Creamfluff's Hope

*/\* Chapter Seven */\*

Three quarter-moons had passed since Nightpaw, Hawkpaw, and Snowypaw's warrior assessments. Creamkit had watched the three cats get their new names: Nightmoon, Hawkflight, and Snowymeadow. Lilypurr was close to having her kits, and Silverleaf said the kits might come sooner than expected.

Creamkit was in the nursery now, looking at the sleeping Lilypurr. She'd finally have other kits to play with! Hopefully Lilypurr had twenty kits. Then Creamkit could have a bunch of new friends, and they'd all become apprentices together. And after that, warriors.

Silverleaf had gone to a half-moon meeting a quarter-moon ago. Creamkit was told that half-moon meetings were for medicine cats only. Medicine cats went to a special place called a Starpool. Crimsonbird told her that the Starpool was a big pool of water that looked almost purple at night, with stars reflecting off its surface. The medicine cats drank from this to share tongues with StarClan.

Crimsonbird had also said that every apprentice goes to the Starpool once they receive their apprentice name. Once they finish sharing with StarClan, they won't ever go back unless they become a leader to claim their nine lives.

Creamkit shook this memory out of her head and looked towards the nursery entrance. It was raining right now, as the rains of newleaf were settling in quicker than any cat thought they would. Everyone was in their dens, sheltering from the downpour. Creamkit jumped when a strike of lightning lit the den and thunder yowled in the sky.

Rainspeck gently licked Creamkit's ears. "It's alright, Creamkit." The young kit was shaking, fur fluffed up all over her tiny body. Suddenly, a yowl came from Lilypurr. Rainspeck looked over in alarm while Creamkit made herself comfortable underneath Rainspeck's tail.

The blue gray she-cat yowled for Silverleaf, making sure her voice was heard over another yowl of thunder. Lilypurr held back a yowl, Creamkit covering her ears with Rainspeck's tail. Silverleaf appeared in the nursery a bit after, his fur plastered to his skin from the rain. Rainspeck pointed to Lilypurr and he nodded, padding over to her.

Creamkit turned away as another yowl of pain could be heard from Lilypurr. Rainspeck was licking Creamkit's head as Heatstep ran into the den. His fur was fluffed up but still wet. He ran over to his mate and Silverleaf murmured something to Lilypurr.

Creamkit looked at her paws as yowls could be heard from Lilypurr. The yowls stopped a little later and Creamkit looked over at Lilypurr's nest. Two tiny kits lay in the nest, mewling softly while trying to find the way to their mother's belly.

Creamkit thought they looked kind of small, and she wasn't wrong. The kits, having been being born a quarter-moon earlier than most kits, were a tiny bit small. The first kit was a white tom with gray swirls, the second kit was a golden-brown she-kit with a white chest patch.

Lilypurr nosed them towards her belly so they could suckle as her mate watched his kits proudly. The storm still continued, another yowl of thunder ringing through the sky. Lilypurr's kits stopped suckling and started wailing, and not because of the thunder for they couldn't hear it yet.

Rainspeck sighed. "They'll do that a lot more, but you'll get used to it."

Lilypurr nodded. "But I guess we could name them now." She looked up at Heatstep who nodded. He looked down at the tom kit, who's wail was softer than she-kit's.

"This one should be Softkit." Heatstep decided, licking the little tom. He stopped wailing for a second before starting again.

"And this one should be Butterflykit." Lilypurr stroked the tiny she-kit and nosed them closer to her belly. The kits stopped wailing and began suckling again.