Life Doesn’t Wait (Swiftspirit)

Goldenfang sat down heavily with a huff. She’d been out hunting in the early hours of the day so she could enjoy a nap in the warmest time, but her hunting had gone poorly. She was exhausted despite not running as fast as usual, and she felt her elbows and ankles aching from carrying around more weight than usual. The she-cat thought little of it. Weight gain was to be expected when a cat was trying to fatten up before leafbare, although she hadn’t expected to grow so quickly. With the sun high over her head and the wind mostly blocked by the gorse walls, the deputy rested her head on her front paws. She sighed. Nausea was creeping up in her stomach again. Should I see Berrypaw? Would he even know what to do? Hentooth hadn’t been training him for very long, and I don’t know how much Dovefrost has taught him. I guess I can live through a bellyache.

Her kits had only recently been made apprentices, and Swiftspirit was back to warrior duties. Her injuries were still healing, and for the moment that meant she was hanging around camp with far too little to do. With a yawn, the she-cat stretched, pale gaze sweeping across camp and landing on the lone form of the deputy not far off. Swiftspirit stood, then padded over with a friendly wave of her tail.

"Hey, Goldenfang," Swiftspirit greeted her friend warmly, though she didn't fail to notice the state the deputy was in. She looked unwell, in truth, and Swiftspirit couldn't help but worry. Windclan couldn't afford to have one of their best warriors sick as leafbare approached. "Are you feeling okay?" Maybe she should get Berrypaw... But Swiftspirit had no idea how much training he'd actually had. Hentooth would've been better, but Hentooth wasn't here.

Her ears flicked in Swiftspirit’s direction. She sighed with her head still rested on her paws, though in truth she was glad to have the pale she-cat’s company. “Yes. No, I suppose not. I think I might vomit. And my paws hurt, and I can’t run very fast lately, and I just feel tired. And ravenous. I really, really wanted quail eggs this morning, but it’s not even the right season for quail to lay eggs. It’s been like this for about half a moon, and I swear on the stars, it gets worse every day.”

Goldenfang raised her head and nodded to the patch of grass next to her in an invitation for Swiftspirit to join her. WindClan had been dealing with a few border problems and the drop in temperature had made everything just a little less bearable. She was grateful for a moment of rest to spend time with her friend, even if she was using it to complain. “Do you think I need to see Berrypaw? Or… another medicine cat, somehow? I don’t think I’ve heard of a sickness like this.”

Swiftspirit sat while Goldenfang spoke, listening quietly. It... Very quickly became apparent from her friend's words that Goldenfang... Might not be sick, at least not in the sense of having some sort of illness. Goldenfang had been eating more, and she did look a bit heavier... Quail eggs? They were good, but she was right that they weren't exactly in-season. Swiftspirit had felt the same way when she'd been expecting Timbersun's kits.

"Goldenfang..." Swiftspirit began, eyeing her friend. How to approach this without getting her ears clawed off? "I... don't think you're sick. You should see Berrypaw-" Hentooth, she almost said, but Hentooth was gone. "-though I'm not sure how far along with training he is."

"The nausea and cravings will go away... Eventually. And you've been spending time with someone, haven't you?" Swiftspirit had always made sure to pay attention to her clanmates, and she thought she knew who was the cause of Goldenfang's 'illness,' though it wasn't her place to pry. Goldenfang would catch her hint... She hoped.

Swiftspirit was looking at her oddly. She tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowing as she worked to connect the dots that her friend laid out for her. When the connection was finally made, Goldenfang let out a loud laugh and left her mouth open for a few heartbeats before she had any idea what to say. “I-I… Finchstar’s furballs, I can’t believe—I should have figured that out!” The deputy’s genuine laugh was colored with a mixture of disbelief and bashful embarrassment.

It was true that she’d been quite close with a certain tom lately. “I just didn’t plan on it, really. I never thought of myself as a mother. A mentor, once, but that was as close as I ever got. I suppose you’re the expert here. Do I—I mean, in your experience, should… do I tell Silverlight sometime soon? Er, the father. He’s the father. Stars, I need to tell Daystar. Can I still do my duties? I don’t want to be stuck in a nest.” Goldenfang was genuinely concerned about being an effective deputy, but for the moment her mouth was curled in a delighted, if a bit uncertain, smile. She kneaded the ground with her toes and looked vaguely into the distance.

“Honestly, I’m just glad nothing’s wrong with me. I thought I was going crazy.” This was easily the most relieved and relaxed the deputy had felt since the winds started becoming cold. And with Swiftspirit at her side, she was feeling more ready to face this new season.