"Fireheart, Fireheart, tell us another story!"
Tigerclaw shook his head in amusement as he padded into the camp with Stormflare, Bluefur, and Mistyfoot to find Petalkit and Stormkit pestering a rather exhausted-looking Fireheart. The flame-colored molly was lying on her side in the middle of the camp as their kits prodded at her swollen belly with their tiny paws. He felt his heart swell as he looked at his mate, imagining the two new additions that would be joining their family within the next quarter moon.
"Hello, you two," he meowed, padding over to Petalkit and Beekit. "Are you two bothering your mother again?"
"Yep!" Petalkit replied proudly.
Fireheart shook her head and looked up at Tigerclaw in mock despair. "They've been begging me to tell them stories ever since they woke up this morning. I've already told them the one about how the Clans formed five times today."
"Really?" Stormflare purred, looking at her younger sisters in amusement. "Was I that bad when I was their age?"
"Well, you weren't too interested in hearing stories," Fireheart told her. "But you did start swearing at an earlier age than these two, so I suppose it all balances out."
Bluefur rolled her eyes, but she looked ready to laugh. "And whose fault was that?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Bluefur. I know how to behave."
The blue-gray molly shook her head fondly and flicked Fireheart affectionately over her ears. Fireheart rolled her eyes and sat up, a bit more slowly than usual due to the added weight from carrying her kits. Briefly, Tigerclaw wondered what names they would give their soon-to-be newborns. Personally, he liked the idea of naming at least one of them after Fireheart, but he knew she would never want that. Besides, it was unusual for a kit to be named after a cat who was still alive–and even then it was rare. That sort of honor only went to cats who had left a real impact on the Clans, whose names went down in history among the other great warriors such as Thunderstar, Riverstar, Shadowstar, and Windstar. Even though she was wrong in thinking so, Tigerclaw knew that Fireheart didn't consider herself to be anything remarkable.
"Anyway, how was the hunting today?" the flame-colored queen asked.
"Not bad," Stormflare answered, flicking her tail. "We managed to stock up the fresh-kill pile pretty well, I think. Stonefur and Mosspetal are still out there, though, so they should be bringing back more prey soon."
"That's good," Fireheart purred.
They continued conversing for a while after that. Soon, however, Petalkit and Beekit began yawning, so Fireheart excused herself so she could take them back to the nursery. Tigerclaw watched his mate and children disappear through the entrance before turning to Bluefur.
"Is there anything you need me to do? Go on a border patrol, maybe?" he asked.
Bluefur shook her head. "You've done more than enough for now. Relax for a bit and then you can go on the sunset patrol later," she replied. She paused for a moment, then added, "But if you really want to help, do you mind taking a piece of fresh-kill to Sunstar? I don't know if he's eaten today and I have to finish organizing the other patrols."
A shadow crossed over her face when she mentioned the ThunderClan leader. Tigerclaw felt a pang of worry in his chest. The entire Clan could tell that Sunstar was getting old, and he had heard some of the elders murmuring that he was on his last life. Whether or not this was true only Featherwhisker and Spottedleaf knew, but one thing was undeniable–he was definitely slowing down. He moved stiffly and his bright ginger muzzle had become patched and gray with age. At this point, it was only a matter of time until Bluefur took his place at the head of the Clan.
Dipping his head to the Clan deputy, Tigerclaw replied, "Of course, Bluefur."
"Oh look, Mosspetal and Stonefur are back," Stormflare meowed, looking over at the gorse tunnel. "I'll see you later; I promised Mosspetal I'd share a meal with her when she got back."
"Alright," Tigerclaw agreed, touching his nose to his daughter's ear. Stormflare licked his shoulder before turning and bounding over to meet Mosspetal.
"They're certainly close," Bluefur remarked, looking at the two younger mollies.
"They are," Tigerclaw agreed, chuckling. At this point, everyone was well aware that Stormflare and Mosspetal were in love with each other–they were just waiting for them to officially become mates.
Turning around, he padded over to the fresh-kill pile and picked out a squirrel to bring to his leader. As he was walking over to Sunstar's den, he passed by Whitestorm, who was sharing tongues with Redtail and Brindleface. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Willowpelt giving the white tom a hopeful glance, but since his back was turned toward her, Whitestorm failed to notice. He shook his head to himself; it looked as though Willowpelt had her work cut out for her.
"Sunstar?" Tigerclaw called out, pausing outside the leader's den.
"Come in, Tigerclaw," came the tired-sounding response from inside.
Sunstar was sitting up in his nest when Tigerclaw entered. He looked reasonably healthy, but his eyes were dull with exhaustion. As Tigerclaw placed the squirrel in front of the bright ginger tom's paws, he broke into a small coughing fit.
"Are you alright?" the dark tabby asked, feeling a pang of alarm. "I can get Featherwhisker for you if you'd like."
"No, no, that won't be necessary," Sunstar meowed, flicking his tail dismissively. "I'm perfectly fine. I've just spent a little too long in my den today. A little bit of fresh air, and I'll be right as rain."
"If you're sure," Tigerclaw replied dubiously.
"Absolutely. Go on and take a piece for yourself, now–you look dead on your paws," Sunstar ordered.
Tigerclaw nodded and turned around to leave, casting one last glance over his shoulder as he pushed his way through the curtain of lichen. To his relief, he saw Sunstar bend his head down to take a bite out of the squirrel. The ThunderClan leader chewed slowly, and for a moment, his eyes seemed to brighten a little.
He walked back over to the fresh-kill pile, passing by Whitestorm, Redtail, and Brindleface again. This time, however, Willowpelt was on the opposite end of the camp, talking with Spottedleaf, and Tigerclaw guessed that she had given up on her pursuit of Whitestorm for the time being. She didn't appear too bothered by his apparent lack of interest; on the contrary, she looked as cheerful as ever as she conversed with her sister. Tigerclaw couldn't help admiring her resolve, remembering all too well the way he had moped around when he thought Fireheart hated him. Well, technically he had been right–she had hated him at first. At least Willowpelt was fortunate in that regard; Whitestorm might not be interested in her in the same way, but he definitely didn't hate her.
Picking up a thrush from the pile, Tigerclaw turned and padded in the direction of the nursery. He pushed his way inside, only to find Fireheart, Petalkit, and Beekit all fast asleep. The fiery ginger molly was curled up protectively around their daughters, a peaceful, contented look on her face as she dozed away. A few nests away, White-eye was also taking an afternoon nap, but Tigerclaw didn't pay her any attention. His gaze remained fixated on Fireheart as he watched her sleep, happily oblivious to the world around her.
"I love you," he whispered to his family.
Careful not to disturb his mate and kits, Tigerclaw settled himself down on the floor of the nursery, content to just watch over his family. The squirrel lay a few tail-lengths away, utterly forgotten.
Fireheart is having her kits soon! I was originally going to wait a little longer, but I have a major arc planned for her that I want to get to as soon as possible, so the babies will be here a bit sooner. They will make their appearance in the next chapter, which should be posted within the next few days. The polls will officially close on Thursday, February 13 at 13:00 PT, so be sure to get your votes in before then if you haven't done so already.
Stormflare and Mosspetal are mates because yes.
I'm working on a new update for Blazing Lilies, so expect that to come out soon as well.
Thanks for reading!
-TheShadowedWarrior