all the lights are misty in the river | moonpaw

[robinheart]

Every step of her pregnancy has been entirely new and often worrisome to the tortoiseshell molly. She has no baseline for understanding if the symptoms were as they should be or if the subtle jabs she began to feel were normal. Some reassured her what she was feeling was natural and she was progressing on track, but it wasn't until someone suggested that she pay Moonpaw a visit that Robinheart finally relented her harbored concerns. What good would it be to sit around worrying all day? Certainly having a check up with the medicine cat apprentice would soothe her heart and mind.

"Moonpaw, do you have a moment?" Robinheart asks, poking her head into the medicine den to seek out pale fur and clementine eyes. She feels nervous (StarClan, why? It's just Moonpaw) but dares not retreat back to the nursery to wallow with concern in her nest once more. So many things concern her, so many things are planting seeds of doubt in her heart the closer she gets to her delivery date. What if something goes wrong as it had with Lilybloom? What if something goes wrong as it had with Snowflakekit? What if some entirely new third thing goes wrong that she hasn't witnessed or heard of before? She is plagued with idealizations of the bad... of a future where she or her kits are alone and grieving. The mottled femme could use some good news. Or maybe just general news on the health of her unborn kittens. She has come to start liking the idea of motherhood recently. It would do a lot of good to reset her mind and focus on something good and exciting rather than dismal.

She knows Moonpaw is still learning, but the near adult aged apprentice had experience with kitting. Ravensong could have taught Moonpaw more behind the scenes as well. Robinheart trusts the moonbeam molly to conduct an exam with average accuracy - if not above average. "I was hoping you could... check on the kits. M-Make sure they are growing fine and maybe, if possible, feel for how many there are?" She asks once Moonpaw has her attention.

@Moonpaw ​

( penned by kerms )​

 

[Moonbeam]

There was something within Moonpaw that knew that if something was wrong - horribly terribly wrong - that she'd be sought out, that there were enough cats within the camp to know when one of their clanmates should come to her, that there were enough queens - both experience and otherwise - to do the same, and so if she didn't have to she didn't leave her den, didn't leave the camp. It wasn't that she didn't want to do things, that she didn't want to do checkups or check on the nursery, but despite her knowing deep down that she knew what to do and that she had been trained well there was that little voice in her head that said that she was going to mess something up, and that she didn't know what to do or when, so she had opted for nothing while the clan moved forward, taking steps forward and out when her name was called or when she needed to collect herbs. She hadn't expected the voice of Robinheart to reach her ears that day, though when they did she found her head turning from her seated position to look to the other.

"I'm not busy." Came the answer to the first question, tail whisking quickly as she motioned to come in, paws shuffling quickly as the apprentice moved forward to sit where it was more open, where there weren't as many nests or herbs in the way where tail quickly wrapped around paws as she sat once more, eyes watching the queen as she moved forward before head tilted slightly as she spoke once more, eyes widening slightly in surprise as the question had been asked. Was it time already, to see about health and how many kits there would be? "Y-yeah I can check," She'd begin, scooting back to where some of the clean nests were so that Robinheart could lay in one so that she wouldn't be lying on the hard ground, "I know I can at least check on the health, I've never tried to see how many there would be but I was told how to do it." It wasn't an exact science anyway, she was sure even the most experienced medicine cats guessed wrong still, mixing up heads and bodies as kittens twisted and turned.

A STRAWBERRY AVALANCHE ꕥ CRASHED OVER ME

• --
• 
  MEDICINE CAT IN TRAINING;
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ FLESH WOUNDS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ INFECTIONS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ ACHES & PAINS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ ILLNESS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ BREATHING ISSUES
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ TRAVELING HERBS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ BROKEN BONES
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ KITTING
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ POISONS
• 
  ꕥ SH white masking cinnamon torbie w/orange eyes & small ears
  ꕥ speaks softly & often found humming
  ꕥ 11 moons old; ages the 17th every month
  ꕥ homosexual homoromantic ; interested in beepaw & redacted
  ꕥ currently being mentored by ravensong
  ꕥ easy to befriend/interact with ; hard to anger/upset
  ꕥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ꕥ easy in combat unless in water, focuses on defensive tactics
  ꕥ peaceful powerplay allowed

​

 

[robinheart]

She is granted entry and Robinheart dips her head in gratitude to the pale medicine cat apprentice. Multicolored paws carry the expectant queen into the den perfumed with herbs. The last time she had been here was after the rogue ambush - flanks torn and throat bruised by a rogue who had her by her collar before she slipped out of it. She had been afraid then, just as she was afraid now. Robinheart has to briefly wonder if medicine cats and their apprentices were the bravest of all after living in a den haunted by the ghosts of everyone’s fears and failures.

She shakes away the thought as Moonpaw directs her to a clean nest. Robinheart settles in and offers her friend a reassuring smile (it is equally for herself), mewing a soft “thank you.” So long as Moonpaw didn’t predict like… eight kits, Robinheart could keep herself calm and excited for the moment. “I guess I get to be your first kit prediction then? That’s wonderful,” she continues as citrine eyes meet warm orange hues. Ravensong had the experience, but Moonpaw was someone the tortoiseshell knew better and felt comfortable palpating her middle.​

[ penned by kerms ]​

 

[Moonbeam]

She waited for a moment, eyes watching the other as she moved forward into the nest offered before Moonpaw herself moved closer to the other. Head nod at both the thanks and the question she had received and for a moment she didn't speak, ears flicking back slightly before paws moved to Robinheart's stomach, focused on what she had seen Ravensong do before, doing her best to remember the words he had spoken in teachings. "I saw Ravensong do it once, but I'm happy you get to be my first prediction." A soft musing as she paused her work, head nodding slightly to herself. Robinheart was one that she knew would be patient, not be snappy and try to get her to go quicker when inexperienced paws required time.

"I don't feel anything wrong," Nothing screamed out to her immediately at least, so she could be sure of her work there, "And I think I felt four kits?" Give or take one, what she hoped was legs and bodies sprawled over each other and moved as she had done her work so it was possible she had counted one twice or missed one completely. A smile was offered the other's way at this, four little RiverClanners was a good number, not a giant litter nor was it small and she knew that Robinheart would have so much love for them - she was aptly named.

A STRAWBERRY AVALANCHE ꕥ CRASHED OVER ME

• --
• 
  MEDICINE CAT IN TRAINING;
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ FLESH WOUNDS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ INFECTIONS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ ACHES & PAINS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ ILLNESS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ BREATHING ISSUES
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ TRAVELING HERBS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ BROKEN BONES
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ KITTING
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ POISONS
• 
  ꕥ SH white masking cinnamon torbie w/orange eyes & small ears
  ꕥ speaks softly & often found humming
  ꕥ 12 moons old; ages the 17th every month
  ꕥ homosexual homoromantic ; interested in beepaw & redacted
  ꕥ currently being mentored by ravensong
  ꕥ easy to befriend/interact with ; hard to anger/upset
  ꕥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ꕥ easy in combat unless in water, focuses on defensive tactics
  ꕥ peaceful powerplay allowed

​

 

[robinheart]

There is comfort in the quiet Moonpaw settles into, inexperienced paws pressing to inexperienced queen. Robinheart does not question the medicine cat apprentice or closely watch the other's movements. She will not cause worry to blossom within youthful ivory chest over conducting her first exam. Robinheart feels that to watch for too long will make Moonpaw feel judged, so she merely glances at her swollen midsection every once and awhile out of curiosity before turning gentle gaze back to the walls and floor of the medicine den.

It isn't until Moonpaw speaks that Robinheart fully affixes her attention on the apprentice. Joy alights yellow eyes at the news that her kits are healthy. That is all she wanted to know. Already the anxiety she had ballooned in her mind began to shrink away. In its place is a warmth and reassurance of good health for the little lives she was going to devote herself to.

Then Moonpaw gives her prediction.

Four.

"Four..." Robinheart echoes softly, her paw moving to touch where Moonpaw's had been - to feel the flutters and kicks of growing kits. Perhaps an average sized litter but to her it felt like so much more. Maybe that is because only one other newleaf queen birthed four kits - the rest two or three. But it would be okay... Robinheart knows she has room enough in her heart to love however many kits arrive, whether that be four or three or five. And she'll have so many RiverClanners willing to help her raise them should she ask. "Thank you, Moonpaw. I really appreciate your time and care," the queen purrs, shifting her thoughts from what was to come to focus on the here and now. She eases herself out of the nest and aims to touch her nose gratefully to the medicine cat apprentice's shoulder. Four healthy kits. Thank you StarClan.​

( penned by kerms )​