"Hey, it's time to wake up!"

Soc stirred as she felt a paw digging into her side, and lightly groaned out, "No..."

However, whoever was pestering her didn't stop, and again Soc was poked. This time, Soc's eyes flew open, and she glared at Amber, who was purring down at her. "Come on, Soc! Ripper dropped off some food for us."

Ripper? Soc didn't know who Ripper was, but she didn't really think about when she smelled the delicious smell of food. Her hunger overcame her drowsiness, and she jumped to her paws. Amber had been the one who was bothering her, but Soc didn't really care. She raced over to the food.

Frostbite was curled up in the opposite corner of the box, while Apricot was stretched out and basking. Soc didn't pay the two toms much mind. She quickly dove into the scrap of food. Unlike yesterday, today was a lot hotter. Soc could feel the heat seeping into her thick fur.

"So," Amber started, coming up beside Soc, "Ripper is this brown tabby who'll be bringing us food from now on! And, and, there's also like- like, this other cat named Hook-"

Amber was talking too quickly, as his words came out jumbled and mismatched. Soc didn't really listen, and guessed she didn't really have to. If "Ripper" and "Hook" would be the cats bringing them food, then she guessed she'd be seeing them again soon. She could find out more about them then.

Once Soc got her fill, she turned to Amber, who had stopped talking and was looking at her expectantly. He almost looked a bit impatient.

"...What?" Soc asked lightly.

Annoyed, Amber snapped, "Didn't you hear anything? There'll be some new kittens arriving soon!" As soon as he said that, he immediately lit up again. He looked as happy as he was before. "Isn't it great?"

More kittens? Soc felt a rush of some unrecognizable emotions. Happiness? Was she happy there's be more kittens, with the chance they'd be she-kittens? Or maybe discomfort? There wasn't really that much room left in the box...

She looked around. Security set in. There was plenty of room, and still, more kittens meant more friends, right? But still, Soc wished she could've had a little more time to get to know the kittens that were here right now.

"Yeah, I guess it's great," Soc murmured, still not sure how to feel.

"Come on, be more enthusiastic about this!" Amber encouraged. "This is going to be amazing! I can't wait for them to arrive! Think about it! It's-"

Amber started to ramble again, and Soc stopped listening. Again. Instead, she turned her attention over to Frostbite. He hadn't moved since she'd last noticed him, and she felt puzzled. He was always so freezing, so wouldn't the oncoming winter make him colder? Didn't he want the warmth? Or maybe he liked the cold?

Soc had a few questions for him.

She walked over to him, ignoring Amber, who didn't seem to notice her exit. Frostbite seemed to be sleeping silently. But then he stirred. He seemed uncomfortable. He opened his eye ever so slightly.

"Why are you all so hot?" Frostbite whined. "It feels horrible..." It felt horrible? Well, that answered Soc's question. So Frostbite was like a reverse kitten!

"Your cold feels horrible!" she countered jokingly.

She purred, though Frostbite looked at her irritably. Soc was about to crouch down and give him a hearty nudge him, but though again and decided not to. It would probably hurt him.

"So, Frostbite, if you moved around a lot, would you heat up? Soc asked curiously.

"No... I'd get colder," Frostbite answered coolly.

A new voice butted in. "Really?" Soc looked over and saw Apricot. Was he watching us?

"Yeah...? Why?" Frostbite seemed confused.

Before Apricot could answer, loud, almost frantic pawsteps could be heard. Immediately, all kittens looked up. A brown tabby cat appeared-Ripper?-and a kitten could be seen in the cat's jaws. It was a silver tabby she-kitten. The kitten was gently set into the box. Then, a ginger cat appeared, with another kitten. This time, it was very red kitten. And it was a she-kitten!

The second kitten was set into the box. Excitement fizzed inside of Soc. The new kittens had arrived!

-

The chapter's are going to be shorter so that I can update more frequently!