pafp overgrown garden ✧ kicking

[lichenstar]

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Finding time to rest was a lot harder than she expected but at the same time... familiar. Lichentail had made it known a long time ago she'd rather work herself to death than be labeled 'lazy' and in no small part, shared that effort with Snakeblink, Rookfang, and a few others equally inclined towards not sleeping. While the other two could be found dozing in unsightly places (beside the river, in a random hole in the ground, halfway through eating their breakfast, what have you), she at the very least tried to make it to bed so a mockery couldn't be made of her exhaustion. Today was special... in that she had found perfect chance to cuddle up close to Hazecloud for a nap-- they had not been able to share a nest in some time now and the warmth of her mate was sorely missed in the warriors den-- and what truly restful sleep it had been. She laid so comfortably, wrapping her paws through silky fur with a head stubbornly laid against a rounded belly as if it were a plush pillow, an ear occasionally flicking at the soft ambiance of daily life just outside the den.

Soft purrs are few and far between but rumbled in a near constant state for these few, blissful moments. Until a sharp jab at her chin makes the molly sit up with a startled mrrp?. Shaking out the ruff of her scruffy pelt, they can't help but stifle a yawn before turning to look at the lounging queen with wide, bleary blue eyes. "They kicked me!" It had been a first for her but surely not for her partner... A sour reminder of many firsts she might miss.

Pressing her nose lovingly to the other molly's cheek in a small reminder that she is here for her just as much as these kittens, it is a momentary gesture before she looks back at the offending belly which houses little criminals vying to ruin her nap. "Strong legs for ones so small..." Her tail curls in delight at the thought... it must mean they will be excellent swimmers, strong little explorers to weather the harsh months. For a moment, she is selfish enough to think they might not even struggle in the slightest, that she hadn't made any lapse in judgement at all... but it is fleeting and she becomes wary of the reality once the fuzzy fluttering in her belly calms.

"Are you thirsty? Do you want to get some water? Or something to eat?" Immediately her focus shifts to whirls of gray, adamant that all her needs are cared for; memories of her sleepiness forgotten already. "Do they do that a lot?"

-- please wait for @hazecloud teehee

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AS YOU TRIED TO PULL YOUR BLOODY HANDS AWAY

I'M NEVER GONNA LEAVE YOU BEHIND SOMEDAY​

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[hazecloud]

It should be criminal how pleased Hazecloud feels when she gets what she wants. If only because she has never been left wanting for very long, and that went for nearly everything she desired. Escaping her parents scorn, earning recognition for her stealth and hunting prowess, honor for her bravery and the lengths she went to secure her homes safety, returning home to receive the love and adoration from the one cat that always held her heart.

Above all those desires she had achieved only one had become so dire, so significant that it had nearly consumed her thoughts when left without for so long. Spending time with Lichentail had practically become an essential need comparative to food and water, and with the pointed molly busying herself to scarcity she would consider herself malnourished in attention.

Or- perhaps not attention, as she certainly gained enough from her Clan. But the loving gaze and physical brush of their pelts would simply never have a proper substitute. And Hazecloud did her best not to complain, she didn't dare speak a word out of turn knowing the position she's placed on her Clan, but it was hard to simply accept. She wanted to blame the heightened emotions of her pregnancy, shove the responsibility of her emotions onto something else but part of her couldn't help but fear this would be their new life. Never having more than a meal from time to time and quiet naps being a yearning miracle than an everyday luxury.

But she doesn't have to worry about that now. While her mate is cozied up next to her she had been sound asleep from the start, nearly. Her midday dreams were absent of any thundering paws but rather pleasant rest, coil in the sparing quiet of her mind.

Lichentail jerked away from the warmth of silky fur and Hazecloud lifted her head, features creased with obvious disturbance. "Huh...?" A few blinking moments pulled her from the daze of sleep and she stretched her legs with a sleepy groan. "Oh, that's not even the hardest I've felt. They held back for you." She purred as humor returned to her tone. She hadn't thought to mention the progression of their wriggling and kicking to the deputy. It had become a new normal to her life as a queen now.

"Um..." Hazecloud glanced toward the nursery entrance and shook her head. No, the moment Lichentail stepped out something always happened to pull her attention away. "I'm perfectly fine. But, look, if you run your paw across my side, they'll chase it." She wanted nothing more than for this to last just a little longer, for Lichentail to feel just a little more excited and push away the stress. ​

 

[shellpaw]

shellkit has known all her life that hazecloud would have babies. more kits, just like you and your brothers, they had said, and shellkit didn’t really know how that worked, but she wasn’t too concerned about it. she slept nestled to the queens belly since the day she both gained and nearly lost her life, and lichentail was a constant. while it wasn’t often that she got to doze off with them, she was always there ; checking in on hazecloud, and in shellkit’s mind, her. lichentail was very busy, hazecloud tells her, and the lilac kitten understands, best she can. leafbare is hard, and the point molly has lots to do — but when playing with swanskip got boring and she tottered into the nursery again despite the mousy alabaster tom’s protests and spotted them, sugarplum eyes light aglow.

swanskip says something about supposed to watch you and they’re taking a nap from outside the thistle curtain, but she merely clambers further in, trotting over with twiggish forelimbs comically outstretched on each bounding stride, ” lichentail.“ woven on a bubbling breath, the delicate she - kit approaches from her queen’s back, using her paw front paws to gain leverage over the blue molly’s shoulder, peering near nose to nose with the deputy where she looks, wondrous, at hazecloud’s tummy. shellkit, for all her two months, knows what she is looking at. the girl looks up at lichentail, eyeing them seriously, ” theyre the babies. “ she breathes, tremulous voice matter-of-fact.

hazecloud’s tummy moves and shellkit’s gaze flits towards it, watches. she stares, and stares — a blue paw is run across the swell of her belly, life inside pushing to ripple silken fur. she breaks her silence after a stunning moment of stillness, glancing coyly towards lichentail as of harboring a secret, ” they, ah.. like you. “ it’s a near whisper now, raspy breath and tattered lungs, throat tender as lily petals. breakable girl, birdboned chest rattling with effort to continue, ” .. i can tell. “ and when has a kit ever lied?

𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍 𓇼 𝙎𝙊 𝙎𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙏 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙎𝙊 𝘾𝙊𝙇𝘿

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  SHELLKIT 𓆉 SHE / HER, KITTEN OF RIVERCLAN. KINDLING xx UNKNOWN, NIECE TO SMOKESTAR. 3 MOONS OLD, SMELLS LIKE SALT & RIVER BLOOMS. PENNED BY ANTLERS.
  delicate lilac - striped molly with sugarplum eyes she is pallid ; platinum splotched with ribbons of shell - touched cream, wisped ends like memories of a distant shore. feather breath and elderdown fur conceals a body worn fragile by tumultuous youth, too thin in some places and round with baby fat in others. her face is short - muzzled, framed half mast by eyes coined warm, sugared amber.
  
  currently exhibiting symptoms of whitecough. this includes a running nose, wheezing, sluggishness, and labored breathing. please keep contagion in mind.
  
  

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[lichenstar]

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She rouses like a snake uncoiling itself from between the clutch of rocks that make up the lost sunning beds across the river... Unwinding herself in careful movements, slowed by exhaustion and an ever-present weight. Lichentail's ears flick as her sleep-heavy mate describes a kindness on behalf of their kits, words that suggest restraint, that this isn't new for her. She tries not to let a noticeable frown sit on her face, to show her disappointment on how much she was missing, how much she wouldn't experience herself. It gave her cause for worry that she might not be prepared, might not have this whole 'motherhood' thing down until it was embarrassingly late. Wasn't like her own mother was here to offer advice (not that she'd want it anyways).

A cough-grasped rasp breathes her name like it is a small wonder to behold her and immediately the deputy turns to look at the glass-doll girl that bounds towards her. She is careful not to move much, as icy-tickled paws rest at her shoulder- berry-pink nose just inches from her own. A smile creases the corners of her eyes and she is quick to press her own delicately to hollow-boned cheeks in greeting. "Shellkit," she hums softly, waiting for whatever profound statement comes from between kitten-sharp teeth.

"They're the babies."

Icy vision moves to watch the queen as she drags a paw delicately at her side, a mix of horror and delight to see impossibly small feet kick along her path. It is kind of gross... in a way... to watch the skin go taut and lax again. How many were in there? Already it would be a struggle to dote upon the three shoved anxiously into Hazecloud's paws... to balance it with another three? Or even four? It made her head spin.

But what the lilac-dappled birdling says next makes the world stop in its wild dance- Surely.. she had know way to really know that...

"I bet they like you too- I think they can hear us, have you said hello yet?" Unwilling to admit what great reassurance a barely weaned kit could offer, the blue lynx point shifts to hide tear-glassy eyes long enough to blink them away. "What do you think Shellkit, I like Algaekit for a name but I don't think Hazecloud does." Mischievousness hides in her tone as she whispers conspiratorially to the tiny lilac fledging.

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AS YOU TRIED TO PULL YOUR BLOODY HANDS AWAY

I'M NEVER GONNA LEAVE YOU BEHIND SOMEDAY​

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[iciclefang]

“Algaekit is a fine name for a strong RiverClan warrior,” Iciclefang says in her usual low tones, but she catches the mischief buried in Lichentail’s voice, directed toward innocent little Shellkit who watches Hazecloud’s belly with fascination. The tortoiseshell finds her own gaze flicking that direction, curiosity getting the better of her. She can just barely see movement beneath Hazecloud’s swollen skin—little paws, perhaps, pressing and releasing against their mother’s flank. She suppresses a shiver—one that is equal parts delight and horror.

She looks to Lichentail and then meets Hazecloud’s moss-colored gaze, a small smile cracking like ice over her muzzle. “They’ll certainly be strong and healthy. They’re already fighting to get out.” She doesn’t verbalize the latter half of her thought—they’ll need all their strength to survive this leafbare. She figures both new mothers know of those particular dangers; they don’t need Iciclefang, of all cats, to remind them.

, ”​

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[DEACON]

"Once they see camp, they'll be fighting to get back in," Thornmask huffed from his spot atop the rocks, belly splayed out for the world to see despite the chill that threatened to rock his bones. It creeped the ticked tabby out thinking about life growing inside another, the fact that you could feel them move, the fact that everyone else seemed fascinated by it. A shudder ran up their spine as they rolled over, keeping their gaze on the horizon where there was significantly less body horror (though... was that a headless fish in the distance? No... no it must be his imagination). Their ears twitched at the name 'Algaekit', their tailtip twitching. Rats, why couldn't the kids decide their own names? Thornmask still felt alien, whenever someone said it, it took them too long to realise that the cat was talking to them. They rolled their eyes and decided that, this time, discretion was the better part of valour. "Better make the Queen's den extra cozy, no drafts, no one getting in or out except to throw a fish or two at you."

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[hazecloud]

Though Swanskip was meant to keep her surprise trio entertained, now that they were awake with little chance of falling back asleep she did not mind seeing Shellkit climb back into the den on twig-thin limbs and watch beside her mate. Not even Shellkit and her siblings would be surprised to see as this as Lichentail was, having to see and feel her own kittens push and roll against her belly and she hoped the pointed molly would not make that connection either. That she might be the last to have seen the spectacle of so much life in their brood.

But Shellkit's rattled breath voiced more innocent, heart-melting reassurance that has even brought their stoney deputy to a glassy-eyed gaze. While she turned her head to hide the threatening tears she caught on quickly, knowing Lichentail far better than to be clueless. But it doesn't take long before they are on the beloathed topic that they can never seem to agree on lately. Names!

Why were there so many to choose from? How could they ever know what was fitting and what was not? Where she found a strong, honorable name Lichentail's muzzle would creased into a frown- 'no, I don't know about that one'. And when Lichentail smugly offered her own Hazecloud would turn her nose up and grimace, words unnecessary to say she disliked it. Algaekit had been their recent debate.

"Algaekit? Algae, isn't that like moss? We already have a Mosspool in the Clan."

"It's definitely not the same. They're two completely different words!"

Now she had recruited Shellkit's approval, and then chimed in Iciclefang with her own. Hazecloud could only sigh in mocking dramatics. "Figures everyone agrees with their beloved deputy over poor old me." Still, she nodded in agreement to the secon half of the Leads words. "Stars, I'm ready for them to be here already! If I get any bigger Lichentail will have to start rolling me around to get anywhere."

A sharp snap of her gaze settled on the back of Thornmasks head, narrowing slowly. Their tone lacked any of the warmth from her Clanmates, she noticed immediately. Hazecloud wouldn't be surprised if they felt spurned by hierarchy of who got fed first, but it wasn't something the queen acted ignorant to. "If I knew any better I'd think you're trying to hide me away, Thornmask! But I know you're smarter than even implying that's the case." She hummed, turning back to Shellkit with a more genuine smile.

"Maybe we should just let you and your brothers name them when they arrive. What do you think?"​