Brightmaple had been dozing, one of the few things she had been able to do recently. She had been feeling off the past day or so- she had no appetite and constantly made sure her nest was comfortable and soft. She felt restless and paced around the nursery when she wasn't bedded down adjusting the nest and noticed she was having trouble catching her breath.
When she stretched out in her nest at one point, she felt the muscles in her belly began their tell-tale tightening as the kittens decided it was time to make their way into the world. It was at that point Fawnstar had poked her head into the nursery to see how Brightmaple was doing when the long-furred queen asked her daughter to go fetch the medicine cats to let them know that she had begun her labor.
Now, Brightmaple was waiting for Rowanglade and Piperpaw to show up and help her kit as she felt her body working to bring her litter into the world.
9
Brightmaple, Rowanglade, Piperpaw, Fallkit, Barleyswipe
Brightmaple's Kitting
The Nursery
Fallkit watched his adoptive mother as she told Fawnstar to fetch the medicine cats. He sat up in the nest, quirking his head curiously at the red-and-brown she-cat. This was something that was evidently a long time coming--he'd heard her and other cats talk about her future kits many times--but as he stared at her long fur, he had no idea what was actually happening. Bewildered, he padded around her, trying to figure it out.
"Brightmaple? What's going on?"
Piperpaw:
She had no idea what she was doing. Oh Starclan - it was like all her attention and memorization leaked out her ears under pressure. Piperpaw stared blankly at their storage of herbs, deciding what she should bring with her as Fawnstar called for her and Rowanglade.
Trying to jog her brain, Piperpaw recited some of the rhymes she made for herself to remember the uses of the various herbs out loud. "Uh. Basil and Chervil - For when a kit grows still..." She gently picked the aforementioned herbs out of their pile, and placed them carefully in a grapeleaf. "Leaves of Raspberry - makes reluctant queens merry..." She opted to leave the leaves of the red berry alone. Basil would do the same thing, and she couldn't remember if they actually helped in this case.
Wrapping up the herbs, she somewhat trotted, somewhat sprinted to the nursery, only pausing to make sure her mentor was following behind her before ducking inside and putting on a less-than-panicked look for Brightmaple. "Sorry, sorry. Sorry!" She knew the older queen would probably be the one comforting her by the end of this but she had done this before! Piperpaw, unlike the experienced mother, was way out of her depth.
Characters:
Coldgaze: (M) Stoic Riverclan Deputy
Gingerthrash: (M) Arrogant Thunderclan Elder
Lawn Gnome: (F) Motherly Semi-Feral Shecat
Piperpaw: (F) Meek Windclan Medicine Cat Apprentice
Redkit: (M) Confident Shadowclan Kit
Sootpaw: (M) Bubbly Shadowclan Apprentice
Sturgeonkit: (M) Sleepy Riverclan Kit
Sunstrike: (F) Anxious Thunderclan Warrior
NPCs:
Quailcall: (F) Fierce Thunderclan Warrior