"Scorchedkit?!"

As always, Tinybreath was never too far away; she had been resting in the Nursery while she watched her nieces and nephew play with the other kits. Initially, she hadn't noticed that Scorchkit had snuck out of the den, that is, until Skipkit and Slipkit had picked up on their sister breaking the rules and begun giggling mischievously. The slender black she-cat had already been making her way to the den's entrance when she heard the kit's desperate cry, and immediately bounded outside into camp, where she was met with Scorchedkit literally barreling full-force into her.
"Scorchedkit! Darling, wha-"

As she wrapped her tail comfortingly around the wailing kit, her icy blue eyes glanced up and met the gaze of the 'intruder'. The warrior's breath caught in her throat as she stared in full disbelief. "Deadstrike...?" Tinybreath had only met her sister's mate a couple of times, but she was absolutely sure of it. This was him. Almost as quickly as it came her initial shock faded away, giving rise to a violent storm of emotions: sorrow, amazement, hope, protectiveness, unbridled fury...and regret. Regret that the situation she had prayed would never come was now inevitable.

"So," she meowed, her voice cold and harsh. "You've finally come back."



"Sister! Are you alright?!" Slipkit came running out of the nursery to check on Scorchedkit, but tripped over her own feathery tail and had come crashing into her instead, sending the pair tumbling across the camp in a furry ball. "Ow ow ow...sorry." The young she-cat woozily stood back up and shook out her beautiful, silver tabby pelt, blinking up at the stranger with bright clover-green eyes.

If Scorchedkit looked just like Deadstrike, Slipkit was the perfect mirror image of Swangrace.

Tinybreath glanced over at the two confused kits, affection swelling in her chest for them, and partly because she knew that she wouldn't be able to look Deadstrike in the eyes for this. "They're beautfiul, aren't they?" She purred, trotting over to give both kits a loving lick on the head, to soothe both their nerves and her own. "They have another sister and brother inside the den. They're all four moons old now, nearly apprentices." Leaning down, the she-cat prodded both of her nieces with her muzzle, encouraging them to step forward towards the tom. "That's your father, girls. Be polite and introduce yourselves."

Slipkit initally shrunk back under the strange tom's gaze. Was this really her father? She gave a cautionary glance back at Tinybreath; auntie would never lie to them about this. When the warrior gave another nod of encouragement, the silver tabby took a few steps forward, staring up at Deadstrike in awe. "H-Hi..." she mewed shyly. "I-I'm Slipkit. You loved momma...so you knew her better than even auntie did, right?"

Tinybreath's eyes widened in fear, realizing where the kit's train of thought was going. She had never neglected to tell them their mother's fate, outright refusing to let them call her 'mother'. The kits had long since come to accept it, but they were always eager to learn more about Swangrace. "Slipkit." She meowed stiffly. "That's enough..."

Time felt like it had gone completely still for Tinybreath, staring back at the look of pure dread and terror on Deadstrike's face.

This was it.

Now, or never.

"Swangrace..." her voice has barely audible, there was a ringing in her ears, and without even realizing it, tears had begun to stream down her face. "She's...she's gone, Deadstrike. These kits...she died giving birth to them. She was weak, she was sick...we did all we possibly could to save her, but..." The she-cat clenched her teeth together to prevent herself from sobbing. No! She had already mourned for her sister! She refused to go through it all again! She had to stay strong, for the kits' sake!

Slipkit beamed with joy as she touched noses with her father. A father! She finally had a father!
But her smile fell when Deadstrike asked where momma was...and Tinybreath started crying about it again.
It was always so hard to get Tinybreath or Uncle Wyverndelirium to tell them about momma without crying. They missed her very much.

Noticing the strange look of her father's face, she stared up at him confused. Did he...did their daddy not know momma was gone?

“And just who are you?” An oddly strong voice radiated through the air. Narrowed eyes locked on a cat she had never seen before. Violetstar was not too keen about strangers waltzing into their camp. Especially without speaking to her or being brought to her at first sight. The feline was calm, despite her strong tone.

"My name is Deadstrike. I was a former gang member of the Claws, and I would have still been one had it not been for Swangrace, my mate. I searched for her for months before hearing about WaterClan. I finally made it here and.." He motioned and looked at the kits in front of him. "These are my kits, and I don't intend to leave them, ever."

He looked back up at her. "I can be a great asset to your clan. I can prove myself, just... don't make me leave."