[ @
SuspiciousMindz ]
[ @
Rose ; @
xavier. ]
[ @
saturn. ; @
jupiter ; @
~WallyDarling~ ]
Palehound sighed with satisfaction as she looked over her 8 little healthy kits. It had been a hard labour, as was to be expected from such a large litter, but she wouldn't change at all.
It was a bit if a surprise, she supposed. They'd known they'd have a large litter, but she'd never expected so many precious bundles. Would she have enough milk for them all?
When one of her daughters began to mewl pitifully and squirm, the large charcoal tabby leaned forward, holding her little mini-me closer and allowing her to snuggle into her. She quickly quieted now that she was closer to her mother, and Palehound had to smile.
As she looked over each of them once again, formulating names in her head, she noticed just how many of them looked like her. More than half had her patterning, and only 2 really resembled their father.
She couldn't help the slight disappointment that more of them hadn't looked more similar to their father.
Though, she supposed it was genetic. She'd been the only of her litter that didn't look like her mother.
She returned her attention to the subject of names, deciding she wanted Shark to name at least half of them.
As she looked over her children, her eyes landed on one of the oddballs of their litter: a little dark kitten with silver spotting and a cute little bobbed tail like her own.
She gave this kitten, a girl, a gentle kiss to her head, pondering over names.
Her colouration made her think of a frozen over pond, the dark shadow it cast over the abyss's precipice, only a few flecks of light fighting their way to illuminate the depths.
"Frozen" and "Frigid" were too cold for her liking, more dangerous than she wished to convey through her beloved daughters name.
"Cold", "Freeze", and " failed as a standalone named. Sure, with the potential for a suffix, they were wonderful names, but their family was not a Clan, and trying to adhere to the naming conventions of the Clan would alienate her children.
She eventually settled on Ice.
Her little baby ice.
Palehound pressed another kiss to her daughter before moving on to the next child.
The next one that caught her eye perplexed her. They had her patterning, but a mishmash of both her own colours and Shark's.
She grinned, leaning forward to press her nose to her child.
However, that loving glee was clouded as she looked over her child. Just, something about them reminded her of an important part of her life. Whether it was their too perfect little nose or the red of their mouth when they cried, but something made her mind turn to the deadly red little berries she'd once dipped her paws in for battle.
A mistake she hoped she herself would never repeat, and a road she hoped none of her children would take.
And yet, as much as she wanted to simply name her child "Berry", the association with her older sister, the very cat that had assisted her in leading down that path made her pause.
It might seem cruel, but to her, Poison seemed a more fitting name.
She promised herself she would love her little mystery child, that the name she gave was not a reflection of how she felt of them. They were still her little jelly bean.
Her attention was fought for by a very vocal little girl, a silver smoke who's resemblance to Shark in her colours struck her. And yet, she didn't look like him in more than colour.
She had her large paws, her stubbed tail, a wide little nose and nose bridge.
For a moment, she saw everyone she'd ever loved in her. She saw Eelbloom, who'd been denied their warrior name by those around them and Sunsetbloom, who she still dearly missed.
"Bloom" sat heavy on her tongue.
But it wouldn't be fair to any of them. Not to her, a reminder of all that she lost, to Shark, to have a daughter bearing the name of her past lover, or to her daughter, who deserved to have her own identity, unburdened by the weight of a namesake she'd never meet.
She more than most knew how heavy a name could weigh upon the shoulders.
But still, she wished to honour all was good and true in her life.
Orchids held a special place for her, they'd grown in the garden of a two leg near where she'd buried her mother. A plant she'd become enamoured with upon first seeing, though tinged with that bit of grief, she wished to see them again.
She returned her gaze to the little carbon copy of herself at her chest, though far bluer than she, her face was the same stark pale colour.
She wondered if she'd been this precious as a child, if her mother felt the same wonder she felt staring at her own daughter. And she promised to herself she'd not repeat her mother's mistakes.
Moon came easily to her.
An ever changing presence that was somehow steady, something special. As special as the stars.
She hoped she would live life as she wanted, free of the influence of anyone else, for her choices to always be her own.
She blinked, looking away from her brood.
She chirped, beckoning for Shark to come closer.
"Don't be a stranger," She teased.
Palehound tried to snuggle to the kitten's closer but found that as large as she was, there just wasn't enough of her to cover and warm them all.
They were so small! How was she supposed to protect such tiny creatures?
"Will you help me warm them? As surprising as it is, there's hardly enough of me for all of them to snuggle to."
Once everyone was settled and it was nice and cozy, she turned back to Shark, a tired but bright excitement to her features.
"They're so small! I never expected them to come out this tiny. I didn't think we'd have this many, either."
She rested her head, allowing her eyes to flutter shut, but had no intentions of sleeping.
"Two of them look like you, even. I kind of wished more of them did."
She was going to miss getting to cuddle her mate by herself, but for these little cuties? She wouldn't mind giving that up for them.
She sniffed a bit, thinking about how they'd need to expand the nest and den, especially as they all grew up.
However, she wanted to share her chosen names. They'd talked about who would name them, and she decided on half for each, and if it came to it, she'd allow Shark to name the majority. She was hardly a creative thinker.
She'd also opted against coming up with names until she could see her kittens. And now that they were here, she felt she had just the perfect names.
"I've been thinking of names. Ice and Poison and Moon and Orchid."
She pointed to each kit in turn, only opening her eyes long enough to indicate to each kitten, returning to her relaxed position after.
Two Minutes To Midnight [P]
