It had been a moon, and Lostelm could say he knew exactly what she was talking about. The love he was feeling for her and the love for their kits...it wasn't that much different. It was a family love, not that of a lover. They were close, just not as close as one would expect them to be. And yea, he too thought kits would bring them closer, it what everyone said would happen, but for them, it wasn't. Even a month in, the love he had for Wispycloud hadn't changed. She was still his best friend, his closest companion, and yet, he didn't see her as a lover. There was love there, just something that he now knew wasn't romantic as he'd once thought it was. The clan had basically put them together, seen something they hadn't and they'd rolled with it thinking it'd happen with time. But it didn't. Lostelm couldn't say he wasn't disappointed, but he also knew it was him that was the problem. The tom smiled sadly down at the she-cat that was now the mother of his kits. "Yeah....yeah, I do." He couldn't deny it, and he knew it was all him. She had loved him once, as a lover, but not anymore. He was sure of that at least. Even he'd ever been sure of what he was feeling and, at the time, he'd chalked it up to not having the memories to know the difference, but he knew now. She was his best friend, the closest he had to family, but never his lover.

Jadie

The silence that followed was painfully awkward as neither cat knew exactly what to say next. Breakups weren't exactly common but from what Wispycloud understood they should have been... what, more dramatic? Fiery, rage-inducing? She remembered how upset she'd been back when Windyhurricane and so many of her siblings had left for WinterClan, but none of it came to her now. It was a mutual agreement, not all that different from when they chose to be mates, although her heart ached for the young kits who would grow up knowing that their parents were not true mates. It had to be hard on anyone.

"So..." She said nervously, wrapping her tail around the three little ones at her side who were presently fast asleep, "What do we want to do now?" The question was more than that, though, and it read in her pale amber eyes: Are we going to make this work long enough for them to grow up? Or raise them as a separated pair?

(Sure go for it!)

Wispycloud wasn't sure if she was happy or disappointed by Lostelm's resolve. The situation wouldn't have a happy ending regardless of how they framed it, although she was the first to admit that things could have been a whole lot worse. They were no longer mates, but it seemed, at least to her, that almost nothing had changed between them. She cuffed him affectionately on the ear.

"They're lucky to have a dad like you, Lostelm. You're so honorable that it's starting to make me look bad," She chuckled, her amber eyes turning back to the little ones sleeping at her belly, "Now that that's settled, it's just about time for them to wake up from their naps. We may as well explain things to them now.""

(You don't need to read the above BTW, the kits are asleep and have just woken up, now Wispy & Lost are going to tell them something)

"Have a good rest, Oakkit?" Wispycloud mrrowed, licking an unruly tuft of fur out from between his eyes. This little kit looked the most like his father but certainly had some of his mother's traits, too, mainly his eyes but also a bit of her size. Wispycloud herself was not a particulalry large she-cat, but she did have WinterClan blood, meaning she was very likely to have large children.

Wisycloud chuckled as she saw Bluekit try to bury herself beneath her brother. In response, she picked up Oakkit by his scruff and gently sat him down between her front paws, separating the two and likely giving Bluekit quite the shock as her brother's warmth was suddenly all gone, "We have something very important to tell the two of you, so I'm going to need your complete attention, alright?"

The youngest kit stretched a big stretch with his fluffy fur sticking up all over the place and awoke from his nap thanks to the movement from his other siblings. Fallenkit gave a small yawn and looked up at his mother, giving her a small purr. Seeing his parents both where here made him feel safe...comfortable. Nuzzling close to his mother the kit gave a purr of happiness, eyes shining at both of his parents.

Bluekit squeaks swatting at her father that had seemed to have already forgotten that she was sitting between his paws when he moved to get closer to the nest. She moves just in time to avoid getting swashed by her seemingly distracted father. "Hey, watch it I'm down here you know" She fusses at him with angry look upon her face.

Bluekit huffed at him quietly and looked up at him. "Well, papa what is it that you and mama have to say that we had to wake up for?" She asked as her tail twitched behind her.

ashestoashes Jadie Tigerclover

Lostelm nodded his head, agreeing with Wispycloud. Though the whole time he had this proud smile on his face, one he always directed at Wispycloud and the kits. "We're juts not lovers anymore, but we'll always be best friends! Just like you guys will always be siblings and always have us as your Mama and Papa!" He was hoping he was helping, and that the kits would just understand. Maybe ask questions when they were older, when it'd be easier to explain things like mates to them.

Oakkit scrunched up his face as he tried to wrap his tried, still slightly sleep mind around what they'd said. To him, mates -- mama's and papa's -- were best friends, so what was this changing? His nose was wrinkled in a frown of concertation, as he tried to figure it all out.