we'll bleed and fight for you

As Swanpetal rested in the nursery, she found herself reflecting on love. Specifically, the love she felt for the five bundles of fur next to her: Streamkit and Stonekit, her dear sons, and Bluekit, Icekit and Nightkit, her darling daughters. She hadn't ever been able to picture herself as a mother - when she looked to her future, Swanpetal had always seen herself as a fighter. She wasn't entirely certain how to go about this, but she would try her best - for her kits. They deserved nothing less than the very best, and she would accept nothing less for them. Still, she was a trained warrior, and StarClan forbid anyone try to harm her kits. There would be no mercy for them. Hopefully it would never come to that.

"Welcome to the world," she had murmured quietly upon their arrival into this world. "And I'm sorry for whatever happens next."

(Is the title a Dear Theodosia reference????)

( OCC: I swear to god I think it is)

Streamkit enjoyed laying in his mothers paws close to his siblings his mother had said something to him and his siblings in words he could not yet understand but he knew the meaning of them. He licked his mothers paws as a sign of ' don't worry it will be fine I am sure of it'.

(OCC: This is already amazing)

Nightkit felt the warmth coming from her mother and her siblings. She felt relaxt, this was her home. She crawled even closer to her mother. As she did that, she felt her other siblings also lying next to her. Nightkit let out a quiet, sweet mauw, like she was saying: We will always be here for each other. She lay down and fel asleep once again.

"I love you Mom." Hillkit's quiet murmur was soft but firm, as if he was a much older cat making a sincere promise. Snuggling deeper into Swanpetal's fur, he fantasized about when he was all grown up. Though right now, his mom had to protect him, someday he would be a big strong warrior who would protect her. And his siblings, and the rest of his clan. Those thoughts made the tiniest smile cross his tiny face. Feeling the moving form of Nightkit beside him, he gently bopped her with his paw, as if practicing for when he would be a great fighter. Nobody would ever beat him then, not even his siblings! Well, it wasn't like he would even fight them. His goal would be to protect them against whatever evil was in the outside world.

(...guys, Hamilton references are extremely common)

Flamepaw stepped cautiously towards her friend, who was now a mother. She smiled at the kits; they were very cute. The shecat wanted to make a good first impression, before they learned what she had done and where she had come from. "Your kits are beautiful, Swanpetal." Flamepaw purred.

"Thank you, Flamepaw," Swanpetal nodded. "They are, aren't they? So small... I just want to keep them safe."

"I remember when I was that small. " She said. Though nostalgic, no hope to go back showed in her voice. "I fell out of my nest a lot. I remember one time, my brother and I caught greencough and we ended up fine. Goldeneye is an amazing medicine cat. Any Riverclan cat would be cured in no time."

Stonekit was the last one to wake up. He opened his blue eyes lazily at the sound of voices. He curled closer to his mother’s belly as he glanced at the bigger cat that wasn’t part of his family. He hissed softly, mostly because he was scared and didn’t trust newcomers like her. ”Who’s that, mom?”

"This is Flamepaw, Stonekit. She's a friend of mine," Swanpetal explained. "She's an apprentice, like you'll be one day."

Bluekit woke up due to the voice of her mother and a other cat she did not know, and her siblings move around besides her. She was curious who the other cat talking to her mom was, but she was still too tired to ask. She crawled closer to her mother and felt her and her siblings' bodywarmth against her.