camp AUGUST SLIPPED AWAY [ moving ]

[willowroot]

( ☾ ) she stumbles into camp with a bundle of moss almost as big as she is. it's almost impressive, the way she navigates around snoozing warriors and playful kits, even with her eyesight obscured by the absurdly large clump of bedding in her jaws. she knows she looks ridiculous, with her growing stomach and waddling pawsteps, but as her ears flatten, she dares anybody to comment. slipping into the nursery, the smoke feline sets down her load. in the shade of the den, she pauses, catching her breath and shaking scraps of moss and twig from her long fur. once she is suitably presentable, she separates the moss and begins to spread it. she won't stop until the nursery floor is covered- every precaution will be taken for her coming kits.

several minutes later, the busy queen emerges from the den, glancing around before moving towards the warriors' den. she slips inside to grab her few precious trinkets and returns to set them gently in her new nest. with this complete, willowroot finally can take a break. she flops down outside of the nursery, resting her head on the cool earth that the shade provides. emerald eyes close for a heartbeat as she slows her breathing. she's done, she's moved in, and she hopes it serves as an announcement. stars forbid another fiasco like last time happen. vaguely, she wonders if mudpelt has ever forgiven himself for that.

yes, willowroot is pregnant, and her stomach has begun to show. now that she's informed her kids, she and poppy decided it might as well be smart to move into the nursery early. now, as she rests outside of it, she has to remind herself to slow down. as patrols come in and go out, she'll curl her lip. just one more hunting patrol, she begs to herself, and another part of her brain reprimands her. she's earned this time off. so why is it so awful to just sit?

// girlie's movin in! ignore this odd 4am written starter post heh
@POPPYSPLASH. tag just in case​

 

[salmonshade]

Today is one of her rare days off, at least until the night shift began. She’s lazing about camp, taking a well-earned half-nap until a consistent shuffle of paws draws her attention. She looks up, Willowroot is carrying one of the biggest bundles of moss Sal has sworn she has ever seen. Curiosity piques her interest and she watches as the smoke disappears in to the nursery. Must be time, Sal thinks with a tilt of her head. Willowroot returns a few minutes later, disappears in to the Warriors den this time. She comes out with various trinkets and returns to the nursery, only to come back out and flop on the ground.

While the whole thing was amusing, Salmonshade figures she better go say something. She hauls herself to her paws and pads over.

“… Congratulations. On the… kittens.” it slips out just as awkwardly as Salmon thought it would, accentuated by a flick of her ear; if she wasn’t in front of the former lead, she’d smack herself with a paw. Yet, unfortunately she wishes she could say she saw the desire for kits- she wishes she could say more to Willowroot, but her words die on the tip of her tongue. There is not much to vocalize at this point, but Salmon decides to stick around incase Willowroot needs any help. Just let me know, she hopes she conveys.

₊˚.༄ info

• 
  -> salmon ,, salmonshade
  -> cis female ,, she/her ,, 30 months
  -> warrior of riverclan ,, former marsh grouper
  -> fluffy & dainty chocolate tortie smoke with low white and blue eyes
  -> “speech, ff91a4” ,, thoughts
  -> lesbian ,, single
  -> smells like warm flowers & freshly cut grass
  -> image by @wrendoings [ disc ]
  

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[LAKEMOON]

LAKEMOON — me and the devil, walking side by side.
The conversation Lakemoon had found herself tangled in comes to a fade as sapphire optics are caught on Willowroot, picking her way around camp, her face partially obscured by a large bundle of moss.
It’s not what the lead warrior is doing that causes the mollies attention, it’s more so where she is heading for.
When Willowroot disappears into the nursery, Lakemoon does not follow right away, giving her a moment to settle herself in.
By the time the queen reappears, however, Lakemoon is following just behind Salmonshade, but instead of ginger congratulations, the tabby dips her head.
"Riverclan will be blessed this leaf-fall" she says as her head raises.
In the back of her mind, the thought of her own kits is once again sparked, the topic had only been grazed over by both her and Lilybloom, but it seemed as though they were both in agreement when it came to wanting their own litter one day- still, there was a long discussion to come.
Lakemoon couldn’t see herself stowed away in the nursery, even just for a few moons.
Yet, could she truly see Lilybloom jumping for the role? Perhaps not.

"speech"

tags​

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[SMOKESTAR]

"Ah, your turn again is it?"
The tom's dark head pokes into the den, curious and also surprised in a way. He had seen Willowroot heading this way and it was embarrassing how long it took him to make the connection before coming to step in briefly and actually look at her.
Well, you would have to be half-blind to not notice a cat swelling like they had; that Smokethroat himself had gone mostly unoticed was most likely due to a fear of bringing it up due to his snappy nature. But he was half-blind so suppose he was allowed a pass in not realizing immediately and also his own litter to deal with. The kits had kept him busy, a lot busier than he expected but he wasn't entirely bothered by it for the most part. They were growing into their own little personalities and it was endearing to watch, seeing what bits of himself and of Cicadastar they had taken and what was wholey unique to them.
His gaze flits across the den, the place he was once almost confine to before he complained enough in earnest to his mate to leave him to the comfort of their own den; a demand he had not regretted for an instant. It was a privelege, really, not having to be in the crowded warrior's den any further but at least the nursery was quiet and mostly empty now save for its new resident. Smokethroat inches in further towards his friend so he can duck his head and whisper, "Want me to tell Mudpelt so he can let the clan know for you?"
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[RAVENSONG]

Soon, it appeared, Ravensong would have another litter to deliver. He would be much more comfortable with this one—at the very least he would not have to worry about a certain black and white mottled feline curling and pressing against the expectant as the birthing happened. Ravensong was pleased to push back that experience as far as he could, and he could feel relief and pride whenever he looked at Smokethroat's three kits (barring their names, of course). That experience had brought him closer to the deputy than he usually would have been.

"I'm sure you know not to push yourself now." Ravensong remarked as he trotted over to the growing crowd. He would only stay for a moment, not to crowd the warrior with unneeded presence. "I trust you, but I keep an eye out, just in case." The fur along his spine rippled. "Congratulations."

☾₊ ⊹ темная ночь — dark is the night

•  
• 
  RAVENSONG of RIVERCLAN
  — LH BLACK POLYDACTYL MALE (CARRYING CINNAMON, DILUTE) a tall, slender creature with pitch-black feathery fur, large ears, and a sharply angled skull held up in an aloof manner. smells of dried herb, speaks with a low and rumbly accent and walks with an elegant slinking gait.
  
  — born in twolegplace and orphaned at a young age, he joined riverclan at its inception and began training as a drypaw warrior known for a bitter temperment until beesong made him his medicine cat apprentice. after his mentor's untimely death, he had been named ravensong at the moonstone, young heart revitalized with anger and guilt. he is a somber and thorough medicine cat that guards every word spoken in the confines of his den.
  
  — secretly loves "the stars but not so much what inhabits them"
  — openly suffers from chronic migraines
  — single, but "it's complicated"

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[LILYBLOOM.]

It seemed like not so long ago Willowroot and Poppyspalsh had their first litter and now the time had come for them to welcome another litter. When Willowroor first steps inside, Lilybloom does not follow due to not wanting to intrude. But, by the time the black smoke reappears, she joins the growing number of RiverClan cats in coming over to say hello. "Congratulations, Willowroot," Lilybloom smiles at her, coming to a stop beside her own mate. It was not so long ago that the two of them had discussed having kits of their own one day. There was still a long time to go before either was ready to reach that point, but it was a nice idea for the future. "Are you hoping for a small or large litter?" Lilybloom inquired, inclining her head. ​

 

[CHICORYPAW]

(๑✪ᆺ✪๑) — signs of a growing crowd catches the attention of chicorypaw who temporarily abandons the stack of pebbles she was messing with to go check it out, the apprentice slinks between warriors who stand around the nursery sharing their congratulations for willowroot who— "woah! you're full of babies!" the words spill out of her mouth faster than her brain can process them, eyes slightly wide with awe at just how big the warrior had gotten. honestly it feels like whenever she blinks someone in the clan is suddenly ballooning with itty bitty kitties inside of them. "oh, uh, and congraulations too! have you already started thinking of names? i think the name beetlekit would be pretty cool or maybe you could do what smokethroat and cicadastar did and name one after yourself or poppysplash then we'd have like. . .uh. . . six cats who share names in the clan!" the apprentice laughs a little at the thought, maybe they could make a club only for people who share the same names.​

 

[willowroot]

( ☾ ) it doesn't take long for her clanmates to notice and approach, and willowroot purrs happily as they do so. salmonshade pads up, ears flicking with an awkward energy. "aw, thanks salmonshade," she'll reply, squinting her gaze kindly. lakemoon approaches as well and the femme purrs. "i'm excited, but i just know i'm going to get bored." she snorts, curling her tongue as she yawns. smokethroat pops his head into the den to examine her handiwork and mutters a teasing idea. she lightly slaps him with her tail, huffing a small laugh. "that poor tom will never forgive himself. getting accidentally involved with pregnancies is pretty much his legacy now." the memory of the stricken look on the older warrior's face as he had realized his mistake still makes willowroot laugh to this day. "you've got it, ravensong. no moving from me until these kits are in the apprentices' den," she'll reassure the medic, pushing off memories of her stillborn child.

this is a happy day- even as the sun bakes the earth surrounding the slow moving river, the feline feels content. thank the stars it's not leafbare. lilybloom joins her mate and willowroot admires the two as they brush against each other. "i had four last time, and that was grueling. i love them but stars they are a handful. i have a feeling this litter will be smaller, but i don't know." at chicorypaw's excited tone reaches their ears, the warrior smiles again. "yes i am!" they agree, "beetlekit is a very cool name. maybe i'll name one cicadakit and then we'll have three cicadas. i dunno how we'd deal with that." they flick their tail against smokethroat's flank. "poppysplash and i are thinking of names, but we haven't officially decided. i would love to hear suggestions." ​

 

[SMOKESTAR]

"You're in good paws, at least. I'm not sure how Ravensong held his head on during mine.." Yes, he was aware of how bothersome his overprotective and towering mate had been, unfortunately he'd not been in the sense or position to really object, "But you should manage okay."
Chicorypaw's harmless joke drew a grimace across his maw, he still wasn't over that entire naming thing though at this point it was too far along and he was not willing to fight a battle over it with the stubborn phantom that was their leader.
"Please do not name another Cicada...one was already too many." The deputy says in a droll, sigh of a sound - quite possibly joking but given how overbearing his mate had been the past several moons it was hard to tell exactly where the joke ended and the exhaustion began. "I won't offer help in names, I could barely name my own and look where that got me." Beekit was fine, at least, but the other two were certainly going to turn heads everytime they were so much as uttered and he was not excited to hear about them being announced at the gathering. Maybe Cicadastar's paranoia would spare them that and the tom wouldn't even mention their existence, let alone announcing their egotistical and blasphemous names for all to hear.
"If you need anything I'm still in camp for the next moon. Ask." It wasn't an offer, an order more like it, but sad with a more gentle tone than he might have taken with another cat otherwise. Willowroot was his friend, after all, they got a small pass. Not a particularly noticable one, but one all the same.
It was getting crowded here now and if no one called on him otherwise he was preparing to leave...
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