RiverClan Nursery

[poppy]

briarkit trips over, still very grumpy.

[LostInTheOrchids]

Originally Posted by jupiter

briarkit trips over, still very grumpy.

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙


·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙* ˚Reedkit of Riverclan - 5 moons - Black and orange chimera with blue eyes - 10/10 - don't mind if I do~˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

"Oh! You fell over! Let me help!" Reedkit bounded over to Briarkit, promptly helping her up.

[Captain]

PIKESTAR ( he/them )

As he waited the two medicine cats he had called for to show, the large RiverClan leader's front paws tapped anxiously on the ground, feeling extremely uncomfortable while just standing here. This whole situation came out of nowhere for Pikestar, and while he knew that he should be more well equipped and prepared to deal with such, it was still much easier said than done. Stonepaw would be the first to show up, but all the tall oriental longhair could do was give the young apprentice a firm nod of acknowledgement before he went past him and into the RiverClan nursery. There was some muffled chatter from inside the den behind him, but he could hardly focus on it, eagerly wanting his sister here to know what the right thing to do was. Thankfully, she was not far behind Stonepaw, making her way over at a hurried pace. It wouldn't be until Fawnlight walked past him and into the nursery that they would follow.

From there, both Fawnlight and Stonepaw took over, doing what they both did best. All the Lord of the Waters could bring himself to do was return to his daughter's side, trying to quell his own rising anxiety. The kitten's breathing was checked and Silversnow was even offered praise for doing the right thing and bringing them here, where they were safe and warm. If he wasn't a goddamn nervous wreck right now, he would've expressed the same. Soon after, the conversation would shift to a particular kit, who seemed to have a unique tail. Throughout Pikestar's life, he'd met many cats with tails of all kinds, so he wouldn't be surprised if the ball of fur was simply born with this physical trait. He was just thankful that it appeared that a predator hadn't caused such trauma to the kitten. The dark-furred tomcat thought of a million different things he could say in this moment, but grew nervous of saying the wrong thing. This was a delicate environment, after all. "I'm proud of you, Silversnow, you did good with these kits." Pikestar would soon murmur to his daughter, resting his tail over her flank. Right now, she needed his support and so he'd focus on that. However, any more words didn't seem to form on their tongue.

// @daenerys @carmen @effervescent. @sol. @CatontheMoon @-Ash- @Karlos // sorry for the delay, ahhh, life's been crazy... //

[poppy]

Originally Posted by ~_AmityBlight_~

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　　˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙


·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙* ˚Reedkit of Riverclan - 5 moons - Black and orange chimera with blue eyes - 10/10 - don't mind if I do~˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

"Oh! You fell over! Let me help!" Reedkit bounded over to Briarkit, promptly helping her up.

Sourly, Briarkit looked over at Reedkit as the chimera came over and tried to helped her to her paws. The ginger tabby's mouth was wide in protest. "I don't need help. I'm Stonebutt's bodyguard. I'm tough." She scowled slightly, but allowed the younger cat to help her up, still very much against the idea of needing help.

[sol.]

LILYCREEK

The forever queen listened with a smile on her face as Beansprout called for the kits to help him with a game. She nodded in his direction appreciatively, grateful for his help. Then, she moved some of the nests out of the way in order to reach corners, and used her fluffy tail to sweep some of it into a bundle.

Reedkit's voice piped up, wanting to help someone who had fell over, and Lilycreek turned to smile at the kit for his act before having it be replaced with a quiet, thoughtful look. Briarkit wasn't happy at all, telling Reedkit she was tough, and didn't need his help. She padded over softly, determined to put some kind of stopper on her sour attitude.

"Reedkit, thank you for helping Briarkit." She looked down at Briarkit, not expecting a thank you to come out of her, but just in case. "What you did was very nice. Now run along and join the others, I want to speak with Briarkit, please." She spoke in a kind tone toward the kits, lest they think she was upset.

"Briar, sweetie," she said softly before the kit could run off. "I know you're upset, but that doesn't mean you can be rude or grumpy to cats who don't deserve it, okay? I understand why you're upset," Lilycreek gently tapped the kit's nose. "But Reedkit doesn't. You don't want Reedkit to think you're upset at her,, right?" Lilycreek gave the kit a small sad smile. "Seeing you upset is making me and your family upset, sweetness. Why won't you smile, little Briar? There's so much in this world to be happy about."

[ @vellichor - beansprout mention @~_AmityBlight_~ - Reedkit @jupiter - briarkit ]

[poppy]

[ @sol. spsps bri's actions or thoughts don't match my own. i adore all of the characters mentioned in this post, she's just grumpy haha ]

Bitterness crawled into Briarkit's heart, and the flaming orange tabby whipped around to face Lilycreek. The memories of the incidents in the clearing, being escorted out by her father even though her dumb Plantcat brother got to stay, hearing Silversnow's snarling insults at Briarkit, and seeing the warrior's claws slide out. And she was looking at her. And only one cat told Silver to put her claws away, stinky old Fawnlight. And Fawn didn't count, because she treated Bri like a baby. Not even her own father corrected Silver. he probably agreed with her.

"Everyone deserves it." She spat, burning emerald eyes fixating on the queen's face in rebellious fury. But, past the surface level, she just felt sad. This horrible, heavy sadness. "And you don't understand. You don't." As Lilycreek gently bapped her nose, the kit pulled away, fur bushing up as the upset fluffball scowled at the kind molly. "My family doesn't care. And why would you care?" If her own father didn't care enough to defend her from a cat that insulted her and unsheathed their claws at her, then why would Lilycreek care?

The affection Lilycreek displayed was something foreign to the young cat. She hadn't had much of that. yeah, she had Daddy and Daddy was great. He was nice, but he didn't defend her or comfort her when she needed him most. And Stonepaw forgot all about her, it felt like. And NO ONE cared that she was still the reigning wrestling champion of the world. To everyone around her, she was just a stupid kit with an attitude problem.

[sol.]

LILYCREEK

The little tabby was hurt, Lilycreek could see. She'd been in the clearing to see Briarkit and Stonepaw, and Antlerstreak, and she wondered that if she had been the one to get to Briarkit first, this situation wouldn't have been so bad.

None if that, she reminded herself. All has been done, and it's time for repercussions.

She gave the kit another sad smile. "Everyone? Well, if you're mad at everyone, I don't see the point in playing with Mr. Beansprout, do you? Or the other kits?" Maybe she was being harsh, but if Briarkit was tired of other treating her as a kit, Lilycreek felt she was old enough to swallowing the bitter facts.

"Maybe I don't understand what you feel about it all, but I understand what happened. You're upset, Briarkit. I get it; we all do. But you can't go blowing off your anger on someone who doesn't deserve it. That's the bitter truth, dear."

Antlerstreak hadn't been to see his daughter lately, and she hadn't seen Antkit play with Briar. Maybe some time together would help. She'd ask Antlerstreak later.

Why she cared. Well, it was her job to care. To care about the hurts of the kits while the others cared about their own. "Maybe you think your family doesn't care, Briarkit, but whats stopping me from caring? I might not be family,, but I can still care. I care about the cats I like, and I like you very much." The queen tilted her head. "You're a good girl, and a good sister. You're kind and funny and sweet, and you want to be everyone's friend. Those are very admirable traits, my dear, and I like that, so I like you and care about you. But," she said, frowning a little. "Since you're mad at everyone, that means you're mad at me too, no? And that's okay. Even if your mad, I'll still care about you."

[ @jupiter ]

[poppy]

[ @sol. ]

Why wasn't Lilycreek getting mad at her like Briarkit had seen everyone do? She heard no rebuke, no sternness, no anger, no condescension in the molly's tone, and this was incredibly confusing. So puzzling, in fact, that it caught her off guard and she just listened to what the molly had to say, instead of interrupting her or blocking out whatever wise words the queen had to offer.

"What?" She said, blinking. The tabby hadn't realized how broad her statement was until the molly said something. She wasn't mad at Mr. Beansprout- he was nice! or... she thought he was. She never met him before. And lately, she had avoided the other kits, instead just playing by herself or eavesdropping on the older-cat's conversations.

Her head drooped, and her face felt hot, a wet, salty film covering her green eyes. "She said I was a bad kit. And her claws came out and I thought she was going to chase me or something. And Daddy didn't even say anything. He just left me here. I don't think he likes me anymore." He probably agreed with Silversnow, and just didn't want to agree with her in front of Bri.

The fluffy kit tipped her head, mimicking Lilycreek's movements, as the queen asked a question. Then another. And both the questions hurt. Like they were rocks thrown at her chest. "You like me?" Yeah, she knew that her dad and brother and sister loved her, but she had never got the feeling that anyone liked her. Because love was a moral obligation, and like was a choice. An actual opinion.

You're a good girl, and a good sister. You're kind and funny and sweet, and you want to be everyone's friend. It felt so good. Relief that someone didn't think she was a bad kid filled her, and she lowered her head again, a single blink sending tears rolling down her face. After a moment, she wiped her face the driest she could, sniffing her runny nose, and inhaled shakily.

"I guess I'm not mad at everyone." She mumbled reluctantly, feeling a little dumb now. "Just a few people. But it's not everyone's fault. I-I'm sorry." The apology felt so weird, so wrong. She didn't usually apologize. No one had walked her through it like that. it was always just you're wrong, we're right, end of story. She wasn't saying she was wrong about everything. She still was mad at Silversnow and Daddy and Fawnlight. But not everyone. Not even Stonepaw. She had never been mad at him, she was just mad at the unfairness that she saw displayed when it came to her and him. but he didn't do anything wrong.

"C-can I still play?"

[sol.]

LILYCREEK

Briarkit looked confused the entire time she was talking to Lilycreek. Had no one ever talked out her problems with her before? Briarkit was young, but she still deserved to-

Shd really needed to have a talk with Antlerstreak after this. Disappoint flooded her chest. Bluebellpaw liked Antlerstreak, and said he was a good mentor, but clearly, a lax father. Maybe she should cut him some slack as an only parent, but what about her? She raised all those kits by herself.

Not now.

Her statement about Beansprout hit home, she could see. Briarkit hadn't thought about it like that, and Lilycreek couldn't blame her. Rage was often blinding, and things were said the heat of the moment. But she gave a soft frown as tears began to form in Briarkit's eyes. "Oh sweetness. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Silversnow is a complicated cat, and she's been through a lot, even when she was your age. But," she added, lest the kit think Lilycreek was defending the warrior. "She still owes you an apology, okay? Your father owes you one too. None of it was your fault. You have every right to feel the way you do."

"Sometimes," she said, kneeling closer to the kit. "we feel like the ones we love are at odds with us, and that's okay. Because deep down, even if they're mad at you, they still love you, and you still love them. Your father still loves you, Briar. He loves and likes you a lot, and he tried to protect you."

She chuckled as Briarkit repeated what she said. "I do. I like you very much. And I hope that you'll like me, as well." Tears rolled down the kit's face as she apologized and came to her realizations. "Well, I'm happy you're not mad at me. Because now, we can be friends. Would you like that? Because I would like that very much." She paused for a second to gently help wipe away Briar's tears. "I told you I care about you, little Briar, and I don't let the cats I care about cry, if I can help it."

"Thank you for apologizing," she said, giving the kit a warm smile. "And thank you for listening to me." She hoped she'd managed to sway Briar's anger and sadness a little, now that they talked. Plus, Briar really was a good kid; seeing her upset, or any of the kits for that matter, made her feel like she let them down. "Of course you may," she said, standing up. "Now go on, and have fun, okay?"

[ @jupiter ]

[puppeteer]

{ @canineantics ; @sol. ; @daenerys ; @carmen ; @CatontheMoon ; @-Ash- ; @Karlos - gonna finish this post up here! her kits after this post will be a half moon old ^^ }

Silversnow had been left alone with Miss Lilycreek, but not for long. She could tell that the forever queen was worried about the kits as well, but she didn't have time to talk to her as Stonepaw and Fawnlight entered the den
Silversnow couldn't help but smile at her friends. She was happy they'd be the ones helping and treating the kits. As they said that the babies were okay, her heart soared. Dad came back in too, which made her feel even better. Then, her head started to swim as everyone praised her on bringing back the kits. She didn't really get it; bringing back abandoned kits felt like.. common sense. This confused her but she just nodded her head and said thank you. Pikestar looked very uncomfortable. She'd have to talk to them later, ask if everything was okay.

Then, a thought hit her. "Wait. Does this make me a queen now? I'm just a little fella.. I guess I'm a big fella now. A mom." She wondered these thoughts aloud, but when she called herself a mom... that just made her entirety light up with joy. This is what she was meant to be. This is how she was supposed to heal.

-----

{ @jupiter }

The warrior had been spending more time in the nursery to watch her kits grow, but she had been avoiding a specific kit somehow. Briarkit. She internally sighed; she shouldn't have snapped at the little kit and her father. That wasn't fair to them, and it was disgustingly rude of her. She shivered and looked around the warm and dark den for the small she-kit. She needed to apologise.

"Briarkit? It's Silversnow. I'd like to apologise about the other say.."