Infestation

[gingersnapsdacat]

Ruststripe was getting very annoyed with her unborn kittens. Why were they not here yet?!  For the past few hours, the kits had seemed restless, wiggling around within her. And of course, being the cat that those little parasites were inhabiting, it in turn made her very on edge. 
There is only room for one trouble-maker in this group, she thought, sending it in the direction of the rowdy kittens. And that position is filled. 
Almost as if her kittens were protesting her statement, she felt a strong kick at her insides. 
Fine! I guess you can help me cause trouble too. I bet your father will just love that. 
With a huff, she plopped down to munch on a juicy shrew, doing her best to ignore her kits. But after a few more moments, Ruststripe was beginning to realize what was going on. 
Oh fox-dung. 
Bothered that she could not finish her meal, the round warrior got back to her paws, waddling in the direction of the nursery. She paused for just a moment before entering, yowling. 
"Oi Eveningblaze! Your kits are coming!"    
As soon as the words ended, she made her way in, settling down in a nest. 
Okay kiddos. Do your stuff.
And they most certainly did. Soon, she could feel her first kitten pushing its way to be first in line. Well, maybe that was not exactly how it worked, but that was what she was envisioning. It took a while, and some swearing, but soon there was a multicolored tom at her side.
Huh, nifty.
She nudged him towards his father, hoping that Eveningblaze knew how to clean a kit. Soon, another tortie joined the group, followed by multiple little tabbies.
Ruststripe made sure to vigorously lick each of the kittens, and nudge it in the direction of her belly. Immediately, the tortoiseshell female latched on, like a tick on an elders rump. 
"This one is Tickkit." She announced. 
"Umm..for the others....Buckkit, Strikerkit, Lonerkit, and...Ruststripekit."
She looked at her mate, knowing that he would be cringing at her ideas. 
Miss Tactical sabs mewmehh Fireflake 

[mewmehh]

News of Ruststripe's soon-to-be kitting traveled like wildfire throughout the clan, and everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats. Until a few days had gone by without any further news, warriors and apprentices returning to the the tasks at paw. It wasn't until the red queen dropped a vole mid-bite and bolted for the Nursery that Milkberry sprang up from where she had been sprawled in the sun, soaking up the summer heat as a certain blue warrior had shown her to do.

As Ruststripe hit the moss, the young she-cat was crouching at her side, giving her friend affectionate and soothing licks to the head as Ruststripe. It was an odd sight to see; Ruststripe hadn't even looked more pensive than in that moment and the idea of her unruly friend becoming a mother nearly gave Milkberry the giggles. The white warrior had shifted some to make room for the father, though she kept close to Ruststripe as she watched the event unfold.

Milkberry had never seen anything so painful before. The sight of her friend's clenched face, the scent of blood and milk, and the unfamiliar wet sounds that culminated in that den gave the young warrior chills even stronger than the ones felt on the field of battle. I don't think I could ever do such a thing, she thought with a gulp. Stomach working in somersaults, it wasn't until she was nose-deep in damp kit fur that she found her bristled fur relaxing. She licked rhythmically as Rustrstripe told her to do and watched as a tiny dark tabby chest rose and feel feebly. She snickered and her blue eyes tickled as Ruststripe gave them their name, only to have Lonerkit wail shrilly, seemingly in protest to the awful names. I wonder if Mothstar would allow for these though...

[foreverheart]

Fawnkit and dovekit were curled up beside each other in the peaceful, quiet nursery. They were awaken by a warrior crashing through the door. Both cats say strait upright. What was happening? Dovekit and Fawnkit turned away. Fawnkit made dovekit. She had a feeling this was something neither of them needed to see. Finally, curiosity got the best of her. Dovekit turned and saw 5 tiny kits laying next to rustripe. Fawnkit turned as well, just as rustripe said their names. Tickkit, buckkit, strikerkit, lonerkit and Ruststripekit. Dovekit looked at them in amazement, then confusion. “How did they get there?” Dovekit asked curiously. Fawnkit nudged her and dovekit realized she might have been a tad rude.

[gingersnapsdacat]

Ruststripe purred as Milkberry stood there, knowing that at very least there was someone to make sure she did not absolutely fail at motherhood within the first few seconds. She licked at the fuzzy bodies, making sure that each one was warm and breathing. 
The scream from 'Lonerkit' caused her to look up wide-eyed, and her fur spiked up for a moment, worrying that her son had been injured in some way. But the chuckles from Milkberry told her otherwise, and she relaxed. 
"What, is that name not good enough for ya?" she jokingly asked the kitten, knowing full-well that he could not hear her. "How about...Hornkit then? Will that please you?"
She looked to Milkberry for approval, as she was the one standing closest to the kitten in question. She looked at the other kittens, knowing that they probably needed ACTUAL names.
"How about Mantiskit for the other girl? Girl Mantises are pretty badass. Eveningblaze, you name the other's."
mewmehh Miss Tactical sabs Fireflake

[Miss Tactical]

Eveningblaze had been organizing a border patrol when he heard Ruststripe call out. He looked around for the warriors who had gathered and huffed slightly. "Well you don't need me to make sure no rogues are about...go on all of you." He narrowed his eyes slightly showing he was serious and to his rather pleasant surprise they listened exiting the camp and heading on their way. He followed into the nursery, and was slightly awestruck as his kits were born..kits..something he never thought he would have. His gruff personality was rather off putting sure he knew that, but he was also picky himself...yet here he was. His first love Cherryheart, he had been thinking about her, wandering how she was, but he had better agendas for himself when he left for MothClan.

He looked down at the bundles and as Ruststripe gave their names he froze, he whipped his head around, eyes in a glare with a 'you have got to be kidding me look' He was glad that Milkberry was there to question Ruststripes sanity when she finally gave them normal and to his surprise creative and great names. Yes he could agree with Tick, Mantis, and Hornkit. He had to say he really like Mantiskit, and hoped his daughter would turn out to be a great warrior. Then he looked at the last three kits, his little minions, his sons. He puffed out his chest before looking at the tortie, such a rare occurrence, he couldn't believe his luck. "Weevilkit for him...and Flykit for this one...and..." He stopped looking at the other brown and black tabby thinking very carefully. "Scorpionkit." He finally mewed. yes, he felt those were fitting names.

[Fireflake]

Mantiskit of MothClan

---

Mantiskit squirmed as if in agreement. She would like the name when she was old enough to hear and understand it. Right now, her paws struck out clumsily in the dark, throwing punches to the invisible enemy between her and food her mother. She flailed helplessly for a few heartbeats and then... aha! There was something warm. Scooching toward it, the newborn nestled up and pawed at the fur, trying to get a grip.

She couldn't see yet, nor hear. She didn't know what those were. But there was something new. The air swirled around her. A breeze brushed up against her and her small lungs forcefully grabbed in and pushed out. She found that she could finally stretch out without hitting anything. Mantiskit forced out her limbs and felt something up against one of her paws. So she could almost stretch out without hitting anything.

Mantiskit settled again, content to rest her face against the warm fur. Her tongue poked out and lingered in the air for a moment before she attempted a mew. Meeeeewl! She didn't know how it went, but it felt nice.

---

gingersnapsdacat Miss Tactical mewmehh sabs