In The Dark - Warriors.

*Chapter Seven

Cherryflower was a very popular she-cat in the Clan. A lot of the toms wanted to breed with her - usually her kits turned out gorgeous, like her. For example, Lostpaw - and so she was already settled down with her third litter of kits. Her "breeding partner" or "mate," as she liked to call Newtheart whom insisted that he was actually her "owner" had forced her to have a new litter of kits, one with more toms this time instead of she-cats.

Newtheart this time had named them Bearkit, Badgerkit, Wolfkit, and Foxkit. 'Of course. Leave it to him to make them all want to sound like little demons focused on eating our souls.' Cherryflower thought distastefully. Though at least they were all toms, much to Newtheart's favoritism. "You know," the tom had been bragging one time earlier that day. "I think my blood is really getting into yours. You know, the good type of blood. 'Else we wouldn't have had four toms in the litter this time! Pinekit had been the only tom in the litter last time, and must I tell you, he's been doing good in his training! He caught a thresh on his first hunting patrol." Newtheart purred.

'I know that,' Cherryflower thought grimly. 'I'm his mother.' Though instead of responding to him with her thoughts, she just nodded. "Yes." She mewed. "I am proud of him." She added. Newtheart nodded.

"You should be - everyone should be. Now let me see those little kits of mine." he ordered. Cherryflower couldn't help but note that he had put emphasis on the word "mine." 'What a shame,'she thought rather grimly.

"Yes Newtheart," Cherryflower nodded, and got up, so that her "mate" would be capable of seeing the four toms in her litter fully. Bearkit was a pure brown tom with dull green eyes and was the biggest out of all of his siblings. Badgerkit was a black tom with specks of white on his flank and tail. He had a white underbelly and white paws equipped with hazel eyes. Then there was Wolfkit, a rarely-colored tortoise-shell tom with ice blue eyes. And finally, there was Foxkit, a ginger cat like her, though the runt of the litter with green eyes.

"Let me see Bearkit." Newtheart demanded. Cherryflower obeyed, picking up the ragged brown kit and dropping him at Newtheart's paws gently. Newtheart studied the kit, noting how he was the biggest out of every single one of his siblings. "This one looks like a fighter," he smiled. The mewling kit looked up at his father, eyes gleaming. "You're my favorite." he said.

'Why, of course he'd choose Bearkit as his favorite. He only likes him because he's the biggest and will be the strongest.' she thought to herself grimly. 'I hope to StarClan that Newtheart won't be chosen to be his mentor! Or any of my other kits.' She prayed silently, then shook her head.

"Badgerkit now." Newtheart said. Cherryflower sighed, nudging the tuxedo cat over to his father. "He is quite like Bearkit ... he will become a good warrior as well, I promise you." Newtheart said. "Now Wolfkit." He mewed.

"Good. Hello there, Wolfkit," he mewed. Wolfkit blinked up at him, gazing confusedly at the tom's face. Newtheart smirked, then snatched Foxkit away from suckling his mother's milk himself, dropping the tomcat in front of him. "Ah, Foxkit," he said distastefully, noticing his small the tomcat was. The runts of the litters were never his favorite.

"Runt," he mewed. "I should've named you Tinykit or Smallkit. Ugh, you won't do no good." He said, pushing the ginger tom away, back towards his mother. "Your mother will take care of you. You're a disgrace on all toms!" Newtheart growled. Foxkit practically ignored him and started back over to suckling on his mother's milk. Cherryflower had to force herself to hold back a chuckle as she watched the kit. "Fine then!" Newtheart said. "Ignore me. Be that way. You dumb shetom!" Newtheart said. Then he picked up the other three kits and vanished from the den, obviously going over to Froststar to brag about how strong they were going to be, as he always did with the toms.

Cherryflower looked down at Foxkit. "I will not let anything happen to you, Foxkit," she whispered. "You are my favorite." She mewed.