saplings spout [open to family]

The whirlwind that was the birth of 6 kits started like a normal day. Cedarheart was relaxing in the nursery. She missed being with her family and friends in the warrior's den, but the nursery was comfortable. It was already full with a decent amount of kits, but the tabby knew that she would be adding to that tally soon. Her belly had bloated, and every day it was more and more clear that her litter would be arriving soon. Oftentimes she would feel a small kick, they didn't hurt. So when a sharp pain shot up her abdomen, she knew something was happening. "Daisybloom? I think I'm, uh, kitting?' she called out, seeing the medicine cat in the center of camp.

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Daisybloom perked up at the sound of her name, and raced towards the medicine den. As she got there, she halted abruptly. She was going to help Cedarheart deliver the kits? She knew that one day she would be doing this task, but she had never imagined it would be so soon. Was she ready? Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a stick for the queen to bite down on, and some borage, for milk. She entered the den, laying the stick down next to the brown she-cat. "Bite this if you need to?' she said, a bit unsurely.

---

Cedarheart gave her thanks with a quick nod. Without warning, she was engulfed in a raging flame of agony. She yowled, eyes squeezing shut. She bit down harshly on the stick, it starting to crack under the pressure of her maw. What would happen if she didn't make it? Who would raise her kits? And even worse, what if one of them didn't survive? Like her precious siblings, many of whom had been lost. Beecloud and Pinefrost would be uncles. Harefoot and Ferretnose would be grandparents. Even though she was in so much pain, those thoughts helped her through.

---

Not to long after, a queen lay by 6 kits, licking their pelts as they squirmed around, longing for milk, warmth and love. The queen's eyes were filled with so much love and affection for these little kits. Her green eyes glistened with tears of happiness. She had done it! She was a mother, Smallbean was a father!

Smallbean.

He wouldn't be able to see these kits just yet. He would have to wait until a gathering, or perhaps maybe her litter could tag along to one of their meetings. Those would still be happening, right? Gazing at the squirming mass of little pelts, she realized she would have to name them. Never before had she done something like this, something so important.

Her eyes rested on a kit that looked nearly identical to her, with a brown pelt. Licking her son, she smiled. "Tempestkit. For the whirlwind this has been for me." She paused. "And for Stormpaw, my friend. Wherever she is." she added, gaze dropping for a moment.

The next kit that caught her eye was a brown she-kit, who's pelt resembled Harefoot and Pinefrost's. She was very small and lean. She had made her way towards her mother, looking like a bird, mid-flight. "Kitekit." she decided. "I know already that you will be so strong, my little bird."

Her green eyes found a kit that didn't carry the brown pelt most of the family did. The marbled fur was beautiful. "You're Crowkit, for your gorgeous dark pelt." said Cedarheart, affectionately licking her unique son. All of these kits were so beautiful, and the queen knew they would grow up to be amazing cats.

The following kit that would be named was also a tom. He carried a dark pelt and featured the white underbelly of his father. His mother licked him, a smile spreading on her lips. "Another little bird. Buzzardkit."

Again, Cedarheart licked the pelt of a she-kit. Her next daughter had a beautiful pattern of ginger and brown fur, swirled in a lovely pattern. The bird name tradition that had started to form continued as she named her daughter ”Ospreykit.”

The final kit to be named was not the least loved, as there was an abundance of love coming from the brand-new mother. The kit in question was a she-kit that looked just like her, with a brown tabby pelt. "Shrikekit." she christened her daughter. Cedarheart smiled. She was surrounded by her kits, a litter that brought her so much joy. She was so happy. So very, very happy.

Shrikekit was the first cat to be born, squirming out of her mother's belly. The brown tabby she-cat pounced towards her mother, nuzzling the larger she-cat. She didn't know where this strange place was, but she was here now.

OOC: Very short post, since I don't know how to RP newly-born kits.

The warm darkness Tempestkit had grown to love was quickly ripped away as he was exposed to new scents, textures, and temperatures for the first time. He didn't know it yet but the sweet scent surrounding him was his loving mother Cedarheart as well as Tempestkit's siblings: Crowkit, Shrikekit, Kitekit, and buzzardkit. The warmth that had started to fade returned as Tempestkit felt a tongue stroking his wet fur, his paws kneading the soft ground as he longed for the milk scent that brought along the pang of hunger. Tempestkit let out a faint mew as he eagerly started suckling Cedarheart's belly; Surrounded with warmth and love he felt at peace. Although Tempestkit didn't realize it yet this was the start of his new life...filled with love, adventures, and companions that would being him happiness for moons to come.

Some kits would be disturbed by the change, from womb to world, as drastic as it was. Everything he'd known so far had been warmth, and darkness and silence. But now, as he was birthed into the great unknown, Crowkit, as he'd been dubbed, was simply excited. He didn't know what, exactly, was going on, but he knew his siblings were here, and his mother, and there were new things too, things he wouldn't understand for some time, but was eager to start.

Crowkit followed the rumbling vibrations of Cedarheart's purr, the scent of milk and love and family, and nestled there at his mother's belly with a content squeak. Maybe tomorrow would bring more new things, too.

Buzzardkit entered the world, unaware that for him it would be a little darker and quieter than it was for most. All he knew was that he was here, whatever and wherever "here" was, and that the warm scent of his mother and siblings surrounded him. He squirmed his way towards his mother's stomach, mewing softly. His thoughts were mostly empty, only containing a vague yearning for the sense of safety and ease that came from being near something familiar as he clung to Cedarheart's side.

The whole clan seemed to know about Cedarheart's kitting. She'd grown large with kits and the air of mystery around the father only thickened. Of course, as a protective brother, Pinefrost had been prying from the beginning. Of course he probably had gone too far at times, but what kind of father doesn't let the clan know who he is? Was he scared to be seen with Cedarheart? Did he abandon his kits? Pinefrost dug his claws into the ground at the thought... willing to flay any foxheart who wounded his sister. However his violent thoughts quickly subsided as he ducked under the brambles into the nursery.

"Hey, ugly." The tom mewed to his sister in jest, whiskers twitching at the play-insult. Five newborn kits lay at her belly, a strange sight for a tom who'd only ever seen his sibling on hunting patrols or in camp. Pinefrost's eyes sparkled and he made himself mindful of where he put his paws, not wanting to step on a niece or nephew. The new warrior coyly eyed the kits - and while taking note of how endearing and cute they were, he also gazed at their slick pelts and tried to determine a match in ThunderClan. Who was the father? Now, Pinefrost wasn't as brazen to ask straight out, but he had set himself to the mystery in the name of protecting his sister - bored with his current circumstances. Other than Cedarheart's pregnancy, ThunderClan had been quiet. Painfully quiet. Thankfully, this new life brought into the world would be Pinefrost's new enigma, something to set his mind to while he waited for more finite drama.

ooc; this is so wholesome. deer i love your post ;;

The delicate frame of the newborn kit blindly wriggled its way towards a sense of warmth. This world seemed unbearably cold compared to wherever they had came from. A chill stirred the short fur along her spine and the tiniest protest left her maw in response to the name that had been bestowed - Kitekit. Voices threatened to overwhelm her, leaving the tiny creature with its first longing; to return to wherever she had come from. All it took was a tilt of her head for the sounds to be muted and the faintest hints of a pleasured smile complimented a drifting into sleep.

At only a few minutes old, Ospreykit was already showing herself to be a handful. Apparently unfazed by being cast into a new world and surrounded by strangers, she immediately began to shove over her siblings, crawling not towards Cedarheart’s belly, but towards the nursery entrance, the sunlight casting a faint glow on the inside of her closed lids.