Long Shadows

Featherstar lifted her head from its paws, her eyes clouded with sleep. She blinked her eyes, at disbelief of what she was seeing, and of course, the durned sleep. "Icewhisker, Ebonyroot, kits?" She asked, thinking it might still be a dream. "Is this some sort of sign from StarClan? Where's the dramatic back-story, and the cheesy prophecy?!" The leader demanded.

"Um... Featherstar?" Ebonyroot flicked her ears, "No... it's just us... Sorry to wake you..." she meowed awkwardly, looking at Icewhisker.

"What is going on then?" She asked, still trying to get her wits about her.

"We found these kits abandoned near the Fourtrees. I could smell blood, so I'm guessing the mother was either killed or taken away by a fox or badger." he meowed calmly, looking down at Pantherkit and Mothkit.

Badgerkit woke up, and found her way out of the moss. She looked around, her blue eyes wide. She saw the WindClan leader, and started to move toward the big she-cat, wanting to find out who she was.

PSSSSSH. Feather is like the size of a new warrior, she be tiny for a leader.


Mothkit yowled at the lack of attention, and the cold cave floor.


Featherstar looked bewildered at the kits, and moved two steps back as Badgerkit got closer to her. What should she do with the kits? What if they belonged to another Clan, and she was accused of stealing them?! But she couldn't just leave them out in the cold, could she? "Their not WindClan kits, Icewhisker, why did you bring them here? What if they belong to one of the other Clans? We cannot afford a war right now!"

Ebonyroot moved at once, taking Mothkit and Pantherkit away from the ground below and setting them in the small pile of moss next to their siblings. "Hush, Mothkit..." She whispered, licking the small bundle to warm her up.

"Oh great~" Featherstar grumbled under her breath. "We gotta keep 'em now! You named 'em, and now your attached." She said. "Momma always said not to feed the squirrels, or they'll just follow you home.."

Ebonyroot froze, looking up at the leader. She forced a smile and a small laugh, though her body was still strained from nervousness. "Sorry..." Cue the sweatdrop.

"Well, we couldn't just leave them in the cold. The warrior code says to never abandon a kit. We just thought as long as they were here, they should have names." he meowed calmly, looking at the 4 of them.

Pantherkit let out a mew, and opened his eyes again. He noticed a pretty gray she-cat, and he began wondering who she was.

Featherstar wanted to snap, she was near breaking point. Maybe it was the fact that there were two medicine cats in her den, one a girl and one a boy, and four random kits. Yeah, why was Ebonyroot here anyways? Maybe she was the mothe-... OH LOOK, a distraction. "I didn't intend to leave them in the cold. I was just thinking about the welfare of the rest of the Clan, over four random kits. But I suppose if I was the mother, I would want someone to look after my children too. You will be responsible to make sure that they are well and attended too, Icewhisker. Go on and ask one of the queens if she will nurse them." Featherstar said, sniffing Mothkit. "They smell of hay, and ShadowClan. I really hope that they are rouge and not ShadowClan." She said, still wondering why Ebonyroot was here, and why she looked so tired and worn out.

Mothkit purred in delight as Ebonyroot warmed her golden fur, and sneezed on Featherstar when she sniffled her.

Ebonyroot froze and looked away guiltily. WHATEVER YOU THINK. These are SO not your great-grandkits. "W-we er... found them in the old barn..." She stumbled on her words, quite unusual for her, as she was normally calm and composed. Her body, however, trembled and betrayed her. "My scent must have rubbed off on them..."

"But.. Icewhisker just told me that you found them abandoned at Fourtrees?" Featherstar said, her eye twitching. She was WAY to young to have great grandkits.. People needed to stop getting knocked up.. "Why were you two at the abandoned barn anyways..." Twitch.

"..............." Damnit.
She focused her attention back on the kits. 'Ok-kay... Let's just shut up and let Icewhisker do the talking, right Ebonyroot? Right. Good.' She sighed, "I mean..." She couldn't hold it in, she had to tell the truth... No, don't do it Eb! Shuddup. Shut up! Shuuutt up! "Featherstar, these are your kin!"
... Idiot.

Icewhisker stared at Ebonyroot with wide eyes. If cats could do a facepalm, he would have a giant red spot on his face by now. He hung his head, ashamed of what the leader would think. He just talked about not breaking the code, and yet here he was, his kits shivering in the cold. He didn't say anything, nor did he move.