A/N: All I have to say today is... Review, please.
Russetfur was once again jolted from her sleep when Flamesong's memory reset. It was not yet morning, but the sky had ever so slightly started to lighten. The young queen asked, "Russetfur? Am I dreaming? My belly... I'm pregnant, and it hurts... My belly... It hurts really bad." The dark ginger she-cat sat up blearily.
"What hurts, Flamesong?" she asked tiredly.
The black-furred queen flinched, gritting her teeth as pain apparently shot through her. "Russetfur!" she whimpered.
"Hold on, I'll get Littlecloud. I think your kits are coming." Russetfur stumbled out of her nest and to the medicine den. "Hey, wake up!" she called into the mouth of the dark den. "Flamesong's kits are coming."
Two cats stood in the den. Runningnose's voice said, "Go back to sleep, Littlecloud. I can do this alone." The second form hesitated, but laid down after a second anyway. The gray-and-white tom followed Russetfur back to the nursery. "This is too early..." he murmured, though Russetfur probably wasn't supposed to hear.
Flamesong, when they entered the den, was holding back a yowl, sinking her teeth into her own paw. Shadestorm and Frogkit had woken, and she held him close to her, their eyes wide with fear. "Maybe Frogkit should play outside the den, Shadestorm?" Russetfur said gently, knowing that there was plenty of possibility that this would end terribly, since it was so early. It would not be a pretty sight. snapping out of it, the dark-furred queen dipped her head and lead her only kit carefully outside.
Brightflower and Featherstorm, as well as their kits, still seemed to be asleep, but if Flamesong was already in this much pain, she couldn't hold back the screams forever. Rather than have them wake to screams of pain, Russetfur woke them, saying, "Flamesong's kits are coming. It's pretty bad. The kits should see this." Her words were proven true as a small puddle of blood formed by the birthing queen. Brightflower dipped her head and carefully took her kits outside, but Featherstorm hesitated.
"Of course. The one night I get to sleep, and now I'm being kicked out of the den. Fantastic. Just what I needed." the queen growled quietly.
Russetfur's ears flattened at her hostility. "Fine. Let your kits listen to Flamesong scream and bleed. That's just what they need." she almost snarled. The tabby queen came to her senses and carried the kits, one by one, out of the den. Russetfur didn't miss the look of anger and misery that Featherstorm gave her.
"Are you sure you don't want to get out of here, too, Russetfur? This could be very scary at this point in your own pregnancy." Runningnose cautioned halfheartedly.
Russetfur gave him a dull glare. "It's not like I haven't watched my sisters have kits, Runningnose. I know it will be terrible. I'll be fine. Just help Flamesong. She's forgotten again." the medicine cat shrugged and turned to the kitting queen.
"Flamesong. I need you to stay calm, as much as you can. I know it hurts, and I know you're confused, but your kits need you now, and you can help them by staying as calm as you can." Runningnose told her, and the wild look in her eyes faded a little. "Russetfur, get me cobwebs, borage, poppy seed, chamomile, dandelion, juniper, heather flower if you can, raspberry leaves, willow bark, and a burdock root. Ask Littlecloud and Yellowfang to help you."
The queen opened her mouth to ask why he would want poppy seed since it wasn't good for queens, but stifled the question and darted to the medicine den as she realized that he thought Flamesong might not live through this, so they would ease her passage. Or the kits'. Kicking Littlecloud and Yellowfang awake, she reeled off the list of herbs, hoping she got them all. The two cats hurriedly tried to get all the herbs, but they seemed to be taking forever."Just give me something to take to her!" Russetfur nearly shrieked.
Yellowfang dropped some herbs at her feet, so the queen picked them up in her mouth and ran back to the nursery. "All this running can not be good for my kits." she muttered around the herbs, which she soon dropped by Runningnose, just missing the blood puddle as she skidded in the den. The first kit appeared to be arriving, but Russetfur dashed back out of the den for more herbs. She nearly crashed into Littlecloud, who was headed for the nursery himself with more herbs. "Is that the lot?" she asked nervously. He dipped his head, so she walked back to the den, too tired to run.
The first kit had come, but it's lungs didn't seem to be working, and Flamesong was bleeding quite a bit. "Bite down on this, Flamesong." Runningnose said, giving her the root. She did, removing her fangs from her paw. Littlecloud wrapped the paw in cobwebs while Runningnose worked. The queen let out a yelp, and the gray tom said quickly, "Russetfur, try and get this kit to breathe. Another's coming." She hurried over and vigorously licked the kit's fur backwards, warming her and trying to get her lungs working. After a couple of endless minutes of this, however, Russetfur had to accept that the kit was dead.
She didn't say anything, though, and kept licking though she knew it was in vain. The second kit, however, appeared to be breathing alright, but he or she was shaking violently. Russetfur closed the eyes of the dead kit and took over licking the second, curling around him to warm him though he didn't seem cold. Littlecloud was talking to Flamesong, comforting her. "Stay awake, Flamesong. You kits are coming, and they're going to be beautiful. I know you're in pain, but it'll be over soon enough. Just stay awake for us..." Russetfur stopped listening, focusing on the kit who would not stop shaking. Runningnose was working furiously to still the bleeding, but another kit started to come, and he had to wait.
Despite the root clenched in her mouth, Flamesong cried out in agony. "This is the last, Flamesong, the last one. Hold on for me, Flamesong." The last kit, a very tiny black and gray she-kit, arrived. Runningnose licked her and licked her until, after some very scary minutes, she took a small breath. With a barely audible sigh of relief, he passed the miniscule kit to Russetfur and continued working on Flamesong. The bleeding hadn't stopped, and he started giving herbs to the queen hurriedly, who barely managed to swallow them.
"The kits?" she asked. Russetfur exchanged a glance with Littlecloud.
The small tabby tom smiled. "They're doing just fine, Flamesong." he lied.
"What-" Flamesong started, swallowing to gather her strength. "What do they look like?"
Russetfur spoke up this time. "Shh. No more speaking. Save your strength. One of them, a she-kit, is black with gray patches. She has long whiskers, just like you. The other's a tom. He's gray with white paws, and he has spiky fur, like Kinkfur's." She said, comparing her kit to Flamesong's sister. The kit was still shaking, but he certainly wasn't didn't know why he quivered, but it wasn't for lack of warmth. She started to put the kits at Flamesong's stomach to suckle, but Runningnose stopped her.
"Not yet." he whispered. "We have to let the herbs run their course before the kits drink her milk. Get Shadestorm in here, Littlecloud." The tom did as he was asked, and she and Frogkit entered, followed by Brightflower, Volekit, Mosskit, and Featherstorm's litter of three.
Russetfur tilted her head when the eldest queen didn't appear. "Where's Featherstorm?" she asked. Brightflower frowned.
"Good question. She ran out of camp a little while ago, said she needed to do something. Told me to take care of these three." Snowkit, Thornkit, and Blossomkit sat next to Volekit and Mosskit, a moon older than them. Russetfur also frowned, gave Flamesong's kits to Shadestorm, and let the medicine cats explain the situation. She herself left the den, wondering what had possessed Featherstorm to leave her kits.
The sky was lime-green at the horizon with the dawn, but Russetfur didn't notice; her nose almost to the ground, she sniffed and found Featherstorm's trail. She followed it at a fairly quick pace, sensing that something was very off. The feeling increased tenfold when she suddenly looked up to see in the distance the form of a cat standing at the edge of the Thunderpath. The cat, who Russetfur strongly suspected was Featherstorm, wasn't waiting for a good time to run across, though; no monsters were anywhere close. The dark ginger queen broke into a gallop. Before she could reach the cat, who could see now was definitely Featherstorm, the rumble of a single monster roared. It flew down the Thunderpath at an impossible speed, and Featherstorm wiggled her haunches like she was about to jump.
Just before she could leap in front of the Twoleg machine, Russetfur slammed into her and knocked her down, away from the Thunderpath. "What-" she panted, holding Featherstorm down with unsheathed claws. "in StarClan do you think- " she had to pause for a breath, "-you're doing? You-" she gasped for air, "You could've been killed!"
"That's kind of the point." the tabby queen snarled. "Get off of me. Let me do this, you nosy bit of fox-dung. This has got nothing to do with you!"
Russetfur dug her claws in deeper when she wiggled. "This is completely my business! You're my Clanmate, my denmate, and you were about to- to kill yourself!"
"Oh so what? Russetfur, do you know what my life is? I've been having kits practically since I became a warrior with toms I don't even like just so that there will be kits in the Clan. Now it appears my daughter Lizardstripe's following in my footsteps. Yeah, she's pregnant again. So why should I stay? I've got no business being here anyway. I'm never going to amount to anything. I won't have any more litters, and these stupid toms that pass for leaders now are too bigoted to see that I'm one of the best warriors in the Clan! I'm a senior warrior, Russetfur, but that's not how any cat sees me when it's time to pick our new deputy. No, I'm the kit-mother. I could never be deputy, or I couldn't provide all these little lives for the Clan? Well, Shadestorm's got a kit, Lizardstripe's got kits, I'm sure Snowkit and Blossomkit will have them. Yeah, me and Dawncloud. Kit-makers. But now Dawncloud's dead." Featherstorm ranted, tears springing to her eyes at this last statement.
"I've been alive a long time. Dawncloud and I were not just sisters. We were best friends. We were like you and Foxheart, only with years more. And now she's dead! And it's time for me to go too. Let me go, Russetfur. I might not be the youngest cat in the world, but I'm not an elder, and you're pregnant. Get off, before I make you."Featherstorm threatened with narrowed eyes.
Russetfur carefully stepped off, but blocked the way to the Thunderpath. "Featherstorm, wait. Listen to me. Don't do this. Your kits, all of them, love you. And yeah, maybe Raggedstar and Brokenstar didn't and don't appreciate you for the amazing warrior and hunter you are. But Raggedstar didn't appreciate anyone besides his son after he was born, and Brokenstar doesn't appreciate anyone but himself. I want to be deputy too, but he made my sister deputy instead, and now she's dead. But not being appreciated isn't a reason to die!
"Look, Featherstorm, you are beautiful, powerful, graceful, and eloquent. From the time we could understand that, Tallpoppy and I admired you. You were the she-cat to be in the Clan. And you still are. Please. Just come back to the Clan. Raise this last litter of kits. Teach them to never let anyone do what they did to you. So many cats in the Clan look up to you. So many love you. Don't do this." Russetfur pleaded in earnest.
Despite the truth to her words, despite the hesitation Featherstorm felt at the thought of how her kits would feel when she died, nothing, not all the warriors in StarClan, could've stopped the beautiful tabby queen from shoving Russetfur aside and throwing herself directly in the path of the monster, a huge one with trees strapped on it, that rocketed past. She did not scream as it killed her, which was the only reason Russetfur looked at the Thunderpath to see if she was still alive. What her eyes saw would haunt her for the rest of her life; a bloody smear on the gray Thunderpath, clumps of beautiful tabby fur sticking through it, looking pure crimson and gold as the sun just peeked over the horizon enough to bathe it in light.
