You're a Father!

A smile on her face, Falconwing glanced over at Flintfang before returning her gaze to the adopted sisters. "Come along, little ones. I want you to meet Flintfang." Picking up Mosskit and placing her on her back, and carrying Lilykit gently in her jaws, she padded towards the grey tabby. Chuckling a little at his surprised expression, the young warrior stopped in front of him, setting the sisters down gently. "Flintfang! You'll never guess what happened!" Her hawkish yellow eyes flicked down to the calico and cream tabby she-kits again before returning to her mate. "You're a father!"

(OOC: Lemongrass, for the purposes of this, can we assume they have made the whole "mate" declaration?)

(ooc: lol good idea Falcon)

Falconwing's warm yellow eyes had swam in Flintfang's mind ever since her warrior ceremony. He was hesitant then, sure, but now, it was so easy to let himself slip into her gaze. She understood him, they shared the same trauma, walked the same path, and she listened. The gray tabby warrior felt strong when he walked by her side, felt valued and important, something the rest of Thunderclan had failed to deliver. He was so close, so close to jumping into Falconwing's gaze and letting himself fall into love. But he always pulled himself back before he got there. It was a flicker in the back of the tom's mind that told him he could never love again. He didn't want to lose Falconwing like he did his mother and sister. It was too much.
But the sight of the brown tabby made the warrior shake his thoughts away. He could contemplate another day, right now he was content to listen to his mate's voice and let his worries melt along with the snow.

The kits however, were not calming or worry-melting. The sight of them had Flintfang's fur stand on end. "You're a father." The words didn't seem to register in the tom's mind. A storm was beginning to brew there, and he felt his green eyes flicker between the two small she-cats. "Falconwing…" He sputtered, his emotions whisking between angry, shocked, and frustrated. "Whose kits are these? You...you adopted them? You're barely even a warrior and now you're taking kits under your wing!?" Flintfang spoke as if the kits weren't even there. He couldn't stand to look at them. Wouldn't get attached. Never. After a few moments of tail-lashing and heavy breathing, the warrior came to his senses. He let his green gaze slowly float over the two she-kits, one after the other. He thought of their situation, parentless, probably, and scared. Flintfang hated himself for thinking it. He wasn't usually one for empathy. With a long, drawn out sigh, the warrior finally asked; "Well...what are their names?"

Mosskit hung onto the cat that she understood was to be her mother quietly as she approached another cat. Her small head popped to the side of Falconwing's as they stopped, and after being set down she tucked her tail neatly over her paws and gazed up at the tom. That is, until the sudden response from Flintfang. At his words, her head lowered to the ground, and her small frame hunched over, her ears flattening in fear and surprise. Upon hearing the sigh, she peeks up at his face, although her head remained lowered. She brushed up against Lilykit silently, then turned to look over her shoulder at Falconwing. Turning back to the tom, she opened her mouth, her voice coming out as a timid squeak at first.

"I'm.." She paused and took a deep breath and cast another look at Falconwing. "I'm Moss..."

Her voice was still a little shaky, but not quite as mouse-like anymore. As she said her name, she straightened a little again, raising her head to look at Flintfang. A cold wind blew by as she did, and she shivered involuntarily, her eyes blinking as tears formed in them.

Lily lifted her head weakly to look at the grey tom looming over her. He looked angry and confused. Had Falconwing said that this warrior was her new father?

Falconwing's eyes narrowed, staring at her mate with apprehension. She couldn't blame him too much, thinking back, it might have been a little hasty to take the kit's in so readily without Flintfang's approval. Still... she did not necessarily appreciate his outburst in front of Lilykit and Mosskit. Remaining tense as he paced around for a while, green eyes alight with a mixture of anger and confusion, she let out a sigh as he relaxed and questioned her. A small smile returning to her maw as Mosskit mustered the courage to speak, she stepped forward, her own breath slowing. "The calico is Mosskit. The pale tabby is Lilykit. They were abandoned at about the same time. I found Mosskit almost frozen solid in the snow, and Lilykit was left in camp by her father." Gathering her two kits closer to her tall body, she continued. "I did adopt the pair of them. We're a family now, whether you appreciate it or not."

Mosskit's tears caught Flintfang's gaze and his eyes narrowed. There was no doubt both her and Lilykit needed a mother, they were small, and wouldn't survive without care. But why did Falconwing have to drag me into it? The gray tabby tom let out a long sigh, trying to fight the overwhelming feelings that swam in his head. There was a ferocity in his mate's retort that Flintfang recognized. Not from Falconwing, but from his mother, Tatteredleaf. Perhaps it was the tone of protection, a willingness to die for the ones you loved. The tom gazed into Falconwing's yellow eyes and saw her resolve there, the decision was final.
"Alright... You wanna keep them, I get it." It was a defeated sigh, there was no fighting with his mate, now a mother. He let his green gaze dart between the two kits. His kits. He was scared to own up to them. Scared to like them, scared to reveal himself to them. I'm not a good cat... I shouldn't taint these kits... It was all so fast. One minute, Flintfang was free to run and hunt as he pleased, but he was tied down now, not by choice but by circumstance. The feeling didn't sit well with the tom.
"Listen, I'm not like Falconwing." His words were directed towards the kits now. "She's a good warrior, but I'm different. I'll...try my best at being a father... But no promises. Okay?" He did it for Falconwing. He didn't want to make her angry. Every bone in Flintfang's body screamed at him to run, far far away from this new responsibility. But his mind needed his mate, and in turn, whatever, or whoever came with her.

Mosskit.. and... Lilykit... The names ran through the kit's head, repeating over and over. She looked to the other kit beside her and nuzzled her head to her new sisters. After a moment, she let out a raspy purr, which quickly turned into a single, quick cough in the cold. Swept in by Falconwing, she reveled momentarily in the warmth that her new mother had to offer, before turning her eyes back to Flintfang as he spoke to them. She gazed at him, taking in what he said and hesitated for a couple heartbeats before looking up to Falconwing again. Then, stepping out from the warmth of her mother, she took a tentative step forward, then another, then one more until she was in front Flintfang, looking up at him. She paused before attempting to balance on her hind paws, straining her neck to try to touch Flintfang's chest with her nose. Too late she realized that she was off-balance, and fell backwards into the snow with a muffled"mrow!". Quickly scrambling back to her paws, she shook her pelt free of the snow looking flustered, but determination shone bright in her eyes as she moved in front of the tom again. Slower this time, she balanced herself on her hind legs, raising her front legs so that she was closer in height to her new father. Once she felt sufficiently balanced, she stretched her head forward carefully, her small pink nose reaching towards Flintfang's chest. As her nose made contact, she finally spoke again.

I... I'll work really hard... to make you happy... With that, she got back down on all fours and took a couple paw steps backwards towards Falconwing, before turning and nudging her way back into the warmth with Lilykit, blinking out at Flintfang unsure and a little frightened of how he would react.