In The Lion's Den {open}

The big fluffy tortoiseshell she-cat sat in the nursery. She hadn't realized she was close to kitting until it was too late to tell Mudmask. She'd always been thick and fluffy, so she didn't even realize anything was wrong until she started getting horrible stomach pains and went to Mistedsong about it. The news had been shocking. She'd been in the nursery for Icekit, the kit she'd found in the snow. While in there, she'd taken a poor little orphan named Lionkit under her wing. She loved both of her toms with her whole heart, and she would love these new little ones just as fiercely. She wished she'd had been able to Mudmask, but she hadn't been to their night visits in long because of the painful kicking.

She was humming to herself, grooming her fur. "Ouch!" She yelped as a familiar fast succession of three kicks came. "That's it! One of you will be Swiftkit, little scandalous rascals!" She purred good humorly. A noise made her look up as someone walked in.

The creamy orange tom-kit had been stalking around camp, his chubby body outlined with kit fur having become a mess as he brushed up against every possible thing that scented of life outside of camp. It's not that he was unhappy with camp life, no, he loves his clanmates, but he longed to get out there and explore the vast expanse of Skyclan's tree filled territory. Lionkit wanted to sink his claws into the bark of a young tree and chase after a squirrel, but as he smacked a soggy leaf under-paw, he realised that he was definitely capable of waiting. The long furred tom, creamy fur awash with crumbled leaves padded over to the nursery to see his adopted mother - though he would consider her as just his mother. Not long after the passing of his own parents, she had taken him in and treated him much like she would with her own kits. As he passed through the entrance to the nursery, a loud purr rumbled through his whole body and he bounded over to the she-cat, burying his muzzle into her neck fur. As often as she did visit, taking care of him and Icekit, she was a warrior and wouldn't spend all her time in the nursery with other queens, and so Lionkit thoroughly enjoyed these moments.

"Breezebranch!" He choked on his purr, rubbing his small head all over her, reviling in her scent and the softness of her fur. "I'm so happy you're here!" The creamy tom was lost in his happiness, until he was rudely kicked. By her stomach. "Breezeee," he whined, hardly registering what had happened, just complaining like a normal kit, "Your stomach kicked me!" He was now a little indignant, not understanding that his adoptive mother would soon bring new kits into the world, instead thinking it was to do with his messy fur.

Breezebranch purred in delight as one of her two favorite kits padded into the nursery. Oh, how she adored being in the nursery and spending time with Icekit and Lionkit, her two charming sons. Of course, they physically weren't hers. Lionkit's parents watched him from StarClan, and whoever was Icekit's mother, she most likely thought of him constantly. Still, Breezebranch didn't regret anything. She loved them both as her own, and if anyone asked, they were her own. As Lionkit whined about her 'stomach kicking him', she couldn't help but stifle a purr. Of course, she still had to tell Lionkit the wonderful news.

"Lionkit, sweetheart, I have something very important to tell you, so pay close attention, dear." She murmured gently, licking a tuft fur on his pelt. My, it was quite a mess! Oh well, she'd fix that later. "Very soon, dear, you'll have little brothers and sisters to play with and love. I will be in the nursery now for a while." She explained to him, "I am having kits."

His ears were pricked so hard they might've fallen off his head when she mentioned having important news. He assumed it was something big, like maybe at 5 moons old Silverstar was making him an apprentice early, and the kicks he had felt was Breezebranch's body's way of telling him. As the she-cat's tongue rasped over his head, and she told him I am having kits, an enormous purr burst out of the tomkit. It was so loud, Lionkit was sure the whole clan could feel it. Not only was his mother having kits of her own, but they would be his younger siblings, they'd be family, just like Icekit.

Icekit! Had she told the other tom? Who cares, she was going to have kits! And from the smacks into his side, there was a lot of kittens coming. Sadness at the loss of his real mother and father passing was finally burning away, like dew on a warm morning, and being replaced by the excitement of having a big family. Of course he knew they'd be nothing more than adopted siblings, but they would grow up knowing him as their brother, their sibling. His purring remained consistent with his thoughts, and he thought he was close to bursting with affection.

"Breeze! Yay! I-" Lionkit could not stop purring, he couldn't even formulate words in his current state, he just kept licking her stomach, hoping to feel another kick of his unborn siblings. Suddenly the young tom felt more serious; realising with a jolt he had no idea who the father was. Of course this ultimately didn't matter, but he didn't notice her getting close to any toms in the clan, unless it was a secret? He shook his head, those things didn't matter one bit, however he was now starting to feel the claws of protectiveness pang his heart. 

"I promise I will look after all of you, and I will become the best warrior I possibly can for each and every one of you. I will fight like the whole of LionClan for you, and no warrior from any clan will ever hurt you," He purred softly to her stomach, rubbing his fluffy cheek against her, as if it was a sealing of his large promise. Though his words and thoughts mirrored those of a cat much older than him, he would never admit he had stolen some words and phrases he had heard around the camp, and claimed them as his own. Lionkit did mean what he said, he could already feel the love for his siblings throbbing through his small body, and he would do every single thing in his power to protect them all - however many there ended up being.