Long Shadows

:trollfaceplz:

"Please, forgive me..." Ebonyroot whispered, before the last kit was finally born. The pain began to ebb Ha away and so she sat up and nipped the sack of the last kit, much smaller then the others, with a bright golden tabby pelt. She licked it gently until it squirmed around. With a small, regretful, look of amusement she set her next to the other two. Looking up at Icewhisker and the brown tabby. "Three she-kits and a tom.." she said softly.

The small kit let out a mew as her mother sat up, and started to purr once again when her sister was placed next to her.

Ebonyroot looked down at the small black, gray, and orange she-kit and gave her a swift lick on the head, feeling so ashamed but instantly connected. "Hello there, little one..." she muttered.

She started to purr louder as her mother licked her head.

"Look at them...aren't they so beautiful? What should we name them?" Icewhisker asked. For some reason, he felt like he knew the small tom from somewhere.

"I think I have a name for the tom..." he meowed, as he started to purr. The little tom squirmed around, searching for his mom. Once he found her, he began kneading her flank, thinking it was her belly.

The she-cat moved closer to her mother and brother. When she poked her brother with her muzzle, she started to purr, happy that she had found her brother.

"We shouldn't name them anything, they should have never been born!" Ebonyroot said, but then flinched, shocked at her own coldness. She sighed, taking a few moments to calm down and sort out her own mind. She watched the one of the she-kits curiously, poking the tom with her nose. "The one squirming around.. it has the strength of a warrior already..." she mused, and looked up at Icewhisker. "Badgerkit... Like the Smallest Warrior..." It was an old queen's tale, yes, but the little one's spirit kept ringing the story in her mind.

Badgerkit stopped poking her brother and cuddled up by her mother's paws. She purred, knowing that she was safe here, with her mother.

"I think it's perfect." he meowed, ignoring her harsh words. Though he was pretending she didn't say that, it hurt him inside. He looked down at the little Badgerkit, a smile on his face. Oh how he loved kits. They reminded him of his youth. So young and carefree, always having someone taking care of them. He let out a content sigh as he looked at his other kits.

"What about these 2 she-kits here?" he asked, looking at the brown tabby by his paws.

The small, brown she-kit squirmed around, crawling over one of the huge objects blocking her path that was Icewhisker's paw.

Ebonyroot looked at her, her pelt reminding her of a familiar bird. "Sparrowkit for this one..." she said and turned her gaze to the last two. One a dusty ginger, very large compared to the runt, the golden tabby. "I'm not sure about her, what do you think?"

Icewhisker looked at the small golden tabby. She looked so light and soft, like she would break if you touched her.

"Mothkit. And the tom...Pantherkit. I like those names." he meowed, looking at the 4 kits. They all scrambled around, looking for one thing that he knew they would need. He let out a sigh as he stood and walked over to a small pile of borage he had found. He brought it back to Ebonyroot, dropping it in front of her.

"If you don't want to, you could, or I could, ask a queen to feed them. I think Dragonclaw and Wolfpelt are in the nursery right now. I bet they wouldn't mind." he meowed, wondering if she actually would be like a mother to them. So far he felt like the mother instead of the father.

The smallest of them all, Mothkit, twitched her nose at the scent of borage, and was instantly drawn to it. She crawled towards it, taking a deep whiff of the herb. Her raspberry pink nose twitched, then she sneezed. Delighted by the new scent, her tail curled.

Badgerkit sniffed the air, and moved closer to her mother. She let out a small mew, and cuddles up next to her mother's paws.

Icewhisker purred at his kits. He noticed Mothkit sniffing the borage. He saw her tail curl, knowing she liked the scent.

"Looks like we have a little medicine cat here." he purred with a smiled. He gave the golden she-kit a lick on the head before turning to look back at the mother of his kits.

Badgerkit let out a yawn, and then fell asleep.