“We’ll raise them together,” Brambleclaw says, twining his tail with hers and staring deep into her eyes, willing her to trust him. “We’ll tell the Clan that they’re our kits.”
Clementine
is a Warriors fic by goosemixtapes. It's an Alternate Universe Fic where Brambleclaw is in on his kits' adoption.
Squirrelflight doesn't listen to her sister's wishes. She tells her mate Brambleclaw that Leafpool is having kits. She also tells them that she plans on adopting Leafpool's kits and passing them as her own. Brambleclaw agrees and the two raise the triplets - Hollykit, Jaykit, and Lionkit - together, both knowing the secret to their kit's parentage.
Clementine provides examples of:
- all lowercase letters: The title of the fic is clementine, all in lowercase.
- Alternate Universe Fic: Unlike in canon, Brambleclaw isn't kept in the dark on Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather being adopted. He knows from the get-go.
- Chocolate Baby: Anyone who knows about cat genetics would be able to tell they weren't Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's, but all the cats take their parentage at face value. It helps that they take after their adopted parents in mannerisms. Only their biological father Crowfeather gets suspicious when he rescues Jaypaw.
- Daddy's Girl: Hollyleaf has always been closest to her father Brambleclaw, in contrast with her Momma's Boy brothers.
- Death of a Child: Molekit dies of illness in the third chapter. His death stuns the Clan. It especially fills Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw with them worried for their own children.
- Family Relationship Switcheroo: Leafpool had a litter of kits despite being a medicine cat (and from a non-ThunderClan cat at that). To save face, Leafpool allows her sister Squirrelflight to adopt her newborns and raise them as her own.
- Meaningful Name:
- Played straight with Lionkit, who is named for his resemblance to a lion.
- Subverted with Hollykit. Brambleclaw thinks of giving her a descriptive name that fits her fur, like Blackkit or Nightkit, but finds them too simplistic. He also thinks about naming her "Snowkit" because she was born in the winter, but decides that doesn't fit. Brambleclaw gives her a Floral Theme Naming by naming her after the berries he sees in the forest.
- Shout-Out: The title comes from the song "Clementine" by Sarah Jaffe.
- Titled After the Song: The title comes from Sarah Jaffe's song "Clementine".
