Turn over the soil, give opportunity for new sprouts to grow [open after kits post]

Mapleglow was, what seemed for the first time, sad. Her upright figure could be seen from the nursery entrance, the fact that she was carrying kits obvious by her large belly. Even just by looking at her, you could tell that she wasn't fine. She held a small smile, but her eyes, which used to constantly hold a sparkle, now were dull and cloudy. Who could blame her though? Her mate had just disappeared without a trace, there one day and gone the next. To Mapleglow, the worst part was that not a clue was found. No body, no signs of trouble, and no cat had seen where Hawkstar had gone.

A wave of sadness washed over her, causing her to hand her head low. Her heart hurt so badly. There was no way Hawkstar would just leave like that, it was so unlike him. If only she could have had some closure, it would help her mood greatly. Suddenly, she felt the pain creep from her heard to her lower belly. The queen gasped, but ultimately ignored it, walking back into the depths of the nursery, the shadows covering her. Then it happened again, this sharp pain the ran up her abdomen. This time the pain was worse. It was then when her situation dawned on her. 'I'm... i'm kitting!' Calling out for the medicine cat, she squirmed in the nest as the pain grew stronger.


~~~~


The birth was painful, yet was over far sooner than she thought. At her belly laid two kits, which she had ended up naming Parsleykit and Silkkit. She felt happy, happier than any cat in the world... yet she was sad. Sad because her dear mate wasn't there with her, that Hawkstar wasn't able to see his kits be born. that thier kits would grow up without a father. t hurt so badly, yet she kept on a smile. She had to, for her kits, for her clan, and for herself. Laying her head down with exhaustion, she closed her eyes, with a single thought on her mind.

A mostly black tom kit, who had been given his name, Silkkit (though he didn't know that yet) squirmed around. Soft mews escaped from his maw as he wiggled on over to his mother's belly and started to drink the milk she provided. He wasn't exactly thrilled being here. It was colder then the space he was before but this could sufface.

Silkkit pulled away from his mother's belly as he let out another mew before curling up against her, letting out more soft mews.

Parsleykit tried to push past her bigger brother, but it wasn’t much use. She wanted to get some of that milk, though. Resorting to climbing over top of him, she pushed with her head until she reached the sweet milk. Sighing with content as she finally got what she was looking for, she stayed against her mother for warmth. Cold air fluttered around her, and she sneezed softly.

Eyes dropping, even though she had just been born, it was so warm inside the den, despite the frosty weather outside. She soon fell back asleep, her pelt rising up and down as she did so.

Beetlekit loomed intrusively over Mapleglow's belly, not a care in the world for personal space as she stared wide-eyed at the wet, smelly lumps that had only just been cleaned by her belly. Beetlekit's nose wrinkled as she regarded the little kitten beans with disgust, "Kinda ugly aren't they?" Beetlekit declared as if it was a matter of fact, though Beetlekit side-eyed Mapleglow, suspicious of if the adult was sleeping or not. Leaning over Beetlekit gave the freshly born kittens a sniff with cautious regard as if they would jerk awake and bite her toes or something. She smelled blood, just a bit of it, and just odd-smelling fluids which made her wrinkle her nose and pull away from them. "They smell gross too." She once more regarded boldly, padding away a little ways from the freshly laid kittens. Sitting down a fair way away she looked at them with nearly amber eyes never leaving them, slit with interest.

It was only moments after resting her eyes when Mapleglow felt something over her. Raising her head, she found herself looking at a brown kit, one that looked rather disgusted. "Oh, hel-" Her greeting was cut off by one of the kit's comments. She was shocked, to say the least, and even a bit annoyed. But she couldn't get too upset, it was just kits being kits, right? With a sigh, she responded. "Well, they may not look like much to you, but to me they look beautiful. Besides, it's only natural for them to not look like you, they were just born." She wrapped her tail around Silkkit and Parsleykit in a protective fashion, as if to protect them from Beetlekit's words. "It'll take time for them to grow up, some day they'll be as big as you are. Maybe they'll be your friends!" She pushed a cheerful tone and put on a weak smile, although they were a bit dull considering how exhausted she felt.