Blossoms of Snow (Open, LakexSnow kits)

It seemed like not that long ago, Snowblossom had been a tiny kit lying at her mother's belly with her siblings... But now, six tiny kits of her own lay snuggled in her nest, all of them perfect. The products of her love for Lakewhisper, and his for her. Pregnancy had been a burden, but she'd have gone through it ten times if she could've had the same amazing result. Six... six kits. All she-kits. She knew all of their names, and she knew that they would lie forever in the deepest parts of her heart. Turtlekit, Yarrowkit, Coldkit, Milkkit, Meadowkit, and Flurrykit. And, of course, the stillborn Beekit, who had never received a chance to live but would still always be part of their family. Our family. StarClan, I've started my own family. Every time she thought of that fact, it amazed her. Even though it had been about a week since the birth, she hadn't quite wrapped her mind around the fact.

All of the kits were some shade of white, taking after their parents. Four were the solid, soft snow-white of their mother, but with different eye colors- two pairs of amber eyes like their father's, one pair of green like their mother's, and one pair of mismatched- but beautiful- blue and green. Though some might confuse them, Snowblossom could easily tell them all apart, even while they slept. Turtlekit had patches of brown, and Coldkit had light gray tabby markings. All of them were beautiful and perfect. The queen wouldn't have traded a single one of them for the most heroic warrior in the world, nor every leader in the forest. Whether or not they had great destinies, she would be proud of them nonetheless. They were hers, hers and Lakewhisper’s, and they would be forever.

As the rays of the sun peeked through the moss-covered nursery entrance, Snowblossom gently judged each one of her kits with her nose, knowing that they would all open their unique and beautiful eyes. “Wake up, little ones,” her soft voice purred. “The sun has risen, and I'm sure your father will be here soon.”

Flurrykit murmured grumpily when her mother nudged her gently. She peeked open a bright green eye and looked up at Snowblossom indignantly. ”Mother, please... I need my beauty sleep. If I get up now, the humidity in the air will ruin my perfect coat.” She rolled over in her nest and wrapped her small bushy tail over her nose.

Coldkit awoke and looked at her siblings "Comon' get up! No one cares about you'r 'beauty sleep' Flurrykit" she squeal in annoyance. She got up on her four little legs.
She pounced on Flurrykit to get her up.

Twitching softly as her mother nudged her awake, Milkkit yawned quietly as she calmly sat up, opening her gentle pair of amber eyes with a few blinks. Though she would have preferred to lay back down and sleep in her warm nest, it was a new day and she was excited to see her father. 

Shifting her friendly gaze to Snowblossom, Milkkit greeted her with a cordial smile and pressed against her soft fur. The white she-cat much rather preferred to depict her affection physically than through words, and so she always made sure to shower her mom with it. Snuggling deeply in her mom's frosty pelt, she purred, waiting for her father to appear and give him the same love.

Yarrowkit blinked as her sisters began waking up. She inched closer to her mother to avoid the activity and curled her tail around her legs. She would never understand how Coldkit could start roughhousing first thing.

Spotfur spied on peered into the nursery to see five little bodies squirming and squealing. He didn't feel like walking in yet, as Lakewhisper had not yet arrived.

Lakewhisper padded into camp proudly with a plump vole clasped firmly in his jaws. He was on his way to the nursery to see his kits. The vole, though, wasn't for them. They weren't quite ready for prey yet. The vole was for his lovely mate, Snowblossom, who stayed in camp all day to look after their offspring. He always made sure that she knew how much he appreciated her and the things she did for him and their kits. She was an amazing mother. He couldn't quite fathom how he had gotten so lucky, but he wasn't going to question it.

Finally, he poked his head into the nursery with a muffled greeting. Dropping the brown animal next to Snowblossom, he settled down in the cramped nursery with a warm purr. There were six kits he got to call his own. Six daughters. All of them beautiful and all of them perfect. Of course, he wouldn't forget about his only son, the stillborn Beekit, but he had been perfect. Just taken too soon. It pained him to think about the loss, so he found himself pushing it to the back of his mind. "Hello, my darlings." He meowed softly, his deep, rumbling voice carrying throughout the nursery before nuzzling his mate in greeting.

Turtlekit grumbled as her mother gently nosed her awake. "Mommy..." She groaned, blinking open her blue-green gaze. It took a few moments for her eyes to focus, but soon she was staring up at her mother indignantly. "I was having a good dream!" She mewed loudly, but her attention was soon taken by a new tantalizing scent wafting towards her, mixed with her father's familiar scent. "Oh, Daddy! Did you bring that for us?! What is it? Does it taste good? Did you catch that yourself?" She questioned in earnest, immediately forgetting her dream. She was on her paws now, a little wobbly at first, brushing up against Lakewhisper before sitting down in front of the large creature. Her eyes were wide as she took it in. "It's.. It's bigger than me!" She squeaked in surprise, poking it curiously with a soft white paw.

Paws tingling with excitement, Milkkit, though she wanted to quickly get to her father without delay, she stepped over and aside carefully from her littermates in order to not disturb them. Once there were no more obstacles in her way, the white kitten rushed to her father and smiled at him brightly in greeting. She purred lightly, pressing her head against Lakewhisper's front left leg, and rubbing up and down. Her small tail rested on his other paw, which was large compared to Milkkit's draping tail. Not wanting to make it seem like she wanted all of Lakewhisper's affection to herself, the quiet kit distanced herself slightly, still giving Lakewhisper untimely love, but made sure her sisters could get to him too.

Flurrykit’s eyes flew wide open and she let out a squeal as Coldkit pounced on her, squashing her into the mossy nest. She gave a sharp spat and many tiny hisses as she squirmed out from under her sister, finally tumbling out of the nest. Her eyes widened with horror when she looked down at herself after scrambling to her paws when she found her beautifully perfect white coat had bits of moss clinging to it. She threw her head back and let out an angry wail. ”MOTHER! Dumb Coldkit has gotten me all dirty!” She turned on her littermate and glared furiously at her, almost looking as if she were about to pounce back.

Both parents were there now. He walked half way in and watched the kits. "Six beautiful kits. Well done, Lakewhisper and Snowblossom. I hope to see them grow into strong warriors someday. Maybe I'll even mentor one." Spotfur purred. He loved kits, even other cats'.

Meadowkit yawned and opened her eyes. "Flurrykit!" Meadowkit meowed, annoyed. "I was having a good dream..." Meadowkit's mew was stifled by another yawn. She got up and padded to the other kits.

Coldkit giggled as Flurrykit got mad at her but once she saw her dad she stopped giggling and padded over to him "Hi dad!" she meowed happly and looked at the vole "What is that?" she asked, puzzled she pawed at it.

After witnessing the horrific event of Sparkwillow bleeding herself into oblivion for the sake of bringing kits into the world, Splashwillow had never been able to find the supposed joy in the pain.

In place of the mere moments of pain for a lifetime of happiness, she had only ever found stark fear. Fear for herself, for her kits, and now, fear for her daughter and her kits. Even after moons spent training herself in the agonizing art of helping Queens give birth, it had nearly been too much for her to try and assist Snowblossom during the ordeal. Even now, after the immediate danger was well past, she couldn't properly fend off the anxious shudders that occasionally clawed their way up her spine. Giving herself one final brisk shake to clear away the stubborn traces of soiled moss that still clung to her muzzle, the little calico paused for a heartbeat before slipping back into the shaded confines of the Nursery.

The sight of her bumbling grandkin helped ease the remaining tension that stubbornly lingered within her. Letting out a short, sweet little purr as she carefully made her way through the den while trying not to step on anykit, she halted a tail-length or so away from Snowblossom and Lakewhisper. "I see that this brood of yours has finally opened their eyes," Splashwillow's eyes were glowing with a contented pride, "Tell me their names again, please."

As the kits woke up, the nursery suddenly became alive with sound. Flurrykit and Coldkit immediately got into a tussle, and Turtlekit and Meadowkit complained while other kits just snuggled deeper into her fur. It was clear which had gotten their mother's shy nature. Snowblossom just laughed at the kits’ antics, pressing a paw between the two fighting kits. “You've gotten plenty of sleep, Flurrykit,” she admonished gently before turning to the other kit involved. “And Coldkit, there’s no need for fighting. There will be plenty of time for that when you're apprentices. Until then, you ought to play nicely with your siblings. All right?” She'd never been the one of her littermates who play-fought, that was Minnowslip and Duskfall. She'd just sat next to her mother all day... like Milkkit and Yarrowkit were, buried deep into her side. The queen purred at the two shyer she-kits at her side, knowing that she should probably encourage them to go out and play... but she wanted them by her side forever. Was that too much to ask?

The fluffy white she-cat watched her offspring, her little blossoms, until another voice reached her ears, accompanying a strong form that stepped into the den. Lakewhisper. Every time she saw him, shivers ran down her spine. His fur, his voice, his eyes... Everything about him was perfect, as it had always been. She was just as in love with him as she'd been when they became mates. Snowblossom smiled happily as he came in, the same happiness reflected in his eyes, setting down the large vole in his jaws as he was suddenly swarmed by kits. Their kits. Our kits. “Good morning, handsome,” she purred lovingly, greeting him by pressing her nose to his. She'd have melted into his side as she always did, but for being still tired from nursing six she-kits, and because the nursery was suddenly far more crowded. Two more cats had stepped in with words of congratulations- Spotfur and Splashwillow.

As she saw her mother, Snowblossom's smile grew larger. As a warrior, she hadn't gotten to see her often, and as a queen she'd been spending a lot more time with Lakewhisper, when he could get away from his duties. It was wonderful to see her living parent still so well, despite how stressful the birth had been for both of them. "There are so many, I don't know how we can keep them all straight," the fluffy she-cat laughed in response, looking around to the flock of kits swarming their father and the piece of prey he'd brought. As Flurrykit wailed in annoyance again, the queen swept her up, giving her a few kicks to get her fur back in place and clean off the moss. "This one is my little Flurrykit. The one cuddling with me is Yarrowkit, the one loving her father is Milkkit, the odd-eyed one is Meadowkit, and those two by my breakfast are Coldkit and Turtlekit."

There were so many kits around her that she couldn't stand up for fear of stepping on them, but she still used a paw to sweep the piece of prey near her. "That's a vole, sweethearts," she purred to answer their questions. "You aren't big enough to eat one yet, but if you keep growing at this rate then it won't be long till you are big enough." Feeding six kits had made her extremely hungry, but she was still self-conscious enough to not dig into the prey. Instead, she took a small bite, almost letting out a sigh of relief at finally being able to eat.

Flurrykit arched her eyes happily, tilting up her head at her mother's licks, happy to be rid of the awful moss ruining her perfect white fur. When she was clean, she leaped out of Snowblossom's hold and padded up to Lakewhisper and blinked up at him. "Father, what is it like being a warrior? Can you be a warrior and still stay clean? I don't want my gorgeous fluffy coat being ruined by water or dirt or mud or anything."