it's time! [birth topic]

ooc; takes place pre-gathering

It had gotten increasingly harder to walk around the last few days, with the kits in her belly seeming to grow at an exponential rate. Through much displeasure, the molly had been forced to move from her nest next to Minnowfin and into the nursery. Despite the fact that it certainly was much softer and provided a significantly larger amount of comfort, she deeply missed being next to her mate. The silvery tom had been such a welcomed part of her life, and Mottlerose knew that she provided a sense of stability for the tom in turn. Despite the fact that she had to evacuate from her typical sleeping space, she made due.

Even though she had come to deal with her current situation, discomfort was quickly growing. Instead of sleeping peacefully, she found herself getting up constantly. Readjusting to take pressure off of one part of her swollen belly, only to lay back down to not feel any better. It was pain that was coming in waves, and it was rather prominent the longer the night drew on. Considering that she didn’t know much better, the queen could only assume that it was due to the fact she was practically going to explode with kit.

After tossing and turning for what felt like ages, she finally got up to stretch. However, that was when a particularly bad wave of pain hit, and a pitiful meow came from the tortoiseshell. It was at that point that it finally dawned upon her. The idea that she was exploding with kits wasn’t all that wrong - as she was about to have them. Anxiously, she kneaded her paws at the ground. Her injured paw had healed mostly well, and only when she attempted to flex it did it give a slight ache. However, the ache in her paw was nothing compared to what was rippling through her midsection.

Truthfully, the she-cat had no desire to stir any of her clanmates. But the pain was becoming too much to handle. Gentle panting came as a result of the pain, and she did her best to step outside of the nursery. ”Minnowfin! …. Dovefrost!” She called out as best as she could, hoping that no other clanmates would be stirred from their slumber. Slowly, she made her way back to her nest. Each grip of the pain hurt, and her ears pinned back towards her head.

Making several circles around in her nest, it was at one point that she finally had to let instinct take over her. It would be her first litter of kits, and quite frankly, she had no idea what to do. It was thanks to Meadowbrook that she had at least a modicum of an idea, but any ounce of help that had been given to her prior to this moment seemed to be completely wiped from her memory. Whether that would be for better or for worse, only time would tell.

Low, short, and pained mrow's came from the molly. Meadowbrook surely would have been awoken to her troubles, and she could only pray to StarClan that she would be understanding. She could feel her body begin to push, and could only grip at her nest with her claws as she followed what her body seemed to tell her to do. As much as she wanted to, Mottlerose couldn't pin her ears back any further.

Hissing through the pain, she eventually felt a sense of reprieve. A quick glace found a silver and white kit, looking quite a lot like Minnowfin. She didn't waste any time to pick up her delicate child by the scruff and to work on cleaning him off, enjoying the dulled pain. It certainly still rippled through the lower half of her body, but compared to what she had just endured... it was as if there was no pain at all. Once she was satisfied with how the silver kit was cleaned, she nudged him towards her belly, only to feel the pain seizing her body once more. She only had a split second to see that it was a tom.

Once again her claws gripped at the edge of her nest, and by the time she was done, she'd definitely have only half of a nest left. Yet another tom came next, but this one had interesting markings. It was a calico - albeit a dilute one. Much like she did with the first kit, Mottlerose wasted no time bringing him closer to be able to clean him off. There was no reprieve from the pain this time though, and yet another calico arrived afterwards. This kit was a female, and part of the queen was happy that she would have at least one daughter to her litter. She did her best to clean the both of them off before nestling them too towards her belly, laying fully on her side in order to take a bit of a break.

It was hard work, and how her mother had been able to do this, she had no idea. Then again, she hadn't ever known her mother... that was a thought that she would never let occur to her kits. She would stay around.

Too short of a time did she get to take a break when it was time to birth yet another kit. "Minnowfin... I swear to StarClan..." She mentally hissed, already exhausted by simply having three of them. The pelt of this one was much different to the rest of them, as it had the markings of a deep brown tabby. Yet another tom, his head unmistakably resembled that of his father, despite the difference in coloring. It was at this point that Mottlerose gave up on picking up the kit to bring closer to her, opting instead to twist as best she could to nudge him just close enough to clean him off.

Mottlerose wanted to be done. She hoped she was done. She ached, and wished nothing more than to simply admire the kits that she had. But it seemed that her ancestors had another plan in mind, as the worst of the pain yet came through her body. Instead of simply clawing at the end of her nest she also let out a yowl of pain, no longer being able to handle it as she had. It took too long, too much pain, before it finally loosened. The tortoiseshell couldn't bring herself to grab the kit for a few heart-beats as she had to take the time to recouperate, before finally twisting around to take care of it as she had the others. It was another calico, matching the two other siblings, and yet another daughter. Taking more time to clean this one off as almost an apology for making it wait, she ensured they all were close to her belly before simply letting herself lay down. She was in pain... and had no idea where in StarClan's name her mate was at.

The first kit to be born wiggled in the nest towards the source of heat. Newfound freedom was nothing to sneeze at as his limbs struggled to migrate towards the soft belly of his mother. Cold was a good term, but he didn't have the presence of mind to understand why, only voicing his displeasure with tiny, yet loud mews. Only when his mother stopped moving and delivering his siblings did the tabby finally latch onto his mother, tiny paws kneading contently at the warmth. With each gulp, his ears wiggled showing a true latch.

As his fur dried, it showed to be very fluffy already, providing the kitten even more warmth from the cold than before.

The dark tabby began squeaking almost as soon as he was able to. He was cold and his eyes being unable to open meant that he couldn't find the warmth himself. He squeaked almost indignantly at being pushed by an unseen force, but quickly let go of the feeling as he felt the soft underbelly of who he assumed was his mother. He quickly latched on and began kneading, a soft squeak still escaping every so often. Life was good. Nothing could possibly ever go wrong if this was his life.

The thirdborn calico daughter squirmed against her mother, her eyes and ears shut as she instinctively reached for the warmth that radiated from Mottlerose. She couldn't do much, limbs floppy and uncoordinated, so she just did what came to mind, and suckled.

Restless nights spent worrying about his mate had taken a toll on the tom. After the tortoiseshell had moved into the nursery, sleep had not come easily, if at all. He had little energy to do anything other than get through the day and check on Mottlerose. But at last, he gave into slumber and slept deeply, sinking into the cold nest.

Sleep brought him a lucid dream and he found himself sitting outside the familiar setting of the nursery. What am I doing here? Questioning thoughts were interrupted by a yowl, calling his name. "Mottlerose!" he gasped. Quickly, he poked his head into the den, greeted by the sight of his mate in pain. It's happening- "I- I'll be right back with Dovefrost. Just... take deep breaths. I'll be back before you know it-" he told her before dashing for the medicine den. His heart wanted to leap out of his chest, frantic breathing spewing calls for the medicine cat. Where was he? An agonizing screech pierced through air, and it pained him to know where it came from. Blood pounded in his ears as he ran into the den, tears brimming in his eyes. "No... no-no-no-no..." Breathing came in gulps, and he pushed his muzzle into her cold fur. He was too late.

Another yowl was heard, but this time it was real. Jolted out of his nightmare, his fur bristled and fear filled his heart. "Mottlerose I'm coming-" he called, speeding towards the nursery. This time, five perfect kits and a tired queen awaited. Losing the ability to speak, he simply laid beside her, breathing her scent and admiring the kits. Happiness warmed his pelt, and relief was soaking in, assuring him that his fear had only been a dream.

The older calico--by mere minutes at most, but older nonetheless-- squirmed, still sticky and rather disgruntled at how much colder everything suddenly was. His front was warm, where he squeaked and sought out sustenance from his mother, but he found himself much more content at the addition of another large fuzzy source of warmth alongside him and his siblings.

ooc2; I'm thinking no posting order here, since the main thing is just to say hi babies are born and oh hey this is your names <3

Mottlerose was quite exhausted, but the wails and squawks of her kits were also music to her hears. Their small kneads as they proved their lively spirits brought a purr to continually rumble from her chest,
and she also couldn't help but enjoy the massage they were giving. Their tiny claws were certainly sharp, but her pelt thankfully numbed any true pain they would cause her. Seeing the silhouette of the silver tom in the entry to the nursery, her amber eyes flit to him with a relieved glance.

She couldn't be upset with him. He was still the deputy, after all. The fact she had even managed to wake him was considered a victory within her mind. A light grunt came from the new mother as he laid next to her, her muscles momentarily tensing in an effort to not move too much for the bundles of joy at her stomach. Her head rested close to his, using his closest leg almost as a headrest. He was rather comfortable to sleep next to, and for a moment it felt much like she was back in the warriors den with him. Mottlerose herself didn't have much, if anything, to say. "What should we name them?" She prompted the tom, her voice tired and once more quiet. For the pain she had just been in, she now sounded as if she had been woken from a deep slumber. Even then, as instincts took over for her to be a doting mother, she herded any stray kit closer to the warmth of her body.

The unnamed kit lay next to her siblings. Her short fur had blotches of orange, black and white. The world had been cold at first, but with her parents and siblings next to her things got much warmer. She let out a little mew and started to suckle instinctively. Though the kit didn’t understand much yet, she knew she was safe with her new family.

The yet to be named Calico butted her head against her sole sister's, sensing competition. Her little paws blindly fumbled around for purchase to push the other away, this was her warm milk source.

The she-kit let out a small, angry mew at her calico sister. Though her eyes were shut, she could still feel the little paws that pushed against her short fur.  In response, she thrust her own paws out. Not directly at her sibling, but close enough.