"Before there is peace, storm clouds shall gather upon the uproar, until it realizes where it truly lies. Flames shall burn bright to wilt the morning bloom, before rain extinguishes the last sparks."

Chapter 1

The sun shone cheerily on the landscape below. At the ThunderClan camp, a gray-furred tom paced impatiently at the nursey entrance. It was long past dawn, and he was starting to get anxious.

The rest of the Clan is feeling the same. They knew their deputy had been kitting since moonhigh, and judging from the way the screams are growing weaker and weaker every moment, it's not hard to guess that the queen is already exhausted.

There was a loud groan, and a tiny squeak that could only belong to a kit. The tom's eyes lit up, and he shouldered past Lionflight, the guard their medicine cat had posted at the entrance to stop him from coming in.

He didn't care if he was risking their medicine cat's wrath. He hurried to his mate's side, and began purring as he saw three kits suckling at her belly.

But the deputy's eyes were dark. She didn't purr, didn't move. She only stared hollow-eyed at Milkfeather and Maplepaw, who were bending over two scraps of fur. Only when his eyes adjusted to the gloom inside did he realize it was two kits. His kits.

His gaze snapped sharply to his mate. Fur bristling, he demanded, "What happened?"

Nobody answered him. He could see clearly now. One of the kits had scratches all over her pelt, and an ugly gash on one side. The other's claws were out. And both were barely breathing. The medicine cats are each working on one kit.

"What happened?" he asked again, his tone sharper and his claws sliding out of its sheath. He could scent blood. "What hurt my kits?"

Milkfeather shot a panicked glance at him but still no cat spoke. He watched helplessly as the cream-colored she-cat struggled to stop the bleeding with no success. The kit's faint breathing had slowed to a stop. No breath was there to ruffle Milkfeather's whiskers as she bent her head close to the kit's muzzle.

The medicine cat sat back on her haunches, admitting defeat. "Stormfall, I'm sorry. And Cloudeye, too," she mewed softly. "She's gone."

She picked up the kit and put her close to Stormfall's other kits, close but not touching. She began licking the blood out of the kit's fur, trying to make it fluffy like any newborn kit. When she was done, the kit looked like she was simply sleeping. Grief stung Cloudeye's heart as he stared at the kit he, his mate, and his kit would know.

The gray queen stared at the medicine cat, her eyes growing wide as if she didn't understand what she said. She then looked at her mate when Milkfeather didn't answer, as if asking for an explanation.

Cloudeye swallowed. He didn't want to be the one to tell Stormfall this. He glanced at Milkfeather, but the she-cat dropped her gaze to her own paws and turned toward Maplepaw. Feeling his heart break, he managed to choke out, "She's dead."

The gray queen's eyes flashed with grief, regret, and perhaps fury. She let out a piercing wail, and her body shook in a convulsion, unlatching her newborn kits from her belly. They let out squeaks of protest as they blindly burrowed in once more.

A ginger muzzle poked through the entrance, the green eyes filled with alarm. Before he had time to speak, Cloudeye snapped, "Get out!"

The muzzle vanished immediately and Cloudeye turned his attention to his mate beside him, who was shuddering against his fur. He started washing her ears comfortingly.

Cloudeye lost count of the time that passed by as he watched the medicine cats work, trying to save his other kit. Finally, Maplepaw let out a victorious yowl and Cloudeye saw the kit's flanks are moving, her breath deeper than they were.

The gray apprentice picked the kit up by her scruff and headed toward Stormfall. Rage lit the queen's lifeless eyes as she saw her kit. Baring her teeth, she let out a loud hiss, and unsheathed her claws.

Cloudeye was shocked by her reaction. Pushing his way in front of Maplepaw, he blocked the queen's view to her kit. "Why don't you all answer what I asked?" he snarled at Milkfeather. "What happened?"

Maplepaw put down the kit and stared back at him defiantly, and mewed, "There's no need to be mean to Milkfeather just because she failed to save your kit!"

Milkfeather touched her tail to her apprentice's shoulder. "It's alright, he does deserve an explanation." Turning to Cloudeye, she mewed, "I'm sorry that I didn't save your kit."

Stormfall let out a small whimper and huddled the rest of her kits closer. Cloudeye's eyes landed on his dead kit, then the other one between Maplepaw's paws. He remembered that he saw the dead kit's pelt covered in scratches. And the other one's claws were out.

Realization dawned on him. One of my kits killed her sister, he thought, horrorstruck. No. I don't believe it.

But the pieces fit together perfectly. And by the sympathy and understanding in Milkfeather's eyes, he knew he was right.

He teared his gaze away from the medicine cat. Hoarsely, he mewed, "We need to be alone."

Milkfeather dipped her head and backed out without a word. Maplepaw followed with another anxious glance at the two warriors. Outside, he knew his clanmates was crowding the medicine cats, asking questions about what happened inside. He heard Echolight's and Petalfur's kits asking to see their new denmates. Stoneclaw wants to see his sister. And Ripplefall wants to see her brother's new family.

Inside, Stormfall is still glaring at her kit. Cloudeye saw that the kit is shivering. He felt a twinge of pity for her. Even though she murdered her sister, she isn't even a day old. And she is his kit. His and Stormfall's.

He crossed the nursery and gently picked the kit up by the scruff and walked over to his mate. Stormfall shrank back as though stung, but there were confusion and pity as well as rage in her eyes as she sees her daughter.

Cloudeye put the kit down next to Stormfall's muzzle and watched how she would react. The queen's lips twisted into a snarl and her eyes are shooting deadly daggers at her kit. It seems to feel the force of her mother's stare despite its unopened eyes, and curled into a tight ball, shuddering.

"You killed my kit," snarled Stormfall, every word rasping in her throat as though being dragged out. "You killed your sister."

Cloudeye's fur rose along his spine, ready to interfere If Stormfall lashed out with her claws at the kit. But the queen gave a resigned sigh, "But you're still my kit."

Cloudeye's pelt smoothed, and he ran his tail down his mate's back comfortingly. When she looked up helplessly, her eyes glistening with fresh grief which had swallowed the anger, he knew that she still love and care about this kit, no matter what she did.

Stormfall held his gaze a moment longer, then lowered her head to look at the miserable scrap of fur on the floor. Cloudeye nudged it towards her belly. She didn't move when the kit reached out tentatively towards the warmth and the smell of milk, but her eyes were wary, and her muscles were tense as though ready to defend the rest of her kits if she needed to.

Her emerald eyes softened as the kit snuggled close to her and let out a tiny purr. She began purring too, and for a moment everything seemed alright. Cloudeye knew that the dead kit looked like she was sleeping, and when the other kit snuggled in, she closed the gap that was there between the living kits and the dead one. To Stormfall, it must seem like all her kits are resting in the curve of her belly, even though she knew one of them is dead.

Cloudeye knew that it is his only chance to have all of his family together. Tomorrow one of his kits will be buried. He also knew Stormfall well enough to know that her behavior to the kit will change between anger and love. Their lives will be tough, having to deal with the grief, and having to deal with the cat who caused that grief.

But tonight he was determined to push all his worries and doubts about the future aside and pretend that his family was whole and happy. He settled down beside his mate, sheltering their kits between them. He twined his tail around Stormfall's. Her eyes were clear, and he understood that she also wanted to believe nothing had happened.

For the first time, the gray queen looked closely at her kits. She knew one of her kits is dead. She wouldn't be in their future. But she wanted to spend this moment with her family while acting like nothing happened. Her last time with her kit. The kit's last time with her, with her father, with her littermates. Maybe, just maybe, the kit's spirit is here. Watching them. Does it wish she had more time with her family? Does she blame her sister for killing her?

Does she blame me for letting her be killed? Stormfall pushed that thought away firmly, but it still lingered at the edge of her mind. No, this moment was meant to be perfect. Nothing should be able to ruin it.

So, purring, she studied her kits. The one closest to her is in a shade of shiny silver. The second one is a she-kit, who has a pure white pelt without any markings. What amazes her was that her fur is smooth and shiny, not having the kit fluff all her other kits have. Her third kit is a tom. His pelt is light ginger with white splotches, and has a white tail tip which has been twitching restlessly since he was born. The next kit… well, she is hard to describe exactly. She has a dark orange pelt, with a bit of white here and there, and a white chest. One of her feet is black, her tail tip is gray, and there are strange patterns on her pelt. Her last kit is in a shade of dark gray just like her. Instead of having white stripes, she has pale gray stripes – pale gray like her mate. She felt a pang in her heart as she looked at her lost kit. She looks like the perfect combination of her and Cloudeye, who was watching the kits with a wistful expression, as though imagining their future, but with that kit in it.

We should name them. The thought had slipped into Stormfall's mind. She had completely forgot about that. But now that she thought about it, it seemed obvious that it was the next thing they should do. Also, she was pretty sure that she didn't want to spend her life calling her kits 'this one' and 'that one'.

Cloudeye seems to share her thought. His gaze was gentle as he looked at her, and he nudged the first kit, waiting for her to name her. She thought for a moment, mind dwelling on the names she thought suits her kit. "What about Puddlekit?"

Her mate purred. "Puddlekit it is." He looked at the white one with the smooth pelt. "What about Swankit for her?"

"It suits her," mewed Stormfall. "So… elegant."

Cloudeye laughed at this. "It wasn't the word I was going for, but it'll do," laughter glimmered in his eyes as he looked at Swankit. "So elegant."

Stormfall prodded her mate sharply with one claw. "Since you're so good at naming kits, why don't you name the next one?"

Her mate shook his head. "He looks like your mother. You should name him."

"What about Flarekit?" suggested Stormfall. "In honor of Brightflare…" Her mew trailed off miserably and she stared at her gray paws. Her mother, Brightflare, had died in an attack on RiverClan not over a moon ago.

Cloudeye smoothed his tail down her spine. His expression was regretful from pulling Stormfall from one place full of happiness to one with only grief. "What about the next kit?" mewed Cloudeye, forcing cheerfulness into his mew. "She – "

They stared at that kit. It was all too easy to believe she was innocent, and hadn't killed her own sister lying next to her. Grief stung Stormfall's heart, and she pushed it away resolutely. No, she wouldn't think about that.

But still, they couldn't think up a name that suits her. Cloudeye broke the silence by suggesting they name the last kit first.

This time Stormfall couldn't stop her thoughts from wandering. She pressed her body to Cloudeye's, who was shivering with grief. The happy atmosphere was gone. They were dragged back to reality, the weight of the truth crashing down on them. One of their kits killed her sister.

"Rainkit," whispered Cloudeye, "Her name is Rainkit."

Warriors Quote:

What on earth did you do to please Tigerclaw - fly?

-Firepaw to Ravenpaw, Into the Wild

Thanks so much for 6 favs and 6 follows! I honestly didn't expect that. Also, thanks for those quotes ;)

~Pamella