Chapter Text
ALLEGIANCES
RIVERCLAN
LEADER Lilystar - Golden tabby she-cat
Apprentice - Smallpaw
DEPUTY Stonefrost - Sturdy, dark gray tom
MEDICINE Mintfeather - Small gray tom
WARRIORS Cherrywhisker- Large, dark ginger she-cat
Apprentice: Woollypaw
Snowflight - White she-cat with blue eyes
Apprentice: Goldenpaw
Shadowflame - Mottled ginger and black tom
Apprentice: Whistlepaw
Sorrelleaf - Pale brown tabby she-cat with green eyes
Apprentice: Mosspaw
Larkbreeze - Light brown tabby tom with green eyes
Apprentice: Wasppaw
Thrushspring - Brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Apprentice: Thrushpaw
Hollowgaze - Mottled gray tom with white patches and blue eyes
Poppysong - Tortoiseshell she-cat
Apprentice: Eelpaw
Pebblesky - Gray tom speckled with white
Minnowsplash - Gray tom with blue eyes
Apprentice: Duskpaw
Willowpool - Gray and white she-cat with blue eyes
Apprentice: Muddypaw
Quietrabbit - Black she-cat with striking green eyes
Birdclaw - Light brown she-cat with orange eyes
Nutcrawl - Brown she-cat with yellow eyes
APPRENTICES Thrushpaw - Gray she-cat with copper eyes
Mosspaw - White she-cat with orange eyes
Whistlepaw - Ginger she-cat with amber eyes
Smallpaw - Pale ginger she-cat with green eyes
Woollypaw - Brown tom with copper eyes
Eelpaw - Black she-cat with golden eyes
Wasppaw - Ginger she-cat with amber eyes
Goldenpaw - Gray tom with amber eyes
Muddypaw - White she-cat with green eyes
Duskpaw - Dark gray tom with green eyes
QUEENS Ivymist - Ginger and white she-cat (Mother to Songkit, Troutkit, and Rainkit)
Sunshade - Ginger she-cat with blue eyes (Mother to Deadkit and Sneezekit)
Leafpetal - Cream tabby she-cat with green eyes (Mother to Finkit)
KITS Songkit - Tortoiseshell and white she-kit with blue eyes
Troutkit - Gray tom-kit with amber eyes
Rainkit - Black tom-kit with blue eyes
Deadkit - Gray she-kit with copper eyes
Sneezekit - Cream she-kit with copper eyes
Finkit - Ginger tom-kits with orange eyes
ELDERS Nightfall - Black tom
P R O L O G U E
A shriek split the cold night air, waking a cream tabby she-cat who had been trying to sleep, despite the discomfort of her kit-heavy stomach. She looked over and saw a ginger she-cat digging her claws into the ground as she cried out in pain. “Sunshade! Are the kits coming?”
The ginger queen nodded tensely.
The cream she-cat struggled to her paws and stumbled a few steps before she collapsed again. “Sorry,” she meowed, breathing hard from the effort it had taken to go those few steps. “I can’t make it to Mintfeather.”
Sunshade closed her eyes and tried to focus on getting the kits out safely.
A gray tom appeared at the entrance to the nursery with herbs stuffed between his jaws and looked between the two queens. “I heard something,” he said. “Are the kits coming?”
The cream tabby pointed her tail at Sunshade, still trying to catch her breath.
The gray tom frowned at her. “Are you okay, Leafpetal? You’re in no shape to have kits after you just had greencough.”
Leafpetal glared at him. “I know,” she snapped. “I can’t control when my kits decide to be born.”
He sighed. “Can you help me when the first kit comes out?”
She nodded and tried to make her way over to the kitting queen. Suddenly she froze as a spasm ripped through her body. She let out a screech of agony as she crumpled to the floor, having forgotten the pain of kitting.
The gray tom glanced between Leafpetal and Sunshade, shock, fear, and indecision crossing his face all at once. Then Sunshade’s first kit arrived and he leapt over to her. He grabbed the kit and started to groom it, keeping an eye on Leafpetal as he did so.
Leafpetal could tell something was off a few moments after she started kitting. There was no movement. Black spots danced in front of her as she fought to push the kits out. “Mintfeather,” she rasped. “Something’s wrong.”
The gray tom abandoned Sunshade and bounded over to her. He placed his paws on her heaving stomach and felt around. “Keep going,” he meowed encouragingly.
Sunshade continued to focus on her own kitting until she had three kits. She ignored her exhaustion and crawled over to her friend, wanting to help.
Mintfeather held her back. “Wait. There’s a problem. I think it’s best if you don’t try to help. We can’t risk making things worse.”
“What’s wrong?” Sunshade looked scared.
He met her anxious gaze. “I can’t say.” He didn’t want to say. He tried to help Leafpetal as best as he could until the queen finally stopped struggling and two wet bundles lay on the ground.
Sunshade eagerly bounded over to them and started grooming them. However, after a few moments, she realized nothing was happening. She looked over at Mintfeather questioningly.
“The kits are dead, Sunshade.”
Leafpetal heard his last words and looked up. She pulled one of the kits away from her friend and sniffed it. It hung limp and cold in her jaws. She dropped it with a strangled cry of grief as she realized he was right.
Mintfeather and Sunshade looked on helplessly.
A brown tabby face appeared at the entrance of the den. “Is everything okay?”
Leafpetal bristled furiously as she faced her mate. He was the last cat she wanted to see right now. “Go away, Larkbreeze!” she snapped.
Larkbreeze took a few steps back, startled by her hostility. “I - I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I’m sorry.” He sounded confused.
Leafpetal glared at him until he turned tail and fled back to the warriors’ den.
She collapsed and wrapped her paws around her ears, feeling more depressed than she’d been in her entire life.
Mintfeather dropped a bundle of herbs at Sunshade’s paws. “Give these to her later, if you can,” he said softly. “Until then, give her some space. She’s grieving.”
Sunshade nodded, her eyes deep pools of sadness as she gazed at Leafpetal. Mintfeather exited the den, leaving her to return to her kits, who were no doubt trying to nurse and wondering where their mother was. She laid down and let them feed. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She looked down at her kits, wondering if she would be willing to make such a big sacrifice for her friend. Her chest tightened as she thought about what she was going to do, but her pads prickled with resolve as she made up her mind.
Chapter 1
Shadowflame rushed into the nursery, "Finally! I can see you! What names did you pick?"
Sunshade rolled her eyes. "You were really that anxious! I've had kits before!" Shadowflame sat down. His fur felt hot as Sunshade continued speaking. "I picked the name Sneezekit for the oldest one, and Deadkit for the second one."
Leafpetal ignored the commotion in the nursery, lost in grief. She had been pregnant, but the kits had been stillborn. It would be a while before she could have kits again. Luckily, her best friend, Sunshade, had offered to give up her youngest kit, Finkit, to her. She licked him absently as she dwelled on her thoughts.
Shadowflame abruptly gasped, "Seriously? Deadkit?"
Sunshade looked furious. "Can you just get out? I don't want to talk about this right now!"
Sneezekit squirmed around and started to squeak.
Finkit wriggled in his nest. His mother, Leafpetal, licked him, seemingly lost in thought.
Finkit's belly grumbled. He wriggled closer to Leafpetal, instinctively going towards her belly, where he knew there would be milk. But instead of letting him feed, Leafpetal nudged him over to Sunshade. "Sorry, little one, I don't have any milk," she whispered sadly.
Sunshade laid over on her side. "He can have some of my milk." She sighed, wishing her friend didn't feel that way
"How am I going to do this for six moons?" Lefapetal wailed quietly.
"Leafpetal, please stay strong. I know how much you wanted more kits. We have to cope with what we have." Sunshade tried to cheer her up.
Leafpetal turned away from her friend. She appreciated Sunshade trying to cheer her up, but it just made her feel more depressed. "I want to have another litter as soon as possible. What happens then?"
"I- I don't know" Sunshade's voice trembled.
Leafpetal sighed. "I'm going to go to sleep," she muttered, curling up into a ball and tucking her nose under her tail.
Finkit opened his eyes and looked around the dimly lit nursery. He saw Leafpetal sleeping and Sunshade fussing over her two kits, Sneezekit and Deadkit. He blinked, taking it all in. Suddenly feeling playful, he trotted up to Deadkit and pounced on her tail. It felt like a completely natural motion. Deadkit whirled around to face him, her teeth bared. Finkit purred with excitement, and started to run in a circle around Deadkit.
Sneezekit saw what they were doing and joined in the fun too. Leafpetal wearily lifted her head, blinking sleep out of her eyes. There was some kind of commotion going on behind her, making her irritable because it had woken her up. She turned around and froze. Was that... Finkit? And was he playing with the other kits? She stood up and stretched her limbs. "Finkit!" she called. He looked over at her, blinking his wide orange eyes. Wait a second. Orange eyes? "Sunshade! Finkit's opened his eyes!"
Sunshade looked up, "Really? Oh my! His eyes sparkle like the sun! They're gorgeous!"
Leafpetal purred for the first time since she had lost her kits. "They really are! And look, your kits opened their eyes too!"
Sunshade looked over, "Their eyes are both similar, they shine like copper!”
"I know!" Leafpetal sighed. "What a coincidence," she meowed, a tad sarcastically. "Almost like they're related."
Sunshade giggled, "Shh… the whole clan might hear all the commotion." She joked. Then the queen remembered what happened earlier in the day, “Did you hear what Shadowflame said earlier?”
Leafpetal nodded. Her gaze drifted over the kits as she watched them play. She glanced back at her friend. "Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.
"He didn't like the name 'Deadkit'. He complained about how we should have agreed on something." Sunshade's gaze drifted to Deadkit.
Leafpetal met her gaze. "He'll see. The name 'Deadkit' gives the impression that she's weak, so in battle, her enemies will underestimate her, giving her the advantage."
Sunshade looked deep into Leafpetal's eyes. "That's what I was thinking! Foolish toms these days!" Leafpetal nodded agreement. "I know, right?" she sighed. "I'd better talk to Larkbreeze. I haven't seen him since..." her voice trailed off, not wanting to mention her disastrous kitting.
Sunshade hesitated then decided to say something. "Hey Ivymist? Can you look after Deadkit and Sneezekit for me? I need to talk to Shadowflame." Sunshade got to her paws and licked her kits’ heads and left to go talk to Shadowflame.
Leafpetal padded outside the nursery, looking for Larkbreeze. She'd yelled at him two days ago, telling him to stay out of the nursery. She found him eating a minnow next to the fresh-kill pile. She padded up to him nervously. "Larkbreeze, I need to talk to you."
He glanced up in surprise. "Leafpetal?" He scrambled to his paws.
She whisked her tail and gestured for him to follow. She led him to a shady spot under a mossy rock.
"How are you? How are the kits?" he asked eagerly.
Leafpetal exhaled, relieved that he didn't seem upset with her, but her relief was short-lived. "I - uh..." Should I tell him the truth? Her heart began to pound so hard she was surprised Larkbreeze couldn't hear it.
"Leafpetal?" he prompted.
“Larkbreeze, the kits were stillborn. That’s why I didn’t want you in the nursery at first. I was so angry, I thought StarClan had deserted me.”
Larkbreeze stared at her, shocked, “S-stillborn?”
Leafpetal bowed her head. “Sunshade was kind enough to give up one of her kits for me, so I’m taking care of Finkit now.” Larkbreeze continued to stare at her, speechless. “I’m sorry, Larkbreeze, I really am. I know this is hard to hear.” Larkbreeze shook his head. “And - does Finkit know you aren’t his real mother?”
Leafpetal met his gaze. “No.”