Kits of Lies (Moonspirit, Sootclaw)

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Circle Of Life

Cedarclaw had moved into the nursery after the battle, guessing that she would have been too far along not to do so. Now she was resting in a comfortable, mossy nest, enjoying the warmth of the nice little den. It was so much more appealing than the warriors den, where everyone was crowded in. Here, she had a den all to herself, with only the sound of Moonspirit in the medicine cat den. She did miss being near Sootclaw when she slept, however. Thinking of her mate made her think back to the kits in her belly, and she gave it a few gentle licks.

As she did so there was a sudden force from inside. It was almost like being kicked on the other side of her ribs. Then it came again, harder this time, and the tortoiseshell queen gasped. It took the breath out of her, and she struggled to make a small yowl of alarm.

The kits! Of course. The kits were coming! "Moonspirit!" she managed to choke out, wincing at the pain forcing its way through her body. Sootclaw!

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Moonspirit hurried to help, "Cederclaw, alright!" she licked her belly. "Breath deeply Cederclaw, they will take their time." she already had some herbs with her. "Eat these." she gave CederClaw some herbs doused with catmint for flavor.

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Hold On, Dear

Cedarclaw tried to follow Moonspirit's orders, taking deep, gasping breaths as the pain became wave-like. The queen winced as she held back another yowl. No cat had told her it was going to be this painful! As the medicine cat pushed the herbs toward her, the tortoiseshell quickly reached out to grab them in her jaws, desperate for anything that could help. Thankfully the catmint did a good enough job, making the bitterness significantly less than normal and relatively tolerable. She swallowed with difficulty as the steady pain slowly increased.

She then let out a yowl she couldn't hold back. The kits were coming, but it seemed like they were going along slower than snails. The she-cat's claws slipped out as if to grab something, but coming up empty paws as she only scratched air. Come on, little ones. Quickly! Cedarclaw tried to send the thought to the little bodies as she struggled. What was she supposed to do? She didn't know, and wouldn't dare open her mouth to ask for fear of letting out another deafening yowl.

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Moonspirit nodded, "It's OK, the clan knows you are in pain, it is okay to yowl if it helps." then she leaned over and licked her tummy soothingly to help the kits and numb a little pain.

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Nothing Like It

The medicine cat's licks gave some comfort, but no help to the growing pain. "I wish it did help," she growled through clamped fangs and deep breaths. "Then I might-" Cedarclaw broke off into a horrible screech, feeling the pains become fast ripples going through her body. With everything the tortoiseshell could muster, she pushed, whining all the way, and finally feeling a brief pause in the pain to hear a bundle touch earth. She tried to turn to see it, but the next set of waves was coming on. "Moonspirit, is it okay?" she gasped, desperately hoping everything had gone right so far. She couldn't bare the thought of anything happening to her kits.

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"Yes dear, hold on!" she mewed, nipping the sac and warming the new kit so it started breathing. "Keep Pushing!"

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Halfway There

Cedarclaw clamped her eyes closed, but inwardly was giving a silent thanks to StarClan. Now let the rest be just as good. The tortoiseshell took another deep breath through the pain, then gave a mighty push. Just as before there was a moment of relief and the sensation of a new kit touching ground behind her. That made two. For a moment the queen thought that she was done, as she turned toward the second bundle, but the pain came back even worse than before. Another kit was on its way.

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Moonspirit huddled the first kit under her belly to keep warm then started licking the second. "Any second now Cederclaw!" she purred.

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Like Never Before

Cedarclaw nodded with a grimace tight on her face, then gave a low, ear-wrenching yowl, and felt the final kit pass through. At first the tortoiseshell queen waited a couple heartbeats, to see if there was somehow still more to come, but no more came. She let out a long breath of relief, then craned her neck toward the third bundle. Cedarclaw pulled it toward her chest and quickly nipped it to let a little kit tumble out. She couldn't help but purr. It was so beautiful. This one's damp fur looked like her own, black with flecks of orange mixed in. And a tom, at that.

Warm feelings spread throughout the she-cat's body, mingling with sweet relief that it was over and all three were breathing. These kits were part of her. Still with a rumbling purr, the queen began to vigorously lick the little tom's fur backwards to warm it up. As she did so she looked over to Moonspirit's paws were two more kits lay. One was black, the other ginger. Cedarclaw felt as if her heart would burst. Three wonderful kits. "Moonspirit, they're beautiful!" she purred.

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Moonspirit purred, "They are..." she wished one day she could have beautiful kits like these, little white, cream and black kits. Her heart ached and she nodded, "Sootclaw will be here soon, let them suckle and call me if you need anything."

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Breath Of God Still Fresh On You

Cedarclaw nodded, then gently herded the two other kits closer to her belly. "Come here, darlings, gather round." She cooed to them softly, leading her little blind children to the source of their milk, letting them latch on. The new feeling tickled at first, and she stifled a giggle. The queen then nosed them gently, taking in their scent. It was a muddle of Sootclaw's and her own, and she loved it. Let's see... The tortoiseshell one is a tom, the ginger is a she-cat, and the black kit is another tom. The tortoiseshell she-cat drew her tail closer around their little bodies as they suckled, unable to describe the feelings of love floating inside her chest. "Wait till your father sees you, little ones," she murmured in their deaf ears. "He'll just adore you, too."

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SootClaw was out hunting, for he knew that CedarClaw was due any moment. Not only that, he knew that queens needed more fresh-kill than most, for the milk for the kits. Almost at once, he heard a defeaning yowl, which made him drop his prey there, and dash over to the Nursery.

The black tom stood at the entrance in awe, for he didn't expect the kits to be this beautiful! He was moving slower now, giving each little blind kit a lick here and there, then licked inbetween his mate's ears.

"Hello, Love, sorry I wasn't here.. I was hunting for you."

He purred softly, trying to keep his voice down load, incase he was a bit too loud. He wanted to be comforting, soothing; he didn't want to be obnoxious and loud.

He tapped CedarClaw's shoulder gently with his black tail tip, hoping to soothe her gently.

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The ginger-looking she-kit was rather quiet, being huddled to her mother's stomach. Her pink nose scuffled around, looking for something to suckle on. It was pure instinct, that's for sure. Without it, she probably wouldn't of known to drink any milk at all.

She soon found something to suckle on, letting out a 'coo,' which was hardly noticable, but she did make one. Her little pink pads started to knead against her mother's stomach gently, very slow, little pricks of her claws tickling her mother's stomach. It couldn't pierce skin, and CedarClaw probably didn't even notice it because of how small they were.

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Together

Cedarclaw's ears pricked up at the tom's arrival, and she let out another purr. This made the picture complete. "That's okay, love. I think I managed well enough." She looked back to their three little kits, licking them each once softly. "Oh Sootclaw, aren't they wonderful?" she almost murmured to herself. "They're all so beautiful and healthy." The queen blinked up at her mate with unmatched happiness in her eyes. "The black and tortoiseshell kits are toms. The ginger is a she-cat." She indicated each with her tail, then wrapped it back around her kits.

The tortoiseshell tom blindly looked around him, letting his nose tell him where to go. The warm, milky scents were awfully compelling to his little belly, and he began to clumsily nose the source. A word came to his mind; Momma. The little tom latched on, feeling two other bodies close by. He liked their presence, and he let out a faint mew.

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The black tom couldn't help but flash the she-cat a smile. His heart was swelling with happiness, for he couldn't believe how happy he was. He wanted to leap up in pride, he wanted to tell the world how happy he was.

He was a father, but he didn't know if he was going to be a good one or not. All he knew was that he was one. A father. He was a father to the kits of the cat that he loves, a very beautiful she-cat.

He looked down at his "butterfly," giving her another smile. He purred once more, and licked in-between her ears once more. He was trying to be affectionate, he was trying to show that he was there, no matter what happened.

"I knew you could manage it alone, you are stronger than any cat here!"

He said rather softly, hoping that made some sort of humor or at least make her smile even more.

Oh, he loved her smile, it just brightened up his day, made his life worth-while. He laughed a bit, mostly at himself, for this was just entertaining him, well, himself entertaining himself.

It was rather hard to explain, but it was true. Then he looked back at the three bundles of fur, a patch of ginger, a patch of black, and a patch of orange, brown, and black.

It was almost perfect, his life was now complete. Now, all he wanted was to see his own kits becoming great warriors. He wanted them to be the best, to show that they were the best because of their parents.

The loving touch of CedarClaw, and the strength of their beloved father. Oh, he was strong, at least, he thought he was. It didn't matter, for he didn't really care no longer. All he cared for at this moment was CedarClaw and his own kits.

He openned his mouth, saying something rather soft and gentle to his beloved.

"Any ideas for names?"

He mew'd, his jaws near her ear, so when he did speak softly, that it tickled the inside, so that she would laugh, so that he didn't have to speak loudly.

He moved around beside CedarClaw and his kits, so he could wrap his tail around his beloved bundles, which included his kits and his wonderful, beautiful mate.

The black tom licked his kits once more, more gently now, and then looked back at his mate with his green-sparkling eyes. All that you could see in them was pure joy, happiness, and love.

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Thinking It Over

She did smile at his comment, proud that she had earned that kind of respect from her mate. But really, she didn't think she was that strong. Sootclaw- now he was a strong warrior. Cedarclaw didn't see how she could compare to that. But she didn't say anything, just looking between her mate and her kits.

The queen gave a light laugh when he spoke so close to her ear, for it did tickle the fur inside. But she loved it. She loved him. Cedarclaw leaned her head into his black pelt and thought it over.

"Hmm, I didn't think of any yet. But I think I like the name Darkkit for our little black tom, over here." She indicated the kit with a lick to his head. "It would represent his fur color. Actually, he looks like a little you, Sootclaw!" The tortoiseshell purred, seeing the similarity between the toms. "What do you think?"