---;;; Visitation

[Sydney]

It was rather unusual to see Birchclaw up and near the nursery walls, the exotic tom had often commented enough about how annoying queens and kits were that you would think he would never step paw into the cave. After all, Birchclaw wasn't the type of tom to purposely frequent things that annoyed him, he dealt with annoyance swiftly and cruelly, as many cats had seen in the past.

A swift bop to the head to an apprentice here, the baring of teeth to a kit there.

He wasn't exactly a ”kind” tom, after all.

And yet, here he was, strutting up towards the entrance of the nursery as if he didn't have a care in the world.

As if, for once, he wasn't thinking and just acting.

But, if you knew the cat well enough, you'd know that this was never the case with Birchclaw.

He never stopped thinking.

He was always one step ahead, one angry, tireless step ahead.

Slinking through the cramped entrance into the Skyclan nursery, the tom forced a fake smile onto his face, his golden eyes twinkling with hidden thoughts. There had been such a commotion in here earlier, Sandcloud rushing in and kits and queen piling out as she did so. In fact, the poor little kits and queens hadn't returned yet, perhaps too startled by the news of Brightkit's death to return.

No fur off his back though, it just left the nursery even more empty.

”Hello, Dovetail,” A faux sympathetic smile shifted onto his face, his eyes crinkling with some sort of fake worry, “how are you today?”

Dovetail was such a pretty little she-cat, it was such a shame her mate had to go and die, leaving her all alone in the world.

Such a terrible, terrible shame.

Tossing his head back, the tom let his little charade shatter away, he couldn't keep it up for too long, after all.

Instead, a smirk drifted onto his face as he looked the queen over and spotted the two little bundles of fur near her.

”Oh, you've had your kits,” The smirk twitched off his face for a moment as he spoke, ”how wonderful.”

Crinkling the skin around his face, as if in genuine wonder, the tom let his haughty smirk return.

”What are their names?”

Yes, yes, it was such a shame Mudwhisker had to go and die.

But, not too much of a shame, after all, with him gone, Dovetail was all alone.

And Birchclaw liked seeing cats alone.

Especially pretty little she-cats.

Yes, yes, especially pretty little she-cats.
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(( He is such a creeper. xD ))

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Dovetail lay alone in the cool den, brooding over her kits and her absent mate. She had been doing that a lot recently - brooding. Mudwhisker had been a significant part of her life; with him gone, she just felt so empty. Looking down at the two small bundles nestled next to her, she smiled sadly and thought that these two kits were all she had left to remind her of her beloved mate. She hadn't named them yet... she hadn't really had the time to think about it. After the kits were born, she had cleaned them thoroughly and made sure they were nursing well, and then she had drifted into a light sleep, exhausted by the ordeals of the morning. She had only woken up recently, perhaps roused by the muffled commotion that she could hear coming from the clearing.

Looking up at the sound of pawsteps entering the den, Dovetail's reverie was broken by the appearance of Birchclaw slipping inside out of the baking sun. The dappled grey queen gazed soberly at the tom as he approached, taking in his expression with polite acceptance. She hadn't spoken much to the tom, not before Mudwhisker's death, and certainly not after. But she did know him from patrols and seeing him around camp, and she was happy to have a visitor. "Good morning, Birchclaw," she mewed in her sweet, subdued voice. She supposed it was rather late in the morning, but she didn't think that sunhigh had hit quite yet. "I am well, thank you." That wasn't exactly the truth; she had never been exactly well since Mudwhisker died, but as her days went, this one had been fairly good. Her kits had finally been born, after all, both healthy and strong. She couldn't ask for much more than that.

The queen's features creased as Birchclaw's smile faded, replaced with a sour smirk. She wondered if she had done something to put the sneer on his face, or perhaps it was simply customary for him. From what little she knew of the tom, he wasn't the most warm of cats. "I... I haven't named them yet," she said vaguely. Her mind drifted back to her kits, and she wondered what she should decide to call them. The first tom was very small, but other than that, there wasn't much about him that stood out. His short fur was unmarked by stripes or swirls, and was caught somewhere between grey and brown. His larger brother was the spitting image of his father, with the same dark brown fur. She considered naming him Mudkit, but realized with a sad smile that she could never live with the constant reminder of her lost love. There would never be another Mudwhisker; better not to try to replace him, because such a thing simply wasn't possible.

"What do you think I should name them?" she asked suddenly, lifting her sky-blue gaze back up to Birchclaw. She found herself wanting a second opinion; it was just to hard to try to deal with this on her own. Of all the times to be alone, it was even harder now that she had kits to take care of. Dovetail blinked slowly, and wondered how she would possibly manage to raise Mudwhisker's kits properly without him by her side. At that moment, she simply didn't feel capable of anything.

[Sydney]

At Dovetail's words, Birchclaw's face twisted into a faux smile, his eyes looking over the two tiny scraps of fur near her belly. ”I see, well, of course you haven't had time to name them yet.” Tossing his head to the side, the tom's mouth twitched for a moment, his mind whilring with hidden, secret thoughts.

Thoughts that were only his alone to know.

”Me,” Looking as if he was flattered by the question, the gray tom cocked his head, eying the two scraps of fur once more. In reality, he didn't really care what the two little scraps' names were but, he would pretend that he did. It was always nice to get on the good side of cats, by feigning just tiny things like that.

Yes, very good.

Keeping a smirk off his face as a thought drifted into his mind, the tom forced a smile onto his angry looking face. ”Why, this one here,” he motioned with his tail to the muddy-brown kit. (Spitting image of Mudwhisker, his mind chided, causing the tom to merely grimace.) ”is a rather healthy looking one, isn't he?” He paused, his face twisting back into its normal smirky manner. “Perhaps.... something, strong would be best suited for him.”

He cocked his head, staring back at Dovetail.

”Hawk-kit, maybe, my dear? Or perhaps even Falconkit, those are both strong names.”

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Dovetail lay quietly next to her kits, gazing blankly at them, as if she didn't know what to do with them. She felt a powerful bond of love already for them, but yet the sight of them made her sad, as well. They were all that remained of her relationship with Mudwhisker. She wondered how she could love them so much, yet they could cause her so much sorrow. Glancing back up at Birchclaw, she blinked rapidly at his suggestion and flicked her startled gaze back to her kits. "You don't think this one looks unhealthy, does it?" she mewed worriedly, flicking her tail over the smaller kit. It was true that it looked so weak next to its larger sibling... Was Sandcloud right when she said that it would be fine? She pondered Birchclaw's suggestions for names. Hawk-kit and Falconkit were both good names... they were powerful, cunning names. She thought that she would want Mudwhisker's kit to have those traits. But, looking at the sleeping tom, she thought that she would also be happy if he turned out to be more gentle, as well. She considered it a bit further and turned over another name in her mind.

"What about Eaglekit?" she thought out loud. Eagles were strong, proud creatures... but she felt like they were more mellow than hawks and falcons. The great eagle had no need for excessive energy when it ruled the skies. The more she thought about it, the more she thought that the name suited the little tom. His soft brown fur reminded her of the dark, solid brown of the golden eagles that she had occasionally seen soaring in slow circles over the ravine. Looking at the tom kit, she felt a new wave of love wash through her now that she had a name to call her son. Eaglekit. Then she looked at his brother. He deserved a name too. There wasn't much defining about him, unlike his littermate. His fur was an unremarkable shade of grey-brown, and he had no stripes or markings on him. The only thing that marked him was his small size, which still worried her. Yet... perhaps Sandcloud was right after all, and he was just a small kit. Perhaps he would live and grow alongside his brother, and come to be a strong, healthy apprentice. In that case, she had a name for him as well. "And this one will be Littlekit," she decided, blinking at the soft, greyish kitten beside her. She felt content, now that she had names for both of them. They were truly members of the Clan now.

[Sydney]

Flicking his gaze to the tiny scrap of fur Dovetail was talking about, Birchclaw let some sort of smile shift onto his face. Fake or not, the gesture still held the secretive, smirky look most of his expression held. ”No, of course not my dear. I'm sure he'll grow up into a strong, fine warrior.” Throwing his head back, as if fixing his fur, the tom glanced back down at the scrap of fur. In truth, the little kit looked more like a drowned rat then anything but, who was he to speak? Birchclaw had been a runt, after all.

And just look how he turned out.

Perfectly fine, right?

Of course.

A frown, or, look of displeasure shot onto the gray tom's face as Dovetail's mind seemed to drift off, her eyes holding a glazed over look.

She finally spoke up, after a moment and Birchclaw had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Sometimes she-cats were just... Shaking his head, the tom smiled down at Dovetail, his eyes hiding whatever thoughts that entered his head perfectly. ”Those are,” He paused, as if searching for words or, perhaps to savor the moment. It was always hard to tell with the exotic tom. ”beautiful names, my dear Dovetail.” Flicking his ears back, the tom sat down on his haunches, bringing a paw up to smooth the fur on his cheeks back. His eyes flicked to the queen momentarily, his fanged teeth pulling back as he talked while placing his paw back down.

”Now, my dear, why are you all alone in here? Have the others still not returned?”

The skin above his eye was bunched up, as if risen in a questioning manner.

For once, he was rather curious why the other queens hadn't bunched in to see the new arrival.

That was what queens were suppose to do, wasn't it?

Yes, yes, he thought so, at least.