don't rain on my parade | pregnancy reveal

[Howlfire]

Since discovering she was expecting kits, Howlfire had been in something of an odd mood. A day or so had passed since the initial reveal and whilst it was still a bit of a fair shock to her, she was slowly warming to the idea.

Howlfire wasn't really planning a grand announcement but she had decided to inform the clan quickly. She had already spoken to Coyotecrest of her plans, and thankfully he seemed fine with it, if understandably a little nervous. Howlfire herself was nervous to let the wider clan know, not sure how some might react given everything that was going on as of late.

"SkyClan! There is something I wish to announce," Howlfire would call out, taking a spot in the centre of camp. Even already she could feel the butterflies in her stomach. Just breathe, Howlfire. Everything will be fine. The chocolate torbie would wait for a few cats to gather before pressing on. "It would seem I will no longer able to go on the journey. As much as I would like to lend my strength to this noble cause, I have to take my own safety into consideration." Howlfire took a a quick breath. She looked for Coyotecrest in the crowd briefly before pressing on. "Coyotecrest and I we...we... we're expecting kits." Phew, it was out now. The last part might have been a bit rushed but it was out in the open now.​

 

[Orangestar]

ORANGEBLOSSOM — tags​

Orangeblossom's ears prick as Howlfire calls them to a meeting. Nothing formal, no tortoiseshell form perched atop Highbranch, but instead the young warrior shuffling her paws nervously in place at the centre of their camp. A few cats peer over the fallen tree, but Orangeblossom is lucky enough to be on the right side already to watch this unfold. She tilts her head as Howlfire bows out of he journey, taking her own safety into consideration. Had she sustained an injury that they didn't know about? Should Orangeblossom refrain from sending her on the next round of patrols? Or ...

Coyotecrest and I we...we... we're expecting kits.

Or that.

"Congratulations." Orangeblossom rumbles in pleased surprise, rising to her paws but pausing far enough away that Howlfire's family would be able to join her in this joyous moment. Before her very eyes, Howlfire is transformed somewhat. She'd been a competent warrior for some time now, yes, but Orangeblossom had continued to view Blazestar's kits as exactly that: kits. Now, expecting kits of her own, the deputy has no choice but to face the fact that seasons had passed since little Howlkit had followed Little Wolf and her siblings to SkyClan for visits. A warrior in her own right, and now a mother to be.

She can only hope that their quest to find a cure is successful. There are even more lives on the line now.​

 

[Drizzlepelt]

Drizzlepelt was also in a bit of a slump himself after the recruitment the other day, so it wasn’t too hard for him to tell that Howlfire was also in some sort of funk. He didn’t want to pry either way, but there was concern for her and he was ready to comfort her if need be.

Luckily, it wasn’t something devastating like he had anticipated. But even when she calls for an announcement in front of the clan, he didn’t exactly expect the news that she was pregnant…though he’s not sure what he expected in the first place. At least it’s something to cheer about!

“Congratulations, Howlfire and Coyotecrest!” He exclaims joyfully, excited to see what their little bundles of joy will look like in a few moons. He knew that they hadn’t really been an official couple beforehand, but their business is their business. He’s sure that Coyotecrest will be a good father despite.​

 

[GREENEYES]

Greeneyes had noticed that Howlfire seemed a little off as of late, but the warrior chalked it up to mere worry. Nerves were already biting at the warrior at the impending journey he was to depart on, so the tom assumed that was the case for his journey-mate, as well.

The tortoiseshell’s voice calls for everyone’s attention from the center of camp, and a viridian gaze moves to answer as words of resignation are spoken. Howlfire will not be taking part in the journey, and briefly, Greeneyes’ stomach sinks. Had she fallen ill too? She doesn’t look as if she's carrying any symptoms, but —

“Coyotecrest and I we...we... we're expecting kits.”

Greeneyes blinks at the stammered-out news, a head tilted to the side. It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago that he and his peers were just kits, and now Howlfire is going to have kits herself. With Coyotecrest too, a pairing he’d only really heard gossip over. It’s odd to think about, how fast time seems to pass.

A journey-mate stepping down, kits to be born during a rising plague - perhaps the timing is awful, but Greeneyes still smiles at the tortoiseshell, at the ounce of good news she shares.

“Oh! Congratulations!” he chirps, surprise lacing his own voice as it does others’ in their own cheers. He adds Howlfire and Coyotecrest’s kits to the list of clanmates he takes part in this journey for - a silent prayer that their mission is successful and that SkyClan’s next generation will be able to thrive without a plague looming over them.
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[Hazelbeam]

The daylight warrior isn't sure what to expect when Howlfire asks for attention but it wasn't this at all.
"You two were TOGETHER?!" Hazelbeam's voice is a loud gasp that quickly trails off into a shrill mewl of excitement, her question forgotten in wake of the news itself and then very quickly dampened by the reality of it all. Kits. She'd known plenty of cats with kits, it only took a few weeks to actually realize and she can not help but find a lump at the back of her throat. Kits during this sickness. Kits who could die easily during this sickness. They had not two-leg medicine cat to help them here which was her only experience with kitting at all. Orangeblossom didn't seem to care or if she did she hid it well-their deputy was so cool and aloof that it was really hard to get a read on her sometimes but if she wasn't bothered then surely it was fine. Right? The journey cats were going to be going to get a cure and the problem would be solved before those kits were even born probably! Hazelbeam swallows her fear down, a limp ribbon floating to the surface of her mind that she tries to ignore, "C-CONGRATULATIONS! Do you have names picked yet?!"
It was still lovely and exciting news, Dawnglare would make sure they would be born okay. That was his job after all.
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[DUNY]

𓍢ִ໋ 𔓘𓉸𔓘⁺˖⸺ Oh, that is quite terrible, isn't it? The timing leaves much to be desired, of course, and he's certain that despite the many congratulations passed forward, most are quite aware of that fact. They would have to be foolish not to be, and...yes, he supposes some of them are, but he needn't spoil such a moment by voicing the inescapable. He smiles at Howlfire pleasantly, an ear twitching as Hazelbeam's voice briefly rises in volume. "Dear Howlfire, what remarkable news! I'm certain they will be very lucky to have such a teacher as you in their early moons." Regardless of how this turn of events unfolds in the future, Duny resolves to find her some flowers that his upwalker won't mind missing too much. ​

‧₊˚ OUT OF CHARACTER / / \ \ HERE'S TO THE FOOL, HERE'S TO THE THIEF 「 09.08.23 」

• —ooc:
• — DUNY (Dunyazad) / / 48 moons old / / uses masculine pronouns, but does not mind the use of neutral pronouns.
  — daylight warrior in training / / mouser for a private cemetery, and as such, is a fairly practiced hunter (of rodents).
  — queer like perusing fabric bolts / / single & a bit flirtatious, but incredibly unlikely to enter a romantic relationship.
  
  a slightly plump blue smoke/black chimera with a very distinct, mask-like facial marking. he is not especially tall; very little (if anything) about him is immediately intimidating, but at times his gravestone-moss eyes are a bit too incisive. it's easy to get the impression that he knows something you do not, and it's entirely to his benefit, though his demeanor is (nearly always) impeccably polite and cheerful.
  

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[FIGFEATHER]

FIGFEATHER ♀​ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥​

Figfeather is stunned behind this announcement. For starters, she grew up with Howlfire- for StarClan’s sake the tortie was a moon or two younger than her! Where had the time gone that their generation was now taking on mates and having kits?! Secondly, Coyotecrest and her? She had seen no signs of them being a pair- she must’ve not been looking hard enough. Dandelionwish and Butterflytuft had been blatantly obvious- or maybe that had been sisterly perception? Either way she’s happy for the two, even if it was incredibly odd in the sense it made Figfeather feel old. ”Sad you won’t be there with us on the journey, but your health is more important now than ever. Congratulations Howlfire.” Figfeather meows after Duny. If allowed she approaches Howlfire and briefly touches her nose to her shoulder in a supportive manner.

♡ INFO BATTLE

• 
  » Figfeather
  » SkyClan Warrior
  » She/her . AMAB
  » A red tabby she-cat with a mangled leg.
  » ”Speech”․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A foe in battle whose ability to strategize can shift tides.
  » Excels in strategizing and pre-planning her battles.
  » Fights defensively and aid her clan to victory.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

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[TWITCHBOLT]

He heard Howlfire's voice cut through the clamour, loud as ever- his stomach took a leap into the centre of the earth as she announced she couldn't go on the journey anymore. Oh, had yellowcough sprawled its way over to her, too? Was it- was it that nasty of a thing that it would target even those on the brink of saving them all? Of course- idiotic thought, for it had no mind to make such decisions with... and his spiralling down-down-down was cut rather short when Howlfire gave her announcement true.

Coyotecrest? This felt like- near the sort of blindside Honeysplash and Quillstrike had been, but... admittedly without the selfish little sting of a life he thought he'd lost. Still, the bicolour tom was hardly able to hide the shock upon his face. Teeth gritted iron-tight, all he could really do for a moment was stare.

Why was everyone- younger than him or otherwise- thinking abut all of this, now? Getting mates, bringing life into the world as if they'd be dead by the next leaf-fall... oh, was he doing something wrong by not considering it? Letting possibility pass him by simply observing Quillstrike instead of actually telling him anything...

This wasn't about him, though- he hoped this news would settle Blazestar's soul a little, fulfil him that tiniest bt further... and he knew, despite his previous distrust of the latter (not uncommon for Twitchbolt), that Howlfire and Coyotecrest would make good parents. "Congratulations," he added to the clamour, voice still hoarse with surprise.​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

Which of his fears is greater, Blazestar now has to wonder? His daughter lost in the mountains and dying in some unknown place, the way he’d believed she had moons ago—or this, this announcement that has more or less changed the earth beneath his feet from solid to quicksand? Blazestar had just been sharing a meal with Bobbie before their training session when Howlfire had taken her shaking breath and addressed all of his Clan. “It would seem I am no longer able to go on the journey.” He shares a puzzled glance with his friend, lashing a tongue about his mouth to catch stray pinfeathers from their meal. “I have to take my own safety into consideration.”

Like Orangeblossom, he begins to worry over whether Howlfire has injured herself today, or StarClan forbid, sick. He rises, concern shadowing the corners of his blue eyes. They dart from the tips of her ears to the feathery point of her tail, but she looks—she looks healthy. There’s a sheen to her hazel-striped fur, and she looks plump, well-fed.

Blazestar prepares to ask his daughter what’s wrong. It’s not like her to announce something like this without a good reason, and it’s certainly unlike her to back down from the challenge of the journey. Then she speaks before him, and he’s stunned into silence. “Coyotecrest and I are expecting kits.”

He stares, and his Clanmates begin to surround her, to congratulate her. Some speak reluctantly, some with trepidation, others with pride and glee, but Howlfire’s father stands where he is, something distance replacing the concern in his eyes.

In her place—in the roundness of her shoulders, her slight body, the short but soft fur, he sees Little Wolf. Tabby darkens to midnight, and hazel eyes become gentle and green. “I’m expecting your kits, Blazestar,” she’d told him once, the border between their Clans melting between them as their faces met in an excited, bumbling nuzzle. He’d cried then, and he’d cried when she’d given birth on that same border. He remembers their lastborn, tiny but feisty, short-furred but rippling with amber and tabby markings.

“Coyotecrest?” When he finally speaks, it’s the word of his daughter’s consort. He turns to search for the quiet cream-colored warrior. “Are you… are you happy?” He questions Howlfire, searching the depths of her eyes for the truth.

Regardless, there is no taking it back now—the kit he’d watched grow from a half-Clan scrap into a fierce and independent SkyClan warrior will soon become a mother. From the maelstrom of emotions he attempts to pick through, there is pride—there is worry, fear—there is loss, the loss of the kit he’d always been closest to, of Little Howl.

But he will wait for her response, and regardless, he has to be happy. SkyClan’s future grows, and he knows his daughter will make a fine mother. Just like the one she had, once.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — blaise . blazestar
  — he/him ; leader of skyclan
  — pansexual ; divorced ; single
  — longhaired flame point Ragdoll with blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Mercibun

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[BOBBIE]

✿—— she returns blazestar's puzzled glance readily, swiping a paw over her muzzle to clean off any remnants of the prey they'd been sharing. while she initially hadn't loved the idea of a young warrior like howlfire risking her life on the journey, she'd been warming up to the idea. the chocolate torbie is an honorable warrior in her own right and a welcome presence in camp with her passionate, spirited presence to inject some .... well, fire into the gloomy atmosphere. howlfire would no doubt have been an asset to their journeying party and an uplifting presence, so bobbie's green eyes are confused and slightly concerned - just like orangeblossom and blazestar, she worries if the patched she-cat has come down with this stars-forsaken illness.

cats begin to offer congratulations as they crowd about howlfire, and she's sure she will join them in a moment, but pale eyes flick towards blazestar. he questions howlfire about whether she's happy, echoes the name of her kits' father - bobbie searches for his face in the crowd as well. howlfire and her children to come deserve a father who will be there for them, regardless of whether he and the amber-striped warrior make the choice to call themselves mates. she herself has always believed in kits as the product of a lasting commitment (not that it had done her much good, had it?), but she knows that some cats prefer to keep things more casual—to remain simply friends who share their children. what they call it is not what matters - in bobbie's eyes, it's that coyotecrest will be there for his kits if howlfire so chooses.

"congratulations to you both," she finally mews once blazestar receives his answer, tearing her attention away from unreadable blue eyes and a golden pelt. offering a genuine smile, she adds, "motherhood is a pain in the tail sometimes, but it's something special - at least it was for me. i'll b-be sure to visit you and the kits once our journey is over." it saddens her that she likely won't be here to witness the first days of skyclan's newest generation, but there is always time once she comes back.

NO LOVE, HOWEVER BRIEF (✿) 𝑰𝑺 𝑾𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑫

• ooc: ——
  
• nothing here, have a nice day :-)
• 
  — bobbie
  — she/her ; warrior of skyclan ; 40 ☾s
  — "speech" ; thoughts ; attacks
  — chibi by its_oliverr
  — penned by dejavu
  

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[Howlfire]

Surprised looks and surprised words follow in the wake of her announcement. Although a little embarrassed by the attention, she is pleased that everyone seems in good spirits about it, if a little surprised. It had been a big enough surprise for Howlfire herself, she supposed it must have been even more so for the cats who had known her all her and Coyotecrest for most of their lives and had not expected the gossip around them to have developed further.

As more cats express their surprise, Howlfire is grateful for the approach of Figfeather who she allows to step close and touch her shoulder. To the cats who would have been making the journey with her, she flashes a warm smile. "Try not to miss my jokes too much on the journey," She says a little playfully. And then her eyes catch the golden form of her father, and she seems to shrink back slightly. Not out of fear but of nerves. Blazestar was the only one of her SkyClan kin who did not know yet, and in truth, she was a little nervous about broaching the topic with him. He calls out Coyotecrest's name in surprise and looks around for him before turning back to look at Howlfire. Are you happy?

"Well, more than anything, I'd say I'm nervous. Nervous for what is to come and what the future may hold for me and my kits," Howlfire began, a more serious edge to her tone. "But yes...I am happy. I admit the timing leaves something to be desired but I am happy regardless."

After speaking with her father, Bobbie steps up and utters her own words of congratulations. "Thank you, Bobbie. You would be welcome to visit any time," Howlfire assures her with a smile. She looks away from the older she-cat to address the rest of the cats. "Thank you all for your words. I appreciate them greatly."​

 

[Coyotecrest]

Angry at all the things I can't change

His lungs very well may have been shut off from all air as he waits with bated breath. She was doing it, announcing the reveal of precious kittens growing within her womb. He was too stunned for words when she approached him with the news, yet far from disappointed. How could he be? Howlfire was a wonderful warrior and a beautiful molly both in terms of looks and personality. Hazelbeam's shout reminded him of the haziness of their relationship and his eyes immediately cut to the jovial daylight warrior before drifting back to Howlfire. Together. He could hardly say they were mates in the traditional sense. While this ultimately complicated things between them he held no doubt that they couldn't work through it together and perhaps maybe with time he could ask her properly. The only thing he regretted was their horrendous timing of bringing life into the world in the middle of a plague infested world.

Silently he watched as many clanmates gathered around the mother to be, congratulating her with warm smiles and surprised faces. A much welcomed and preferred outcome to the festering anxieties over the clan passing judgement upon the kitten's sire and his infamous past. To Drizzlepelt and Bobbie, Coyotecrest offers a sheepish nod of his head. "Thank you." It was still a lot for him to process, but he would be the best father he possible to these kits. To work hard and give them everything he lacked within his own upbringing. Somewhere along the line thought Blazestar uttered his name, snapping the spotted tabby from his inner musings. Frosted mint meets cool sapphire but only for a moment. Yet what he assumes to see is a father's worry for his daughter. Did he even approve?

The next few words to flow from the golden leader's mouth confirms his suspicions. "Are you happy?" Coyotecrest's gaze finds Howlfire again, standing as a bundle of rigid nerves. Was she happy with such a life altering event happening? Did she hold any regrets? But her answer soon reveals itself, mirroring his own feelings on the matter. Finally he feels as if he has control over his limbs again and unlocks them from their stony posture. With renewed hope he strides forth and reaches forth to touch Howlfire on the cheek with his nose. "Whatever the future may bring we will tackle it together." He voices softly prior to pulling back. ​

When you're lost in the universe don't lose faith​

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[BLAZESTAR]

Blazestar dips his head as Howlfire reassures him, and then he catches the glow from Coyotecrest’s mint-leaf gaze. His former apprentice, despite the nerves he must be shielding from the rest of the crowd, brushes against Blazestar’s daughter and announces his intention to tackle any adversities together.

The Ragdoll’s smile is warm, even if it is tired—he believes them both. Stars know it’s no easy thing to rear kits in this forest, where even your friendliest neighboring Clans could be the accidental cause of their deaths, but he trusts them both. “They will be a blessing for SkyClan,” he tells them truthfully. He meets Coyotecrest’s eyes for a heartbeat, thinking now about how there is WindClan blood in his grandkits’ veins…

No, that isn’t true. The young warrior had proven his loyalty, and his mother, Leopardcloud, had died in SkyClan. He wonders if she’s watching from StarClan now, if her eyes are shining with the tears she had shed in the sanctity of his den when she’d told him her secrets.

And of course, there is ThunderClan blood here, too… he wonders if Little Wolf would feel as conflicted as he does right now.

“Excuse me,” he murmurs to both of the expecting parents, turning to slip away so none can see the shine of unshed tears in his eyes.

✧ INFO.

• out!
• 
  — blaise . blazestar
  — he/him ; leader of skyclan
  — pansexual ; divorced ; single
  — longhaired flame point Ragdoll with blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Mercibun

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