DarkMoss felt her fur prick. Thistle stood up next to her, nudging her forward. Cats moved out of the way, leaving a clear path up to high rock. DarkMoss hated that everyone was staring at her. Their glazes burning holes in her dusty brown pelt. After what seemed like a moon of walking, DarkMoss sat down in front of the clan, Thistle next to her. DarkMoss nudged Thistle, hoping that he would go first.

"Nutmeg, the mother of Thrushkit, Starkit, Creekkit and Honeykit, was my mate. I didn't know she was expecting before I left. After she had the kits, she died, leaving them defenseless against some awful cats that would've killed them." Thistle called out.
"Thankfully, a friend of Thistle's caught us on a boarder patrol and told us before anyone could have hurt them, or just have died from the cold or starvation." DarkMoss added after she got situated with the stares from the clan.
"So you brought in a rouge's kits?" DarkMoss heard Adderclaw call out. Thistle nodded his head.
"Who's going to raise them, Silverpatch can't, that would be too many kits for one cat!" Sageheart questioned.
"I could." DarkMoss said quietly.
"Are you sure DarkMoss?" Ashstar looked down from her spot on high rock. Thistle looked over at her.
"Yeah. I think I am." DarkMoss said louder.
"DarkMoss will raise Thistle's kits. No one will treat them like an outcast because there," Ashstar had to stop to come up with the term. "Halfclan. Anything else?" Ashstar asked.
"So are we supposed to hunt for five more cats?" DarkMoss couldn't determine who said it.
"I'm sure DarkMoss won't stop hunting, at least for a while." Ashstar told the cat.
"Clan dismissed." Ashstar called when no one said anything. For some reason DarkMoss remembered that her ear had been slightly torn by Birch. She swipes a paw over her ear, no blood or anything was on it.
"Thistle, who cleaned my ear?" DarkMoss asked the grey tabby tom.
"I think Silverpatch did." He replied.
"Oh, how did I not wake up from it?"
"You stayed up all night running, so you where wore out, it's obvious." Patch butted in, the tom has walked up without DarkMoss knowing that he was approaching.
"I should've known you where going to be you." DarkMoss told the grey tom.
"It's been to long since I tormented you." He replied in his usual tone.

"Great." DarkMoss said blandly, yet some how playfully. DarkMoss headed back into the nursery, Patch was following her.
"Hi DarkMoss!" Sapkit squeaked, she looked up from fighting with her brothers.
"Hello Sapkit, Hollowkit and Whitekit." DarkMoss replied to the kits.
"Look out! It's a fox!" Whitekit declared, charging at DarkMoss. After watching the kit scamper towards her, DarkMoss shifted her paw, causing Whitekit to trip.
"Not today, maybe Patch will play with you." DarkMoss looked over at the tom with a small smile.

"Nice one." DarkMoss picked up her pace, leaving Patch with the three kits. She ducked into the den, seeing Silverpatch laying in her nest, DarkMoss' kits laying next to her. Silverpatch's kits fighting in the space around the nest.
"Can I have my kits back?" DarkMoss joked. Silverpatch looked away from her kits and up at DarkMoss.
"But your nest is warm, and mine's not."
"How many kits are in here, 13?" That's a lot of kits, even without Silverpatch. Finchwing had her three, Hollowkit, Sapkit and Whitekit. Silverpatch's five, Stormkit, Mosskit, Lightingkit, Thunderkit, And Daisykit. Then DarkMoss' four, Starkit, Honeykit, Thrushkit And Creekkit.

"I'm not a kit, you mouse-brain." Silverpatch carfully got out of the nest, trying not to wake up her kits.
"Sure your not."
"DarkMoss is though." Patch walked into the den as soon as DarkMoss curled around her kits.
"Why's that?" DarkMoss told the tom.
"You know why." Patch responded. Finchwing's kits bounded in after him.

"Hollowkit, Sapkit, Whitekit, get out of there. You don't need to be disturbing DarkMoss." Finchwing's tone was stern.
"Finchwing They-" she cut DarkMoss off.
"No, you need to rest." Her tone lightened up a bit. Her kits scampered out of the den, only leaving Silverpatch, Patch, DarkMoss and their kits.

~~~

DarkMoss watched her kits play with some lose balls of moss. It had been a few sunrises since she brought the kits to the clans. Thrushkit's, Starkit's, Honeykit's, and Creekkit's personalizes were already starting to show. Thrushkit was a bit rougher, and more independent while Starkit loved being with his sisters and playing with everyone.
"Can we go outside?" Starkit asked again. DarkMoss hadn't let them out just yet, it had been too muddy from the snow melt. Before answering, she looked outside.
"I guess, don't get in trouble though." DarkMoss followed her kits outside, Silverpatch's and Finchwing's where already outside.

"Whoa! It's so big out here!" DarkMoss couldn't help but to give a slight laugh at Starkit's comment.
"This is nothing, out side of camp, only StarClan knows how far it goes." DarkMoss told him. After a moment of him staring at DarkMoss he bounded off to Silverpatch's kits. The rustling of the camp entrance caught DarkMoss' attention. Brambletail walked in first her head low. She looked up at DarkMoss, her gaze was filled with sorrow.

"Get back in the den." DarkMoss told her kits. She knew the look on Brambletail's face wasn't good.
"We just got out here though!" Thrushkit protested, followed by his littermate saying 'yeah!'
"Get back into the nest." Starkit was the first to trot back to the den, his head hung low for a second. "And the rest of you." DarkMoss nosed Thrushkit back into the den, stomping as he padded in. Creekkit and Honeykit followed.

"Why'd you make them go back in?" Silverpatch asked.
"Just how Brambletail looked at me, something isn't right." DarkMoss' voice trailed off as she saw Aquaspear, Emberstream, and Shrubberry walked into the den, Dragging Sageheart. Quailpaw came in last, his head low. Grief and anger surged through DarkMoss.

"DarkMoss are you-" DarkMoss didn't hear the rest of Silverpatch was going to say, she had to find Thistle. Why did I forgive that stupid little trader? I shouldn't have listened to him. DarkMoss headed to the waterfall, where Thistle would be hunting.