Dear-ly Beloved

It had been a whirlwind, since the Gathering. Dewlight had largely withdrawn into herself since Yarrowpaw's disappearance, to a point that she hadn't fully realized how bad it was. Bearspirit's kindness had slowly drawn her out of the shell she had created around herself, carefully broken down the wall she had put up to not allow any cat to get too close. It hadn't taken long for her to consider him a friend, then recognize her love for him. As the sun reached the highest point in the sky, the result of that love lay at her belly. Seven beautiful, perfect, and healthy kits squirmed there, and Dewlight gazed down at them with a warm smile filled with love. She was exhausted, and hurting, the kitting was far from the easiest thing she had ever done, but it had been so worth it. "Welcome to RiverClan, my loves." She mewed as movement at the entrance of the nursery reached her ears, and she tore her gaze away from her kits briefly to see who was coming in, hoping it would be Bearspirit. She wanted him there to help name them all.

Bearspirit raced through camp hold not one, not two, but three different prey items dangling from his jaws. He leaped over a shorter Riverclan warrior that had stepped in his way on his way to the nursery. He shot an apologetic look back at the warrior, but didn't stop. As he neared the entrance to the nursery, he slowed himself down to a reasonable pace and entered inside. The sounds of mewling kits hit his ears and his eyes went immediately to the... seven bundles of fur at Dewlight's belly.

He slowly brought the prey over to his mate, one fish, one bird and one mouse. He didn't know exactly what to bring her or what she might be in the mood for... so his answer was: Bring it all. He set the food down, but if she decided she didn't want any of it he'd take it out of the nursery right away.

"Seven..." He breathed his words before flopping unceremoniously to the floor and staring at them. The idea of him being a father had been just that up until this point... an idea. Now it was real, in every little squeak and movement of the puffs of fur in front of him.

"I love them, Dewlight. They're just... perfect." He wanted to touch one so bad, but he didn't know if he should. "Have you thought of names?"

The grey kitten was the loudest, currently, with a lack of accurate senses is crawling on top of all his other siblings, looking for his mother. His new senses were overwhelming, he wasn't able to tell how many cats is nearby nor where he is right now, he only knows the comforting smell and is determined to be the kit closest to it.

A masked kit with one dark paw gave a shrieking cry, having squirmed too far away from Dewlight's belly. He was unsure how he got where he was, but he knew the familiar warmth was no longer against him, and it felt terrible. His only option was to yowl loudly, hoping Dewlight heard him. Or anyone, really. The new world he was in was disorienting and the little mottled kit couldn't make sense of it yet...if ever.

The brown tom had crawled on top of another kit and had started purring. In the moment, He was trying to find a good spot to take up, he found the warmth another kit and decided to rest. He was still staying close to his mother, Dewlight, but he had decided that the kit he was on was a good place to rest until he got hungry, And so he slept softly

Among the mass of kits lay a brown marbled tabby, quietly resting by his mother's side. Or at least, he was, until a weight had made it's way upon him, causing him to squirm and cry. What was this strange thing on top of him, and how dare it? He would be no platform for another, it would be he who would need a pedestal! And so, worming his way from under the other, he climbed upon his new throne. Now this was how things should be. All was right in the world, if only for this moment, even if he wouldn't necessarily remember it in merely a few minutes. Wait, what was he celebrating again? What wouldn't he remember?

Under the first brown marbled kit another squirmed indignantly, mewing in what almost seemed a tone of irritation. The swirled stripes of the second kit’s fur seemed to almost meld into the other's as he shoved roughly to regain his position suckling at Dewlight’s belly. His limbs looked a bit longer than the usurpers, though not gangly by any means, and his pelt was a warmer amber-brown tone. The newborn's eyes would one day soon open to reveal a similar shade of honey but for now remained tightly sealed as he wriggled in annoyance.

Dewlight purred as Bearspirit appeared, jaw full of various types of prey. She wasn't particularly hungry at the moment... Or so she had thought, a low growl in her belly interrputing her thought. The kitting had taken a lot of energy, and now that she though about it, she hadn't eaten anything since sunrise the day before. She hadn't been able to stomach anything at the time. The kits mewled and wriggled blindly in the nest at her belly, and she smiled at Bearspirit warmly as he turned his gaze to their kits, flopping down near her and asking about names. She paused, looking down at all of the kits and suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed. Seven kits... That was a lot of names, and a lot to care for... She nudged one that had ventured a little too far from her will a hind paw, pulling it in closer gently as she thought about it.

After several heartbeats, she glanced up to Bearspirit again with a small smile, touching each kit gently with her nose as she named each one in turn. "This one will be Blackkit, after his dark fur. This she-kit will be Petalkit, soft and warm like a new bloom. This one's stripes remind me of a bee, so he will be Bumblekit. Next... Beetlekit. The dark mask on his face looks like a beetle." She purred, taking a breath as she continued. "This one will be Honeykit. Her pelt looks almost exactly like yours. Pinekit will be this little tom's name. May he stand tall and strong as a pine. Finally... Spiderkit." She mewed softly, gazing at the final tom to receive his name. After a heartbeat she looked back to Bearspirit nervously. "What do you think? Do you like them? We can change them, if you want." She mewed anxiously.

Petalkit... Yeah, that fit the little thing. She's basically the size of a petal. She was kinda like a runt, but smaller. It'd be likely that she'll be the size of an apprentice... When she's a warrior. And yeah she's healthy and stuff, she was just small... Let's hope nothing bad happens to her.

Spiderkit is somewhat fitting, as the kitten was trying to play king of the hills with his siblings, trying to get closest to mother while simultaneously stampeding on the rest of his siblings. No dungs given.

Pinekit, A lovely name indeed, with silky brown fur, and closed eyes that may soon resemble sap, may he be comparable to the Tallest of pines and the Strongest of oaks.

As Dewlight named off the names for each kit.... he had no complaints. They sounded perfect. Maybe he was too emotional to think about anything other than how absolutely tranquil he felt in this moment. Each kit was like a piece of his heart had grown legs and hid itself into bundles of warm fur. A surge of paternal protectiveness washed over him and he vowed that nothing horrible would happen to single one of them. Not a single one.

"I like those names. I thought I'd be more picky but..." He wasn't much for words at the moment. Dewlight had done well and he had no complaints.

OOC) Late late late :0

IC) Probably considered the largest of his siblings, the newly-named 'Blackkit' wriggled around excitedly as he felt the rest of his littermates wiggle and climb all over each other. That had awakened the buzz of energy within him and he decided to join along, all the while he helped himself to the filling milk his mother provided. Despite the small amount of chaos, it was all comforting to the little tom-kit. He was surrounded by 'safe' and he was well-loved. The milk that filled his belly was a welcomed bonus. All around, Blackkit had nothing to complain about and only let out the occasional mew to voice his displeasure when one of his siblings got a bit too rough and managed to jab him in the side...Ah well.