The Barn Cat

Chapter Thirty-Three

    Leafstride's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He was still staring into Mistfoot's eyes, her words ringing in his ears and replaying in his mind. She was expecting his kits, they were having kits together. He couldn't contain his excitement, and let out a loud cry of happiness. He rushed over to her, shoving his body onto her, nearly knocking her over. "Woah! Be careful!" Mistfoot exclaimed. "Sorry! Sorry!" Leafstride took a step back, "but you're telling the truth, right?" "Of course I'm telling the truth, Leafstride," Mistfoot rolled her eyes, but her mew was warm. A purr escaped Leafstride's throat, and he rubbed his head all over Mistfoot. "I'm going to be a father!" Mistfoot purred along with him, "yes you are." He pulled away, "we need to get you back to camp. You need rest and prey, let's go." "Leafstride, I'm not even far along, I'm fine." He shushed her with a flick of his tail, "no arguing, I want to make sure you and our kits are healthy and happy. Let's go, we have news to tell everyone!" Mistfoot sighed, "okay, lead the way."

    Leafstride shoved his way into the camp, Mistfoot slithering in after him. He wanted to tell Darkblaze first, but he was chatting with Echo and Silverspring. He turned to Mistfoot, who just nodded and trotted over to the fresh-kill pile. Happiness sparked inside of him, making him forget all about the Splashclaw incident. He bounded away over to his kin, "Darkblaze, I need to speak with you." Darkblaze nodded, excused himself from the other medicine cats, then padded away towards a spot in the camp where no one else was. "What is it?" Darkblaze asked. "It's Mistfoot." Darkblaze's eyes grew concerned, "is she okay?" Leafstride nodded, "yes, better than okay. Darkblaze, Mistfoot is expecting our kits!" Darkblaze's eyes grew wide, "already?" Leafstride nodded, "yes. She says she's not far along, but I just want to make sure she is healthy first. Can you take a look at her in secret? I don't know if she wants anyone else to know." Darkblaze nodded, "of course I can. Congradulations Leafstride, not only on the kits but on finding someone that could make you happy. It's having you back and seeing you back to your old self. I missed it."

    Leafstride nudged his brother, "you just like it because you are getting more kin." Darkblaze purred, "maybe they'll like me more than you." "Ha, good luck with that," Leafstride teased, pressing his paw on his brother's face. The two let out mrrows of amusement, and Leafstride turned to go back to Mistfoot after a while. Darkblaze congratulated him once more, then the two went back to their own stuff. "Hello," Flower welcomed him, since she was sitting with Mistfoot and Jay. "Hi," Leafstride greeted her and the others, then took a spot next to Mistfoot on the ground. "So," Jay stared at Leafstride with mischievous eyes, "you two are a thing, huh? Breaking clan rules and such." "So romantic," Flower mewed with awe. Mistfoot rolled her eyes, she was good at that. "I guess so," Leafstride shrugged, his tail wrapped around Mistfoot's. The young Protectors snickered, and Leafstride's whiskers twitched in amusement. For how bad cats would think the 'rogues' are, they are actually really nice and fun. They care about each other too, just like clan cats would. Flower's gaze suddenly seemed to drift off, but Jay and Mistfoot were chatting about the best pieces of prey here.

    "Hey," Leafstride nodded to Flower, "you okay?" The she-cat shifted her paws, though it seemed hard since they were lying on the ground. "I'm just worried about the others, and if we will ever have a home again." "Don't worry, Flower. The others are fine, and we will make sure that you get your home back, even if we have to take it back. Everything will be alright," Leafstride tried to sound truthful, confident even. Flower just slowly nodded, but Leafstride could tell she didn't believe his words. "Thanks, Leafstride." Leafstride nodded sympathetically, "anytime, Flower." "Hey, what's so grim over here? Where'd all the laughter go?" Jay teased, nudging his sister. Flower let out a sigh, "we were just talking about the others and our home." Jay's happiness seemed to fade away, and he let out a small sigh. "We can't think about that right now, Flower. We just have to stay here for a while. It'll all be fixed soon enough, right Mistfoot?" Mistfoot nodded, "I understand your concern, Flower. But I can assure you that the barn cats are safe within Fogclan and Mistclan, and you all are safe here."