Hey hi hello it's me Arrayave and OOOOH BOI WE GOT AN IMPORTANT CHAPTER
So after the thrilling cliffhanger of the last chapter, I am finally ready to tackle the kits. I'm too excited to say anything more so just READ ON AND ENJOY PLS
Chapter 13
Fletchleap's expression turns from one of anger to one of panic. "Seriously? Now?"
"Yes now!" I snap. "Do you think I'm acting?"
"I'll get Mapleheart!" says Cedarstar, rushing from the den. Fletchleap guides me to the nursery, where Rushstorm and Waterswift are sitting. They look to be mid-nap, but when I come in, gasping and growling, they wake.
"Are the kits coming?" asks Waterswift.
"What's it look like?" says Fletchleap, on the verge of a panic attack.
"I can help you," she says, and Mapleheart comes in as well. Rushstorm flicks his tail over Fletchleap's ears, and steers him toward the exit of the den. "Why don't you and I go for a little walk?" he suggests.
"But…" protests Fletchleap, pushing back towards me.
"She'll be fine. You can catch her a nice squirrel for when she's done," he continues, pushing him out. Eventually, Fletchleap gives in and reluctantly leaves.
"Alright dear, breathe and stay calm," says Mapleheart.
"I'm doing the best I can," I mumble, then realize I've no right to be so hostile. "Get some Watermint, and honey. There's some in my den."
"Got it," says Waterleaf; she gets up immediately and rushes to my den. Mapleheart continues to soothe me until she gets back, and Cedarstar comes in after her, bringing moss soaked in water. I drink it gratefully while I instruct Waterswift on how to apply the raspberry leaf and honey. Fear starts to rush through me as she rushes about trying to help me, and a sense of dread starts to flash through my mind as a million questions surface. Will my kits be okay? Will any die in the process? Will I die? I can't die! I need to raise my kits! What will they do without me? What will Fletchleap do without me?
I start to lose energy as I feel the first kit start to come. I gasp, and Mapleheart soothes me.
"The first one's coming," she says softly.
"I've noticed," I growl. Then it turns into another gasp as I feel my muscles push and the kit come out.
"How many more?" asks Waterswift, immediately going to lick the kit to get it's blood flowing.
"Five," I wince. As I say that, the next one starts.
"Five?!" exclaims Mapleheart. The worry in her voice is obvious. "Drink more water."
I obey as the next kit comes.
The following moments are agony. Just as I think I can get a moment to rest, the pains continue. One by one, the kits come, and Waterswift and Mapleheart do a good job assisting me. One of the Elders, Beechshine, comes to help me around the time the fourth kit starts to come. But with StarClan's help, I make it through, and all the while I can feel Brambleberry and Crookedstar by my side, even though they don't show themselves.
"You've had six lovely kits," says Waterswift. I am aware of them starting to suckle, but my brain is completely out of it right now. My eyes can barely stay open.
"Let's leave her to rest; get Fletchleap," says Mapleheart. I am aware of them getting up, and then I hear Fletchleap's worried voice outside the den. Then his sigh of relief, padding steps, and forest scent all blend together as my eyes close and my energy fades.
The Gathering clearing comes into view. Mist falls on every surface, illuminated by multicolored starlight as warriors of StarClan emerge from the shadows. I feel no kits beside me, and I feel no loss of energy. All I feel is a prickling in my paws, a willingness to move forward, both physically and in spirit. I walk towards the great rock, and as I do Moth Flight steps down from it and comes to greet me.
"Am I okay? Are the kits okay?" I ask, frantic.
"Yes, yes, they are alright, and so are you" she responds, touching her nose to mine.
"Then why am I here?"
"Because we must discuss our decision." Crookedstar and Brambleberry walk up beside her.
"I thought you were going to leave that to the Clan leaders?" I remind them.
"They will, but we have seen it," says Moth Flight. "It will cause you great sorrow, but it is necessary to further bind the clans together."
"What do you mean?"
"Starsong," starts Crookedstar. His expression is of a wounded warrior about to kill a bit of helpless prey. "You will not get to keep your kits."
His words settle over the clearing with the mist that continues to fall. "What?"
"You will get to raise the cats to apprentices, as I told you that you would," he continues. "But then they will be divided to be trained among the other clans."
First, I feel hollow. Surely this can't happen, or isn't allowed to. Then, I feel anger. "Why would you do this to me?!" I yell at them.
"It is necessary for the clans," says Moth Flight. "It happened to me as well, for similar reasons."
"You also had kits?" I ask in wonder.
"Yes. And I too had to give them up at apprentice age, after I had lost their father," she sniffs.
I realize that she went through a worse situation than I did, and my anger lessons. "Well, surely there is another solution that the leaders can come to…"
"We have foreseen it; this is the decision that they will conclude with," says Brambleberry.
It's when she says this that the tears start to flow. I collapse in a heap on the snow-covered ground, ignoring their comforting licks and murmurs. "Why me?" I whisper, my voice cracking.
"You are a very special cat Starsong, with a very special purpose," says Crookedstar, who is also crying. "You will not see it yet, but in the future you will come to understand the gravity of our decision. You were always meant to bring these cats into the world for this purpose, and this is the way that the leaders will execute the purpose, whether they are aware of it or not."
I try to stabilize my voice. "So in a way, you always had this planned?"
Crookedstar nods.
"Then why not tell the leaders outright?"
"Because they must believe that they have made this decision on their own," he responds. "They must believe that they were the ones to decide to unify the clans. That will further bring them together.
My tears lessen, but I know they will continue. I try to keep myself strong for now, for the sake of my kits and for Fletchleap.
"I'm assuming I'm not to tell anyone of this?"
"No," says Brambleberry. "They will find out for their own soon enough. And when that time comes, you must tell Cedarstar to accept it. He will not be so willing to give your kits away, but if he does not agree, he may start a war with a clan that you would regret losing allegiance with."
The first clan that comes to mind when she says this is PineClan, the clan of fighters, but then my mind wanders to Cypresstar. I know immediately that she will be the one to put this suggestion forward; after all, her mind is the most logical of the bunch. And I also know that they would be formidable opponents in battle, and that if she made a plan against us, it would not fail. She is too wise, too strategic to let it. I nod my head, not wanting this to happen to my clan.
"You must wake now," says Moth Flight. "StarClan will be with you always, little one. Take care of your kits"
And with a flash of light, they are gone.
I wake to find Fletchleap curled around me, and the kits mewling beside me. His ears perk up once he's noticed that I'm awake.
"You're alright! I was so worried."
"Yes, yes I'm fine," I breathe, burying my muzzle in his fur.
"Is everything okay?" he asks. His clear blue eyes betray nervousness. As badly as I want to tell him everything, I know that I can't. So I nod and smile the best I can.
"Everything is fine," I tell him. "I have you, my kits, and an excellent clan."
He smiles and licks my head. "Yes, you do."
The branches rustle near the entrance of the nursery, and Rushstorm comes in with prey in his jaws. He sets a squirrel down in front of Fletchleap and I and takes the other fresh-kill over to Waterswift.
"Your kits are adorable," he says as we eat. "Have you thought of names yet?"
"No," I tell them. When I look to Fletchleap, he shakes his head.
"You're the more creative one, you should name them," he says.
"I want you to name at least one," I say. "They're your kits too."
"Well, you have plenty of time," says Waterswift.
"Can I play with them?" says Flutterkit, looking over her mother's tail. Wolfkit bounds up beside her and looks at my kits.
"Not yet mousebrain, their too small," responds her brother, swiping her over the head with a tiny paw. The two young kits tumble over each other and roll around the other side of the nursery, play fighting.
"Your kits are cute too," I say to Waterswift.
"They get bigger every day," she responds. "So will yours, soon."
A pang of dread hits me as I realize that I will need to enjoy every moment I have with them as kits before they are given away. I shake the thought from my head, not wanting to burst into tears right here in front of everyone.
Cedarstar comes to visit me later in the day, and over the next few sunrises I must have the whole clan over to see my kits. Their words are comforting, and they all love them. Each of my kits has a unique pelt, and overtime I come up with names for them .
"We should name the tan tom after you," says Fletchleap one day in the nursery. I told him I wanted to name them as soon as possible. "His purple eyes match yours exactly."
"Let's call him Choruskit; that was one of the words the twolegs would use for 'song'," I tell him.
"Choruskit it is. What about the red tabby?"
The red tabby tom, matching Fletchleap exactly, tumbles around Choruskit and tries to get his brother to play. He's the biggest kit by far, and the toughest. He'll make a great warrior.
"You should name him," I say. "Since he looks so much like you."
"Alright. How about Alderkit?" he suggests after a moment of thought.
"Alderkit is perfect," I purr. "That's it for the toms."
"Yes. What about her?" he points his tail to the grey tabby with my same fluffy fur.
"We'll call her Hopekit," I whisper, wanting to remind myself what I need to hang on to in the coming days. Then I remember my torn emotions, knowing what is coming and I decide that I should be reminded of StarClan's decision as well. "This one we'll name Brokenkit." I touch my tail tip to the white she-cat with purple eyes, who has a grey stripe down her back. Upon closer inspection, I've noticed that she also has a grey zigzag of fur over her right eye, making a little lightning bolt. Perhaps she was marked by StarClan.
Fletchleap raises an eyebrow at the ominous name, but doesn't disagree. "And the white one? Don't pick something as obvious as Snowkit."
Our little white she-cat sleeps soundly next to him, and I smile. "No, I have something more creative in mind. How about Everkit?"
"Everkit," he echoes. "Just as StarClan will always be by our side. What about the last one?"
Our final kit, another grey tabby, has glittering orange eyes and a long tail. I feel as though StarClan has something especially important planned for her, and so I pick her name accordingly. "Her name will be Soulkit."
"Choruskit, Alderkit, Hopekit, Brokenkit, Everkit, and Soulkit," Fletchleap lists. "Those are beautiful names."
Cedarstar announces the names to the rest of the clan that evening, after he's stopped to visit us. "The Gathering is tomorrow, you know," he says when he returns.
"Yes, I do."
"We'll have to make a decision on what their future will be," he whispers.
"The leaders will decide what they decide," I tell him, holding back tears. "StarClan will guide us through it all."
He nods, waits a moment, and then leaves.
...THE KITS
Ok so I know that not all their names are the most creative but I've had their names decided since I started the fic (as well as their descriptions) so they are canon now. Hope yall like them. They all have distinct personalities that I'm excited to show you in future chapters so sit tight!
Also, I wanted the chapter count to be divisible by 3 (for personal reasons) which means that I will most likely be ending the fic by chapter 15. If yall yell at me enough (;D) I might push it to 18 chapters but currently I'm thinking 15. And yes of course, there is the sequel series so WE ARENT OVER YET
Please please PLEASE let me know what you thought of this chapter especially cause I was REALLY nervous about writing it. Again, hope yall like the kits.
THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
- Arrayave :D