Of Leopards and Hollies and Spiders and Rain (OPEN)

(OOC: To prevent any paradoxes, this topic will take place after the war between the Clans and the Exiles, so the sun and moon would have returned.)

Happiness filled up Scorchfang's chest. It had only been a few sunrises -- yes, sunrises -- since Lichenmask's defeat, and already ShadowClan seemed to be coming out of the ashes better and stronger than before. Cats were finally rekindling their old sparks of courage, and the Clan seemed to be at peace once again. Especially with the arrival of four new kits.

The ShadowClan leader, who had had yet to travel to the Moonstone to receive his nine lives and his official title, picked out a mouse and a frog from the fresh-kill pile for his beloved mate Minnowcall, who was probably very hungry and worn out from having her latest litter. This would also be his second time seeing his two sons -- Leopardkit and Spiderkit -- and two daughters -- Rainkit and Hollykit. Only, unlike the first time he had seen them, this time they would get to see him, as their eyes were already opened by now.

Scorchfang chirped a brief greeting around a mouthful of prey before slipping into the nursery, nuzzling Minnowcall's muzzle briefly before placing the fresh-kill down by her paws. He then turned his broad head to the four tiny kits that nestled close to their mother's belly, and he gave each one a loving lick on their forehead, a purr rumbling in his throat.

(OOC: The order of posting is irrelevant, but Hamster, Harleystream, lemongrass, and SillySunshine should probably post first before anyone else joins the topic. And of course RoawImKoatt can also reply at any time.)

Im assume it doesn't matter who posts first lol))

The gray bleu and white bicolor kitten swore she heard a greeting but remained close to her siblings. The sweet little Rainkit remained quiet until she felt a loving lick on the top of her head and she blinked her blue eyes open looking up at Scorchfang for a moment. The small kitten blinked once again before scrambling up onto her white paws her gray blue tail lifting high"hi!"she mewed with a slight squeak. He smelled familiar but she didn't pick up on how before she mewed curiously"Who are you?"

Minnowcall let out a purr of happiness when she saw her mate and with him he had two pieces of prey, she quickly started to eat the frog while Scorchfang looked at their beautiful kit's four of them, two toms and two she-cats, each one of them equally as beautiful. She turned her head towards Rainkit when she asked who Scorchfang were "He's you'r father and leader of Shadowclan, Scorchfang" she told her wirh her voice as sweet as usual.

"Leader? Of Shadowclan?" Spiderkit let this process, before feeling a swell of pride. "That's so neat!" The striped kit hopped to his toes, his overly large whiskers twitching happily before he plopped down onto his haunches in thought. "...Even though I don't really know what that means. But whatever it is, I'll bet you're the best at it!" Spiderkit purred. The kitten brushed against his father in affection (and got Scorchfang's long fur caught in his mouth in the process).

Hollykit squirmed at her mother's belly when Scorchfang licked her head. Wordlessly, the black and white kit turned to view her father, green eyes stretched wide. A small breath escaped her, and she glanced her father up and down, taking note of all his features.
Long hair, dark pelt, amber eyes...
Feeling satisfied with her examination, Hollykit shakily rose to a sitting position, tail waving wildly in attempt to balance herself.
The kit still hadn't breathed a word, this time inching closer to Scorchfang, sniffing the air. She smelled something new, but it wasn't her father. Glancing over to her mother, Minnowcall, Hollykit noticed the two creatures that had been dropped at her paws, smelling of forest and nettles. That must be prey... Hollykit concluded, her nose wrinkling at the new scent, thinking she'd much rather stay with Minnowcall's milk than have to sink her teeth into something that smelled quite different. Hollykit turned her head again, realizing her mother had been speaking. He's leader of ShadowClan? The kit stumbled over to her father again, this time watching him more closely.

She hesitantly placed a small paw on top of her father's larger paw. Warm. She told herself, a rare smile stretching across her face. Catching Scorchfang's eye, Hollykit let out a soft "Hello," watching her father's facial expression with curiosity. The kit removed her paw from her father's, stepping backwards to curl up next to her mother once again. Satisfied with her conversation, Hollykit sat back on her haunches, and watched her littermates attentively, thinking hard.

Leopardkit was perhaps the last to open his eyes, but when he felt a soft brushing on top of his head and moving down towards his body, he felt his blood rush into his whole body. He tried to stand up, only to accidentally fall back. "Oof." His second attempt wasn't good at all but at least he was getting better. He surveyed his surroundings and turned to look at his mom and littermates. "Hoi! How are ya’ll?” Without waiting for an answer he turned around and began skipping around with excitement.

News had managed to reach her ears of her new little brothers and sisters, and, as soon as she got some free time, Ravenpaw slipped into the nursery. Nose detecting scents of her father and mother, and the new kits, she smiled warmly. "Hello, Scorchfang, Minnowcall." The black-and-silver she-cat turned her sightless eyes toward the milk-scent. "And who are all of you? I'm Ravenpaw, your older sister." She sat back on her haunches. She would have been very pretty, with her blacks and silver-blues, but scars marred her face, slashing across her eyes, accompanied by some large ones between her shoulders. She sniffed the air and listened carefully. Judging by the different squeaks and scuffles, she had four new siblings. "It's nice to meet you all."

Spiderkit let the voices of his sibling's greetings wash over him, content among his family members, but was slightly startled when he heard a new cat approach. When the striped kit's eyes had first opened, he had already known who every cat he saw was; he recognized their scent. This newcomer, however, was a stranger. But when Spiderkit heard the she-cat's words, his ears perked happily. "Oh! Another sister? That's..." The tom trailed off when he noticed the scars running across Ravenpaw's pelt, especially the ones on her face. "Umm... are you okay? Those scratches look like they hurt." He said tentatively, taking a step towards her. Spiderkit frowned in confusion when the black and silver cat didn't meet his eyes.

The sudden approach of another cat into the nursery startled Leopardkit, but he had quickly turned around to look at this new member. Her face and shoulders consisted mostly of scars and healed wounds but he decided there was more to than that. Ears perked, he listened to Spiderkit’s exclamation and added "How'd you get those?" Completely unbothered by the fact Ravenpaw was feeling uneasy.

Ravenpaw paused for a moment. She wasn't that disturbed by the questions, she usually got something like that from most cats when they first saw her, but she was trying to figure out how to explain it to kits. "A bad cat attacked me on a trip to Fourtrees. My scars don't hurt anymore, but the bad cat clawed my eyes. I can still hear and smell you just fine, but I can't see." She flicked a silver ear, lying down. "Of course, the cat that attacked me was punished, so he shouldn't attack any more cats." She added quickly, hoping not to scare the four. "I can still do all the things a normal cat does, I just have to use my other senses." She leaned closer to Spiderkit, her whiskers barely touching his fur. "For instance, I can tell that you have short fur, and are lightly built, like me. And you're a tom-kit. What is your name?"

"W-wow." Spiderkit breathed, in awe of the she-cat before him. She had been blinded by another cat, and yet she was still able to tell what he looked like? He was honored to have her as a sister... though he was starting to realize that his family was made of some of the strongest cats in the clan; Ravenpaw was still in fighting shape despite everything, and his own father was practically the leader of Shadowclan. He had a lot to live up to... he wanted to make his family proud. Spiderkit began to feel slightly queasy, so he pushed those thoughts away for another day. The small tom leaned forward, touching noses with Ravenpaw affectionately. "My name is Spiderkit... and one day I'm going to be just as awesome as you, you'll see!" The striped tom quickly realized his blunder. "-uh, I mean, what I meant was-" He cut himself off, the teeth in his mouth making a clicking sound with how fast he shut off his rambling. He was just going to make things worse, wasn't he? "Sorry, Ravenpaw. I didn't mean it like that."

Ravenpaw chuckled softly. Kits could be so adorable. "No worries, Spiderkit. You keep your ambition up, alright? It will lead you to do great things in life." She pulled the tom-kit closer with a paw, licking his head.

And so he listened closely, the sister who had lost an eye in battle. A very vigorous cat. Perhaps one day he will be as great as her. But for now, he would get to know his surroundings better. He walked around hoping to spark a conversation with another cat.

Scorchfang gazed down lovingly at his sons and daughters, the rumbling purr in his throat growing louder and stronger. He turned his broad head to look down at Spiderkit. ”Thank you, Spiderkit. And a leader is a cat who takes care of the entire Clan. It’s not an easy job, but it’s very rewarding.” His gaze shifted to Hollykit, smiling warmly at her squeak of a greeting. Seeing her back away told him she was ready to be alone and just observe, so he offered her a loving nod instead of responding with words.

Hearing the new, yet familiar voice behind him, Scorchfang turned to see one of his younger kits entering the den. He gave Ravenpaw a quick lick of affection behind an ear and watched as she interacted with her younger siblings. He winced as Spiderkit and Leopardkit brought up her sightless eyes and scarred claw marks, being forced to remember the event in which she was blinded. It still hurt very badly that she had been robbed of her sight, but he was still immensely proud of Ravenpaw’s unwavering determination to make a great warrior out of herself yet. He was very relieved to hear no discomfort or hurt in her voice when she answered in the gentlest way she could.

---

”Come on, Orchidpaw! Let’s go meet our new brothers and sisters!” Poppypaw meowed to his littermate with an excited skip in his step. He pushed his way through the nursery entrance, the den growing more and more crowded by the minute. He gasped happily as he looked down at the four kits. ”Oh, wowie! Four new siblings! Hello, there, I am your older brother Poppypaw! But you may also refer to me as the Great Poppypaw if you’d prefer!”

While the excited fluffy ginger-and-white tom was eager to meet their new siblings, Orchidpaw wasn’t nearly as eager. He never seemed to have the energy to do anything nowadays, not ever since the massive battle between the Clans and Lichenmask and his followers. He ended up losing his crush, best friend, and future mate Sparkpaw to the raging inferno that had engulfed the battlefield, and he had never felt the same since.

---

It didn’t make him feel any better that these four kits weren’t even his and Poppypaw’s full brothers and sisters. They were half-siblings, for he and Poppypaw had been born to Blazeflight instead of Minnowcall. Of course, Poppypaw didn’t even know, and he planned on keeping it that way, but it still hurt to know his mother gave the two of them up to save her reputation, or whatever her reasoning may have been.

He sighed heavily and sat outside the nursery, curling up on the ground, ignoring his brother’s and father’s calls for him to meet the newest members of his broken family.

Ravenpaw laughed at her older brother's entrance. "Hey, Poppypaw. Where's Orchidpaw? Is he doing alright after.. you know?" Sparkpaw's death hurt her badly as well, as Sparkpaw had been her best friend since they were kits. Hearing a small scuffle outside, an apprentice-sized cat lying down, along with the scent of her brother coming from that direction, she quietly excused herself and slipped out, lying down next to Orchidpaw. She said nothing, just giving her brother a gentle nudge as she moved closer.