float like a bee ---QUINN NEEDED, OPEN

[align=center][fancypost bgcolor=; borderwidth=0px; bordercolor=; color=white; font-family: trebuchet ms; width: 350px;][justify]at the sound of her name, quinn's black and ginger head peeked out from the warrior's den. her pale green eyes scanned the camp carefully before landing on hornetpaw. ah yes, it had sounded like him. the calico yawned and stretched out her limbs, then ruffled her fur and headed out in her son's direction.

"right here kiddo." she grunted, and gave him a weak smile. "something i can help you with?"
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[align=center][fancypost bgcolor=;border:0;width:500px;text-align:justify;font-size:8pt]Having two parents present in a developing child's life was always a matter most found important. However there were many who often had no father, mother or even neither. Cherrystar had always been the case where he had a functioning family, the only difference which separated him from other kits was his lack of interest in socialising with the ones close to him. DarkClan was his family, but even then he still allowed himself to fall into the category of being an outsider. But of course he had never truly been alone. He was always well looked after as a kit but hardly ever adventurous enough to need treating.

The flame point tom had been laying over the cold stone with his eyes half closed when he noticed Hornetpaw calling out for Quinn. At first, he was surprised at the way he addressed her. 'Quinn'. No mama, or mother, or mom, or even mommy. None of that - just Quinn. He supposed the boy would rather address others in a more equal manner, as if treating his biological parent as a friend. Or perhaps it was just the male's intelligence. Although playful and imaginative, Hornetpaw had always been quite smart for a kitten.

A single bright eye stayed open slightly, watching the kitten as his mother approached him. The calico looked as if she had just awoken, but still she came to her son. Cherrystar couldn't help with swallow awkwardly, hearing the child's words as he asked about his father. Or to be precise, his dad. The father could have been anyone's considering Quinn herself had patches of white and ginger, but how many toms of the Clan happened to be a ginger as well? He stayed quiet, not daring to utter a single word. Cher himself could be considered a ginger, but other than his tips he was a cream white.
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[align=center][fancypost bgcolor=; borderwidth=0px; bordercolor=; color=white; font-family: trebuchet ms; width: 350px;][justify]quinn herself hadn't even noticed the name change. she was so used to being referred to by her own name, and she was so un-affectionate towards her kits, the thought didn't even cross her mind. she didn't really care what her children called her. what mattered was that she was able to recognize it and answer them.

hornetpaw's question took her by surprise. she paused, and blinked. his father? she hadn't thought about that recently either. she hadn't considered the possibility that his curiosity would grow, tht he would think it odd to have a mother and no father. she hadn't even tried remembering who the father was. in fact, she'd tried to forget it.

the calico swallowed and wrapped her tail tightly around her paws, almost nervously. "well..." she began carefully. this could go several different ways, but she was pretty sure she'd have to explain the concept of catnip if hornetpaw was to understand everything, and that was something she didn't want to do. all too easily she could see his excitement at the prospect of acting silly and giddy and possibly wanting to eat the stuff himself. she could also see him focusing on the fact that he was an accident.

"i...i'm not too sure." she continued, and glanced down sheepishly at her paws. "it was so long ago, i can't remember. see, momma was kind of...kind of sleep walking when it happened. i wasn't asleep, but it was sort of like that. and i can't remember who it was." she paused, wondering how much she should tell him. she guessed it couldn't hurt. "i do know i never left the territory, so it's probably someone from here."
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[align=center][fancypost bgcolor=;border:0;width:500px;text-align:justify;font-size:8pt][ ooc ] imagine when they realise and they have to pretend to be all loving while in the background quinn is sending cher death threats.

His whiskers twitched. He had to think. Who else was a ginger? He had an awful memory for someone so keenly observant as he watched Quinn try to awkwardly explain she was on catnip without explaining it. His stomach churned just a little at the discomfort of the thought. The male was highly affected by the herb, mostly due to his nose. And he remembered a time he had awoken beside a shredded piece of catnip. He pressed his lips together, flicking an ear. Perhaps it was coincidence? It simply seemed too unbelievable for such a situation to happen. Cher had always been careful around the smell of catnip and quite often avoided any threat of it. He was even careful about it when visiting Thrushmumble. He of all toms couldn't be the father. It was ridiculous. But the genetics seemed to point straight to the leader himself.

His teeth clenched together. Genetics was a weird and mysterious little thing.

Cherrystar couldn't help but feel almost sorry for the starry-eyed apprentice, the child who liked to pretend and tell stories. He couldn't just pretend he had a father. Games didn't work like that. "I'm sure he would, Hornetpaw," the flame point said, speaking up from the distance as he added a yawn and rested his head in a more comfortable position. Of course if said father was Cher, then his statement would have been a lie. He had never been the family type, and he would be the most awkward soul there was.
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