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| - The silvery she-cat's flanks heaved, and she let out a cry of pain as she tried to run again. "Get away from me!" she shrieked, her pale orange eyes wide and stinging with tears. "Get away!" she yowled again, stumbling over her own paws. She kept glancing back at her pursuers, making sure they wouldn't catch up too quickly. They were, reaching out to her with their murderous paws, eager to kill her only kin. Firepetal, named for her blazing orange pelt, panted as she put on a burst of speed. She slowed down to trot briskly beside Stormflare. "We won't hurt you." she whispered softly, touching her nose to Stormflare's ear. "I promise-" "Liar! You're both just filthy liars!" Stormflare screeched. She pulled away from the other she-cat, her silver pelt ruffled in rage and fright. "You tried to kill Darkmask's kits!" she spat, a furious glint in her eyes. "I don't want you to kill mine, you traitors!" She swiped her thorn-sharp claws at who she once called her best friend, causing Firepetal to recoil with agony in her eyes. "Stormflare, please, you're being hysterical." Firepetal's apprentice, Creekpaw, meowed, sounding desperate. "Please, calm down!" His grey-black fur was streaked with red after taking a clawing from the paranoid queen. He ignored the limp that he showed when he walked and gasped, "Think of your kits..." Stormflare's belly was swollen with her soon-to-be-born kits, but she still forced herself to a strange-looking run and snarled, "Keep away from my kits!" Then she let out a piercing screech as she collapsed onto her side, her flanks heaving. She tried to rise again, but her legs gave out and she fell again. "Shh, it's alright, Stormflare." Firepetal murmured gently as if she were speaking to a kit. "Just let us help you." She lightly placed her small, delicate paw onto her friend's flank. The queen was too exhausted to protest. She only flailed one of her forelegs and let out a weak, wavering hiss of anger. There'll be four kits. Firepetal thought, glancing sideways at Creekpaw. The apprentice was trying to silence Stormflare, but the queen lashed out at him with her claws. The grey-black tom leaped back, his blue eyes wide as blood trickled down his face. An agonized screech cut into Firepetal's thoughts, and she immediately turned back to Stormflare, who was writhing in the grass. When Creekpaw looked at his mentor in fright, the ginger she-cat only mewed, "She's exaggerating. Don't worry, she's fine." The first kit slipped onto the grass, and Firepetal gingerly picked it up by its scruff. She broke the part of the sac at its face. The dark-furred kit's tiny wail filled her ears, and she knew that it was okay. She licked the rest of its pelt, despite the protests of Stormflare, and eventually set it at Creekpaw's paws. "Keep it dry." she ordered him. He didn't have any time to respond as the second kit was birthed. Firepetal repeated the process for the second and third kits, leaving both to Creekpaw to keep them from being hit by the icy rain. She waited for the fourth kit with an icy silence. After a moment, Creekpaw murmured, "Is it...?" "No." Firepetal hissed. "It's still alive. It is. It is." Am I trying to convince Creekpaw or... myself? she thought nervously. The time dragged by. Firepetal's doubts grew more and more, and finally she stood. Looking over to Creekpaw, she whispered, "Get the kits to camp. I'll help Stormflare." She didn't let the young tom reply. She stood and trudged over to Stormflare, hoping to StarClan that there was still a chance. Let it live. Please. These kits are all she's got, and she can't think that her own Clan's medicine cats are murderers...! Firepetal prayed desperately as she reached down to grab Stormflare's scruff in her teeth. Suddenly a spasm shook the queen, making her cry out in pain. Creekpaw immediately froze and turned to look at her. A tiny ginger kit slid out onto the grass, its tiny paws kneading the air. Firepetal darted at it, roughly licking its fur the wrong way to warm it. When it let out a cry of protest, she sighed with relief. "Thank you, StarClan." she murmured, turning her head to the dark grey sky. Rain stung her eyes and she immediately turned her head back down to the kit. Passing the kit to Creekpaw, Firepetal noted that its fur was a fiery orange, while its siblings' fur colors were silvery-blue, dark grey, and black. The same kit was smaller than the rest and its movements were slower, more labored. "Four... healthy kits, Stormflare." the medicine cat announced hesitantly, hiding a tinge of doubt in her tone. The silver tabby opened one eye to look at her kits, all four of which Creekpaw was leaning over in an attempt to keep dry. She mumbled, "Good. Good." Heaving herself to her paws, she heavily plodded over to an almost-dry patch of grass that was protected by a wide overhang. Plopping herself down, she glared at Creekpaw. "Give them here!" she demanded, like a kit whose mossball had been taken. Wordlessly Creekpaw obeyed, lightly pushing the kits up to their mother's belly to nurse. The black-furred tom shoved past his dark grey sister, and the silvery tom climbed over the ginger she-cat. The smallest kit only let out cries of hunger, crawling away from Stormflare. Firepetal directed the ginger she-kit back to her mother, and after a long moment she finally began to nurse along with her siblings. "So, what shall you name them?" Firepetal asked quickly, trying to redirect Stormflare's attention from the weaker kit. The silver tabby glared at the medicine cat as if she were about to refuse, then she blinked back to her kits. "The black one will be Ravenkit." she decided, nudging the small tom with a paw. "Smokekit." She prodded the dark grey she-kit, who wailed in protest before going back to suckling. "Pikekit." She nuzzled the silver tom. Creekpaw pricked his ears. "What about this one?" He nodded at the unnamed kit, who had decided to curl up and sleep instead of eat. Staring at the kit, Stormflare shook her head slowly. "It doesn't get a name." she growled. "It won't live. It's weak." "Oh... but it's still your kit." Creekpaw argued, his rain-slicked fur bristling. "And your kit should get a name." "Fine!" Stormflare snarled with a sudden hostility. Creekpaw flinched away, all signs of resistance gone. "Deadkit! Deadkit's her name!" she snapped. "Now do your medicine cat stuff or leave me be, murderers!" She lay her head on her paws, her ears flattened back. Deadkit. Firepetal thought, shocked. Deadkit is your name... But... I'll rename you. I swear by StarClan, you will get another name...
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