Where Do Dads Come From?

Leopardkit
The little tom was waiting for his mother to come back from her little walk break, or wherever she was — she'd been doing something, but that wasn't the important matter at paw right now. Leopardkit had a very big burning question on his mind after his initial meeting with Reedsprout ... the way that Rowanscar had been acting with him, and their reaction to his question ‘Are you gonna be our new dad?’ hadn't really given many answers. Mostly he was just confused because Reedsprout had acted like he was choking on a piece of prey which had been ... weird. Did he not want to be a part of their lives? ... Had Leopardkit scared him off? He fought off a whimper.

His paws tingled, each second feeling like an hour as he tried not to huff with impatience. Even if his mother was taking a ridiculous amount of time (in his eyes, at least — she likely wasn't realistically gone for as long as he was imagining), he wasn't going to call her out on it. Such actions would be rude, and very likely something Bearkit would do which meant that Leopardkit would rather die than be rude like his brother. Tail and ears flicking, nothing could distract him from his mission: he was going to ask Rowanscar where dads came from, because Bearkit, Lionkit and himself didn't have one and all his cousins didn't have one either — but they were lucky because they had two mothers! At the sound of rustling outside the nursery, he raced onto his paws and looked expectantly up at the brown-furred molly in front of him.

Rowanscar
The steady, quick sound of paw steps could be heard nearing the nursery as Rowanscar practically jogged back to the den her kits were waiting in. While she had thoroughly enjoyed her walk— even new moms needed alone time— an instinctual tug caused her strides to grow longer and pace to quicken as she made her way back to the Nursery. The familiar scent of milk and new kits filled her nose as she finally broke into the entrance, though she quickly stopped in her tracks when she realized one of her very own kits was poised and waiting right near the entrance. “Leopardkit? Is everything alright sweetheart? Were you waiting for me?” She spoke gently, lowering herself to her son's level and nosing his cheeks affectionately.

Leopardkit
Now that his mother was here, Leopardkit didn't really know how to phrase his question. The red-furred kit fidgeted a little as he formed what he wanted to say in his head, not wishing to ask it wrong — not that he thought that Rowanscar would be mad at him, anyway; she never really was. Nose scrunched, he moved forward and bumped his face against her face, purring loudly. Mama always knew how to make him feel more relaxed, and he really loved her for that. Peering back up towards her, he started gently, “I have a question ... but I don't want to sound stupid.” He hesitated once again, his tail slightly puffed up as he grew the urge to finally spit the question out.

“Mama ... where do — uh ...” He paused, trying to get his words out. “Our cousins have two mamas, and they were given to Auntie Otterspark and Auntie Honeythroat by StarClan. But … but we weren’t given by StarClan, which means …” Leopardkit’s head ached as he tried to piece his thoughts together. This was a lot to try and process with his little, inexperienced brain. “Do we have another mama or … a papa?” He didn’t want to hurt Rowanscar’s feelings, so he quickly added, “I love you, mama, but I just don’t understand. Are … are we missing a papa — is Reedsprout gonna be our papa?” He finally got out what he was trying to say, before whispering, “I’d like him to be our papa, but I’m not sure if he wants to. Did I say something wrong to him?”

Rowanscar
Rowanscar’s ears perked as her son mentioned having a question, her head tilting to the side a little before she froze when he did ask what was on his mind. Well. Shit.

The molly sighed gently, sliding onto her belly and stretching her forelegs out on either side of her son, soon scooping him closer and rasping her tongue along the top of his head as she thought. “Well... yes. You and your siblings do have a father but he isn't in Lynxclan. That's why he isn't around.” she answered honestly, seeing as there had been no repercussions from Beetlestar himself when she stated the sire of her kits was ‘the strongest cat outside of Lynxclan'’.

She was quiet for a moment before addressing Leopard's next question, her face warming a little at the thought and her ears flicking backwards. “Reedsprout....” she murmured, lowering her head a little more as if to tell the young kit a secret. “I like Reedsprout very much. He and mama have been friends for a very long time and he likes all of you very much too. He is just a very quiet and reserved tom. I... I wouldn't mind if he wanted to help raise you all. Maybe that's something mama can work on making happen, hm?”

Leopardkit
His stress almost dissipated entirely when Rowanscar scooped him up and began to groom his fur. It was relaxing, and he leaned into her comforting gesture, almost ... regretting asking such a commanding question. Leopardkit didn't want to make his mama feel uncomfortable, and it was evident that this was a topic that seemed to make her so, even if she tried to hide it. The little kit was grateful to his mama for taking it in stride though because even if he did have questions that needed uncomfortable answers, she would try her best to provide them. He'd be ever grateful for that.

Leopardkit fought off the urge to ask where his father was because he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to know the answer. What if their papa had never wanted them? He didn't want that insecurity confirmed. Instead, he listened closely to Rowanscar's next words. A grin grew wide on his face, and he nodded, leaning in as if he, too, were sharing a secret, “Maybe I can help you ... I'll go and work on my nicest manners, so he can't say no!” Leopardkit wasn't aware that this wasn't actually how it worked, but he thought that if he were nice enough to Reedsprout, maybe he'd agree to be his papa. That was kind of how his aunties got their StarClan kits, right? By asking nicely? He wrinkled his nose and shook his head, not really wanting to think too deeply about it -- it was all so confusing.