She stared at her brother in shock. Braidkit was staring at the sky in horror, as if he thought the eagle was still there. "What...what...what?"Bigkit yelped, fear spiking into every knook of her body. She hardly hard Sharpstar's summon.
She jerked her head up when she did.
"There was a tragic accident today,"he began,"Without Brightpaw, my son would have died,"
"Sharpstar,"Sugarlaugh, who had been named a moon ago, interrupted,"We must now call her Brightspirit, as that is what StarClan has welcomed her under,"
Sharpstar dipped his head with sad acknowlegement,"But with death comes life,"he purred,"I'm looking fowards to welcoming me and Birdleaf's kits into ShadowClan!"
There were some murmurs of congratulations.
Oblivious to the tension, Sharpstar closed the meeting and contently told Birdleaf to go to the nursery. The she-cat obeyed.
"Hi!"Pinktongue greeted her warmly. Birdleaf ignored her and trotted into the den. "I'll take this one,"she decided, sitting in the largest nest.
"Tha-that's ours,"Pinktongue protested.
"The leader's kits should get enough space,"the queen shot them a smug scowl.
Bigkit's annoyance was growing swifly. Beside her, Braidkit's tongue was stuck out a tiny bit, but the pale colour of it showed that he was biting it.
"You know, maybe you three should share a nest,"Pinktongue quickly altered the subject,"A smaller nest isn't big enough for the kits and my belly,"she shifted her swollen stomach as if it was uncomfortable.
"Fine,"Birdleaf grunted, sniffing the air in annoyance.
"How are my favourite three cats?" Sharpstar squeezed into the nursery. Straight away, Birdleaf started flirting. In a sweet tone, she purred, "We're great, Sharpstar. In fact, me, Braidkit and Bigkit will be sharing a nest!"
"That's amazing!"he exclaimed. He exited the den, then returned with three shrews,"Eat up,"he meowed, tapping one with his tail,"You too, Pinktongue,"
Once the four had eaten their fill of shrew, Sharpstar left them alone.
As Birdleaf settled in Pinktongue's nest, Bigkit couldn't supress a pang of annoyance, sharp as a thorn.
                          ☆☆☆

For the bext quarter moon, the camp was buzzing with gossip. Every conversation was about the same thing- Ashpaw and Brightspirit. Though they didn't know that she'd eavesdropped on them, Bigkit had overheard Hailrain and Crystalfur talking:
"I'm telling you, she was the only cat in the clearing not preoccupied; she must have something to do with the eagle attack!"Crystalfur had insisted.
What worried Bigkit was that Hailrain didn't argue, she just muttered,"She did start to clean herself when Brightspirit charged into danger,"
But Bigkit was too happy to think about that now. She and Braidkit tumbled out of the nursery with Birdleaf and Pinktongue following close behind. Pinktongue's three kits had been born only three days before, and Bigkit had purred at Fluffkit, Murkykit and Tawnykit.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a Clan meeting!"
She bounded forward, excitement brimming through her.
"Sootmouth, you need to redeem your honour and preparation; you will be mentor to Bigpaw,"
The white warrior strode forward, and Bigpaw promised: "I won't let you down!"
"Me neither,"Sootmoth meowed, his emotion unclear.
Braidpaw was apprenticed to Snowwater.
"Let's see the territory!"Bigpaw exclaimed, bouncing up and down.
Sootmouth let out a purr of amusement, but it dried up when he saw Spongestorm's blind gaze on him.
That's none of my business. She knew that the two had been in love, but something had happened to their relationship. She had a feeling it was to do with the scars on Spongestorm's face. She shrugged,"Let's go!"she meowed, trying to distract her mentor.
"Yes, let's,"Sootmouth agreed. Though Spongestorm couldn't see the glare he shot her, Bigpaw was convinced that she could feel it.