[Fate Admin]

Ravenstar had left Smokefur to rest and turned toward the nursery with the tiny bundle her sister had returned with hanging from her jaws. Her Clanmates had watched and murmured and tried to ask questions about Smokefur’s return but she had waved them off with her tail; they would get their answers after Smokefur had a good night’s rest and a full belly and the kit’s fate was decided. On her way to the nursery she spotted Slatenose and flicked her tail, indicating her deputy should come with her. She would not be telling the Clan what was going on tonight, but if Ghostlight was going to possibly take care of the kit, she deserved to know the story behind him, and her deputy should know it immediately as well.

She padded through the narrow nursery entrance, the cavern opening up into a rather bulbous shape. The nursery cavern was surprisingly rounded, with smooth, gently sloping walls. Ghostlight lay in her nest with her new kits, likely very similar in age to the kit she carried with her now, just a few days old. She dipped her head slightly in greeting and glanced behind her to see if Slatenose had followed. The kit her jaws began to squirm feebly, the nursery was filled with the scent of milk, and who knew how long it had been since the tiny scrap had last been fed.

She moved forward, toward the new queen, stopping at the edge of her nest and setting the kit down between her own paws. When she spoke, she murmured softly so as not to disturb Ghostlight’s kits, “Hello, Ghostlight.” She glanced down at the three bundles of fur nestled at the ebony queen’s belly. Ghostlight had nearly died during her kitting, bringing about thoughts of Ravenstar’s own mother and how she had deteriorated with each litter she had borne until Grimjaw…. He had only been her third litter, but… there was always something wrong with her, something Dapplecloud couldn’t fix, and she had insisted on bearing those kits. She had wanted the life of a queen, and in the end it had killed her.

Ravenstar had been almost as nervous as Blackwolf during Ghostlight’s kitting, but kittings in general always made her nervous. She had torn her nest apart, hiding in her den so no cat could see just how afraid she was of losing a cat to the birthing process with only a half trained medicine cat to care for her. She flicked her ears as if flicking away those memories. Ghostlight was here, safe and healthy, and so were her kits. “This…,” she looked down at the kit between her paws, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully, “This is… Stonekit.” He was from the mountains, after all. Smokefur had not told her his name, if he even had one. Stonekit was as good a name as any. Mountainkit sounded a bit too grand, “He needs someone to feed him….” Already the kit was using what little strength he had left to squirm toward Ghostlight and her milky scent, unable to surmount the edge of her nest to reach her.

[Deleted]

do your duty in all things
never wish to do less
========

Slatenose had been among the many cats shocked by the return of Smokefur. Why couldn't she have returned just a few days sooner for Ghostlight's kitting? she mused. The deputy noticed scraps of moss scattered around Ravenstar's den and had ordered one of the apprentices to replace her bedding with fresh moss. The apprentice had scampered off, and Slatenose's snarl softened into something of a smile, glad to see Ghostlight safe and Ravenstar calm. Well, calmer.

But the reappearance of her sister had upset the entire camp, and when sister and sister disappeared into the leader's den (with fresh bedding, Slatenose noted proudly), the deputy stood watch outside to give them privacy and allow her leader to understand just what happened during the moons their medicine cat was missing.

Now, Ravenstar left her sister behind and beckoned to Slatenose to follow her -- was that a kit in her jaws? Had Smokefur brought back a kit? Green eyes stared at the scrap of fur before following her leader to the nursery. She ducked and squeezed into the nursery's entrance, seating herself behind Ravenstar so Ghostlight could see her and to block other cats from getting in.

Three kits squirmed at the queen's belly, and Slatenose nodded to Ghostlight in a greeting and a congratulations. She hadn't had the chance to stop in to see her individually, so now would have to do. Looking at the little kits, she couldn't help but notice the resemblance one had to Blackwolf. Slatenose was sure that the black warrior's ego loved that.

“This is… Stonekit. He needs someone to feed him….”

Slatenose waited, sure that Ravenstar would explain more. Ghostlight was the only queen nursing; it was a good stroke of luck that Smokefur had brought back a kit within a few days of her kitting... Wait. Smokefur had been sent of a mission by StarClan, Featherpaw had said. Slatenose was sure of that. And now, their medicine cat returns, with a kit, right after Ghostlight barely survived her kitting? There had to be something from StarClan in this all, but Slatenose wasn't nearly qualified enough to make a guess. Returning from her musings, the grey and white she-cat waited for Ravenstar to shed more light on the situation at paw.

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slatenose ║ warrior ║ nightclan
raven: ravenstar; ghostie: ghostlight  tagged
382║ words
protective slatenose~║ notes
robert e. lee ║ quote

[Deleted]

Ghostlight

The Ghost In Your Mind

Be still my heart 'cause it's freaking out, it's freaking out, right now

Shining like stars 'cause we're beautiful, we're beautiful, right now

---

The inky black she-cat had gained back a lot of her strength in the past couple of days since her near death and terrifying kitting. She was aware of the state of mind Blackwolf had been in and could only guess Ravenstar's since the leader had been absent most of the time she was giving birth, and the fact that the leader wanted to flee the scene as soon as queen had gone into labor.

The queen had been grooming the medium length fur on her flank while her kits were in-between suckling for milk and snoozing on her belly when Ravenstar's scent touched her nose. Turning her pale eyes over to the entrance, her leader and deputy made their way into the rather empty, but warm Nursery den.

Ears flickered fowards as Ghostlight eyes caught sight of the tiny scrap of kitten that was hanging from Ravenstar's jaws when she came to settle near the queen's nest. She wasn't sure what she was expecting this visit to be about, nor was she sure where this new kit had even come from. No other cat of Nightclan had been expecting aside from her, and she couldn't see Ravenstar taking in another clan's kit.

"Ravenstar. Slatenose." She addressed her leader and deputy with a small nod of her head, keeping her eyes on the kit that her small, fluffy leader had placed near her paws. Ghostlight could only watch as the tiny kit struggled to find the scent of milk near it's small body. Something clawed at the queen's heart, perhaps motherhood, since now she had three kits she loved and looked after.

Stonekit.

Not an odd name for a little gray tom. But when Ravenstar continued with the fact that the small kit needed to be fed, Ghostlight reached over to grab the kit and snuggled it between Bonekit and Hollykit's tiny forms, nosing it to find his way towards her milk. A small purr reached her throat when Stonekit proceeded to knead at her belly.

She would gladly feed and care for this kit as if he were his. Yet she was still curious about such a thing. "Where is he from? Who's kit is he?" She asked, turning her attention back to Ravenstar, waiting for an explanation, as it looked like Slatenose was waiting for one as well.

---

You're all I see in all these places

You're all I see in all these faces

So let's pretend we're running out of time, of time

[Fate Admin]

It seemed she did not have to ask the new queen to care for the strange kit, as Ghostlight leaned over to pick him up and nestle him inbetween her own kits without any hesitation. It honestly was a relief, Ravenstar had no desire to see the kit starve, regardless of his status as the kit of a loner she had never even met. Her ears flicked back briefly as Ghostlight asked whose kit he was. She glanced back at Slatenose where the much larger she-cat sat at the nursery entrance, preventing anyone else from straying in.

“I do not know,” she answered honestly, turning back to Ghostlight. “Smokefur has returned, and she brought him with her. She told me StarClan sent her to find him, and to bring him back to NightClan with her.” She left out the part about this kit apparently being her ‘last chance to open her heart’. She didn’t even know what that was supposed to mean, and besides the message was clearly for her ears, there was no need to bother anyone else with StarClan’s nonsensical riddles.

“He is the kit of a loner, he was born in the mountains, and StarClan wants him here, apparently. That is all I know,” she looked down at the kit as he nursed hungrily, unsure about all of this. Her voice dropped even quieter, “I don’t know what significance his life has for NightClan, but Smokefur risked her life for it.” Her pale amber gaze shifted to Ghostlight, “You don’t have a problem taking care of him?” Ravenstar wasn’t entirely sure what would be done about him if Ghostlight wasn’t okay with it, but seeing how quickly she had picked him up so he could nurse, the question was more a formality, a final check, one last chance to give her an out if she had any second thoughts about raising him.

[Deleted]

do your duty in all things
never wish to do less
========

Slatenose twitched her ears at Ravenstar's explanation. That was what had happened? The whole story seemed...off somehow. Like something wasn't quite right. Nonetheless, Ghostlight had agreed to look after little Stonekit, and that was that. The next problem to address would be the Clan.

"Ravenstar," she began. "What will you tell the Clan? They saw you carry Stonekit into the nursery and you heard their questions. Is Smokefur well enough to explain herself?" The deputy was happy that things had been resolved simply with Ghostlight. The little grey kit kneaded at her belly and would not want for food. However, the Clan would be hungry for answers to the sudden reappearance of their medicine cat and this little kit.

Not to mention Blackwolf, now that she thought about it. He would know immediately that Stonekit did not belong. And, knowing her Clanmate, he would make sure that the outside kit would feel like an outsider. Blackwolf was proud of hit mate and kits, and he would not want anything to mar his family image. Slatenose wanted to ask Ghostlight about their kits' names, but she wasn't quite sure if now would be an appropriate time.

This kind of diplomacy didn't suit her well, the whole "appease the Clan's need for gossip and figure out a story they'll accept." She was more of a cut and dry, this is how it is and you'll accept it or move on type cat. (If it were her, she would simply say that Ghostlight agreed to care for Stonekit and that was that.) She told warriors where to patrol and who to take with them, made sure the apprentices were being trained, and gave out assignments as she saw fit. Generalities didn't exist in her vocabulary; instead, she made sure her instructions were clear and that they were followed. However, it seemed that the nature of Clan life called for some finagling and some creative appeasement. Something she would have to learn.

She shuffled her paws as she waited for a response.

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slatenose ║ warrior ║ nightclan
raven: ravenstar; ghost: ghostlight ║ tagged
342 ║ words
the lack of muse is strong with this one ║ notes
robert e. lee ║ quote

[Deleted]

Ghostlight

The Ghost In Your Mind

Be still my heart 'cause it's freaking out, it's freaking out, right now

Shining like stars 'cause we're beautiful, we're beautiful, right now

---

Of course, as her leader continued to answer the queen's questions, a few others began to arise in her mind, but she held her tongue. It probably wasn't wise to accuse Smokefur, Ravenstar's sister, of birthing a kit. It really wasn't rise to every accuse any Medicine Cat of birthing kits.But with the timeline of the former Medicine Cat's disappearance and reappearance with the kit, who fit exactly with Hollykit, Bonekit and Coyotekit's age.

It all just seemed very odd.

With a slight ear twitch, Ghostlight's attention was pulled away from Ravenstar and Slatenose as her runt, Coyotekit, let out a small squeal. It seemed as if Bonekit had pushed his brother away from feeding. Nosing the smaller tom forwards, she made sure to give enough room for the younger to return to eating before she turned back to her leader and deputy.

With a wave of her tail, the queen easily dismissed Ravenstar's question. There was no-cat besides her who could care for Stonekit, and she was not heartless to where she would let the loner kit starve. "Stonekit will be well taken care of." She said, her pale eyes meeting with Ravenstar's amber orbs. "He will be treated like my own kit." She gave a soft purr as she felt Stonekit press against her belly fur.

"I'll make sure Blackwolf will behave himself. It's not Stonekit's fault that his parent's were not Nightclan." Ghostlight continued, knowing her mate might be a bit on the aggressive side when he found out his kits would be raised with a loner. "He will be raised Nightclan, and Nightclan will run in his veins." Ghostlight spoke before turning her attention to Slatenose.

The deputy's question was actually a rather good one, as the black she-cat pondered for a moment before speaking, "Since I am the only queen, Smokefur can stay in here if she wishes. Away from nosy cats and annoying questions until she is ready to talk." Ghostlight offered, she had nothing against Smokefur, and the queen was sure that the former Medicine Cat would like to see how Stonekit was taking to a new home.

---

You're all I see in all these places

You're all I see in all these faces

So let's pretend we're running out of time, of time

[Fawn]

A familiar brawny shape entered NightClan's camp at a stride, the heavy body of a raven that had been unfortunate today swung from the tom's jaws, black paws careful not to get tripped up in the drooping wings while still maintaining that cocky swaggered step he had quickly become known for. Having already hunted for the rest of the Clan, it was straight for the nursery he went, an uncharacteristically pleasant light in his eyes had somehow managed to find room between the arrogance and the aggression. Not even a slight glance towards Oakblaze was enough to ruin his mood; he didn't think anything could, until he got closer, and, noticing Ravenstar and Slatenose cloistered around the entrance as if something terrible had happened, picked up the tail end of the conversation.

"I'll make sure Blackwolf will behave himself. It's not Stonekit's fault that his parent's were not Nightclan."

Oh she shouldn't be too sure about that. What were these two trying to do? Eyes narrowing, he stalked to the entrance, aware that the familiar gray and white body of Slatenose was more or less blocking his path; had that been any-cat but NightClan's deputy, he would've had either a few choice words to say to them or a rough shoulder-check that would leave them glaring at him as he passed and unable to do anything about it. Catching the little wave of a fluffy tail made by Ravenstar, signaling he could come in, Blackwolf set the raven down near his mate, a critical eye descending upon the four squirming bodies of the litter, three he recognized, the fourth he did not.

So that was Stonekit. Blackwolf didn't say anything right away, but instead bore his gaze upon Ravenstar, an imploring look that said it all very clearly; what's this little scrap doing here and why is Ghostlight raising it? Well, he could've answered that last one for himself; she was the only queen in the nursery, and as much as he personally liked to exercise a little heartlessness on a regular basis, not even he was cruel enough to condemn a kitten to die, even if it was loner born.

He could probably convince Ghostlight to pass the kit onto another queen, once another one finally settled in here. Blackwolf didn't think it was right to raise Stonekit like he was one of theirs - because he wasn't. Raising the kit was one thing, but lying to it about its parentage was another; he wasn't going to outright make the kitten feel like scum because he wasn't NightClan, but he wasn't going to sugarcoat it either.
"Where'd it come from?"

[Fate Admin]

Ravenstar nodded as Ghostlight affirmed her willingness to care for the kit. Her ears twitched as the queen mentioned Blackwolf. The dark tom was of a similar mindset to herself and she wondered how he would react to the kit being raised alongside his own, pure NightClan kits. She certainly didn’t imagine he would be very pleased. Ravenstar couldn’t say she was very pleased about this whole situation either, but she also wasn’t going to let an innocent kit starve if she could help it.

She sighed lightly, and then Slatenose spoke, asking Smokefur could speak to the Clan about this, and Ghostlight offered to share the nursery with her. She immediately shook her head, “No. Absolutely not. I know very well how this looks.” She looked first at Slatenose and then back to Ghostlight with a hard stare, “The timing is right. It makes sense for everyone to believe Stonekit is Smokefur’s. But I don’t believe he is.” Her claws eased out, scraping briefly against the stone beneath her until she forced them to sheathe, “She is my sister. If he was my own kin, I would claim him as such. Smokefur has nothing to fear from me, if this kit was indeed hers. She insisted he is not, even after I told her this, knowing I would sooner accept the kit if it was hers than some loner’s.”

She shook her head again, “I believe her. The Code means the world to Smokefur… she would never break it like that.” She looked to Slatenose, “Smokefur needs rest now, more than anything. And I will not have her rest here, in the nursery… it would only fan the flames of the rumors that will surround her and this kit. For the time being, she rests in my den, and she can stay there as long as she needs.” Her pale gaze found Stonekit again, until movement at the nursery entrance caught her eye. Blackwolf had appeared, and she figured she should explain all this to him as well. She flicked her tail to Slatenose to let the tom inside. It didn’t take long for him to ask about Stonekit.

“He came from the mountains. Smokefur brought him back with her,” she repeated, just waiting for him to jump to the same conclusions everyone else likely would, “His parents were loners. StarClan sent Smokefur to bring him back to NightClan. Of course we don’t know why.” She nearly hissed, but managed not to, “StarClan never gives straight answers….”

[Deleted]

do your duty in all things
never wish to do less
========

Blackwolf's scent graced the deputy's nose, but she kept her displeasure to herself and merely moved out of the way to allow the warrior to enter the nursery. The raven by Ghostlight made Slatenose slightly less critical of the tom. At least he cared for his mate.

"Where'd it come from?"

She struggled to quiet the snort that left her nose. She hadn't expected him to be the best father to Stonekit that he could be, but Slatenose at least expected the tom to be a bit nicer about the whole situation. Ghostlight's words reassured her. She was quite possibly the only cat who Blackwolf would listen to without any complaints or backlash. How the queen put up with him, she didn't know, but all the power to her.

"Blackwolf," she started, gaining the warrior's attention. "We're not asking you to place Stonekit on a pedestal and treat him like your first-born, only son. We're just asking that you allow him the same chances as the other kits. Smokefur has said that it's StarClan's will that Stonekit join NightClan. Please respect that."

She hardened her eyes slightly at the tom, pulling size and rank on him. Stonekit's situation worried her. She respected Blackwolf as a warrior but she still wasn't totally comfortable with how he conducted himself around other cats. She would keep an eye on Stonekit, she decided. On all the kits, but Stonekit most of all. Hollykit, Bonekit, and Coyotekit wouldn't be required to treat their nursery-mate as their blood brother, but the little kit was now a kit of NightClan, and he would be treated with all the respect and honor that name brought him.

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slatenose ║ warrior ║ nightclan
raven: ravenstar; ghostie: ghostlight; fawn: blackwolf ║ tagged
282 ║ words
museless. absolutely museless ║ notes
robert e. lee ║ quote