Work Text:
Birdwing did not expect this to be so much of an issue, but yet, here she was.
“You alright, Birdwing?” Dustleap asked.
“Yeah, just thinking.” Birdwing let out a sigh. “Prey is so scarce. I doubt we’re catching anything out here today.”
“Let’s just give it a little more before we go back to camp,” Dustleap suggested. “We might be lucky.”
Birdwing nodded. “You’re right. Shall we?”
Before they could advance, though, there was the sound of mewling in the air. Dustleap tensed at the sound. “What’s going on?”
“Kits, perhaps?” Birdwing suggested.
“Why would there be kits…?” Dustleap looked confused.
Birdwing sighed. “There’s been cases of kits being abandoned by their parents. If I had to guess, this is one of those cases. Let’s go check this out.”
Upon reaching a big thorn bush in the middle of the territory, Birdwing peeked over to see what was going on. Her eye widened instantly.
Huddling in the safety of the thorn bush was four kits. They were at least a moon old, she guessed. Their eyes were open, and they were peering at her nervously.
“It’s alright, kits, I’m not going to hurt you,” she soothed. Gently stepping forward, she settled down beside them.
The first kit, a white tomkit with a ginger tail, glanced over and toddled over to her, unsteadily, but surely. Reaching her, he reached one tiny paw, and batted at her side, looking confused.
Realizing that he was looking for milk, she gently mewed, “I’m sorry, I don’t have any milk. But I can take you and your siblings back to my Clan, we have queens who can take care of you, and–” She broke off as soft pawsteps sounded. Her littermate’s scent was unmistakable. Dustleap had entered the area. “Dustleap.”
Dustleap lowered himself into a sitting position, glancing over at the kits. “What are they even doing here?”
“Either they were abandoned by their parents, or their parents died,” Birdwing answered. “Either way, we can’t just leave them out here. They’re kits, we can’t abandon kits.”
Dustleap nodded. “Agreed.”
Birdwing glanced at the other three kits. They were staring at both her and Dustleap with wide eyes. Eventually, the silver and white she-kit stepped forward, followed by her siblings, as they reached Birdwing. The tomkit had stopped trying to bat at Birdwing’s side at this point, and seemed content just curling up next to her. The remaining kits reached Birdwing, and curled up right next to the older she-cat, purring.
Dustleap blinked. “Did they just…decide you’re their mom now?”
Birdwing glanced down. “They might have,” she answered.
Dustleap nodded. Slowly. Then, he spoke. “We should get them into camp, so you can take care of them under the safety of the nursery. Do you think it’s safe for them to walk?”
Birdwing shook her head. “They were padding over, but they were not steady in their pawsteps. They’re probably still weak from no milk.”
Dustleap glanced down. “We should carry them, then. But there’s only two of us and four of them, so…”
“Birdwing! Dustleap!”
Birdwing looked up to see Nightwhisker, her and Dustleap’s father, and Cloudsnow, Dustleap’s former mentor, racing towards the two cats. The kits had glanced up, mewing in surprise.
“Nightwhisker, Cloudsnow,” Dustleap greeted.
Cloudsnow dipped his head. “It’s good to see you two,” he mewed, “but what is going on here, and…who are those kits?”
Birdwing’s tail curled protectively around the four kits. “I’m not entirely sure, they were on their own when we found them.”
Nightwhisker gently stepped forward, and gave the kits a gentle sniff. His tail immediately lashed. “They were probably abandoned by their parents, the poor things. We should get them to camp.”
Birdwing stood up, bending down to pick up one of the kits. “Alright, let’s move.”
Thankfully, the trip to camp wasn’t that long. After heading to the medicine den so that the kits could get checked over, they headed over to the nursery.
Thankfully, Sorreltuft was willing to spare some milk to feed the kits. After the kits had their fill, they went over to Birdwing and curled up, falling asleep.
“They seem to have grown on you,” Sorreltuft commented with a purr, glancing over at Birdwing.
Birdwing purred. “I’m glad I found them.” Glancing down, she spoke. “The world was becoming dull after the battle. This brightened it.”
“Have you decided what to name them?”
Birdwing focused on the kits. Four names flashed through her mind. Flame, Lilac, Finch, and Fog. These are the four names that were originally given to these kits. Wait…how do I know this?
“Birdwing?”
“Sorry.” Birdwing focused on the kits yet. For the one called Flame, I guess I will call him… “The white one with the ginger tail is Firekit,” she mewed.
Sorreltuft nodded. “Makes sense.” She paused before mewing, “And the other three?”
For the one called Lila… “The silver and white one will be called Lilackit,” Birdwing mewed.
Sorreltuft nodded. “She reminds me of the lilacs I sometimes see on the territory. The third one?”
The third one…Finch… “The silver and light gray one will be Finchkit.”
Sorreltuft nodded, not even commenting. “The last one?”
Now for Fog… “The dark gray tabby will be Fogkit,” she answered.
Sorreltuft purred. “Flamekit, Lilackit, Finchkit, and Fogkit…”
Birdwing curled her tail around the newly named kits. “Yes.”
After making sure things were fine with Sorreltuft and Birdwing, Dustleap stepped out of the nursery to meet with Nightwhisker.
“Are the kits alright?” Nightwhisker asked.
Dustleap nodded. “They were content with Sorreltuft and Birdwing, so I’m guessing they’ll be okay.”
Nightwhisker nodded, then sighed. “What has this world come to…I can’t believe some cat would willingly abandon their kits like that.”
Dustleap shook his head. “The world is cruel. But whatever happens, we'll be there to stop whoever did this in the first place, no matter what.”
Over in a field not far from where the kits had been found, two cats stood side by side, glaring at the bush.
“So,” the she-cat mewed, “those two found the kits.”
The tom let out a hiss. “Those kits were failures! How did cats find the kits? Those kits should not have survived.”
The she-cat glanced over. “Those cats…perhaps they're Clan cats.”
The tom hissed once again. “In that case…I think it's time we paid the Clans a little visit, don't you, Maple?”
The she-cat smiled, purring. “Absolutely, Flurry.”