We meet again, the river where it all begun [Closed for Icee/Crys]

Their fling was a fun one but a short one, any spark of love withered to an end with the weight of their responsibilities. Perhaps in another life, the two of them would have remained together till they were old and greying on their muzzles. Sitting in a clearing, sharing tongues and snapping at each other's opinions in a lighthearted manner. But that wasn't meant to be in this life. In this life, he was ThunderClan's deputy, and she was RiverClan's. What they shared had to mean nothing. Two lonely cats sharing a night, and their litter of kits unexpected, but not unwelcome.

Mistfeather had already informed him that she planned on passing off most of them as Ashcloud, and he would pass off whatever kits she'd give to him to raise as Cloudwhisker's. It wasn't ideal, the kits would be better off with their mother, but with WindClan's occupation and Leafbare, prey was short for RiverClan. It was for the best that some of them were raised by him. As for Cloudwhisker, he'd told the queen that he'd laid with a rogue and she'd borne him litter. While the queen was unimpressed, she agreed to take them in and keep their heritage secret, trusting that the deputy wouldn't repeat such a mistake. It helped that the queen had lost her litter in the landslide.

So here he was, standing at the edge of the stepping stones, peering over to the reeds for a familiar silver pelt. When he heard rustling, his ears pricked up for the sound of tiny pawsteps. "Mistfeather?"

"Duskfall," the silver tabby called back, her voice muffled by three small scruffs. She slipped through the reeds, coming face to face with the tom. As she looked him over, she felt a wave of melancholy wash over her. It was painful to see the tom knowing what they had done, and knowing she could never be with him like she wished for. Setting her kits down at her paws, she gave each of them a long washing. After licking their fur thoroughly she took a seat and looked up at the other deputy.

Though she agreed that giving up a few of her kits would be for the best, she couldn't help but want to delay the inevitable. Duskfall was a trustworthy father with many kits of his own to show his success in the role. There was no doubt in her mind that he would be the perfect father to their kits. But the mother? This Cloudwhisker? The thought of another queen raising her kits sent shivers down the she-cat's spine. Looking down at the kits again, she felt a strong pain grow in her chest. Rainkit, Lilackit, and Featherkit. Three of her beautiful children. They would go to ThunderClan, forgetting all about their real mother and growing to love Cloudwhisker like they should love Mistfeather.

"You'll watch over them, right? I-I want to hear everything about their lives. Their ceremonies, their first kill... Don't let me forget them." Mistfeather meowed quietly, her voice threatening to break at any moment. Her green eyes shifted up to look at Duskfall again.

Rainkit, who had been asleep since his mother picked him and two of his sisters up, yawned and stretched. His eyes adjusting to the light, he slowly rose, only to see he wasn't in the nursery. Instead he was outside of the camp, with his mother and a strange tom standing over him. "Oi, who's this?" he mumbled. He gave the stranger a disapproving look.

Lilackit wasn't sure where she was, she had been sleeping. Napping was one of her favorite things too do, when she had heard a voice the kit had slowly opened her eyes. Yawning as she glanced over towards Duskfall the she-kit was slightly confused only one thought coming too her mind, that thought was that Lilackit had never seen this strange tom before and she had felt uncomfortable around him. The she-kit glanced up towards Mistfeather her voice was uneasy. "Momma..?"

Featherkit looked up to her mother, uncertain whether she was allowed to approach this stranger who smelt funny. She'd been listening into their conversation, but it made little sense to her. Who was this tom and why was her mother talking to him. She could see her mother was upset about something, and that didn't exactly help endear her to him. So instead she leapt back from him, looking up at her mother and mewling to be picked up. "I want to go home. It's cold."

-

It was harder than he'd imagined. When he saw the reeds part and Mistfeather, the beautiful silver she-cat, slip through sure-footed as only a RiverClan cat could be, his heart ached. He's thought that he'd forced down anything he felt, accepted that whatever they had was not meant to be, but looking at her with his kits, each perfect and adorable in their own way, foolish thoughts like running away filled his head. He was an accomplished warrior and so was she, they could, if they wanted to, survive out there in the wilderness. They'd raise their kittens with love, teaching them skills passed on to them by the clan. But he couldn't dare suggest it. The words wouldn't even form on his tongue. Duskfall knew Mistfeather, and he knew himself. They'd never be happy out there. They were clan cats, and were meant to die defending their clans. Duty over love.

The deputy closed his eyes firmly for a second, and then opened them again to focus on the three that Mistfeather placed before him instead of his foolish thoughts. He could never tired of looking at them again and again. They really were perfect. Which only served to magnify his heart ache when Mistfeather spoke, breaking the magic of the moment with reality. "They're our kits. I'll protect them with my life, if I must. And once they become apprentices, I'll try to bring them every gathering. It will be better for them if they forget their kithood with RiverClan, but I won't let them become strangers to you. When they're old enough, I'll tell them the truth." It was hard to do right by both Mistfeather and the kits, but he knew he had to try. Thinking about his first litter, and the grief he'd felt losing them one after another then the recent death of Raindrop, parting them from her permanently felt wrong. He'd try his best to keep her informed, if not for her, then to ease his own guilty conscious.

Duskfall press down low so he'd be eye level with the three, before greeting the kits. "Hello there, little ones. What's your names?"

'They're our kits.' Rainkit cocked his head as the large brown tom spoke those words. What did he mean? Ashcloud and Mistfeather were his parents, not this stranger and Mistfeather. Obviously something was happening and the little tom did not like it one bit. He shrinked away from Duskfall and huddled closer to his mother. "Rainkit," he mumbled.

-

Mistfeather nodded slowly. It pained her to hear that they should forget about their home. Their mother, their siblings, their clan. These kits would grow up away from all of that, growing up as their enemy rather than family. Licking each of their heads, she nudged them closer to Duskfall. "It's okay. This is Duskfall, your-" The tabby paused, the word sitting in her throat. There was no way to avoid telling them, especially under the circumstances, but it was difficult for her to admit it to herself. She had already broken the code once before, but she denied it happened to anyone. Even to herself. There was no way for her to deny it now. "Your father," she finished, giving them a small smile.

Featherkit could feel the tension in the air and felt nervous. Her ears pressed flat against her head and her stubby tailed was tucked between her legs as she quietly replied after her brother in a mumble. "Featherkit." After she spoke, the little kit ducked behind her brother in a vain attempt to keep out of sight. The tom was still unfamiliar, but when her mother told her this was their father, not Ashcloud, her curiosity was peaked enough for her to come out from her brother's shadow. "Dusk. Fall. What about Ashcloud?" She asked guilelessly, looking up with her blue eyes that had yet to take on her adult colours.


ooc: will post as dusk once crys has posted