Warrior Cats: Rainfall

Chapter Fifteen

Back in Ashfrost's POV

It's been a moon since Sootpelt's deputy election and the mysterious murder of Ambersong. Most have accepted her death with a tinge of new hatred towards GloomClan. However, when Stonestar confronted them at the Gathering the night after, Emberstar had openly and non-hesitantly denied it. Of course, Ashfrost had gleaned this information from her brother, Rainfall.

Speaking of Rainfall, not many moons ago, he started chasing Frostleaf's tail. Apparently, Rainfall had had a crush on the she-warrior as an apprentice and into early warrior-hood. When he confessed he had learned that she had felt the same way. They became mates and soon after. . . Frostleaf was carrying kits. It's been two moons since she openly announced she was carrying kits, now she was supposedly very close to birthing them.

Ashfrost felt one of her kits bat the bridge of her nose. Yawning, she opened her eyes to see Olivekit playfully batting and gnawing at his mother's paws. Purring delightfully, Ashfrost knocked the kit down. 

"Mooooom!" Olivekit rumbled as he fell on his back.

Ashfrost flicked her ear to rid herself of an annoying fly, then continued to say, "Olivekit, are you ready to become an apprentice tomorrow?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" He rolled over, stood up, and began jumping up and down.

Thornkit groaned in his nest next to Ashfrost's head, "Olivekit, be quiet!"

Lilykit turned around in her nest, "Yeah!"

"Wake up, sleepy-ears!" Ashfrost hummed as she gently prodded her kits.

"FINE!" Thornkit grunted and sat up in his nest to groom himself.

Lilykit sat up as well, "Whatever."

Ashfrost was so busy watching Thornkit, Lilykit, and Olivekit that she didn't notice Kestrelkit come up beside her and sit down. She jumped slightly in surprise.

"Oh, it's you Kestrelkit," Ashfrost sighed. "How are you doing?"

Kestrelkit drew a line in the dirt patch by his nest. The young tom hasn't ever spoken since birth, despite various check-ups with Flowerstorm proving that he should be able to speak. Ashfrost and Kestrelkit had developed a way of communication by drawing in the dirt. One line meant yes/good. Two lines meant no/bad. A circle meant "restate the question"/"I don't understand". Three slashes meant "Let's not talk about this".

"It's good to see that you're doing fine," she purred. "Are you sure you can't talk? Can you try for Mother?"

Kestrelkit flicked his ear in irritation and wrote two lines. It was the answer he usually gave Ashfrost. He seemed rather annoyed by it every time she asked.

Ashfrost sighed, "I know, I know. This is irritating for you. I just. . .want you to be able to talk. Especially since you'll be an apprentice tomorrow, it'll make things difficult for you."

Kestrelkit grunted and drew three slashes in the dirt.

"Alright, I'll stop," she smiled and licked the top of his head.

"GIVE IT BACK!" Thornkit yowled as he tumbled with Lilykit.

"NO!" She threw him off of her. "IT'S MINE!"

"NO! I WAS PLAYING WITH IT AND YOU TOOK IT!"

"BUT IT'S MINE AND I NEVER SAID YOU COULD TAKE IT!"

Ashfrost stood up, "Thornkit, Lilykit! Stop! Frostleaf is exhausted and sleeping, you will wake her up!"

Lilykit had a stick in her mouth with which she held on one end. On the other end, Thornkit. They dropped the stick and sat down in shame.

"You don't need to yell at each other like that," she softly growled. "You're siblings and you love each other."

Something kicked Ashfrost's hind legs and she fell down with a yelp. Surprised, she looked around to see Frostleaf vigorously twitching in her sleep.

With wide eyes, she turned to her kits, "Huddle and stay here!" She got up and ran to the other side of the nursery which was the medicine den.

"Flowerstorm," she panted, "I think something's wrong with Frostleaf."

The she-cat was busy laying out washed herbs in the sunlight that seeped through some cracks in the den. She paused and sighed, "Ashfrost, I said the kits are fine."

"What?" Ashfrost flicked her tail in confusion. "Flowerstorm! Frostleaf is vigorously twitching in her sleep."

Flowerstorm shook her head swiftly, "Sorry, I'm just incredibly tired. What about grass sleep?"

Grunting, Ashfrost scruffed the medicine cat and started dragging her to Frostleaf.

"Hey! I can walk by myself!" The medicine cat growled.

"Look!" The queen released Flowerstorm and pointed with her tail at the twitching Frostleaf.

Flowerstorm gasped and bent over Frostleaf, nudging her, "Wake up, Frostleaf!"

With some more nudging and panicking, Frostleaf grunted awake. Her twitching stopped. However, as soon as she tried to stand up, the white queen fell down and started meowing to herself in pain.

"Get you and your kits out of here, Ashfrost."

"Why?"

"Frostleaf is giving birth, that's why!" Flowerstorm huffed. "Now out!"

Ashfrost gathered her kits by surrounding them with her tail and nudged them out of the nursery.

"Come on, let's give Frostleaf some privacy."

Flowerstorm peeked her head out of the nursery, "We can allow three cats in here. Frostleaf has requested Snowberry, Rainfall, and Ashfrost." She then went back to attend to the queen.

Purring with eagerness, Ashfrost followed behind Snowberry and Rainfall into the nursery to see the newly-made mother.

All three sat down a tail-length away to admire and appreciate the kits that Frostleaf and Rainfall had helped bring into LightningClan.

Ashfrost observed that Frostleaf was looking rather fine for a queen who just gave birth. Besides that, there were three bundles beside her. 

Flowerstorm flicked her tail, "The brown one is a tom, the dilute tortoiseshell is a she-cat, and the calico is also a she-cat."

Frostleaf purred as her three kits suckled beside her. She looked up at Rainfall, "I want to name the tortie Dapplekit."

"What a pretty name," Rainfall purred. "The tom has to be Shrewkit though."

"Alright," she tilted her head happily. "What about the last one?"

"Sorrelkit," they said at the same time before erupting into laughter.

Ashfrost purred as she admired the new arrivals. But with Sootpelt's recent odd behavior, she couldn't help but think. Would they be safe?