A sad farewell

Willowbreeze slid into the RiverClan warriors' den, searching for a couple familiar pelts, those of her father and brother.  She stalked over to where they were sleeping, careful not to wake any other cat who happened to be dozing in their nests.  As she reached Addershade first, and he was so peaceful that Willowbreeze wondered if she should wake him.  She knew he would want to know if she was leaving, so she lightly shook him.  When he blinked open his eyes, she padded over to Snowflight and woke him as well.  She padded to the entrance of the den and, silently, beckoned with her tail for them to follow.  "I'll explain it all when we're out of camp," she whispered, hoping to hold off any questions they had.

Once they were all outside, Willowbreeze led them out of the camp entrance, glad to see that no cat was currently standing guard.  They padded silently out into RiverClan territory and she guided them into a forest of reeds, where they shouldn't be heard or seen.  She sat down, making herself comfortable, told them what they had probably never wanted to hear from her.
"I'm leaving RiverClan."

Lately, Snowflight had taken to sleeping with his right ear buried in the softest part of his nest. He’d picked up that trick in the nursery, then refined it during apprenticeship so he could block out his denmates’ post-sundown murmuring (though it’d also gotten him scolded for missing more than a few wake-up calls). As a warrior, he hadn’t used it much—until now. His thoughts were loud enough these days; he didn’t need half of SkyClan keeping him up, too. Of course, it only blocked out sound, nothing else, so he woke up the instant a paw jostled him. With a soft mrrp, the white-furred tom raised his head to see his sister standing at the den’s entrance, her expression obscured by shadow and the sleep in his eyes. She gestured for him to follow. After running a paw over his ears, he did so, falling into step just beside his father.

For how silently they moved across the moonlit plains, one would’ve thought they were a hunting patrol. It wasn’t long before they reached a thick cluster of reeds. Sharing an apprehensive glance with Addershade, Snowflight sat across from his sister. His tail twitched idly at his side. Age and circumstance had made him more reserved, but what secret could be too big to talk about within earshot of camp?

A heartbeat later, he had his answer. Snowflight blinked. For once in his life, he was at a loss for words. “What?” The plains were quiet, Willowbreeze’s voice was clear; there was no way he could’ve misheard. Still, part of him insisted he must have. No other explanation made sense. However tough things had been lately, RiverClan had fought through worse. Their family had fought through worse. “Why?” Though the remnants of sleep dragged his voice down, the look in his mismatched eyes was sharp. “Did something happen? If it’s those SkyClanners—"

Addershade had followed Willowbreeze with apprehension. He had no idea why his daughter felt the need to talk to Snowflight and himself about something outside of camp in the middle of the night, but he assumed it meant nothing good.

But...he hadn’t quite been expecting to hear that.

All the sound in the world cut out for a moment as he was plunged into the noise of his own thoughts. The shock of it that made his whole body to tense up, and that was the only thing keeping him still up on his feet; his legs had begun shaking, and were threatening to buckle under him at any moment. His breathe tightened in his throat, rendering his first attempts at speech null.

He felt like he was watching his worst nightmare play out before him. For a second time.

No, no, no...I can’t lose another... the thought rapidly volleyed through his mind on repeat. We have to all stick together. How can I protect all of them if we’re not all together?

“No,” he managed to choke out, “No, no, you can’t, we-- we all have to stay together, we--” he paused, and his voice dropped to a pained whisper. “Why...why do you want to leave?”

The sorrow coming off her brother and father felt as though it was ripping her up inside.  Willowbreeze hadn't imagined just how hard saying goodbye could be.  She needed to tell them why she was leaving, they deserved to know.  Shuffling closer to them, she began her story.
"It began awhile ago, when I was battling Vinetail on ShadowClan territory," she looked up at them, seeing her pain reflected in their eyes, "I'm not sure how, but suddenly Vinetail and I became very...  close.  He asked me to meet him at the Carrionplace in his territory, and I met him there," she paused, not looking up to see what her kin thought, "It felt like our lives connected, and we knew we loved each other and had to be together."  She looked into the eyes of her father and brother, sadness welling in her own eyes.

Willowbreeze continued her story.
"Then, just tonight, Ivystar confronted my about it.  I have no idea how she found out, but she was so angry.  She gave me two options," she told them," I could either be exiled from the Clan, or two months confined to camp.  No one would ever trust me again here!" she cried, leaning into her father, "That's why I have to leave.  I want to be with Vinetail, but it's so hard saying goodbye to you two!  I don't know how I'll bear it either way."  She looked up at them, searching for any reaction.

The problem wasn’t SkyClan, but ShadowClan. Some cat named Vinetail. Being no stranger to border skirmishes, Snowflight gave Willowbreeze a second, careful glance, as if she might’ve gotten some new scars that he’d missed. She looked the same as ever. He bit his tongue and went silent. As Willowbreeze continued, his tail’s occasional twitching escalated to a steady rhythm of muted thumps against the ground. This wasn’t about a fight at all; honestly, it was as far from a fight as anything could be. Something that flew in the face of Ivystar’s rules…and StarClan’s.

Bafflement gave way to anger—and, surging up behind it like a badger from its den, a fear he hadn’t felt in seasons. Stembreeze’s flashing, star-speckled eyes. A gaping wound in Ivystar’s throat. The scent of illness, heavy and bitter, blanketing everything, everyone. Somehow, he was on his feet; he had no memory of standing. “No one would ever trust you again?!” As if that was what mattered! “Forget Ivystar,” he snapped. “Forget RiverClan. Don’t you remember the last time someone got too cozy with a ShadowClanner? I saw what Torrentstar looked like when they dragged him into camp, d’you think I want that happening to you? You’re my—” The rising flood of words and memories congealed into a rough, solid knot high in his throat. He swallowed. It didn’t help much. “You’re my only sister. You can’t leave. Especially,” he said, sounding very, very small, "for this."

Willowbreeze leaned into his side.

He was upset with her-- how could she be so foolish as to do something so obviously against the code, that would so obviously lead to a bad outcome for everyone involved? But he was, he knew, about to lose her. So although he was upset, he leaned back.

He had no good solution. There was no good solution.

Words left his mouth without being processed by his head, and he began reaching, desperately, for something to do. "What if-- what if-- what if-- what if we all went, together, to ShadowClan? The three of us-- and Nightwolf, too-- that way we...we could at least...all stay together..."

He knew it was an unrealizable suggestion. He couldn't expect his two sons to leave their home, and he himself would always stay wherever the majority of his family was. But he had just been rambling, spitting out the only scenario that would allow their family to keep from breaking apart. He didn't expect it to actually come to pass.

So he let out a sigh of defeat and shook his head.

"Just be careful, Willowbreeze. Make sure you come talk to us at the gatherings. And always remember that wherever you are, I love you, and I want you to be safe,"

Willowbreeze sat up, grief flaring in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I don't see any other way it would work," she said, struggling to stop the tears that she felt rising up, "I love you both, but I have to leave."

Willowbreeze touched noses with both of them before turning around.  She took one last glance at them, and walked into the darkness.