Marked Sky: A Warriors Fanfiction

2.5 - Lilydream ☽

"Lilydream? Is that you?"

A sudden familiar voice made her head perk up, green eyes blinking through the cold wind to focus on a shape in the trees. She gasped, heart elated. "Porridgefur!"

The cinnamon shape suddenly leapt forward, bounding across the camp to reach his mate. Lilydream had barely brought herself to his paws before he reached her, head resting against hers.

"Y-you're alright!" She half-laughed, half-purred in relief, and began to attentively groom him.

"I'm so so sorry I'm late, we-found-a-trail-of-scents-and-thought-it-was-HaloClan-so-we-followed-it-cause-it-was-on-our-territory-but-they're-far-away-so-that-didn't-make-sense-so-we-thought-maybe-they-needed-help-again-so-we-tracked-them-down-but-it-was-actually-a-stoat-and-" Porridgefur gasped for air and Lilydream held back a laugh. "I'm-well, I'm so sorry, had I known-"

"Hey, it's okay! You were doing your duty," Lily reassured him with a purr. "I'm just glad you're alright!"

"B-but, if I had known I'd be gone for so long-"

"It's alright," she insisted. "I can take care of myself after all."

Her smile faltered when she glanced down to see his paw, hastily wrapped in dock leaves and cobwebs. She reached for it before he could pull away. "Wha-"

"Oh, oh I'm okay," he dismissed, but his mate's concerned green eyes demanded an explanation. "An altercation with a stoat, just a scratch. Bluespark healed it up."

"When, hours ago? This needs to be changed!"

"Later, Honeythroat wanted me to see you first," Porridgefur swallowed, glancing down at his paws, before back up at his mate, pain evident in his green eyes. "H-he said you kitted? Two...two kits..."

Lilydream gave a sad smile. "I really wish he'd stop leading with the bad news. Three are alive and well, Porridgefur," she broke into a grin. "We're parents."

The cinnamon tom's eyes brightened immediately, and he quite literally leapt into the air with joy. Without another word he lifted his mate onto his back and made a mad dash for the nursery.

His excited chattering was shushed by Lilydream, who limped off of him to gently take her son from underneath the sleeping Goldblossom's tufted tail. The little tom was frustrated in his unsuccessful attempt to nurse, not seeming to realize that Goldie didn't have milk quite yet.

Lily gently placed the kit at her mate's paws, whose eyes began to sparkle. Porridgefur brought himself to his striped belly, pulling the squirming kit closer to his chest to examine his son more attentively.

Lilydream brought the other two to Porridgefur one at a time, before whispering a thank you to a sleepy Goldie and limping back to lay next to her mate.

Lily placed her paw towards the largest kit, a beautiful lilac-and-cream package curled up against her father's extended front leg. "Willowkit?"

Porridgefur nodded immediately, his eyes not moving from his children. "Willowkit. She's going to be a beautiful huntress."

Lilydream flicked one of her tufted ears with a purr. She pointed to the cinnamon tom, who must've inherited his darker fur from a relative that Lilydream had never known. "And him? I know you liked Aspenkit, but I think aspen trees are lighter."

Porridgefur considered this for a moment, before smiling softly and reaching down to pull his squirming son closer to his chest. "I don't think he'll care much. Perhaps aspen trees were named after him, and their colors were inaccurate!"

Lilydream laughed gently, careful not to wake the other queens. "Willowkit and Aspenkit. So that leaves..."

Lily's voice trailed off as she gazed at her youngest daughter. Porridgefur followed her gaze to the sleeping kit, whose folded ears were a soft gold compared to the fawn brown of her pelt. He turned back to Lilydream, searching her eyes for a moment. "What's wrong?"

Lily took a short breath inwards, closing her eyes for a moment. Then she looked back towards her mate, a small, sad smile on her face. "Just thinking of names."

Porridgefur knew that wasn't all, but after searching her eyes he decided not to press the issue. "Well, what are you thinking?"

"Well... Honeythroat said she was a fighter. And I'd like to name her after someone in our family... maybe a feline name, like Pumapelt?"

Porridgefur tilted his head with a sweet smile. He knew how close his mate and her brother were, and to name a kit after him would probably make the skittish deputy faint with glee. Porridgefur chuckled at the thought.

"She doesn't really resemble a lion," Lilydream continued. "Or a panther, or a leopard..."

"Names don't always need to be literal, love," Porridgefur pointed out gently. "Sometimes they just mean 'like a lion, like a leopard.'"

"I know," Lilydream sighed. "I just want her to have something to hold onto when things get rough. Like, she can think, 'I channel the spirit of a...'"

"Lynx," Porridgefur observed suddenly. "She looks like a lynx."

"Oh," Lilydream nodded, looking down at her golden-fawn kit. "How? You remember the ancient ones' stories better than me."

"Lynxes are smaller than lions or leopards. Their legs are short, paws are big, and they look clumsy and compact. But they are strong, fierce, fast, and can outwit bears if needed. Plus," the tom added, "they have tufted ears and short stubby tails."

Porridgefur watched as a slow smile crept across Lilydream's face. She bowed her head, pressing her pink nose against her daughters fur, before pulling away and looking content. Perhaps she realized that looks don't equate skill, and a twitch of her paralyzed leg almost nodded towards his theory.

Finally Lilydream nodded, grinning up at Porridgefur like an apprentice on their naming day. "Lynxkit it is."

-{}-

part 3 of 3
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969 words
fin june 28 2021