New Life [Open to Family + MCs]

Wolfblaze had moved to the nursery recently, as it had become more and more evident that she was pregnant. She was certainly larger than she had been, though her fluffy fur had hidden that fact for a little while. She had been more than excited to start a family with Kestrelswoop, especially due to the fact that she herself had none left herself. That was okay though, she'd start anew. Kits with the tom she loved were more than enough.

Soon enough, the time had come. It was painful, and she called for Dovefrost to help her, he'd be able to, he was the medicine cat. After a little while of pushing, prodding, and pain, three kits had come. Wolfblaze immediately took to licking them, then nestling them into her fur near her belly. They would be safe and warm as long as she was around them. Motherhood would be... fun in a completely different way. Fun to raise children, to have them grow to be wonderful warriors, wonderful cats. They all looked, even in their small, damp states, completely fluffy in a way that she herself was. It was so cute, she could see herself, and her wonderful mate, in both of them.

"Kestrelswoop... come see our three children!" Her voice, despite it being quiet and slightly raspy, was still filled with her usual excitement. Nothing could stop her joy. They were three beans of sweetness, she couldn't wait to see what they became.

The oldest kit wiggled indignantly, prodding and shoving at her siblings to make room for herself. She was much larger than the other two, large paws kneading at her mother’s side and oversized, bushy tail whipping back and forth in indignantion. She was a mottled tabby, splotches of dark ginger and brown weaving through her lighter tabby markings. She was gorgeous… and a bully. Using her larger size, the kit rolled over onto her sister, crushing her a little so that she would make way for her. She was still nameless, yet she had already shown herself to be the leader of the litter.

The second kit was smaller than the first, but would grow to be almost her size in due time. Her fur pattern was nearly the exact same as her father’s, and soon it would be evident she would take after her mother with the length of her fur. The nameless kit had just been taken out of the warm comfort of what she knew to be her home, thrust into a bright world of light and cold. As if that wasn’t enough to provide discomfort, an unknown weight squashed onto her, and the she-kit let out a squeak as she tumbled to the side, then a whimper as she was pushed away from her mother’s belly. Little did she know this was her sister. The nameless kit was fine without being the “leader” of her siblings if she had the warm milk of her mother, so she tried to drag herself along the ground back towards the comforting warmth, failing quite miserably.

When the realization that Wolfblaze was pregnant with his kits settled in his head, he was bursting with pride and love, ecstatic to his core and ready to step up as the responsible and doting mate he should be. He checked on her often in the nursery and always made sure she ate enough before he would even take a nibble of any food. He restrained himself enough so he wasn't overbearing and annoying but could keep regular vigilance over his pregnant mate, he needed to know if she was okay everyday so that he could even get a wink of sleep.

Kestrelswoop had been pacing anxiously near the nursery for a while now, jaws clamped down hard upon a a plump thrush that was going to be given to his exhausted mate once it was all over. Wolfblaze was being assisted by the medicine cat as their kits were finally coming out into the world and he felt nervousness slowly creep up within him. He prayed to the stars that everything would go smoothly and with no problems whatsoever.  

The tom perked up when he heard the bustle within the nursery stop and his mate's voice beckoning him over to go see their kits. He wasted no time and scrambled over to where Wolfblaze lay with the kits pressed snuggly against her belly. His chest rumbled with love and pride as he laid eyes on such a beautiful scene. Even with how hoarse and tired his mate sounded and looked, she still managed to hold on to her normal excitement. The warrior placed down the bird by Wolfblaze's head and then proceeded to nuzzle her head with his. "Wolf, they're absolutely beautiful, like you. I wonder if they'll have you're energy or boldness." he purred with a slight teasing tone as he bent down and gave them all a gentle lick. "Here," he murmured as he pushed the prey he had brought closer to the she-cat, "Eat up hun. You must be very tired and hungry."

His green gaze trailed back to the wriggling kits, a softness in them that had never been there before. After a few more moments of comfortable silence, Kestrel looked back at Wolf and asked, "Have you thought of their names? Or were you waiting for me so we could think up some together?"

Wolfblaze smiled softly when she saw her mate (mate, she loved that she could call him that) approach. Bearing food no less! "Oh thank you, I guess having kits would make me want to eat or something." She had been mostly unprepared to be a mother, not in a bad way, but she had never though she'd make a good one. She was always too ready to do something impulsive. She hoped she hadn't passed that on, that could be a pain to handle... She set the thrush aside for a moment, looking back to her mate. "Maybe, with luck, they inherited some of your quieter nature. Too much of my boldness might be bad for them."

With a familiar smile, Wolfblaze nudged the largest of the litter away from the second born, keeping her from crushing the other. This one... this one would be a pawful... "Maybe Burdockkit for this one? I don't know much about herbs, but Burdock is pretty spiky-looking. This one just feels like she'll be a pawful of spikes, in a good way of course. Then this one..." Her nose nudged the last born, a much less fluffy-looking kit. More along the lines of Kestrelswoop's fur length. "They look like a Thymekit to me... I'm not sure why... they just feel like one. You wanna name the second-born? I haven't been able to figure out what to name her." She lifted her tail slightly to reveal them to Kestrelswoop. Maybe he would have an idea? Or maybe he would recommend different names for the others.

As if sensing the approach of their father the third kit lifted their head away from their mother’s belly and let out a tiny mew. The kit’s pelt resembled their mother’s in length and striped tabby pattern fading to white but their fur was a more diluted grey shade than Wolfblaze’s and white spread over more of their chest and underbelly. The hue of their fur had warmer, creamy undertones as well, reminiscent of a mockingbird’s plumage or the dried, dusty leaves of seasons past caught up in the warm greenleaf breeze.

But for now Thymekit knew nothing of such things, their limited senses and so far tiny existence telling them only the scent of milk, the movement of their littermates, and now the gentle sensation of their mother’s nudge. They murmured a miniature meow as if in approval to their newly decided name, though of course that was impossible for a still deaf and speechless newborn.

The familiar scent of milk and warmth, mixed with a little bit of copper - already fading - met Minkstar's nose as he brushed softly through the entrance of the nursery. A smile inadvertently tugged at his maw as he saw the new little family in one of the nests, his paws padding delicately to join them and gazing down at the little wriggling lives by Wolfblaze. It brought a pang of nostalgia as he touched his tail-tip to Kestrelswoop's shoulder, and he was inwardly grateful that the memories of his own kits were still in the clarity he'd held before his head injury. "You two did well," He murmured, eyes soft, and then hid the teasing tinge to his smile as he added, "Just remember I called it back when Wolf was only just named a warrior. She came in like a fire and blazed you off your paws, didn't she?"