Alone (Tempeststorm)

[Magicheart]

Dragonstar struggled to keep his pace constant as he walked out of camp with Tempeststorm. He kept speeding up unawares, and had to make a conscious effort to not bolt out to maximize his amount of time out of camp with the she-cat he loved. Why am I so nervous? he wondered. Tempeststorm was the only one that could make him feel like this, the carefree way he never got to feel as a kit.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Tempeststorm tried her best to keep up with her mate, but it was so confusing when he was randomly speeding up and slowing down and speeding up again. She released a soft mrrow of laughter.

"You're acting like a kit just out of the nursery." She meowed, padding to his side and smiling fondly at him. She suddenly felt a prickle down her spine at the words she had spoken. She looked down at her paws.

"It really has been a while, hasn't it? We've both been so busy getting TrueClan off the ground." She meowed softly.

[Magicheart]

Dragonstar gazed at her with sympathetic and loving eyes. "I'm sorry...I just feel like something big is about to happen...." he nodded at her next remark, lowering his eyes with a sigh. "The one regret I'll ever have....not getting to spend more time with you." he gazed out towards the sky. "I guess we know it from the get go, but I never knew it would be so hard, having to see you all the time and be around you, but it's like I'm not with you at all at the same time..." he explained awkwardly.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Tempeststorm nodded. She understood what he was talking about. Of course she did, after all, he was her mate just as much as she was his. And now they would hardly get to spend any time together, she realized sadly. She'd be on the other side of camp, snuggled up in the warm atmosphere, surrounded by the scents of... Tempeststorm shook her head. She had to tell him now, or else it would drive her mad. She stopped quite suddenly, looking hardly an inch above her paws.

"Dragonstar, there's something I have to tell you." She meowed quietly, so softly that she could hardly hear the words herself. Tempeststorm could feel her pelt pricking with unease at the news she had to tell him. What if he was unhappy? What if he didn't have time for them? She tried to tell herself he would be happy but she just couldn't believe it until she saw it.

[Magicheart]

Dragonstar felt his heart leap into his throat. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes bright and wide with concern. He could feel his heart hammering in his ears. Does she not want to be with me anymore? he thought with some panic.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Tempeststorm paused for a few moments, unsure how to frame her wild thoughts into a complete sentence that her mate would be able to understand. She took a deep breath, though she wasn't even sure why she needed to.

"I'm expecting your kits, Dragonstar." She meowed gently, her eyes wandering a little to his face. She wasn't sure what would happen now, but she did feel better, with that off her chest.

[Magicheart]

Dragonstar was dumbstruck. For a couple moments, he couldn't speak at all. "I...I...oh, wow...I didn't expect..." he meowed as he began to pace a little, his heart fluttering in his chest. He had never been more excited and frightened in his life. His gaze met hers and he smiled. "Kits? We're having kits!" he cried out happily. He nuzzled her face, but suddenly, his chest felt tight with guilt. "Tempeststorm...do you really think...." he lowered his gaze, averting her gaze for a moment. "Can I be what they need? What you need? Do you think I can be a good father?" he asked nervously.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Tempeststorm's stomach clenched as he stammered, but relaxed as he gently licked her muzzle. She managed a soft purr before Dragonstar seemed unsure again. She looked into his eyes and thought deeply about his question, though from the beginning she knew the answer.

"You'll be a great father, I know you will. And you've always been there for me when I needed you, Dragonstar... I know you always will be." She meowed gently, nuzzling him affectionately.

[Magicheart]

Dragonstar let out a relieved laugh and embraced his mate. He lay his head on top of hers and closed his eyes, letting himself get enveloped in her aura. "I will give them what I never had." he whispered. "I will love them with all that I am." He pulled her in closer to him, loving her so much that it ached. "These are dangerous times...but I would have things no other way."

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Tempeststorm purred, feeling every bit of her being tingle with joy at this moment. She had feared that Dragonstar wouldn't want the kits, but now she saw how foolish she had been to think so. I can be such a mousebrain sometimes. She thought, smiling slightly. She looked into her mate's eyes and felt a strange but familiar warmth fill her chest. She had never imagined ever becoming a Queen, let alone falling in love like she had. In ThunderClan she had never belonged, but here... in TrueClan, she was accepted, and even loved. Nothing had ever been like this, and she would never give up this moment for a thousand lives. She licked Dragonstar's muzzle gently.

"I know you will. My only fear is that we'll pamper our children with so much loving." She meowed teasingly, flicking his shoulder with her tail-tip.

[Magicheart]

Dragonstar felt the fur on his face get hot and he lowered his head in embarassment. "Our children..." he repeated softly. He gazed at Tempeststorm again. "When will they be here?" he asked.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Tempeststorm narrowed her eyes and tried to remember what Littlecloud told her.

"Within the next moon, I should expect." She meowed, a little fear pulsing through her veins and turning her blood to ice inside of her. Her very spine tingled with the thought of being a mother, and she felt her stomach clench at the idea. Tempeststorm was a determined spirit on the inside, and had never imagined she could ever feel quite this vulnerable. Still, with Dragonstar at her side, it did help... a little.

[Magicheart]

He lowered his head so that his eyes were level with hers, so close that their noses touched. "We'll have to think of names" he meowed with a handsome smile.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Tempeststorm cuffed his ear playfully.

"You can think of names until the kits are born, mousebrain!" She teased. Or perhaps you could. Who knew? In ThunderClan names were reserved until the kits were born, so as to give them something that compliments them. She smiled at Dragonstar and shrugged.

[Magicheart]

Dragonstar laughed. "I'd probably end up picking them out, and realize that they didn't fit our kits at all, and have to change them!" he meowed. A full litter of kits...how odd. He would get to see his children interact with each other...not like in Silenceclan, where sometimes queens would only keep the strongest in the litter....like his mother did....
Dragonstar shook his head, realizing that he had been staring out into space for a moment.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Tempeststorm let out a soft mrrow of laughter, but stopped suddenly when she noticed the expression on her mate's face. She cringed, wondering what thoughts were going through his mind. Nothing good, it seemed. She stared down at her paws, wondering what he was thinking about but not daring to ask.

[Magicheart]

Dragonstar snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his mate, staring at her paws. "But hey," he meowed in a cheerful tone. "While we're out of camp we might as well enjoy the scenery, huh?" he smiled and padded to Temepeststorm's side.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Tempeststorm nodded her assent, but didn't look up. Her thoughts were wound up in the expression Dragonstar had displayed, one of disgust and anger and fear. She wondered what she could have said to make him think thoughts like that. Perhaps he really doesn't want these kits... he's just pretending for me. Tempeststorm thought sadly.

[Magicheart]

Dragonstar brushed his face against Tempeststorm's and noted that she seemed to be deep in thought. "Are you feeling ok?" he meowed. "Maybe you should rest." he said, halting for a moment.

[.:-Aikoa-:.]

Tempeststorm shook her head quickly, and perhaps a little too hastily at that.

"Oh, no, no, I'm fine. Just thinking." She meowed hesitatingly.