BUrrthhh (closed)

Flame was walking around looking for a soft area of grass. His mother, Glimmer, was pregnant so everytime they moved to a new area it was flame's job to find a comfy spot for her to rest. While Flame was walking along some wooden walls he heard a scream, his mother. He ran back to see her on the ground in pain. He didn't know what to do as he didn't realize she was going into labor. He knew it was a bad idea but flame yelled for help. "Someone! Anyone! My mother is in pain!" he mewed loudly hoping a friendly heard.

Dennis hobbled down the path, trying his best not to slip on the semi-frozen ground. A pink fluffy pelt made out of weird fibres enveloped his thin-pelted body, keeping him moderately warm in this weather. His twoleg was acting bizarre lately; seeing how much he wanted to go outside, she opted to just let him go. Maybe she thought he was coming back? He felt bad thinking about it. He didn't want to just leave her, terrifying as she could be. She fed him. Plus, she gave him this fake pelt. He had to admit, he kinda liked it.

Making his way downtown, the tom suddenly froze. Not because of the weather, but because a shrill cry was filling the crisp air. A child's voice. Lilypaw screamed as the dog threw her aside, blood splattering on the trees...
He shook his head rapidly and broke into a sprint. Well, as much of a sprint as he could manage with three legs and a thick fake pelt. He soon found the source of the yell: a small calico tom, crouching over a cat that was presumably his mother. She was in labour, and clearly something was wrong.

Some age-old instinct rose up inside the three-legged cat, ridding his mind of panic and focusing just on this cat in pain. As if he'd done this a thousand times before, he turned to the younger tom. "Do you see that bush over there? With the thorns and berries? Pluck some leaves off of it and bring them back to me. Hurry!" He turned back to the tortoiseshell she-cat writhing in pain. He placed a paw on her belly. There were kits in there all right, and they were ready to come out. " You'll be alright. I've sent the other cat to get raspberry leaves, they'll make you feel better."
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Meanwhile, in a warm, dark place, a small kit struggled to get free. Her siblings writhed beside her, though none as strongly as her. She wasn't going to spend another second in this cramped place.

Flame quickly did what he was told, so much that he grabbed way more than was needed. Flame ran back to the stranger and his mother with a scared face. He sent the leaves down and licked his mother's head, trying to calm the both of them. Glimmer smiled at her son and the stranger as another giant pain came. She could tell her son was scared so tried hard to show she was alright when she knew she was losing strength by the second. "Everything will be okay, mama!" Flame mewed trying to get himself to believe it also.

Dennis received the herbs with a hasty smile. If it wasn't a dire situation, he probably would have laughed at the sheer amount of leaves the tom brought. Grabbing a small pawful, he offered it to the she-cat. "Here, eat these. They should prevent bleeding and help the kits along." His tone was hopeful and warm, but on the inside he and the mother both knew that this would most likely be her last kitting. Swallowing down the notion, he focused on the cat's stomach. He gently applied pressure, helping the small shapes along in their journey to the outside world.

Minutes later, the first kit appeared. Warmth filled Dennis' heart for a moment at the new arrival, mewling and squirming, but then he turned to the she-cat and his smile dropped. He'd been so focused on what he was doing that he didn't notice that the queen's breathing had turned ragged and shallow. Abandoning his joy, he looked with panicked eyes at the other cat. "Are you okay? The first kit was born. Look- here she is. She's beautiful, just like you." His clinical tone was gone as he held up the protesting kit for the mother to see, replaced with fear and the resignation of knowing that this she-cat wouldn't live to birth the rest of this litter.

He looked to Flame with a pained expression. "I-" The words wouldn't come. He motioned towards Glimmer, indicating that the tom should say goodbye. "I did what I could. She has- she has minutes, tops."

Flame watched as his little sister was born and realized the stranger looked scared. After a bunch of talking to glimmer, the stranger looked at him with a sad experssion. Once he said the words flame was dreading, the small calico burst into tears and nuzzled into his mother's fur, not wanting her to leave. Who would raise him and his new little sister if she left them.

Glimmer looked at her son with teary eyes and with her final strength she gave her son one last lick and looked at the stranger with pleading eyes,before drifting off. She wished she could have been in her little daughters life but she couldnt.

Flame stayed crying in his mother's fur, even when she stopped breathing and her heart slowed to a stop. He didn't want to leave her, she was his only family. Wait, no, now he had a little sister he had to raise. He raised his teary eyes towards the stranger who has his sister in his mouth.

Dennis held back second-hand tears as he watched the son say goodbye to his mother. It awoke a feeling of deja vu in him, though he couldn't quite recall why. He realised that he still had the little kit in his mouth, and gently set her down next to her dead mother. She may have some reserves of milk, to feed the sole kit for at least a little bit. He felt her abdomen, hoping for signs of life,but she and her remaining litter were really and truly dead. This small she-kit, blissfully ignorant as she suckled what was left from her mother, was all that remained.

He looked at the kit's older brother,ears back and tears threatening to escape his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'll- come on, we can pick some lavender. Give her a proper send-off. StarClan will take care of her now."He didn't stop to question how he knew that, instead busying himself by picking the purple flowers and gently placing them around the body. He invited Flame to do the same. If he covered up the blood with the nice-smelling plants, she almost looked like she was peacefully sleeping. Remembering the little kit, now desperately trying to get milk that was no longer there, he gently picked her up. His twoleg had milk by her door, a strange male twoleg brought it every day. It didn't smell like cat milk, but it might just keep the kit alive for long enough to wean her. "What will you call her?" He asked softly, motioning towards the kit that was settling down in his jaws.

Flame helped gather the purple flowers with tears still in his eyes. He watched as his little sister didn't even know what was going on. What will you name her? He heard from the stranger and thought for a moment. "Crystal, She is as gorgeous as one and was born in the snow time." He mewed watching as the stranger picked up his sister. "And I am Flame." he mewed- finally telling the stranger his name.

"I'm Dennis. I'm a healer, I think. It's- it's complicated." He looked away, kit still in his jaws. "I have a twoleg, just down this way. I can keep your sister there until she's old enough to live outside, with you. There's milk there--at least I think it's milk. I can help you feed Crystal, and take care of her. I promise I won't let your sister go where your mother went. Can you climb? There's a fence around our garden, you can visit that way." He was rambling, but he just wanted to let Flame know he was there for him.

Flame nodded and looked at his sister and in that moment made it his job to make sure she lived. He got to his paws, shakily, and nodded to Dennis to show him where his sister would be for a while. He would stay out by the fence while Dennis and crystal went to the other side. Everyday flame would go over the fence to see them.