camp i love you, i'm sorry [ ♡ ] kits

[splashdance]

[ cw: beginnings of ppd and ppa, clear distress and upset ]

It started hours ago. She could still feel the sun's warmth on her pelt when the discomfort firmly set in, watched it dive into the horizon and bleed across the sky. Splashdance dampened her nerves as much as she could when Pebbletail tucked in beside her, tried to hide the way her belly tensed and convulsed - but eventually, the stars shown above them, and she could no longer hide the pain. It was tonight - it would be tonight.

Splashdance snags her claws loosely into the long fur of her lover, jaw tensing as she pleads with him, "Don't leave." Perhaps he wanted to find Moonbeam or Robinheart, or maybe to seek out a knowledgeable queen to help her through the early stages. The molly loosens her grip and cries softly, "Please, don't leave me," to him. He settles beside her and holds her close. With her tears and pain, she inevitably wakes up some of her nursery mates - a young, red furred molly approaches her side with trepidation and concern in her eyes. Splashdance cannot even manage a smile towards the little foundling - she's not sure if it's her voice, or Pebbletail's, that asks her to brave the night in search of the medicine cats. In truth, once Splashdance loses sight of Joykit's racing paws, she cannot remember much.

Eventually, light peers back into the nursery. The comfort of the night sheds from her pelt and she finds herself nested beside four kits, their pelts in varying degrees of coal and ash. Splashdance shudders, her limbs shaking with a chill she could only recall from leafbare. But she's here - she's not fading, she's not threatened. Everything is too bright and crowded, but the molly instead tries to pull focus to her litter. Her children, their children. She tries desperately to not allow her anxieties to cloud this happy moment.

"They're so…" she tries, her voice hoarse, likely from crying. Beautiful bends on her tongue, but the sniffles and wheezes of the two younger kits calls for her attention. Healthy, she had been healthy her whole pregnancy - why are they not? What had she done wrong? Were they cursed, or had they not waited long enough - was leafbare still ingrained in their systems despite being born with new life in the air? She finds her adrenaline trembling again, eyes watering with fear, upset. Splashdance curls her claws into her nest as she spirals, feeling her stomach ache and roil. After a too-long beat, her broken voice murmurs, "... I'm sorry."

— ♡

It would be hours later when Splashdance is finally able to pull herself from her downfall. A nap and a hearty meal had done most of the heavy lifting there. Her grief still clings to her heart and tongue, likely a few spilling apologies given to each of her sons. But she's better. And maybe over the next few moons, she will only get better. She's been reassured that her kits will grow strong, especially with the monitoring of the medicine cats, and that assuages her guilt some. Her ear twitches as a yawn parts from her maw, her tail curling around her little beloveds. She leans back expectantly into the warm pelt of her lover.

"We should give them names soon," before the guilt of allowing them to be nameless seeks her next. Some cats like to wait days before finding names for their youths - Splashdance wasn't raised like that. She wanted to give them names for the beauty that she saw in the world. Their eldest child, of ebony and smoke, is the first her gaze hitches too. He's chubby like any other well fed kitten is, though she can see his willowy bone structure already peaking through his silky locks. Perhaps RiverClan will fatten him up with fish, and he will align with the rest of the Clan with ease. If not, she would still love them all the same.

"Pearlkit," she says gently. For the freshwater clam brought to the nursery in the days prior, for the surprise found inside. Someone else had stolen away the precious finding, but Splashdance is sure that this one will not be taken from her. He's strong, perhaps already the leader of his siblings by birthright alone. She smiles a tired smile, leaning her nose against her child. "My little gem. How darling you are…"
​

 

[pearlkit 𓇼⋆｡˚𓆝]

Pearlkit does not remember the struggle, the pain, the way his mother trembled and cried through the night. He does not remember the moment he took his first breath, the way the world pressed in on him too quickly, too loud, too bright. But he does remember warmth. A steady heartbeat beneath his tiny body, the hush of voices, the scent of milk and fur and something deep, something safe. He is small, barely more than a wriggling bundle of downy fur, but already, he reaches. Tiny paws flex in the emptiness, seeking something unseen. He does not yet know what it is—does not yet have words or thoughts beyond instinct—but he searches anyway.

The world is a strange thing. Too new, too vast, but he is not afraid. He is here, and he is breathing, and there is warmth all around him. Then, a voice. Soft, worn, full of something he does not understand but feels in his very bones. Muffled by ears sealed to skull. Pearlkit. The word is foreign, but it settles into his tiny chest like it has always belonged there. A weight, a promise. His mother calls him darling, presses her nose to his fur, and he lets out a small, sleepy sound in response, curling just a little closer. He does not know her yet, not really, but he knows her presence, her love, the way her warmth feels like the only thing in the universe that matters.

For now, that is all he needs.​

 

[pebbletail]

PEBBLETAIL

HE/HIM RIVERCLAN LEAD WARRIOR

more often than not, he is huddled in the feathery nest beside his mate. when his leadership needs him, he attends patrols, when ryepaw's training is necessary, he attends to her. all other times, he is with his mate. nights are no longer spent in the snore filled warriors' den, but in the plush nursery, curled around splashdance's growing frame. it is where he finds himself tonight, as he gently grooms her curled fur, trying to ignore the way her flanks twitch and her jaw tenses every few minutes. "should i..." he murmurs, nuzzling close to her ear. "do you need me to get the medicine cats?" she vehemently denies this, and struggles alone for a good few more minutes before she is willing to show her discomfort outright.

the tomcat's stomach turns in knots as splashdance tangles her claws into his plush fur, begging him to stay. "my love, moonbeam and robinheart said to fetch them when it was time," he argues, but his voice is soft, a clear sign that he will give in. her voice breaks as she begs, and his heart shatters. "sweetheart, i will never leave you." curling gently around her, he wraps his paws about her trembling frame. just listen to her, comes the memory of lichenstar's shaky voice, and he does, pressed close and murmuring with every pained groan that leaves her maw. joykit wakes, worry for splashdance clear in the tiny girl's eyes as she tentatively approaches the nest. splashdance tries to call out to her, and pebbletail assists. "joykit, could you fetch moonbeam and robinheart?" he asks of her, ember eyes wide with encouragement. as the child scampers off, he turns his attention to his mate again.

the blue tom feels his worry and angst melt away at the anxiety of his mate, and he recalls lichenstar's advice again. he cannot be scared, cannot be watching with jaw clenched from the sidelines. the first child enters the world at the height of the night, a tiny thing, downy fur patched with white, but smattered with smoky gray. pebbletail feels his heart swell, nuzzling the kitten and licking his fur the wrong way as his medic advises. next comes a dark furred kitten, patched with blue, again dusted with foggy gray. next is a pale child, dappled blue and white, baring the same haze as his brothers. finally arrives another blue shaded baby, maw parted as he slides into the world. time passes in segments, heralding one child at a time. moonbeam had guessed three or four, and four they are blessed with, each slithering into the world and nipped to life by the frantic father and the exhausted mother.

daylight's golden fingers lap the horizon as splashdance pants, finished, and pebbletail gently nuzzles her. "they're ours," he murmurs, delight sparking in ember eyes as he gazes at his ash strewn children. his lover's breath catches as she scans them, and worry floods his chest as he catches her eye. she buries her face away from him, sobbing an apology, and the blue tom's heart breaks. "they're all okay, my love," he murmurs, curling tighter around his tiny family. "you did so well. rest, snowy." eventually, her breath evens, and he is left to look over his newly enlargened family.

— 𖤓

a nap and some food has done his lover good, and pebbletail is relieved to see it. he still can spy some aching sadness within her river clear gaze, but chooses not to pry for the time being. she leans into him and he gently laps at her cheek, murmuring ascent as she begins to think of names. pearlkit, she calls their firstborn, and the child yawns happily in reply, snuggling into his mother's curled belly fur. "perfect," pebbletail purrs, snuffling the kitten. "little pearlkit." his gaze finds his paler blue and white son, and he swallows. ember eyes roam his pelt, and the tomcat hums softly. this shade of blue... that little frame... "riverkit," he says softly, gaze flicking to his mate's for approval. there is nothing but shining acceptance in her own eyes, and he swallows back his worry. "for my brother... for his homeland." riverkit, the only legacy name pebbletail had considered. the tomcat swipes a lick across his son's small body. "and for the other two..?"

// "#a2bfba"

⋆˙⟡𖤓⟡˙⋆

PEBBLETAIL TAGS / TOYHOUSE
✦ cis tom (he / him) / bisexual, taken by SPLASHDANCE
✦ 16 moons old ages realistically, every 15th of the month
✦ lead warrior of riverclan
✦ adopted by LICHENSTAR x HAZECLOUD
✦ brother to SHELLPOOL, RIVERPAW, HORIZONTHROAT, EVENINGCLOUD, TWINKLEFLIGHT
✦ father to PEARLKIT, BOGKIT, RIVERKIT, CHATTERKIT
✦ mentoring RYEPAW / mentored by FOXTAIL
✦ penned by lavs / message lavendes on discord for plots!

a large blue tabby with low white and vitiligo. pale blue fur covers the length of pebbletail's stocky body, sliced through with darker tabby stripes and spots. baleful orange eyes peer out of heavy set sockets, and his muzzle, paws, and tail tip are dashed with white.

 

[Riverkit]

RIVERKIT

HE/THEY RIVERCLAN KIT

He comes into the world like a little stormcloud, shifting gray hues covering the silvery-blue beneath. He enters this world with a breath, a wheeze, small frame tucked neatly beside their mother and littermates, beneath the sunspark gaze of their father. The midnight breeze is sharp and cold despite the arrival of Newleaf, and the third-born wiggles closer to Splashdance for warmth and comfort, competing with his siblings for it.

Riverkit. His father calls him finally a loving lick to his tiny frame cementing the deal. For the Clan his father was born into, for the Clan his mother chose over her birthland, for Riverpaw, the uncle he will likely never meet; his name is pure legacy, and with it comes expectations. As if on cue, they let out a tiny mew, like he understands and accepts the weight that comes with bearing such a title. Another wheeze as he exhales and settles, content with the love being provided to him by his parents.

ooc:

—

accordion

Riverkit is a long-legged but graceful silvery-blue tabby kit with feathery fur and heterochromatic blue-amber eyes.
"speech" thoughts
pebbletail x splashdance / sibling to pearlkit, bogkit, chatterkit
2 moons old as of 03/21/2025

penned by nocthymia

 

[splashdance]

She is blessed - Splashdance is entirely convinced. Not just with the little souls before her, of which she still feels intense guilt and shame, but with the tom by her side. Despite how late into the night it had started, he stayed awake and present the entire time. His own fear radiates from his frame, his fatigue pulls on his shoulders - but every time she looks to him, pride and excitement straightens his spine, love and hope lights his eyes. She knows he is being strong for her, because he knows that she cannot be. Splashdance cannot ask for a better father for her children... nor a better mate for herself.

She dwells in the comfort he provides, purrs in agreement as he nuzzles Pearlkit. His nose roves over to another of their children - one of the two with hazier pelts, one who wheezes and whimpers when pointed out. Her heart clenches, and only further hurts as he is dubbed. Riverkit, a legacy surrounding him. She almost wants to rebuke the name, but Pebbletail... he deserves this. She can't take anything away from him. Their little Riverkit will grow just fine and honor the name he is given. "Your brother would be grateful," she murmurs, though she never met the tom. Her tail swipes around the little bodies, "It's lovely," she admits, once she gets around the worry.

"How about - one more for me?" She tests a moment of humor on her tongue, ears pressing to her cranium, "And... one more for you." Four. She hasn't fully recognized how many little ones they truly had. It makes her head spin. Her gaze lands to the next child, nestled between Pearlkit and Riverkit. His pelt is as dark as hers, with divots of his father's. The pattern feels eerily similar... But the molly is too exhausted to sort out that thought. Instead, she murmurs, "I'm glad they look like you..." as she thinks of names.

Eventually, she murmurs, "How about... Bogkit?" for her long distant home. She cannot call it that any longer - yet the marshlands still ring with importance to her. Their distant beauty will be something her children will likely never know... but maybe she can summon some understanding in them by teaching them tolerance and love. And that can start with a conversation, start with Bogkit. "Do you like that?"
​

 

[Bogkit]

Stirring against his brothers Bogkit is none the wiser to the discussion of names surrounding him. He came into the world as a wailing bundle of life, wriggling and flexing tiny paws. That has settled in the time since he was brought to this world, no longer crying apart from the occasional mew. Never seeming to stop moving though, seemingly discontent resting between his brothers. tiny paw pushing against Pearlkit's side as his back brushed against Riverkit's. It seems that the tail of his mother is enough to quell a bubbling restless spirit, seemingly already ready to take off into the world even if he hasn't been here for very long.

Bogkit, a name that hopes to start a conversation. A mixture between the waters of his home and a memory of his mothers birth territory. A starting lesson in love and tolerance, something far beyond his reach of conceptualization in this moment. A squeal of a mew is given as he wriggles underneath the pools of unfurling curly black fur. Muffled to the world around him he can't weigh in on it, instead he wriggles closer to Splashdance. Exhaustion finally settling into weary bones with a yawn. Bogkit resides in the nursery, full of love and warmth, a promised feeling that he hopes to chase, but for now is happy to just hold.​

​

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​

 

[pebbletail]

PEBBLETAIL

HE/HIM RIVERCLAN LEAD WARRIOR

there is uncertainty in her eyes, worry for riverkit's future, for the idea of being a legacy. guilt swims in pebbletail's stomach, but he presses it down at splashdance's acceptance. "thank you," he whispers, swallowing. riverkit mewls quietly, and ember eyes flick to him again, frosting over. pebbletail blinks his tears away and focuses on their next son. "two for you, two for me. four for us," a soft chuckle, breathing in the comforting scent of his mate, of his new family.

bogkit, she dubs the third, and he softly smiles. splashdance is a riverclanner through and through, but she will always have that connection to the marshlands. pebbletail is happy to let her have this one - he will snarl at anyone who suggests it wrong. "perfect," he sighs again, and his eyes flick to the last kitten, watching the baby's jaw stretch open as he mrowls. "we've got a little chatterbox on our paws," the tomcat laughs, gently nudging the blue kitten closer to his mother's belly. "chatterkit... i like that." questioning, he tilts his head to find splashdance's gaze again. "pearlkit, riverkit, bogkit, and chatterkit," a smile, a swallow as he blinks away tears again. "they're beautiful. you're beautiful, my love."

// "#a2bfba"

⋆˙⟡𖤓⟡˙⋆

PEBBLETAIL TAGS / TOYHOUSE
✦ cis tom (he / him) / bisexual, taken by SPLASHDANCE
✦ 16 moons old ages realistically, every 15th of the month
✦ lead warrior of riverclan
✦ adopted by LICHENSTAR x HAZECLOUD
✦ brother to SHELLPOOL, RIVERPAW, HORIZONTHROAT, EVENINGCLOUD, TWINKLEFLIGHT
✦ father to PEARLKIT, BOGKIT, RIVERKIT, CHATTERKIT
✦ mentoring RYEPAW / mentored by FOXTAIL
✦ penned by lavs / message lavendes on discord for plots!

a large blue tabby with low white and vitiligo. pale blue fur covers the length of pebbletail's stocky body, sliced through with darker tabby stripes and spots. baleful orange eyes peer out of heavy set sockets, and his muzzle, paws, and tail tip are dashed with white.

 

[Chatterkit]

Chatterkit

Status: Baby

---

Darkness was his friend. The quiet of the void the soundtrack of his life. He relished in it. The warmth and the dark is all he's known, all he hopes to ever know. Until suddenly it's not. He's so cold. The quiet and the dark is still there but now he's cold. He shivers, a chattering of his jaw if he had teeth. He is not aware of his surroundings, not yet. He doesn't know that his parents watch him, love him. To him the cold is the most prevalent thing. He hates it, wants it to go away.

The small creature is only vaguely aware of being moved, pressed between bodies of his siblings and his mother, and suddenly the warmth is back. Not as all-encompassing as before, but there. He wiggles, wanting more of that warmth, his mouth opening as he screams for more. Unaware that it is not nearly as loud as he hopes and that it is what gives him his name of Chatterkit. A dichotomy between his self with his family and those outside it. Not yet realized but one day. For now all Chatterkit can do is wiggle for more of that warmth, batting his small paws out in hopes that someone realizes what he wants. That he just wants to be warm.

That's all he wants. The warmth, the quiet, and the darkness. And then he'd be happy.
​

---

I Don't Start Fights ⧖────⧖────⧖ But I'll Handle You Just Fine

• OOC:
• Chatterkit - Blue Ticked Tabby w/ Low White and Heterochromia Blue and Copper Eyes
  ⧖ He/They ⧖ Riverclan Kit ⧖ Penned by Snowy ⧖ 02 moons
  ⧖ Contact TimelordSnowy on Discord for plotting
  ⧖ "Speech"
  ⧖ Thoughts

​

 

[robinheart]

She has everything she will need already packed up in a bundle. The trepidation of something going wrong is a sensation she curses, shooing it from her mind as often as it rears its ugly head. But how can Robinheart not worry when she thinks of Lilybloom and Gladefrost's deaths? When she recalls Claythorn's traumatic delivery? It'll be okay. We are prepared.

And as Joykit peeks into the medicine den, Robinheart repeats the mantra over and over and over again.

By dawn Splashdance and Pebbletail have grown their family by four. The tortoiseshell medicine cat apprentice administers the herbs within her bundle to Splashdance, making sure to reassure the new mother that she had done well. Even as two of the kits wheeze and sniffle. "They lived in fluid for weeks, sometimes it takes a little bit for that fluid to clear from their lungs," Robinheart murmurs, citrine gaze soft and words even softer. She knows that panic all too well… She wants to minimize it however she can for the speckled queen's sake.

"I will come back later to check on you and the kits. Rest. Enjoy this moment… You two are parents now," she coos to Splashdance and Pebbletail as they study their sons. Something in her chest pangs at the sight – a complete family. But she pushes the sadness down and wears a congratulatory smile as she excuses herself to give them the space and privacy they deserve.​

[ penned by kerms ]​