camp been preg-a-nant for way too long - rta

[Needledrift]

Pregnancy hit Needledrift like a truck. Some expectant mothers ease into their bellies, their emotions, their cravings. They get sweeter, more affectionate, more tolerant to life's every day annoyances. However, Needledrift, who always seemed to take everything in stride (minus or stumble or two), those raging pregnancy hormones tailored the exact opposite effect onto her. She was snappish, prickly, easily irritated. It was too hot (in late leaf-bare), too loud (in the early morning), too bright (in the middle of the night.)

As a small cat already, her belly had quadrupled in size very quickly and now she seemed to resemble a very annoyed upside-down porcupine at the best of times. If the cats of the forest knew what a pufferfish was, this author say that such a comparison would be rather apt.

Since her pregnancy could not be hidden and her roundness made it rather hard to do anything, Needledrift had found herself plopped in the nursery while her mates were allowed to be warriors and her first litter allowed out into the world. It was a hellish prospect for the little gray she-cat, as now all she could do was worry over Roosterstrut, tear apart her nest in frustration and pain every time one of her kits kicked, and cry softly when she felt most alone.

On this particular afternoon, Needledrift had already gone through her first two cycles of 'worry, tear, cry, repeat'. She longed to go out into the forest today and train with Lividpaw. She was still so far away from kitting (she ignored the harsh fluttering against her flank, an internal warning that her children were coming any day now) surely, one little trainign session couldn't hurt?

She pulled herself out of her nest with some difficulty and waddled out into the clearing with a purpose, hoping to all of StarClan that nobody too important was waiting outside the nursery to make her "rest" anymore. speech is in #B9D0F5​

​

 

[lilacfur]

ShadowClan had practically bloomed back to life as each wave of apprentices moved out of the nursery and into their new dens. Warriors doubling up wherever they could, prey to be caught as their hungry bellies grew bigger appetites. Lilacfur had been so caught up balancing between Caterpillarpaw's training and preparing Pipit for his assessment that she hardly had time to sit and chat with all of her Clanmates. Roosterstrut and Scorchedmoon had been her most frequent company, but with so little time in a day their chats were brief before the tabby was already heading back to her nest.

Lilacfur enjoyed it, though. Feeling the weight of responsibility, seeing all that she was working toward. But in all her time spent out of camp and days blending together she hadn't realized until today just how... round Needledrift had gotten.

The girl set forward and was perhaps a bit too abrupt in the way she intercepted the queen from leaving camp, but her expression was genuine in kindness as she smiled. "Needledrift! You know queens can't leave without a warrior escort." Lilacfur's tone was gentle as she purred, believing her Clanmate had simply forgotten.

"Where you heading off to? I can bring Caterpillarpaw along and I can catch you up on what I've heard in the warriors den?"​

[ i need the clouds to cover me ]​

 

[Willowburn]

THE GODS CAN KNEEL ⋆⁺₊⋆
"If you were to ask me I would think that our dear Needledrift was attempting to escape the nursery." Willowburn certainly couldn't blame the queen for wanting to be away from the secure confines of the kitting den. To be surrounded by the same den walls every day, the wailing of little kits, the stink that offspring made... it all sounded absolutely hellish. However, one look at the she-cat told him that she really shouldn't be wandering far, so he was thankful that Lilacfur had already moved to intercept their clanmate. "If it's a walk that you plan to take then let us be the escorts. Hrm?"

- ⋆ -​

​

 

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

DON'T YOU GIVE ME UP, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP​

---

crystal-like orbs peer from ever so slightly beyond, watching the protected and comfortable home that that youngest resided in, along side their parents. needledrift, this time, leaves. heavily pregnant. swollen, and barely able to walk comfortably and yet, the itch to leave consumes her. a little frog croaks, advising her that it's just for a moment. she'll be back before anyone is aware that they're gone. yeah, right. recent threats, and ferndance's decisions have left them all on edge. no chance in the milky-way that the molly would be able to leave. and they watched for a bit, before a certain level of stomach turning feelings twist inside of them. they uses to be friends. closer than most, along side pitchstar. they still should have been but chilledstar held too much down, and let it explode like an untimely chemical reaction. and that time... it exploded on her.

they are cautious in their approach, gaze avoiding her own as they push their ears back, speaking quietly when they finally do address the queen.

"...hey."

really? hey? that was it? with a rough shake of their head, they cleared their throat, angling to properly look at needledrift. what do they say? i miss you? or maybe even congratulations? they don't know. they never apologized to anyone, really. they didn't feel like they needed to, save for ferndance. demoted for disrespectful behavior, boiled down to silliness with a brain infested with sickness. still they didn't mean to do it that way.

"you look... round. i-i mean i– you... that's not what i... I'm sorry. uhm. are you hungry?"

way to go, chilledstar. that's absolutely the way to get a friend back.
​

 

[FERNDANCE]

Their functional little family was getting bigger, and Ferndance's heart could not help but sing despite what had been sacrificed to make it possible. Seeing her mate exit the Nursery, the cinnamon tabby was quick to trot over towards her, solidifying their bond with body rubs up against the gray feline. She spun around so she could rest her head against Needledrift's, purrs accentuating her breaths as she acted as if she had not seen Needledrift in moons. Sleeping in different dens was like that; even with leafbare beginning to shed, she missed the cuddle piles. Herself on one side and Chittertongue on the other, an equal understanding that whilst they held no bonds, the creature between them mattered more than the stars itself. "Hey..." she mewed quietly into Needledrift's ear. "Missed you, little moth." Little was perhaps not the right word anymore, but the tabby lacked any misgivings about such a thing. Listening to her clanmates talk to Needledrift, all seemed normal (except for the mention of escorts, which still made her pause with uncertainty). Then, Chilledstar spoke, and emerald eyes fluttered open, staring at the leader expectantly - granted the expectations were low, but they were there.

She blinked at their fumble and reclined from Needledrift; it was up to her how she approached her former friend, positive or negative, she did not want to be an influence on who her mate associated with. It felt controlling in ways their relationship had never been, though boundaries were not set in stone, she would not be the first to push in matters of friendship. A lackadaisical smile appeared on her muzzle as she fell back onto her haunches. With Needledrift caught and Chilledstar watching them, she doubted the she-cat would be able to get a break from the miasmas in ShadowClan's camp. Still, that did not mean she couldn't try and make their bereaving camp fun for her beloved, having abandoned her two moons earlier than she should've due to Chilledstar's decree, it was only fair. Her eyes grew wide as mischief glinted in them, maw left permanently parted with awe. "Needledrift... did you know that pregnant cats are round?"

​

 

[Needledrift]

Rraah! Of course the no-fun brigade would be right at her nose! Needledrift harrumphed in uncharacteristic displeasure towards her sister-in-law and parked her butt on the ground (her poor paws felt so hot after just a couple moments of standing, poor little toes!) A misaligned pout met Lilacfur's gentle purr, the same sort of pitiful expression that one of her children might've made if they were told they weren't allowed to rough-house indoors.

"I don't want a walk," She huffed in response to Willowburn's easy words, "I want to get Lividpaw and do one more lesson before I explode, because I'm going to explode. I'm sure I have fifty kittens in here or something and when they bust out, I'll go poof! like one of those puffball mushrooms in green-leaf. Then I won't be able to teach Lividpaw a thing! Who would teach him how to climb trees properly then?" Confinement had made her talkative... and crass in a way that she had never been. Perhaps just a few weeks ago, Needledrift (sweet, sensible, calming Needledrift) would have balked at the visceral idea of "exploding with kittens" but now... now she felt more kinship with a frog full of free-loading eggs that refused to become tadpoles than her feline clan-mates.

In the midst of her ranting comes a purr-purr-hhh-purr in her ear, ruffling the soft fluff of her cheek and making her ear twitch at the sound. A perfunctory headbutt in offered to Ferndance's chin, a gesture only made because the gray she-cat knew she could not blame this leggy mate for her situation. The other one though.... he should be so lucky that he faced a monster's wrath and not her own. Once she got to StarClan though..... ooh, he would get it!

And maybe Ferndance would get it, as the word "round" fell from her mischievous maw. Something akin to fury bloomed in Needledrift's green eyes before she realized that the phrase had been parroted from another, cooler tone. Her glare shifted from cinnamon to black while her tail thumped against the ground.

"Round!" Needledrift barked to her leader with dismay. "Stars above, I'm so round! I don't want to eat! I want to train with my apprentice and climb trees and wade in the algae pools to work on my paddle but I'm stuck here in this dumb stifling den because I'm round!" While she felt as angry as she ever had been, the effect of her rage was quite stifled by the fact that she was very much one of the smallest of her adult clanmates, the fact that she was sitting on her butt with her paws splayed out because of her belly, and the fact that she was mewling like a kit for some semblance of freedom from the nursery.

"Just a few moons ago, I was a hero! A warrior! I went to the fucking mountains and back and lived and I was friends with and respected by some of the most important cats in the forest and now I-I-I'm - I'm - I'm ROUND!" speech is in #B9D0F5​

​

 

[lilacfur]

Lilacfur's eyes not-so-subtly flickered between her Clanmates in a moment of surprise at Needledrift's behavior. This was very unlike the molly she had grown up around. The Needledrift she knew would had cringed at the thought of acting such a way, favoring a softer voice and more friendly conversation. She wondered if this was a common change in pregnant queens, unable to recall if Halfshade or Frostbite had ever behaved the same.

"I'm sorry, Needledrift, but queens aren't really allowed to do warrior duties until their kits are apprentices. It's not safe. And the warriors have been doing their best making sure Lividpaw isn't left behind in training." Especially when they hadn't even arrived! Was staying in camp as difficult as these queens portrayed? Lilacfur would have thought remaining comfortable during such stressful changes would have been more convenient.

The tears come quicker than the rosette could even blink and an awkward tension ruffled her fur. What was she supposed to say? What would be the right thing? Lilacfur was no queen herself, she couldn't imagine facing the same experience Needledrift was but still her heart ached for seeing her Clanmate so distraught.

"None of your efforts on the journey have been forgotten, but that doesn't make you an exception to these rules. It's for you and your kittens safety, not a punishment." Lilacfur tried to reassure, but truthfully it might mean very little coming from a cat that could still train her apprentices.​

[ i need the clouds to cover me ]​