❂► T H E   U N T O L D ◄❂

V I T R I F I C A T I O N

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S I X

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WHEN I WAS a kit, and honestly throughout my apprenticeship and even into being a warrior, the idea of having my own kits disgusted me. Hearing the painful cries of Queens during kitting didn't help with that at all. And whenever I went in to visit the kits, the mothers looked completely wiped out, no matter how old the kits were. I could not by any means imagine myself in that position.

Parallel to this, I - very childishly - decided that as a kit that when I was older, I would never have a mate. This thought died a lot quicker than the one about kits, and I laugh about even thinking such a thing now in Starclan.

However, the no-kits mentality stayed a lot longer than that. It stayed through Firestar joining the clan, through the battle at the gorge, even past when I started developing a greater care for the ginger fur-ball.

But that all changed when I actually tried "mothering" for the first time.

After the battle with Tigerclaw and his group of rogues, everyone was wiped out, and the mood in the camp was not very good. Fireheart, being the ever-so-noble cat he is, decided that he needed to add some livelihood to the camp, and what better way to do that then getting the apprentices hyper.

So we asked around, making sure our idea was okay with all of the mentors. Once we got the go-ahead, we gathered all of the apprentices together, and went out an a massive border/hunting patrol.

Fireheart was absolutely incredible that day. He seemed a little unsure of what to do at first, but once we got further into the patrol, he came up with some fun little games for the apprentices to play, and telling them stories both about his past life and the legends of the clans.

I did my best too, taking on a motherly role. I made sure everyone was always accounted for, encouraged them, and made sure they were having fun. It felt surprisingly natural.

But we weren't just having fun either. Every time anyone scented prey, it was time to learn, and the apprentices learned fast. They fixed their posture in their crouches, corrected their stalking, and became a lot more alert and aware when we passed by borders.

The younger ones that had yet to learn much about the ways of a warrior padded along under Fireheart and I's bellies, occasionally pausing to check out a weird scent or chase a butterfly.

Eventually, we decided to take a break from patrolling, and let the apprentices waste off some energy while Fireheart and I rested our legs. We sat down by the river, and kept one eye on the playing apprentices while we chatted.

As we chatted, I tried to catch Fireheart's eye, just to try to spark a moment between us. I had finally come to terms with the fact that I was in love with the former kittypet, and was kind of anxious to get things moving.

This should have worked, because I saw him basically drilling holes into my pelt when I wasn't looking, but every time I looked in his direction, his head whipped back to either staring forwards or towards the apprentices.

Fireheart was saved from me just getting up and sitting in front of him when a very serious looking Cloudpaw padded up to him, and dragged him away from our resting spot.

Fortunately for me, I happened to not be an idiot, and they weren't exactly being quiet, so I was able to hear them quite well.

"What's wrong?" I heard Fireheart ask.

"Well... I kind of want your advice," Cloudpaw responded.

I shifted my position so that I could see them better, and saw Fireheart cock his head to the side. "Oh? What is it?"

"Um... uh, you know the way you and Sandstorm like, love each other?" 

My pelt flushed with embarrassment. Was I really that obvious? And I haven't even been able to tell if Fireheart loves me back!

I saw Fireheart fluff out, likely in embarrassment not too different from my own. "W-well, I-I wouldn't say love..."

My head drooped in sadness. I guess he doesn't see me like that.

"Does it look like we love each other?" Fireheart finished.

"Fireheart, you and Sandstorm act like you've been mates since before the clans," Cloudpaw commented wryly. "Why aren't you mates?"

I wish, Cloudpaw. But I'm too nervous and Fireheart is too mouse-brained.

"Well, I guess we're just not at that stage yet." Fireheart looked over and caught my eye. Despite not wanting to seem like I was eavesdropping, I held the eye contact, and smiled. I could see the gears turning in Fireheart's head.

I would love to be mates with you. Just say the word, Fireheart.

"So, uh, can you give me advice anyway," Cloudpaw finally picked up where he left off, "I-I think I like this she-cat." He was basically whispering at this point, so I had to sneakily move a bit closer to hear them.

Fireheart and myself both purred in amusement."Oh really? Do you want to tell me who she is?"

"Uh, she's- um... Brightpaw. I like Brightpaw."

Aww, Cloudpaw has a crush!

Fireheart, practically mirroring my own thoughts, tickled his tail under Cloudpaw's chin and teased, "Aww, wittle Cloudpaw has a crush!"

Cloudpaw growled in annoyance, but continued on nevertheless. "So, can you help me? I want her to like me more. I heard that Sandstorm used to hate you before, now she like, loves you. Brightpaw doesn't hate me but how do I get her to like me."

Wow, I really am that obvious.

"Well, I'm not sure Sandstorm quite loves me-"

I do!

"But you can't force a cat to love you. Brightpaw can only like you for you, so don't be upset if she doesn't like you in that way," Fireheart warned the young apprentice.

"Be nice to her. Ask her to do things with you. Ask her to go on walks, or even just something else fun. Offer to help her with tasks. Give her fresh-kill, make her nest nice. Tell her she's beautiful. Well- maybe wait a bit to tell her that.

"All of these things can make a she-cats day. But also, don't push yourself on her too much. Give her space. You can still hang out with her, but don't be obsessive or possessive. If she has other friends, let her be with them as well. Make friends with her friends too, and then you can all get along"

Maybe I could do these things for Fireheart as well...

Cloudpaw's eyes widened as Fireheart continued to ramble on, eventually getting almost as large as his face. "Oh, no, that's a lot!" He drooped a little. "I don't even think she likes me."

Fireheart draped his tail around Cloudpaw's shoulders. "Don't worry, I'm sure she likes you. Just give it time to develop, okay?"

Cloudpaw perked up. "You really think she likes me?"

"Of course she does. Who wouldn't like you?"

I almost choked from trying to hold back my laughter. Fireheart would always come into the warriors den and plop down next to me, and explain which unique way Cloudpaw had managed to piss him off today.

"Thanks Fireheart!"

Fireheart leaned forward and licked Cloudpaw in between his ears. "No problem. Now look! Brightpaw and the others want you to play with them. Off you go!" As Cloudpaw sped off, Fireheart called after him, "Remember what I said!"

At this point I decided that I had rested enough, and moved to sit next to Fireheart as he watched the apprentices play.

As I got closer, I could hear Fireheart purring to himself, and couldn't help but lightly purr. He's so great with them.

After I sat down next to him, Fireheart turned and almost collided muzzles with me. He recoiled in surprise when he saw me.

"Oh- um, hi," he mumbled, not meeting my eyes.

"Hey," I responded softly, gazing as best I could into his grassy pools. Fireheart ducked away a little. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Fireheart shook his head quickly, "I-I'm fine." Finally, Fireheart managed to look at me, and we held each other's gaze for quite awhile.

If he hasn't caught on yet, maybe I have to be more intentional.

I eventually turned away to look at the apprentices. "You're really good with the apprentices. Especially Cloudpaw. He's lucky to have someone like you for a mentor."

Fireheart ducked his head again, this time licking his chest in embarrassment. "Uh- thanks. You're pretty good with them too."

Despite knowing he was just polite, I couldn't help but smile a little bit. Maybe kits wouldn't be such a bad idea with the right cat as a mate.

"We should start heading back now, the apprentices are getting tired and we've been out for quite awhile," Fireheart said, standing up and motioning towards the apprentices.

I half-nodded, trying to search Fireheart's gaze for anything that gave away what he was thinking, but there was no such luck.

Then Fireheart walked past me, and rubbed his cheek briefly against mine. My heart fluttered at the contact, but I shook it off and followed him towards the apprentices.

"Okay guys, time to head back!" Fireheart called. Looking over the apprentices, I smiled inwardly as I realized that Cloudpaw was sitting next to Brightpaw, their pelts brushing.

Once we rounded everyone up, we padded back tiredly together, remembering to stop at our prey stashes to pick up previously caught pieces.

We mostly walked in silence, sometimes broken by the occasional Cloudpaw complaint, or Fernpaw and Ashpaw squabbling.

When we reached camp, we dumped the prey in the fresh-kill pile, and sent the apprentices back to their nests to take a nap. I saw Fireheart about to the same, but I stopped him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, concern dancing across my face. 

Fireheart nodded wearily. "Just tired."

"Will I tell Bluestar you're taking a nap?" I offered.

Fireheart shook his head. "If she wants me, she can find me," he muttered.

I tentatively reached my tail up and dragged it along his spine. "Well, it's lonely in there. I'll keep you company." It might have been a bit of a reach, but thankfully, Fireheart nodded in agreement.

We both headed into the warriors den, and Fireheart immediately sunk into his nest. I wrapped as best I could around him- Fireheart was a big cat- and pressed my body into his. His pelt was amazingly warm, likely from sitting in the sun most of the day.

Finally, I began to drag my tongue across his back, both cleaning his pelt and lulling him into a sleep. Once I felt his breathing begin to ease, I halted my grooming and laid my head down next to his, trying my best to calm my heart and also fall into slumber.

After this event, I decided that I was okay with having kits, so long as it was with Fireheart. He was so good with the apprentices, and he was so nurturing to Cloudpaw, I was sure he would be great with kits of his own.

Funnily enough, when Firestar and I were reminiscing in Starclan, I also found out that that day was also the day Fireheart decided that he wanted to have kits someday.

I wish that we would have been able to have more kits as well, past just Squirrelflight and Leafpool, but unfortunately Starclan had no such plans for us.

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Word count - 1894

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Author's Note

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A little bit of a shorter chapter this time, but OMG I love this chapter.

This is another one taken directly from the works of @lunar-serenity, so like, 98% of this chapter goes to her. She's such a good writer, I wish she'd come back.

But this is such a good idea for a chapter. Couldn't help but steal it.

Good news! Well, not for me, but for you. Lacrosse season is over! We unfortunately got knocked out of the playoffs, and college ends in two weeks, so I should have more time to write. Like always, no promises.

ALSO!

I'm officially completely open for suggestions regarding this book! I only have two or three more ideas for this section, but I want to get to at least six more, so if you have any good ideas, please reach out to me on discord!

Again, DISCORD. I will not consider ideas given in the comments.

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- Maple -

- 4 ▫ 27 ▫ 2025 -