A/N: Thank you all soo so much for following, favoriting, and especially for reviewing! Your reviews have made me think a lot, and its always kind of bothered me that not a single one of Bluefur's kits looked very much like Oakheart. (Excuse me, Bluefur could tell when he was a day old that Stonekit had his father's head. But you know what I mean!) SO now I've got to ask. Would it be completely terrible to give Bluefur a litter of 4, instead of 3? Or would it be better to alter one of the three's appearance? Any and all input is welcome! And if she does have a litter of 4, what should the fourth kit be called?
Thanks again for reading! Enjoy!
A gentle nudge roused Bluefur the next morning, and the blue-furred queen blinked groggily up at her mate, momentarily bewildered by her surroundings.
"It's time to get up," Oakheart whispered quietly. "Crookedstar will call the meeting soon."
Everything came back to her in a rush—the kits she was expecting, seeking out Oakheart to tell him, agreeing to join RiverClan to be with him and raise their kits. She ducked her head, suddenly overwhelmed with sorrow. I'll never wake up in the warriors' den again…
"Bluefur?" Oakheart touched his nose to the tip of her ear. "It'll be okay," he cooed.
"I know," she finally sighed, pulling herself onto her paws and shaking the loose moss from her pelt. It suddenly occurred to her that this was her chance to make a good first impression on her new Clan. I can't mess this up. She began grooming, careful not to leave a single strand of fur standing on end. "How do I look?" She finally asked, looking up at Oakheart. For his part, the reddish brown warrior looked radiant in the weak leaf-bare sun, his thick fur glossy and his eyes bright and clear.
His whiskers twitched. "Like you're expecting kits."
Bluefur swatted playfully at him, and he gave her a lick on the cheek. "You look fine, Bluefur. A little thin, but we'll right that soon enough. Now come on, I can hear Crookedstar's summons."
Bluefur could feel her heart stuttering in her chest as she followed Oakheart through the entrance of RiverClan's camp. Already, cats were turning their eyes to her; some were curious, but most were hostile. Oakheart didn't waver from her side though, meowing bright greetings to his Clanmates as he lead Bluefur to front of the gathered Clan. Crookedstar looked down at them from atop the roots of a great willow tree. She could see an opening in the roots, and assumed that to be the leader's den.
"RiverClan," the large tabby called their attention. "I've called this meeting to announce that we will be welcoming Bluefur into our Clan."
Startled hisses rippled through the Clan, but Crookedstar silenced them with a hard stare. "She is expecting Oakheart's kits, and will move into the nursery today."
"Why should we accept her and her half-Clan kits?" A silver and black warrior that Bluefur recognized as Rippleclaw raised his voice in a furious yowl.
"She's joining RiverClan," Oakheart growled. "They will not be half-Clan."
"And what about Oakheart?" Ottersplash, a ginger and white she-cat Bluefur had seen in the battles over Sunningrocks, spat. "He broke the warrior code!"
Crookedstar bowed his head. "I am aware. But Bluefur was one of ThunderClan's strongest warriors, it would be foolish enough to turn her away as it is. But she is also bearing kits—RiverClan kits. Kits that will grow to be strong apprentices come new-leaf, and then stronger warriors that will help RiverClan grow. As for Oakheart, he will not be allowed to attend Gatherings until his kits are made apprentices, and he alone will be charged with hunting for Bluefur and the kits—as well as completing his usual duties for the Clan." He watched through narrowed green eyes as his Clan murmured amongst themselves, as if discussing whether his punishment was harsh enough.
"Enough," he finally waved his tail. "This meeting is over. Welcome Bluefur warmly, as she will soon be fighting and hunting alongside you."
As he jumped down from the roots, the Clan broke into small groups, continuing to chatter nervously. They didn't seem as pleased as Oakheart, but her mate seemed unfazed by their hostility.
"I'll show you to the nursery," Oakheart licked her shoulder comfortingly. "It's empty right now, but every cat in RiverClan knows that Willowbreeze will end up there before too much longer."
Bluefur nodded, following the red-brown tom past the throngs of muttering cats and towards the thick sedges that surrounded the camp. He pushed his way through a small tunnel of tangled reeds and ferns, and Bluefur was surprised when she followed and the tight tunnel opened up into a cozy den. It was chilled from disuse, and Bluefur realized that RiverClan was more in need of kits than ThunderClan, who only had White-eye's litter of two in the nursery. The walls and roof were made of tightly woven reeds and willow stems, not even the tiniest draft breaking through. Along with the willow stems, Bluefur noticed that colorful feathers decorated the walls and roof, and shiny stones and shells surrounded the edge of the den.
"What do you think?" Oakheart whispered.
Bluefur pressed close to the warrior, purring, unable to find the words. It was so easy to see her kits being born and raised in the beautiful den.
"I'm glad you like it." He brushed his tail down her spine. "If you'd like, you can come with me while I hunt, and we can gather some fresh moss and feathers for your nest." He flicked his ears towards a nest of woven branches towards the middle of the den, already lined with moss.
"My nest?" She blinked at him, and the warrior ducked his head sheepishly.
"I made it after you agreed to join me in RiverClan. There's already some moss from my nest in the warriors' den in it, but I thought you might like to make it more comfortable for the kits…" His sentence trailed off before he pressed impossibly closer, his tail twining with hers as he murmured, "I'm just so happy you're here with me…"
Any doubt that remained in Bluefur's mind was swept away by the emotion in Oakheart's tender purr. The blue-gray she-cat gave her mate a small lick on the shoulder. "Well come on then, before I have to take a nap."
Oakheart's whiskers twitched in amusement as he nodded, then turned and led the way from the den. In the camp, the commotion had calmed, and cats were gathered around the dark brown tom Bluefur recognized as Timberfur to get their patrol assignments for the day.
"I'm taking Bluefur hunting," Okaheart called to the deputy, who narrowed his eyes, but offered a tiny dip of his head.
"Take another cat and make it a patrol," the deputy growled. Oakheart sighed, but beckoned a pretty silver tabby over to them with a flick of his tail.
"Willowbreeze, this is Bluefur," Oakheart introduced them brightly. "Bluefur, this is the she-cat my brother had been pining over for moons, Willowbreeze."
"You're one to talk," Bluefur retorted with a roll of her eyes. She turned to Willowbreeze, relieved to see that the young she-cat didn't seem nearly as hostile as the rest of her Clan. "It's nice to meet you."
"You too," Willowbreeze purred, her tail curling in amusement. "I always knew Oakheart would wind up with a she-cat that kept him on his toes."
"On my toes?" Oakheart snorted. "She's got me up trees!"
It was much cooler outside the shelter of the reeds that surrounded the camp, and floundering through the shallowest part of the water around RiverClan's island camp left Bluefur shivering before they had even started hunting. How are they so unaffected by the water? She shook each paw in turn as they walked, stumbling awkwardly as she tried to balance the weight of her growing stomach. Willowbreeze blinked sympathetically at her.
"Once you get used to it it's not so bad. Eating fish will help make your pelt resist water like ours."
"O-Oh," Bluefur stammered through her chattering teeth. "That m-makes sense."
Oakheart sighed, looking concerned. "Should we bring her back to camp?"
"We just left," Bluefur snapped hotly. "I'll be fine. I'll probably catch more prey than you, too."
To that, the red-furred warrior rolled his eyes. "You're here to catch moss and feathers for your nest, not fresh-kill."
Bluefur didn't grace the warrior with an answer, instead lashing her tail once and stalking away through the thinning trees. I'll show him… She pricked her ears, focusing on being as quiet as possible as she put distance between herself and her patrol. There's got to be some prey nibbling on the last beech nuts of the season… Even as she thought it, the scent of vole drifted to her nose on the leaf-bare breeze. She crouched low, narrowing her eyes as she spotted the small creature. It was fatter than any prey she had seen in ThunderClan's territory for a moon. Her mouth started to water as she crept closer, thanking StarClan that she was downwind. When she was as close as she could possible get without alerting the creature of her presence, she pounced.
She hissed as she landed a mouse-length short, her paw flicking out as fast as lighting and landing a killing blow to the vole's spine before it could scamper away. My first catch as a RiverClan warrior! She lifted her prey proudly, turning and following her own scent trail back to where she had parted from her mate. His and Willowbreeze's scents led her down a winding trail to the river, where she saw the two warriors sitting a couple of fox-lengths apart, their eyes trained on the icy black water. Oakheart's ears swiveled as she approached.
"Is that vole I smell?" He flashed her an amused glance. "Good catch, Bluefur."
Willowbreeze's paw shot into the water, and she flicked a fish in a high arc onto the ground, where she killed it swiftly. "That is a good catch," she praised warmly. "It's not often we find voles that plump in leaf-bare. They're my favorite."
"You mean fish aren't your favorite?" Bluefur tilted her head, burying her vole at the roots of a birch tree before joining the silver tabby near the water. She let out a mrrow of amusement.
"Nope! I have fish all the time," she flicked her tail disinterestedly towards her own catch. "But voles and mice aren't nearly as common in our fresh-kill pile. They're kind of a treat."
"I still prefer fish," Oakheart interjected as he hooked a fish of his own. "There's nothing better."
Bluefur watched with fascination as her companions' focus went straight back to the water. "Will you teach me?" She murmured, trying not to disturb them or their prey.
"Later," Oakheart promised with a wave of his tail. "For now, there's a really nice patch of moss in the clump of trees just upstream."
Bluefur let out a frustrated sigh, but turned and trudged towards the trees he had mentioned. It won't do the kits any favors to sleep on a pile of sticks. She reminded herself glumly. Who knew that being a queen was so frustrating? Even so, she felt exhaustion creeping into her bones as she expertly cut swathes of moss from the trees, making sure they were good and dry as well as free of thorns.
When Oakheart joined her, two fish and her vole clamped in his jaws, she was nearly asleep on her paws. He couldn't meow around his catch, but he ran his tail down her flank to get her attention, and flicked his ear towards the camp. With a drowsy nod, Bluefur gathered her moss carefully and fell in step behind him, vaguely aware of Willowbreeze bringing up the rear with her own catch of two fish. Oakheart signaled for Bluefur to wait at the edge of the water surrounding the camp, taking his fresh-kill across and then coming back for her moss, carrying it carefully across. When Bluefur splash after him, she was relieved to see that he had managed to keep her fresh bedding completely dry.
"Thank-you," she mumbled, taking it back and following him through the reed tunnel. The camp was much calmer then, as Oakheart deposited his fresh-kill on the pile. All around, cats were eating in sharing tongues in the warmer patches of leaf-bare sunlight.
"Come on," Oakheart gave her nudge. "You need to eat something before you fall asleep. You didn't eat this morning." He took the two fish he had caught and ushered her to a particularly inviting splotch of sunshine just outside the nursery.
"I'm going to fix my nest first," she mewed stubbornly. Oakheart didn't argue, settling down outside while Bluefur pushed her way into her new den. She dropped the moss unceremoniously into the nest, spreading it carefully with her paws until she was certain it was comfortable. It took everything she had to leave the chilly nursery and rejoin Oakheart. The reddish brown warrior had left her the bigger of the two fish, picking at his own meal slowly as he waited for her return.
"Thank-you, Oakheart," she murmured quietly, lying down with her flank brushing his.
"There's no need to thank me," he purred, leaning over to lick her ear.
"Fine," she huffed mockingly. "I won't."
Oakheart's whiskers twitched. "Oh yeah?" He finished his fish in two more bites, then jumped to his paws, looming over her. "And what if I make you?"
Bluefur only stretched up to touch her nose to his, too tired to start the play fight she knew he was about to launch. "You won't have to," she assured him. He sat beside her, beginning to groom her pelt as she finished eating. It wasn't long before she dozed under her mate's rhythmic care, dreams of hunting alongside Oakheart and Willowbreeze swirling through her mind.