A Family of One's Own {OPEN}

To say that Tigerleaf was at a loss would be a bit of an understatement. The striped she-cat had a good relationship with Condorshade. He was a kind-hearted tom whose presence she could always enjoy. He never said anything unnecessary, and she often became more talkative when they were together. Somehow, just the sight of his face could cheer her up. She liked him, very much so. In recent times, she had come to realize that the feeling stirring her heart was something more than plain and simple affection. Having never fallen in love before, it had taken her a while to figure things out. Nevertheless, she had never thought that their relationship would result in kits. Yes, kits. Here lay the source of her trouble. She had officially become a mother a few days ago, when she had brought them into the world. It ought not to have come as a surprise; she and Condorshade were mates now, after all. Still, she had very little idea how she was supposed to go around this new duty of hers.

At that very moment, the three bundles of fur lay at her belly, their fuzzy sides rising and falling in their sleep. Slender tail wrapped protectively around her kits, Tigerleaf watched them in silence. Two she-kits, and two toms. The first of the she-kits had brown tabby fur all too reminiscent of her own, while the second had very dark, smoky fur that reminded her of their father. The first tom's pelt was a rich, soft brown. The second, on the other paw, resembled his sister in possessing the long brown fur shot though with tabby markings. She considered the names they had been given—Leafkit, Ashkit, Foxkit, and Larkkit. Every single one of them was a fluffy ball of pure adorableness. Before these kits had been brought into the world, Tigerleaf had never been particularly fond of the clan's youngest members. What magic had been wrought, that she would see these three in such a light? She knew the answer; they were her own, hers and Condorshade's. It was her first time experiencing such emotions, such protectiveness. Everything was new to her. This sense of exploration both fascinated her and terrified her. How, in StarClan's name, was she to raise kits? She had been panicking ever since she had first realized that she was pregnant, and she was panicking even now. The other queens would undoubtedly lend her a paw, but there was only so much help she could accept. In the past few days, Duskflower's visage had surfaced again and again in her mind's eye. She would have to rely on the memories of her mother. Reminiscing of the long-dead she-cat, wistfulness seized her in its tight grasps. It was too late; too late to really glean from the knowledge Duskflower had held.

The stirring at her belly snapping her back to reality, Tigerleaf looked down into the face of one of her kits. Their eyes had opened just the day before, and kit-blue eyes shone up at her. "... Good morning." She mewed, after a moment's startled pause. "It seems you've woken up." A small, gentle smile naturally flitting over her features, she continued, "Are you ready to explore SkyClan camp today?" For now, she had little choice but to roll with whatever came her way. Kits always seemed eager to explore the outer clearing, and she was sure that hers were no different. At any rate, she could easily entertain them. Perhaps Condorshade would even be around, and these kits would get to see their father for the first time.

The brown tabby kit awoke first. She was warm, curled against her mother's belly, small brown paws kneading the fur that so resembled her own. This kit had been named Leafkit.
A quiet purr rumbled from Leafkit's throat at the sound of Tigerleaf's voice. It was the first sound she ever heard. And now the kit was finally able to put a face to the voice. Soft yellow eyes, mackerel tabby stripes. Her mother was perfect.

"Good morning!" Leafkit squeaked, the largest smile on her maw. She shakily rose up into a sitting position, white muzzle flitting around, taking everything in. Her brown tabby fur was unkempt and messy, but endearing all the same. The kit almost tripped over her siblings as she made her way over to Tigerleaf's head. Her steps were wobbly but determined and she nuzzled her mother with a purr. Tigerleaf had kept Leafkit warm so far, but drafts in the nursery let small gusts of icy wind slice through the den, giving the tabby she-cat a hint of what the forest had in store for her. The cold was exciting, something new on her pelt. Leafkit shivered with a giggle. "Can we go out there?" She mewed, head still pressed into Tigerleaf's chest fur. "I wanna see what wind is like!" Without waiting for an answer, Leafkit giggled and wiggled her way around Tigerleaf and settled under her tail, purring contentedly. All the excitement made her jumpy, Leafkit just couldn't keep still. The she-cat narrowed her eyes, focusing on the shadows that moved about outside the nursery. They must be warriors... Leafkit told herself, kneading the ground impatiently. She wondered if her father, Condorshade was one of them. Leafkit had never seen the tom, but she knew his scent and his voice, and eagerly awaited meeting him. Her sister and brother were curled up next to Tigerleaf as well. Ashkit was a smokey black and Foxkit had almost russet fur. Wake up sillies, we have to go see the camp! Leafkit silently pleaded with them in her mind, whiskers twitching at her own silliness. With a sigh, the kit told herself to be patient, and wrapped herself up in Tigerleaf's tail, fur covering her eyes. I'll just hide here until they wake up... Leafkit thought, giggling to herself.

Foxkit yawned. His fluffy red brown fur was puffed up to twice its size. He was a very large kit and his normal groomed fur was fluffy itself so that added to it. He stretched out and his little paws touched his mothers warm exposed stomach. The scent of milk filled him with delight before he heard a little noise. He whipped around. “I see you!” He jumped onto leafkit unexpectedly and squashed her with all of his fur. He pummeled her with flailing paws everywhere, he kicked up moss all over his mother and soon red fur was all around in the air.

As Tigerleaf reached forward to steady Leafkit, a purr rose involuntarily from within her. "You'll get to experience wind soon enough." She responded, whiskers twitching in mild amusement. Kits could be energetic little things, when they weren't fast asleep. Usually, their excess energy resulted in some rather unpleasant experiences for hapless apprentices or warriors. It had been a habit of hers to stay as far away from the nursery as she possibly could. Handling them took too much energy. Only StarClan knew how her own would turn out. From the look of things, however, she would never be lacking for entertainment as long as they were around. One thing was for sure—it was almost impossible for her to ever hate these kits. With the feelings that currently filled her heart, the thought did not even seem logically possible. Once, she had been so desperately lonely.

With Foxkit waking after Leafkit, it did not take long for a small mess to be produced. Tigerleaf blinked instinctively when a tuft of moss landed squarely on her nose. Somewhat troubled, she shook it off almost immediately. "Come, Foxkit." She addressed her tom kit, nudging him apart from his sister. "Don't you want to see what's outside? There'll be more space to play." Slowly, awkwardly, so as not to give Ashkit and Larkkit too rude an awakening, the striped she-cat stood. She was sure that the latter two would be every bit as eager to leave the nursery, and she had no intention of leaving them out. "Ill show the four of you around. Let's go." A rather childish idea popping into her head, she added, "Who'll be the first one out of the den?"

"Ack! Foxkit get off!" Leafkit protested, her larger brother lying on top of her. There was a playful tinge to her voice as she managed to squeeze herself out from under him. "You're so big!" Leafkit giggled, running to Tigerleaf's side in hopes of not getting tackled again. The brown tabby's ears perked as her mother mentioned outside. The she-kit had never been outside the nursery, and just the thought of it made her paws bubbly with excitement. That was were the trees were, the wind and sun. Leafkit imagined how beautiful it all might be. "I'll be the first out of the den!" The brown tabby squeaked, barreling toward the entrance. She stopped suddenly to test the waters, placing a single paw outside the den and then another.

A blast of icy wind hit Leafkit smack on the face and she giggled at it. With a small leap, her whole body had made its way into the clearing. "Wow wow wow!" She breathed, head swung high to gaze at all the trees. Even without their leaves, the wide trunks seemed to call to her, the creaking of the branches. The hazy sun cast a white glow throughout the clearing, and the soft ground was cold to the touch. It was all so mystical! Even without seeing the other clans, there was no doubt that Skyclan was simply the best! Leafkit noticed the warriors next, padding around the clan, up to their daily tasks. The kit paused to sit outside the nursery and wait for Tigerleaf. She didn't know any of these cats, perhaps her mother would?

A combination of the noise and the sudden exit of the warmth of her mother, Ashkit awoke from her slumber. The fluffy dark grey feline quickly stood and shook out her fur. "Wait for me!" She called to her brother and sister. She joined Leafkit at the entrance, but the icy wind made her grind to a halt. "It's really cold, mama! Ashkit ran towards her mother and found herself between her front paws. "I'm not sure if I want to see the camp today."

"..." Piercing golden eyes scanned the camp as their owner dropped three birds onto a pile of other dead critters. The figure bent down and grabbed one of the largest prey, which happened to be a rather chubby squirrel. The dark-furred tom then stood up straight and began to walk to the direction of the nursery. Condorshade's large stature strode up to where the den's entrance was and sat down in front. He placed the meal down and poked his head inside. "Nnn!" grunted the warrior rather loudly. Condorshade was not one to use words so he usually communicated by making noises or by gesturing. He was trying to get the attention of his mate and kits. It'd be the kits' first time seeing him and Condorshade silently prayed to Starclan that they wouldn't be intimidated by his features and size.

Foxkit hesitated. “Oooooookay.” E wandered outside after his mom. He fluffed up his fur and squinted in the wind. Stepped up besides Ashkit his eyes winded as he looked around. Then he looked up. Cat! He looked upon Condorshades assive structure. He smells like mother! “Who are you?! If you hurt my mama I’ll fray your skin off!” He snarled and unsheathes to his claws proceeded by Jim crouching down, ready to leap.

Larkkit, though rather tired, stumbled out of the nursery after his mother to experience a rather rude shock. The icy winds of Leafbare bit into his fluffy pelt, surprising the tom that had only known the warmth of the sheltered nursery and his mother's belly. Crinkling his nose, his backed up against the entrance with his wide green eyes looking around frantically to gauge everyone else's reaction.

Leafkit seemed positively ecstatic, Ashkit wasn't a fan but wasn't running away and Foxkit was picking a fight with a big tom cat? Accepting his fate, he carefully walked over the crunching, frozen leaves, trotting up to be beside his brother. "He's in camp, he can't be a bad cat. Smallstar would make sure all the baddies are kept away."

The black she-cat finally joined her siblings at the entrance only to see a large gloomy looking tom standing in the way. Her eyes lit up and she glared at her brother "Foxkit! Can't you tell this is our father?" Ashkit ran to the tom and stood next to him. "We are the same color!" She stated excitedly as her siblings looked nothing like herself. "Also Larkkit, it's Tinystar. Not Smallstar."

Foxkit didn’t take his eyes off of the tom. “B-but what if he’s evil and hurts mother?!” He spat. “I look nothing like him!” Foxkit Spelt was a deep rusty red. He didn’t look like Tigerleaf either. Foxkit flicked Larkkits ear with his tail lightly at the fact that he had gotten their leaders name wrong. “Don’t worry mama! I’ll protect you from the bad guys.” He added and moved closer to her.

The bait seemed to have worked. As her kits proceeded to the Nursery's exit one after another, Tigerleaf inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. With an anxious twitch of her tail, she shuffled over to join them. The temperature outside was what she had expected—cold and colder; she could not help shivering within her short fur. Thick swathes of gray clouds were spread over the leaf bare sky, drowning out the sun's rays and rendering the forest in a dreary light. Her pale yellow eyes flicking briefly upwards, she directed her gaze back to her kits. Leafkit looked positively enthusiastic. In comparison, the other three were a little less eager. Well, she could certainly understand how the latter three felt. Offering Ashkit a sympathetic hum, she grimaced slightly. Great StarClan, it really was cold! Part of her was suddenly assailed by the temptation to retreat back into the Nursery. Exploration could always wait for some other day, preferably after leaf bare. Just as she was entertaining the thought, a familiar tom entered her vision. Condorshade was standing right there, a squirrel in his jaws. Instantly, her expression seemed to brighten. All thought of heading back in swept aside, she stepped forward to greet him with a purr. The reactions of the kits upon seeing their father varied, but she twitched her whiskers in mild amusement.

"Thank you, Foxkit." Tigerleaf mewed, sincerely touched by her son's display. In reality, Foxkit was powerless against Condorshade. The size difference between the full-grown warrior and week-old kit was almost laughable. However, the simple fact that he cared was good enough for her. "Larkit and Ashkit are right. This is your father, Condorshade. He's definitely not a bad cat, so love him just as you love me, all right? He's not as scary as he looks, I promise."