Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the morning. Cats were gathering in the clearing where the trees parted and the warmth of greenleaf made the heart of every living thing melt like sap. The Thunderclan camp was preparing themselves for leaffall. Sunleaf, a beautiful dark cream she cat with pale gold speckles, was sprawled out in the open, enjoying the sunrise. She was the early riser in Thunderclan, especially now that her belly was full of kits. Her mate Bubbleblaze padded up to her silently and Sunleaf half jumped as he touched his nose to her ear, purring. " I don't understand those kits." He murmured, his voice muffled by her fur. " Every time I see you, your belly seems two times bigger!" Sunleaf sighed. Bubbleblaze was right. The kits were becoming uncomfortable. " Whiskercream said they are due tomorrow, so this might be my last night of proper sleep until the kits are apprentices." Sunleaf spoke clearly so her mate could hear beneath her thick fur. He removed his head from her pelt when the deputy, Sharpclaw started calling out names of cats for patrols. "Wildfire, you can lead a patrol down to the Riverclan border. Take Bluetail, Thunderstorm, Hazelstrike and of course Dapplepaw with you." Dapplepaw was Wildfire's apprentice. She smiled and shuffled between her mentor and Thunderstorm. Thunderstorm twined his tail around Dapplepaw's and kept it like that until the patrol left. 'They will be mates...' thought Sunleaf. She heard Bubbleblaze being called for a hunting patrol and looked up. She smiled. He was talking to Bushpelt, the other medicine cat. Then Bubbleblaze hurried off to catch up to the rest of his patrol. Sunleaf waited until his tail was out of sight, then she heaved herself up and stalked toward the nursery. As soon as she sat in her nest, an aching pain crawled through her belly. Sunleaf blinked from shock and excitement. 'Are my kits here?' Bushpelt and Willowstream were walking by when Sunleaf let out a screech of agony. They both whipped around and gasped. Bushpelt sprinted to the medicine cats den and Willowstream hurried over to Sunleaf. "Is there anything I can do?" She asked. Sunleaf could barely make out a word, but she managed to say something. "Water!" She cried between spasms. Willowstream nodded. "I'll ask Inkpaw if she can get some soaked moss." She rushed off to find the apprentice and came back a few moments later. Sunleaf saw Inkpaw's dark shape slip out of camp. "It hurts so much!" She hissed through gritted teeth. "I know." Sunleaf was surprised by Willowstream's calm voice. "Count my stripes." She said then turned so that all Sunleaf could see was her gray tabby pelt. Sunleaf let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Sunleaf had lost track of how many stripes she counted when Bushpelt came back with Whiskercream. At the same moment, three things happened: Bubbleblaze burst into camp, Inkpaw came into sight with soaked moss, and Sunleaf felt a great wave of pain make its way though her belly. She closed her eyes and prayed for it to be over soon. When she opened them, Bubbleblaze was purring beside her. "I wonder what they'll look like!" He said. Sunleaf started to purr, but was cut off by a huge spasm. Her eyes clouded with pain for a moment but when she opened them, there was a tiny sac which Whiskercream carefully sliced open. A tiny She kit emerged from the sac. Bubbleblaze licked the kit with love then nuzzled her to Sunleaf. The little kit was beautiful! She had a light brown pelt with a white patch on her side. She poked around her mother's muzzle until she reached the belly where she instantly started to suckle. Then another spasm followed and out popped another kit. The sac was slit by Bushpelt , licked by Bubbleblaze, and nuzzled towards Sunleaf. A little Tom with a spotted grey pelt rolled to Sunleaf's belly and also started suckling. "Two kits, a tom and a She kit!" Bushpelt exclaimed. Sunleaf felt pride and exhaustion. Bubbleblaze curled around her and the kits. "You can sleep. I will make sure nothing happens." He said.
"Thank you." Sunleaf sighed before drifting asleep...

Sunleaf woke up to the weird feeling of paws at her belly. She opened her eyes and looked lovingly at her and Bubbleblaze's kits. She looked around and spotted her mate talking to Acornclaw. "You're awake!" He mewed in excitement. He glanced at the kits who were now starting to pull away from Sunleaf's belly. "What should we name them?" He asked. The kits were doing their own thing. The She kit was hopping around and the Tom was curled into a ball. " Maybe Birdkit. For the She kit. What about the Tom?" Bubbleblaze thought for a moment. "Rockkit. Birdkit and Rockkit." He said. Sunleaf smiled. She nuzzled the kits towards her as their stubby tails strayed to droop. "Great!" Bubbleblaze's eyes shone. "Being a father will be awesome! Do you agree Acornclaw?" Sunleaf had forgotten about Acornclaw. He was a father as well. He and Honeytail had two kits. Hazelstrike and Bushpelt. Acornclaw had watched them grow up and he could guide Bubbleblaze through tough times. The two were like brothers in a way, they were raised together, grew up together and became warriors together. "Being a father is indescribable and an opportunity of a lifetime." Suddenly, six cats burst through the barrier. " Hollystar! Hollystar!" One of them called. Hollystar rushed out of her den in a rush. "What is it?!" When she saw the cats panting in front of her she frowned. "Cloudstripe? What are you doing here?" The scent of Windclan flooded Sunleaf's nose. Cloudstripe was Windclan's deputy so whatever she was in Thunderclan for had to be important. "Windclan is being attacked! Ravenstar sent us to get help!" Sunleaf recognized them quickly. Besides Cloudtail, there was Slatefur, Redleaf, Flowersong, Cherryheart, and Blackberry. " Do you need another medicine cat?" Sharpclaw asked. "Yes very much. " Huffed Blackberry. "There are so many cats, and so much blood..." He shivered. "Get all hunting patrols back! We need all the clan!!" Hollystar told the remaining cats. They quickly vanished to gather their clan as Hollystar and Sharpclaw began making adjustments.