Kin of My Kin [Open; LeoMan Requestered]

ooc; continuation of here

It was the duty of a warrior to care for innocent lives. If there was anything he had seen time and time again since he was born into Thunderclan, it had been the upholding of that concept. Recently, their leader had adopted a litter of abandoned kits. These ones were no different. Beartooth mulled over these things as he trudged back to camp. Each footfall seemed slower than the last, partially due to his already defeated state and the burden of kits whose legs were a fifth the size of his. He alternated between carrying to the two she-kits when it seemed to be too much for them. Dewkit was near his paws the whole time, occasionally being nudged by one of those massive paws. The warrior spent little time around kits since he had left his extended stay in the nursery. Blizzardshine's litter was the only one he had spent time with, and he had been a mere apprentice. Normally, young cats were intimidated by his paws and unsightly appearance that had only been aggravated by the scarring of his own claws. A soft exhalation of air came from his nostrils at the thought. Thankfully, it appeared these ones were too young to notice or care.

He did not dislike kits, but he had not been overly drawn to them like some cats were. Beartooth admired their innocence from a distance. Until now. Feeling like a queen as he herded the kits towards the camp entrance, the warrior noticed that even in his permanently exhausted state, he had managed to find some energy for this particular task. For his kin. The gorse tunnel snagged at his tabby coat but Beartooth shouldered through without hesitation as he protected the kits from the barbs around them. And then they were in Thunderclan camp. This was perhaps the most unconventional thing he had done in his time as a warrior but caring for kits was a given. They couldn't have simply been left out there to starve. Besides, hadn't their leader once been in a similar position as a kit? While cats milled about, the warrior deflected their curious stares and picked his way towards the leader's den. Once there, he hesitated for a moment. It was time to address the leader. Interrupting Leopardstar was not something he delighted in but he finally found the drive to call out after a moment, "Leopardstar. I found kits on the territory."

Dewsong kept running up to match the warriors pace, it was no use. But they made it to this big place and came upon a big cat. "Who are you?" Asked Dewkit, his fur stood up everywhere. "Rawr! Fear me!" He challenged then fell laughing on his back. He shook himself off and jumped onto the cat. He clawed his way up to her shoulders and preached there very quickly and surprisingly. Nothing dimmed Dewkit's cheerful attitude. The realization that he won't see his mother again had just started to set in.

The smallest kit of the three shivered at the cold, staring somberly ahead for most of the journey. Her mother's voice echoed faintly in her ears, but her warmth was no longer with her.

Where had she gone?

This large cat that held her... she didn't know him. She didn't know the place he took her to, nor the large, spotted cat that the big cat had brought her to.

She didn't know them.

She didn't want to.

Her tummy hurt, and she missed home... she missed mom.

Blinking up at the spotted tom ahead of her, she spoke softly. "Why are we here...?"

Ara's paws were tired and she was cold, but she followed the larger cat without complaining. Instead, she asked endless questions: "Where are we going?" she had started, but it continued past that. "What is this place? Why are we here? Why are there so many cats here?"

The sight of Beartooth returning to camp was not an unusual event itself, but the sounds of squalling kits... Marshstorm's head lifted in surprise at the sound. His amber eyes curious as he padded forward to look closer at the little scraps of fur. He didn't scent a clan on them. His gaze returned to Beartooth's at his former apprentice's words. Pity clawed at his chest at the thought of such small kits being abandoned.

"There was no sign of the mother?" He asked, hopeful that perhaps some trace of her had been evident. He wasn't a fool though. Had there been a mother, he had no doubt at all that Beartooth would have let them be, or stayed until she returned. He hoped so at least. He turned his head, catching sight of the two apprentices he had adopted before returning it to Beartooth with a solemn expression. "Well then, I suppose they'll have to stay with us." He turned his attention to the kits directly with a pleasant smile as he crouched down to their level. "Welcome to Thunderclan Camp little ones."

There was a burden lifted from the tom's shoulders that he hadn't realized settled above the normal weight that slumped them perpetually forward. Marshstorm had been the one to arrive and quickly accepted the kittens without much difficulty. Good. His kin would be safe inside of Thunderclan where they belonged. At first, he managed just a stiff nod to his former mentor. The relentless stream of questions from the kits merely brushed past his ear fur. Until something else occurred to him, "You'll care for them? You can Dustcloud?" He knew of the deputy's tendency to care for those weaker. It was a reasonable assumption. The pair of older warriors had taken on the burden of raising Lichenmask's offspring so why not these kits.

"This is your home now," Beartooth grunted towards the three young cats at his paws with his usual gruff tone. There was an undertone of softness that crept through that was quite an unusual sound coming from a warrior of his stature. His forest green gaze flicked over each of them and through his deadened state, the tom felt something. It was like when he looked down at Blizzardshine's litter when he had been a kit himself. The innocence struck him and a much more primal and yet foreign feeling... love, "Don't worry. You are safe here."