Brambledusk watched Icekit leap onto a moss ball and wrestle it down before nipping at it. The pale tabby tom purred with amusement as she rolled around with the moss. Waspberry watched her, love glowing in her soft wide eyes. Brambledusk glanced over at her. "She's growing well," he commented. "She's a lot bigger than she used to be, and she looks strong, too."

"Yeah," Waspberry said, her blue gaze flicking over to Frostkit, and a frown fell over her face. "I'm still very disappointed in her."

"We all were kits, once," Brambledusk remarked. "We've all done stupid things. I seem to remember someone putting ticks in Swiftstar's nest."

Waspberry's face flushed with embarrassment. "I'm so glad he never found out. Adderstripe was the one who got me out of that one."

Brambledusk grinned. "See what I mean?"

"I wish Lightningtalon was here to visit," Waspberry murmured, her voice dark. Brambledusk flinched. I wish he was, too. "But I'm glad you're here, Brambledusk. You're more of a father to them than he is."

"Well, I'm not sure I'd go that far," Brambledusk remarked.

"Why not?" Waspberry tilted her head. "You've been visiting with them every day, and now that they're old enough, you're playing with them. That's more than Lightningtalon ever has." Scorn dripped down Waspberry's voice.

Brambledusk wanted to defend his brother – it had taken him a while to figure out that Lightningtalon had never been in love with Waspberry, it was a crush that went too far, and he was not ready to be a father at such a young age. But there was also no excusing the fact that Lightningtalon had kits, and no matter what, he had to be their father. He chose not to, so it's up to me, now. "Thanks, Waspberry."

Just as Waspberry was about to speak, a flash of silver-and-white tabby fur streaked across the nursery and landed straight onto Brambledusk's paws. Brambledusk looked down, seeing Frostkit get up in a daze, shaking out her head. Brambledusk sighed and tousled Frostkit's head with his paw.

"What are you doing?" Brambledusk asked her.

Frostkit bounced up and down on her paws. "Sedgekit and Skykit are going to be made apprentices today!" she exclaimed.

"Oh?" Brambledusk tilted his head. He hadn't heard of that. "And are you going to be front row to watch them?"

"You bet!" Frostkit batted at Brambledusk with small silver paws before turning away and racing out of the nursery. Waspberry watched her, affection in her gaze but tinged with exhaustion.

"She's so excitable," Waspberry sighed. "Icekit, compared to her, is meeker than the smallest fly. I hope she's able to get out of her comfort zone soon."

"She's playing, though," Brambledusk pointed out.

"Never with Frostkit or the other kits," Waspberry explained.

"She's still young." Brambledusk gazed at Icekit, who was sitting down and grooming herself. "Give her some time."

"You're right." Waspberry stretched out her front legs. "I just need to wait."

Brambledusk walked over to Icekit. "Done playing?" he asked her.

Icekit looked up at Brambledusk, and for the first time, Brambledusk noticed how downy and long her fur was. So unlike a WindClan cat. The only other cat in WindClan with long fur was Russetstripe. I wonder where she gets it from. "Yes."

"Why?" Brambledusk asked, glancing over at the moss ball. "The moss doesn't seem to be defeated."

"I don't want to defeat it," Icekit replied. "I want it to stay in one piece. Defeating it would hurt it. I don't want to hurt it."

Brambledusk's ears twitched faintly. How odd. I've never heard a kit speak like that before. He gave Icekit a small nod. "That's a very compassionate way of thinking." She's so gentle. He licked the small kit over her ear, feeling a pang of affection towards his niece.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Tall Branch!" Scorchstar's voice was so loud that it penetrated the nursery. All cats turned their head towards the entrance, and Brambledusk guessed this was Sedgekit and Skykit's apprentice ceremony.

Brambledusk glanced over at Icekit. "Want to come watch your friends get apprenticed?" he asked.

Icekit nodded. Waspberry padded over to the two cats, brushing her tail against Icekit's back and urging her out of the nursery. Brambledusk followed the two cats, enjoying the warm rays of the green-leaf sun as they spanned over his back. He gave Waspberry a small dip of his head before walking over to the root of the Tall Branch, where he sat down. He noticed that Wildheart's kits, Redkit and Hawkkit, were tumbling over the paws of every warrior who sat. There was no sight of Mallowkit. She must be back in the nursery with Wildheart. I probably missed her.

"Stop that right now!" hissed Scorchstar as he caught the eye of his kits. Hawkkit's green eyes glowed as she continued to jump through the crowd until she reached Brambledusk. Brambledusk looked down at her.

"Can I sit with you?" Hawkkit asked.

Brambledusk could hear a low growl from Scorchstar's throat, but Brambledusk knew it was better to let Hawkkit stay than cause a scene in front of the entire Clan. "Yeah. Just keep quiet during the ceremony."

"I can do that!" Hawkkit exclaimed, plopping down to Brambledusk and lifting her head up, squaring her small, striped shoulders. Brambledusk chuckled in amusement, and he looked over at Scorchstar. The tom was trembling, but Brambledusk shook his head. She's just a kit, he told him through his eyes.

Scorchstar finally let out a heavy sigh from where he sat on the Tall Branch and turned to face his Clan. "Clanmates, today is a special day. As you all know, this is one of my favorite ceremonies. It always has been, and this is my first time being able to perform one. Skykit, Sedgekit, please come here."

Skykit gave an excited hop on her small gray paws as she bounded towards the Tall Branch. Sedgekit walked after her, the epitome of grace as she moved her paws elegantly, compared to her sister's boisterous movements. Brambledusk focused his gaze on the two she-kits, wondering who their mentors would be. The two kits stopped right in front of Scorchstar, with Skykit's blue eyes shining and Sedgekit's green eyes burning straight into Scorchstar's fur.

Scorchstar cleared his throat. "Skykit, Sedgekit, you have both reached the age of six moons. From this day forward, until you receive your warrior names, you will be known as Skypaw and Sedgepaw. Skypaw, your mentor will be Harewhisker, and I hope he passes down all he knows to you."

Harewhisker's yellow eyes widened as he bounded over to Skypaw. Brambledusk chuckled – two cats with the same amount of energy? That would be interesting to see. Skypaw bounced around Harewhisker in excitement, but Harewhisker angled his ears and flicked his tail, a signal for her to sit down. Sedgekit stood alone as her sister walked away to join Harewhisker.

"Sedgekit, you will know be known as Sedgepaw. Your mentor will be Do—"

"No." Sedgepaw's voice was firm but soft as she interrupted Scorchstar in the middle of the ceremony. Scorchstar's amber eyes widened, and his nostrils flared. Sandfall gasped in horror and Aspenstep's blue eyes started to blaze. Skypaw stared at her sister in shock.

"No…?" Scorchstar echoed.

"I would like to be a medicine cat apprentice." Sedgepaw lifted her head, her green gaze meeting Scorchstar's steadily. She seemed to have no idea just how brazen it was to interrupt her Clan leader during an official ceremony – or, if she did, she showed no indication that she felt any guilt. "I have no interest in being a warrior."

Scorchstar's eye twitched. "So, you wish to be apprenticed to Violetheart?" he asked. Brambledusk watched the gray medicine cat exit the medicine den and walk through the crowd, having heard the commotion from her den.

Sedgepaw nodded.

"Violetheart, do you mind?" Scorchstar asked as the WindClan medicine cat reached the Tall Branch, looking down at Sedgepaw.

"Not at all." Violetheart gazed softly at Sedgepaw. "I'd love to have an apprentice."

"Very well." Scorchstar nodded. "Sedgepaw, Violetheart will be your mentor. Learn well from her."

Violetheart touched her nose to Sedgepaw's, and Brambledusk expected to see excitement flickering in the small tabby's green eyes, but there was a calm acceptance as she followed Violetheart to the medicine den. Well, it may have been bold of her to interrupt the ceremony, but at least we have another medicine cat. Scorchstar watched the two cats, a dazed look still on his face, and then he leaped down from the Tall Branch, signaling that the meeting was over.

Skypaw skipped away with Harewhisker. Joy blazed in the tom's amber eyes, and Brambledusk hoped that getting an apprentice would mature the young warrior. The tabby tom turned away, but the pattering of pawsteps made him turn his gaze back to the Tall Branch. Hawkkit had leaped onto the tree and was trying to scale it. Oh, no! Brambledusk leaped onto the tree, trying to climb after her, but Hawkkit was already at the end of the branch. The tree shook under Brambledusk's weight, and Hawkkit seemed to know she had the advantage, for she gazed at him with mischief and a hint of defiance in her green eyes.

"Hawkkit, come back here!" Brambledusk demanded. "You might fall."

Hawkkit let out a mischievous grin. "Let all Clan—"

"Hawkkit!" Scorchstar's voice pierced Brambledusk's ears as the ginger-and-white tabby leaped out of the hollow tree, his tail lashing as he glared at his daughter. "Get back down right now!"

Hawkkit looked down beneath her from the Tall Branch, and fear swept over the she-kit's green eyes as she realized just how high up she really was. "I can't!" she exclaimed.

"Just climb over to me," Brambledusk encouraged her. "I'll grab you."

The kit's green eyes were wide with fear.

"You're brave, aren't you?" Brambledusk urged the she-kit. "Surely a brave kit like you isn't afraid of some measly branch."

Brambledusk's words must've gotten to her, for the she-kit straightened up and nodded firmly. "I am brave!" she exclaimed. "I'm coming, Brambledusk!"

"Be careful!" Brambledusk cautioned her as the she-kit picked her way over to him. He could notice her hind legs trembling, but she finally reached him at the opposite side of the branch. Before Hawkkit could do something even more foolish, Brambledusk grabbed her in his jaws and leaped down from the tree, dropping her on the ground. The kit got to her paws and shook out her short fur.

"Hawkkit, what were you doing?" Scorchstar demanded, his amber eyes blazing as he bounded over to her and licked her fur roughly, looking over her to make sure she was safe. "Climbing on top of the Tall Branch? You could've fallen and broken your neck!"

"No, I wouldn't have!" Hawkkit protested. "Plus, I was practicing for the day when I'm Clan leader."

"You're already plotting to overthrow me?" Scorchstar inquired. "You wouldn't be the first cat."

Brambledusk flinched.

"I'm going to be leader after you!" Hawkkit cried out. "I heard the cats say the Clan leader always chooses their kits to be leader. So, you're going to choose me! Redkit says you'll choose him, but he's so lazy, you wouldn't want a leader like him!"

Scorchstar sighed. "Hawkkit, listen to me." He pulled the ginger-and-white she-kit closer to him. "That was how the generations before me did things. But Brambledusk is my deputy now, and that's how it's going to stay." The tom refused to elaborate, and Brambledusk wondered what else he was thinking. Did Scorchstar want to throw away his father's way of making his kin the next leader? None of the other Clans followed that hierarchy. All of them made their deputies cats they thought would lead after them, not their own kits.

"So, you're not going to make me Clan deputy?" Hawkkit asked.

"Let's not talk about that," Scorchstar growled. "You're still a kit. Don't think I haven't forgotten about your little expedition!"

Hawkkit raised her short tail. "Well, I don't care! I'm going to be the best warrior, even if you think otherwise!" The ginger-and-white she-kit marched away from Scorchstar, and Brambledusk caught the tip of her tail twitching in faint irritation.

Scorchstar sighed. "Did I upset her?" he asked Brambledusk.

"I'm honestly not sure," Brambledusk replied.

"When I was her age, all I thought about was becoming a warrior," Scorchstar murmured. "Not Clan deputy." He looked up at Brambledusk. "Did… did Adder—"

"No." Brambledusk shook his head, knowing what Scorchstar was going to ask. Did Adderstripe think about being Clan deputy as a kit? "You were right to tell Hawkkit to focus on becoming a warrior. She's only three moons old, she should be playing moss ball with Redkit and not declaring her intention to be leader."

"I'll have to talk to her again," Scorchstar muttered. "Or get Wildheart to."

"Good idea." Brambledusk nodded.

"How's Frostkit?" Scorchstar asked. "Is she just like Hawkkit?"

"Well, they definitely get along," Brambledusk purred. "Two birds of a feather. They both love causing trouble. I caught them in Violetheart's den the other day… and they weren't injured."

"Oh, gods." Scorchstar hit his head with his paw. "How am I supposed to deal with a kit that has so much energy like Hawkkit? I love her to death, but I can't keep up with her, sometimes!"

"She'll calm down as she grows older," Brambledusk told him. "When she becomes an apprentice, her mentor will be the one to deal with her."

"Gods, here's hoping." Scorchstar sighed. "Redkit is so calm and composed compared to her, though. He's feisty, that's for sure, but he doesn't run around camp like Hawkkit does. And Mallowkit…" His Clan leader's voice trailed off.

"Is she any better?" Brambledusk dared to ask, knowing that Mallowkit was a sensitive subject for Scorchstar.

"No." Scorchstar shook his head, a frown falling on his face.

"But she's alive," Brambledusk said, although he knew that didn't give much relief. Mallowkit barely talked or moved. What life was she living?

"Yes." Scorchstar nodded, a hint of hope in his amber eyes. "Violetheart says she may need to be in the nursery until next newleaf, to grow properly."

"That's so long!" Brambledusk gasped. "Hawkkit and Redkit will surely be apprentices by then. Even Icekit and Frostkit will be apprentices."

"It's for her own sake," Scorchstar insisted roughly. "I don't want to make her an apprentice too soon if it'll harm her.

"I guess." Brambledusk nodded in agreement. He decided to change the topic, in fear that discussing Mallowkit even more would upset Scorchstar, considering her condition. "So, Scorchstar. Sedgepaw really one-upped you in front of every cat, didn't she?" He felt his whiskers twitch in amusement.

"Gah." Scorchstar sighed. "You'd think Sandfall could've told me before."

"Maybe she didn't know," Brambledusk suggested. "She seemed just as surprised."

"Well, it's done." Scorchstar shrugged his shoulders. "She's Violetheart's apprentice now, and that's fine. Violetheart's been talking about how she wants one, anyway. She's getting old."

Brambledusk nodded in slow agreement. It would be a good thing for Violetheart to have an apprentice. As he examined camp, he let out a content sigh. Everything was normal. Harewhisker was taking Skypaw out already, and he could catch a glimpse of Sedgepaw's brown tabby fur in the medicine den. Russetstripe was talking to Blackdove near the fresh-kill pile, and Sunleaf sat at the entrance of the elders' den, with Redkit running over to her and settling between his grandmother's paws. Just at the corner of the camp, Brambledusk spotted a very familiar black pelt.

"Excuse me." Brambledusk got to his paws and stalked across the clearing, coming face-to-face with Lightningtalon. Lightningtalon turned and stared at Brambledusk, his amber eyes wide. Brambledusk let out a low growl as he asked, "Have you seen your kits, lately?"

"Haven't you been spending time with them?" Lightningtalon asked.

"I shouldn't be," Brambledusk growled. "It's your job."

"I told you!" Lightningtalon lashed his tail. "I can't. I won't be a good father. The kits – and Waspberry – are better off without me. You're a better cat to be around them than I am."

"You're right, Lightningtalon." Brambledusk gave his brother a slow nod. "I am. I'm disappointed in you. You're abandoning your own kits. Spottedwing would be furious with you."

Lightningtalon gasped. His amber eyes blazed with fire. "Don't you dare use her against me!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Brambledusk growled. "You think she'd like to know that you're neglecting your own kits?"

"She would understand," Lightningtalon argued feebly.

"Really?" Brambledusk twitched his ears. "I doubt it."

"Brother, please." Lightningtalon sighed. "You don't get it. It's because I care for them that I'm distancing myself. Brambledusk, take care of them for me. I'm not going to talk about this anymore, so stop trying." The callousness in Lightningtalon's voice took Brambledusk by surprise. He's serious. No matter what I say, he won't budge.

Brambledusk finally nodded. There was nothing he could do. Lightningtalon had decided on his future, and it didn't involve his kits. The only thing Brambledusk could do was treat the kits as if they were his own. "All right, Lightningtalon. If you insist." Then, Brambledusk turned on his heel and walked away from his brother.

Was it right for Brambledusk to stop convincing him? Was there something he could do? As Brambledusk thought more about it, he realized that there wasn't. Waspberry and Lightningtalon are a thing of the past. It's my job to care for their kits, now.