From a mother to another [c]

It had been a few moons since Brackenwing had kitted, and Mintheart decided that with her newfound freedom, she'd meet with the queen and chat.

"Hey darlin', wanted ta check on ya. I ain't never seen Thistleburr so happy in his life," the elder meowed proudly. "He bein' a good daddy, right? Do I hav'ta whoop 'im? I ain't lettin' none o' my babies git left ta the winds."

The ginger she-cat had a small smile herself. Brackenwing's daughter Lynxkit reminded her of days past, back when she was young and spry.

"You let me know if my boy ain't actin' right, ya hear? I could be older than StarClan, that boy ain't doin' no she-cat n' no babies wrong."

"I'll call that boy Thistlekit 'till he shape up. I'm his momma n' I can git that boy ta sing like uh songbird if ya need it."

Mintheart chuckled a little bit, looking at her new daughter in law. "N' I hope you know youse kin ta me now too. Us queens gotta stick together."

"Anywho darlin', ya need sumthin'?"

The elder wrapped her tail neatly around her paws, an almost regal note to it. It had been many seasons since she raised little ones, but Mintheart knew how to raise kits. Good ones too, ones that believed in things and did things. She was glad to show the new queen the ropes.

She hadn't meant for her time with Thistleburr to lead to anything serious, let alone kits, but things had happened, and she loved little Lynxkit as much as she fretted over her. Thistleburr seemed to do well enough as a father, though Brackenwing herself didn't exactly have a baseline to compare to.

That she'd somehow found the one cat in the clan related to the crazy old bat that was Mintheart, on the other paw... Green eyes narrowed as the elder approached, a tired huff escaping Brackenwing. "Oh... Hello, Mintheart." She greeted, mentally judging how quickly she could get to the nursery entrance and make it out of camp. "Funny, it's a small world. I wasn't aware I'd found the one tom related to you." She managed weakly. Oh, Thistleburr... Maybe she was still suffering from the effects of that concussion after all. It had been a nasty thing, and a torturous recovery. "Thistleburr is well enough. We're fine. Lynxkit is doing well." She added hastily. Mintheart was the grandmother of her kits. Stars above. Brackenwing could feel the pounding begin at her temples, probably a migraine brewing. She hadn't had one of those in a while, thankfully. But the last ones had been the direct fault of Mintheart and Stumpytoad's antics.

Thistleburr was going to have more problems than just Mintheart, she decided, ears flattening as the elder continued. "Mm, right. I'm fine though, I don't need anything but peace and quiet right now. It's been... tiring, as much as I love Lynxkit. She's a pawful." And Brackenwing couldn't imagine where Lynxkit got being a pawful from. It certainly hadn't been Brackenwing's side of the family.

“Raisin’ babies is hard work. I can watch Lynxkit for ya if ya need ta rest,” the elder she-cat chirped. “I’m sure Moorbite wanna see her too. He’s been givin’ Thistleburr some tips. ‘N stars above, Moorbite don’t remember nuthin’ anymo’ but he love that baby.”

It was good to see WindClan grow strong, and know that her paws would walk the camp even when she was long gone. She smiled a little bit, thinking of Stumpytoad’s kin who was about to be an apprentice. Fireflower would always walk the moors in spirit as long as Honeykit was here, and Honeykit’s family after that… it was a chain.

“Stumpytoad’s got kin ‘round Lynxkit’s age. Maybe they’ll git ta be good friends.”

Stumpytoad was an idiot but a well meaning idiot. Honeykit seemed nice enough, though it seemed like she got her brains from Stumpytoad’s kinfolk.

“If ya need sumthin’, I’m here fo’ ya, darlin’.”

The wiry elder looked at the queen with her piercing mint green eyes. Many moons passed but Mintheart had the most mice in her brain between the elders. And her kits turned out fine, loyal to Clan and Silverpelt, and that was all the queen could ask for.

Moorbite had been giving Thistleburr tips... Brackenwing could only guess at what those were, and if Thistleburr were smart, he wouldn't act on advice from his crazy parents. Though from what little Brackenwing had seen of the elder tom, he wasn't quite as bad as Mintheart and Stumpytoad. She hoped, anyways. A loudmouth, sure, but he hadn't contributed quite as much to the chaos at the gathering, not that Brackenwing could remember. Not that Brackenwing particularly trusted her memory of the gathering and the days after it.

And besides, she told herself, trying to shake off the feeling of vague panic she felt at the idea, Lynxkit ought know her family. So long as Brackenwing kept an eye on them it shouldn't be too catastrophic, right? "I'm sure Lynxkit would like spending time with her grandparents." They were confined to camp, they couldn't possibly cause much trouble. As grating as Mintheart was, Brackenwing wouldn't mind a break here and there either.

Stumpytoad had kin in the nursery, for their sake Brackenwing hoped they hadn't inherited his stature. Or impulsiveness. "Honeykit, right? Maybe they'll get along. Lynxkit could use some friends her age." Maybe having a friend would help with her kit's temper.

"Great! I'd love ta help. Takes uh Clan, ya know. Whenever ya need it, I got'chu."

It had been so long since she watched kits. When she was close to retiring, they didn't let her stay in the nursery. She didn't remember why...

"Yeah, Honeykit. Bless her heart, I worry 'bout that kit. Dudn't seem ta have many mice in the brain. Nice molly though. Stumpytoad love her ta death."

Mintheart was giddy about being able to hang out with her granddaughter. She probably would have done it anyway but Shrikestar practically tied them to the briars for moons. For going after a murderer. She scoffed internally about their treatment.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Brackenwing mewed. She was still hesitant but... It couldn't go too badly. She hoped. And maybe hedgehogs would fly. Brackenwing tried to push her anxiety aside. She wanted Lynxkit to grow up knowing her family. So few of Brackenwing's family was even left; she'd always regret not spending more time with them than she did.

Honeykit wasn't bright? Brackenwing didn't know the kit all that well, and tended to stick to interacting with only her own, but she was so sure about that. "Oh, come on, she's a kit. None of us were particularly bright at that age, I'm sure. By the time she's an apprentice she'll be fine."