I'm Dying (Tagged + open)

[Lionhearted]

OOC: Kudos to me for the awesome title : D

Tagged: Ambrose [Willowbranch], Wolf [Smokestorm]

Toadpool hobbled into the clearing. He had said good-bye to his mate and unborn kits, and was prepared to say one last good-bye to the mother he loved. 

And, well, the other "father." Did the tom count as a father, anyway? Toadpool had a cautious respect for Smokestorm, but had refused to believe that Willowbranch had seemingly abandoned Duskpounce and moved on. Was life really that fast-paced? Or was it just Willowbranch's way? Toadpool had never figured out his mother, but she was so complex that he didn't really want to. On the outside, she seemed quite a simple cat: stubborn, headstrong. Strict, no-nonsense. Compassionate, motherly. And he had been wrong to think that she was simple on the inside, too. 

Taking Smokestorm as a second mate had confused him. What was she doing? What had she been thinking? What did she possibly see in Smokestorm? He wasn't another Duskpounce. Not to Toadpool. And he didn't bother to try to dissect Willowbranch's thoughts. It would probably make him more accepting of Smokestorm. 

His vision began to blur as he collapsed in the camp, somewhat disoriented, only vaguely knowing where he was. "Willowbranch?" he rasped. "S...Smokestorm?" he coughed out, forcing himself to say the other tom's name. He deserved a good-bye, too. Kind of. "Dusk...pounce?" where was his true father, anyway? It hurt him to think that he had also abandoned Willowbranch. She was the deputy, and he just left her? A powerful stab of fury came to him as the thought flashed by his mind once again. 

And suddenly, he was appreciative of Smokestorm. For noticing Willowbranch. She had needed someone by her side, and his father hadn't done that. And so Smokestorm had been right to step in. It was probably meant to be. If I was his kit, then maybe I would've been happier. Because he would've been there the entire time. For my whole life, from kit to now, I was trying to search for Duskpounce. I've never seen him since I was born. And that hurts, father. You hurt me. You hurt Willowbranch. You hurt my littermates. And now, I'm ready to end this hurt.  

He knew he was about to die. And he embraced it. I've lived my life. Perhaps, up in StarClan, I'd finally be able to see where you really are. Are you still there?  

[Ambrose]

It was a strangely quiet day in the LeafClan camp.

In lieu of the usual hustle and bustle, cats hurrying to and fro performing duties, and an overall feeling of vibrancy throughout the camp, sickness had snaked its way into the lungs of LeafClanners. At best, it put energy away for another day, and at worst, it stole the energy, never to give it back again.

There had occurred many examples of the latter in LeafClan. Cats were dropping left, right, and centre with illness.

She was one of the lucky ones; a sore cough and sore joints were her only symptoms. When she had seen the others perish, she wondered if it should have been her. Leafbare has taken its toll on my Clan, and I can't do anything..
-
Willowbranch, after checking on her mate, walked out into the clearing. It's almost empty.. she thought, scanning the clearing. The usual grassy patches of the camp had rotted away, to leave only a dusty floor. Her eyes fell upon her son in the middle of the Clearing, calling out her name.. and some others. "Willowbranch... Smokestorm.. Dusk..pounce?" Images flashed into her mind of him. Of Duskpounce. She still wondered where he had gone. Flowerkit.. The name echoed in her mind as she remembered her missing daughter. Did Duskpounce take her with him? She couldn't help but think that he left her on purpose. And now, a near replica of him would leave too.

"Toadpool!" she cried, rushing over to her son. He was frail. He was sick. He was still beautiful. And he would always be her son. "Smokestorm!" she screeched, her voice plagued by greencough. Willowbranch noticed Hawkstep and Owlstrike, her other kits gathering over her son. "Toadpool... are you still with us?" she asked, breaking down into tears. First her brother. Then Duskpounce and Flowerkit.

And now this.

[Wolf]

Smokestorm, having finished his duties for the day, was napping peacefully in his nest in the warrior's den. At least, until he heard the heart-wrenching wail of his mate. His eyes snapped open and he practically flew out of the den as he raced over to his mate and Toadpool. His yellow eyes were dark with worry, though he knew what was coming. Saying nothing, the large grey warrior touched his nose to Willowbranch's shoulder in a gesture of comfort before leaning down and rasping his tongue over the hot blue-gray pelt of Toadpool.

---

Sorry for the short post, low muse today >_< Do you want me to bring one of my StarClan cats to fetch Toadpool

[Lionhearted]

OOC: Sure, Wolf ^^ that would be great!

Toadpool closed his eyes, lying on his side, trying to rest. He had used some of his energy in calling the names, and now he felt quite out of breath. 

"Toadpool! Smokestorm! Are you still with us?" 

He heard his mother's voice above him, and his eyelids fluttered open. "Willowbranch..." he said weakly. For a moment, he felt like a kit again. "It hurts, mother. Dying."

More paw steps thundered towards him, and Smokestorm's scent wafted over his nostrils. He felt a hot tongue lick his side, and he closed his eyes again. It felt warm compared to the cold, and he sighed, feeling, all of a sudden, enlightened. First, he turned to Willowbranch. "You were... a great mother. Everything... I could hope for in one, and you raised me to the warrior I am today. I can't... be prouder... to be... your son." He coughed and spluttered for a moment, his body shaking with waves of pain that racked his now-frail body. 

"I can't... see my siblings," he whispered, "but give them my good-bye. I loved them all." Finally, he turned to Smokestorm. With his last ounces of energy, he took a deep breath and spoke, hoping that he wouldn't have to pause so much. "I owe you an apology. In the beginning, I never accepted you as mother's second mate. You were but another cat. I still hoped Duskpounce would come back. but he probably won't, and I can only accept that. You were the one I neglected. You were the father I never had. Thank you so much... for.... taking care of Willowbranch, and my littermates. And the rest of LeafClan. Good-bye, father." His eyes clouded, and he smiled weakly. 

"Look, I can see them," he said. "The StarClan cats have come for me."

[Ambrose]

Willowbranch hated leafbare.

Her deep blue eyes were cloudy and full of pain as she hung over her son, who was taking his last breaths. "Bluewing! ..Bluewing! Please, someone! Cherryfern! Come, quick! QUICK!" she howled, her voice crackling with pain and illness. Staring into her son's eyes for the last time, she hung on his every word, for she knew that she would not hear his voice again for a very long time. "Willowbranch..." he said feebly. Willowbranch could hear his pain and the effort that he had to use to articulate his words. "It hurts, mother. Dying." It took her to a place a while ago...

The silvery moon hung in the sky as the Gathering took place. All the deputies were slim and mobiles except for LeafClan; a slow, heavily pregnant shecat. 

That was the night she gave birth; behind a bush at the gathering. And she had never been so in in love.

Willowbranch still kept hold of herself until Toadpool, with his slow, pained voice, told her how good of a mother she was. I never knew I was such an... inspiration. And tears came, flooding down her face. "I love you, Toadpool. I love you so, so much.. I know you'll always keep me safe, you'll always watch from up there.." Her beautiful son, so young, was going to leave her and her grandkits all alone. "I promise to look after your kits.. they look just like you, you know. So handsome." She nuzzled the top of his head. "My boy." Hawkstep and Owlstrike looked at each other with teary eyes as their brother bid them farewell. 
It was heartwarming to see her son talk about her mate; while he wasn't his father, he seemed to think of him as one, and that made her delighted. She knew Smokecloud would never be their father biologically, and she would never pressure her kits to think of him as their father, but the fact that they did made her happy. Willowbranch entwined her tail with Smokecloud's.

It was Toadpool's time to go, he told them. Willowbranch tried to hold back her tears. "I could have never asked for a better son. I love you so much Toadpool. Goodbye."

[Wolf]

Smokecloud pressed himself against his mate, eyes shining with grief. "Goodbye son. Go swiftly to StarClan and find peace." He whispered, breath catching in his throat as he spoke. His mate's son accepted him as his father and as his mother's mate, and that was more than he could ever ask for.

---

A shimmery figure of a white she-cat with a cream face faded into view beside the dying warrior, its deep blue eyes shining against its sheen white pelt. "Hello Toadpool, my name is Dawnthorn. I've come to escort you to StarClan." She dipped her head and touched Toadpool's ear with her pale pink nose and whispered, "Wake up," before stepping back and looking up at the grieving mates. "I didn't get to watch my daughter grow up, but a parent's love is one of the best gifts you can give to them. He will watch over you in StarClan." She turned and began to walk away, her pelt beginning to fade. "Come along Toadpool, we must go now." The she-cat murmured as she vanished from sight.

[Lionhearted]

Toadpool's eyes fluttered momentarily, his pupils flickering from Willowbranch, to his brothers, and then to Smokestorm. For a moment, his life flashed before him in his mind: his birth, in the midst of a full moon; his kithood, playing with his littermates in the nursery; his apprenticeship, play-fighting with his friends in the territory, among the trees; and finally, his warriorhood, receiving his  ame (he even recalled the slightly mortified feeling he'd gotten when his own mother gave him his first and final name), meeting Smokestorm, Willowbranch's new mate, and thinking of Duskpounce, and meeting his mate and new kits... it had been an incredible journey. Toadpool exhaled almost in relief; it had been hard along the way. Perhaps, he thought again, I will be able to see Duskpounce from up in the stars. but Smokestorm's my father now.

"Good-bye son. Go swiftly to StarClan and find peace," said Smokestorm.  

The blue-coated tom's eyes closed for a last time, and with a final breath, Toadpool laid still. A apparition shimmered before them, and a she-cat materialized from the air.

"Hello, Toadpool. My name is Dawnthorn, and I've come to escort you to StarClan." she stepped forward and pressed her nose to Toadpool's ear. Instantly, Toadpool's eyes opened, and his spirit stood up, walking towards Dawnthorn, leaving his corpse behind. "I didn't get to watch my daughter grow up, but a parent's love is one of the best gifts you can give to them. He will watch over you in StarClan. Come Toadpool, we must go now." She began to pad away.  

Toadpool smiled, his parting words already said. His friendly, peaceful gaze swept over the cats who had stood over his body, and he attempted to press his muzzle against each of theirs in a last silent farewell. Finally, he looked past Smokestorm's shoulder and at a small ginger apprentice peering out from behind a bush, his body half-hidden by it. Smiling, he dipped his head without speaking. Then, he turned away and padded out of LeafClan camp, hurrying along in Dawnthorn's wake. 

---

 

Lionpaw stood in the corner of the camp, watching Toadpool's death from afar. It had been scary, interesting, and sad to witness it, but death was something he wanted to prepare for. And life didn't seem easy. At least not to Toadpool. He hadn't known the tom very well, but they had met on a patrol, and Toadpool had earned Lionpaw's respect.

The tom's spirit had risen from his body, and he looked at each of his family members warmly. All of a sudden, he looked past a tom's shoulder and smiled right at Lionpaw.

As Toadpool's gaze washed over him, Lionpaw felt a strange, bubbly warmth deep inside of him. It was like basking in a comfortable sunlight, but Toadpool looked away and the feeling disappeared. He crept forward, not daring to disturb Willowbranch or the others, who were looking at the blue tom and the StarClan cat, Dawnthorn. Wow. A real StarClan cat!  

The now-deceased Toadpool was turning away. Lionpaw almost called after him: "wait! How does it feel?" but thought better of it. Craning his neck, he tried to watch them for as long as he could; however, he blinked and they had gone. 

---

 

OOC: D: Another one of my warriors dead... well, I guess this thread ends, unless you want to post something with Willowbranch or Smokestorm ^^ 

I added Lionpaw in because I thought it'd be a nice ending for this, especially from another cat's point of view.