be called Petalkit."
She turned her attention to the ginger tabby next, trying to think of a possible name for her. The kit's tabby stripes stood out so vividly against the rest of her fur that Fireheart almost felt as if she had to give her a name that honored them. Unfortunately, at the moment she was drawing a blank. Every stripe-related name that she thought of sounded utterly ridiculous even in her own mind.
Stripekit? Nobody in their right mind would ever name a kit that.
Tabbykit? That was even worse than Stripekit. If she went that route, she might as well go all the way and just name her Catkit or even Kitkit.
"What do you think?" Fireheart asked, looking at Tigerclaw. "I'm having a bit of trouble with inspiration at the moment."
"Don't worry. I'm always here to help you," the dark tabby meowed, flicking her ears affectionately with his tail. He looked down at the tiny kit, furrowing his brow. "Hmm...she reminds me of a bumblebee. Maybe we could name her Beekit?"
Fireheart nodded. "It sounds cute," she agreed. Turning to the little molly, she asked, "What do you think of it?"
"Beekit!" the ginger tabby meowed triumphantly. "I'm Beekit!"
"I think that means yes," Tigerclaw purred, his eyes warm as he gazed down at Beekit.
"We'll take them to the nursery now," Fireheart meowed to Featherwhisker, who had remained silent the whole time. "Thanks for your help, Featherwhisker. I'm glad these little troublemakers are okay."
"Of course, Fireheart," the medicine cat meowed warmly.
"I'll go hunting and see if I can catch something small for them to eat. They look old enough to eat fresh-kill," Tigerclaw meowed, touching his nose gently to her ear.
"Alright," Fireheart agreed, nodding. "I'm going to take these two to the warriors' den. They look like they could use a nice nap."
Gently, she herded Petalkit and Beekit out of the medicine den and in the direction of the warriors' den. Eventually, she knew they would be moving into the nursery, but she didn't have a nest there anymore and she didn't feel like going to the trouble of building one right now. Her only concern was making sure that her kits were able to take a good, long nap. They had been through a lot that day.
My kits. She had already started to think of them as her own. Quietly, Fireheart settled herself down in her nest, purring softly as Petalkit and Beekit curled up beside her so as not to disturb her other Clanmates, who were sleeping soundly.
"Sleep well, little ones," she whispered as they began emitting soft snores. "I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."
The kits are here! Speaking of kits, I have an important update to mention. Since Fireheart and Tigerclaw's second and final litter won't arrive for several chapters, I've decided to post two polls on my profile that you can vote on to decide what their names will be. The first poll is the name for the black molly and the second poll is the name for the Quince clone. When it comes time to write that chapter, I'll be using the winners from both polls. This way, I won't have to go through hundreds of reviews.
Speaking of reviews:
DragonClan: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Yes, they will all make an appearance toward the end of the story.
Nisa5552: That was probably one of my favorite chapters to write out of this entire book (the one where Thistleclaw dies, obviously, not...you know).
KrazyKube: This is a slight spoiler but I'm going to tell you anyway because I don't plan on making any mention of it in the actual story since it has absolutely no relevance to anything. Petalkit and Beekit are actually Jake's children. In this AU, after he left Quince and before he got together with Nutmeg, he became mates with a rogue queen and had Petalkit and Beekit with her. There's no real reason for this; I just like to imagine that Jake was the type of guy who was never really looking for a serious relationship but because cats don't have birth control...well. So basically, Fireheart is their biological sister and adopted mother.
Second of all, no, Petalkit and Beekit are not going to try to find their parents. Fireheart and Tigerclaw are their parents now because fuck you Erin Hunter, publishers, and everyone else in charge of the series, adopted parents are real parents too.
There will be a villain/antagonist eventually, but it won't be in the way you're probably expecting.
LadyZalen: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you enjoy my work. Bluefur and Fireheart's friendship is probably my favorite one to write in the entire story. I do like some good sisterly fluff.
Kitty-Guardian Hootryd: Yeah, the constant Tiger clones get annoying. Although to be fair, in this universe it wouldn't be a problem since Tigerclaw is a good cat so there's no stigma attached to looking like him. Now, if we had a Thistleclaw clone, that would be something else...
Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote in the polls!
-TheShadowedWarrior