[Jos]

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CLOUDTAIL

Gorgeclan Deputy

The day was cool and cloudy, a little windy and a bit drizzly.

Cloudtail had spent his morning with his apprentice, saving afternoons for his mate, Petalrain, who was carrying his kits. He doted on the queen, bringing her the juiciest of prey from his hunting excursions and cleaning out the moss in her nest on an almost daily basis. He wanted her to be as comfortable as any pregnant she-cat could be. Perhaps he was being a bit overbearing. Perhaps his attention to Petalrain was unbefitting to a warrior such as himself. To be lavishing so much attention on a she-cat was embarrassing!



Or, that’s what his father would have said. But luckily for Cloudtail, and his new family, his father was dead. So that little voice that sounded like his father, that said all these nasty things to Cloudtail to get him to toughen up and quit acting like an emotional she-kit…that voice didn’t really exist. It was just this nasty sound that came from his doubts and insecurities, and the more he listened to it, the more it spoke. So he simply ignored it, and continued caring for Petalrain the way he felt was best.



Of course, his deputy duties sometimes got in the way of being with his mate all day every day. He was often called upon to solve a problem or run a patrol or some other clerical thing that needed to happen so the clan would run properly. In truth, the other queens in the nursery were glad to see him gone. Sure it was nice that a tom was so involved but maybe Cloudtail was just a bit…too involved.

On this day, Petalrain and Cloudtail decided to go for a little walk not too far away from camp. It wasn’t the nicest day for a walk but Cloudtail had planned just a little one, just enough to spend some quality time together without their clanmates stepping on their tails. “Don’t you just love leaf-fall, Petalrain?” Cloudtail mewed thoughtfully, “I know it means that leaf-bare is coming, but for the moment the leaves on the trees are beautiful and everything smells warm and comfortable. Like bedding down for the night in a fresh new nest.” He fluffed his fur out and pressed his flank to Petalrain’s, where their kits were safely nestled.



“I love you so much, Petalrain.” He purred. “You’ve…changed my life. I’m a better tom because of you. I hope that I can be just as good a mate to you, and a better father to our kits than I ever had.”


((Hellion )) 

Made by Riley at THQ!

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[Hellion]

Petalrain

warrior of StoneClan

Pregnancy had always agreed with Petalrain, a mother twice over and soon to be for the third time. She embraced the affection of her mate and purred in delight when he brought her fresh kill. Smiling as he doted on her, she used a playful ploy to convince him to stay in the nursery to help keep her warm just a moment longer. It rarely worked, not that she complained. He had duties to attend to, and when they were done, he'd visit again, which was enough for her.

Happiness settled nicely on the brown tabby frame, even if her age was reflected in the greying of her muzzle and blurriness of her vision. She hadn't ever imagined finding love at this age, but Cloudtail renewed her. She hadn't realized it was possible until he warmed her heart and gave in to her silly requests.

So even as she knew the risk to this pregnancy, as foretold by countless retired queens, Petalrain did not heed their warnings and instead focused entirely on the future, on giving Cloudtail the family he deserved, the love he needed all his life. Never mind the weariness that borrowed deep into her bones and made waking up too early painful and exhausting. She could hide most of it behind the truth of her condition, but there were moments that she feared it was the moons catching up to her, the stress of the later few seasons. The earthquake and all.

However, none of these worries crossed her mind as Cloudtail offered a walk, to which she gladly joined him, waddle and all. Her paws were tired, and her heart hammered in her chest, but she managed even as the kits kicked at the sound of their father's voice. She wanted to smile at the feeling, but after a prolonged moment, her smile turned sour. They seemed almost frantic. Petalrain tried to soothe herself, chalking it up to uneasy for labor as most she-cats felt as the day neared.

Her concern washed further away with Cloudtail's affirmation of love; she smiled and pressed her nose to his cheek, licking it softly as her purr matched his. "Every day I thank StarClan for you," She replied "I love you too," She added before a sudden hitch in her breathing caught her off guard. "Oh!" It alarmed her; she pulled back slightly from Cloudtail feeling her heartbeat quicken in her chest. "We need to go back," She left little room for questions, striding past him to walk back the way they came when a painful cramp rippled through her body, forcing her to stumble.

"They are coming!" She alerted him, voice shakey. It didn't feel right; nothing felt right. She was dizzy and her mouth painfully dry; her condition rapidly deteriorated. Turning to look back at him, she opened her mouth to speak when the world started to spin, and she fell hard onto her side. The light hurting her eyes; she held them tightly shut.

"Cloudtail!" She called out to him, using a forepaw to reach for him, anything to give her a sense of familiarity. "Some-thing is-s-s-w-w-w-rong-g-g-" Her speech pattern changed drastically, her claws raking the earth as she attempted to gain footing again when a pained cramp again and a release feeling. There was no time; the kits were coming with or without her saying so; panting hard and barely able to think correctly, Petalrain kept her eye close to avoid the aggressive pain caused by the light and focused on scent and touch. She was practiced now; the first kit entered the world quickly, no strife aside from her mother's strange affliction. The second kit joined the first in a matter of moments; Petalrain hadn't even the chance to realize the second was born.

She forced her eyes open despite the pain of the light to see their faces, the assumed softness of their wet fur. The scent of a new life filled her nose. Petalrain rejoiced in their arrival even if her heart hammered away in her chest; it was just stress she wanted to believe.

Till bile forced its way out of her maw, making the she-cat turn her head to expel the contents of her previous meal away from her newborns. With blurry, almost watery eyes, she glanced in Cloudtail's direction viewing his vague outline through the ache in her head and pain radiating throughout her body. "Get them home," She urged head lolly backward, her chest rising and falling in rapid pants till, seemingly without warning it ceased. The kits, apparently aware of their mother's passing, began to wail, weak mewling sounds likely out of hunger but also from the almost instant awareness of loss and despair.


[Petalrain died of a heart attack brought on by labor]

((Jos))

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