(ii'll ju2t pretend Honeytongue wa2 on the huntiign patrol the whole tiime)
Honeytongue sniffs the air, catching the scent of squirrel. He follows the scent, crawling low to the ground, belly fur touching the grassy earth. He spots the creature among the roots of a tree, nibbling at an acorn. Honeytongue drops into a hunting crouch, then leaps, landing directly on his prey. He snaps its neck for good measure and carries the limp body to a birch tree, burying it there.
"Overhead attack?" Wolfpaw asked curiously. Wolfpaw glanced over at Newtpaw, wondering if he knew what some overhead attacks.
"When attacking, or getting attacked from a high point," he explained crouching down.
Emberleaf looked up at Pantherstep, "How long has the clan been around?" she sudenly asked.
Lionleaf continued mewing quiet encouragement. "Bite down when the next pain comes, and push." He instructed. "The first one's coming." He glanced over his shoulder. "Vinepaw, when this kit is born I want you to lick its fur the wrong way, get it's blood flowing." Then he turned his clear blue gaze back to Pearcloud.
Pantherstep glanced over her shoulder at Emberleaf, thinking. "Let me think... Stormstar is the third or fourth leader, I think, so a few generations, I think. Why?" The black she-cat left another marker. By this time they were almost done. She thought she might hunt on the way back.
Stormstar waited for Waspfang and Honeytongue to rejoin him. "Good hunting?" He purred, flicking his tail happily. He opened his mouth to scent the air again, searching for more prey. The leader wanted to bring back as big a load as possible.
Vinepaw nodded and stood ready.
Emberleaf shrugged, "I don't know.." she trailed off.
Newtpaw kneaded the ground thoughtfully and looked up at his mentor. "Are we gonna start by learning to defend against them or practice it first?"
Pearcloud grunted and pushed, the first kit-- a little tortoiseshell she-kit-- out, a soft whine escaping through her teeth. She met Lionleaf's eyes, trying to just focus on the tom
Waspfang purred softly at the leader, whiskers twitching slightly. She trotted after him into the undergrowth, scenting as she went.
"Well do defense first," Ashleap confirmed swishing his tail.
Vinepaw immediatly started licking the little kits fur the wrong way. Once she was completely warm Vinepaw nudged the she-kit towards the curve of Pearlclouds stomache.
(can I play a kit?(
Wolfpaw nodded, waiting for Ashleap to teach them how to defend. Wolfpaw was giddy with excitment and could hardly hold still.
OOC: Yep, you can play one! Does anyone else want one so I know how many kits she should have? Also, wait until they're all born to pick one, and I'll post pics on the signup (I just want to do the pelt colors so they're realistic for the breeding)
IC: Newtpaw exchanged an excited glance with Wolfpaw. Maybe now I can get better at battle training-- make Waspfang proud!
Lionleaf nodded. "Good job, Pearcloud. It's a little she-kit." He dipped his head in approval to Vinepaw as well. Carefully, he placed his paws on her belly again. "Still more to come." He meowed. "You're doing great." So far there'd been no bleeding or complications.
Pantherstep shrugged, then decided to broach the subject. "You seem a little off today. Something's distracting you." Her tone made it clear it was a statement, not a question. The black she-cat was exceptionally perceptive, but even a cat with bees in their brain could see that Emberleaf wasn't all there. She'd seemed okay before they left camp... Pantherstep went over the event between when she'd gotten up and when they'd left camp, but she hadn't been paying that much attention to the other she-cat.
Pearcloud bit down on the stick again, pushing out a small cream and white colored tom. Instinctively, she pulled the she-kit against her with her back paws, giving its head a lick before flopping back down with a soft whine.
Emberleaf shrugged, "Just..." she started trying to think up an excuse, "Thinking."
Vinepaw smiled inwardly at his mentors praise and waited patiently for the next kit.
Lionleaf took the tom kit and passed him to Vinepaw for licking. "Three more to go." He meowed, feeling her belly again. The tom broke another one of the fennel stems and trickled the juice into the she-cat's mouth. He glanced briefly around the camp; at least they weren't gathering a crowd.
Pantherstep stopped and studied Emberleaf for a moment, then turned back around and kept going, shrugging to herself. If the other she-cat wasn't spilling, that was fine. She could probably find out by herself, just by watching her behavior when they got back to camp.
Stormstar spotted a large squirrel hopping about under a tree. If only one of them tried to get it, it would probably run up the tree and never be heard from again, but if they worked together... He signalled to Waspfang and Honeytongue, dropping back so he could whisper without disturbing the prey. "I'm going to circle around and climb that tree from the back. You two position yourselves so one of you can catch it when I scare it towards you."
Poppynose watched the kitting anxiously from the nursery. It would probably be a quarter moon or so before her own were due, but watching the other queen's pain made her uneasy just the same. Not that she regretted having kits-- that would never be a problem with her. She loved her kits too much already, and she hadn't even seen them yet.
Waspfang nodded, the tortoiseshell she-cat dropping into a crouch and slinking around to the left. Her tail tip twitched slightly before stilling, her eyes trained on the leader who was currently making his way up the large tree.
Pearcloud nodded, swallowing the juice obediently with another grunt of pain, Her breathing was already ragged and she squeezed her eyes shut, pushing to try and get the third kit out.
Vinepaw started to lick the kit's fur the wrong way, pushing him gently towards the curve of his mothers belly. He sood up and waited, he was happy he was doing so good helping Pearlcloud kit.
Lionleaf continued murmuring quiet encouragement to Pearcloud. Although he was a little concerned about the size of her litter, he didn't let it show. Even his eyes were calm and relaxed, and his fur lay flat. The queen was strong, there had been no bleeding, she was doing fine. Vinepaw, too, was doing well. Some cats, he knew, might have been more freaked out, but his apprentice was patient and helpful.
Stormstar clawed his way up the tree, keeping his eyes on the squirrel, and being careful not to let it know he was there. The tom glanced down to see if Waspfang and Honeytongue were in position, ready to strike. He tilted his head questioningly.
Pantherstep halted as she finished the border patrol. "I'm going to hunt for a bit before heading back to camp." She meowed to Emberleaf. "You can go on ahead if you want." She dug her claws into the ground, again eager to be off. The black she-cat didn't like wasting time between tasks, preferring to do as much as possible with her time.
Waspfang dipped her head to the leader, the tortoiseshell's eyes trained on the tall tree. Her tail waved back and forth, slow and cautious, as she waited. She cast a sideways glance at Honeytongue, waiting to see if the tom was also ready to give chase.
Pearcloud pushed out the third kit, a ginger tom, and the fourth kit, a blue and cream tortie girl, with relative ease. The queen was shuddering from pain now, pads damp with sweat as she bit back a yowl of pain.
Vinepaw licked each kit till it was warm. He gently nudged the small budles of fur towards the curve of their mothers belly. He stood up and smiled warmly at the kits.
Emberleaf smiled at Pantherstep's words and turned towards the stream.
(can I play the last she-kit?)
OOC: Do you mean the blue-cream tortie kit? If so, sure!
Lionleaf frowned. "Vinepaw, get some raspberry leaves. Quickly." He ordered, leaning down towards Pearcloud. He sensed something was wrong. There was still one more kit, but he suspected... But he couldn't let the queen see that worry in his eyes. "One more to go." He meowed quietly. "You're almost done." He glanced over his shoulder, knowing that Vinepaw would be fast, but couldn't help but urge for him to get here with the leaves sooner.