take it easy [open]

Leopardsun was sprawled out on the stone that ShadowClan and WindClan had both made into temporary camps, feeling the recently arrived chill of leaf-bare on the wind that ruffled her fur despite lying under cloudless sunlight. She groomed her fur back into place lazily, having decided that with her kits due at some point soon, there was nothing to be done about needing to take a break from some of her more strenuous endeavors. Nothing important would be neglected, but the kits fell under that umbrella as well; and the longer she thought on it, the more she worried about them.

She had been a very young warrior when she lost what remained of her adoptive family; and she couldn't recall the names and faces of the parents that she had been born to anymore. There was Harrierpaw, her still-missing adopted daughter (though she hadn't said that in so many words, the first thing she would rectify when she brought her home). And then there was everything that Nightstar had left on her mind, albeit presumably unintentionally, with his comment on Harechaser and Basilbloom's deaths.

If she could wish one thing for them, it was that they would be safe and healthy and loved for all their lives; and those lives would be long and happy.

Which, unfortunately, meant not straining herself in the meantime. Staying still for this long, though, was starting to drive her just slightly insane.

Russetrye was… yeah. Not really sure what she was doing, or supposed to be doing, or wanting to be doing- but most importantly, she wasn’t sure what Sleepyhollow was doing. Watching from behind a rock, the red-pelted warrior watched her friend pick out a hare and head towards ShadowClan’s side of the makeshift camp. What was she up to? This could be important- Russetrye decided to investigate, trailing behind Sleeps and being about as stealthy as a medicine cat on catnip. What- oh! Leopard… uh… erm… yeah. This was Not Good. What the stars was her name… uh… Mhm…

The newly named warrior gave up after about three seconds of thought and trotted over, waving her tail in greeting. Was Leopardcat pregnant? Yeah, it seemed so- mini Leopardcats! How cute! Then she could ask them what their mom’s name was. Heh. “Sleeps, you are about as clueless as- as- well, anything. Ask your mom to explain kitting, heh. Who’s the lucky father? What’re ya gonna name em? I have some suggestions, if ya want!” She grinned widely, nudging her friend’s shoulder. “Oh, by the way, I am now Russetrye the wonderful! And this is Sleepyhollow the clueless- heh.”

Leopardsun had opened her mouth to respond to the WindClan cat's query (and thank her for the hare, unfamiliar prey to her) when a familiar face arrived. Russetpaw- no, Russetrye, as she reintroduced herself, talked as much and as quickly as ever. "Sleeps? That's- an odd name," she mused. Russetrye introduced her friend as quickly as she'd introduced herself. "Congratulations, Russetrye. And you too I presume, Sleepyhollow?"

Her long, feathery tail curled lazily around her side. "Thank you," she said, nodding to the hare. "We can share, if you'd like?" She wasn't entirely sure how well that would work, unfamiliar as she was with WindClan's prey, but- well, if anyone knew how to eat it, it would be the WindClan cats.

At last, the deputy considered Sleepyhollow's question. "...Soon, most likely," she offered, the best answer she had. "I've been more or less ordered to rest by now, so hopefully not too much longer. Truth be told, I don't think I can take much more sitting still and waiting."

Then came the matter of addressing Russetrye's rapid-fire curiosity. "My mate, Echomist," she spoke his name with obvious fondness. "As for names... I'm not sure. It's hard to think of what they'll be like when I can't even see them." That said, she was curious to hear the odd WindClan cat's suggestions. "What are these suggestions of yours?"

“I know!” Russetrye sympathized, plopping down next to the ShadowClanner. “One time I- Sleeps knows this! A big, mean ol’ weasel attacked me, but being awesome I killed it! It bit me a little, and I had to just sit around all day! I thought I’d go crazy-like!” Honestly, she’d slept through most of that day thanks to Batsong’s calming voice and comforting scent, but the short time she’d been awake had been pretty frustrating. The red-pelted warrior rolled her eyes at Sleepyhollow, grinning. “You got someone in mind, Sleeps? It can’t be Fuzzbutt, he’s too lazy to wait on anyone… hmm… honestly, if you’re gonna require that ain’t no one gonna listen to ya. I’ll probably be roped into fetching you prey at that point, to be honest.”

She shook out her pelt to punctuate her statement, gently smacking Sleepyhollow’s paw. Who cared about lookin’ nice? That was hardly the hard part of having kits. Sometimes, she wondered about Sleeps. A lot. Russetrye’s head whipped around as Leopardcat asked her opinion! How sweet! Cool! “So, at first I was like Minileopardkit! But then- no need to smack me, Sleeps, Shadepaw already did that- apparently that’s not a good name. Then I was like- Muckkit! But then Fuzzbutt gave me a look, so I guess not. An’ Mudkit sounds like Mudshriek, and he’s a stuck-up steaming pile of horse-dung if there ever was one! So at first I was thinking Gustkit and Galekit and Breezekit, but those are too WindClanny.” She paused for a second to let her words sink in, licking down a patch of fur on her chest.

“So maybe Shadekit, like my friend Shadepaw? Or Lionkit or Cheetahkit or Pantherkit or Tigerkit, like your name! I think names like Tempestkit are cool, or Badgerkit. Or- well, we have a big ol’ flower field in our territory, an’ I know tons of cool flower names! Flowers like Poppy, or Aster, or Tansy were still flowerin’ when I was there. An’ Chamomile and Comfrey and Daisy an’… other cool names…” she trailed off. Russetrye would never admit that she’d spent nights layin’ awake and pondering what names she’d suggest for her younger siblings. Not- not- well, she could hope.