Starstablegal - The name Weatherkit came from FrostedShadowX, who submitted a litter of kits before.

Moonsong9492 - Glad it didn't take to long to get out. Just felt a big long to me.

Lunamoon3410 - To make a story you need to make a document, then go to 'publish story'.

Riderkaitlyn5 - Thank you, if I need anyone to speak with I'll be sure to PM you.

And, thank you for everyone who understood I needed a break. I've always had mental issues, and writing was one way to distract myself from them. But now even writing seems like a chore, so sometimes if I do take a little bit longer to get chapters out, I promise I didn't just leave or something, they'll be there soon.

~ Crimson.

December 2nd 2020

It seemed almost funny how cats acted after you almost died. Beepath had seen it enough time to understand how they really acted. In a fear state that their loved one was going to die, and they couldn't do anything to stop it.

Beepath had seen this when she was Beekit, how Owlpop, even though didn't spend more but a moon with her before this happened, acted. It seemed almost stupid at that time. Why would you love a kit that was going to die no matter what? It wasn't like she was more than a moon old at that time, in the real world a mother would have chosen to care for the kits that would've survived to pass on their genes.

And yet Owlpop, Whiskertail, her siblings, they all cared if she had died or not. It caused them pain that she had refused to look at, that part still hurt to think about, but she often compared how they acted now to those moments.

Just like the moment she had been injured by the rabbit. How fast Whiskertail had carried her from the exploring territory, more than a mile away, to camp. It had injured his own paw doing it, but he did. And she had thought he was nothing more than a brute that liked to threaten others whenever they got to close to his family.

And then Icaruswind. He was the same as her father, cold and hard, never letting others see how he actually was. It had made her feel somewhat frustrated when she talked to him, but whenever those few moments shine out that he lets his feelings show, she remembers those in clear detail. Those are moments that are rare, yet sweet.

Sighing she looked down to the four newborn kits, and her adopted daughter, Pollenkit. Soon she would become an apprentice and train as a warrior. Under who, Beepath wasn't sure, but she hoped it was someone who would work past Pollenkit being mute, and not make it a big deal.

The curly pelted she-cat was smart, and understood things easily, the reason she didn't talk often confused Beepath, but she didn't linger on it to much. Pollenkit was healthy, and that's all that mattered.

"Still awake, heh?" Bristling she hissed at Dirtclaw. The tom's green eyes glowed in the still mostly dark nursery.

Beepath sighed. "Couldn't sleep," she admitted.

The tom uncurled from Pollenkit's side. She knew all along that he was the little golden she-cats father, and now that they were out of FlameClan he didn't seem to try and hide it anymore.

"Come here lassie, you need some sleep." He padded to her side before plopping back down.

Slowly, as to not wake the kits that suckled at her belly, she moved closer to gather warmth from her friend. There was no use in sleeping alone, and she knew Icaruswind wouldn't mind, he slept in the same nest as Dirtclaw too.

*

The nest felt somewhat crowded as she awoke. Eyes flickering open to see Dirtclaw curled up in front of her, his head resting on the flank of Icaruswind. The two toms were awake and talking, but snuggled up together.

Beepath nuzzled into her mate's side. She didn't want to her up, sleep still made her thoughts feel fuzzy, and she blinked groggily as Icaruswind gave her head a few rough licks.

"Morning, sleepy head!" Dirtclaw purred. The tom's thin tail tapping her nose.

Giving a small grunt she covered her face with her paws. "I don't want it to be morning." She mumbled.

"To bad," the growl was soft and gentle, but it still held an authorized tone as he prodded her shoulder. "Stay awake. You slept the day away, and the next time you stay up all night you're getting up at the crack of dawn with me."

Beepath gave a small chuckle as she peered through her paws. It sounded like he was getting on to her, like she was nothing but an apprentice who got up to late for doing their duties.

"Oh, is that my punishment for baring your kits?" She asked, shifting as she lifted her head, a challenging glint in her eyes. What was he going to say, that she couldn't rest after almost dying?

The tom growled, much louder this time, before he lashed his tail. "A moon ago. You know that right? I don't need to watch you sleep away your life, what will happen to these kits if they keep getting up and seeing their mother sleep away the days?"

Keep getting up. An entire moon had passed? She felt sickly as she looked to her belly and seen pairs of eyes looking up at her. Each one blinking before excited mewls echoed into the den. They already opened their eyes.

How had she missed that? It was an important thing, and yet she slept right through it. With a weight now boring down onto her she touched her nose to Weatherkit's forehead. He had the most unique eyes - two different colours. Although she felt somewhat sick as she looked into the amber orb, was he also Ashtooth's?

But the other eye is like Icaruswind's.. Beepath shook out her pelt. It didn't matter, Ashtooth wasn't going to ever see these kits, they were her's and Icaruswind's, and that was final.

"They haven't exactly talked much yet," started Icaruswind, "they just play and squeak inside the nursery."

The young tabby nodded as she groomed her shoulder fur. Giving her a moment of time to think before she shifted. "So they haven't been outside yet?" She questioned.

Icaruswind shook his head as he leaned over to give her head a few licks. He raised to his feet, getting a soft complaining mumble from Dirtclaw. "Not yet. I wanted to wait for you, and it's still to cold out. Their fur isn't thick enough."

Right.

Stretching out her limbs she flinched. The cobwebs pulled at her hair, the old wound didn't tear, but she could still feel a stinging pain from it. "Well, how about five minutes outside? This nursery is stuffy," she growled.

The silver tom nodded as he lifted up one of the kits. Weatherkit squeaked, silver paws kicking before he grew still in his father's grasp. Beepath let the other three race ahead and she hobbled after them, with the help of Dirtclaw who stayed at her side.

Outside she breathed a sigh of relief. Even with the added heat, it was better than the stuffy den. She could smell the ocean breeze, which carried the salty scent, along with freshness of new flowers that littered their territory.

Noises of cats talking ringed in her ears. And she lifted her tail, which kinked over her own back as she purred. The sunlight that burned on her long coat felt good, and she leaned against Icaruswind as he placed their brown pelted son at their paws.

Pollenkit padded out and nudged her sibling. The young golden she-cat looked much bigger next to the other kittens, and Beepath felt her heart sink. The mute she-cat would soon become an apprentice, and would be given a mentor.

I won't see her, she'll be to busy. The heartache that burned in her chest made her vision grow blurry. Dainty paws kneading the snow-grass she sighed, tail lashing around her hunches.

The kittens left to roll on the ground. Jumping into little snow piles, with Jadekit getting to her paws and shaking out her pelt, spraying snow all around her. The kits playful squeals made her smile, but the feeling of seeing her first kit going off, out into the world without her, made her feel a pit of dread in her stomach.

*

The sky was dark and filled with clouds as the large tom slipped between the dens. His ears were perked as he listened to the soft breathing of his Clanmates, all asleep peacefully.

Building up his muscles he climbed up the bramble. The thorns scraped his pawpads and legs, but he pushed past the sharp stings as he landed outside the camp.

It was quiet in the forest and he padded quickly through the bracken. Since the weather was getting warmer and newleaf was approaching the forest was growing back. Bushes and trees now had little leafs, and flowers darted the bushes that made the air smell sweet.

The tom trotted briskly through the forest. His single eye blazing as he pushed past brambles and thorns, feeling them nagging at his pelt. But at the moment he didn't care. Instead he halted to a stop at the border. Ears perked as he let out a loud, drawn-out yowl that mimicked that of an owl.

Then there was another yowl. Just as he began to finally relax he spotted the she-cat padding through the bushes. "Crystaljaw," he grunted, tail lashing, "how's the Clan?"

Crystaljaw sat down as she bristled. There was a look of fire in her eyes as she clawed the earth below her paws. Fresh cuts lined her pelt, and the biggest caught his eye, it was a large mark across her chest, cutting deeply into the fur.

"Not good. Anyone who was related to you or Dirtclaw is being punished. Not Foxlight though, the other queens reported how she seemed to 'reject' you before you left. And she has recently said that she's expecting another litter." The white she-cat snarled.

The tom stayed quiet. Of course his mother would do this. She was loyal to FlameClan to the end, always trying to get queens to have many litters, even talking to Crystaljaw whenever she was a kit about further mates and litters.

It sickened him how Foxlight had acted to his sister the day she was made a warrior. Crystaljaw was never interested in having kits, nor in toms. Instead she had multiple crushes on she-cats, although those ended in heartbreak after the she-cat was paired off to a tom and had kits.

"How are Olivekit and Stormkit?" Icaruswind mumbled. He had a bad feeling. Olivekit was quiet and shy, much how Ashtooth had been pre-death of Graypaw. But Stormkit was loud, somewhat annoying, she put her thoughts out there and never was afriad of any tom.

They were good strong traits, but in FlameClan any she-cat like that was usually put in her 'place' as Crackedstar said. Those she-cats ended up with his kits, and they were never quite the say after that.

Crystaljaw must've noticed his thoughts as she sighed. "We need to get Stormkit out of the Clan. Crackedstar has already started to visit the nursery way to much, and he talks with Foxlight a lot. I think she has the same idea that he does." Disgusted, the scarred she-cat spat.

"Bring them here. I can talk with Leafstar, she'll understand." With that the tom leaned forward and gave a small hiss, voice lowered. "Stay safe. If anything happens, run here. Grab who you need and just run."

The white and silver striped she-cat nodded. With a silent nod she turned and started to trot back to FlameClan. Icaruswind stayed there for a few more minutes before he raised to his paws and started to walk back.

December 5th 2020