BEHELIT | return with kits

[SOOTSPOT]

She had reminded him of his sister. A long-furred silver tabby, stripes as pale as the sunpool's waters, blue eyes heavy with her burden, and white paws dragging across the floor as if each step was agonising. He didn't know her name, or how her circumstances had led her to have to take care of three young kittens on her own, but in the end, he felt as if he was doing her a favour. No cat would have a greater chance in life than if it was raised in WindClan, especially a loner, that would have to choose between permanent isolation, DuskClan, or SkyClan. Just by merit of his birth, he had given her kittens opportunities that they'd never have gotten with her as a mother, and as he traversed the tunnels with one bundle in his mouth and two others wobbling behind, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride at their rescue from mediocrity. They would be his kin, doted upon like the princes and princesses they deserved to be. But, even if he'd rescued them, he'd done it for himself.

Already he'd seen the affection they held for him, just by uttering the word father. It was a love he'd long lost from his mother, a love his siblings had never held for him, nor his clan - it was unconditional, unchallenged by trivial things like morality - it was real. Never before had he felt a familial love as strong as this one, already he wanted to tell them all about WindClan and the great things they would accomplish. First though, was convincing his clan. Almost as if she'd sensed his desire to be needed, Cottonsprig had brought in a rejected runt, laden with sickness to make his argument for fatherhood a more difficult one. But, regardless, she would support him. Bluefrost would support him too. For, if they didn't, they would burn, and the very clan they'd betrayed him for would send them to their mother.

He poked his head out of the tunnel closest to the camp, carrying a small bundle of brown and black fur within his muzzle. His eyes were wide, grave with horrors he'd imagined to the point of being real to him. Shakily, he placed the she-kitten unto the soft earth, and, with a rasp to his voice, called "Come, little ones. Quickly. You will be safe here." Soon after, with any luck, two more kittens would emerge, one with a black-and-white pelt, the other with blue, pointed patches. As he looked back, he tried to smile, but, upon seeing the first few clanmates toss glances his way, his expression betrayed itself, jaw slackened and tongue lolled with exertion. His chest rose heavy and quick, reaching a state of near-panic. "Badger... they... it..." He squeezed his eyes shut, maw moving up and down but no words emerged - a silent count to steady his breathing.

"I saved them, before it got them too. I tried to take them to the Horseplace, but they would not listen. They called me dada, stuck to me like burrs. I... I want to do right by them. Being their father... it is the right thing to do."

[ @NIGHTKIT! @bramblekit - @heatherkit ]

[ retro to cotton's disappearance! ]

​

 

[BLUEFROST]

Bluefrost almost cannot believe her eyes when Sootspot barrels from the tunnels, dust running in rivulets down his stormcloud coat. There's something wild in his green eyes, something that nears panic, and at his charcoal-dusted paws are scraps, tiny kits who mewl, bewildered by their circumstances. She tastes the air, suspicion beginning to prickle through her fur, but she scents no blood. They'd not been harmed, at least, either by the badger her brother claims had been after them or by their so-called savior.

Her tongue is thick with distrust, distaste, as she levels her sibling with a glare. "I tried to take them to the Horseplace, but they would not listen," he says, claiming the children clumped into his fur like burrs, called him 'father'.

She shudders with revulsion. A paw instinctively goes to her swollen stomach.

"You're going to be their father?" Incredulity flashes through her emerald eyes, but she remembers her brother's threatening hiss. "Careful," he'd said. "I am being merciful." She thinks of Cottonsprig, of the secret she harbors in her own belly, and Bluefrost winces as though she's trod on a thorn.

Stars damn him. She forces herself to swing her gaze onto the pitiful kits her brother has brought into camp. She wants to scream, but she forces herself to murmur, "I shall get Sunstar."

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Bluekit . Bluepaw . Bluefrost, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 17 moons old, ages realistically on the 14th.
  — mentored by Sootstar ; mentoring Brackenpaw ; previously mentored n/a.
  — windclan lead warrior and queen. sootstar x weaselclaw, gen 2.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh blue smoke she-cat with white and emerald eyes. aloof, dignified, poised, haughty, composed, distant.
  
  

​

 

[NIGHTKIT!]

It had been a long and exhausting day, and so very confusing. Only this morning he had woken up in a familiar place, snuggled up by his mother's warm belly while breathing in her safe and comfortable scent. From that to being in this strange place with nothing familiar about it. No warmth, no belly to nuzzle into, and no scent that smelled like mom's. To make matters worse his paws hurt after having walked what felt like forever, never before had he been expected to walk this far. If anything he wished to sleep right now but there was no mom anymore to snuggle himself into. From now on she had been swapped up with 'dad' instead, a unfamiliar word to an unfamiliar face.

Yet, now he suppose, 'dad' was a familiar face, more so then anybody else among this faces beside his siblings.

The kit blinked as he remained by the tunnels entrance, his orbs observing and taking in everything his was able to. There was a conversation going on between 'dad' and the molly who looked confusing similliar to his own mother. But there was enough difference in the apperance for him to know it was not her, sadly. Although the conversation was too much for ears like his to understand there was one word he was able to catch up and understand. Safe. Dad meant safe, and that was what the kit needed right now in this all so overwhelming place.

First step was carefully placed as he stept outside of the tunnel, ears twitching back and forth but the next step was taken more with confidence, and soon he would boldly walk himself right over to the blue furred tom as he reached out a paw and attempted to nudge their front leg with it. " Hangy." He mewed as he stared up at his new provider. Momma had walked out to get them food but she had never returned instead this tom had, and that had been a while ago. Now he was even more hungry then before. How much longer would he have to wait before he got some food?. When would he get to sleep?, and....

when would mom return back?.

So many questions, but all of them could wait until his belly no longer was hungry.



​

 

[heatherkit]

( ⊱✿⊰ ) complaint dances on the tongue of the tiny she-kit as she stumbles beside her brother, frosty eyes widening to make out anything in the darkness of the tunnels. she feels her belly rumble beneath her, a great growl of lion proportions, and wants to let out a whine. it builds in her throat, a bubbling, bursting thing built off of exhaustion and confusion, but sunlight hits her form, and the complaint dissolves into nothingness. the sun warms the girl's fur as she hurries out of the tunnel, a look of revulsion on her face as she turns to eye it suspiciously. dirt clings to her pale fur, inciting a whine that moves from her throat without warning her first. her father murmurs low comforts to her and her siblings, and the girl will move closer to him, weaving herself between his paws and seeking out the comfort and warmth his chest provides.

she cannot say how or why what has happened has happened, only that her mother is no longer here, but her father is. fathers are like mothers in many a way, although the kitten has already searched for milk on him and found none. she's only just started eating prey, and milk used to be an easy source of energy. this tomcat has none, however, disappointing his daughter immensely. seating herself between sootspot's paws, the tiny girl closes her eyes, allowing her muscles to relax in the relative safety of his embrace. his voice grumbles something unknown to a stranger, but the blue-frosted kit barely pays any mind, resting her head against the larger paw of the tomcat she now claims.

her brother mumbles out a truth, and the girl is quick to back him up. "mhm!" she mumbles, tipping her head up to find the older tom's gaze. "ffffood." she blinks at him sweetly, sleepy eyes drooping. her head is empty of all thoughts but eating and sleep, and some odd, warm feeling she feels when she looks at sootspot. "da, we geht food?"

SAY WHAT YOU WANT ⊱✿⊰ BUT SAY IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT

• // "#b2a0bc"
• 
  
  
• HEATHERKIT ⊱✿⊰ SHE / HER, WINDCLAN. DAUGHTER OF SOOTSPOT, SISTER TO BRAMBLEKIT, NIGHTKIT. 3 MOONS, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  
  a longhaired blue lynx point with blue eyes. her body is cloaked in pale snow-white fur, a storm of blue flooding her face, tail, and paws. stripes of darker blue accentuate her eyes nose, and band around her legs. shining eyes stare out from the angular shaped face, a deep, faded blue color.
  

​

 

[bramblekit -]

✦ Any memories of the morning or the days before it already slipping from the kitten's grasp. She had some sense that those days were all the same, in a warm, cozy, comfortable way. Someone to keep her safe and fed, and her siblings at her sides, and the great world beyond might as well have not existed. There was something there - something - was there not? Something... Someone? Yes, her siblings were someones, and her dada was someone, and that other someone was sinking further and further into the murky depths of her memory, blue and silver lost to dark, complete navy. Her mama, maybe. She could ask dada or her siblings about it later.

She had squirmed when she had first been picked up by the scruff, short legs kicking fiercely in search of the ground, but the pressure had quickly become comfort enough. She had swayed from her dada's maw. Back and forth, ocean waves wiping the shore clean. The walk had been long, but she had not been the one to walk it, so that was fine. It had been dark, too, but things were sometimes dark. She had hoped her siblings were okay walking - no, not had hoped. She always hoped her siblings were okay.

It seemed fair, then, that her sister took the spot at dada's paws. The black, brown, and white kitten teetered over to her brother instead, simply standing near dada's legs, though her interest went to the cats around them. She almost fell for looking around so much. Who were they? Some of them looked almost like dada and almost like mama. Did they know mama? Surely everyone knew mama, she was the kitten's whole world. Did they have food? They had to, to be so big and strong. "Share food?" She asked the strangers who are not her mama or dada but who must have food. Oh - they have food, but it is dada's job to give them food, like it was mama's. Her head tilted back to look at dada, her hind legs automatically folding beneath her. "It food time now?"​

 

[SUNSTAR]

✧₊⁺ ️️️ ️️╱ ️️️ ️️ ️️️ Bluefrost does not need to get him. He hears his name and his mind works backwards from there, until the word father is on the front of his mind — until he catches the sharp edge of her voice, which he has seen directed at very few. He exits his den almost quickly enough to knock over the tunneler, @WOLFSONG not far behind from the conversation now-abandoned to the dark. It was a thread easily found again. This, however, was not something that he could miss. For his own sake. Or, apparently, for that of his entire clan.

"You what?" Disbelief is nearly as harsh as his kin's. He worries for a moment that they were indeed Sootspot's own kits, born to some poor cat outside this clan. But they are old enough that he can be uncertain of this, and when he places it alongside the panicked call of badger that had stuck into his mind like a thorn. . . Sootspot's story becomes clear. Loner-born indeed, but not even with the saving grace of Sootspot's tainted blood. They are not born of Sootstar's lineage; their home had never been upon these moors, even if he wishes now he could scrub it clean. They were already clean. Sullied not by the history of the family they were born into, but what they chose.

Sootspot, a father. A horrible notion. A worrisome one. Yet. . . perhaps as he looks upon the young warrior, sheltering a litter by his paws — he sighs sharply between his teeth. "Give them something to eat," Sunstar exhales, not yet commenting on the rest.

𝐈 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐌 𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐒 ╱ ️️️ ( 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝗕𝐀𝐃 𝐃𝐎𝐆 ) ️️️ ️️️ ⌞06.17⌝ 🟒ᨒ

• 

  ✧₊⁺ ️️️ ️️╱ ️️️ ️️ ️️️ OOC. —
  

  

  ᯓ✧ ️️️ ️️ ️️️ 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑. SUNSTRIDE. SUNNVAR.
  ᯓ✧ ️️️ ️️ ️️️ MASC ️️️ & ️️️ AMAB, ️️️ HE – HIM – HIS.
  ᯓ✧ ️️️ ️️ ️️️ SECOND LEADER OF ️️️ WINDCLAN.
  ᯓ✧ ️️️ ️️ ️️️ NINE LIVES: ️️️ ⋆ ️️️ ⋆ ️️️ ⋆ ️️️ ⋆ ️️️ ⋆ ️️️ ⋆ ️️️ ⋆̴͖̻̌͛ ⋆̵̼͈̐̿̓̏͝ ⋆̶̬́̀

• 
  a large chocolate and white rosette tom with seaglass eyes. the first thing many see when looking at sunstar now is not his proud posture or boxy build, but the scarred stump that remains of his front left leg. a wound that would have killed most other cats took one of his lives; not even starclan could repair it.
  
  
  a rogue brought to windclan in a search for greatness, one of sootstar's most loyal warriors turned into her downfall. with a mate and kits to worry about, and now nine lives from starclan with a missing limb, windclan's leader has much to prove.

• "speech"

​

 

[SOOTSPOT]

His eyes sharpened just a moment at Bluefrost's disbelief, revulsion propelling the muscles within his stomach to tighten. Her very existence had caused this, yet she dared question his chance to be a father?! He wanted to remind her that this was her fault, that he wouldn't feel such a compulsion to be needed if she had just left with DuskClan or if she'd never been born, but even as anger ignited his blue-blooded veins, he could not find his entitlement entirely truthful. His siblings were a symptom moreso than a cause. You're going to be their father? She questioned, and his ears flattened in his determination. "I must." All other paths had been closed before him, except for the one where he was able to create a family free from StarClan's vile curse upon his blood.

He heard them stir beneath him, reminded once more of their presence, and cast his chartreuse gaze downwards. They played their parts better than he could've ever imagined, calling him da, asking for food - pride welled in his heart at how quickly they had learned, how quickly he had taught them. Sootspot lowered his voice, his tone absent of anything but sincerity. "A good WindClanner does not neglect a kit in danger, and... if these kittens want me to be there for them, then I shall move the moors themselves to make it possible. I am their hero, and they are my heroes too, for giving me a chance to be something I have always wanted to be." At least, something he had always wanted to be since about a half-moon ago, conveniently around the same time he had learned of Cottonsprig's treachery.

She had not been his motivation, but he hoped it hurt her all the same. When the third of the three kittens asked for food, Sootspot finally responded with a dove-like coo. "In a moment, kittens. We just have to wait for someone very important." Kittens, ugh, they would need names, names fitting of his children. Loners they may have been, the mantle of inferiority would not burden them any longer - they would be WindClanners, strong and capable, and even if Sunstar wouldn't approve, the chimera's mind had been made up. His pupils darted towards Sunstar, who was equally as surprised as his council member, and he did his best not to appear offended. "They are unaware of the danger they had been in... I could not let them die." His insinuation was clear - even if Sunstar saw him as a many-fanged serpent, Sootspot had been a hero.

He felt twice as heroic when the rosette tabby relented, offering the little ones food. A weary smile planted upon his maw, fatigue lining his gestures as he gently nudged the one-moon olds. "Thank you. Come, let me show you where you can get food." With that, he hoped to guide them to the Nursery, his tail slowly swaying behind him.

​

 

[dimmingsun]

The next time another one of their warriors returns home with more little lives held between tightly-clasped jaws, Dimmingsun does not have it in him to be surprised. He does not feel the pull at his features; there is no need for his eye to widen, or for his mouth to warp into a little o shape in wonder. This is not the first, nor second time — and despite how innocent those little furballs are, a prickle of disapproval finds him.

Decisions like these ultimately fall upon Sunstar's weary shoulders. Lead warrior or not, Dimmingsun does not have enough right to try and sway the final verdict... and despite everything, despite the nagging danger of acquiring even more unfamiliar mouths to feed right before leaf-fall sets in, he would not have it in him to turn such vulnerable kittens away. It is a tough, delicate thing; should WindClan keep to itself, even when they get the chance to save such innocence? The other Clans might deem them cruel enough for it. Dimmingsun knows better — Sunstar knows better, because even if a bit of disdain finds that handsome face of his, he yields.

Even if the self-proclaimed caretaker is... well.

"Oh, Sootspot, I've never thought you to be the paternal type," he muses, tiptoes neatly around the swiftly gathering cats. Amusement is ever-present... and although many of their Clanmates glare at Sootspot without much pleasantries, Dimmingsun's voice does not turn sour or mean. He does deserve a chance at this, does he not? Even if he is even quicker to turn the story into his favor, a clear opportunity to make himself shine.

Really, Dimmingsun understands the notion to a degree. The moment seems to go on too fast — curious eyes linger, dutiful order is uttered so the kits can become more comfortable — but he allows himself to indulge in his own sets of inquiries. "Thought of names yet?"
​