My kits keeper

prologue
There she was. A little kit, a beautiful kit with a life laid out in front of her. I sighed.

Lace will take care of her

I thought of the beautiful mottled white queen. She had lost all of her kits, but she still had milk, so she could take care of my little daughter.

"Maci?" Lace padded out of the bracken with a mouse, she dropped it as she saw my daughter and ran over.

"What a beautiful little she-kit!" gasped Lace "was she your only one?"

I shook my head sadly, I pointed my nose at a small gray tom, he was born dead.

"can I name him?" asked Lace padding over to the dead Tom "just so he always has a name?"

"sure." I meowed.

"Finn." she meowed.

I nodded and looked at Finn, he would always be dead, buy at least he had a name.

I got up and let Lace take my place. The reason I chose Lace to be my kits keeper: one she was my sister, and two: before her second litter died, she had a litter of four and all grew up and separated their own way. Their names were: Shine, Soli, Jake, and Duran. All adults, but Lace herself wasn't old. We were a bit young to be mothering full grown kits.

"what do you want to name her?" asked Lace stroking my daughter.

My daughter had amazing fur, it was very soft fur. Her fur color was a beautiful golden color. She was a tabby, and she had this odd marking on the top of her head, just some lines though, nothing special.

"I would like to name her Drift." I meowed.

Lace nodded, "little Drift."

I nodded. Lace got up, leaving Drift mewling for more milk. She curled her tail around me and said:

"do you really have to le-leave?" Lace was choking on her words.

"yes sister." I meowed "I know you will take care of Drift."

Lace nodded and wailed: "please don't go!"

I shook my head: "I must. I realized my place is to travel the world. And having a kit would ruin the whole thing. You see Lace? I'm going to do what I love most! Aren't you happy for me?"

I stared at my sister with curious eyes.

My sister nodded. Then with one last touch of my nose to her's I murmured:

"goodbye Lace, I love you. Take care of my daughter."

I licked my daughter and started to pad away then I turned back to Lace and meowed loudlyto her:

"I will come back someday! I promise!"

Then I disappeared from Lace's sight. And my promise shattered, I would never come back. For what I did not know. I would die before that happened

chapter 1
Drift bounced around the old Twoleg nest.

"mommy! Mommy!" Drift called as she bounced off the old couch "watch this!"

Her mother, Lace turned and looked at her daughter with shimmering eyes.

Drift shot up in the air and twisted, then landed on her paws. Lace's eyes glistened with amusement and love.

"that was great Drift!" Lace meowed coming over and giving her daughter a lick on the head "keep practicing and you'll be fighting off those foxes in no time!"

"okay!" Drift squeaked.

Drift was two moons old, she was very small for her age, bit very energetic.

"Drift!" it was Mable, then tabby queen was expecting kittens soon "can you grab me a mouse from the pile, I don't have the energy to climb down and up those stairs again!"

"okay!" squeaked Drift.

Drift scrambled up and grabbed the juiciest mouse from their prey-pile, then tail up Drift trotted up stairs literally dragging the mouse on the ground.

"thanks Drift!" Mable meowed her eyes light up "I was starving! I know your going to make a great big sister to my kits!"

Even though Mable wasn't Drift's kin Mable was literally a second mother to Drift. Mable's mate: Dusty, was out hunting with Spool and Shep.

The Twoleg nest was home to many cats. It was like a little clan in itself.

"I promise to be the best sister ever!" Drift promised padding up to Mable and running up against her.

The orange tabby purred.

"Drift, do you want me to tell you a -" she was cut off by herself as she groaned.

"ouch!" she yowled.

Lace ran up stairs and up to Mable, "your kitting" meowed Lace stroking Mable's fur "don't worry I'll help you through this."

Drift scrambled away and watched, but Lace meowed at her:

"Drift, why don't you soak some moss for Mable, she'll be really thirsty when she's done."

"but one day I'm going to have kits!" meowed Drift "I want to watch and see what it's like, can't Acorn go get water moss?"

The light brown-and-ginger tabby she-cat was about seven moons old, she lifted her head and nodded:

"I'll get the moss if Drift wants to watch." she meowed amused, then Acorn padded down stairs.

"ow!" yowled Mable.

"the first kits coming." murmured Lace.

A white Tom slid out, he looked nothing like his parents. But white kits were often put in litters with darker colored cats. It was just genes Lace had told Drift. Lace was born white even though her parents were brown tabbies.

"The next kits coming!" meowed Lace

The same moment a light brown mottled Tom slid out.

"one more Mable, hang on your almost done."

The Ginger tabby groaned. A little she-kit slid out, she had light Ginger tabby fur.

"your done!" meowed Lace licking her friends "two toms and a she-kit! Beautiful! "

Drift scrambled to her "second mothers" side.

"there so cute!" squeaked Drift "what are you going to name them?"

"I don't know" she meowed tired "do you want to help?"

Drift bounced "yeah! I can name one, you can name one, and Dusty can name one!"

"my kits have been born!" meowed Dusty charging up to Mable, his eyes widened and he meowed: "their beautiful!"

"can Drift name one?" asked Mable.

Dusty looked at me and purred "of course, I'm sure she'll pick out a great name."

"which kit should I name?" asked Drift.

"you can name the white Tom" meowed Mable.

Drift looked at the white Tom. He was big, and his pelt was pure white like Lace's. Wait! It was not pure white, it was mottled.

"he is mottled, and his fur likes like a raging Blizzard. Can I name him Blizzard?" asked Drift.

"I love that name!" meowed Mable, Dusty nodded approvingly.

"can the mottled Tom be Marsh?" asked Dusty. Mable nodded.

"the lighter orange tabby will be Dawn." meowed Mable.

Blizzard, Marsh, and Dawn. Three new kits to play with. Drift was so happy.

hoe can life get better? she thought

Chapter 2
"got your tail!" it was Blizzard, the mottled white Tom had Dawn's tail. Dawn snapped back and glared at him:

"let go!" growled playfully.

"let go of your sisters tail, Blizzard" meowed Mable who was watching her kits play.

Drift was watching amused. Blizzard, Dawn, and Marsh were now a moon old. Drift was three moons old, two moons older.

"I have a fun game to play!" Drift meowed.

The three kits turned their attention towards her.

"what game Drift?" asked Marsh.

"it's called moss ball." meowed Drift "you toss it with a hooked claw then throw it at the other cat. Their supposed to catch it with their claw."

Dawn let out a little bounce: "that sounds fun!"

Blizzard and Marsh agreed.

Drift nodded: "I'm going to go grab a moss ball from downstairs, be right back!"

Drift dashed off towards the stairs and down she went, she ran right up to the entrance, a hole that only one cat could fit in at one time. Squeeze out looked outside for her moss, she found it. She rolled one up into a normal sized ball and grabbed it with her jaws. Gray eyes gleaming with satisfaction she darted back into the twoleg nest and up the stairs to Blizzard, Marsh, and Dawn.

The kits played for awhile, then the day was starting to draw near. Drift looked around for Lace, and found her sleeping on the couch.

should I jump at her and wake her up as a prank? thought Drift.

But then she saw how peaceful her mother looked and how rude that would be, so she just padded over to the couch and lightly leaped on. She curled into her mothers fur, and was almost alseep when she heard her mother talking. She was still asleep, but she was mewling words:

"I promise..." Lace snored "I will take care of your kit.... What's her name?"

Then Lace rolled over and said no more.

take care of whose kit? thought Drift.

then she heard her mother mewl one more thing, and it made Drift sick:

"what's her name..?.. Drift, okay sister, I will take care of Drift."