#abyssclanmoon

The apprentice's nervousness was palpable, his fur refused to lay flat and his eyes flickered from side to side around the camp. He hadn't been this anxious as a kit, he had stood proudly infront of his leader. But now, his paws worked against him and he was hesitant to step forward. Still, he gulped down his fear and puffed out his chest to face to the leader head on.

Now there he sat, looking up at Abyssal'Star with a sense of awe hearing his full name spoken for the first time. Air'chirp, it feels do fitting, so right. As the crowd cheered his name, he could tell that only his mentor, the molly Aphid'frost, was truly happy. Each of his other clanmates did so out of obligation.

It clawed at his heart, a deep ache that grew as he remembered his family. They would have hollared and cried, yowled until their throats grew dry. Here, it was barely louder than a conversation. Today was supposed to be so important, so special. Yet now tears picked his eyes, and he padded away from the meeting to sit at the clan enterance.

Looking up at the sky, he sighed something bitter.

( Ambrosia'spike POV )

She had gotten the news that morning.

Ambrosia'spike had been having a bout of sickness since their arrival at the temple. She had assumed that the nerves that caused her paws to tremble and her doubts in the new clan were the same that raked her with nausea in the mornings. However, even as her paws steadied and her thoughts cleared, she was left aching as soon as the sun rose.

With no other options left, Ambrosia made her way to Angler'seeker's den. The old woman seemed more like a nut than a healer, but she was the best the clan had and the help was desperately needed. When the elder suggested kits, Ambrosia nearly walked right out of her den. The idea was crazy! Utterly impossible.

" AbyssClan is just beginning, it has barely enough cats to hunt for themselves, let alone a set of kits! "

" Just 'cause it ain't a good time don't mean it ain't true- "

The healer wheezed out a laugh, but Ambrosia sneered and looked to the floor. It was bad enough to grapple with this news, but such an ill-timed laugh only made the she-cat bristle. Luckily, Angler took the hint and ushered the conversation along. The two mollies talked for quite some time while Angler worked, doing the most basic of assessments. It was quite pleasant, much more so than a lot of the conversations that tended to happen around camp, until the healer paused- staring down at Ambrosia like she had grown a second head.

" I know you don't wanna to hear this.. "

It turned out the suggestion of kits was more than just a cruel possibility. Ambrosia was expecting and the idea was sickening. Not only because she hadn't realized the changes, or that she didn't feel ready to be a mother, but also because Abyssal'Star was so hard to talk to. Everyday is a new task, new job that he has to get done-the two hadn't had a true conversation in days. At times it almost seemed like he avoided her..

So she had to fight tooth and claw to finally talk to Abyssal'Star. She clambered to his side and brushed against his shoulder to get his attention.