Frost blinked his eyes repeatedly to adjust them to the fox den's dark interior. Padding after Frozenkit, he could hear the sound of the rain drumming on the ground outside and the paw steps of Mist and Feather following after him and his brother. His vision soon focusing, Frost was able to make out the form of an adult tom sitting in the center of the den. Distracted by the cat, Frost didn't realize Frozenkit had stopped walking and soon bumped into him.

Frozenkit barely noticed Frost as he stared wide-eyed at Blizzardclaw. He looked somewhat familiar though Frozenkit had never seen him before. His fur was composed of similar colors matching his littermates' pelts and his eyes were a striking blue like just like his own. Shuffling his paws, the young tom mustered the courage to speak. "Dad…?" he mewed questioningly.

Blizzardclaw's eyes lightened up with excitement as he looked down at Frozenkit and Frost. "Yes…?" he smiled.

Frost flicked his ears, using them to digest the sound of his father's voice. It wasn't as low as Storm's but it was definitely nowhere near as high-pitched as Mist's when either he or Frozenkit succeeded in scaring her. The single word Blizzardclaw had spoken seemed as gentle and reassuring as all the words Feather had ever spoken to them. Relaxed by this, Frost scrambled over to Frozenkit's side and looked up at their father. "Is it really you?"

"Why of course," Blizzardclaw purred. "Don't you remember me?" he asked them in amusement.

Frozenkit shook his head as he continued to stare at him. "Mommy said we were too small to remember!"

"We're much bigger now though," Frost meowed, puffing out his wet fur to the best of his ability.

"I can see that," Blizzardclaw said with an amused laugh. "Where's your sister, Mist?" he asked.

Frost blinked up at him. "I'm Mist," he replied nonchalantly, padding up to Blizzardclaw and sniffing his paw.

"No you're not," Frozenkit frowned immediately at his brother. "You'll confuse him!"

"Don't worry, Frozenkit," Blizzardclaw purred. "I know he's not Mist. Isn't that right, Frost?" he asked the pale, silver kit as he flicked his ear with his tail.

Frost twitched his ear in response as he stopped examining the warrior's paw. "Yes I know I'm Frost and not Mist. I was testing you," he purred before looking at Frozenkit. "But where is she…?"

Frozenkit merely shrugged which earned a confused frown from Frost. Glancing around, the two brothers focused their attention on their mother who was sitting with her tail wrapped around Mist by the entrance of the den. The she-kit sat there in between her mother's front paws and blinked at her littermates.

"Mist!" Frozenkit called, trotting over and stopping by Feather's paws. "What are you doing with Mom? Come meet Dad!" he urged her.

Mist frowned stubbornly and pressed up against Feather. "No!"

Frost was busy pawing at Blizzardclaw's tail when he heard his sister. "Why not?" he mewed. "I thought you were excited to meet him!" Frost reminded her.

"Not anymore!" Mist huffed, looking the other way. "I wanna go home!"

Seeing the confused looks on her two sons, Feather smiled down at them. "Don't worry little ones. Mist is just being a little shy."

"Not true, Mommy!" Mist protested instantly, shaking her head.

"Then come meet him!" Frozenkit meowed, waving his tail. "Frost and I already did and he's not mean! Right?" he meowed, looking back over at his brother.

"Right," Frost purred as Blizzardclaw rested his tail on his son's head.

Mist narrowed her eyes at Frost as he began to swipe their father's tail away playfully. "Well I guess I can meet him…" she sighed as Frozenkit purred. Mist licked Feather's paw before leaping out of her tail's grip, landing beside her brother. She gave her wet fur a few nervous licks before slowly padding up to Blizzardclaw. "Hi Daddy…" she mumbled shyly.

Blizzardclaw released his attention from Frost before he looked down at his daughter. "There you are Mist!" he purred.

Mist only nodded as she watched the ground, shuffling her paws quietly.

Blizzardclaw stopped his purring and blinked at her. After a few moments, he smiled. "Did anybody ever tell you how pretty you are, Mist?"

"How pretty I am?" Mist echoed, moving her gaze up to meet his.

The tom began to purr again as he nodded. "You're a very pretty she-cat! Just like your mother."

Mist's eyes shone brightly at his compliment before she looked at Frost. "Did you hear that? He thinks I'm pretty like Mommy!" she purred happily.

Frost smiled at his sister in amusement before glancing behind Blizzardclaw. Sniffing the air in confusion, he padded around the warrior and blinked curiously at the dead squirrel that lay beside him. "What's this?" he asked his father while sniffing at the prey's gray fur.

Blizzardclaw glanced over his shoulder at the kit. "That's a present I caught for your mother," he explained. "It's a squirrel!"

Frozenkit pricked his ears as he padded back over to Blizzardclaw, Feather trailing behind him. "So it's prey?" he asked curiously.

Blizzardclaw nodded. "It is prey. Would you like to try it…?" he asked them in amusement.

Mist gasped excitedly before whipping her head around to look at her mother. "Can we!" she breathed, her tail curling in anticipation.

Feather let out an amused purr. "Of course you can," she responded, walking over to the squirrel. Gently nudging Frost to the side with her muzzle, she picked up the piece of prey and padded back to Frozenkit and Mist, setting it down in front of them as they purred. Frost scampered after her and sat in between his siblings as they both began to examine the squirrel.

After a few moments of sniffing at it, Frozenkit tilted his head as he looked up at his parents. "How exactly do we eat it…?"

Blizzardclaw flicked an ear before crouching down beside them. "Well the first thing you should do is pluck off some of the fur," he explained, placing his paw on the squirrel's pelt. "It's not very pleasant chewing on hair plus eating it might give you a bellyache."

Mist listened intently before looking down at the prey. Using her small teeth, she bent down and pulled out a tuft of fur. "Like this?" she mewed, spitting the fur onto the ground.

Blizzardclaw smiled. "Yes, just like that. You can stop once you've found a patch of skin. That's how you will know you've plucked enough fur to start eating."

Feather swept her tail against Frozenkit's and Frost's backs. "Now you two try what your sister did," she encouraged.

"Okay," Frozenkit nodded as his brother began pulling fur off the prey with his teeth. Working quietly, the kits focused on plucking off as much hair as they could. After the three of them had cleared away most of the fur on the squirrel's flank, Frozenkit looked at Blizzardclaw. "Now can we eat it?" he questioned.

The tom nodded as he swept the plucked fur away from them with his tail. "Yes," he purred. "Now you may eat it."

"Our first prey!" Mist purred excitedly to her brothers before taking a large bite out of the squirrel.

Frost watched silently as Mist and Frozenkit both began to eat. "Well?" he asked expectantly. "What does it taste like…?"

Mist's purr began to ebb away as she continued chewing. "Sorta weird…" she admitted, forcefully swallowing down the meat.

"Yeah…" Frozenkit muttered in agreement through his mouthful. "I don't really like it…"

Feather frowned at her mate in concern. "Is the meat stale or something?"

"Shouldn't be…" Blizzardclaw blinked in return. "I caught it on the way here," he explained before taking a bite of the prey.

"Doesn't it taste icky, Daddy?" Mist wrinkled her nose as she watched him. "Worst thing you ever tasted, right?"

Blizzardclaw chewed for a moment before twitching his whiskers as he swallowed. "No…it tastes great!" he said with a laugh. "I think you two just don't like the taste of squirrel."

Frozenkit's ears drooped in embarrassment. "Oh…"

Frost looked at his siblings in amusement before pouncing on the squirrel. He sniffed it carefully before taking a small bite. Going over the taste on his tongue, he soon swallowed with a purr. "I like it."

Mist rolled her eyes. "Of course you would like it!"

Frozenkit ignored his siblings as he lay down beside Blizzardclaw. "Where do you live, Dad?" he asked him curiously. "Here…?"

Blizzardclaw blinked before shaking his head slowly. "No…I live somewhere else," he admitted, lying down beside Frozenkit.

Mist tilted her head. "Is your den close to ours?" she smiled excitedly, lying down beside her father's flank and Frozenkit.

"I wish," Blizzardclaw chuckled with a sad smile. "No, you see I live in a clan, little ones."

Frost was busy climbing onto the squirrel when he heard his response. "A clan?" he echoed, taking another bite from the squirrel.

The warrior nodded. "That's right, a clan. It's like a giant family of cats who live together except we aren't all related to each other."

"How many cats?" Frozenkit blinked. "Ten…?" he asked, thinking of a large number.

Blizzardclaw gave a glance of amusement to Feather before shaking his head. "More like ten cats tripled."

Mist's eyes widened in bewilderment before she asked, "And you all live together in the same den!"

"No, we've divided ourselves into groups who each share their own dens," Blizzardclaw twitched his whiskers. "Why don't I explain what it's like instead of you asking me millions of questions," he suggested with a purr.

Frozenkit smiled. "Okay!" he chirped. "Tell us everything!"

Blizzardclaw gave a nod. "Right, everything," he laughed. "Are you going to join your siblings before I start telling them about the clan, Frost?" he meowed, looking at eating kit.

Frost nodded as he took one final bite. Chewing swiftly, he quickly swallowed before hopping off the squirrel. His belly full, Frost hobbled over to his siblings and squeezed in between their pelts before lying down. The three kits huddled against each other gratefully since their wet fur was beginning to give them a chill. Feather watched them in amusement before grabbing the squirrel in her jaws and sitting down beside Blizzardclaw to eat it.

"Alright then," Blizzardclaw smiled as he wrapped his tail around the kits. "You see, I don't live a life like yours. In mine, I have to care about everybody in my clan, not just myself or my friends. I have to follow a certain set of rules too."

"We have rules too!" Mist piped in. "Like no biting…" she mumbled, glancing at Frost.

Frost only yawned before smiling back at Blizzardclaw. "Keep going!"

Blizzardclaw let out a purr before he continued. "These rules are all under what we clan cats call the warrior code. For us to successfully be warriors, we must follow all the rules in the code throughout our entire lives."

"But what's a warrior?" Frozenkit questioned as he tucked his paws underneath himself.

"A warrior is a very noble cat," Blizzardclaw began. "It is their duty to defend their clan and clan mates with their lives whatever the reason may be."

"Are you a warrior, Daddy?" Mist mewed curiously.

"I am," the tom smiled. "But to be a warrior, you don't only have to follow the warrior code. You also have to go through six moons of training. While you're training, you're known as an apprentice and a warrior mentors you. Your mentor teaches you how to hunt, how to defend your clan, and how to follow the warrior code."

Frost stood up suddenly and waved his tail. "I wanna be a warrior. Teach me how to be one," he meowed up to Blizzardclaw.

"You can't be a warrior though, Frost! You don't live in a clan," Mist protested, shaking her head.

"I'll go live with Dad," Frost declared. "Then I can be a warrior."

"Well I guess you could but not at the moment," Blizzardclaw twitched his whiskers. "You have to be six moons old to be an apprentice."

"Aw," Frost mewed, his ears drooping. "I'm only 3 moons old…"

Blizzardclaw smiled and licked his forehead. "Don't worry, your mother will teach you everything you need to know once you're old enough, right?" he purred, looking at his mate.

Feather licked her lips as she finished eating the squirrel. "Right!" she purred back.

"But I wanna be a warrior," Frost mumbled sleepily, lying back down between his siblings.

"You'll be just as good as one when the time comes," Blizzardclaw assured him. "But now I think it's time you three take a nap."

Frozenkit pricked his ears. "Can we stay here with you though…?"

"Yeah! I don't wanna go home yet," Mist yawned tiredly as she pressed against her father.

"Of course you can stay here," Blizzardclaw purred gently. "I still need to teach you more about the clan when you wake up!"

"Good," Frost smiled before he drifted off to sleep.

Blizzardclaw watched them intently, smiling silently to himself as they all fell asleep beside his flank. The only thing that caused him to look away was Feather when she gently brushed against him. "Well?" she purred, lying down beside him.

He smiled at her, his eyes brimming with happiness. "They're perfect," he whispered truthfully. "More than anything I could ever imagine."

Feather let out a joyful purr as she licked his muzzle. "I'm glad you like them. They seem to have developed a liking towards you too!" she whispered with a smile, gazing down lovingly at the sleeping kits.

Blizzardclaw nodded silently in agreement before blinking at her. "So, how have things been going for you? Any problems with your father…?" he asked curiously before glancing at the entrance of the den. The rain had stopped.

"There have been some problems," Feather sighed as she looked at her paws. "Storm visited them before you. He kept telling them how great they'll be as fighters when they're older but luckily he didn't mention the war. He probably expects me to do that," she mused.

"Well…him visiting them is alright I guess," Blizzardclaw meowed. "I mean, you are his daughter, he'd naturally want to meet your kits."

"That's not it though," Feather shook her head. "He's been sending multiple spies to lurk around my den since the night the kits were born. They're obviously looking for you but…I ran into the last one," she sighed.

"And?" Blizzardclaw frowned in confusion.

"He threatened me and the kits," Feather confessed. "He said he was the last spy Storm was sending and I only have one moon to tell him who the father of our kits is. If I don't tell him…he promised to kill them," she ended hoarsely.

Blizzardclaw's fur began to prickle. "I'm taking you and the kits to the clan then," he frowned.

"No wait! We can't do that, Blizzardclaw," Feather replied instantly, resting her tail over his flank.

"You'd all be safe then!" Blizzardclaw urged.

"No we wouldn't be!" Feather whispered flatly. "Storm wants us to react like this. If we go back to Fogclan with you it'll ruin everything. Our lives, our love, and our kits' lives would go to waste. You know this would happen so don't act like we could avoid it…" she mewed.

Blizzardclaw dug his claws deep into the den's ground before letting out a sigh of defeat. "You're right…but what else could we do…?"

"Stick to our original plan," Feather responded calmly. "This was supposed to happen when they would be six moons but…I guess we have to do it now," she murmured. "You'll have to take Frozenkit back with you tonight."

"But he's not old enough to be an apprentice yet!" Blizzardclaw protested.

"Give him to a queen," Feather replied firmly. "He'll be ready eventually but from this day forward he'll have to be under the guise of an orphan. Just say you found him in the rainstorm while you were hunting. He'll be safe then," she reminded him.

"What about you, Mist and Frost?" Blizzardclaw whispered. "You obviously can't stay here anymore."

Feather nodded slowly. "I know, that's why we're leaving."

"Leaving the forest…?" Blizzardclaw's eyes widened. "Where would you go!"

"Anywhere at this point," Feather smiled sadly. "Anywhere would be safer than here."

Blizzardclaw stayed silent as he thought it over. He knew suggesting to follow her would be a mouse-brained idea too since Streamstar would question why he would want to leave the clan. After a while, he meowed, "Will we ever see each other again…?"

Feather bit her lip. "I'm not sure at this point…"

"But I don't want to leave you…" Blizzardclaw whispered as he pressed against her.

"We have to do this, Blizzardclaw! We have to for our kits," she reminded him as she licked his ears. "Maybe after your clan defeats my father we could see each other again," she meowed.

Blizzardclaw nodded slowly. "Right, this is the best we can do to keep our kits safe," he agreed.

"Let's let them sleep now though," Feather mewed, looking down at the kits again. "It'd be cruel to separate them while they're asleep…"

"Yeah," Blizzardclaw sighed sadly. "I just wish we could have all had more time together..."

"Me too," Feather agreed in dismay before she pressed her muzzle into his fur. Blizzardclaw licked her forehead gently before resting his head on his paws. He silently prayed the kits would sleep for a long time since neither he nor his mate could imagine how painful it will be separating them from each other.

A/N: Well that was fun to write! xD I hope Blizzardclaw taking Frozenkit to the clan clears up why he has a clan name. Onto the next chapter! :'D