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Bluefeather picked up a borage leaf in her jaws, hesitating for a long second before she turned and brought the leaf to her patient.
Briarshine’s kits would be coming any day now, and her milk still hadn’t come in. Bluefeather was worried, given what she was about to ask of her sister.
Bluefeather watched in silence as her sister chewed the herb she’d been given, screwing up her nose at the bitter leaf taste. Briarshine swallowed thickly and eyed her sister for a moment before meowing, “You can tell me anything, you know. We’re sisters, after all.”
“Yes,” Bluefeather forced a purr. “I know I can trust you.”
It was true, really. Bluefeather was sure she could trust her sister with just about anything, but this… This would be a big ask. And it wasn’t Briarshine that worried Bluefeather, but her mate, Ashstar.
“So?” Briarshine prompted. “What is it that’s bothering you?”
Bluefeather peeked around her sister, checking for any cats lurking near the den. When she’d decided any prying eyes and ears were far enough away, Bluefeather inched closer to her sister, bending her head cospiratorily.
“You have to promise not to tell anyone,” Bluefeather began, whispering into her sister’s ear.
“Of course!” Briarshine gasped, ears twitching towards her sister.
“I-I’m expecting kits,” Bluefeather forced the words out, bitter and unfamiliar on her tongue. She’d only said the words once before, spoken quietly to her mate in the dead of the night. She’d been so scared then, just as she was now, but at least with Nightfall she knew he’d love her anyways. It was a lot to ask a sister to conspire with you like this.
To her credit, Briarshine managed to remain calm. “Whose kits?” She asked, voice dropping to a nearly imperceptible whisper.
“A ThunderClan tom- it’s not important.” A lie; it was very important she keep her mate’s identity a secret, even from her sister. It would ruin Nightfall if his Clanmates found out their deputy was having an affair with the ShadowClan medicine cat.
“What are you going to do about them?” Briarshine asked, thankfully completely moving past Bluefeather’s evasive answer about her kits’ father.
“That’s the thing,” Bluefeather began, shuffling her paws nervously. “I was wondering… Hoping, really… That- that you’d take them?” Bluefeather looked up at her sister, waiting for a reaction.
And a reaction she received.
Briarshine’s face fell and her eyes hardened. “You want me to pass off some ThunderClan tom’s kits as Ashstar’s? What if they come out orange or brown? What if they have amber eyes? How will I explain that to him? He’ll think I cheated on him!” Briarshine got to her paws, tail lashing. “Not to mention the age difference! You’re hardly showing, Bluefeather, even if we somehow managed to sneak your kits into my litter, it’d be obvious when mine are half a moon old and yours are still wet. How could you ask me this, Bluefeather? What kind of cat asks her sister to lie to her mate about their kittens? I’m ashamed to be your sister!”
Bluefeather took Briarshine’s harsh words in silence, head hung even as her sister turned and fled from the den. Bluefeather knew she could calm some of Briarshine’s worries, but others she knew Briarshine was right about. It would be hard to pass off kits with a half moon of age difference as siblings for a long while. If it were going to work, Bluefeather would have to drag Briarshine away from the Clan for several moons- it’d surely be a disaster.
It doesn’t matter anymore, Bluefeather thought bitterly. In a few days Sunstream will announce her prophecy and I’ll have to take my kits far away from here.
Bluefeather got to her paws and moved to her nest in the back of the den, tears welling up in her eyes. This upcoming Gathering would be her last chance to see Nightfall and let him know what would become of his kits- raised alone by a mother who hardly knows how to hunt. She’d be lucky to have a warrior by her side- perhaps she could convince Lightningstrike to help her? Was he kind enough to feed kits that weren’t his own? Honestly, she hardly knew the tom. He’d been a warrior for several seasons, but despite the large scar on his flank, he seemed to never get hurt or fall ill. She hadn’t had much chance to speak to him, and it’s not like she’d grown up with him, as he’d only joined ShadowClan recently. He was her only hope, really. She’d have to speak to him after the Gathering, but for now… For now, she would sleep.