Adopted (Kits, Greypool, Open)

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Stonekit grinned as he saw his father pad into the nursery. "Daddy!" he mewed, bounding over to the large black tom and battering one of his forelegs with his paws playfully. He hadn't seen his father around in a while, and he was glad that he got the chance. Getting out of the nursery and away from Cedarclaw wasn't easy.

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Cedarclaw looked up in slight surprise when Sootclaw entered the nursery. She gave a small smile, then wondered- Did he know? Was she the only one mouse-brained enough not to have noticed? Or was he in the same frame of mind she had just crawled out of? "Hi, Sootclaw," she purred, a tad weakly. The tortoiseshell queen didn't really want to ask the question. At least, not in a way that would irritate the kits again.

"Sootclaw, did you know? About Quietkit?" The she-cat twitched her whiskers, glancing from her mate to her daughter, then back to her mate. It had hurt her enough to admit the truth to herself. She didn't really want to pass on what was considered "news" to her.

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SootClaw noticed something wrong with QuietKit, but he didn't want to mention that. He could tell that she didn't, that it was hurting her that she didn't notice before. So due to this, he didn't want her to hurt even more, he had to make a white lie.

"Know about what? I'm confused," he looked down at QuietKit, worry flicking in his eyes, while he looked back at CedarClaw.

-

QuietKit blinked, and slowly backed away. She could tell they needed to talk about this alone..

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Cedarclaw bit back her tongue. There had been a certain look in the black tom's eyes that made her feel utterly ashamed. "Don't lie to me, Sootclaw," she growled, letting her claws slip into the earth near her nest. The tortoiseshell had no intentions on using them on any cat there, but the she-cat was feeling just too horrible to do much else but to clench the earth with sharp claws. "You knew, didn't you? Every cat knew! Except me. I can't believe how stupid I've been!" It was taking all her strength to keep her voice from breaking. Whatever she had told her kits, the pain of failure on many parts was still clawing at her belly.

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Sootclaw immediately nuzzled her cheek, and tried to calm her down. He did know something was wrong-- he just didn't know what.

"That's not true, baby," he softly mewed, "I don't know what's wrong, I just knew something was odd about her, but that's no biggy. She's still a special little girl, just like you."

He looked into her eyes, and smiled softly, purring.

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Cedarclaw clamped her eyes tight, wishing that a simple nuzzle made everything right. But it just couldn't. It was all just too much. "I know, I know. Darkkit said the same things. But I was still so stupid! I told myself she was just quiet. I didn't want to realize that she couldn't speak at all!" The tortoiseshell dipped her head in shame. Shame at not knowing, and shame that she was breaking down. So much shame, and all rightfully placed. "Quietkit told me- well, as she does,- that she doesn't mind. But I should've known!"

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SootClaw sighed softly, and stared at her.

"No, the only reason why you didn't, is because you were finally happy. You finally have kits, and you just couldn't see anything wrong. But now since you know, you are breaking down. Why? Because you didn't know. It isn't your fault, you were too much in bliss..." he moved closer to her, and wrapped his head around her neck as if an embrace, "Shh, it's okay, though. Don't feel shameful, it will be okay. Don't worry about it..."

He let out a soft purr, trying to comfort her.

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Cedarclaw just kept shaking her head, leaning into the tom's black fur. It was senseless and kit-like, her almost crying over it. But explaining it was too difficult as she tried to get closer to the source. She believed what Sootclaw was saying as much as she could, but it still felt all the same. I know, I know,"[/b] she muttered quietly, taking in his scent to calm her nerves. "I just can't help it. I'm such a complete mouse-brain..." The queen opened her eyes so that she could look over to Quietkit. She was such a strong little she-kit. It made Cedarclaw proud to know that. But she herself was still a failure of a queen all the same.[/size]

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Darkkit instantly looked up as Quietkit ran towards the entrace. Soon Sootclaw was right next to her to be with Sootclaw. The dark kit sat up and ran towards his father. He'd always felt safer by his side than his mother. Images of blood ran with Cedarclaw, not with his father. The kit utterly trusted him with everything.

Soon, he was purring and butting his head on Sootclaw's leg for attention. Then tension began to rise in the air and he stopped. Looking around, he noticed his mother was getting a little hostile. Protective instinct took over, and he went behind Sootclaw quickly. After a while, his father replied and went closer to Cedarclaw.

Darkkit sat where he was, not knowing what to do.