The End Of A Long Wait [Open Birth Topic, BlizzardXArtemis]

Blizzardshine was still panting from the effort, a couple scattered poppy seeds between her paws that she couldn’t eat in time due to how little patience her kits had to be brought to this world now tempting her to eat them so she could just drift off to sleep…but instead she pushed them aside with a tired paw, both to keep them away from her newborn kits and because she wanted to spend more time with the squirming bundles of joy that she kept warm, covering them with her long fluffy tail.

For the first time in so long…she felt as if the weight in her chest and mind had disappeared. The sharp claws of regret and guilt that had been torturing her for so many moons without stop had released her soul.

She was happy…free from her bounds.

With a soft purr she nuzzled her kits before licking them lovingly yet again. If this was a dream, she prayed to StarClan she didn’t have to wake up. Her kits were her dream come true.

Beekit mewled unhappily at his mother's licking. The little tom had just came into existence and he'd rather be left alone.

OOC) I'm super sorry for not being able to post quick enough ;-; School is already putting pressure on me

IC) Mapleleaf stepped into the nursery with a joyful yet tired purr. She had helped Blizzardshine deliver her kits. The medicine was proud of her handiwork and was also proud of how strong the queen was. The she-cat placed down some moss soaked in fresh water for the new mother. "Here. Drink up. You need to be hydrated after what you've been through." The gentle cat stepped back and sighed lovingly. "They're all so beautiful Blizzardshine. Your kits are very healthy and strong, like their mother. I hope they won't grow up to be troublemakers!" The tabby said the last statement in a joking manner. She knew they'd be fine.

One of the kits at Blizzardshine's side looked like nothing but a little ball of fur. His tan pelt spiked up in all directions, like a bush of thorns waiting for some unwary cat to stumble upon it, but in miniature. In the ball of fuzz, a tiny mouth opened and wailed, angry at being woken up from the long nap he had been taking. Eventually, though, the scent of milk overcame his annoyance and he buried deep into his mother's belly, jostling the other kits away from his source of food. This one was going to be a troublemaker.

Falconkit looked in from outside the nursery, practically melting into a puddle from pure cuteness.

Ridgekit wriggled in the moss in the dark warmth of the nursery. Her little nose wiggling as she clambered around her siblings towards the scent of milk and the soft warmth of her mother. Her little calico patches of colour dark and blending her into the furry bodies beside her.

It was dark, it was warm, and it was comfortable. To Hailkit, that was what the world consisted of. She huddled as close to her mother as she could, eager for milk. Blizzardshine's comforting presence brought a sense of security. All of a sudden, one of littermates pushed her aside. Suddenly deprived of her food source, the little white kitten squeaked loudly in protest. Her response was to shove Pricklekit right back.

Gladekit scrambled over her siblings, clawing at them as she scrambled towards the warm scent of milk. She pushed and she shoved, and it didn't really matter as long as the newborn kit got what she wanted.

They were incredibly small. Curious, twin pools of green glistened with the interest that only a kit could carry. Despite his innocent and rather ignorant nature, the little tabby still gave off the demeanor of one much younger. He was just as pure as the little bundles that nestled at the fluffy queen's stomach. Bearkit had never seen the she-cat as leader of Thunderclan, but he regarded her as highly as he did Leopardstar. His own mother had shone little concern for her remaining kit in what little life they spent together, due to his pawful of oddities. Although his father was thrilled by the prospect that his son could become a great warrior, Stoneclaw's interest in young kits was less than enthusiastic which had left the little kit mostly to his own devices. Until the pure, white former leader had taken it upon herself to be kind to him.

There was no jealousy twisting in his stomach as he watched them snuggle into her fur. Although he wished he could, it felt wrong in the moment. These were not his siblings, nor was it his mother. Logically he knew that, even if he gave little merit to it, the knowledge sat somewhere deeply rooted in his brain. Bearkit's ear twitched as a couple of them squirmed in a vicious battle for milk. His black nose reached forward but stopped just before nudging Hailkit back into place. The other queens are lucky to not have something like you suckling at their stomach, or near their kits. Remembering his mother's cruel hiss, he flinched and settled for sniffing at the little one before backing away. Bearkit did not want to upset the cat that had been so nice to him.

"They're really small." He remarked to Blizzardshine absentmindedly as he stared down at his paws. The words were a little muffled due to the drag of his elongated teeth along the short fur of his maw. Extra toes and claws widened the pads of his feet. He flexed his many claws, just disturbing the surface of the den's floor. Supposedly it was strange to have paws like this, they didn't compare to any of the other cat's paws, but he didn't mind they never bothered him. Only the strange looks of others bothered him. After a brief pause, he added, "Was I that small, Blizzardshine?"

Streamkit huffed softly as he tried to get to his mother’s warm belly to eat as well, but was quickly pushed away by his brawling littermates. He meowed softly, both in annoyance and hunger. He pawed at his siblings trying to either push them away or separate them so he could reach his goal, not exactly interested to get into the small kit-fight.

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Blizzardshine chuckled softly and was quick to separate the brawling kittens and pull them closer so each could suckle freely, not having to fight over milk. She then looked up at Mapleleaf with shining eyes, full of motherly love and happiness “Thank you Mapleleaf…for everything. I’ll do my best to keep them out of trouble, but you know kits…” If anything, she knew what she was talking about when referring to troublemaker kits, she would be lying if she said her and her brother didn’t cause their clanmates more than just a couple headaches all those moons ago after all. She followed her advice, lowering her head and lapping the refreshing water from the soaked moss, only interrupted by the soft voice of Bearkit “Yes, I doubt you can remember it though”.

She just smiled and grabbed him by the scruff, placing the hesitant kit between his adoptive littermates and licking his head like if he was one of them as well “Not only blood defines your family, Bearkit, please, stop acting like a stranger towards your brothers and sisters” She purred softly. She was fully aware of Bearkit’s rather though past given his different looks, something that in her eyes no cat should go through, especially not this young. While many thought of him as weird, he was just as precious as any of her sons in her eyes…and she was sure that much like she did back in her youth, he would prove all those who once doubted him or criticized him wrong with his achievements.

"Ooof!" The sound that was forced out of his maw was more in shock than in protest. With eyes focused on his paws, the young tom hadn't been prepared for the queen to grip his scruff between her teeth. Even his own mother had never handled him in such a way. After being placed in between the newborn kits, the kit blinked a couple of times. At first, it was a little strange to be there. Bearkit did not know quite how to respond. But a comforting warmth quickly seeped into his coat. It was hard not to allow a contented smile creep onto his maw. Although he looked rather out of place, given he was older and nearly three times their size, the tabby did not care in the slightest as his worries were ceased by the sweet, new she-cat.

On each side, little bundles continued to wriggle around him. Bearkit was just too old for milk and did not join the battle. He watched through a slanted gaze as he nuzzled Blizzardshine's soft stomach. If he didn't know any better, which he barely did, the kit would have thought this was Starclan. Stories and tales painted them as great warriors in a magical place. Even warriors enjoyed the comfort of a mother, right? As he lay, his mind drifted as much as a young cat's did. Despite not being able to identify the feeling that pitted sadly in his stomach, he found himself wishing that he had been truly born to the pair of fluffy cats who had brought these younger kits into the world.

A purr in Blizzardshine's voice made him only warm with more happiness as she reassured him that he was one of them. He cocked his head. His multi-colored fur did not match the pretty coats of the kits she now dubbed his 'brothers and sisters'. With another slow blink, Bearkit inquired, "Okay, Blizzardshine. But... why do I look different? They're not like me." The innocence shone on his confused expression. He was asking about their pelt colors, but somewhere in the back of his mind, another question lingered.

Beekit's only response to this exchange was more frustrated mewling. Why couldn't they just be quiet!? He was trying to sleep!

(I'm really sorry for not posting, I've been super busy ;-;)

Sleetkit was quiet as he suckled, paying little attention to the sounds and movement around him. Right now all he wanted was to be pressed up against the soft warm body in front of him and fill up his belly.