The sky is falling!

Near the edge of the dark alleys, hidden within some brush alongside a brick wall, something quite exciting was happening. Well, maybe exciting wasn't the right term for it... but perhaps chaotic?


"You idiot, get up!" Snowdrop; Sunflower's loner mate and soon to be mother of his kits yelled at the lengthy tom who had just fallen unconscious after watching her give birth to the first of the litter. To say her mate was squeamish was a horrible understatement, that was for sure.


His eyes snapping open suddenly, Sunflower jumped up, his heart racing faster than the buzzing of a fly's wings as he locked his gaze on his mate. It was time, it was time! With his long legs trembling and chest pounding, Sunflower scrambled around, not quite knowing what to do. What if something happened to her, there was no way he'd be able to help the situation... what if something went wrong with the kits? Would Snowdrop know what to do? Panicked thoughts and questions raced through his mind, clearly not helping any-cat.


"Go get some moss or something!" the silver she-cat hissed in between contractions as she watched Sunflower clamber around. How in the world had she gotten stuck with such a mouse for a cat? Well, it was too late to ask such questions, and right now she needed him to pull himself together and help her out. "Now!" she snapped, her eyes filled with tears from the pain that this kitting was putting her through.


"Y-yes ma'am!" he honked quickly at her sharp words. Turning around with his long tail tucked beneath his rump, he hightailed it out of the bush in which they had made a nest in. Wet moss... wet moss... they were in the Twolegplace, was wet moss even a thing here? Frantically running around the nearby area, his eyes began to well up with tears. There was no way he'd be able to find what she wanted, and she'd certainly have his pelt for it. Just then, a strange scent caught his nose. Sitting near the base of a nearby twoleg crowfood box was what looked to be a sponge sort of item. Running over to the weird beige sponges with herbs, leaves, and flattened bits of prey in the middle, Sunflower cautiously pressed a paw against it. Lo and behold, it had a very similar texture to it. It also smelt of freshkill which he thought was odd and it even made his stomach grumble a bit, but there was no time for wondering. Grabbing it between his teeth, he raced back over to where Snowdrop was. Pushing past the low hanging branches, the tall tom dropped it at her side, his chest heaving from all the running. "Sp-sponge... thing!" he huffed between breaths.


Simply looking at the item in which her mate had retrieved, Snowdrop found herself dumbfounded. Twoleg food was the only thing he was able to find? Great, at least she wasn't going to starve during all of this... Letting out a sigh that was quickly followed by a sharp gasp of pain, she bit down onto the stick that she'd grabbed for herself earlier. Out popped another kit, and she let out a deep breath before grabbing the small wet bundle of flesh and bringing it over by her swollen belly. Hopefully there weren't too many more to come, as she was hating every moment and wondering who in their right mind would want to have kits. She clearly hadn't been thinking straight when she'd become mates with Sunflower...
Looking up at the trembling tom who now had his eyes shut, she couldn't believe she had to hold his paw through this whole ordeal. "Take that and help clean up the mess," she grumbled, tilting her head towards the direction of her rump. Any help from him would be appreciated and the least he could do was make sure the area stayed somewhat clean. "Ug, another one is coming," she hissed under her breath, preparing herself once more.


Nodding at Snowdrops orders, he grabbed the crowfood and made his way to the back of the nest. Dropping the twoleg food, he couldn't help but open his mouth in disgust. The stench of new life certainly wasn't a good one... Pushing the sponge-like item towards the mess, he began to pat it up, but then it happened again. Having been unconscious for the first kit's birth and closing his eyes for the second, the sudden sight of what he assumed was another kit sent his stomach turning. He must've not heard Snowdrop say something and trying his best to hold back the urge to vomit, the light colored tom shuffled backwards away from the scene.
His breathing panicked and mind racing, his frantic movements mixed with his awkwardly tall figure must've disturbed their little hiding bush. Without any notice, something from above fell and bonked Sunflower straight on the noggin. Stopping his current panic session as if frozen in time, Sunflower stood silent and wide eyed, unsure of what happened, though it quickly became clear what must've been taking place. "The sky is falling!" he yowled. Tearing out of the den,


It had all happened so fast and Snowdrop didn't have time to wrap her head around what was going on. One second he had begun to be useful and then next, he screamed and ran out of the den. She did not have the time or patience for this! "Get back here!" she howled furiously, her blood boiling, though before she was able to say anything else, she crumbled in pain once more. Out came another kit, then another. Not knowing how many more were to come, she readied herself for the next wave, but thankfully, the contractions ceased and letting out a deep breath, she was finally able to breath again. Finally, it was done. The kits were born, thankfully all alive, and all was good. Well, except for Sunflower, who was going to get his pelt handed to him for how he'd acted during this whole nightmare.


~~~~~


Being the firstborn of his littermates, the damp white and brown kitten took his first breaths and let out his first mewls before he began to suckle on his mother. In his current state, he was nothing more than a wet vegetable that wanted food.

Oblivious to the chaos happening around her, a large red kit mewled squeakily for food. Hunger was her only sense, her eyes glued shut and her ears folded over. She crawled without direction, trying to find the warm body of her mother that her undeveloped brain told her would harbour food. Perhaps if she were less distracted by her mate Snowdrop would've nudged her in the right direction, but as it stood the she-kit had no help and no idea where she was army-crawling to. Eventually she found something- it was warm and fuzzy! She took it in her toothless mouth, suckling enthusiastically. Unbeknownst to her, it was her brother's ear. She was none the wiser, though, and continued in hopes that eventually, with enough effort, her hunger would subside.

After running out of the den, Sunflower skidded to a halt realizing that hadn't really thought on where exactly he was headed. Was the sky really falling? What had hit him on the head so suddenly? Giving his short fur a shake, he let out a shaky breath. He had heard his mate's yowl on his way out and facing her now would be an even worse demise than if the sky had just taken him out, but he had to return to his family. There was no getting out of this one, even if he was risking his life going back in there...

Sneaking over towards the make-shift den entrance, he stopped and stood outside of it for a few moments. Lifting a large oddly shaped ear, he presumed the birthing process was over due to the lack of commotion, but boy was he scared to return to his mate's, most likely furious, side. 'StarClan save my pelt,' he prayed silently as he swallowed a big frog in this throat. Crawling back into the den with his long body as low to the ground as possible in hopes of nothing else falling on him, he tried his best not to make eye contact with Snowdrop, though her fiery gaze kept a solid grip on him. Sitting by her side, he let out a weak purr in hopes of calming her down at least a little bit and found himself surprised that he hadn't gotten a lashing from her, yet. Maybe the kits were distracting her enough… Speaking of which, he hadn't even gotten a good look the lot of them yet. Turning his amber gaze down to the the kits, they were still all scraggly looking, but for a second he couldn't help but forget about the fear that held onto him and feel a twinge of pride and happiness. After living so many long moons alone, he finally had more kin to share his life with!

Taking a moment to process it all, he realized what was missing. "N-names?" The shivering tom asked, breaking the silence. Surprisingly enough, Sunflower had already thought of some names, though he knew there was no changing Snowdrop's mind once she chose. Maybe, if he had even just a sliver more of courage he could've given his name ideas first, but he'd already made the mistake of asking and it was too late.




So, he dared to come back and show his face after what he'd just pulled. Well, it wasn't like she wanted him to just run off forever and leave them all alone, but when she truly thought about it... it wasn't like she'd be at that much of a disadvantage without his faint-hearted presence...

Not letting her gaze leave his sorry pelt, Snowdrop found herself too furious at him, as well as overall exhausted to speak, and decided she'd scold him later. Swiveling her large ears at his question, she looked down at the suckling, damp bundles of messy fuzz and claws, realized that she hadn't initially thought of names for them. Well there was no time like the present, she supposed. Lifting her gaze, she peered out of the den entrance for any sort of… "inspiration," so to speak. Nature… nature… and more nature. How lovely. After a few moments of thinking, she made her decisions. Lifting a white paw, she pointed to the first kit and made her way down the line. "Periwinkle, Pebble, Butterfly, and Forest," the silver queen mewed firmly with a nod. Coming up with names so quickly hadn't been too difficult, seeing as though she'd just looked at her surroundings for them; a nearby patch of periwinkle plants, a pebble on the den floor, a passing butterfly outside the den, and the forest that sat ever looming in the distance. Easy peasy.

Turning back to Sunflower, she rolled her eyes. "Why don't you stop your gawking and go get some clean bedding for the kits," she huffed before laying her head down onto her dainty paws and closing her eyes. All that work had been exhausting and hopefully the tom would be able to figure out his given task on his own without needing clarification. If not, she would certainly never let him hear the end of it.




Listening as she named the kits, he couldn't help but be a bit confused. Had she just chosen those names on a whim? And why didn't she put -kit on the end of them? Perhaps it was just a loner thing to not put as much thought into naming kits, but even if that was the case it was down right odd to the tom. If they were ever going to try and return to the clans, they would need different names, but he supposed he'd just have to fix them later... if Snowdrop would allow him, that was.

Nodding at her orders, he stood up carefully and made his way out of the den once more. More bedding for the kits... where was he to find suitable bedding in such an odd area? The item he'd found as a sponge seemed to work alright, so maybe looking in the same general place would help. Making his way to the edge of one of the alleyways, he spotted another twoleg crowfood bin, but this one had been tipped over. Making sure no predators or other cats were prowling about, he snuck up to the rubbish pile. Bedding, bedding... using a paw to sift through it all, he began to grow a bit discouraged, until he spotted something interesting. Laying next to the pile was what looked to be a twoleg box, but it had round divets in it. In some of the indents sat what he assumed to be eggs, though he'd never seen ones the big before. Going over to the weird object, he gave it a sniff. The twoleg eggs were most certainly crowfood by now seeing as though a couple of them were cracked, but the box they sat it was still in tact. At least for now, the kits were small enough to fit in the little spots and if they laid some grass or leaves at the bottom, it was perfect!

Using his nose to tip of the carton, the eggs that had been sitting in it rolled out onto the hard paved ground below. Picking it up, he carefully carried it back to his waiting family. Turning around, he backed into the den rump first, dragging the twoleg item with him. Dropping it, he looked at Snowdrop, hoping to Silverpelt she would approve. "B-bedding... uh nest th-thing..." Sunflower honked sheepishly. Looking around, he picked some dry leaves off the bush and placed them into the compartment, patting it down with his paw. "S-see?"




Lifting her head, she was surprised at how quickly he'd returned, but soon realized why he'd been so brisk. Watching as he dragged the strange item into the den, Snowdrop laid there, completely beside herself. What was he thinking? This couldn't possibly work as bedding! Peering into over the twoleg item, she opened her jaw to protest, but stopped herself as he gathered leaves. Just what was he thinking? Quietly observing as he made the item into more of a nest-type thing, she didn't know whether to be proud that this seemed like it might be fine or down right baffled at how he'd even found such an odd object. Looking from the item and then to Sunflower, she let out a simple "tsk" sort of noise in reply. "I suppose this will be fine," she mewed. It wasn't like the kits would be able to feed while in this nest, but at least she had someplace to put them when they'd eaten enough and when she needed a moment to herself. Pushing herself up and shifting her awkwardly large belly, she grabbed Periwinkle and placed him in one of the little compartments, ignoring his squeaks of protests along the way. Waiting a few moments to make sure this would be alright for the rest of them, soon enough he settled down and fell asleep. Well it was a success, for now at least. Grabbing the other kits one by one, she gently placed them each into their own little area. "Now, we can finally rest," Snowdrop mewed, plopping herself down next to the provisional nest of kittens. It had been a long and stressful process, but it was finally over. Why she had kits, she didn't know, but at least now she had some cats to call family, which wasn't the worst thing in the world, she supposed.




Relieved that his nest seemed to work, Sunflower let out a deep sigh, watching eagerly as Snowdrop placed the kittens into their little beds. Turning his gaze back to his mate, a meek smile grew on his muzzle. Making his way over to her side, he sat down close enough so that their pelts touched and watched as the kits began to fall asleep. She wasn't the most cuddly of cats, but in this particular moment he didn't really care. "Good j-job," he mewed softly. A real family... he hadn't been a part of one in such a long time that it was almost a foreign concept to the tom, but in this moment, the overwhelming feeling of joy distracted him from any other worries. Such relief from fear would certainly be short for the timid tom, but for now he cherished it more than anything.