This story is trucking along! I honestly can't believe how far this story has come. I'm glad I've been able to string along the narrative. While this story is going along nicely, the other ones aren't doing quite as well. No Wings to Fly (NWtF) is frozen at the moment and needs more scriptingMolting Feathers (MF) is also frozen because I jumped into a new project too fast. I want to finish the Dawnstar's Legacy (DL) line of stories before I start going into something that is on a completely different time line. MF takes place some years after DL ends and most of the previous characters would be long since dead. MF also has a whopping three main characters and the story switches between points of view every chapter. Yes, it sounds like a lot because it IS a lot. That's why MF is staying frozen until all the DL stuff is out of the way.
Also, I moved to another city and started a job. It's normal for my stories to have super long dry spells, but this won't help any. I haven't forgotten about DL though.
Feel My Pain chapter will be coming next chapter. This chapter is a bit short because there isn't much to it.
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Dawnflight lightly snored, letting her eyes fall shut and pushing her face into her mossy nest in the nursery. Her white tipped ears buzzed with the droning of cats' voices in the nursery next to her. Dawnflight could feel Timberclaw's thin, striped fur rub against hers as he lay close to her. His purrs echoed around the nursery, lulling Dawnflight to sleep even more. Faintly, the silvery queen could feel the tiny paws of her four, new kits kneading her belly for milk. She instinctively curled her tail around her new family, protecting them from the breeze that filtered through the reeds and brambles around the den. Timberclaw purred at his mate and new kits, giving them each a lick on the head. The kits mewed at their father's touch, causing Dawnflight to wrap her tail around the kits closer. Timberclaw chuckled softly.
"Spirited warriors already! I've been thinking of names for them already, Dawnflight. This pale grey she cat should be named Dovekit. I've always wanted a Dovekit…"
The grey and white queen dozed as her mate babbled on about his favorite kit names. Exhaustion and the scent of blood and sweat washed over Dawnflight. Her kits' names could wait until she had the energy to think about them.
Maybe I should just let Timberclaw name them all for me.
Snoring, Dawnflight pressed her head against the mossy nest and Timberclaw's fur. She let herself drift into the darkness that was sleep, letting the tiredness slowly swallow her into a pleasant dream. But a paw prodded the side of her face, yanking the queen awake from her sleep. Dawnflight blinked open her dark, amber eyes to see Blackwing standing above her with a small bundle of herbs in her jaws. The black pelted medicine cat placed the herbs close to the silvery queen, smiling.
"Couldn't this wait until I've had some sleep?" Dawnflight meowed irritably. Blackwing twitched her whiskers.
"The herbs could, yes. But it looks like naming your kits can't." Blackwing said, pointing her tail towards Timberclaw, who sat enthralled at his own kits at his mate's belly.
"You only have one named. And you might as well eat the herbs now before the clan comes to meet them."
Dawnflight let out a huff and swallowed the grassy tasting borage leaves. She titled her head, giving her a view of the kits who suckled greedily at her milk. The pale grey she cat closest to her chest nuzzled her tiny nose into her mother's fur. Dawnflight couldn't help but purr.
Dovekit it is then.
She glanced over at her other three kits. A silver tom with faint stripes and white markings identical to Dawnflights sat next to Dovekit. Next to him lay a brown tabby tom with white paws. The fourth kit, a she cat, had fluffy, dark grey fur that hid some of her features.
That silvery grey tom almost looks just like me.
Feeling tired again, Dawnflight gestured over to the silvery and white tom before laying her head back down and succumbing to exhaustion.
"His name will be Silverkit, because his fur is silver." Dawnflight mewed, closing her eyelids. Timberclaw nodded, but Blackwing scoffed.
"That's all you can think of, Dawnflight? Surely there's more interesting names than that!" The medicine cat balked. Timberclaw just purred.
"I kind of like Silverkit as a name. He has a lovely pelt like Dawnflight does." Timberclaw remarked calmly. Blackwing just huffed at the couple.
"I still think she could do better. But they are your kits after all. What about the dark grey she cat?"
Dawnflight pressed her face into her nest again, thinking.
Dark grey with fluffy fur. What kinds of things are dark grey? Why is naming kits so hard?
She blinked her eyes open, leaving them halfway closed as an idea emerged into her head. She prodded Timberclaw with her nose.
"I want her to be named Wolfkit." Dawnflight meowed. Blackwing blinked slowly and nodded.
"I'm sure Wolfheart would be honored." The black she cat quieted herself. Timberclaw purred loudly, nearly making Dawnflight's head shake with the rumbling that came from his throat.
"Perfect," he said, giving Wolfkit a lick. The small, dark grey bundle gave a squeak in protest, as if approving of her new name. Dawnflight beaconed Blackwing towards the final kit: the tom with brown tabby fur and white paws. His tiny tail stuck out like a stray twig, the white tip standing out against the green moss of Dawnflight's nest. Blackwing's clear, blue eyes looked dim, as if she were lost in thought remembering something. Dawnflight hardly noticed, lacking the energy or enthusiasm to pay attention.
"Would you like to name the last kit, Blackwing?" Dawnflight said, shaking her friend away from her own thoughts. Blackwing twitched her ears and smiled warmly at the grey and white queen. Her azure blue eyes softened for a few heartbeats as she gazed down at the last kit: the brown tom with white paws.
"I'd love to, Dawnflight." Blackwing said, surprise still lining her purrs. The black medicine cat glanced at the kit again and then to his parents. She thought for a heartbeat, letting out a long sigh as she thought. Dawnflight twitched her whiskers at her friend's effort as she gazed at her kits again while nuzzling Timberclaw.
"Well?" Dawnflight asked lightly, letting out a slight snicker at the amount of time Blackwing was taking. Blackwing let out a huff before giving the silvery queen a cheeky grin.
"He'll be named Branchkit. After all, he does look a lot like Timberclaw, doesn't he?"
Dawnflight purred while Timberclaw beamed.
"He has my stripes and coat." The brown tabby warrior said, pointing at his son's fur with a forepaw. Dawnflight nodded.
"Yes, he does look like his father. I was thinking that too." Dawnflight mentioned. She settled her head down against Timberclaw's flank, listening to her mate and kits breathe. Timberclaw wrapped his tail around his new family and gave his mate's cheek a lick. Dawnflight felt her heart swell at the gesture.
Everything is perfect.
Blackwing flicked her ears and whiskers a bit before turning around to leave the nursery. The sleek black medicine cat leaned over to pick up soiled moss and bits of sticks leftover from the kits' delivery. She turned to face the family once more, her mew muffled by the moss in her jaws.
"Leafstep will be around later to give you some borage. Be sure to eat it, Dawnflight."
Dawnflight felt her eye lids drop over her dark amber eyes; exhaustion coming over her head and body like a river wave.
"Mhmm," was all the queen could muster as she settled into a slumbering rest. With strained effort, Dawnflight opened her eyes into slights, enough to watch Blackwing gracefully pad away from her nest. Out of the corner of her eye, the grey and white queen thought she could see a mass of ginger and grey crouching at the corner of the nursery entrance. At first, Dawnflight thought it was her father trying to get a quick peek at his new grandchildren early. But as Dawnflight was once again lulled into the security and comfort of her mate and kits, the queen's eyelids snapped shut over her dark amber eyes. With one more lingering thought, she realized that the cat stalking the edge of the den wasn't her father, but her brother.