MoonClan's ambitious story/(1): The First Four Leaders/2/12

### Chapter 12: Love & Kits

Two moons had passed, and Zebrapaw was ten moons old, Icepaw, Shadowpaw & Quailpaw eleven moons old. Birchpaw, Mountainpaw, Rainpaw, Berrypaw & Swanpaw were eight moons old. Primrosekit was four moons old. Flipsnow was two and a half moons in with the kits. But they also happened to discover Goldenlily was expecting, too. His mentor & his sister's mentor, Sandleap & Nightnose, were acting very much in love.

Berrypaw wasn't necessarily friends with anyone of them, but she usually liked to hang out with Mountainpaw and a kit named Thymekit who was born little more than a moon ago to Redwater. Berrypaw and Mountainpaw somehow found a liking to Thymekit ever since he was born, and the three stuck together ever since. Unlike Berrypaw and like Mountainpaw, however, Thymekit talked to other cats cheerfully and enthusiastically.

Stonepaw & Zebrapaw's mouths gaped open at their mentors as they were doing lovey-dovey tricks.

"What are you *doing?!"* screamed Stonepaw at Nightnose. "Are we going to *train?!"*

Sandleap & Nightnose stared at the two siblings. Then Nightnose replied, "Later. Right now I'm taking a break from warrior duties since I have already hunted a few mice for the Clan."

Stonepaw growled but said nothing more. Then Zebrapaw asked, "Can *we* train, Sandleap, instead of you touching Nightnose in weird places? I don't remember doing any training yesterday or today, or the day before yesterday."

Sandleap groaned and replied, "Think like you're taking a break, Zebrapaw."

Then Stonepaw rolled her eyes at Zebrapaw, saying with what Zebrapaw thought was humor, "I didn't think you'd respond to their snogging, seeing what happened with Icepaw."

Zebrapaw blushed and thought about Icepaw. It was only one-way love; Icepaw simply loved him. Zebrapaw, however, was much more interested in becoming a good warrior. He thought it was kind of dumb for everyone else being total weirdos. Even budding lovers, like maybe Quailpaw and Primrosekit?

That time, Icepaw asked him if he wanted to hang out with her, and he agreed. He had no idea that she was going to attempt some moves. When they were touching noses, he thought it meant a friendly gesture. Not what Primrosekit, Swanpaw & Mountainpaw apparently perceived it to be.

"I wasn't in love with Icepaw," replied Zebrapaw calmly.

"Oh, right, like nobody couldn't see how much interest you had in her," said Stonepaw sarcastically. "Honestly, I'm never going to have kits or a mate or anything like that, it wouldn't suit me. I just *love* to fight & hunt."

*Like Adderstar?* thought Zebrapaw, recalling the stories that the elders told him. The elders were alive in Adderstar's time and before the Mountain Clans, so obviously they had the clearest perceptions of him. Although Adderstar *did* have mates and kits, the elders said that he had nearly no interest in them but to train them.

"Okay, but I'm still not in love with Icepaw," replied Zebrapaw. Stonepaw shrugged in response, and scampered off into the forest.

Zebrapaw then noticed Violetrain & Nutclaw talking to each other. *Why is there so much love in this Clan?* he asked himself.

He went up to his sister & Swanpaw's mentor and asked, "What are you doing, you two?"

Violetrain replied almost giddily, "I'm asking Nutclaw & Swanpaw if I could help be her mentor!"

"Did they say yes?" asked Zebrapaw, tilting his head ponderingly. He saw Swanpaw taking a mouse in her mouth and nodding.

"Why is Violetrain teaching you, too?" Zebrapaw asked Swanpaw. Swanpaw just shrugged and took a bite from her mouse.

Nutclaw mewed, "Well, duh, she wants to be a mentor, too!"

Zebrapaw responded, "What is the reason for that?"

"Violetrain likes young cats. She wants some apprentice to help train until she has an apprentice of her own."

Swanpaw pointed towards Thymekit and shrugged. Nutclaw, even though being her mentor still didn't seem to understand her sign language. Zebrapaw translated, "How about Thymekit?"

"Thymekit? Well, that is a good one, seeing he might be the next kit after Primrosekit to become an apprentice," replied Nutclaw. Zebrapaw knew that there were two more kits, Robinkit and Soarkit, born one moon after Primrosekit and Dandelionkit and two moons before Thymekit to Heronwing and Blackfur (who died a few days before Primrosekit and Dandelionkit were born), but they were too painfully shy for even a bubbly and kind cat like Violetrain, and they usually got intimidated by every single cat who didn't reside in the nursery, which included Violetrain. They sort of reminded him of himself and Stonepaw and Berrypaw, as well as Mountainpaw and Primrosekit before they became friendly with them.

Then Violetrain mewed, "Oh, can we please start our training?"

But then Forestcreek came along with Icepaw, asking if they can have double training. Zebrapaw asked if he could come, too, since Sandleap was too busy. They all agreed. It seemed like Icepaw was interested in Zebrapaw, but he did nothing to show any interest back.

Swanpaw stared at Zebrapaw confusingly, but Icepaw stared at him seductively.

Forestcreek and Nutclaw said Violetrain could train her brother for now, but Zebrapaw thought it was quite weird being taught by his sibling, even if she was eight moons older than him.

Then sometime during the training, Zebrapaw asked Forestcreek, "Do you think my sister, Violetrain, can mentor Thymekit?"

"My grandson?" mewed Forestcreek. "Maybe. I could ask my brother, Snowstar."

"Your grandson? How?" asked Zebrapaw confusingly.

"Why, his mother, Redwater, is my daughter," replied Forestcreek. "I still don't know who fathered the kit, though."

Zebrapaw still looked confused. The three apprentices still had trouble with training together, since Swanpaw kept missing the rabbits, and the other five had to try to catch them. Zebrapaw remembered Swanpaw & Icepaw were sisters, but they acted awfully like... awkward friends. Icepaw kept laughing at Swanpaw when she missed a rabbit while Zebrapaw hissed at Icepaw for silence.

But when Icepaw stumbled over a rock while chasing a rabbit, it was Swanpaw's turn to laugh. Then Violetrain & Nutclaw had disappeared, only to find them snogging each other in a bush.

Icepaw tried to approach Zebrapaw and do a flirt, but Zebrapaw snapped, "Ugh, Icepaw, you and my sister & Swanpaw's mentor are disgusting! We're on patrol here!" Swanpaw nodded in agreement and glared at her sister.

Icepaw turned her back on Zebrapaw & Swanpaw and yowled, "Oof, I thought you liked me!"

"If you want to cuddle & kiss, do it at the right time!" Zebrapaw yowled back. Forestcreek agreed with him and added, "Yup, because you can do it in your spare time." Then he turned on Violetrain & Nutclaw and snapped, "Unlike you two! Get back to mentoring!" Forestcreek was, after all, a senior warrior lecturing two young, immature warriors.

The six MoonClan cats went home in silence. Icepaw didn't even attempt anything with Zebrapaw, instead, she just went to sleep, and so did Violetrain & Nutclaw.

"Ugh, sometimes cats get blinded by love, I don't want to be like that," Zebrapaw told Swanpaw. She nodded understandingly in reply, then she pointed to herself and shook her head. Zebrapaw replied, "I know you wouldn't try to be like that either."

Forestcreek was already telling Snowstar about Violetrain and how she should mentor Thymekit.

Out of the blue, Flipsnow from the nursery started screaming her head off.

*"I'M KITTING!"* she yowled in pain.

Zebrapaw & Swanpaw immediately rushed to the nursery, and they saw most of Mountainpaw & Flipsnow's friends come in too. Lilypool & Rainpaw hurried in, too. Littleclaw was there to comfort Flipsnow. His mother, Honeyflight, was there to soothe Flipsnow, and to anticipate new grandchildren, maybe.

Zebrapaw spotted Thymekit shrinking back against his young mother, Redwater, since it was probably his first time seeing a queen give birth and scream so loudly. It was kind of weird to him that she was the cousin of Sandleap, Hailstream, Sealbranch, Quailpaw, Rainpaw & Birchpaw, being the daughter of Forestcreek, who was the brother of Snowstar. But then when he thought about it, she was almost evenly the same age as the three sisters, so it kind of made sense. Robinkit and Soarkit were also hiding behind their mother, since it was also probably scary for them, even though they saw Redwater give birth before.

It took some time, but with Rainpaw assisting Lilypool with the kitting, Flipsnow managed to give birth to a she-cat and a tom. Littleclaw named the she-kit after *his* grandmother, Lilac, and Flipsnow named the tom-kit Jumpkit because he was jumping around the place.

"Our nursery has been blessed by StarClan once again," replied Honeyflight thoughtfully.

Zebrapaw ate a hare after watching Flipsnow kit. He thought that Lilackit & Jumpkit were good names, but he wondered if his own name, a Twoleg saying of a striped horse, was good enough.

**This is a chapter subpage of MoonClan's ambitious story (1): The First Four Leaders.**

*← Previous Chapter: Chapter 11: Swanpaw, Mountainpaw & Berrypaw... Icepaw & ZebrapawNext Chapter: Chapter 13: Sandleap, Flameeye & Tina →*

*← Previous Part: Part 1: Little Birchkit's LifeNext Part: Part 3: Birchcreek's Selflessness →*