dancin' with danger [c]

The days had gone so quickly. It seemed only yesterday that they'd returned to the forest, but in the interim between then and now, so much had changed. Birdstar was dead, Wolfblossom would be Wolfstar sooner rather than later, and his and Mintglade's kits were growing like weeds. It was a strange feeling, he had to admit, being father to such young kits again. Hemlock, Plover, Sorrel and Bubble were all warriors now - or about to be - and it was a distressing thing to realize that he hardly knew any of them, anymore. His daughters, especially, seemed content to steer clear of him, and it felt like moons since he'd properly spoken to Hemlockfox, too... There were not many situations in which Sunfire saw himself as a failure, but as a parent? It was hard to disagree with the proof when it was right in front of your whiskers.

How had he failed so badly?

He'd tried to be there for his kits, while Juniperheart was sick... tried to be the parent that they needed, that Wolfblossom had been to him. And for a while, it'd felt like things were going alright... until the famine, until ThunderClan's interference, until they'd had to leave. Somewhere in all that chaos, he'd lost his children, and now he had seven - seven!! - more to potentially mess up, too. Would they hate him, when they were grown? Would they be soft and full of fear, in the same way that Bubblebeam was? Ripped away from him like Hemlockfox had been?

Sunfire shook his head, pressing forward through the tunnel and into camp. No, he refused to let that happen. Never again would his kits be taken away, never again would they look at him with fear in their eyes. Not these ones, not Mintglade's kits. Juniperheart had failed him, had failed their children, but Mintglade wouldn't. And he would ensure that this litter was strong, and fearless. He would start their training early, whether everyone else liked it or not. They were at war, and nothing created a need for good warriors like war... Sunfire would not fail SkyClan, or his kits, again.

The morning was half over by the time Sunfire was poking his head into the nursery, a fat squirrel in his jaws. He shouldered into the den, letting his eyes adjust for a moment so he didn't step on any sleeping kits. As he approached, the yellow tom lowered his scarred head, touching the top of his skull gently against his mate's just after placing the squirrel down in front of her. "This is for you," he said quietly. Sunfire couldn't imagine being cooped up in here all day, not free to be out exploring and patrolling and hunting, but Mintglade was handling it with an effortless grace, and he couldn't be more thankful for her stability in a time where very few things had been reliable at all.

Falling to his haunches, Sunfire swept his tongue across his muzzle and turned to the kits, nudging them awake one by one. "Rise and shine, kids. We're going to do something exciting, today."