"Is that common? Childbirth can be dangerous for Twolegs but that's partly because we're bipeds with relatively enormous heads..."

"No, not at all; something went wrong.  Cinderpelt did save the kits - this happened at Sunningrocks, in ThunderClan territory - and, er, Tigerclaw was also there and helped us."

"How... nice of him?"

"You'd really have to be pretty evil and not very smart to refuse to lick a newborn kit to warm it up when a medicine cat tells you to with several other witnesses present."

"It is sort of hard for me to get used to the prevalence of licking in cat culture."

"Oh?"

"It would be a very weird thing for a twoleg to do to another twoleg. Or for that matter to a cat. Also being licked by cats is kind of uncomfortable for us because your tongues are rough and we don't have fur."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"I don't believe you have ever licked me! But if you are ever tempted to I'd rather you didn't."

"I only meant that it's a nice thing you're all missing out on."

"Well, I'm glad you enjoy it, but I wouldn't trade you. I like having hands."

"I suppose hands would make up for it a little.  Do Twolegs pet each other?  I never saw mine do it but it seems a little similar to sharing tongues, if some of you do."

"Twolegs sometimes pet each other but mostly it's adults petting children or people who are - mates, I guess is the word you have for it."

"That sounds . . . lonely.  But your ways are your ways."

"It varies culturally a fair amount."

"Alright.  There was some arguing over whether anyone would want half-Clan kits, but Bluestar decided to take them in.  Goldenflower, who had recently had Tigerclaw's kits, agreed to nurse them."

"That was nice of her."

"Goldenflower's a good cat.  I'm not even sure she was romantically involved with Tigerclaw; they might have just made an arrangement for kits."

"She couldn't find someone less, uh..."

"Everyone in ThunderClan still thought he was one of our most noble and honorable warriors then."

"Fair enough. How are his kids doing?"

"Fine."

"That's good. One of the many things I'm not clear on is, like, family structures, how much it matters who your parents and grandparents and siblings and aunts and uncles are..."

"It . . . varies.  I was glad to find Princess, since I didn't have any kin in ThunderClan, but some cats don't care at all.  Sometimes parents will mentor one of their kits; other cats basically only see theirs as another Clanmate once they're apprenticed.  And queens don't always say who the father is."

"Huh. Is it often unknown to the father too?"