Riversong missed everything about being a queen, but the work of a parent raising young kits was never-ending. She couldn’t deny how nice it was to have free time as a weaver. Sure, when she’d been a queen, warriors and older apprentices would offer to watch her children so she could take a break, but she could never really relax when someone else was keeping an eye on her kits. Cloudpaw, Swanpaw, Stormpaw, and Dewpaw were her first litter, so Riversong was especially nervous about their health and safety - to the point where she’d sometimes hover over them. The disappearance of Irisfrost’s children shortly before she’d had her own kits only increased her anxiety. She hadn’t even felt completely comfortable leaving her kits in the care of her clanmates, because even though she trusted them with her life, it took some time for her to trust them with the lives of her babies.

And then her kits grew and matured, and eventually, they became apprentices, leaving Riversong with no choice but to totally trust that her clanmates - particularly their mentors - would keep her children safe. They were old enough to leave camp now, to learn how to defend themselves and their clanmates. It was almost inconceivable, but maybe that’s partially due to how she wasn’t yet ready for her children to grow up. One of her greatest concerns was that her kits would meet their father and she hated how that was one of her fears. It was clear to her that Sparrowclaw would love nothing more than for their children to join him in RidgeClan, which was the last thing Riversong wanted. She knew he’d never leave his clan to join MistClan, so his only option was to bring their kits over to RidgeClan. If Sparrowclaw chose to reveal himself as the biological father of her kits, she was sure they’d be upset with her and she was terrified their anger toward her would be the push they needed to trade MistClan for RidgeClan. Hopefully Sparrowclaw loved her and their children enough that he’d keep the secret.

Currently, Riversong was sunbathing in a spot close to the walls of MistClan’s camp, various scenarios racing through her mind. Her eyes were closed, but there was a slight furrow in her brow and the faintest frown on her lips that any sharp-witted cat might have interpreted to be signs of troubled thoughts. She was so distracted that she didn’t notice anyone approaching until a sudden pressure was applied to her back, startling her into flinching, but when her owlish eyes found a familiar dark-furred molly standing before her, the tension in her muscles immediately relaxed. She wasn’t the type of cat to get upset very easily, so even if it hadn’t been one of her kits who had frightened her, she probably still would’ve laughed it off, but since it was Stormpaw, Riversong instantly started purring quite loudly at just the sight of her.

“If you were a rabbit, I would have definitely caught you!” Stormpaw said and Riversong met her daughter’s cheeky grin with a joyous one. “I don’t doubt that,” she chuckled. “How are you, mother?” Briefly, the corners of Riversong’s lips turned downward, but they then curled upward so quickly into a soft smile that observers might’ve wondered if she’d even frowned at all. She knew she couldn’t possibly express her concerns about Sparrowclaw to Stormpaw, so it’d be best if her daughter didn’t know that something was bothering her. “I’m fine, love. I was just dozing off in this warm patch of sun, but I’m much happier now that you’re here with me,” Riversong purred. “Sit, join me, and you can tell me how your training with Wispfang is going.” And then something bright blue, just behind Stormpaw, caught her eye and she perked up when she realized it was a jay. It was unaccompanied and close enough to them that Riversong asked, “Did you catch that?”