The Burning- Book One: Blossom [DRAFT]

The Kits

Robinear woke to a kit tripping over her tail.

She blinked her eyes open, her gaze falling on Brownkit, who dipped her head and looked away. She, her sister Greykit, and her brother Mottledkit were all Quailwhisker's kits, and they were almost as adorable as her own.

Almost.

As if on cue, Yellowkit yelped something happily and raced toward her, nearly tripping over her own tail in the process.

"Mama! Thrushnose is here!" chirped Yellowkit, tumbling over her mother. "Mama, wake up!"

"I'm awake," Robinear purred, standing up and gently shaking Yellowkit off. "Now, where's your brother?"

"Over there!" mewed Yellowkit, pointing with her tail toward the entrance. Sure enough, Whitekit stood there, quietly speaking with Thrushnose.

Robinear squeezed her way through the nursery, taking care not to step on any of the kits. With her two kits, Gingerfur's four, and Quailwhisker's three, one could barely move without stepping on a kit. Thankfully, Gingerfur's were almost old enough to start testing, but still...five kittens and two full grown cats was quite a lot.

"Thrushnose!" she called, a warmth filling her heart. She ducked out of the entrance and nuzzled Thrushnose happily. "How'd you get out here?"

Thrushnose purred. "Well, I maybe went hunting on this side of the river," she mewed, gesturing at the three mice behind her. "And then I got...distracted by my friend in the nursery." She purred. "And Owltalon came as well."

The brown tabby waved his tail from beside Thrushnose, and Robinear blinked in embarrassment. She'd been so excited about seeing Thrushnose that she hadn't even seen Owltalon there.

"Quailwhisker!" Owltalon called.

"Owltalon?" came the excited reply. The tortoiseshell picked her way carefully across the den before burying her nose in Owltalon's fur. "You rascal! You haven't come and helped me at all! These three are a lot of work!"

Owltalon purred. "Exactly why I left them to you, dear."

"Hey!"

Robinear suddenly felt a tiny pair of teeth latch onto her tail, and she lifted it so and plopped the offender in front of her. Yellowkit blinked at her innocently, and Robinear huffed in mock exasperation. "Yellowkit!"

"What?" mewed the tiny she-cat. She suddenly turned and saw Thrushnose. "Mama!"

"Shhhh!" hissed Robinear frantically, glancing to Quailwhisker and Owltalon. They both nodded in assurance that they wouldn't tell, and Robinear's shoulders sagged in relief.

Thrushnose purred. "Hello, Yellowkit!" she mewed.  The little kitten poked at Thrushnose's tail curiously, sneezing loudly when her head was practically covered the the fluff of the tail. Thrushnose purred again and withdrew her tail. Yellowkit chased after the fluffy, white tail, leaping at it, but Thrushnose kept it just out of her reach.

A paw prodded Robinear's leg hesitantly, and Robinear looked down to see Whitekit looking up at her. "What is it, little one?" she asked. 

Whitekit looked up shyly. "Is Thrushnose our mama too?"

Robinear's heart nearly burst with love for her kits. "Yes," she mewed. "But don't tell."

Whitekit nodded solemnly. "I won't," he mewed. He padded over to Thrushnose and buried himself in her fur. With his white fur and yellow eyes, he could've been a copy of Thrushnose.

Of course, Robinear knew who he really was a copy of.

Willowbranch.

Thrushnose's tail suddenly wrapped around Robinear's own. A flicker of warmth shot through her, and she felt truly at peace.