Briars of Gray (OPEN after-birth topic)

After the incident where Badgerthorn had been injured by a RiverClan warrior, she hadn't gotten to see the tom much. Now, however, she hoped he'd be able to spend more time with her- she would barely be leaving the nursery for these next moons. The idea of being a mother was somewhat foreign to her, but instinct and motherly pride took over and she felt an overwhelming surge of love for each and every one of her kits. There were three kits- three perfect, tiny kits. Her own. Hers and Badgerthorn's. There was no hint of their half-SkyClan heritage anywhere around them- they looked WindClan, through and through. And they were, just like her. She'd come from a Clan that had never been her own to one that would always be hers. As she looked at the small, adorable forms of her kits snuggling into her belly, she sent a silent prayer of thanks to StarClan- and especially to Pansyface, Crowstar and Ashstar, the cats who had made the happy life she had here possible. Pansyface, the StarClan she-cat who had told her where she belonged. Crowstar, the now-dead SkyClan leader who had been wise enough to let her go where she was happiest- and Ashstar, the also-deceased WindClan leader who had accepted her into the Clan. It had been rough, but now she felt like she was mostly accepted by her Clanmates. Hopefully, her kits would share none of the bad feelings that were harbored towards her.

All three of her kits looked similar to her, with some form of gray on at least some of their pelts. One of the two toms, named Breezekit, was a completely gray tabby, with a color slightly darker than hers. Briarkit, his brother, was patched with white on his pelt as well as striped gray. Their sister, Wolfkit, was almost identical to her in pattern, a very light gray with darker stripes. No matter how they looked, Graybriar loved each and every one of them. And, of course, Badgerthorn would too. But would the Clan?

Briarkit looked up at his mother with his large green eyes. "Mommy?" He asked. "When will dad come? I want to see him! Is he really as cool as you say? When will I be able to leave the nursery? When will Breezekit and Wolfkit wake up? I want to play! Can you play with me?" Briarkit had to stop to catch his breath.

Wolfkit stretched and opened her bold blue eyes. She sat up, taking in her surroundings, until she finally looked at her brothers and mother. "Ooh! Mommy, you're prettier than I imagined! Hi, Briarkit. It looks like Breezekit is still asleep." She shook her head, and yawned. "I've been listening to you and Briarkit for a bit now. I just didn't want to open my eyes. It's really bright out here!" Suddenly a very serious look for a kit spread across her face. "Mommy, was I born first? Who is my dad? I didn't catch that part."

Breezekit was resting deeply, little body curled warm against his mother's and littermates'... until he felt something at the shoulder, jostling him -- and sudden, loud mews in his ears!

"Ugh, Wolfkit..." With a little groan and irritation sparking inside him -- not his littermates again! -- he shook himself awake... his brother and sister already shifting like restless mice beside him, ready for the day. "I'm sleeping!"

The light spilling in from the nursery entrance was bright, stinging in his eyes as the little kit's tail lashed. But with those two being so loud, there was no way he was going to get to sleep again!

At Wolfkit's question, though, Breezekit stopped just before complaining loudly to their mother. Who was born first? The little tom wondered, but then puffed out his chest. Well, who else?!

"Hmmph! Well, I was first, obviously!"

His eyes immediately went to stare at Graybriar, expectant. Breezekit was, naturally, the best, so of course he had to have been first!

OOC: Warning: Breeze is a rude little idiot. xD

Wolfkit glared at him. "And why do you think that toms are always the best at everything? I was CLEARLY the firstborn!"

OOC)) Don't mind me, I'm just trying out colors until I find one that fits Wolf.

Also OOC)) Having two brothers makes Wolfkit very competitive. She's not really very rude or otherwise mean, but she feels like she HAS to be better than her brothers in everything. I feel like Wolf and Breeze may argue a lot :3

Badgerthorn knew his kits would be trying to bust out of the nursery anytime now, so he figured now would be a good time to go and meet them or rather for them to meet him. He saw them when they were small, still clinging to Graybriar, but now they were probably getting under her fur trying to play. The tom limped out of the warriors den, his leg still being a stiff as ever, and poked his head into the nursery.

Amber eyes looked down at the kits for a moment before turning to look at Graybriar. "How is it going in here?" He knew in a couple seconds the kits would be coming at him with questions or trying to climb on him or something.

A slim silver bengal with her mother's eyes looked up at him quietly. "You must be Badgerthorn. Graybriar told us about you." She tucked her thin tail neatly around her paws, smiling at her father. She then smiled a little wider. "Look out for Breezekit and Briarkit. They're tom-kits." Wolfkit chuckled quietly to herself.

Graybriar laughed quietly at all of her kits. They were still so young, but personalities manifested immediately in all of them. Breezekit was brash and blustery, like his name, and Briarkit was happy-go-lucky and energetic, always ready for something new. Wolfkit had grown competitive in order to keep up with her two brothers, and had more confidence than all of them. They were all amazing, and she loved them to bits. "Briarkit was the first," she answered them with a smile, "but it doesn't matter who was first. You're all the best in my eyes, and you'll grow up to be the best warriors any mother could hope for. As for who your father is-" But then, the tom she was about to speak of walked in. Even though he'd suffered a bad injury, she still loved him more than anything. Just his presence was enough to make her feel better. Her smile widened and her tired blue eyes twinkled as they met his yellow ones. "This is Badgerthorn, your father," she purred at her kits before looking back at her mate. "It's going wonderfully. These are your kits- Briarkit, Wolfkit, and Breezekit." She pointed to each in turn with her tail.

Wolfkit came up closer to her father, pressing against him with a purr. Her Bengal markings would have matched her father perfectly, if not for the coloring she had gotten from Graybriar. She looked up at him. "I like you already, Badgerthorn." In her memory, the kit had never met him before. The first time, she had been too young to really know what was going on.

Breezekit bristled, glaring at his sister as she yowled in protest. What did being a tom have to do with anything?! Especially being first?

Breezekit was obviously first because, well... how could he not be? Clearly! He was the fastest now, so it only made sense!

The little gray tom was about to tell Wolfkit this -- and very clearly! -- when Graybriar smiled above them. His mother had a calmness to her that usually settled Breezekit, especially whenever his littermates did mouse-brained things, but... "Briarkit was first? But--he's--there's no way!"

Breezekit was betting Wolfkit wouldn't believe it, either, but before he could glare back at his littermate to see, somecat was shouldering their way into the nursery.

"Badgerthorn?" he mewed, flicking his tail as Wolfkit suddenly straightened, acting all weird. Their father?

Breezekit took in the new scent suspiciously -- it was weirdly familiar but... sharp, somehow. He wrinkled his nose. This was their... father?

Graybriar's mew was soft, almost affectionate toward the tall tom -- clearly a warrior -- and seemed to watch them expectantly... and not wanting to be outdone by Wolfkit, the little tom bounded forward, head high.

Not without sending Wolfkit a glare as he approached, that is. But as his eyes turned to look up at the bengal tom, smelling almost familiar but still weird, a thought hit him.

"So... if you're our father, where've you been?" he said, almost accusatory.

OOC: @Falcon: omg. xD Wolfkit and Breezekit will fight and bicker like nobody's business. It's perfect!

Wolfkit shot glares at Breezekit. WHY did that little tom think he was the best at everything? About Briarkit... she COULDN'T be the youngest, she thought she was more mature than either of her brothers, and she was by far the smartest, in her own opinion.

That meant Breezekit had to be the youngest! Wolfkit let out a small snort of laughter at this thought.

She stopped laughing, though, at Breezekit's question. She didn't want to show him he had made her miss a beat, and almost instantly fired back.

"Breezekit, talking like that to an amazing warrior like Badgerthorn will get you killed one day!" She laughed at her brother purposefully, glaring at him all the while.

OOC: I think her being so competitive might get Wolfie into trouble when she's older. I gotta give this girl some weaknesses, so she'll probably accept any challenge to prove her worth to any cat. Like I said, she feels like she HAS to be better at everything than her brothers, and probably will get pretty angry if one of them beats her at something.

Briarkit listened to his siblings arguing about who was the first born. Why did it matter so much to them? Being a few seconds older wasn't going to make you better than anyone. When Badgerthorn came in to the nursery, Briarkit squealed with joy. "Daddy!" He bounded up to the large warrior. "What is being a warrior like? Is it fun? Is hunting cool? When will I be able to eat meat? Have you ever been in a big fight with another clan? Were you scared? Can I climb on your tail?" Without waiting for a response, the young tom climbed up his father's tail.

((bump