☼WindClan: Home of the Swift and Loyal |☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁| ☼

"What?!" Harewhisker jolted with shock. He didn't say anything else to either Sunstep or Swiftstar, he just bolted towards the tunnels again to race back to camp.

"Frostpetal!" Harewhisker called his mate's name the moment her sped into camp. Sand flew from his paws when he skidded to a stop. When he spotted the nursery, Harewhisker darted toward it. "Frostpetal!"

Harewhisker pushed into the nursery and his eyes lit up when he spotted Frostpetal and two little kits at her belly. They had already been born. He had missed it and as much as that wanted to hurt him, he was just grateful they looked healthy. They were perfect, and Frostpetal was with them and...Dashclaw.

Harewhisker blinked when he spotted his brother sitting right next to Frostpetal. Right in the spot that Harewhisker should be. Dashclaw winced and looked away when Harewhisker's fur started to bristle. This wasn't fair! Harewhisker's expression steadily fell to a glare on his brother. What was HE doing here?! Dashclaw already had kits, he didn't need to be here in Harewhisker's place. He just gets everything, doesn't he? It was Dashclaw who had their father's final love and thoughts. It was Dashclaw who got kits first when he didn't deserve them. It was Dashclaw who was so special to the Clan because he tried to become a tunneler. His cowardly brother always had to take the spotlight for everything! And now he was playing father to Harewhisker's kits?! Dashclaw got to be here for their birth and not him?! It wasn't fair! Harewhisker toiled and strived to be the best tunneler he could be for the Clan, but it was Dashclaw who got all the recognition!

Harewhisker bared his teeth at Dashclaw and the moor-runner quickly stood up. "Get out!" Harewhisker snapped. "Get away from my mate and kits!"

Dashclaw pinned his ears back and swallowed tightly. He avoided his brother's and Frostpetal's gaze and swiftly wove around them to depart from the den. His pelt brushed Harewhisker's prickling fur as he left and Dashclaw's heart sunk even further.

(Blazer!)

((you're fine blazer, I just didn't want to waste time if Moon and I were both on. It doesn't happen too often lol))

Dashclaw had moved to the other side of camp, his ears fallen back and a disheartened look on his face.

"You think I didn't want to be here?" Harewhisker lashed his tail and frowned at her. "I wanted more than anything to be at your side when you kitted, but I didn't know! I was out training Swiftstar! Of course, I didn't want you to be alone, but you could've had anyone in the Clan at your side: Blacktail, Breezefoot, Fallowmeadow, anyone! But it just had to be him, didn't it? Dashclaw doesn't try to connect to anything! He just takes what he wants and what he wants is the attention of the entire Clan! He only became a tunnler to find favor with the Clan and when Swiftstar said no, he whined like a kit! He's already a father and yet he's trying to take my place with my kits!" He looked to the little bundles at Frostpetal's belly and his ears tilted backward. He wanted nothing more than to be a father. He wanted it more than he wanted to be a tunneler. He wanted to love his kits like he had thought his father loved him, but Rabbitdash made it clear on his deathnest that he only cared about Dashclaw. I'll be a better father to them, he silently vowed. He'd make sure they knew they were loved.

Frostpetal shook her head. "I never said you didn't want to be here, but fact is you weren't. Dashclaw came in here and offered to go find you and I told him to stay. And you think he became a tunneler to find favor with the clan? Isn't it you who thinks tunnelers are so hated in WindClan? If Dashclaw wanted WindClan to fawn over him, surely there would be easier ways to do it. And he's not trying to take your place Harewhisker. Like it or not he's kin to these kits too, and he deserves to have a place in their lives. Did you know I had a conversation with Antpaw earlier? He thinks I hate him, and all of Dashclaw's kits because you are acting like you have such a thorn in your nest around them. I don't want that for our kits Harewhisker. I want them to grow up and feel love from all their family, whether they grow up to be moor-runners or tunnelers, not just the ones you approve of." Her tail lashed as she spoke, an unspoken fear lingering just below the surface. I want you to love them even if they're moor-runners.

“Oh, Dashclaw...” Grasslight’s eyes widened with surprise, before deep sympathy crossed her face. A hint of anger filled her voice as she huffed sharply.
“What does he have to be angry about? Frostpetal clearly wanted you there if you saw to help her kitting. Gah, he’s got such a thorn in his paw!” She hissed, protective over her mate.
“You should be thanked, for helping her, not scolded.” She assured him, pressing herself close to him.

Dashclaw shook his head. "I can only guess that he's still mad because I tried to leave the Clan." He pressed against his mate just to show his gratitude for stopping him that day. "He won't talk to me no matter what I try to do to make things right."

“He’s punishing you for something that you can’t control, and it’s-it’s just not fair!” Grasslight exclaimed. “Nobody in the clan works harder than you. You’ve been a wonderful father to my kits, you do everything you can for everyone else...I just...I can’t bear to know you’re in pain like this.” The moor-runner’s ears drooped as she did her best to comfort him.
“This is getting out of paw!”

Frostpetal's tail flicked before she spoke. "I won't take my children's decision of how they want to be a part of this clan personally. If they have a passion for tunneling and they want to be belowground, fine. If they want to stay above ground? Fine." She looked back at Harewhisker. "And if one is a moor runner and one is a tunneler you better believe that no cat will be able to say I love the moor runner more. Can you say the same for the tunneler?"

“I know...” Grasslight murmured, grateful for Dashclaw’s steadfast support of their kits. Two of them becoming tunnelers had been a surprise, though she also knew how much they loved their father, admired him when he was a Tunneler. It made her even more relieved, to be able to tell that at least Antpaw seemed perfectly fine with his return to a Moor-runner. Weaselpaw had never seemed to react much in general, but she hoped she was alright with the change too. She remembered her own fights with Stonepath, how she had judged his choices in becoming a tunneler, feared for his life when he was more than capable. They had nearly torn their relationship apart, yet when she finally relented and learned better, he had forgiven her without a second thought.

She wished it could be that way for Dashclaw and his brother. “I just...I truly want Harewhisker to be a part of our kits’ lives. I don’t want them being afraid of setting him off simply because they are your kits. I wish he would just talk to you.”

Grasslight bristled sharply at that, defensiveness in her hiss.
“What, does he think that our son and daughter aren’t good enough to do their jobs? He can be cross with you, he can even be cross with me, but our kits don’t deserve to be treated differently for it. I’ll claw his whiskers off if I see it!” She took a few breaths to calm herself down, quick to anger when her kits were involved.

“Well maybe I don’t want to be reminded of how close I am to clawing his whiskers off everytime I see him.” Grasslight quipped hotly, before she took a deep breath and sighed out. Stonepath made emotions seem so easy to control, something she would never be able to understand. Even so, she knew she needed to calm down, she was far from a kit, she was a grown Warrior. She could handle this like one.

“Say that is the case. What if something happens and he leaves our kits to threats because he’s too caught up in thinking about you?” Her ears fell back anxiously. “We’re not down there with them. He would be more than I would!”