The Choice

Chapter 1

 An agonized wail sounded from the nursery, young Hawkkit flattening his ears in an attempt to block out the sound. Soon there would be more kits in the nursery than just he and his littermates. At first he had been excited, but then he thought of how delicate they would be, he grew a bit worried. There was also Sandkit, his parents' favorite, who would most likely find a way to soak up all of their attention, even though, deep down, Hawkkit was sure his brother didn't mean to be the favorite. 

The wails from the nursery stopped, and the golden tom that had been pacing had vanished inside. His name was Thistlepool, and he was the father of the kits being born. Hawkkit stalked over and poked his head inside the nursery, faint mewling reaching his pricked ears. Hawkkit had so many questions whirling around his little brain before his sister Flurrykit snapped him out of his thought. 

"I can't wait to see them!" she exclaimed, tail twitching slightly. 

Hawkkit pulled his head out of the nursery, "I know! I wonder what color their eyes and pelts are!"

Sandkit, who was sitting nearby, merely nodded. He usually didn't way in on things like this.

Ivyleaf, the mottled brown medicine cat, slipped out of the nursery and gave the three kits a smile, "Would you like to meet your new denmates?"

"Yes! Oh, but I know our mother will want to be with us." Hawkkit responded with a sheepish smile.

"Good thing I'm right here, hm? But I'm proud of you for being so considerate," Birdflutter purred as she slipped out of the nursery, giving each of her kits a nuzzle.

Birdflutter led her Hawkkit and his siblings into the nursery, the dark den and milky scent soothing the brown kit's nerves. 

"Now remember, we're only here to look." Their mother murmured. 

"Don't worry, we're going to be super careful!" Flurrykit whispered happily. 

Birdflutter looked unsure, "Silverstreak is very exhausted from that kitting, and her and Thistlepool will want some time with the new little ones, so we'll only look for a second."

All three of them nodded eagerly, eyes round like owls as they slipped into the nursery. 

"You can see your new denmates now. Just remember to be respectful and quiet," Ivyleaf purred, stepping out of the nursery. 

Hawkkit hardly heard her, he was so excited. In one of the two nests in the nursery was a beautiful silver she-cat curled around several scraps of fur. 

"It's all right, don't be shy," Thistlepool meowed, flicking his tail for the three other kits to come see. 

Hawkkit had always liked the golden tabby tom. He was kind and gentle, and loved the kit he already had, Vixenpaw, even though he had a different mate than when he had her. The russet-colored she-cat was close to being a warrior, but it was still easy to see how close they were. 

Hawkkit, Flurrykit, and Sandkit scooted closer, peering in at the four squirming bundles. 

"How tiny," Sandkit murmured in awe. 

Silverstreak purred weakly, and pointed to a black and white she-kit.

"This is Patchkit, a tom," Next, she pointed to a golden tom, much like his father but with lighter stripes "That's Lionkit, a she-kit," next she pointed to another tom, this one dark grey in color, with a large black slash down his back, "Boltkit, my other son," and she pointed lastly to a ginger she-kit, "Orangekit, my second she-kit," she finished. 

The queen yawned and rested her head back on the moss. Ivyleaf gently steered Hawkkit and his siblings out of the nursery, Birdflutter lagging behind to have a quiet conversation with the new mother. 

"So, you met the new kits. Hawkkit, Flurrykit, I hope you behaved." A stern voice meowed, though the tom still sounded a bit amused. 

Ashbreeze, their father, had just returned from his training session with Rowanpaw and approached his kits. However, it bugged Hawkkit that when he mentioned behaving Sandkit wasn't even mention. It was as their father thought he wasn't one moon l, too!

"Don't worry, father, we were super good!" Flurrykit purred, "There are four of them, and they all have the best names. Did we look like that once?"

Ashbreeze sat next to Sandkit, gently nuzzling him, before responding, "Well, I haven't seen them yet, but I'm certain the answer is yes." 

Hawkkit and Flurrykit exchanged a look as their father began to speak with just Sandkit about how his day went. Hawkkit was sure he didn't mean to make his other kits feel like they were loved less, but that didn't mean it wasn't happening. 

"Ah, Ashbreeze," Birdflutter slipped out of the nursery, trotting to her make and tapping her nose to his cheek, "I see you're chatting with.. Sandkit. Anyway, it's time to head to our nest. Come now, kits."

Hawkkit and Flurrykit muttered a goodbye to their father, who seemed to barely hear as he was wishing Sandkit a good rest. The three of them headed into the nursery, curling up to their mother's soft, sandy fur. 

 'I'll show Sandkit. I'll get those kits to like me, even if father won't,' and with that thought, he drifted off to sleep.