Scorchpaw awoke to a loud scream piercing his eardrums. He lifted his head in a flash, getting to his paws and looking around. His immediate thoughts were that the rocks were falling again. He couldn't feel the ground shaking, but it was entirely possible that he had slept through that part. But Scorchpaw didn't hear any more screams. He didn't hear the thudding of pawsteps on the hard ground. He didn't hear the loud thuds of rocks breaking from the walls and plummeting to the ground below.

"Fawnstep!"

The cat who had woken Scorchpaw up screamed again, this time for the medicine cat. Scorchpaw swiveled his head towards the spot where the yell had sounded from. There were boulders obstructing his view. Just as he was about to venture forward and try and get a look at who had spoken, Fawnstep pelted past him with a bunch of herbs in her mouth and Thymepaw at her heels.

He followed the two cats. They skirted the borders that had been in Scorchpaw's line of vision and appeared beside a light gray she-cat with black patches on her back. Her eyes were clenched shut, but when she opened them the usual bright green was tainted with pain. She was giving birth.

It didn't feel right to watch—at least not out in the open. Scorchpaw retreated to the side of the boulder, lying down and poking his head around, grateful for his dark ginger fur. He knew he was barely distinguishable from the red rocks around him. He fixed his dark amber gaze on the two she-cats and one tom, rather eager to see what was about to occur.

Fawnstep dropped the herbs she had been holding in her jaws. She situated herself at Sagepatch's middle, placing a paw on her flank. Thymepaw moved to sit at her rear, clearly there to receive the kits. Scorchpaw could see Fawnstep's lips moving, but he couldn't hear anything. He crept forward slightly, trying to catch what she was saying.

"…Ok, now I need you to push as hard as you can after the next contraction passes," Fawnstep mewed soothingly, her paw still on Sagepatch's side. Scorchpaw watched a spasm shake Sagepatch, but she bit her lip determinedly and pushed hard, just as the medicine cat had instructed.

"Good, good," Fawnstep encouraged. "Thymepaw, can you see anything?" Scorchpaw saw Thymepaw nod happily.

"The top of a head," he mewed with delight.

The medicine cat turned from her apprentice and back to Sagepatch. "That means you need to push after every contraction now, ok?" Sagepatch nodded weakly. "You're doing fine," Fawnstep reassured. Suddenly alert, she said, "Push!"

Sagepatch's face screwed up as she pushed, and Thymepaw quickly received what Scorchpaw assumed was a kit. The medicine cat apprentice began licking the kits fur the wrong way. Scorchpaw didn't know why. The kit couldn't be cold, could it? Was it stillborn? The apprentice continued to watch the scene with interest.

As Sagepatch pushed again, Fawnstep spoke up. "Thymepaw, do you see another?"

Thymepaw nodded, turning back to licking the current kit. Evidently, he had accomplished his goal, seeing as he had pushed the tiny bundle of fur towards Sagepatch's belly, most likely to start suckling. Thymepaw quickly focused his attention on the birth, waiting to receive the next kit.

"Keep going," Fawnstep instructed, seeing Sagepatch begin to weaken. "You gave birth to four kits before, this should be a breeze." That appeared to have given the queen strength as she pushed again, determination etched on her face. Fawnstep was nodding slowly, apparently satisfied for the moment.

Another bundle slipped out, and Sagepatch slumped down. That must have been the last one. Thymepaw began licking this one, too, and Scorchpaw was curious as to why. He figured it was best to stay hidden for a little longer, but he made a mental note to ask his brother later. The cream-colored tom pushed the second bundle towards Sagepatch, looking very happy. Scorchpaw watched the two newborns with interest. One was a light golden color, and the other was white with black paws and a couple of thin jagged stripes across the black and flanks.

"Haykit and Birchkit," he heard Sagepatch meow tiredly.

Ravenstar and Creekstone appeared on the scene. Scorchpaw wondered briefly if they had been hiding like he was. Creekstone bounded over to his mate and nuzzled her with a loud purr. Scorchpaw curled his lip in disgust. Ravenstar, however, turned to Fawnstep.

"What are their names?" He asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the family scene behind him.

"Haykit," Fawnstep meowed, pointing at the golden one with her tail, "And Birchkit," she said, indicating the white and black kit.

The leader smiled. "SkyClan could do with two new warriors," he purred.

And a new leader, too, Scorchpaw thought resentfully, eyeing the two bundles of fur at Sagepatch's stomach.

A.N. Another short one. :P