Bramblestar’s Storm

Lionblaze scrabbled in the leaf-mold with his front claws, ducking his head in embarrassment. “Uh… well… Cinderheart’s such a great cat.”

“And she’ll make a great mother,” Bramblestar meowed. “Lionblaze, this is the best news I’ve heard in moons. Kits are the future of the Clan.”

“I need to ask you something,” Lionblaze went on as they continued toward the lake. “I don’t want Cinderheart fighting the badgers. Will you tell her not to come?”

“I’m not sure any cat can tell Cinderheart what to do,” Bramblestar replied. “But I’ll do my best.”

Of course—Leafpool must know about this, and that’s why she was so worried about Cinderheart fighting! Bramblestar realized. But he was still puzzled. Why couldn’t she just say so?

Lionblaze’s eyes were shining and his paw steps were light as he brushed through the undergrowth. Bramblestar felt his heart warmed by the happiness of the cat he still thought of as his son, and yet concern about the battle hung over him like a stormcloud in an otherwise clear sky.

I must keep Lionblaze safe as well. These kits deserve to grow up with both their parents.

Lionblaze picked up the pace, so that he was the first to burst out of the trees on the shore above the lake. “Look!” he yowled.

Bramblestar hurried to catch up with him, and found him standing next to one of the sticks they had positioned to check the change in water level. Now it stood high and dry several fox-lengths away from the edge of the flood.

“See how far the water has gone down!” Lionblaze exclaimed. “It won’t be long before we can go home. Our kits will be born in the nursery!”

Bramblestar nodded. “Let’s reposition the sticks, and then we’ll go look at the hollow.”

When they had retrieved the sticks and driven them into the ground at the water’s edge, the two cats climbed the slope again until they reached the cliff top. This time they padded right up to the edge and peered over. The water had dropped down far enough to reveal dark shapes rising up, thorny and misshapen by the weight of the flood.

“Look, those branches must be the top of the warriors’ den.” Lionblaze pointed with his tail. “And over there’s the nursery—I can just see the roof with the interwoven brambles.”

Bramblestar crouched beside him, scanning the cliffs where the marks of the flood still remained, and the debris thrown among the tumbled rocks that led up to the Highledge. “It’s going to take a lot of work to rebuild,” he murmured, thinking of how the surging water must have torn all of the nests away, and how much mud and litter would have been swept in on the flood. “But we’ll do it, however long it takes,” he added.

Returning to camp, Bramblestar looked for Cinderheart and found her in the tunnel with Leafpool and Sandstorm. She lay on one side; Bramblestar guessed that Leafpool had been examining her.

“Lionblaze told me about the kits,” Bramblestar announced. “Congratulations, Cinderheart.”

“Thank you,” Cinderheart purred. “I’ve hoped for this for so long.”

“So with the kits in mind,” Bramblestar went on, “I thought you might not want to fight the badgers.”

Cinderheart raised her head, a glint of annoyance in her blue eyes. “I’m expecting kits,” she snapped. “I’m not sick! I can fight just as well as any cat.”

Bramblestar knew she was right, and wasn’t quite sure how to argue with her. He could order her to stay in camp, but he didn’t want to offend her.

While he was still searching for the right words, Sandstorm stretched out a paw and laid it gently on Cinderheart’s flank. “Remember you’re not making decisions for yourself alone now,” she mewed, her voice still hoarse from her attack of whitecough. “You have to think of the kits inside you. Is it fair to put them at risk before they’ve even been born?’

Cinderheart opened her jaws to reply, then hesitated.

“There’ll still be a lot to do in the camp, preparing for the wounded and keeping the fresh-kill pile stocked,” Sandstorm went on.

“I could certainly use the help,” Leafpool added.

The annoyance faded from Cinderheart’s gaze. Finally she nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay,” she meowed. “Sandstorm, what was it like when you were carrying Leafpool and Squirrelflight? What should I do to make sure my kits are born healthy?”

Aware that he couldn’t add anything to this conversation, Bramblestar crept quietly away. None of the she-cats saw him go. Outside the tunnel he spotted Squirrelflight giving herself a quick groom in a patch of sunlight. “Hi,” he meowed, bounding over to her. “Lionblaze just told me some good news: He and Cinderheart are having kits.”

Squirrelflight froze in the middle of drawing her paw over her ear. “Wow!” she exclaimed, her eyes widening. “Our kit having kits! That’s awesome.” A deep purr rumbled up from her chest.