Bloodflower

Epilogue

The following greenleaf...

"Come on now, kits," Rosethorn called encouragingly, standing outside the nursery. "It's beautiful outside! Don't you want to come and see?"

As her words were met with a stubborn silence, Nightshade's ear twitched wryly. He was beside her, his tail comfortably entwined with hers. "I think they know that half the Clan is watching for them," he commented.

Rosethorn huffed with good-humored frustration. She'd promised the Clan that she would coax her kits to take their first pawsteps outside the nursery. But Applekit, Poppykit and Graykit didn't seem like they'd be coming out anytime soon.

"Okay, this isn't working," announced Acornfall, who was one of many cats eagerly gathered by the nursery. "I'm going in. They'll come out if I coax them." She marched toward the entrance to the den.

"What makes you so sure of that?" Crowpelt meowed after her. Flashfoot and Leafwhisker flanked him; all three cats were watching their confident sister with doubting expressions.

Acornfall snorted. "Have you seen me play with those kits? They love me!" To Rosethorn and Nightshade she added, "Don't worry, I've got this."

"Oh, I'm sure you do," Rosethorn responded dryly as her former apprentice trotted cheerfully into the nursery.

She saw a cat approaching her at the edge of her vision, and glanced over. Dawnfire was padding up to her. "Any luck?" her sister prompted.

Rosethorn shook her head. "Nope. Those kits are rooted to the nursery floor. They might as well be trees."

"Acornfall went inside," Nightshade chimed in. "She thinks she can get them to come out."

Dawnfire laughed. "Well, they are pretty fond of her. It could work."

"We're their parents," Rosethorn chuckled, "and even we couldn't get them to come out! How would Acornfall do any..."

She trailed off as Acornfall emerged from the nursery, her fire-colored eyes glowing triumphantly. Behind her were three tiny bundles of fur. In the lead was Poppykit; she was a perfect mix of her parents, with Nightshade's fur and Rosethorn's eyes. Then came Graykit; she looked strangely similar to Grayleaf, and thus had been named after her. Nobody was sure where that came from. And at the rear was Applekit. His ginger-and-white pelt slightly resembled his mother's, though tortoiseshell toms were almost unheard of. All three kits looked daunted and excited at the same time.

"What did I tell you?" Acornfall purred smugly. "Admit it, you're a little impressed."

Flashfoot cuffed her over the ear as she came back to stand beside him. Rosethorn and Nightshade rolled their eyes simultaneously, and padded up to their kits.

Poppykit was staring at the small crowd of cats nervously. "Why are they all looking at us?" she squeaked.

Nightshade bent down and brushed his cheek over the little she-kit's face. "They're just excited to see you out of the nursery for the first time," he soothed. "Nothing to be scared of."

Rosethorn watched her mate warmly. Nightshade had been happier than she'd ever seen him before when they'd found out she was expecting kits. And now he was the best father to them that she could've asked for.

She remembered the first couple of days after the three kits had been born. She and Nightshade hadn't thought about what to name them until they laid their eyes on them. Before Applekit had been named, Dawnfire suggested naming him Pinekit, in memory of Pineclaw. Nightshade—after a moment's hesitation—had agreed, saying it was a good idea.

Rosethorn had refused.

Poppykit relaxed visibly. The nervous look in her green eyes faded into curiosity, and she started to walk around clumsily. Her siblings tentatively followed suit, their noses and ears twitching madly. The Clan watched them fondly as they explored.

Rosethorn watched her kits, Nightshade and Dawnfire flanking her. How could one cat be capable of loving this much? she asked herself euphorically.

Silently she thanked StarClan for letting her have the kind of life she'd always dreamed of. It was like a light at the end of the tunnel—the longest, darkest tunnel she could imagine. All that pain and trouble and grief had paid off at last.

The rogues were long gone, taking Bat with them. Rosethorn was okay with that. They'd taken Minnowtail with them, too. Rosethorn had a good feeling that this was the last they'd ever see of the cunning silver she-cat. She had a new life now, a chosen family. And though she couldn't think of a reason Minnowtail would choose heartless rogues over her birth Clan, she suspected her former Clanmate was perfectly happy with her decision.

Let her be happy where she is. As long as she doesn't come back to threaten us again. She tried not to let her mind linger on Minnowtail's promise to kill her.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Rosethorn leaned against Nightshade. His black fur absorbed the sun's warmth like the earth absorbed water, and she relished the feeling. Despite the warmth, she still had to stifle a shiver as she felt Nightshade lean in too, gently resting his head atop hers.

She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Dawnfire watching them—specifically her—though she didn't turn to look directly at her. She could feel her sister's eyes; it was a look she didn't quite understand, pride mixed with awe. She'd seen Dawnfire look at her like that a lot when she thought she wasn't paying attention.

It's like she knows something about me that I don't. It always bewildered Rosethorn, but she knew better than to ask about it. Dawnfire was a tricky one when it came to secrets, especially since she was a medicine cat.

Besides, now she had more pressing things to worry about than her sister's occasional staring. Like making sure her curious kits didn't sneak out of camp now that they'd left the nursery. We're not repeating the incident with Acornfall and her littermates!

So instead she sighed contentedly, simply enjoying the moment as Graykit snuck up behind Poppykit and placed a leaf on her head. Poppykit instantly shook her head vigorously, dislodging the leaf, and growled playfully at her sister. They began chasing each other around the clearing while Applekit crept up to the leaf and pounced on it clumsily.

"It was worth it," she murmured to Nightshade before she even realized she was speaking.

Her mate didn't move, but she could sense his curiosity. "What was?" he asked.

Rosethorn closed her eyes. "Everything."

                                        * * *

If you've made it all the way to the end of this very long fic, THANK YOU. You're absolutely incredible, and I appreciate every single one of you. You all made this story special by giving it a shot.

On that note, if you enjoyed this, I have also written a novella within the same Warriors universe. It tells Minnowtail's side of the story regarding her betrayal of SunClan—I'm sure many of you are wondering what exactly drove her to do it! The novella, Minnowtail's Choice, can be found on my profile page if you're interested. I promise it's way shorter than this monster of a fic.

Again, thank you all so very much! <333