Meadowclaw looked to Stormblaze, surprised at his admittance. Her yellow eyes blinked.

"There was never a doubt in my mind," she said softly, turning to Jayflower without a second word.

Stormblaze, pushed aside by Meadowclaw, offered her a smile. He wondered if the she-cat remembered him. They'd only had a few encounters, nonetheless, he still admired her. Awkward as he was, he knew she was only teasing. The grey and white tom, not knowing much of boundaries and only believing in family. Pulled Meadowclaw into a makeshift hug. "Stormrose is amazing and I will take good care of her. I hope you approve." He smiled.

Hiddenstrike stayed put, knowing that the nursery was no place for him. He may be a father, but Tidebreaker needed to have this moment. Alone with his kits. He remembered the first time he laid eyes on his three girls. From that day on, he knew he was a goner. His girls.

Willowkit tried to flea the scene, but Mapletail got a hold of her before she could run, "Mom!" She squealed, struggled in her death grip. "dad help meeee." She reached out to her father, but Hiddenstrike shot his daughter an evil grin and shook his head. "Traiter." She pouted.

Hiddenstrike did something so out of character, it shocked willowkit to the bone. "Imma join you." He scooped Inkkit and Hyzenthlay into their family huddle and snuggled together.

Ripplestream and Fadewhisker left the nursery to join up with Blacknose and Blizzardkit while Tidebreaker stayed behind and curled himself around his new family. Ocean eyes wide with amazement and love. "They're beautiful. And you, my love, did amazing." He licked her cheek before he looked down at his children. "All bengals, just like their mother." It warmed his heart.

Ocelotstride managed to follow Tidebreaker and his family into the nursery, her heart was pounding a mile each second as so many terrible thoughts began to tumble into her mind. She found herself in tears, wondering if her kits would end up like Fadewhisker's with no life to live or what if it was the opposite, with no mother to hold and care for them under her wing. Her glistening blue-green found itself looking up at Ripplestream and it seemed as though she were speaking, however Ocelotstride could only make out so much. "Ripplestream...W-what if-..." The Bengal hesitated, her eyes wandering toward the entrance where Tidebreaker's sister had left. She couldn't say anything, but a lingering cry escaped her muzzle as pain flooded over her until she couldn't stand it any longer.

And there lay at her stomach, four beautiful kits of different shades of Bengal colors. Ocelotstride was exhausted, however she lifted her head to stare at them with such awe. 'How could something so small, mean so much?'

Mapletail looked to Hiddenstrike as Ripplestream rushed off, knowing Ocelotstride's dilemma perfectly but feeling it was not her place. Jayflower was going to speak, but they were already in the clearing. She sighed, letting the pomp of the encounter overcome her.

"You know, I can hear everything you three are saying," she said in accusation to Hyzenthlay and Willowkit, "And I do not, in fact, conform to any of your opinions of me. In fact, I think I'll PDA you all three right now!" she said, coming down on the three kittens with the strength of a thousand suns, lips pursed to blow across their heads in a game of her own making: avoid mama's breath.

Hyznethlay squealed, scattered.

Meadowclaw sidled into Crimsonfox's ear, "You know, I always expected you to be the first one to find a mate. You're falling behind," she whispered.

The black and white tom almost passed out, his breath taken from him by her words. He was just about to freak out when he realized something. This was ocelotstride. His rock and now she needed him. Tidebreaker couldn't imagine how painful giving birth would be, but he was determined to sit it out with her, by her side. He needed to make sure that he was her crutch like she had been for him. A determined fire lit up his blue eyes. "I apologize Jayflower, but Ocelotstride and I have to remove ourselves from this meeting." He stated to his leader, hoping she'd understand the importance of the situation. He turned away, catching his sister's and mother's gaze. A silent message passed between the cats and they were off, helping the Bengal queen to the nursery.

Ripplestream curled herself up beside Ocelotstride's face, blue eyes gleaming with pride. "You are strong Ocelotstride and before you know it, you'll have beautiful bundles of joy beside you. Tidebreaker, I need you you to grab fresh moss, Fadewhisker water and possibly anyone else out there willing to lend a helping paw." And with that they were off."

Tidebreaker was back in a flash, knowing he shouldn't be too far away from his mate.

Marshmumble padded into the MoonClan camp, relieving the queen who had nursed her litter in her absence. She stood over the small lifeforms- Hollykit, Cinnamonkit, Amarylliskit, Mistletoekit, Redkit, Pinekit, Evergreenkit. They were just starting out. It saddened the starcat greatly that they would only know her affections fleetingly.

"I love you all so much," she whispered, giving them all a comforting lick. "May the sun always be to your back to warm your pelt, may your endeavors always succeed, and I hope- pray- that the day we meet again is many seasons away."

She leaned back, a sniffle in her gaze, and closed her eyes, shifting back to StarClan, where the dead belonged.

InkKit laid down next to her two chatty sisters, Hyzenthlay and WillowKit. Although the three received constant attention from family members and clanmates, they all had a particularly close bond. InkKit was by far the quietest, but had similar fascinations to the other two. WillowKit and Hyzenthlay were commenting on their clanmates as she thumped her fluffy tail on the ground rhythmically.

Crimsonfox raised his brows, wondering what had been so funny, but then a cool grin flashed onto his muzzle when his yellow eyes flashed toward his sister. "Wow, you know, somehow I expected that eventually," he meowed with a small purr as the fellow found his way to Stormrose.

Singingjay smiled and took a step back from the molly to watch her bound off onto the High Rock.

"No-no I'm...er.. j-just joking..." Ocelotstride's voice grew sarcastic and she flashed Tidebreaker the 'are you kidding me?' look that any molly could give when she was obviously serious. She felt as though she wanted to curl up into a ball and never be seen. Discomfort crawled onto her pretty face, her ears flattening as another couple of strong contractions came upon her. "I can't believe....Ugh-Fadew-whisker...felt-t this....N-never again will I-I." The molly groan quietly, her tail beginning to lash.

Milfoilcloud sobbed onto her sister's shoulder as the cat passed away, the dull scent of death filling the nursery and settling into her own pelt as she allowed her grief to poor out. The kits; mewling broke her from this state.

"You will need someone to look after you now..." She miserably meowed, sniffing as she looked down at them. StarClan, light our paths, she thought, and searched for the strength to get up. She could grieve when the others had been cared for and the kits desperately needed a nursing queen.

Meadowclaw looked to Crimsonfox, surprised at his common sense. "O-oh," she said, before laughing.

"Let's go find our family then- Valleystorm- there's Stormrose. Hey! Who's she leaning on!" Meadowclaw's smile widened and she chuckled. The first of her children to have a mate!

A lifetime of training led her to this moment.

The queen walked up and promptly wedged herself between the two cats, calling over her shoulder. "Crimsonfox, Valleystorm, over here!" she said, giving Stormrose a knowing grin. "Leave room for StarClan," she whispered in her ear. Mapletail's heart skipped a beat at the proclomation. She'd never felt like a part of the mega-litter she was born into- Ripplestream's confirmation comforted her very soul.

"Th-thank you," she said wondrously, as her ear twitched at Jayflower's announcement. She turned, "Sh-should we?" she pondered aloud, wondering if anything could be more important than the scene she took part in.

Hyzenthlay agreed with Willowkit, watching the three cats. "She's twitterpated."

Hiddenstrike let a smile appear, leaning into her side. The warmth radiating from her seemed to calm him.

“Thanks.” Willowkit mewed, stepping a side to huddle beside her sister. “I’ve never seen mom show that much affection before. I thought she hated pda.” She whispered, glancing between her parents.

Ripplestream beamed at them- Hiddenstrike now knowing where Stormblaze gets his personality from. “I’m so happy for you both. My love stretches to you too, Mapletail. You’re apart of the family.” The silver tabby confirmed.

Stormblaze sat beside Stormrose, gazing up at Jayflower expectantly. He would need to get used to displaying his affection but for now, he brushed his own pelt against hers.

Blacknose motioned for Tidebreaker and Fadewhisker to follow him, Blizzardkit on their heels. Tidebreaker hung back to sit beside Ocelotstride and her family. Ocean blue eyes widened, glancing between his mate’s face and her belly. “Are you serious?” Oh starclan, help this poor boy.

Stormrose watched as Stormblaze ran all over the camp sharing the news. She laughed, one of the reasons she loved him so much was because of his kit-like behavior on occasions. While she was a tad embarrassed, her happiness took over and made her forget about all that. She leaned her head against Stormblaze, taking in a breath of cold air to relax herself from all of the excitement. She wished she could stay like this forever.

Ocleotstride felt her whole stomach roll when she began to watch Tidebreaker play with her sister. Her claws scratched at the ground with a small groan towards her loving mate. "Starclan...Tide...They're getting stronger." The Bengal didn't want to disrupt anything that had been happening within the camp, promising herself to try to wait until she absolutely couldn't handle it.

Crimsonfox shot his mother a look as he sat beside her. "Mom....Why wouldn't they?" The color-point asked, wondering just how serious his mother truly was.

Mapletail picked up on Hiddenstrike's hidden message and laughed- she was being too uptight about this. She smiled as Ripplestream praised her second-favorite daughter. Nobody could hold a candle to Ink-kit.

"Say thank you, Willow," she cooed to her little one, dipping her head softly to Ripplestream. Once this was accomplished, the she-cat stood. "Thank you for your wonderful son- I know I seem so steadfast and resilient, what with my personality and all," satire framed her words, but the emotion quickly snuffed it out, "But it's really all him that brought me back to MoonClan, and him that's made me who I am today. A mother. A warrior again. I'm just so thankful to you- and all you've given me from StarClan," she leaned into Hiddenstrike, her head on his strong shoulders.

Hyzenthlay watched her mother's display of affection and stuck out her purple tongue, turning to Willowkit. "You believe this?"

Sandbreeze whimpered with pain- something squeezed her heart, and it wasn't emotion. It was her tumor, and pained her greatly, and she collapsed with her head on the moss, unable to speak of it. Fear gripped her heart, and something about Milfoilcloud's temperament caused her even greater distress. She sucked in a last bite of air through her tightly clenched teeth, and then stilled, willing to let go.

She was surprised when her eyes opened, and felt it all go- Milfoilcloud was there, sobbing. And Sandbreeze's seafoam eyes focused on her and she realized that she could see.

She could see her own body- stars, she looked a fright. But those kittens were beautiful.

Sandbreeze opened her mouth- "I-" she stopped, realizing what had happened. Death. She took it surprisingly well, for a dead cat, but she was simply overcome with it all. Her sister, seeing her again, her kittens. The clan. And now a StarClan cat walking among the living. Sandbreeze was surprised she'd made the cut.

"Y-you were saying?" she opened her mouth to speak, not willing to count her blessings. But the words wouldn't reach Milfoilcloud- Sandbreeze thought better of the interaction. She would be able to see Milfoilcloud again one day- in the right terms. Letting her sister grieve in the most natural way- it felt kinder. Something kept Sandbreeze from being the most dramatic she could be. With one sad look to her kittens, Sandbreeze wished Milfoilcloud aloud, "I'll see you again. I love you all," she said before looking up to the stars and disappearing. By her mother's dead belly, Dandelionkit began to whimper.

Meadowclaw turned from Valleystorm and looked up at Jayflower, culling her conversation and pulling over towards the soon-to-be leader.

"Do dead cats count?" she called out, though she was serious.

Moonstar and Emberstar settled side-by-side among the living MoonClanners before the high rock, whispering back and forth a moment before falling silent.

Jayflower nodded and walked her mentor disappear with the stars. She looked at Singingjay. "Thank you so much for your help." She spoke kindly and stood and jumped up to the High Rock and smiled down at her clan. "May all cats old enough to caught their own pray gather at the High Rock for a Clan meeting." She spoke a strong voice. She stood strong with her head high. She waited for her clan to make their way to the High Rock.

"But when they ask, I'll have to just tell them the truth: that you couldn't see," Milfoilcloud meowed, trying to sound like she was making a joke, but her voice broke into a sob half way through. "Sandbreeze, we were supposed to grow old together!"

"Ripplestream, sorry if I made things awkward. I just wanted to meet you and these little bundles of joy." She purred, gazing down at Willowkit with a smile. She was so proud of her kits, all of them. "And you my dear, are beautiful, just like your mother. Strong too I bet." She poked the little she-cat's side, receiving a giggle in return.

Hiddenstrike, a little awkward by the situation, focused his yellow gaze on his mate. Sorry. He mouthed to her, hoping he hadn't made her too uncomfortable.

Stormblaze turned his attention toward camp and yowled with excitment. He raced over to Fadewhisker, Tidebreaker and Blacknose to tell them the good nose and then stopped by his mother and Hiddenstrike to also let them know. He returned to Stormrose moments after, signature toothy grin on his face.

Blossomstar tipped his head at Jayflower. "You'll be a fine leader." He said, before turning away and walking until he disappeared back to starclan.

Softlullaby grinned at Valleystorm, "I'm so proud of you, And I always, always, will love you," she said, dipping her head to her taller daughter, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have . . . a bunch of grandkits to meet," she said, moving away and leaving Meadowclaw and Valleystorm alone together.

Meadowclaw turned to her sibling, "Wow," she said quietly, looking at the camp. Mapletail had kittens- Meadowclaw noted her return with neither disdain nor adoration. Crimsonfox was a bachelor eligible to be snatched up any second. And a quick glance to her left showed Stormrose and Stormblaze sharing an intimate and beautiful moment, the likes of which made Meadowclaw smile and purr for her mate, who'd stayed in the stars.

"Do you ever think there could be so much love born of tragedy?" she asked, a contemplative look in her gaze as she sat down. As a dead cat, she didn't feel she belonged, though she looked upon her daughter adoringly.

"Hello there," Mapletail said, offering Crimsonfox a sympathetic glance as she was pulled away. The tom seemed lost in life- the queen hoped he'd find his way around, one day.

But now she was being thrust into the position of daughter-in-law, and Mapletail wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. She smiled awkwardly, struggling to calm her fur. It'd been so long since she'd been around any cats that she couldn't run away from.

"Um, hello," she said, dipping her head as she struggled for a followup. She was unable to put together facts- she sighed, "I'm afraid you'll just have to tell me- who are you? We've never met," she said before Willowkit spoke. Mapletail felt like she should scold her- but for what? The cat did look like a star.

Hyzenthlay looked over at the new cats surrounding her mother and father and shrugged, "Otay. See you later, star-cat!" she said, trotting over. She went straight to jump on her father's back, aiming for his ears.

Mapletail snickered as Hyzenthlay went straight for daddy, but she couldn't react much. She felt like she was under examination from all sides- she was no great beauty, she felt, and she was unable to hunt or fight for long with her internal injuries from Jupiter's goons. So she was only able to give Hiddenstrike what she could- her love, her affection, and her body to produce mashed-up clones of the both of them.

Softlullaby didn't walk up to anybody else like she'd said she would. She walked to the middle of the clearing and circled, the she-cat watching the clan she grew up in make its rounds in the break of disaster. There was new life and old love and death, just as there would always be. But her story was told- she'd made her appearance. Anybody who would come after would be told stories, or meet her directly in death. Her story had been finished, her arc complete. And in a soft moment, Softlullaby closed her eyes and released herself back into StarClan for the last time, returning early. Where her paws had stood moments before, a single chocolate-brown oak leaf tumbled away in the breeze.

Sandbreeze snickered, "That sounds like a plan. But let's name the flame-point dandelion and the yellow one starlingkit, just to mess with them," she said, laying her head down on the nest. Stars, when had she become so tired?

She shook her head, and looked Stormblaze in the eyes, "I would never do that." she purred, "I think, that I have loved you for a while. But I just, didn't really understand what I was feeling, until you described it" she explained, feeling unable to stop smiling. "I'm just, really glad that this happened. I've never been as happy as I am when I'm with you, and I'm overjoyed that you feel the same too"