Black out days [Brightfam]

[Echolight]

Only yesterday had she received the news. Only just this morning had she accepted it, had found the small joy in the happy accident.
Something born from love, real and genuine. The only problem now was making it official… to everybody.
She had not seen Elmbreeze for a pawful of days now, their next rendezvous not planned for another night, so she would have to wait to break the news to her beloved.
The next set of cats on the list being her family, though her stomach got all knotted up when she thought of what their reactions would be- or perhaps that was simply her pregnancy.
She spent the day preparing herself, the small comfort being that she wasn’t all alone in this situation, a small brush of her tail against her stomach was enough to remind herself of that.
The sun finally began to lower, hovering just above the horizon, when she sent out for her family.
With the news of kittens, she fully planned on telling them of her secret romance as well, and therefore she prompted them all for a walk outside of camp.
Finally, the group would reach Outlook Rock, where Echolight would deem it safe to begin to speak.
She positioned herself so that she would be sitting in front of them all, her gaze flickering to each cat.
"So, uhm-" she began, faltering at first. Maybe they’d be able to notice her change in scent and appearance, or her lack of an official mate- perhaps they could just figure it out and she wouldn’t have to utter a word.
Yet, on a second thought, she took a deep breath.
Just spit it out.
"I’m pregnant. About halfway along…" she began, ears urging to flatten against her head.
Okay, here we go.
"But… but" she fumbled again.
What if their disappointed in me?
"Well the thing is… their dad…"
I can’t do this.
"…isn’t from here."
Wow, Echolight. So descriptive.

[ @BRIGHTSHINE! @MALLOWLARK @HEAVY SNOW @POLLENFUR ]
"Speech."
​

[ WHAT A TIME ]​

 

[POLLENFUR]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Her niece's approach is initially met with a smile, but her dread begins to grow like a dark flower as she brings all of her kin -- including Heavy Snow -- away from camp.

A secret. Pollenfur does not like secrets anymore. She does not like anything that should not be common knowledge, that would not please Sootstar or her minions. Anything that could hurt her family worse than it already bleeds.

Echolight sits before them all, clearly struggling with whatever burden she's carried. "I'm pregnant. About halfway along..."

Pollenfur blinks. She hadn't expected this. "You're expecting kits? But..." Oh! The little scrap of ginger and white she remembers suckling at her sister's side is grown, strong and tall and proud despite her scars, and is soon to be a mother!

Relief washes over her like a heavy downpour. Nothing bad is going to happen to Echolight. Nothing bad is going to happen to her kits. They'll be well-loved, even if they're doomed to a life of diplomacy and madness. Pollenfur and her kin will ensure they're protected from WindClan's brutality.

But Echolight continues, and Pollenfur's muscles turn to stone. "But... but." And the chocolate tortoiseshell realizes with a pang that she has not thought to ask Echolight about her kits' father. Her mind swims. Who could it be? None of the warriors in WindClan have seemed to pad after her niece, but then again... she's been so distant, so lost in her own sick pools of emotion, that she wouldn't have noticed anyway.

"Their dad isn't from here."

Pollenfur stares at her, lost. "Then... where is he from?" She doesn't comprehend, can't bear to. Is she insinuating the kits' father is someone Sootstar would consider...

A cold claw of fear rakes across her heart, her eyes. She begs Echolight internally to correct her. To say anything else but what she's about to.

Because all of her fears about these kits' safety in WindClan begin to come back up like bile in her throat.

- ,,​

​

 

[MALLOWLARK]

Well, wasn't there something ominous about this! Really it was sad that he thought of it as something scary, but to rendezvous them all in one place- oh, was Echolight planning a coup? They were a bit late for mutiny, Mallowlark thought, as he trotted through the dried-up moorland with joy painted eternally across his face. His large icecap form kept pace pretty well on account of his size, though he still lagged behind his defter family a fair amount, huddling beside them as they finally found a spot. Oh, their own little Clan meeting- what would Sootstar think! She'd call blasphemy, probably... no, no- not blasphemy, but insurrection...

Patient did he sit with his teeth glimmering doglike, stretched into what he intended as a reassuring smile but was truly anything but. Echolight knew his heart well at this point at least, he would hope. It took her a while to get her words out- but when she finally said it- I'm pregnant- an almighty thunder-rumble of laughter leapt from his throat, a half-shocked half-lively "HAH!" that broke free as swift as the snap of a branch.

She continued on, and he swallowed his bubbling cackles, because wasn't this wonderful, oh-so-wonderful until she spoke the blood-drenched truth- like hawk talons stealing away a kit (a kit, a kit, how funny he should think of that now) so did her words steal the purity of the joy in the air. Not erased was joy in its entirety, but the isolation of it was now gone. He almost wanted to grab her, shake her, because what a funny coincidence that they should both-!

"Well that's bad, but we can hide it!" he chirped, always positive even in the face of what was most dire and shadowy. He'd already assumed she meant from another Clan... that's what he'd guess. It was easier-done than it seemed! And as for the hiding-it part; they might not even need to, if the dad wasn't a Sky or Thunderclanner... if he was a Shadowclanner, it might even be good! "If someone asks you who the dad is you can tell them to go eat their own guts or something. Easy."​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​

 

[BRIGHTSHINE!]

Brightshine had happily followed along with her family, all too eager to get out of the stifling camp and spend time with her loved ones. She prances through the heather, cracking jokes and bouncing all around her sisters and children and Heavy Snow. It feels great to just be around her kin with no one else breathing down their necks, waiting for a slip-up. When they're together, they can just be themselves. Her heart sinks for a moment when she realizes Emberfang's absence is very much noticed. Yet her smile persists - she refuses to be down in the dumps forever. Her sister would want them to push on. Besides, she can always see her again!

They come to a halt below Outlook Rock and Brightshine pricks her ears with interest as Echolight moves to stand in front of them all. She looks worried and the calico can't help but instantly worry. She's a mother, she can't help it!

Pregnant. Her daughter is pregnant. Her jaw drops, eyes blowing wide as she stares at the pale-furred calico. Echolight....is going to be a mother? "I-" She trails off, not having the words. Pollenfur inquires where the dad is from, Mallowlark quickly piping up that they can hide it. Sootstar wouldn't be happy, but none of that is weighing her down right now. "I'm going to be a grandma?" She trills, a look of awe and delight lighting up her face. "Oh, stars, Echolight! This is amazing news! Kits!" She laughs and lunges forward, immediately embracing her daughter and grooming her ears with thunderous purrs. She hasn't quite yet wrapped her mind around the issue of the father....​

 

[Echolight]

The fear that flickers across Pollenfur’s expression makes Echolight want to choke. She fidgets for a moment, her eye darting to Mallowlark, and she almost wants to laugh- a terrible thing to laugh at, but the optimism that shines through her ivory sibling makes the cocktail of emotions that are bubbling in her chest feel a little lighter.
She keeps her laughter at bay, as there is still a question to answer, Pollenfur’s question. She’s parting her maw, she’s summoning the courage to say it for the first time.
I fell in love with a Riverclanner, how stupid am I, huh?
Yet, before a single word can leave her tongue, her mother finally says something. Echolight turns, but her mothers embrace reaches her before she can fully acknowledge the calico.
Oh stars, Echolight! This is amazing news! Kits!
She doesn’t know what it is about Brightshine’s exclamation- the optimism, the love that the calico showers her with, the fact that this is the first positive reaction to her news, or all of the above- but she begins to weep as her mother lovingly grooms at her ears. She smiles against the tears, and presses the top of her head against her mothers chest.
"Yeah mama, you’re gonna be a grandma… and Mals gonna be an uncle.." she echo’s, her voice muffled with her tears, "and I’m gonna be a mom."
"Speech."
​

[ WHAT A TIME ]​