Lilypetal's POV

"The mother is Leafpool?" I exclaimed before immediately slapping my tail over my mouth and speaking more quietly. "Leafpool, as in the medicine cat of ThunderClan?"

Squirrelflight's eyes widened. She turned and looked around to make sure that no cat had heard my stupid scream. After a few heartbeats, she faced me again and nodded.

"Yes," she meowed, sounding like she needed to force out the word.

"Wow," I breathed, shaking my head slowly. To say the least, I was shocked. I never, ever would have guessed that Leafpool would do such a thing. She had always seemed like she was dedicated to her medicine cat duties, and nothing else. The fact that Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf were hers absolutely blew my mind.

I'm sure whoever the father is will shock me even more, I realized. "So... then who's-"

Squirrelflight already seemed to know what I was going to ask. "They're Crowfeather's."

That cranky furball? I thought, my mouth dropping open. "Crowfeather of WindClan?" I questioned. "Great StarClan, Leafpool sure didn't make things easy for herself, did she?"

Squirrelflight snorted. "Definitely not," she murmured. "For moons they met in secret, and they even tried to run away together."

"No way!" I exclaimed. I was shocked that I hadn't even heard just that part before. But now, looking back, I realized that I should have suspected something pretty early into me joining the Clans.

I still remembered vividly when WindClan had ambushed the ThunderClan camp in the middle of the night. It had definitely been a smart move on WindClan's part, because ThunderClan was left confused, tired, and baffled as they realized they would have to defend themselves in battle at a time when they should be sleeping. The first cat I had leaped at was the gray-black pelt of Crowfeather, and unfortunately neither of us ended up "winning" per se, because Firestar yowled for the battle to stop before that could happen.

Something that had confused me up until this point, was the look I had seen on Leafpool's face when I was fighting Crowfeather, a look of complete fear and worry. Now, it all made sense - she had been scared for her former mate, and she didn't want to watch him be hurt.

I sighed, trying to process everything I was being told. "If they ran away," I continued, "What made them both decide to come back?"

Squirrelflight simply shrugged. "Leafpool knew in her heart that she belonged in ThunderClan, serving them as her medicine cat."

"That definitely sounds more like Leafpool," I murmured aloud.

I then thought up another question I had yet to ask. It had been poking at me for a while, since I had witnessed the confrontation in the fire, in fact. I remembered that Squirrelflight had told Ashfur that she had hidden the secret of Lionblaze's, Jayfeather's and Hollyleaf's parents from everyone, including Brambleclaw.

"So... you did all of this to help Leafpool, right?" I pressed. "If that's all it was... why doesn't Brambleclaw know about it? Why couldn't you tell him?"

I then watched as Squirrelflight's eyes flashed with guilt for a single heartbeat, almost as if she had not ever asked that question herself.

When Squirrelflight stayed silent, I flicked my ears. "Don't you trust him?" I asked, tilting my head. Personally, if I was hiding the identity of some kit's parents, I would want Thornclaw's help, I thought. I know that I could trust him to keep a secret with me.

I flinched as Squirrelflight then demanded, "Of course I trust him! Don't be ridiculous." She then began to try and dodge my gaze as she murmured, "I guess... I guess Leafpool didn't want anyone else to know. I didn't want to do anything that would make her uncomfortable."

I nodded. "I can understand that," I meowed before putting the tip of my tail on Squirrelflight's shoulder and meeting her green gaze. "I promise that everything you've just told me is staying right here," I murmured, putting one of my paws on the top of my head.

My heart lifted as Squirrelflight let out a purr of amusement. "Good," she murmured, dipping her head. I then purred with amusement myself as I watched her let out a loud huff and fall to the ground. "Great StarClan, it feels great to get that out to someone!"

"I can imagine!" I purred, sitting down beside where the ginger she-cat was lying. "How long has this been a secret?"

Squirrelflight lifted up her head as she rolled her eyes. "Let's just say, too long!"

I sniffed. "Well, now that I know, I will do everything I can to make sure that it stays that way," I meowed, giving Squirrelflight a sharp nod.

Squirrelflight then stood up before proceeding to touch her nose to mine. "Thank you, Lilypetal, really."

"Of course," I whispered as she pulled away. I then nodded my head in the direction of camp. "So, now that you've emptied those words from your body, how about you fill it up with some fresh-kill?"

Squirrelflight let out a mrrow of laughter. "Let's go," she meowed, padding beside me as we traveled through the sunlit forest.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Squirrelflight and I were sharing a young squirrel, Squirrelflight's favorite, when I suddenly heard some very familiar yelps come from the camp entrance.

"Lilypetal, Lilypetal, Lilypetal!" Goldenpaw was yowling. "Lilypetal! Thornclaw! Parents! Somebody!"

I exchanged an amused glance with Squirrelflight before turning my head to see my daughter's golden pelt burst from the gorse tunnel, Snowpaw right behind her, and Brackenfur and Sorreltail taking the rear.

They're back from their first day as apprentices! I realized happily. I gave Squirrelflight a nod in farewell before standing up to meet my arriving kits.

"We just got back from our apprentice training!" Goldenpaw squealed, her tail twitching excitedly.

I let out a loud mrrow of laughter. "I can see that!" I purred.

"Where's Thornclaw?" Snowpaw asked, padding up to stand next to her sister. "I wanted him to be here when we got back!"

I touched the white she-cat's ear with my nose. "He left for patrol a while ago, but I'm sure he'll love to hear about your day once he is back," I answered before looking back and forth from Goldenpaw to Snowpaw. "So, how was it?"

"Goldenpaw and I got to see the whole territory!" Snowpaw mewed, her eyes wide with awe.

"And don't worry, this time it was allowed!" Goldenpaw teased, winking one of her eyes at me.

"I would hope so," I purred, exchanging a humored glance with Brackenfur and Sorreltail before looking back at my kits. "Are you all ready for another day tomorrow?"

Goldenpaw nodded eagerly. "Couldn't be more ready!" She answered proudly before nudging Snowpaw with her shoulder. "Right, Snowpaw?"

"Definitely!" Snowpaw purred back. "Tomorrow, Brackenfur said that he and Sorreltail would teach us how to hunt!"

Hunt! I repeated to myself as I tried to blink back the emotion that was welling up in my eyes. My kits were growing up!

I then watched as Goldenpaw turned to face her sister. "Snowpaw, I'm starving!" She exclaimed. "Let's eat!"

Snowpaw nodded, licking her lips as her gaze fell onto the fresh-kill pile. "You don't have to tell me twice!" She meowed, leading Goldenpaw over to the pile of animals.

I gasped as I realized that this was the first meal that Goldenpaw and Snowpaw would be picking out themselves. None of this feels real to me yet! I thought before shouting out to the two apprentices, "Don't eat so much that you make yourself sick!"

I watched my daughters for a few moments, sighing with relief as I watched them pick out a simple vole to share together. One I knew that they were settled, I turned around to face Sorreltail and Brackenfur, who had been approaching me.

"So..." I began, narrowing my eyes and smirking, "Was their first day as great for the two of you?"

Sorreltail purred with amusement as she nodded. "I am pleased to tell you that it was!" She meowed happily. "But I have to say... that Goldenpaw of yours is quite the pawful!"

I wasn't surprised at all by Sorreltail's words. "She's always been an energetic little fireball!" I purred. "She's very eager to learn new things."

"Very eager. Hm, that's an understatement!" Sorreltail joked. "If she had gotten a mentor that was any less patient than I was, I'm almost sure that their head would have exploded with all of her questions."

I stared at Sorreltail sympathetically as she spoke. But I flicked my ears as I noticed the tortoiseshell she-cat glancing over at where Goldenpaw was sitting with her sister, her eyes glittering with admiration. "But in all honesty, I can't get enough of her!" She then meowed. "She may seem a bit overbearing to some, but her enthusiasm is incredible."

"So, just like you were when you were an apprentice," Brackenfur teased to his mate, touching his muzzle to her cheek. "And I agree, Goldenpaw is going to be a wonderful apprentice. Snowpaw is an entirely different story."

I snorted, realizing that I wasn't surprised by Brackenfur's words either. I tilted my head and raised my eyebrows at the tabby tom. "Is she?" I asked with intrigue.

Brackenfur nodded. "Goldenpaw asks the questions, but Snowpaw sits and listens to the answers very intently," he explained to me. "She is a great listener, in fact. I know that she is hearing everything that I tell her, which will help her immensely once she begins to learn how to hunt and fight."

"I'm so glad!" I exclaimed, before leaning in closer to the two cats. "But make sure to let me know if there's ever trouble!"

Sorreltail and Brackenfur exchanged an amused glance as they purred. "We will!" Sorreltail reassured me as she and Brackenfur began to pad over to the fresh-kill pile to join their apprentices. "See you later, Lilypetal!"

"Bye!"

As I watched Sorreltail and Brackenfur settle down with Snowpaw and Goldenpaw, pride for the both of my daughters welled up in my heart. Their mentors already seem to see the potential that I've always seen in them, I thought pleasantly. They are going to become warriors that ThunderClan will be proud of.