Warrior Cat Clans 2 (WCC2 aka Classic) is a roleplay site inspired by the Warrior series by Erin Hunter. Whether you are a fan of the books or new to the Warrior cats world, WCC2 offers a diverse environment with over a decade’s worth of lore for you - and your characters - to explore. Join us today and become a part of our ongoing story!
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Ratstar silenced the complaints budding on Sunpaw's tongue, her ears falling back and the fluffy she-cat trudging back towards the nursery. After successfully ridding the clan of Rosethorn (though she actually had nothing to do with the former deputy's absence in the slightest), she'd been elated to be reassigned her very own mother, and SummerClan's best Garden Keeper, Poppymask as her mentor. And almost immediately after, her parents announced they were expecting another litter which would not only be inferior to her but also meant her mother wasn't able to leave camp often at all. So far, they'd had two sessions before Sunpaw began to avidly avoid the den altogether---not because she didn't want to train, but instead because she hated the nursery. She grimaced as one of Thunderstorm's newborns touched her. "Do we have to do it in here?"
"Yes, in fact this is the most important session we've had yet, maybe even the most important session of your life," Poppymask said, patting her daughter on the shoulder with one of her paw pads. The sudden motion made her grimace slightly, "We're going to be making flower crowns for my new babies, due any day now, I'm sure. Blue for boys, pink for girls. You're also going to help me totally decorate the nursery for their arrival. These kits are just like you, practically royalty, so we really need to pull all the stops to make the first thing they see spectacular!"
She got to her paws, wincing again, her sides rippling as presumably the kits shifted inside her, "Let's go to the gardens to gather our supplies!"
Poppymask's explanation was met by a blank, uninterested silence, Sunpaw staring at her mother with no comment or remark. After all, both Ratstar and Poppymask reminded her time and time again not to say anything if she had nothing nice to say, and what better time than the present to start doing just that? The only thing that betrayed her emotions was the flash of concern in her gaze, watching as her mother winced at even the simplest of movements. "I'm pretty sure Papi said we'd have to stay in camp," she said finally.
Poppymask returned her daughter's blank stare with a nearly identical one.
"No he didn't. Now let's get going before too many cats are out and about, I like my privacy."
With that, the bugling queen got to her paws - with another wince, it wasn't easy to move around when you had a half dozen or so kits weighing you down - and padded toward's the camp's exit. Well, not the main exit. As with any camp there were more than one way in and out and she intentionally chose a pathway that was less trafficked. Although as if... she was trying to be sneaky.
"So this time of year the best flowers to use for kitten crowns has got to be cosmos. They are small and cute and come in pink and blue, among other colors, but that's what we want best. I-- ow," Poppymask winced again, halting for a second before continuing,"--I still need to pick out the accent flowers. What do you think will compliment pink and blue cosmos?"
"...It's the middle of the day. Everyone is already out and about," muttered Sunpaw. She stayed rooted to the spot, as if to make a point, but, seeing her mother either call her bluff or (more likely) not realize her absence yet, she quickly scrambled to catch up in time to not miss much, listening intently until she skidded to an abrupt stop. "Woah, woah, woah. Woah. Hold up."
Sunpaw padded around so she could, once more, face Poppymask and look directly into her eyes---at least, she supposed she was. It was hard to tell where Poppymask was looking sometimes. "Why are we assigning genders to colors. Isn't that, like, regressive? Why can't the boys be pink or yellow or, well, blue...if they wanted! What if the girls don't look as cute in pink cosmos as they would with orange marigolds!" Or dandelions, she added silently to herself, because that was her favorite flower but that was neither here nor there.
Poppymask's fur fluffed up and she glared at Sunpaw, not because of the content she was saying but because she was challenging her authority. Poppymask was a fashion icon, a trend-setter, the best of the best when it came to being a Garden Keeper, and yet here Sunpaw was, doubting her!? Bondi blue eyes shining bright, she turned to face her mini-me.
"When they are old enough to choose, they wear whatever they want, but when they are that little, they are my babies, and I dress my babies the way I want. I want the girls to wear pink and the boys to wear blue. It's not regressive, where in StarClan's name did you even learn a word like that anyway!?! It's purely style, rooted in tradition, and I'm gonna do things the way I want to do because I'm their mama and anyone who tells me different is fixing to get their ears shredded. Now answer my question, dear, what. pairs. well. with. blue. and. pink. cosmos?"
Poppymask had paused for only a second at the beginning of her rant, but continued to walk throughout the rest of it. Sunpaw would be forced to yield to her and follow or be defiant and stay behind.
Except Sunpaw would do neither of those things. She, instead, did both.
Though electing to pad after her mother, her steps were heavy and even sounded defiant, less because of the principle of the matter but rather because Poppymask had dismissed her. Even her tail drooped and dragged through the leaves underpaw, snatching a few and tangling them into the now unruly locks. "I didn't learn it anywhere," she grumbled, but decided this wasn't a hill she wanted to die on. Looking around them, she piped up, "I like dandelions." That was no secret; Sunpaw loved dandelions. "They're small, vibrant, in season, and even after they flower, they're super cute and fluffy---like me! And they aren't gendered." Another perk she didn't mention was their availability; even now, in the middle of the Deep Lands, the forest floor was dotted with wild dandelions lifting their golden faces to the sun. "Lilac is pretty too, and it smells really good."
If Poppymask noticed Sunpaw's continuing defiance, she did not act like it. She instead took her daughters suggestions very seriously and continued the discussion without missing a beat.
"Lilac's shade of purple is very close to the pinks and blues of the cosmos, so it may be swallowed up by the base flower. However, the yellow in dandelions could pair very well with the crowns. I do have my reservations about using dandelions, though," Poppymask continued to lead then two of them to the flower meadows - it was now well within view, "They are weeds, after all... we would be better off using a different yellow flower, one that's more fragrant. What do you think about buttercuuuuu----- OW!"
Poppymask let out a yowl of pain and in that second her water broke. Evidently she had been in labor this entire time but, due to either sheer force of will or practice from having two litters already, she'd been able to ignore the pain.
"Sure, they're weeds but that's mostly because leaf-bare doesn't kill them so we have to take extra precautions to keep them from overpopulating the gardens, right? That just shows how resilient they are, alongside of being cute and vibrant. Don't you want my future sla--siblings to have all those qualities and be like me? And yellow is a really, really, really pretty color and, like you said, it just matches perfectly with the pinks and blues, highlighting the softness of the blue cosmos while accenting the pink ones. Besides, aren't babies supposed to be sensitive to---" Sunpaw prattled on, uninterrupted, with all her thoughts and opinions about this particular subject, but she paused upon the more blatantly pained screech her mother released.
Heart thudding in her chest, she bounded to Poppymask's side and offered her shoulder so she could lay down. "I...umm...I don't know what to do!" She'd been helping Graythorn recently in the absence of his apprentice, but those lessons didn't include childbirth. She glanced around frantically, with every second that passed becoming more certain her Momma was gonna DIE out here because she didn't know what to do to help.
"Oh, it'll be fine. I've had kittens before. I'll just tell you what to do," Since when was Poppymask so tough? Her prior birthing in SummerClan had been extremely dramatic - even cat knew exactly what was going on and likely the number of kits born based on the sheer volume of Poppymask's screaming that had taken place from the very beginning on her labor. Had she... had she been playing things up back then!? Absolutely not, she'd say!
"We're too far from camp so we may as well deliver them in the flower meadow." She said with another groan and began to walk toward her destination, "Anyway - OWWWW - I still don't think that dandelions are the best choice, as I said before they are weeds and potential allergens, we had better use buttercups... OWWWWWWWW!!"
Sunpaw gaped. Of course, though she had technically been present for her mother's last kitting, she hadn't been cognizant of anything, not even the sound of her own shrieking. She had heard about it later though, at some point having overheard Thunderstorm muttering something about Poppymask's theatrics, but even then she'd brushed it off, too preoccupied with cuddling Weevilpaw and waging wars on sky ants and such. It was...impressive how Poppymask managed to push forward...and stay on topic while doing so.
"Fine, buttercups," she conceded, but only just! "Maybe one dandelion each?"
They staggered towards the meadow, Sunpaw hovering near her mother's side, who continued to emit ear-shattering OWWWWWWs amd winced every second step, but at last, relief was in sight. The meadow unfurled like a red carpet before them, dotted by the flowers Poppymask had been debating. "What am I supposed to do now?" She asked, patting down some blossoms to make an impromptu nest.
I'm sorry I lost this thread xD We will still do it if you're game!
~*~
Poppymask plopped herself down right in the spot that Sunpaw had clear for her and immediately let out of a few more pained moans as another contraction racked her full frame. She'd been in labor for hours although for the sake of freedom she'd been hiding it, so she was literally minutes away from giving birth and felt the urge to push almost as soon as she'd made herself comfortable.
"There's not a lot of work for you to do until the first kit gets here, dear," Poppymask mewed evenly, her theatrics all gone since it was just her and her daughter, "Well, here I go."
She tensed - pushed - and the first of many kits was out and squirming, "Grab that kit and clean him up, oh, and make sure he's breathing and alive and stuff!" She moaned as she started pushing out the next one. Poppymask was rapid fire when it comes to birthing, it seemed.
There wasn't much Sunpaw knew about kitting. After all, she wasn't a mother herself nor had she ever gotten the 'birds and bees' talk before, the very concept of it making her scrunch up her nose which was not being alleviated at all by this situation, and she personally avoided the nurseries and kittens. But, guided by Poppymask's instructions and managing to swallow the bile in her throat, she did as she was told, nipping each kit's sac to allow them their first breaths of real, fresh, floral-infused air and cleaning them up one-by-one. They all mewled pathetically---surely SHE didn't sound like that---and squirmed blindly around.
"I'm never having kits," she declared unnecessarily, but despite the disgust edging into her voice, there were notes of affection and relief. Her mother was okay, her little siblings were gross but alive, and she had done absolutely nothing helped deliver them! Sunpaw stood a little straighter now.
Six perfect little kittens lay at Poppymask's side, all feeding peacefully, sweet little angels not at all like their mother. The manx she-cat looked dirty and exhausted after her labor even though truth be told she went through it like a champ. No one would have ever expected a she-cat like her to be so tough but, after have two litters before this one, she was basically a pro. But she wasn't done yet.
"You did a good job, dear. Next is the hard part," Poppymask said she she stood up and stretched, causing the kittens to mewl in confusion. She shushed them and licked each one of their heads affectionately to sooth them, "First we need to pick a nice, new place near here to move them for the great reveal, then we need to make a flower crown for each one and me, and of course all get cleaned up. Their grand reveal is going to be the best one yet and we need to move fast before Ratstar notices I'm gone!"
