A new son!!

[Tanglekit]

Tanglestar sat at the base of Highrock waiting. Sooner or later someone would notice the new scent or the little body that was beside her own. She purred when she looked down at the sweet little grey body that breathed in small breaths next to her own. Her eyes were full of pride when she looked at him, not as a kit but as a son. She thought about how Sunflash would like him and gave a content sigh. She also had another matter at hand, the unconscious body in the prison tree. Other cats would also be able to scent her Shadowclan stench. She growled at the thought of such a murderous cat easily caught by the mighty Tanglestar.

[Deleted]

Shadowheart moaned, her claws digging into the dirt as she woke from unconsciousness. She wailed when she saw where she was, the worst place she could be!

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((OOC: If you want, you can involve Tumblekit in your plots. He can be captured by another clan to try and get at Tanglestar, if you want. ^_^ I don't mind. Just give him some time to settle in to Thunderclan first.))

The scent of so many cats wafted into his nose and mouth, and Tumblekit let out an excited little squeal as he and Tanglestar sat in front of the big rock. The little blue-grey kitten gazed around the clearing, taking in as many faces as he could as the cats of Thunderclan came and went, with groups going out and returning from patrols and hunting expeditions, and cats carrying prey to a prey-pile and from it, retreating to eat and talk with friends.

Tumblekit fought to keep himself from rushing off to meet all these new cats. He had never seen so many cats in one place - indeed, the only cats he knew were Mama and Tanglestar, and right now, he could hardly believe the number of new cats he was seeing. He wanted to meet them all! He wondered if they wanted to meet him too. Slowly, the cats of his new clan took notice of their leader sitting beneath the big rock with a new little kitten at her side, and slowly began to make their ways over.

"There's so many of them. Do you really know all their names?" Tumblekit asked, looking up at his new adopted Mother with curiosity. "Wouldn't that be hard?" His ears pricked as the sounds of camp life mixed with the sound of the forest, and the many voices he could hear but only could catch snippets of the conversations being held before he could no longer make them out. It was almost overwhelming. Almost.

The little blue-grey kit spotted a fallen leaf flitter by out of the corner of his eye. The impulse to catch it was strong, and Tumblekit threw himself after it with a squeal of laughter. He batted at the brown leaf as it blew along, his little paws hitting the dirt beneath them, worn down by many generations of paw prints, with much vigor.

The breeze didn't carry it far, for it didn't get the chance. The little kit crouched down, and wiggled his haunches before pouncing. The leaf was finally captured under his paws! Pleased, he began to trot back to Tanglestar, his tail held high in pride as he carried the leaf in his mouth, silently showing his caught 'prey' off. Soon, he hoped, he would be able to hunt for himself and, no doubt, this leaf would be replaced by a bird or a mouse.

The harsh wail of another cat caught him by surprise and he flinched, dropping his prize. "What was that?" Tumblekit squeaked, and fled back to press himself into Tanglestar's side, eyes wide and looking around in alarm. He followed the line of sight of his new Mother and caught sight of a lump of fur. He could smell the strange scent this cat had from their place all the way across the clearing, and it smelled nothing like Thunderclan scent. It smelled... icky.

Tumblekit peered at the strange cat, his ears flicking backwards slightly. The other cats seemed to be avoiding it, and he wondered why. Perhaps this cat was ill, and that was why its scent was so strange? Or perhaps it was a prisoner? That made more sense. It had to be a cat from an enemy clan. He wouldn't let himself ever be taken prisoner! He'd bite and scratch at any enemy cat who tried! The little kitten shot a bold, challenging look at the figure across the clearing before nuzzling into Tanglestar's fur.

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Who's That?

Sunflash was padding out of the warriors den, wary of strange scents in the clearing. ShadowClan? Loner? He could scent both. When he stepped out into the open, the first thing he saw was Tanglestar with a young kit. His first reaction was to bristle with wide eyes. Fear of betrayal clenched his heart. Had his mate had this kit while she was away? No, he told himself. This kit looks nothing like her.

But then who is it?

The warrior padded closer to the two cats, glancing down from the young tom to the cat he loved. "Tanglestar? What's going on here? Who's this?" He managed to keep the accusation out of his voice, but the nagging fear still held hold on his heart.

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Shadowheart tried to stand up, but wobbled and fell. She began to clean her dirty fur, Dirtfur... Too bad he was too busy MOONing over MOONkit to care if she was caught...

[Tanglekit]

Tanglestar smiled brightly up at Sunflash. "This is Tumblekit our new son!", she purred licking the kit gently over the head. She could help but let her happiness reach out and hug all of the cats in the forest. She looked from the kit to Sunflash smiling proudly. "Tumblekit this is your Daddy.", she smiled nudging the kit towards Sunflash.

[Deleted]

They Make No Sense

Sunflash blinked, dumbfounded, as he looked between the two. Their kit? That wasn't even possible, was it? The golden tom couldn't see any resemblance between himself and the kit, in any case. "Tanglestar," he mewed slowly, "we never had a kit. How can he be our son?" He didn't understand. He knew nothing of the kit's arrival on Clan territory, or the death of his real mother. All Sunflash knew was that Tanglestar had brought in a strange kit that wasn't his but she claimed.

[Tanglekit]

Tanglestar frowned when her mate didn't change his expression. She hunched over the kit protectively. "His mother is dead", she said quietly not wanting to upset the little kit again. "I am his mother now.", she growled keeping her protective stance over the kit.

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Seeing The Truth

The warrior's ears flicked up in understanding, and a dreadful feeling rose in his belly for making Tanglestar touch on what was probably a sore spot for the young kit. "I'm sorry," he mewed quietly back, but was then startled by her fierce stance over the tom. Sunflash knew how much she cared for kits, and how she always wanted on of her own even though the code was against it, but it was almost as if she expected him to attack to kit or something. The golden warrior reached out to nuzzle her neck. "Don't worry love, I'm not doing anything against it. If that's the case, there's no harm in him staying with us as our kit." He smiled. The tom had never dreamed of having a non-Clanborn kit, but this would be his only chance to be a father. The tom crouched down and smiled to the little tom. "Hello, there. What would your name be?"

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Tumblekit saw another cat, a tom, leave what had to be the den where the warriors slept. He felt his new Mother turn to look at him too, and the blue-grey kit perked up. Was this new cat important? Obviously so, for he could just feel Tanglestar's excitement radiate from her. He too became excited, for excitement was, in this case, incredibly contagious.

The feeling of a tongue being pulled gently over the top of his head, between his ears, made Tumblekit squirm and giggle. The tiny kit mewled in happiness, turning to nuzzle Tanglestar again with a purr of absolute contentment. His tail flicked back and forth

"Daddy?" He asked, in confusion, and looked to Tanglestar. Mama had talked a little bit about his father. Did the two words mean the same? If Tanglestar was his new mother, than obviously this new cat had to be his new father. He hadn't ever even met another tom before. Would it be any different from meeting a she-cat? He turned back to this new tom, his ears pricked forward attentively, ready to say hello to his new 'daddy'.

He was nudged forward to greet the new cat, and suddenly he felt very shy. Did Sunflash like him? Hopefully, he looked into the larger, older tom's eyes to search for any signs of acceptance, but all he saw was confusion, suspicion and apprehension. Did this mean the new cat did not like him? Oh, what if he didn't like him? The very thought made Tumblekit's whiskers droop and he hunched his shoulders ever so slightly.

The little blue-grey kit backed up ever so slightly so he was sheltered in between Tanglestar's front legs, looking to and from the two cats as they spoke to each other. Sunflash still sounded confused, but Tanglestar was firm and sounded incredibly fierce. Both of them made him feel very nervous. What if the tom rejected him? What would happen then?

Finally, his new mother explained to her mate the circumstances of how Tumblekit came to be sitting here in front of him. The little blue-grey kit's ears twitched back in sadness as his mother was mentioned, and a wave of grief silently roared through him. With a pang, he remembered the last time his Mama had groomed him before she went off to hunt, promising to return to him. She never did come back. Sunflash's ears suddenly twitched forward in understanding.

His new daddy lowered his head to his level and Tumblekit once again felt shy. With a glance up at Tanglestar for reassurance, he replied with a soft mewl. "I'm Tumblekit." Being shy was something new to Tumblekit. He was afraid Sunflash wouldn't like him, and he was afraid of what would happen because of that. He didn't want to be left alone, like before, but something told him Tanglestar would never let that happen.

But it appeared that Sunflash did like him, what with the smile he was giving Tumblekit. The little kitten felt so relieved! He perked his ears forward and stepped cautiously forward to touch noses with the tom. "What's you name?" He asked, boldly, feeling much more better now. "Do you know how to play? Mama and I used to play alot!"

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Little Loves

Sunflash purred in amusement at the kit's change from shy to outgoing. He could get used to this little tom, that was for sure. The thought that this kit was actually going to be his adoptive son, though... That part would take some getting used to. The warrior was fond of the little kit already, but he looked so different from either Tanglestar or himself. And he was not his true father, after all. All the same, the golden tom would accept him if Tanglestar had. She was already deeply attached to Tumblekit; that was clear. He would just have to think of this kit as his own.

He touched his nose the the tom's in return. "My name's Sunflash," he mewed, still keeping his head at Tumblekit's level. "And do I know how to play? Of course I do!" The warrior lifted a forepaw and used it to playfully cuff the blue kit's ears with a gleam in his amber eyes. He'd seen kits and apprentices play, along with queens and their litters. And with his own kithood memories, Sunflash was sure he could do the same. The tom swished his tail out between him and the kit, dangling it like a mouse.

But then he remembered- the ShadowClan scent. It wasn't coming from Tumblekit, so... Trying to keep a game going with his new son at the same time, Sunflash looked back to Tanglestar with question. "I thought I smelt ShadowClan. Did you run into a patrol while you were out?"

[Tanglekit]

Tanglestar showed her teeth at the mention of Shadowclan. She pointed to the stinking heap on the other side of camp, smiling with pure hate. "Revenge has come.", she purred glaring at Shadowheart. She was finally going to get back A Dirtfur! How wonderful was this opportunity that had just leapt out at her.

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I Know You

Sunflash followed his mate's line of sight until he saw a heap of black fur on the other side of camp within an old tree. His eyes narrowed as he tried to see who it was in the darkness of the hollowed out bark. It took him a moment, but then he recognized the she-cat who had spent time in their camp before to let her head injury heal, the one who was mate to the tom Tanglestar despised with all her heart.

"Shadowheart?" The warrior blinked before looking back to his mate. He was again surprised by a new presence in camp, but this one was clearly not on good of terms at Tumblekit. But she deserved just that. She was the mate of the tom who'd taken two of their warriors in cold blood; a cat never to be trusted, one who should have been kicked out of his dark Clan moons ago.

But why was she here? "Where did you find her?" he asked, puzzled.

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"She didn't find me she attacked me on ShadowClan soil, I would never cross the border after Spottedstar warned me." Shadowheart hissed from the corner, I should havee known better than to think I would be safe going for a quick hunt before my WindClan border patrol with my apprentice!" she snarled.

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Riddle padded into camp, a quail clamped in his jaws. The big, scarred tom smelled the very familiar scent of Shadowheart and sighed. It was good to know that Shadowclan was still up and running. Still as persitent as ever. He headed towards the Highrock, hearing voices and Tanglestar's familar growl. A small blue-grey kit caught his attention. His single gold eye focused in on the kit, and he limped towards it. Through a mouthful of feathers, he flickered an ear towards them, his voice still coming through clearly, eve though his mouth was full. "Tanglestar. Sunflash." he acknowledged the two adults, looking at the kit with a slight tilt to his head.

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