camp I THOUGHT I COULDN'T BREATHE WITHOUT YOU (birth)

[FORESTSHADE]

It's been strange being back in camp, but not in the den she had been in when they'd been chased out. Moving back in and straight into the nursery, the den she's only ever stepped in to bring a rare piece of prey to the queens and kits, put an uncomfortable taste in her mouth. But she's made due, fluffed up a make-shift nest of moss and pine needles and sleeping most days anyhow.

It's on his morning she let's out a yowl of alarm, and for the first time ever, the she-cat sounds frightened. Whoever arrives first would find a terrified Forestshade as contractions begin to make their way through her body. Tears prick at unseeing eyes. She's scared. She's so scared. "I don't know what to do," She barks at whoever she hears some inside. Her breathing rate rises as panic grips her, claws unsheathing and digging into the ground. The she-cat, always so overconfident and arrogant and brash, looks small as she prepares to become a mother. Senses overwhelmed, she finds it hard to make sense of much.

// SUPER QUICK INTRO kits will be born in next post!!​

 

[orchidbloom]

Orchid is up early and shes just passing by when she hears her mentors yowl, causing cinnamon paws to scramble in place until they find their footing. She streaks across the half-rebuilt camp to the nursery, shoving her head in with a panic. It's the first time ever that she had heard Forest be loud, and the first time ever that she had seen her mentor sound scared. Eyes lay upon her in a nest, shes... Oh, Stars above, she even looks terrified. "F-Forest? Are you ok- okay?" because now, seeing their mentor look like this is even making THEM scared too. They know nothing but the sure-fire and confident look of Forest, should Orchid begin to panic even more now?

What do I do?! Theres nothing for me to do! I have no idea what to do either, Forest!

"What do you need? Uhm- I- Oh, oh no, i'll-" their words come out too fast, cutting previous sentences short and just coming out in a jumble. Orchid screws her eyes shut to block out the headache thats beginning to form. "I- I'll go get Starlingheart and Magpiepaw!" because Orchidpaw is no medicine cat, they don't know the first thing about helping their mentor out. They reel out to go fetch the two, and it's the fastest they've bolted out since they were a kit.

// @STARLINGHEART . and @Magpiepaw ​

"speech"​

 

[Starlingheart]

Her own due date is quickly approaching, at this point her belly is so swollen that she dares not leave the camp. Instead, she sends Magpiepaw out to search for cobwebs or herbs. "O-only the ones you know" she had warned, her tone serious so as to make him understand. Stars forbid he managed to find something deadly. She would simply never forgive herself if anything were to happen to him. She is in her den, though there is not much to do but continue preparations for her kits arrival and wait.

Starlingheart has never been a cat who is able to sit still and thus, when Orchidpaw would come into the medicine cats den she would see the heavily pregnant she cat arranging and rearranging a nest. A feather that had, moments before, been placed, was placed again and again until she was satisfied that nothing would poke her kits or that it was in the right spot. Moss was fluffed, the den was clear of any debris, her herbs were placed well above the reach of a kit. Her eyes shift as a shadow falls upon the entrance of the den and she looks up expectantly, surprised to see Orchidpaw there.

She follows the apprentice as best as she can, a stick and a small bundle of herbs and cobwebs in her mouth. When she arrives in the nursery she gets right to work. "Bite down on this. It will- it will help" she says, pushing the stick in the expectant mothers direction. "Breathe, remember, breathe. Im-Im right here it'll be okay" she says, her voice soft and hopefully, reassuring.
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[FORESTSHADE]

She can't even bring herself to answer her apprentice. She doesn't even know what to do! She lies there, panting, blind eyes stretched wide as the girl makes the decision herself. She'll go get the medicine cat. "I'll be here," She rasps, a lighthearted quip drowned in a strained voice. Before long, Starlingheart arrives and she feels something brush against her muzzle. Bite down, she says, and so Forestshade does. Harshly, her teeth sink into the stick. The young medicine cat coos that she'll be there as another contraction hits, and for the next few hours she will listen to the instructions patiently given to her.

—-

After a long afternoon filled with hissed swears, it is over and the young warrior is left with three kits suckling at her belly. They’re tiny, and one of them is unbelievably demanding in his yowls for grooming and milk, and Forestshade is left in awe as she noses them around. She seeks to familiarize herself with every part of them, from their faces to their kneading paws to their tiny tails. “Tell me about them,” She suddenly asks, face turning towards the medicine cat. Are they toms or she-cats? Do they have her thick, long fur? Are they healthy? She cannot see them, but she’ll find out all she can about her new blessings. A heavy, shaking sigh leaves her as she rests her head back on the edge of her nest. She remembers her promise to them. She’ll make sure they never feel how she felt. Because with all her heart, she loves them already.

// @SCREECHKIT @Briarkit. @Sweetkit
ACK sorry for mobile post, no wifi at the cabin!​

 

[Starlingheart]

Starlingheart had witnessed the miracle that was birth a few times now, the first two had been wrought with tragedy and then the next was Betonyfrost's, that of which she had been so anxious about that she had not truly appreciated it for the miracle it was. With Forestshade's litter, however, tears prick at her eyes as she looks down at the mewling bundles of fur that she had helped deliver. Her own kits would be born soon, and what a beautiful thing it would be. The love shared between mother and child was unequivocal and it was something she had wished for without ever really realizing it.

Forestshade speaks, asking her to tell her about the kittens and quickly, Starlingheart wipes the tears from her eyes before she speaks. "Your first born is a she-kit" she says, gently nudging the kit forward with her nose so her mother may inspect her "She is all black, l-like the midnight sky" she watches the kit with fond eyes for a moment before she turns to the next. nudging him forwards as well "Thi-this one, a tom, he is-is also all black with long fur" the kit was plush-coated, something she is cerrtain he will be thankful for in leaf-bare and cursing at in green-leaf. The next kit is loud in his mewling, yelling protests as she pushes him forward to join his siblings "And fi-finally another tom. He is black with r-re-red patches. One under his eye and-and others on his body and tail" she hopes her descriptions are good but in a softer tone she adds "They are all beautiful Forest- and heal-healthy" the latter was especially important. As long as they were healthy and okay nothing else mattered.
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[SCREECHSTORM]

At first, his world is small. Curled into small confines, an ever-crowded space as he becomes accustomed to the plush shadows that grow beside him. It's all he knows - all one may assume there is to the world. He is content here.

And then it changes. A rapid succession the shadows around him dissipate, gone from his world. A startling revelation, one that he doesn't have the capacity to process, one that he doesn't have the time to get used to before he too leaves this world.

He arrives somewhere new. A bigger world, one just as dark, but colder than the one he'd just departed.

The kit is a small burst of color beside the two night-furred kits born beside him - sun-splotched in hues of orange against his own black fur. He is an even bigger burst of noise.

His arrival is marked with a loud wail, a warning cry laced with his first taste of hunger in this cold, new world. The newborn kit wriggles aimlessly in the extra space he's given, mewling protests seeming to not let up - even when a force pushes him forward to the call of milk, to a reunion with his shadow-plushed siblings.
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[Sweetpaw]

Out of darkness, into darkness. Nothing changed but for the warmth and noise. The tiny black kitten gives a quiet mewl entirely missed by the screech of a sound that echoes from their brother. The comforting darkness from before is still present, blanketed around them and something they would find eternally following them their entire life; though for the time being they are like any other newborn kitten, a mewling and blind little worm wriggling about to the scent of milk and familiarity.
This little black ambulatory furball is not as fond of the sudden space as one might expect, pressing themselves closer to their mother desperately as if doing so will shrink them back into the soothing security of being held tight.
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[orchidbloom]

For the past few hours, Orchid had been half inside and half outside of the nursery, pacing and nearly retching a couple of times. She won't lie: if thats how kits are born, she NEVER wants them. EVER. But it seems all is done and over with now and she can safely return back inside, where Starlingheart stands over her mentor. Ivory paws shuffle nervously as their gaze hits Starlingheart's charcoal pelt, averting their gaze. Eventually does she force herself to overcome her nervousness, swallowing hard as they take a deep breath.

Three little scraps lay at Forestshades stomach. Oh, they're so tiny... Was she that tiny too? Imagining her and Tulippaw at Roseskys stomach is a hard image to conjure. "They- They- They're very... pretty." she reiterates Starlingheart's words despite the violent shake in her voice, despite the restricting feel that she may just topple over on them. It's an irrational thought, she knows this, but they're so, so small and so, so fragile... "They're s-so loud." mewls of protest or just being indigent, or maybe... They were scared, like her. This is their first time living and near instantly is there a pact made in her mind. She likes them. Thats their mentors kits and they're gonna do their very very best to be good a role-model. Orchid waits with baited breath to hear their names.​

"speech"​

 

[Briarthorn]

BRIARKIT — hello, my old heart.
Where she had been somewhat comfortable with her hardly formed conscious and warm sanctuary, she was suddenly pushed out, as though there was no more room for her and she was being tossed out into the strange unknown.
She does not move as what was once muffled noise becomes visceral and raw to newly-formed ears. Cries, thumping, a soft breath- she hears it all.
Something cold it’s her face with a force, and she feels the instinctive need to part her maw and take her first breath, her first mewl hardly above a sigh, but strong.
More cries, more thumps- but there is warmth, and she moves towards it.
"speech"

tags​

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[FORESTSHADE]

Forestshade listens intently as Starlingheart describes them. One she-kit and two toms. She smiles, a half-grin on her pale muzzle as her head continues to rest on the side of her nest. "That's good. They're strong like me, eh?" She breathes the jest in response to hearing they're all healthy, shifting further onto her side to let them reach her belly easier. Beautiful and pretty, the two she-cats nearby describe them as. She cares not for that - she can't see their beauty. She wants to know if they'll be quick-witted, or fine hunters, or powerful fighters. Will they be independent and willful like her? Sweet and shy like her whispering apprentice? No matter who they end up being, she only hopes they find their own path and are happy with themselves, the way she wanted her parents to feel towards her.

But ah, now comes the naming, right?

She has already had one name picked out for a long time, one she told her apprentice she wanted to use. "The she-kit will be Briarkit," She decides, and though she cannot see her, she angles her face towards Starlingheart, the daughter of her first mentor. Briarstar had accepted Forest into the clan when she was only a youngster, took her on to train despite her attitude and rebelliousness, and had faith in her until her bitter end. She was a strong kit, and she hopes her own daughter will be half as strong.

She'd been playing with the idea of naming a kit after another cat in her life, though this one she hardly knew. Even still, she played a significant part in Forestshade's life, getting her to realize it was okay to let others care about her, and that she was truly a ShadowClanner through and through. Honeykit, She plays with, turning the name over in her mind before twisting her maw. Too common, She then decides, recognizing the name belonging to a few other clan cats sprinkled about. Instead..."Sweetkit for the first tom. Sweet like honey." Her trill is soft as she noses her kits against her stomach.

A sharp shriek splits the area, causing her dark ears to fall flat against her skull. She winces and recoils, though one can't miss the amused, toothy grin braking across her muzzle. "The last one wants to name himself!" She barks with laughter. He wails like she has never heard a kit wail before! "Screechkit, then. You earned that one." The patched tabby snorts and rests her head on her nest once more, relieved to have gotten that out of the way. They are named, and she can sleep.​