Omen of the Sun Book Three: Dusk

Epilogue

Eighteen moons later

Sunpool purred at the two kits suckling at her belly. Barely five sunrises old, and they had both already opened their eyes. One a silver tabby tom, one a gray she cat. They were the most beautiful things Sunpool had ever seen, and knowing that there was a portion of her in there... hard to take in.

The tom, Emberkit, was older than his sister, Dawnkit, but the more shy of the two. Dawnkit had been the one to open her eyes first, had been the one who'd begged to be allowed outside, the one who'd snuck out anyways and had ended up getting herself stuck in one of the caverns of the medicine den.

Emberkit had been almost silent from the start, but he was intelligent, and when he did speak, it was usually to ask questions. There was so much of Goldleaf in him and so much of herself in Dawnkit. Her kits.

It was very early in the morning. Sunpool had gone back to CloudClan moons before, right after the battle, right after she'd killed Applestar. It turned out that Applestar hadn't had many real supporters: cats just fought for her because she'd been their leader, and they hadn't been able to find a way to escape. They had been scared. Sunpool understood.

And some of the cats from her group had even joined the Clan. Bone had come in and taken over Cloverfur's post, as she'd been killed in the battle, and Pidgeonpaw still wasn't ready to take over the post. Strangely enough, he even believed in StarClan. Amberclaw, who had taken over leader's post and the name of Amberstar, had stiffened when he saw him, and, even stranger, Rosefoot, old Rosefoot who had been so happy to see Sunpool back and alive, had cried out in happiness. None of them were explaining, but Sunpool had pieced together enough information to realize that Bone must have been in the Clan at some point. But that was none of her business, none at all.

The dawn patrol was just leaving when Cinderstorm ducked her head into the nursery. Well, not just her head: her entire body, which, Sunpool realized after a moment, looked bigger than usual. To put it bluntly.

"Hi, Cinderstorm!" She said. Dawnkit and Emberkit, who had been sleeping beside her, both woke at the sound of her voice.

"Cinderstorm?" Dawnkit mumbled sleepily. She squinted at Cinderstorm, then said, "Oh, I remember you!"

"Do you?" Cinderstorm asked, her eyes gentle as she looked on the cat who was basically her daughter. "Well, you're going to see me every day now. Do you know why?"

Sunpool twitched her ears questioningly at her best friend. Emberpaw looked at Cinderstorm quizzically. "Why will we see you every day?" He asked softly, struggling to his paws next to Dawnkit.

"Well, it won't be right away, but Bonepelt says I'm expecting kits!" Cinderstorm announced brightly. Her eyes were shining.

Sunpool broke into purrs. "I'm so happy for you!" She mewed. "When will you be moving in?"

"Another three moons," Cinderstorm replied. "But you'll be there for those three moons, and so will you two. I'm so excited!"

"I'm excited as well," Sunpool purred.

Emberkit looked up at Cinderstorm questioningly. "What do you mean, you're expecting kits?"

"In a few moons, I'm going to get a few cats that are just like you," Cinderstorm told him.

Emberkit wrinkled his nose. "So you're gonna have another Emberkit and another Dawnkit?"

"Not quite," Cinderstorm said, and Sunpool added, "You'll see in three moons, dear."

She glanced around forlornly. "It's been very lonely in here ever since Frostcloud moved out," she said. Frostcloud, whose three kits had turned six moons old a moon before and we're now apprentices, had had her kits before Sunpool had even moved into the nursery. Cloudkit, Moonkit, and Thunderkit had been like any other kits in the way that they were loud and bustling and had caused more trouble than their small size suggested in their six moons as kits. As a result, the nursery was quiet in comparison, and Sunpool found herself missing the noise. Not being able to go out on patrols was really bugging her, and a part of her couldn't wait till her kits were apprentices so she could go back out.

"Morning!" Came a cheerful voice from the entryway. Goldleaf squeezed in behind Cinderstorm. He was the Clan's deputy now, after Greenflower had retired, and as a result, he was usually busy. Sunpool was happy for him, though. She loved Goldleaf, and knew if he ever made his way up to leader, he'd be more than capable.

"Morning, Goldleaf," Cinderstorm said, smiling at him, and Sunpool blinked warmly at him.

"Here, Sunpool, this is for you," he said, passing her the mouse he had in his jaws. He smiled ruefully at Cinderstorm. "Sorry, Cinderstorm, I didn't get any for you."

"It's fine. I've already eaten, anyway," Cinderstorm replied.

"Goldleaf!" Dawnkit squeaked, pelting at him and nearly knocking over Cinderstorm. She hurled her small body at him and clambered swiftly up his shoulders until she was on his back.

"Oh no! You're too strong!" Goldleaf said in a mock panic, and collapsed slowly to the ground. Dawnkit exploded in giggles.

"What's going on in here?" Asked another voice. A third cat had entered the nursery, and this time it was Lightningfeather. He had apparently followed Goldleaf, and was squeezing in behind him. "Morning, Sunpool," he added.

"Morning," she replied cheerfully. Lightningfeather asked Goldleaf about a patrol he was supposed to be leading, and Goldleaf started to explain what to do. Cinderstorm glanced around the nursery, apparently already planning out the family she'd make and start in here. Emberkit and Dawnkit had started rolling around, play fighting, and she watched them fondly for a moment. This was her family, she realized. Everyone in this little room. These were the cats who mattered most.

She was lucky. She had been able to make her life good. Some cats didn't have that. She truly had a beautiful life.

This Clan, this camp, this one small den. She could finally call it home.

YUPYUPYUP IT'S DONEDONEDONE

So when I started these books, I don't actually think I expected them to go so far. When I first started writing them, I had about five followers, and I'd never written anything real before. I didn't know that by the end of it, I would have 1.4K followers, so many views, votes, comments, and support, and so many new friends. Not to mention writing experience. Honestly, I'm beyond grateful for all the benefits I've gotten from this little trilogy.

BUT! Shameless self promo here. I have another Warriors fic up at the moment. It's called My Perfect Sister, and it's on my profile. The chapters are long and the quality of writing is a lot better than what I have here. I'm super excited for MPS, and I hope that you will be to, and check it out if you haven't already. Okay the promo's over bye

I love you guys, and thank you so very much for everything. I couldn't be more grateful. 💜

~✨🐱✨ Rainfeather 🐱✨🐱