"Hey- dad number two." The low amused call escapes the maw of Berylbreeze as he pads over to Butterflydawn, who he was assuming was near the nursery. They had been seeing a lot of each other, considering they both had children in the nest but now Kestrelpaw and Charcoalpaw were in the apprentice den which meant his ass was back to the warriors den instead of snuggling up with Heronswoop in the nursery. No big deal though he supposed, the warriors den was only really flooded with the obnoxious snoring of sleeping felines. No big deal. He totally got plenty of shut eye. Haha. Anyways, today he figured why not talk about dad stuff since his children were nearly always on his mind? He was either always gushing to himself about how darn cute they were or worrying himself to death about what might happen while they are out of camp or if their mentors are being too harsh on them. Truly he was beginning to fear he was his worst nightmare as a kit, a helicopter parent. Oh dear god no.
"Why is it so... hard being a dad? I don't think I've stopped worrying since the moment I heard about the buggers existence." He muses gently, "I mean- I don't think I've ever lost so much fur in my life! My white tufts of fur are literally rolling around camp like tumbleweeds! God honestly I'm about to begin to pull my own fur out. I'm so worried about the stupidest things... most of them are just 'what ifs'."
Lifting his head Butterfly offered his not-quite-son a raised metaphorical eyebrow, though the light smile on his face kept him kind. Beryl had certainly grown up a lot from the kit who barked nasty words.
He was proud of the little thing.
Though it may be cruel, he did enjoy the sight of worried new parents. There was something so very real about it- about the uncertainty. The first litter is always the one you hover too closely over.
Faintly he wondered if that's why Mantisflower was so short.
"Hello to you too, Beryl," he purred.
Ah, there it was, the new parent worry. The 'what if's that rolled through your mind without ever slowing or stopping. Funny, that.
"It's quite a big deal, dealing with the life of others," he answered, unable to stop his twitching whiskers.
"It's very, very different than anything else, from warrior, to mentor, it's something very very different." It was sweet to know that Beryl cared so much over his family.
"That worry is normal, though I'm not too sure what to say 'bout your fluff all over the place, maybe the elders will appreciate the bedding," he teased. "Those what if's may seem so unlikely, but it's that worry that tunes you in to the things they do. It's normal to worry and think too much - you just have to remember you're not alone. ...that and your kits are going to get into trouble no matter what you do."
As he awaits for the tom to begin talking the large warrior decides to take a seat down, wrapping his tail around his paws and allowing his ears to perk up a bit more as Butterflydawn begins to talk. "I don't know if I remember Orchardbreeze or you guys fretting over me so much? Unless you all were just really damn good at hiding it." He says with a small snort, really the tom had probably just been too busy trying to sneak out of camp and ignore their desperate pleas to behave. Damn now he was a paranoid father and would probably quite literally die of a heart attack if he spotted any of his children outside of camp or doing something remotely dangerous. He'd probably sentence them to a life in camp if he found them trespassing or trying to hide away from their mentors.
Huh.
"Yeah and I hope they're enjoying it, because if it keeps falling out like this I'm going to be bright pink by leaf-bare. And dear god I do not want the amount of fat I'm carrying around with be to be exposed." The tom purrs with slight amusement, "If I find them doing anything dangerous they better know they are going to get a good talking to. And their mother won't be able to save them from my tongue." He jokes once again before shaking his head. "Thats the thing though. I love the scraps so much I don't think I could ever really bring myself to scold them. Kits can get on my soft side too easily." He was sure Butterflydawn had the same problem, or something similar. But he couldn't believe how on hell Butterflydawn and Lavenderskies had about sixteen children and they for the most part were not growing gray furs yet. For all he knew the couple would have more yet to come.
He wondered if they'd have anymore? The first litter admittedly was well- a pleasant surprise but would Heronswoop want anymore? Oh no he'd really lose all of his fur if he had any more kids.