#bubblekit

Mintswirl froze, looming over the brown she-cat. She glared up at them, her fur bristling, but made no move to attack them. The reason for that was perfectly clear- five tiny scraps of fur squirmed at her belly, mewling for their mother's attention.

"You're- uh- DogwoodClan," Mintswirl finally blurted out. "What are you doing here?"

"None of your business," she sniffed.

"Well... it sort of is. You're on ButterflyClan territory. Are you... okay? Do you need any help?" She glared at him for several minutes more before deflating, sheathing her claws and smoothing her fur.

"I can't go back to DogwoodClan," she sighed, looking away. "Bramblestar... well, I made them mad."

"Bramblestar exiled you?" Mintswirl's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, no! No, they didn't exile me! I left on my own. But I made them mad, and they made me mad, and I really just... don't like anyone there. I felt so alone in DogwoodClan. So I left."

There was a long quiet between them, Mintswirl standing awkwardly over her and the she-cat focusing on her kittens.

"Uh... What are their names?"

"Oh! This is Crabkit, Bubblekit, Shellkit, Basskit, and Foamkit. My father always told me stories of his time as a boat cat," she added sheepishly. "I thought this would be a nice way to remember him. I'm Kitecrash."

"Mintswirl."

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

The ground was wet and muddy from the melted snow, but Frozenwhisker couldn't find it within himself to mind it. It was the first time since their son had been born that Parsleystar felt up to a walk, and he was making the absolute most of it. They walked in a comfortable silence, tails entwined.

"A tunnel!" Parsleystar gasped suddenly. "Do you think it's a fox hole?"

"Maybe in the past, but there's no scents around here any more," Frozenwhisker responded after a sniff. He crept into the hole, his belly low to the ground. "It's spacious!" he called back. He started to wriggle his way back out when his paws slipped on the mud. The tunnel around him started to crumble, and there was mud in his mouth and his eyes, and all he could smell was dirt, and there was so much weight on his body, oh StarClan he was trapped, and he struggled and struggled, but he could feel his struggling growing weaker, and his chest burned with the need to breathe... and all the while, he could hear Parsleystar screaming his name.

Carpkit and Bubblekit, kits of Marshclan

Kitecrash stares blankly at Bubblekit's body. He had been mere days away from his apprenticeship ceremony, and he'd been so excited for it.

"I can give him his apprentice name, if you'd like," Parsleystar murmured to her. Kitecrash turned, eyes watering, a vague wonder at how the old she-cat had known what she'd been thinking.

"Please," she croaked. Parsleystar bowed her head.

"Bubblekit, you are of apprentice age. Had I held your ceremony sooner, you would have had your name when you died. To fix this error, I give you the name Bubblepaw in your death. May you find your way to StarClan quickly."

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

"Beamsnow, you shall mentor Basspaw. You have not had an apprentice yet, and it is high time you do. Algaesky, you will train Foampaw. You did great with Skyrumble, and I expect you will do just as well with her. Tumblefern with train Seedpaw. You're new to the Clan, but you've been here long enough that I trust you will do well. I will train Podpaw myself." Parsleystar flicked her tail, waiting for the murmuring to stop before she started speaking again. "Shellpaw, Mintswirl, please step forward."

Shellpaw trembled slightly, his breath catching in his throat.

"Shellpaw has expressed a desire to heal instead of fight. I have consulted with Mintswirl, and they have agreed to train him."

The Clan began to cheer, chanting the new apprentices' names, and Shellpaw sighed in relief. He'd been accepted, and he was free to start training.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

It was the mewling that had caught Hickorymarsh's attention. The rustling he had ignored- it wasn't a sound being made by a fox or a coyote, or any other possible predator, so it didn't matter to him. But the mewling...

He parted the tall grass and the air left his lungs. A tiny tortoiseshell kitten blinked up at him, startled by his appearance. She was weak and clearly underfed, struggling to stand on her own two paws.

Hickorymarsh crouched low, almost nose-to-nose with the kit, and she squirmed backwards. "I won't hurt you," he breathed. "I'm Hickorymarsh. Where's your parents?"

"My mama told me to stay here," the kitten squeaked, glaring fiercely at him. Hickorymarsh scented the air. Any scent besides his and the kit's were stale.

"How long ago was that?"

The kitten grew even more furious. "She'll be back! And she'll beat you up if you try to hurt me!"

"How about this," Hickorymarsh proposed. "I live somewhere with loads of other cats, and we have warm places to sleep and plenty of food to eat. I can take you back there, and I can come by here every day waiting for your mother to come back. When she does, I can bring her to you. Does that sound good?"

The kitten thought this over before nodding. "Okay. But you have to promise!"

A yellow tom with eyes the color of sunlit ice. The son of Kitecrash, she gave birth to Bubblekit and his siblings while trying to sneak across ButterflyClan territory. He's lonesome, but quick to help.