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Post by .//.stabmyback|Away on Dec 31, 2007 23:00:46 GMT -5
Darkness loomed through the sky. Stars shimmered through it, lighting the way, and the moon was starting to wane from the fullness it held two days ago. A small shape crept slowly, its sides heaving. Amber orbs wide with pain, the small cat edged closer to the Pine Ark. "Silverwhisp?" She called, her voice ragged, "Are you behind me?" Her stomach ached as the kits prepared their own birth. The pain caused the she-cat to lay down, her claws unsheathing and clinging to the grass. Ebonyear had started labor at camp, but had managed to hold off the birth this far. Silverwhisp was hopefully close as she was supposed to be. The white deputy's eyes glazed slightly as a large convulsion of pain racked her body, and she knew the kits were coming.
{The kits won't come till you post. I can't post mature births anyway, so it'll be something stupid in place of it. So.. uh.. post.}
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Post by Unwanted Step-Child on Dec 31, 2007 23:06:45 GMT -5
Silverwhisp looked up at the sky, her mouth open wide to take in deep breaths. She wasn't as far along as Ebonyear, but she wasn't far off. The first pain of coming labor were rippling through her. Her silver tabby fur was clouded with dirt, especially past her large belly where it had been hardest to clean. Bright eyes shone as she murmured confirmation that she was close. The queen heaved a sigh, her large stomach making movement tiring. "We should stop here," she panted. "You can't go much farther Ebonyear."
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Post by .//.stabmyback|Away on Dec 31, 2007 23:16:30 GMT -5
"Yes, yes..." Ebonyear had barely heard the silver queen, but she knew what she had said anyway. Another convulsion rippled through her body and she dug her claws deeper into the earth.
"I swear to StarClan, next time I see Swiftclaw I'm going to smack him for burdening this with me." She hissed, her stomach pains causing her panting to become heavy and distraught.
"Silverwhisp...," She whispered, her eyes wide as she fought to not scream, "They're coming. Now."
[MATURE STUFF HERE LOLOLOL]
The white queen lay, licking a kit. She had given birth to two; a male and a female. The female was gray and white, orange patches across her back, including one on her ear. The tom, however, was a silver tabby tom, like Swiftclaw, except for a large, almost star-shaped patch of white on his back. She ran her tail along the kits, purrs erupting from her tired body.
"Spottedkit..." Ebonyear mewed, twitching her ears at the female, "And Runningkit." She didn't care that she had promised Swiftclaw a say in the names. For what he put her through, he deserved a smack in the face. But it was worth it. |
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Post by Unwanted Step-Child on Dec 31, 2007 23:25:22 GMT -5
Silverwhisp smiled, watching the deputy care for the kits. Her birth was coming, she could feel it, but it wasn't severe. "Swiftclaw will be proud," she purred. "You know you love him." Her eyes shone, but then her claws threw themselves vengefully into the earth. A jab of pain, more intense than any she had ever felt, made her tense every muscle in her body. Then, quickly, it was gone. A few more minutes passed, and another violent pain waved through her.
(Time skippy moment)
Finally, after what seemed like forever, five kits lay at Silverwhisp's belly, three she-kits and two toms. Two of the females wouldn't move, she realized suddenly. Silverwhisp began to vigorously lick them both, alternating between kits. "Oh, help me," she murmured as first one, then the other stopped breathing altogether. The queen checked her other kits, only to realize one of the toms no longer took in air. "NO!" She wailed painfully, her voice eerily clear as she cried to the skies. "NO!"
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Post by .//.stabmyback|Away on Dec 31, 2007 23:36:15 GMT -5
Ebonyear started to get up, but her kits mewled in protest and she was forced to stare as her friend found out about her own young.
"Silverwhisp..." She called, her eyes filled with anguish as though the dead kits had been her own.
"StarClan guide their path..." She mewed, shaking her head sadly. She eyed her own kits, making sure neither one would become still. But they continued breathing and suckling, no matter how small they were. And they were small...
"What will you name them? Ripplekit and...?" She asked, trying to change a subject she knew couldn't be changed. |
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Post by Unwanted Step-Child on Dec 31, 2007 23:43:05 GMT -5
Silverwhisp blinked, looking at her friend uncomprehendingly for a moment, then remembering she still had two live kits. "She looked down at them, a tom and a female. "I..." The she-cat nudged them both, until she was sure they were alive. "Ripplekit and Lifekit." Looking up at the sky, she prayed for her kits' safe journey to StarClan. Licking the gray tom tenderly, she purred, "Ripplekit will be blessed by his father's spirit, wherever he may be." Turning to the dark-colored she-cat with lighter-colored head and paws, she mewed, "And Lifekit will always remember the value of life, because of her name."
Gently nosing her dead little ones tenderly. "StarClan, please take these three. Glimmerkit, Doekit, and Nettlekit." Glancing at Ebonyear, Silverwhisp declared quietly, "We did it."
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Post by .//.stabmyback|Away on Dec 31, 2007 23:49:32 GMT -5
"Yes..." Ebonyear nodded, "We did it. Ripplekit and Lifekit... lovely."
She stared at StarClan, willing them their blessing on her kits, and willing a blessing on Silverwhisp's. She set her head on her paws, blinking slowly as she watched the dead kits.
"We should hold vigil for them... but having just given birth..." She blinked, attempting to think of something with her tired mind. |
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Post by Unwanted Step-Child on Dec 31, 2007 23:56:59 GMT -5
Silverwhisp smiled. Despite the shrill protests of her kits, she moved enough to pat Ebonyear with her paw. Her body was tired, but her soul was alive with emotion. "No cat could ask more of a friend," she told Ebonyear. "Being here...that's the greatest thing I could ask of you."
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Post by .//.stabmyback|Away on Jan 1, 2008 0:01:13 GMT -5
"Same." She mewed, batting her friends paw away playfully.
"You... will still take care of...mine, right?" Ebonyear mumbled, not really trying to ask much of her friend. The white deputy could take care of the kits... but... |
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Post by Unwanted Step-Child on Jan 1, 2008 0:07:56 GMT -5
Silverwhisp nodded. No matter what, she had not forgotten her promise. "I'll care for them like my own," she reassured the ashen deputy. "And I should have enough milk for them all, thankfully." Blinking slowly, Silverwhisp laid her won head down. She wanted to rest so badly, but she was afraid that her kits would not be alive when she awoke. "We have to get to camp. It's too vulnerable here." She had no idea how, but she knew it wasn't safe here.
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Post by .//.stabmyback|Away on Jan 1, 2008 0:13:36 GMT -5
Ebonyear nodded slowly...
"But what will we tell the others?" She asked. She was going to have a plan before she got up. And the kits would need to be buried somewhere... Something told the white queen this was going to be a long night. |
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Post by Unwanted Step-Child on Jan 1, 2008 0:19:05 GMT -5
Silverwhisp closed her eyes. "I...I don't know." The queen tried to clear her head. "We could tell them you saw I was gone and helped my give birth." Runningkit could pass for one of her own, the female figured, but Spottedkit would be a little harder. Still, she couldn't let Ebonyear down. "Can you take Lifekit and Ripplekit, please? I need to bury the others."
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Post by .//.stabmyback|Away on Jan 1, 2008 0:27:45 GMT -5
Ebonyear nodded. The plan seemed easy enough, and Silverwhisp had already decided where she would bury them. The femme eyed all the cats carefully, wondering what was happening to the others... |
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Post by Unwanted Step-Child on Jan 1, 2008 0:33:28 GMT -5
Silverwhisp carefully took the three bodies, one by one, to the river. It was the same spot where any cat had last seen Ripplepelt. Digging a small grave, she painstakingly buried the limp bodies. Carefully bowing her head, she prayed to StarClan. "Please...oh please watch over my little ones. They never knew anything of this world." She hoped that wherever they were, they would guide their father back to her. The queen stayed there for a moment, letting out a last, quieter, wail of grief before leaving to rejoin the living.
"Do you...have enough energy to make it Ebonyear?" That was the first question out of Silverwhisp's mouth.
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Post by .//.stabmyback|Away on Jan 1, 2008 0:38:03 GMT -5
"Yes, of course." She answered quickly, not going to let her weakness show through. She stood up slowly and picked her two kits up by their scruffs, waiting for Silverwhisp to lead the way. She couldn't think straight enough to remember how to get back to camp, but she could follow her friend. |
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