private GLASS CEILING, WALLS, AND FLOOR -- birth

[leopardtongue]

tw for death in the last paragraph

Since the passing of Batwing, Leopardtongue’s pregnancy seemed to both stretch on forever as well as rush by. Instead of being sick as she had been during her last pregnancy, tired and delirious coated in fever she was perfectly healthy and multiple check-ups with Gentlestorm had proven this as well. Worried as she was, the queen was going to have what Gentle thought was one healthy kit and that was okay. Any kits were fine with her, no matter how many she were to have whether it be one or ten she would love them with all her heart, enough to cover what Batwing would have shared with them as well.

It was any day now that her kits would be born, the queen could tell. When she walked she wasn’t able to go far without having to stop and rest for a moment before continuing on, her few trips outside the nursery becoming fewer and fewer as the days progressed, sleeping in her nest as the growing sounds in the nursery surround her when that familiar sharp pain pulsed through her sides jolting her awake. Eyes blinked the sleep away as head shot up as another shot through her and teeth snapped together, sucking in air as a quiet pained hiss came from her.

Moving up the best she could the rosette tabby found herself moving to the entrance of the den slowly, head peeking out as she asked the nearest cat to grab Gentlestorm - quick - before hobbling back to her nest and flopping down, catching her breath as she waited the best she could, willed the kits to not yet be born while she was waiting for one of her closest friends to come to the nursery to help her. Time moved slowly until he came, and quickly Leopardtongue would take any and all herbs that were given to her, ears flattening to her head as a stick was passed to her and she bit down on it as hard as she could, ready for what she knew would come.

It was a long birth, it felt like it had taken forever and by the end Leopardtongue was tired, head lay on the moss-lined nest that surround her as she caught her breath once more. When she finally lifted it once again to look down at the two bundles of her at her stomach she couldn’t help the small broken purr that erupted from within, they were both beautiful. Eyes flicked to the little black smoke first, an almost spitting image of Batwing and quietly she looked to Gentlestorm before looking down at the kit once more. ”Coalkit.” Quietly she’d murmur, for the coal-like fur that coated his body.

She looked to the other then, a little lilac-coated tom who looked so much different than any of his other siblings and a small smile would rest upon her face before she lay her head down once more, thinking of names that could be perfect for such a small thing. She would never get the chance before the small murmur of the name of a cat long gone left her lips, ”Batwing?” Exhaustion took over then, eyes closing for the final time as eternal sleep took the queen, the last signs of life gone before she could name her youngest.

DON'T YOU DARE ⊰❣⊱ MAKE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU

• this is temporarily a private, I will change the tag once it's open!
• 
• 
  ⊰❣⊱ LH chocolate rosette tabby with yellow eyes
  ⊰❣⊱ 39 moons old; ages the 15th every month
  ⊰❣⊱ heterosexual - taken by Batwing
  ⊰❣⊱ mother of Bravepaw, Cougarpaw, Hazepaw, and Foxpaw
  ⊰❣⊱ easy to interact with ; hard to anger/upset
  ⊰❣⊱ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ⊰❣⊱ hard in combat, focuses more on defensive tactics/protecting
  ⊰❣⊱ peaceful powerplay allowed

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[GENTLESTORM]

'CAUSE SOMEWHERE DOWN THE BANK — Gentlestorm had been high alert after the birth of Flamewhisker's kittens, the loss of Flycatcher had destroyed her, and he knows that Leopardtongue isn't far from having her own kits. It was just a matter of waiting and preparing for that day when the queen heavy with kits would bring the kittens into Thunderclan, the pale tom shuffles his paws having been in the safety of his den. The sound of approaching paws make both of his ears prick forward and they tell him that Leopardtongue had began to go into labor, the large tom didn't hesitate in bringing the necessary herbs and stick to the nursery already finding himself at her side. Where he should've been and the quick thought makes his heart ache but he pushes it to the side focused on helping his other friend as she brought not one but two kittens into the world. It had seemed like a long time yet he's glad that its over and he's certain that Leopardtongue feels the same way, he nudges her head gently with his pink nose offering her a warm smile. His dark honeyed gaze focusing onto the pair of kittens, one that was a lookalike to his late best friend and the other lilac without a spot on his tiny body, there's a brief sadness in his eyes.

Most of Leopard and Bat's kittens had looked like him, its a bittersweet reminder, though his focus turns to the kitten named Coalkit. "A wonderful name..." Gentle murmurs quietly to her as a weak purr erupts from his own throat though it stops abruptly realizing that the next words that come from Leo's jaws, the name of someone that had been lost to them recently. Batwing? The medicine cat is about to tell her that he isn't here until he feels the fur on his body begin to prickle seeing the life slipping from the queen and the prescence of someone else, his eyes widen and his ears lay flat against his head. "No... No... Please Leo..." Gentlestorm croaks out to her and takes a step forward to press his forehead against her own still feeling the ghostly prescene of someone... Batwing? Had he really come to take his mate to join him in the stars along with his family? He wants to tell him that he can't what about their kits... Both grown and recently born? He can feel his eyes stinging from the tears that had formed, he couldn't do anything to stop either of them, and he whispers out "I'll... I'll..." He struggles to will the words from his jaws as if they were forbidden words and he should not speak.

He'll take care of them? No, he could not especially knowing the rank that he held and the code he needed to respect... Was Starclan testing him? "I'll watch over them, friend." The whisper tumbled out from his white maw and these kittens would know about the both of their parents, this he would make sure of. The mewling from the kittens remind him that he must tend to the living and worry about the dead later, Gentlestorm swallows the mixed feelings and focuses his dark gaze on the lilac tomkit that had no name. The pale tom lowers his head to touch the kit gently with his pink nose, closes his eyes for a heartbeat, and reopens them to utter out "Hopekit." With so many losses in the clan and in their little family, there's was always going to be hope and the pale healer could only do so much for what remained of his friends family. He wishes that he could curl around the lifeless queen and kits to protect them from further harm instead, he clears his throat turning to the queens that were present and thinks of which queen could potentially nurse the now orphaned kittens.

Moonwhisper could but the pale medicine cat knows better than to ask her and he's well aware that she does not like him so he opts not to... Flamewhisker has suffered enough and then his gaze falls on the kinder of queens that had come for him when she needed help with breathing. She owes him or anyone else anything but he can only imagine she'd be the most fit to take in Coalkit and Hopekit. There's a sliver of hesitance, if he could care for these kits Starclan knows he would, and wills the words out form his throat "Roeflame... Would you nurse these kittens? I know its a lot to ask of you seeing that you have your own little ones... " He begins turning his gaze away so she didn't see the tears that left streaks down his pale blue cheeks, "Coalkit and Hopekit won't last without milk... I'd be eternally grateful to you," Gentlestorm glances to the kittens wishing to apologize to them and their littermates for having been unable to save their mother even if he knows they would fall on deaf kitten ears, he closes his jaws falling mute.

WHERE THE DOGS ROAM ✿ POR LA CALLE QUE TE LLEVA A CURICÓ

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  MEDICINE CAT IN TRAINING;
  — ✿✿✿✿✿ FLESH WOUNDS
  — ✿✿✿✿❀ INFECTIONS
  — ✿✿✿✿❀ ACHES & PAINS
  — ✿✿✿❀❀ ILLNESS
  — ✿✿✿❀❀ BREATHING ISSUES
  — ✿❀❀❀❀ TRAVELING HERBS
  — ✿✿✿❀❀ BROKEN BONES
  — ✿✿✿❀❀ KITTING
  — ❀❀❀❀❀ POISONS
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  ✿ a longhaired blue sepia tom w/low white and brown eyes
  ✿ gentlestorm is a very warm individual and friendly to those who he meets, he's very social and willing to lend anyone a paw if they need it. he's very patient, caring, and it's usually rare to earn his ire.
  ✿ 54 moons old; ages the 27th every month
  ✿ widowed mate of little wolf
  ✿ easy to befriend/interact with ; hard to anger/upset ; peaceful powerplay allowed
  ✿ "speech", thoughts, attacking

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[batwing]

Batwing had been... not-so-alone, anymore, where he found his home in Starclan. He found himself placed between his family's flanks, nose pressed to his mother's fur in comfort that he hadn't allowed himself until Leopardtongue. That was, of course, until death reared it's ugly head again. To him, it looked like wolves with long, blood and slobbered color fangs. To his mate? It looked like kitbirth, too streneous for her weak and grief-filled body.

He had descended quietly, sadness filled exhaustion heavy on his body. Pawpads stepped in through familiar nursery, a world full of stars for him, a dim, leaf and moss filled room smelling of milk to her. Silently he drew up to his mate, life leaving her body like a slow patter of water from the skies. Knowing eyes shifted towards his newest young- ones he would never be able to expierence, or hold, to cherish or love. And he had made that choice- and Batwing would spend every minute yet regretting his decision, but appreciating the ones he saved with his actions.

Vision moved next to his once-best friend, scanning Gentlestorm for any new wounds or ailments. A soft breath left airless lungs, and he moved, starry nose pressing against Leopardtongue's muzzle. "Yes, it's me. It's time to go." He whispered softly, then stood back to allow her room.

She would likely rise, press against him- filled with grief and terror for their young. His side found hers, a comforting non-weight in the beyond that he had begun to understand and live within. A life beyond a life, right? No time borrowed- just good deeds finding him a home in the heart of the stars. And it was her turn, now. Both of them far too early, a life unlived ahead of them, thick with grief but warm with the love of one another.

Batwing gave one last glance to the ghostly pelted medicine cat before he lead Leopardtongue to the stars, "I know you will." He murmured. Tail intertwined with his mate's, they found their way to the skies. ​

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[COALPAW]

BUT I'M JUST SO OUT OF MY DEPTH — New life - a beautiful, fragile miracle. One usually marked by love, and celebration, and warmth. Really, the birth of the two of them was far from absent of all of those things. In fact, it was practically overflowing with them. The love that both of their parents had for them. The devotion that the pair of them had shared together, and the many miracles that had come from their connection. Even the warmth was there, present in the soft press of a larger body against his own, no matter how weak and exhausted it truly was. Warmth in the form of the medicine cat watching over the pair of them, bidding farewell to a pair of cats that had meant the entire world to him, maybe only second to what he had already lost. It was unfair then, that so much love could still lead to such destruction.

Unfortunately for them all, there were many times where life simply wasn't fair.

Coalkit would learn that before long, as he slowly put together the pieces of why he would never get to meet his mother or father. Why he would never even get to hear either of their voices, newborn ears still too underdeveloped to have heard the soft coo of his name. While other kittens will grow and get to cheerfully announce their accomplishments to their parents and kin, he will instead be forced to look - almost desperately - for approval from all those around him, his siblings his only avenue for what he truly craves. Though at least he won't be forced to suffer without care, Gentlestorm's wavering voice above him looking towards his and Hopekit's lifeline. Their hope as their mother fades slowly from this world and moves onto the next, alongside their father.

Though he will be forced to one day accept many harsh realities, for now Coalkit is free. He's been brought into the world and he's hungry - not to mention demanding. Dark jaws parted in a loud wail to announce his presence as he pushed himself forward, tiny limbs outstretched and searching for the comfort and food that only his mother could provide him with. Though he will come up short, pressing insistently against a stiff and still form that will gradually drain of warmth as the minutes pass. It is only inevitable that he will wail again when he is lifted away from his mother's body, young and unaware mind in equal measures desperate for both her touch and the food that she can no longer provide.

I CAN PLAY IT KINDA COOL ✧˖*°࿐ JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE

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• 
  ☄ shorthaired black smoke with forest green eyes
  ☄ amab; goes by he/him pronouns
  ☄ 2 moons old; ages the 5th every month
  ☄ homosexual; not yet interested in romance
  ☄ son of leopardtongue and batwing
  ☄ brother to bravepaw, cougarpaw, hazepaw, foxpaw, and hopekit
  ☄ extremely difficult to befriend; cold and blunt
  ☄ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ☄ peaceful powerplay allowed
  ☄ all opinions are ic

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[HOPEPAW]

⊱⊰ Flowers bloom across the moors, and green leaves return to the canopy of the trees above. It’s the season of new growth. Of optimism. Of hope. But even the season of hope cannot protect ThunderClan from tragedy. First the many victims of wolves, and then Batwing’s sacrifice—and now the joy of birth has been soured by another death.

Hopekit, of course, knows none of this. When he is shoved into the world, cold and hungry, he only knows that it seems the greatest affront that the world could lay upon him. The kit takes his very first breath after a moment, and then he mewls—then begins to scream. His tiny legs flail to and fro, wailing as loud as his lungs will allow. But the delicate touch of something soft to the top of his head quiets the kit—he no longer cries, but snuffles around in search of food. The kit is hardly aware of what he is doing, instinct taking over most of his actions, but when he suckles, it isn’t the taste of milk that fills his mouth but fur. His brother’s tail is quickly released from his mouth, along with another pitifully soft cry.​

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[CARDINALPAW]

༺♱༻

He didn't know how his mother would fare handling this litter on her own - his younger siblings. He knew that she could do it, of course, but it would be harder while she was grieving, the rift of Batwing's absence still newly opened, its force extremely apparent. Leopardtongue, at least, was still there. The familiar scent of her rosetted fur, her familiar green gaze, the comfort and love that she had always offered them. It was hard to see her in a state of grieving, bright green eyes clouded with sorrow, weak from the tears that she had shed since her mate's ascent and the stress of carrying kits. Maybe looking after kits would keep her mind more occupied, all of their minds more occupied, he thought finally, and maybe as time went on, watching them grow, eventually tumbling together and wrestling, the hurt would dampen just a little. Although these kits would never meet their father, they would still have their mother, and part of him envied that they were not there when their family's world had shrunk, when it was announced that their father would never return.

In this state, he couldn't find it within himself to be excited. Really, he couldn't find much besides the hole that loss had eaten away, an infestation of grief that would not go. But his mother needed support, and after all that she had done for him, for all of them, he would be there for her. Always. He relegates himself firmly to "out of the way", not wanting to interrupt, feeling almost like an intruder despite the fact that these kits would be his kin.

At first, everything is well, despite the amount of time that has passed, at least to his untrained eyes. After the second kit comes, he can tell that she is tired, resting her head and her eyes, but he does not realize that it's the kind of exhaustion that comes before eternal sleep. The little cat edges just a little closer to get a better look, and it's just enough to hear his mother speak her final word. At first, it takes him so off guard that he's confused, thinking that perhaps she had said more that he had missed, but she does not speak again, nor can she. The confusion grows before anything else settles in, and the blood begins to rush in his ears, heart pounding in his chest loud enough for him to hear, so loud that he sees Gentlestorm's mouth move, sees the expression of horror on the medicine cat's face before any words reach him, and the shock hits so hard that it feels as if the world has shrunk, all of the air driven out of it.

These kits would not have their mother, and neither would he. He wants to wail, to scream, to curse StarClan for the horrors that it had put him through, but he can barely move. Neither of his parents would ever see him become a warrior. They would not guide him, they would not reassure him, they would not be there when he slipped up to steer him back onto the right path, and they would not be there to congratulate him when he reached for the sky and made it.

These kits are newborns, and Cardinalpaw is barely an apprentice, and he is utterly, horribly alone. Looking at Leopardtongue's body, dealing with the world falling down once more, he feels incredibly small, like a kit all over again. Ears back, he reaches out a paw to touch her, still warm for now, voice weak, trembling, coming out as a croak, "Ma.. - mama.." Please wake up. Please don't leave me. A plea, a prayer, a wish that would not be granted. Orange eyes glistening with unshed tears land on Gentlestorm, looking for some kind of reassurance, some kind of way out, some kind of lifeline.

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"speech"​

 

[braveheart : ̗̀➛]

☀ . ° ✦ It's hard to focus on anything that isn't relative to his mother and the siblings they were about to meet. Leopardtongue would be calling them inside any moment now, with Gentlestorm telling them how strong the kits would be as they grew up. He wondered if any looked like him, seeing as he was the odd one of the three. Hazepaw and Cardinalpaw resembled their father the most, with Bravepaw taking after their mother of course.

"I hope they like us. Papa would tell me about how I hid in Mama's tail all the time." He chatted away to try and keep himself from quietly pacing outside the nursery. He didn't want to be a nuisance, he already had been when he clung to Leopardtongue's side for so long after Batwing's death.

This kitting feels impossibly long, though. Longer than Roeflame's had been, longer than Flamewhisker's. Like his brother he caught movement between the nursery walls after several beats of silence and joined to investigate why. Leopardtongue laid in her nest still, but Gentlestorm had plucked his siblings away to offer Roeflame.

"What are you doing?" His tone sparked with an accusation as he inched closer to his mother, his blood turning to ice when he brushed his pelt against hers only to feel the warmth deplete from her body. "What's happening? You can't leave, too! You have to stay!" Selfishly he wailed for his mother, she had to stay with them. They couldn't be left behind like this! What would be left of them?

"You have to... you can't leave us." Bravepaw sniffled as he shoved his muzzle into the mane of her neck, as if sharing his warmth would bring her back. "I'm not strong enough yet..."

✧　°　.　✶　.　°　✧​

ooc Information

• ooc: —
• 

  BRAVEPAW — HE/HIM ･ 7 MOONS ･ THUNDERCLAN & APPRENTICE ･ PENNED BY beatae!

  A Longhaired chocolate tabby/blue tabby chimera with deep blue eyes. Very thick coat that has started to grow into long, wispy curls. Developing into an awkward stage of kitten uglies as the rest of his body grows and changes. Severe scars from owl talons stretch across his shoulders and another that starts from his back down his left thigh.

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[BURNSTORM]

It is not uncommon to find Burnstorm poking his head in the nursery now that his mate and kits resided there, alongside his sister and hers. It has become a routine in his day. Come back from hunting and grab the fattest piece of prey he could find to bring to the queens. Today though, it's different. An excited energy buzzes in the air. Leopardtongue is kitting he hears someone say and he elects to wait outside of the nursery for the event to pass, squirrel tucked neatly away between two coal-hued paws.

The energy changes quickly. The kits are born, he can tell from the mewling coming from the inside of the den but there is something else now too. A grief that hangs heavily in the air that makes him push his way into the nursery to see what was wrong. Golden eyes quickly find the face of the spotted queen and his heart falls. There was no steady rise and fall of her chest, no life to stir that familiar umber pelt.

He is certain Roeflame will agree to nurse the kits but he doesn't dare answer for her. Instead, his eyes fall to Bravepaw and Cardinalpaw. Not even warriors yet and already they were orphans. It wasn't fair, but then again since when was death ever?

( ☼ ) come and take it

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• 
  BURNSTORM THUNDERCLAN LEAD WARRIOR ; HE / HIM ; BROTHER TO MORNINGPAW, MOONWHISPER, HOWLFIRE, FIREFLYPAW, SKYCLAW & DUSKBIRD ; MATE TO ROEFLAME
  

  A large, sharp tongued, tom with long black fur and golden, oval shaped, eyes.

  ✦ Difficult in battle. A skilled fighter + fights honorably
  

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[ROEFLAME .]

-ˋˏ ༻ ☀ ༺ ˎˊ-

Roeflame was well aware of the possible complications that came with birth, heard tragic stories of queens lost shortly after labor.
When Leopardtongue jolts awake, sleepless celadon hues flicker curiously in the others direction. Was it time?
With a struggle, the spotted queen maneuvers herself towards the entrance, and Roeflame raises her head, brows quirking upwards.
It was.
By the time the second and last kit had been born, Roeflame listened to her denmates broken purrs with a tentative flick of her ear. She remembers the exhaustion, the sweet euphoria that washed over her the moment she got to let her head rest.
Batwing?
There’s an icy drop in her chest, metallic shoulders tense when horrors is smacked onto Gentlestorms features, a futile pleading croaked.
“Whats happening? Is she alright?”
The heaviness of grief swells within the nursery, then, her question answered the moment it left her tongue.
Hopekit, the medicine cat names Leopardtongues second born, and Roeflames heart aches.
When copper eyes do turn to her, it is with an ask- one she feels stunned by. Batwing, Flycatcher… now Leopardtongue?
“Of… of course, bring them here.” Her reply is a distant exhale, a forepaw raising to gesture for them.
As two more bundles of fur are placed at the crook of her belly, the queen would be quick to work her tongue against the way their fur lay, so that they would no longer be damp and cold.
Bravepaw’s outcry brings the tabby queens attention back up, and as the young apprentice pleads for his mother, Roeflame’s ears flatten.
Tell him his kits are trying to kill me! Her own words echo hauntingly from the back of her mind, a shudder racing up her spine. Instinctively, her eyes drift to her mate, a beacon of comfort.
How foolish of me. Thoughtless.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── SHE BLOWS OUTTA NOWHERE ⋅✴⋅ ROMAN CANDLE OF THE WILD ──┐‎

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• 

• 
  ROEFLAME ✩ she/her, Lead Warrior of Thunderclan, twenty-two moons.
  ⭃ petite cinnamon silver ticked tabby with murky green eyes & a small scar over her left eye.
  ⭃ mate to Burnstorm ☀ mentor to Foxpaw
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted ☀ underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by Noor ↛ @toyangel on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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