Dreamcatcher walked slowly into the Nursery. She was expecting Tigertree's kits, and she finally decided to withdrawl from her warrior duties. She found a little area in one of the corners to make her nest in. The silver tabby she-cat sit down and yawned. "Jeez, no one ever told me that going to have kits would be so exausting."
OOC: The queens AND kits can post here.
And fyi to cheer4cici: You're more then welcome to post here as well.
Tigertree padded in with sheer excitment boiling over his light tabby fur. "Dreamcathcer!" He mewed to his mate, "How are you settling in?" He asked with love in his bright yellow eyes. He still was shocked by the random(^-^) news his mate had shared with him only a day ago. If only he had some self control!
He laid dow next to the barley pregnet she-cat, groming her soft silver fur. He could only imagine what kits would look like... I wonder if there'll be a Tigertree Jr.?!
Dreamcatcher sighed. "I'm settling in just fine. And you need to quit worrying about me, I'll be fine. And with Wishingwell as our medicine cat, I'll be even better than fine!" The silver she-cat just looked at her mate, she was many moons younger then Tigertree, yet she felt as if she had known him when she was a small kit.
Dreamcatcher started thinking about when she was a kit, romping around with her clanmates. That all seemed so long ago. " Wow, now I'm the queen, instead of the little hyper kit!" She thought to herself. "I hope my kits'll be the best they can be. "
Benniejet was just returning from a hunt. She stepped in to check up on her adopted kits, as her real ones were older now and generally came and went around camp as they wished. They weren't the ones still nursing from her. "Hi! You're new in here, welcome to the nursery," she said to Dreamcatcher.
"Thank you Benniejet." Replied Dreamcatcher. "Let me ask you something, as I know you've had kits before. Is it really all that hard - being a mom - or does it come naturally?" The silver tabby was worried that she wouldn't make a good mother. "I hope StarClan helps me along this path I've taken. I don't know WHAT to do!"
"It's both," said Benniejet. "First litter? I was a nervous wreck. I settled down after a moon o so...then I adopted another litter when their mother died, and that one was much easier because I already knew how stuff went. You'll have us helping you out though so don't worry."
"Yes, " Dreamcatcher told Benniejet. "It is my first. I think Tigertree is more worried than I am!" She laughed. "I just hope I was just as god of a mother as my mom was. She never let us out of her sight though. I hated that about her. But all in all she was a great mother. I wish she could see me now."
Benniejet laughed. "The toms are always more of a wreck! They're ten times worse than us, you'd think some of THEM were the ones giving birth."
Tigertree watched the exchange between the two she-cats. "Hey!" He said, "Let's see you try to be a father for a day! See how you feel watching the love of your life swell up like a balloon and then..." He trailed off, remebering long ago when he was a kit in the nursery....
He used to watch the queens lay in agony for hours apon hours during labor. It looked more than painful. The image of his beautiful mate scrambled on the floor with unsteady breathing filled his mind. He shook it out like it was water on his fur, horrified.
Benniejet laughed. "The toms are always more of a wreck! They're ten times worse than us, you'd think some of THEM were the ones giving birth."
"Yeah, I know. That's the funny thing!" Laughed Dreamcatcher. She then flicked Tigertree's ear with her tail. "You silly furball!" She said to him.
Tigertree affectionatly gazed into her mystifying blue eyes and bent over to lick her beautiful silver fur. "Don't worry baby, our kits will be wonderfuly joyful and healthy in your care,"He purred. "There's no dout in my mind that you'll make a great mother." He tried not to think about the pain Dreamcatcher would experiance through birth. He didn't want her to endure that, but she was going to have kits, no matter what he did or said.
"Now, who said I was going to worry?" Dreamcatcher laughed. She smiled when she thought of the fact that she would be a mom. "Now, can you do me a favor and get me a piece of fresh-kill? Please?" She prodded Tigertree with her front paw.
Benniejet laughed. "Swell up like a balloon? I'll have you know I wasn't even SHOWING till over two thirds there! Swell like a balloon. You see, this is what I mean. Toms--they make the biggest deal over it. I think it's a lack of control issue really. We queens are in more control while the poor males can only look on and pray to Starclan that all goes well. I guess I can understand that, though--having a lack of control over a situation." She had watched Gingerthorn die, after all.
"Toms are like that, but my own father wasn't even there for his litter. I don't think he ever cared." Dreamcatcher sighed. "Yeah, we have everything in control, yet the toms think that they need to pray to StarClan EVERY time a queen has kits. But I can see why they would be worried. There is the slim chance - StarClan forbid - that the queen or kits don't make it. That's the sad thing about life. You never know when it'll end."
"StarClan forbid something like that ever happens to me. Tigertree'll be heartbroken" Dreamcatcher thought to herself. More flashbacks came to her about when she was a little kit. She shock her head, trying to rid herself of these thoughts.
'I know,' said Benniejet. 'We're all thinking of Gingerthorn. And I saw a few screaming, bloody births when I was little. Made me terrified to have my own! But then I did, and I found out it's just not all that painful.'
Tigertree scrambled out of the den once they started talking about bloody births!!! "Be right back," He muttered to the two she-cats, then padded over to the Newleaf full freshkill pile.
They'll definetly be more trips like this! He though to himself. Hunger; one of the worst things about pregnacy--for toms anyway. Midnight cravings, special orders... when this is over, I'm going to be the fitest cat in Thunderclan! But he would do anything for Deamcatcher, especially now that she was feeding more than just one.
He sifted through the fresh prey looking for Dreamcatcher's favorite: a vole. At the very bottom Tigertree spotted a plump one, and by the smell of it, he infured that it was caught only a few hours ago. Thank Starclan! He prayed, thankful that he would make Dreamcatcher happy. It wouldn't be long now that she would start having random mood swings...
"So yeah," said Benniejet to Dreamcatcher after Tigertree had exited the den and the conversation. "I saw like three bloody screamy births. One where a kit was dead. And then I thought, when I got pregnant, I was a goner for sure. Then I just..had them. Four kits. All healthy, and it wasn't even really that painful. The only real blood seemed to come from the things attached to them. Oh, you eat those. They're actually pretty good--those livery-looking things. I think they have a name, I don't remember what it is, but your kits will come out with them attached by this kind of stringy thing. It seems to be what all kits are born with. And yeah, so I had my four kits, I didn't scream or anything and it was over pretty quick. I was glad to get a nap when everything was done, though. So...can you feel them moving yet?"
"I can feel the kits moving. And it scares me. Well, at first it did. I still need to get used to this." Dreamcatcher said with a glint of happiness in her eyes. "I hope Tigertree bring me a vole. I'm hungry!" She paused, and suddenly said, "Wait, you eat those things that are attatched to the kits when they are first born? I never knew that. Eww!" The she-cat shuddered when she said this. It was a shocking fact that you actually EAT them.
'If you feel them moving then you're more than halfway,' said Benniejet. 'But the scariest part isn't the birth. It's before the birth. Then you have them pretty quickly. And then....then you get to raise them. That's the scary part.' She giggled.
"My mother always said we were a pawfull and then some. I just hope that mine aren't that bad." Dreamcatcher paused for a moment. "Tigertree should be even more scared, if I'm over halfway... StarClan, send him some peace of mind already!"