So, I haven't really posted any new stories, or updated many of my current ones. And I got a little plot bunny that would just not go away. So, I just started writing, and I got… this. Should I continue?

. . .

Prologue

"… dirty."

"…. So disgusting..."

"… filthy…"

The she-cat valiantly ignored the whispers, keeping her head down, with her eyes firmly glued to the ground.

She could feel their gazes at her back, but it wouldn't stop her. They could be cruel, yes, and even sneer at her behind her back, but she knew they had no courage to do it face to face.

For the time being, she was safe.

But she was hyperaware of the precious bundle clutched firmly in her mouth. It was sleeping for now, but it was so incredibly young, so tiny, that even the slightest breeze could knock it over.

But, she wouldn't allow that.

The she-cat headed straight to the medicine cat's den. No matter what happened, Oakfall would understand.

He would never betray her.

It was biting cold outside, but the she-cat pressed on, lumbering through the snow, and trying with all her might to keep her head up. Oakfall's den was nearly covered by the bright, icy powder, but she managed to locate it.

She pawed away the snow, before pushing her burden through the gap. Then, she squeezed through herself and pulled her bundle back up to her mouth.

Moments later, the she-cat heard a rustling noise, before a disbelieving voice cut through.

"Mallowfern?" it asked in disbelief. "Is that you?"

The she-cat, Mallowfern, only nodded, before gazing down with a fond, weary smile. "Shh, Oakfall," she mewed. "She's sleeping. Any louder, and you'll wake her up."

"Huh?" Oakfall questioned. "Wake who up-?" he trailed off when he saw what was situated at her belly.

"What?" he hissed, fixing her with angry eyes. "Is that why you were gone for so long? You do know that the Clan thought you were dead, and then you come back out of the blue with- with…"

"A kit," Mallowfern supplied, flashing him a bitter smile. "I didn't plan on it- I mean, she wasn't planned, and with the way we were living, I thought it would be best to come back."

"But… but why?"

Mallowfern fixed him with a flat gaze. "We were starving," she mewed. "I was pregnant, and early last night… I…"

"You went into labour," Oakfall finished. "But why come back? You know that Thornstar will let you back into the Clan… not after you humiliated him so much."

"I know," Mallowfern replied wearily. "But what else was I supposed to do? Becomes mates with a cat I don't even love?"

Oakfall looked sympathetic. "Thornstar may be brutal, but he's not that bad."

She sighed. "He is, Oakfall. I've known him since I was an apprentice, and even then, he was bad. When he became deputy, I thought he would have matured. But…"

"What do you want me to do?" the medicine cat asked flatly. "I'm guessing you want me to raise it. But I can't keep your kit a secret forever. Even you know that."

"I'm asking you to do the best you can," Mallowfern replied. "I would take her with me, but the conditions out there are… I would feel better if she was raised in a Clan," she finished firmly. "In a stable and safe environment."

"And you think she'll be accepted?" Oakfall was at a loss of words. "After what you did? Running off with a rogue, and then daring to come back moons later with a kit no less?"

"It's for the best," she said. "If she came with me, she'd starve to death. And I want her to have the best possible life she can, even if it's without me."

The medicine cat growled. "Stop being so selfish," he snapped. "The kit needs her mother. And you're leaving her behind to go back to that- that rogue!"

Mallowfern flinched. "Like I said, it's for the best," she said, mimicking her earlier words.

"She will hate you," Oakfall said. "She will hate you for abandoning her in a nest of crows. The Clan will forever be suspicious of her- StarClan, the other kits in the nursery will probably mock her for being a half-Clan Foxheart."

"Don't call her that!" Mallowfern snapped. "She may be half-Clan, but her parentage isn't her fault. I want her to have a better chance, and in here, she can get that chance. I want her to grow up happy and healthy, never having to worry about starving to death in the snow, or having to fight for her food."

Oakfall sighed. "Fine, fine," he said. "I'll try my best, but I can't raise her, Mallowfern. I'm a medicine cat, remember? One of the other queens will have to do that task."

Mallowfern stared sadly down at her daughter.

The kit, no more than a few hours old, was curled into a tiny ball and nestled into the creamy fur of her belly.

She looked just like her father, what with her greyish fur, but she seemed to have inherited Mallowfern's own small build, or she could have just been born smaller than normal without enough sustenance.

Mallowfern had very nearly starved when she had been pregnant. But everything, every hurdle and heartbreak, had been worth it for this one single moment.

Everything had been worth it for her.

"What's her name?" Oakfall murmured cautiously.

"She… she doesn't have one yet," Mallowfern replied sadly. "There was no time. I had to get her here before she freezed to death."

The medicine cat sighed. "Poor thing," he muttered. "Well, are you going to give her a name? What was the name of that mate of yours?"

"Storm," she said without a moment's hesitation, and in her mind, she easily pictured the cat she had fallen in love with. "But I don't think she'd like that very much. Being named after her father, I mean."

"Name her after her pelt then?" Oakfall phrased it more like a question. "I don't know. But to me, it kind of resembles… mist?"

"Mistkit then," Mallowfern said fondly.

"What am I supposed to tell Thornstar, Mallowfern?" Oakfall asked after a moment of silence.

"The truth," she said without hesitation.

"Uh, Mallowfern," the medicine cat said softly. "I don't think Thornstar would even take in the kit of the cat that caused him that much pain."

"He'll have to," Mallowfern answered with conviction. "I don't even think he is that cold-hearted. He wouldn't just leave a tiny kit in the snow to die. And Mistkit's just a baby, really. A tiny, tiny baby."

Oakfall sighed. "Fine, fine," he muttered. "You should go. The Clan probably knows you're here by now."

"Yes, I know," she said. "They saw me walking through camp."

Mallowfern bent her head and licked her daughter one last time. "Goodbye, Mistkit," she murmured. "I don't think you'll ever see me again, but have a good life. Don't let anyone ruin that for you, and if someone does, be like your father and tell them off." She chuckled softly at that, smoothly rising to her paws.

Oakfall pulled the kit into his own belly, when she squirmed at the loss of her mother's heat.

"Thank you for everything, Oakfall," Mallowfern said sincerely. "And please take care of her for me. Tell her about her parents if she asks, please?" She thought that could be at least that selfish, right?

Oakfall only nodded. "Of course," he said. "I will. Be safe, Mallowfern."

The she-cat smiled one last, teary smile, before turning the other way and exiting the den.

She was gone.

Oakfall gazed down at the slumbering kit.

"I promise, Mistkit," he murmured. "That you won't suffer for the mistakes of your parents."