It was a week after the walk with Twigfoot, and Hazelflower could not be more lethargic. She had been staying in her nest the past few days, tearing up her mossy nest until it was in shreds. Her daily routine consisted of a nap from sunset to sunrise, then back to sleep not an hour later. Of course, exceptions were made; Duckpelt needed to check on her frequently, and some of the younger warriors had started to try and butter her up with prey and fresh moss.
She was in the middle of yet another deep sleep when, suddenly, she felt a sharp pain. Opening her eyes a bit, she tried ignoring it but it wouldn't go away. Sighing, she tried getting up, and let out a surprised yelp when she crumpled onto the ground. The pain was more prominent now, in her lower stomach area, and this was when she first considered if she was kitting.
"Duckpelt!" she yelled, calling out the medicine cat's name, wincing in pain as she did so. Shortly after, a light brown cat with scruffy fur hopped into the den, swishing her tail.
"Is everything okay, Hazelflower?" she asked sleepily, before her eyes seemed to widen a bit.
"Oh, it's that time⦠hold on, let me grab my things."
Duckpelt popped out of the nursery for what felt like ages, before coming back with a stick and some moss in her jaws. Laying them down next to Hazelflower (who promptly grasped the stick in her jaws), she sat down and waited.
It was a couple of hours later, and by then the whole clan had heard of Hazelflower's kitting. There was excited chatter from a couple of cats hanging around the nursery, which was quickly silenced when Duckpelt walked out of the den. The medicine cat's fur was a little ruffled, but all and all was about the same as before. Twigfoot, who happened to be one of the chatting cats, got up and padded over to her.
"So, how's my sister?" asked Twigfoot, grinning. "Who am I the aunt of?"
"Well," sighed Duckpelt, "There were two stillborns, but otherwise Hazelflower has a healthy daughter."
Twigfoot shook her head, a little saddened, but began to walk into the nursery. Before she could enter, she was blocked by Duckpelt.
"What gives?" said Twigfoot, glaring at the medicine cat.
"Hazelflower is tired and I still have stillborn kits to bury." calmly replied the brown she-cat. Twigfoot huffed, but walked back to the circle of friends she was in. A cream tabby's ears pricked up in interest when she arrived.
"What'd she say?" he asked. Twigfoot sat down with an over exaggerated sigh.
"Not much, Hazelflower's just tired, and Duckfoot isn't letting me in because she has to bury two of the kits."
The tom nodded in understanding.
"A shame," he said, "I wonder how Hazelflower will cope with a small litter. I'm guessing only one or two are left, right?"
"Sunthroat, what kind of a queen needs to cope with a small litter?" snorted a ginger tabby, who was splayed on the ground next to them. "Less of a headache for her, that's for sure."
It was Flamewhisker, one of Twigfoot's good friends, and one who surprisingly never talked to Hazelflower much in his apprentice years.
Sunthroat's tail wagged side to side in irritation. "I mean, queens seem to get all caught up over stillborns. Hazelflower's gotta be at least a little upset over it, right?"
"I guess you have a point," said Twigfoot in a thoughtful manner. It was true that queens grieved for stillborns for a little before focusing on their living kits, but with the added weight of Webtail's death, Twigfoot wasn't sure if she should be worried for her sister's wellbeing or not. Turning her head to face the nursery entrance, Twigfoot saw Duckpelt carrying what looked like two small kittens out of camp.
"Hey, you three over there!" a voice called out to them. The group all collectively turned their heads to the direction of the voice. It was Rosepath, the calico-furred deputy.
"I need you to check the borders around the southern forest area. I've gotten reports of something or someone taking all the prey around there, so you all need to check it out and report back to me." the she-cat commanded, nodding at them. The three cats nodded and began making their way to the camp's exit. Before they left, Rosepath called out to them.
"Don't get into any fights, you hear?"
"We won't!" Sunthroat shouted back, and they continued on their way.
Following the path south to camp, they reached the forest in a short amount of time. With Twigfoot in the lead, flanked by Sunthroat and Flamewhisker, they began to inspect the area for suspicious scents.
"I'll take the left over here." said Twigfoot, glancing at her side. "Flamewhisker, I think you should check the right side around those bushes, and Sunthroat can look by those trees over there."
The two other cats nodded and split up in accordance. Turning over to the side she had chosen for herself, she began to inspect it. There was a couple of logs lying about, with moss growing in heaps around it. I'll have to remember to get some cats to bring it to camp later, she thought to herself, before noting an incriminating smell. It was absolutely foul, and was reminiscent of a rotting carcass. Crinkling her nose, Twigfoot stepped a bit closer to it.
She noticed a hole in between the logs once she approached it- a bit large, but it seemed as if there was a large space on the inside. It was absolutely pitch black on the inside, save for a lumpy shape Twigfoot could just barely make out.
In a moment, she shoved her head inside of it.
EDIT 5/18/18
small but atmospheric changes were made
