untold secrets [ever&pit

[Rendezvous]

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A group of birds flocked from their perches in the trees, alarmed by the scent of a predator lurking on the ground below. The calico would have usually caught something by now, unfortunately the weight in her belly was becoming a burden. She didn't want anyone to know her condition, so she had to work twice as hard to make it seem as though she was completely normal. Panting, the warrior ditched the idea of catching a flighty bird and set her sights on a rather plump squirrel that was trying its best to climb up a nearby tree.

Lowering into a stalking position, the she-cat padded forward step by step before jumping and sinking her claws into the squirrel, dragging it back to the ground with her as she landed with a solid thump. Shaking her spotted frame, she pawed at the furry critter before collecting it in her jaws. Back to camp. She thought as she turned and headed back to camp, her calico frame disappearing into the tunnel and reappearing in the familiar Thunderclan clearing.

Passing between a mentor and apprentice pair, she dropped the squirrel onto the fresh-kill pile. As she looked down at her white paws, she realized just how tired she was. The she-cat had been trying to act like a normal warrior, eat like a normal warrior. She didn't want to be a queen. She didn't want any cat to think of her as weak by carrying the kits of a tom that wasn't even her mate, someone she didn't even love! Brightheart remembered how persuasive the tom sounded that day, and look how much trouble she had gotten herself into now.

Deciding against eating, the calico padded into the medicine cat den, looking around for any signs of the familiar tom, Fogheart. She didn't feel well, but she couldn't let the medicine cat know what was going on either. It was none of his business, she didn't want the gray cat to laugh at her, to spread the news all around camp. "Fogheart, do you have anything for bellyache?" She meowed quietly as she took in the different scents of herbs.

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Fogheart sat with his tail wrapped lightly around his paws, poking through his herbs, searching out the wilted leaves and crushed berries and tossing them idly to the side. The plump and healthy herbs he brushed back into piles in the cracked rock that made up his den. He did this every couple of days to keep track of his stocks, and always came out of it freshly coated in the sharp scents of his herbs. Fogheart never quite smelled like other cats. He smelled more of plants than of cat, and he quite frankly liked it that way.

Brightcloud's soft voice pulled Fogheart's attention away from his work. His ears pricked and he turned in place, twisting his head to look over his shoulder at the calico she-cat. He had been keeping his eye on her the past days. Really, he had been keeping an eye on her since she was an apprentice, but more recently Fogheart had noticed her belly growing heavier. At first he thought that perhaps she had simply been having a bit more than her share of fresh-kill, but he knew better now. He had seen that tired look in her eyes before, that discomfort, and the longer it went on the more certain he was that Brightcloud was heavy with kits.

"Of course," Fogheart mewed, pushing himself to his paws. He slipped into the back of his den and emerged with a small hunk of chervil root for her to chew. The gray tom deposited it softly on the moss in front of her, then sat back down and curled his tail over his paws. "Are you sure that's really what you need?"

[pit]

kitecry

The tom's gray and white coat didn't mix all that well with the blooming trees and the fresh, swaying grass. He still managed to catch quite the load, though, and had a limp squirrel hanging from his jaws. The ThunderClan warrior was heading toward the two thrushes he had caught earlier. It had been a particularly restless night for him last night, though he wasn't too sure of why. Usually the presence of Brightcloud was enough to gently lull him to sleep. She always carried a certain aura that made him calm. Perhaps that is why they are such good friends.

His needle-point claws dug at the earth, unpacking the dirt that covered the feathered prey. He nosed the birds out of the hole and opened his jaws wider. A wing on each bird caught in his mouth. Kitecry lifted his head, struggling to keep the bundle in his mouth. He probably looked like a complete idiot, but hey, at least he wouldn't have to pad back out and find the last bird. His paw pads were sore enough as it was. He flicked his tail and headed along the path he knew would take him home.

His large paws made little sound upon the ground. It was something his mentor had been very good at and Kitecry was pleased that the talent had been passed down. His green eyes flickered here and there, ears perking at every bird call. He was so lost in it all that a dangling wing of a thrush got caught under his paw and he stumbled forward, landing on his face. He winced as his side hit the ground after, and one of the birds slipped from his grip. Kitecry mentally sighed. So much for grace. The warrior turned his head around to examine the impact, and noticed his left shoulder was bleeding a bit. The warrior shoved himself off the ground and grasped for the wing of a thrush again, before letting his paws lead him once more.

Upon entering camp, the tom stopped quickly at the freshkill pile. He let the two birds fall and kept the squirrel in his jaws. If he was going to see Fogheart anyway, he might as well bring the medicine cat a meal. Kitecry turned around and padded towards the tom's den, blinking rapidly as he readjusted to the darker setting. He was surprised to see the back of Brightcloud in the den, as well, and his ears perked. He dropped the squirrel by his paws. "Fogheart, I thought you might be hungry," he mentioned quietly, before turning his worried gaze to his best friend. "Brightcloud--are you all right? Why are you here?" he fought to keep his voice from betraying any sort of panic he had. Anyway, it might be a thorn in the paw or something. He shouldn't get worked up so easily.

[Rendezvous]

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Brightcloud knew that she didn't have a bellyache, but what else could she say? This is when her reputation for being silent actually came in handy. She simply nodded to the medicine cat as he dropped the chervil root at her paws. She examined the brown root with distaste, but she had to put on a show to make her excuse believable. As she lowered her head to chew on the root, she heard the voice of another cat.

Kitecry. She thought as she raised her head and looked over her shoulder. "Bellyache." She murmured softly before taking the root in her jaws and chewing on it, almost spitting it out for the root was completely bitter. Brightcloud tried to continue chewing on the root, but unfortunately she was forced to spit the root out, obviously her body was telling her that this wasn't what it needed. It needed rest, food, things that she was not providing.

The she-cat sighed and pushed the root away. "Thank you Fogheart." She meowed in gratitude as she got to her paws. Her eyes were the mirrored reflections of exhaustion, yet she refused to sleep, to succumb to her untold secrets. "I feel much better now." Her voice was empty of the emotion she was trying to present, the poor she-cat wasn't exactly one of the best liars in the clan. She wanted to leave the medicine cat den and hunt for her clan, to pretend that she wasn't in this position right now, but her paws wouldn't move. The pads of her paws were sore from running in the forest in a mad attempt to catch everything she could find.

Casting her gaze to the ground, she reluctantly laid down on the cool floor. "I'm so tired.." She meowed quietly, mostly to herself as she rested her head on her paws, looking to her dear friend Kitecry, but not wanting to meet his gaze. Flameheart had been her friend to, but look what had happened to that friendship. It had been burned, blackened beyond repair. She feared that if Kitecry knew her secret, he too would break her by telling their clanmates, giving them something to spread rumors about throughout the clans.

Flameheart wasn't exactly a saint, so he wasn't the best of candidates to have father your kits, especially if you were just a common fling. Dragging her gaze away from Kitecry, she looked back to the chervil root, studying the little knobs that made up the structure of the dirty root. "It must have been something I ate, I'm sure I'll be better by the morning." She meowed to Fogheart, but deep down she already knew she had dug a hole for herself.

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Fogheart had it in his head that he was going to challenge Brightcloud and make her admit what was going on. It was unhealthy for the she-cat - no, he corrected himself, for the queen - to be living the life of a warrior when she had kits inside of her. Unhealthy for the kits, too, and Fogheart did not like the idea of delivering a dead litter in a moon or so. Kitecry's entrance, however, made that conversation impossible. He could not believe Brightcloud might not know what was going on, so he had to assume she wanted no cat to know. Even Fogheart, though of course trying to fool a medicine cat on this point was a foolish move.

Nevertheless, Fogheart considered it an important part of his role not to tell other cats' secrets. Especially where emotions were concerned. Fogheart was not only here to heal his Clan physically, he was also meant to be a source of comfort and confidence. Many cats came to him with secrets or doubts, for help with relationships, and Fogheart never - unless it was a matter of life or death - gave them away.

Turning to greet his new patient, Fogheart caught sight of the squirrel first. His stomach growled and cramped slightly. The medicine cat had to wonder how long it had been since he last ate. He did not doubt he had gone all day, and quite possibly into the previous day. The last meal he remembered was a small mouse at sun-high the previous day, before an excursion to collect fresh catmint. The scent of fresh blood, however, stole Fogheart's mind from food as quickly as food had stolen it from Brightcloud.

Heaving a sigh, Fogheart stepped over to Kitecry. He slipped past the squirrel, sniffing the blood on the tom's shoulder. It was a shallow scrape, if particularly dirty. Kitecry was in no danger, and Fogheart doubted he was in all that much pain. Nevertheless, Fogheart had learned long ago to overdo his precautions. It saved him a lot of time, and his patients a lot of pain. Fogheart turned to look at Brightcloud. He gestured with his tail towards the soft, mossy nests on the side of his clearing.

"Go rest," he instructed her softly. He would have let her lie where she had gone down, but she was between him and his herbs, and no medicine cat worked well with other cats underpaw. "I'll be over to speak with you in a minute, alright?"

The instant he turned to Kitecry, Fogheart's tone was no longer gentle. Perhaps it was because Kitecry was a tom, and Fogheart was always freer with toms, or perhaps it was because Kitecry was in considerably better condition than Brightcloud. Either way, he reached up with one paw and slapped it across Kitecry's ears.

"How'd you get yourself this one, then?" he demanded, turning and flicking his tail for Kitecry to follow. He vanished into his den and re-emerged hopping on three paws, the fourth bound in a wad of cobwebs.

[Rendezvous]

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Brightcloud silently obeyed the medicine cat, getting to her paws and relocating to a comfortable moss nest. After all, she had been in the way of the tom's herb storage, and she didn't want to be in the way. She settled back down, her eyes watching Fogheart and Kitecry with interest. Judging from the light scent of blood in the air, it seemed as if the warrior had injured himself. Probably fell on his face again. The she-cat thought, knowing that her clanmate was known to be a little clumsy at times. But that's what sets him apart from everyone else. We all have our perks. Brightcloud's 'perk' unfortunately happened to be deathly silent half of the day. Pretty interesting, right?

She couldn't visualize herself as medicine cat, always looking after the sick, and then occasionally having the guilt of a cat dying at your paws. She couldn't handle all of that burden on her shoulders. Perhaps that's why she respected the medicine cat, they were as mentally strong as leaders, if not stronger. Fogheart came off as a bit irritable at times, especially with the toms, yet Brightcloud didn't really know why nor did she want to know why. One could easily question why she was so quiet, but she didn't want to relive the past so she didn't poke around in another cat's business.

"Don't go, Kitecry." She meowed after hearing the tabby tom's last comment. The tom was the only friend she had at the moment, seeing that she had scratched Flameheart from her list, he was bad news and she intended to steer away from him, even though that sounded next to impossible when you shared the same clan, and den. She wished she could confide in someone about her fears, but she held herself back. She was afraid of what cats would think of her, but wouldn't that selfish? She was trying to protect her own reputation, yet she was putting the very lives of her kits at risk while she figured out if she wanted to tell another cat.

She wasn't taking care of herself, she was simply behaving like a normal warrior. Yet normal warriors didn't carry kits in their belly. The calico was halfway through her first moon, so she couldn't fill any movement in her belly. Brightcloud knew that she carried life there, it was strange how a mother knew when their body was preparing to bring life into the world, wasn't it?

Brightcloud was tired of harboring secrets. If she didn't tell someone what was on her mind, she'd go crazy. "You know, don't you Fogheart?" She looked to the medicine cat, half wishing he would say no yet her heart already knew that Fogheart knew the truth. After all, he was a medicine cat, they were experienced and knew what to expect with just about any cat. Kitecry didn't know though. He had no idea what Brightcloud was experiencing and she wanted it to stay that way, she didn't want anyone's pity.

Kneading her paws on the soft green moss, she meowed "I am expecting kits." She hoped she hadn't gone about the wrong idea, if Kitecry was a good friend, he'd keep his mouth shut, and if Fogheart was a good medicine cat, he'd do the same. "I do not have a mate." She muttered, wanting to cuff Flameheart around the ears one good time. Perhaps one day she'd reveal who the father of her kits would be, and what a sight those kits would be. Both of their parents were brilliant calicos, what would the kits even look like?

It didn't matter because the she-cat would love them just the same. She wouldn't tell them of their father, for he was no good for them anyway and may just poison their little brains with his sweet words and arrogance. "I am sorry, Kitecry." She meowed to the tom, hoping her best friend wouldn't think any less of her due to her status. "I will remain a warrior, I do not wish for any cat to know of this." She finished, still retaining her stubborn streak.

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Fogheart unwound the bit of cobweb from his forepaw and pressed it gently into the cut on Kitecry's shoulder. He could tell already that it was a shallow wound. He could tell that just from the mildness of the scent of blood. It did not take much cobweb, or much effort, to dab away the blood, and the bleeding had already largely come to a stop.

It was, perhaps, good fortune that his patient was easy to treat. As soon as Brightcloud spoke to him Fogheart more things to focus on than he could have handled if Kitecry's wounds had been serious. With a slight sigh and an irritable flick of his striped gray tail, Fogheart nodded.

"Of course I do," he answered simply, pulling back the soiled cobwebs. He left them on the ground nearby, to be cleaned up later, probably by his moody apprentice. He turned from Kitecry once again and vanished into his den, only to re-emerge with the soft yellow petals and green leaves of a marigold plant. He set them in front of Kitecry and gave the tom a stern look. "Chew these up. He ordered without much explanation. He needed to keep the over-anxious tom out of his way as best he could while he spoke to Brightcloud. Even if the young queen was alright with Kitecry knowing, there were things the medicine cat needed dealt with first. And he could not do everything at once.

Turning gracefully, the gray tom padded across to the nest where Brightcloud lay. He ducked his head to nose softly at her belly, testing it. He had learned long ago to determine how far along a she-cat was just by touch. It was a rough estimate, but he placed her well into her first month. Too far along for the work she had been doing.

"You can't continue this way," Fogheart told her simply. He turned and returned - again - to the medicine den. He returned with a mouthful of chamomile leaves and set them at Brightcloud's side. He nudged them forward with one small, tabby paw. "Eat these. They'll help you relax, and give you strength." With a long sigh, he sat down beside her nest. The look he gave her was not unkind. It was terribly soft and sympathetic. Though Fogheart would never know what it was like to be in that situation, he had seen it before, and he knew it was hard. Many a she-cat did not wish to become a queen when they did. Though, of course, he had no way of knowing the exact circumstances of her pregnancy.

"If you keep working like this, Brightcloud, you're going to kill your kits." Fogheart knew it was not a delicate or kind thing to say, but it got his point across. Right now that was what was important. Treating Brightcloud gently would only encourage her now. "You need more food, and more sleep. Running and jumping the way you've been isn't good for any of you." As it was, there was already a risk of stillborn kits. Fogheart had seen the delicate newborns die under less stress.

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kitecry

His mind was reeling to the point of being dizzy. He wanted to shove the medicine cat away from him, to make Fogheart leave him be as he pushed the cobweb onto his shoulder. He should be looking after Brightcloud. But why should he be? All this confusion made his stomach knot and his head spin. A growl threatened to escape his throat but the tom choked it down, trying not to loose composure. Kitecry slid his claws into the earth for support. His chest rose and fell quicker than normal, but he hoped that was his only giveaway to what he was feeling. This was not about him, this was about his best friend. He just wanted to know what was going on with her. He needed to know. Kitecry only vaguely noticed the plant placed in front of him.

"Don't go, Kitecry."

His eyes instantly locked to Brightcloud as she began speaking. His heart pulsed quickly in his ears and he had to struggle to actually hear her quiet but stubborn voice. The ThunderClan warrior felt himself relax a little. No, he would never leave her. Never. Others had left her, he knew, and he would not be one of those. He cared about her too much. Whatever this was, and he braced himself for the worst, he would not go. His green eyes flicked to Fogheart when the calico asked if he knew. He felt an intensity wash over him that he rarely saw in himself. Kitecry's ears were forward, alert.

"I am expecting kits."

The warrior blinked a few times out of shock, but felt all the jumbled thoughts of his fall and shatter like glass. His mind was clear, now, and he allowed himself to calm. It wasn't a deadly illness, but it was something that needed to be addressed. No wonder she'd been so tired these past suns. He knew that she needed to stop all of the hunting and patrolling she'd been doing. Surely it wasn't good for her kits. He nodded gently when she told them she had no mate. He didn't think she did. Though, in the back of his mind, he wondered why the father would not want to stay with her. Who wouldn't?

"I am sorry, Kitecry." Sorry? Why was she sorry? His heart constricted in his chest when she said that and his breathing increased. He was torn when she told both of them to keep the secret, that she wanted to continue being a warrior. He looked to Fogheart; certainly the medicine cat wouldn't allow that? It would be dangerous not only for the kits but for Brightcloud herself. He was a bit lost in his head when Fogheart scurried around, pressing her belly and giving her things to chew. His breath hitched in his throat, but he managed to speak up around it. He did not want to see her go through this journey by herself. She didn't deserve that.

"Brightcloud, I will help you raise your kits, if you let me," Kitecry murmured. He kneaded his claws into the ground. "You shouldn't have to do this alone. I want to help you," the tabby tom added. He left it there. It was no time to push her.

[Rendezvous]

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She didn't complain when the medicine cat yet again presented her with herbs, this time they were chamomile leaves. She didn't complain, she simply ate the leaves just as Fogheart had instructed of her. She was stubborn, not stupid. She knew that it wasn't healthy for her to continue on at full force with her duties. Surely jostling her unborn kits around in her belly like that wasn't healthy. Kill my kits? Blue eyes widened in fear at the thought of losing something she had yet to even know. At that realization, she instantly thought of her mother who died giving birth to Larkpaw. Her mother didn't even get the chance to know her last daughter, couldn't even name her, before joining the ranks of Starclan. So little Larkpaw grew up without a mother, and was forced to be raised up by a queen that wasn't her birth mother.

If Brightcloud continued to neglect herself, there was a slim chance her kits would survive, but who was to say she would be strong enough to survive the kitting? She didn't want her kits to end up without a mother, they were already going to be fatherless. The thought frightened her, and she looked at her paws. "Okay, I will treat myself better..for my kits." They deserved a chance at a normal life, they didn't have any say in how they were brought into the world, so Brightcloud would make the choice for them. She would take better care of herself so that she wouldn't doom whatever fate lay in the near future for her.

Brightcloud looked to Fogheart, her mind not able to grasp the idea of motherhood. "What do I do? I don't want to hurt my kits..." She spoke softly to the medicine cat. Why should she worry about saving herself from the humiliation of being a mateless mother? Who cared what other cats thought in the first place? As a mother to-be, she would do what was right for her kits. Whether she liked it or not, she couldn't do her duties like she normally would have done. She would have to take a step back and slow down.

She didn't want anyone's pity so when Kitecry offered to help raise her kits, her ears immediately flattened against her head. "I do not want your pity, Kitecry. I have been fooled enough for one lifetime." Her usual soft words were sharp, but there was a hint of fear buried in the she-cat's tone as well. I don't want to be hurt again. She didn't want to be tricked. She didn't want anyone's pity, or their apologies. She had had enough of pity in her life. When her mother had passed, she had received the occasional look of pity, or even the phrase, 'I'm so sorry, Brightcloud.' She didn't want to hear it! Feeling sorry for another cat didn't fix anything, especially when it wasn't possible to turn back time.

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"You need to take it easy," Fogheart answered simply. He glanced towards Kitecry, gray ears flicking, as they often did when he thought. "I know you want to keep it secret. Either that means telling Nightstar and and Wildfang so they can decrease your duties, or staying here with me." He looked back down to Brightcloud. "We can claim you're ill. But I don't like lying to my leader."

Fogheart was in no way surprised by Kitecry's next offer. He was a kind cat, and clearly very attached to Brightcloud. It would be a deep advantage to have Kitecry helping Brightcloud, Fogheart knew. Brightcloud was going to need the help. After the way she had been treating herself, she would need to be watched, and Fogheart had an entire Clan to look after. He could not afford to devote every minute of his time to one overly stubborn queen. Brightcloud's words cut through that hope. Fogheart turned to her, his ears slightly flattened in a combination of shock and irritation. Brightcloud was clearly scared, upset about whatever had happened to her, but Fogheart refused to be too gentle with her. She was a queen with kits and she was going to have to learn to deal with that.

"Kitecry did not offer pitty," Fogheart told her, not even attempting to hide the sharpness in his tone. He would not have two cats hurting each other across his medicine den, even verbally. This was a place where peace was made, not broken. "He offered aid. And you, Brightcloud, are going to need all the aid you can get in the next moon."

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kitecry

At first, the tabby tom wasn't sure what made him speak the words that had made his dear friend freeze in her place. Certainly they had been quite bold. Kitecry didn't really have a reputation for these things, as he mostly kept his own opinions to himself. But this felt like the time to throw caution into the wind, because Brightcloud could not do this alone, no matter what she told herself. She needed someone to lean on and ease the weight of kits. Kitecry had been friends with the pretty calico for longer than he can remember, and it just felt right to ask. He wanted to be the one she could rely on to get her through this difficult time.

He felt some of his stiffness ease away when she realized that the way she was acting was effecting her kits' lives. She needed to relax, and eventually head to the nursery, though Fogheart will know when she needs to. He shifted slightly on his paws and glanced at the she-cat, his eyes lingering too long on her belly. It wasn't too swollen, obviously, because he hadn't noticed it. He wasn't quite sure how she'd react, and he found himself holding his breath.

The gray warrior wasn't really expecting her sudden anger to be turned to him. He flattened his ears back against his head and let her vent without interruption. Pity? He--he hadn't offered in pity. He had offered because he cared too much about her to bear her struggling with this. No she-cat should have to go through pregnancy alone without a mate to guide her through. Not that he knew that much about kits or even raising kits, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do his best. He supposed every cat was once a beginner at parenthood, and they learned from experience. He would do the same, if he ever got Brightcloud to agree.

Kitecry was about to open his mouth to clarify what exactly he had meant, but to his surprise, Fogheart spoke up for him. His ears perked back up again, and he turned to look at the medicine cat. When he was finished, the gray warrior flashed him a small smile in thanks before turning his attention to Brightcloud. He briefly closed his eyes to gain back the courage he had a few heartbeats ago. "Brightcloud, I want to do this. Please, I hate to see you struggle," he explained, flicking his tail tip. "You mean too much to me. I want to help you through this."

[Rendezvous]

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No, the tom wasn't offering pity. Brightcloud knew that she would need help for she couldn't do this on her own. She was afraid and she couldn't stay in the medicine cat den, trying to hide herself from the clan and suffer in silence. She couldn't exactly keep her pregnancy a secret forever either. "I will tell Nightstar and I will not do as many duties as I have done before." She didn't want to have to give birth to lifeless kits, she did not want to have to go through the horror of living through the pain for the rest of her life. "Thank you Fogheart." She meowed softly her voice barely a hushed whisper.

Sure, the kit's father may be completely horrible but that didn't mean she would have to be a bad parent. Pricking her ears she listened to the words that flowed from her friend's lips. He had only wanted to help, and Fogheart's sharp words snapped her out of stubborn streak. "You are my friend..I would appreciate the help." She responded, getting up from the mossy nest. The nest had starting to feel quite comfortable to her in the last few moments and she absolutely didn't want to take up space in the medicine cat den by falling asleep.


"I know you mean well." She smiled towards the tabby warrior, a small smile brightening her features. Not many cats would want to step up and offer to help during such a stressful time, yet Kitecry was more than a friend, he was her best friend, probably the only one she would have and she shouldn't take his kindness for granted. "I apologize for my rudeness earlier." She addressed both of the toms. Brightcloud was usually the silent, yet friendly type so it wasn't normal for her to snap at her own clan mate.

Glancing at her fur she only just realized how poorly it looked. Usually straightened and smoothed out by a few good groomings, her multi-colored fur stuck up in a few places with dust in some areas, burrs in other places. "I'll take better care of myself, I will not neglect my kits." Her voice was strong, and somehow fierce something that had never come from the quiet she-cat thus meaning that she meant every word and would stand by her promise.

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Fogheart flicked his tail with some semblance of irritability and came up onto all four paws. He stalked over to Kitecry and ducked down to collect a few of the leaves he had left for the tom to chew. Crouching down, Fogheart began his work, mashing the leaves into a pulp that could be applied to Kitecry's relatively shallow wound. Already, there was little chance of infection from that scratch, but Fogheart just had to make sure.

Especially now that Kitecry was going to be involved with Brightcloud's kits. The she-cat was already in for a hard time, she did not need to lose both her best friend and the only tom who was likely to step up and take over for whichever tom had gotten her pregnant and fallen short of a father. The thought made Fogheart gnash his teeth harder through the leaves, tail lashing across the moss. He hated toms like that. If he were not a medicine cat and sworn to healing, he would have ripped the ears off of every single one of them. And possibly their tails, too. He would have liked to see them flailing around trying to climb a tree to escape his wrath, without their tails to balance them out.

By the time the poultice was mixed, Fogheart had completely lost track of Kitecry and Brightcloud's conversation. He glanced between them. They did not seem irritated with one another, which was good. Perhaps things really were going to work out. Gathering some of the poultice up, Fogheart slapped it gently over Kitecry's wound and patted it down.

"Do not try to clean this off," Fogheart warned the tom firmly. "Not until tonight. It needs time to sink in or it will never work."

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kitecry

He felt himself relax when Brightcloud promised not only the toms but herself that she would do her best to take care of her kits. Kitecry threw her a smile then, because he knew it wasn't easy for her. She liked to be out in the action, not cooped up in tight quarters. But if she was to be a mother, she had to get used to it. He would be there, though, just as he promised her so. She would not have to do this alone anymore.

A warm rush of affection shot through his veins when Brightcloud turned her brilliant smile on him. He returned one simply because he couldn't not, and Kitecry flicked his ears. It hit him then that he was actually going to raise kits. Of course, they weren't really his blood, but he would treat them as such. If he was honest with himself, he really did want to settle down with a family, and this was just as good. Brightcloud was his best friend, after all, and he didn't think it could get much better than this.

He rolled his eyes playfully, attempting to lift the mood. "Oh, Brightcloud, I hope you're ready for a lot of fretting. I worry easily, you know." He tossed a light grin at the pretty calico, settling his rump down on the ground. "Though I hope you don't give me much reason to worry," he added carefully, on a serious note. After all this, he didn't think he could bear to witness anything happening to the kits or her. It would be too much, surely it would drive him insane. His green eyes flicked to Fogheart, following his form as he brought some strange-smelling herb over and mashed it up. Over the medicine cat's shoulder he sent Brightcloud a disgusted look, but quickly sobered up when the gray tom looked up again.

"I promise I won't mess with it," he told Fogheart. It looked too gross to mess with, so he'd leave that to the medicine cat.