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Shadowfrost popped his head into the nursery, peering around. He spotted Silverwood sleeping but didn't spot her mate or his. When Silverwhisp hadn't heard him, he crept out of his hiding place to look for her and thought she might have come into the nursery. He sighed, wishing he could seek comfort in his mate's presence. Now though, he thought he could check in on Silverwood and maybe talk to her about Shadowmist. "Silverwood?" He called cautiously from the entrance.

Shadowfrost took a few steps inside the den. "Well..." He took a moment to formulate his thoughts. "Twilightstar, Shadowmist and I were discussing the river and the potential need of moving the camp for a few days to higher ground. An argument broke out between them and I tried to reassure him the moving the camp would be the best for you and the elders. It didn't help and we eventually started howling at each other before I stormed off." He hung his head, expecting Silverwood to get annoyed with him or be as angry as her mate had been.

Shadowfrost perked up, "Do you think you could talk to him? I tried to assure him that moving the camp would mean you wouldn't be laying in sticky mud and water. You'd be more comfortable. I thought he was going to claw my ears off..."

Shadowfrost shuffled his paws. "He made some rude comments about Silverwhisp and me...and insinuated I was the one who got her leg broken a moon ago."

"That he wasn't surprised we hadn't mated yet or decided to have kits. That..." Shadowfrost scuffed the floor, frustrated, "That she liked him first and not me."

"I'm the reason we haven't had kits yet. I'm not ready." Shadowfrost admitted, "It's just Shadowmist is very angry right now and I think I just got the full brunt of it. I didn't like fighting with him. I'd rather get along. But... the things he said!" He grumbled and sat down pawing at the ground.

"Thank you. I'd appreciate it." Shadowfrost dipped his head. "How are you feeling by the way?"

Shadowfrost's eyes widened, "What...what do you mean?" He whispered back. "You have more than one mate? I've only seen you around him..."

"Does Shadowmist know? Are you going to tell him?" Shadowfrost murmured, shocked to be let in on the secret.

"Was this other tom...RiverClan?" Shadowfrost peered at her.

Shadowfrost shuffled the ground with his paws. "I think that these are Shadowmist's kits." He looked at her with a serious face. "You are committed to him are you not?"

Shadowfrost nodded, "That is between you and Shadowmist, and whoever this other cat is. Have faith that they are Shadowmist's kits Silverwood. And it should turn out fine. You might want to let him know you had a mate before though, just in case your former mate decides to cause trouble."

((Yes I saw the rogue))

Shadowfrost tilted his head, "Well.. I did want to talk to Silverwhisp but I'm not sure where she went." He shuffled his paws. "I suppose I could talk for a bit, but I can't stay too long."

((Pretty good, though a bit young to have killed so many ranked cats.))

"Because I'd like to find Silverwhisp" Shadowfrost mewed, "I'm sorry. You could come out into camp? The sun feels nice right now. Some fresh air might do you good."

((Only if both people agree on it will probably be the answer you get. I really doubt you can kill anyone without permission.))

Shadowfrost sighed, "I suppose I can stay for a little bit." He sat back down and shuffled his paws. "How would you feel about moving camp if the water rises more?"

((You mean like random family members? I don't know. You'll have to talk to her.))

Shadowfrost nodded. "It might come to that. It would be easier to stay on higher ground for a few days until the river goes back to a normal level. If you could also mention that to Shadowmist... that kind of started the argument with Twilightstar."

"He just got really angry when she suggested that we might have to. I mentioned it would be uncomfortable for you and the elders to stay here if the camp floods but it didn't help.." Shadowfrost sighed.

Shadowfrost tilted his head and thought back, trying to remember exact words. "Well he freaked out when Twilightstar suggested we move camp. He seemed firm, and a bit upset. He didn't like going to ThunderClan for help. I mentioned moving camp would make you and the elders more comfortable, and then he and Twilightstar argued about you. I guess she hasn't forgiven you yet..." He hesitated and watched her response warily. "Things got out of hand between them and after they stormed away from each other he bickered with me about Silverwhisp."

Shadowfrost suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "That she was especially worried about you. You might roll your eyes." He crouched down and glanced out the exit in case he needed to run from her scornful words too.

"In all honestly I think she wasn't being extremely serious." Shadowfrost mewed, hoping he wasn't far from the truth. He just really wanted to resolve the situation.

"No, she just takes the warrior code very seriously and demands respect. Twilightstar has many responsibilities as clan leader and when cats act out she gets frustrated. I know she's really happy you are expecting kits soon." He hoped that last part would help.

Shadowfrost stood up, and mewed confidently, "Actually, I'm quite certain that is not the case. Twilightstar loves kits. She is happy the clan will have some soon. Give her more credit. She is a very kind leader, just stubborn like you are. I'm sure if you two worked out your differences you could be good friends."

Shadowfrost frowned, "I don't actually know. Willowleaf is ThunderClan's deputy, but I've only seen him a couple times at gatherings. Those two went to ThunderClan to report the river flooding, something might have happened there.I didn't think it was any of my business."

Shadowfrost stamped at the ground, "Don't do that. Silverwood, if you two keep bickering over the smallest things there won't be any peace within the clan. I'll talk to Twilightstar about this too, I promise. Could you try and just let it go? I worry about what the extra stress will do to you and the kits."

"So are you." Shadowfrost mewed. "Will you give it a thought at least? I think everyone will be better for it. I might be able to persuade Twilightstar to let it go this once, but that won't help if you do something she doesn't like again."

"I know. I meant in the future." Shadowfrost mewed. He sighed at clawed at the ground a bit. "I just wish we would all get along a bit better. Right now it seems our clan is falling apart because of all the bickering."

"Hey!" Shadowfrost growled, "The river flooding is a serious thing. Bigger than inner-clan bickering!" His fur fluffed out a bit, "Besides, the river is part of ThunderClan's territory too. It seemed right to make sure they knew about how bad the flooding is."

"Well, us bickering amongst each other makes us look even weaker. If we stick together we can show them that we are strong. The sooner we figure out what is behind the river, the better."

(( Which one? I haven't touched the camp because the last two kits are still being apprenticed.))

"Oh we can convince those mouse-brains all right." Shadowfrost mewed firmly. "That shouldn't be too hard. We can hunt just as good as them even without the river."

((How about Blossomcloud. She hasn't been able to talk to anyone yet.))

"Then we train to hunt elsewhere." Shadowfrost mewed, trying to sound convincing.

"We have forest in our territory too, though not as much." Shadowfrost paused for a moment, then his eyes glinted. "Remember when Sunningrocks used to be part of our territory? What if we used the flood to our advantage to take it back. That would prove that we are not weak."

Shadowfrost snorted. "It was an important part of our territory. Look, I'm trying to come up with ideas and suggestions on how to strengthen our clan, but you're not willing to listen to any of them. Am I wasting my time here keeping you company or do you actually care about RiverClan?" He pawed at the ground, "What would YOU do to prove RiverClan's strength?"

"You can't change the past Silverwood. And we're not terrified. It is smart to be aware of the river. It is dangerous. It almost killed Silverwhisp and that was before it flooded and flowed faster."

Shadowfrost snorted, "I had nothing to do with that. I merely supported warning ThunderClan. The decision to allow us to hunt on their territory was made by their leadership as well as ours." He was getting really frustrated again, was there any getting through to this stubborn cat? She and Shadowmist were perfect for each other he thought dryly.

((Nah, there are always cats who bicker or disagree with the leader in the books. Though they largely remain respectful. Occasionally there are some evil cats too. You can still have respect even if you disagree with a cat.))

"I know, so do I. That's why I've been saying we should try and do these extra things to prove ourselves to the other clans."

Shadowfrost flicked an ear, "Hopefully only the river flooding will be mentioned and nothing else."

"They won't if all they know is the river flooded. That's beyond all of our control. I wonder why StarClan didn't warn us about the river..." He mused and sat back down.

"Perhaps they knew we could handle it or something." He mewed. "I wonder if Cloudwhisper knows. I'll ask him next time I see him if StarClan knows anything."

Shadowfrost nodded. "Do you mind if I go look for Silverwhisp now? She was looking for me earlier... and I'd like to speak with her."

Twilightstar entered the nursery with Silverwood. "Lay down there." She said and flicked her tail towards a nest.

Twilightstar grabbed a stick and raspberry and poppy seeds. She walked to Silverwood with the stick. "Face your rear end towards me." She said. "Your going into labor."

Twilightstar gave her the stick. "Busy on this when it hurts." She said and knew she would bite immediately.

Twilightstar nodded and walked around to her rear end. "Okay now when I say so, push." She said and waited a moment. "Push!"

Twilightstar saw a kit emerge and nipped the sack. She licked it clean then set it down next to her. "It's a she-cat." She said and turned to Silverwood. "Okay again. Push!"

Twilightstar carried the kit to the other one and nipped the sack. She licked it clean. "It's a Tom." She said and turned back to Silverwood. "Congratulations, Silverwood, you're now a mother of two beautiful kits."

Twilightstar ran up to her and have her the raspberry. "Eat these now." She said.

Twilightstar nodded. "That will take away the pain." Then she turned to the poppy seeds and grabbed some catmint. She mixed them together and pushed them towards Silverwood. "Here. These will more pain away and help you fall asleep."

Twilightstar smiled and walked to the entrance.

Twilightstar emerged into the nursery and looked at Silverwood. She dipped her head in greeting as she sat down.

Shadowfrost nodded with his mouth full and lay the fish down gently in front of Silverwhisp. "Each of us caught several fish." He mewed happily and sat down. "You should eat."