Come Say Goodbye [OPEN]

Copperfox shuffled his feet into the warrior's den for sleep, having helped get Smokefeather to the medicine den earlier that day. He felt heavy. He felt tired... far more tired than he ever should have been. He'd barely done anything today... or the last few days... and he just had such a hard time getting out of his nest to go do anything. He plopped down with a huff. He curled up into a tight "c" shape for warmth. The copper-furred warrior closed his eyes slowly, grateful for the chance to sleep. What he didn't realize was that he would never open his eyes again.

Starclan took Copperfox that night, peacefully while he slumbered. The clan cats couldn't possibly have known, but the young tom had had heart issues his entire life. A quiet chronic disease that finally claimed his life in the night. When morning came... the other warriors in the den poked and prodded at the still slumbering warrior. Except he never stirred or acknowledged their attempts to wake him. Panicked, the warriors ran to Beechface, Bloodstrike among them. Copperfox passed as peacefully as he had tried to live. His body was cold, but he had drawn his last breath in the safety and peace of the warrior's den.

The peaceful warrior would watch over not just Skyclan, but all of the clans, from his place among the stars.

Burrkit was walking around SkyClan camp looking for rocks when he noticed a commotion coming from the warriors den.

From what he could tell, they were very upset about something. This meant an investigation.

The curly furred pale brown tabby crept in between the legs of other warriors and approached the sleeping cat.

First, he walked up to the body and took in a deep sniff. Something was off, but what could it be?

“Hey, get up.”

No response. Burrkit nudged the corpse’s face.

“Get. Up.”

He narrowed his eyes at the insolence.

“You know I’m here, why aren’t you getting up?”

Irritated, Burrkit slapped Copperfox’s face with his paw, trying to rouse him.

Still nothing.

“How do you sleep like this?!”

He turned to face his Clanmates and shrugged, giving the medicine cat the space she needed.

Burrkit used Front Paw Blow for 2 damage points, costing 5 SP!

Burrkit: 5 HP/10 SP
Copperfox: (literally beating a dead horse - 2) HP/0 SP

Blossomstep had been on the dawn patrol, and they returned to a camp in chaos. Something was going on in the warriors den, and Beechface was being called for. Her heart twisted as she listened to what was being said, and almost stopped when she heard the name Copperfox, followed a few heartbeats later by another voice saying dead. No. No no no. She couldn't lose another grandkit.... Peeking into the den, she saw Copperfox laying still in his nest, looking peaceful. Tears welled in her eyes as she watched a kit, Burrkit if she remembered correctly, smack Copperfox with a paw, and get no reaction in return. Quietly, she entered the den and padded towards the kit. "Come, Burrkit, let's go somewhere else. Maybe we can see if one of the elders has a story to tell you, or I'll tell you one of my own, okay?" She murmured, trying to keep the kit out of the way of other warriors and Beechface. As she passed Copperfox, she tenderly licked his head. "I'll see you later, Copperfox. I love you. Watch over us."

Burrkit perked up when he heard about getting a story.

“I love stories!”

He nearly tripped over his own paws, following the she-cat.

“He must be really tired,” he meowed, walking with Blossomstep.

Burrkit noticed the other warriors exchanging awkward glances.

The curly furred tom frowned, noticing a change in the atmosphere. He didn’t know exactly what, though.

Beechface had finally gotten a moment after Smokefeather had been brought in, and her fur lifted in surprise at the panicked warriors that were running to her den. Upon hearing their words, she bolted towards the warrior's den, disbelief obvious in her expression. She hardly noticed Blossomstep leading a kit away from the den.

"Copperfox...?" Ducking into the den, Beechface pressed a nose to her brother's ear, then placed a paw on his neck to check for a pulse.

Nothing.

No no no... He can't... Tears stung her eyes. He'd helped bring mom back to camp earlier, he'd been fine. Tired, but fine. He hadn't had any injuries. He hadn't been sick.

Carefully gripping Copperfox's scruff, Beechface gingerly made her way from the den. There were no injuries to be taken care of, no blood to clean off of his pelt. Preparing him for burial would be simple.

She shouldn't have had to prepare his body for burial at all. Lavender and rosemary disguised the stench of death nicely.

Stars light your path, brother." She whispered softly. With his paws arranged in front of him, it could've been easy to imagine that the warrior was simply sleeping. With that and the herbs, it made for a good illusion... If only this wasn't real.

He had been sleeping. He'd died in his nest. And she'd been too wrapped up in other duties to even realize something was wrong. Beechface felt like she would be ill. How do I tell mom that her son is dead? How do I tell Eaglepaw?? Tears blurring her vision, Beechface turned, finding Bloodstrike in the crowd of cats. Silently she pressed her face into his shoulder, her own shaking with quiet sobs.

Primroselight returned from her early patrol just behind Blossomstep, and the second she padded into camp, she knew something was wrong. The scent of death where it shouldn't be. Her first instinct was to check on Muddypaw and Sparrowflight, but before long, the whispers that travelled around camp caught her ears. Copperfox. She rushed to Beechface's side where she leant against Bloodstrike, but her attempts to comfort her sister were in vain, especially since there were already tears streaming from her own eyes.

Just like that. He was gone. No explanation and no clear reason, only that she had lost yet another sibling. And of course it had to be Copperfox, so lovely in every way. Primroselight wished she had been a better sister, or even just talked to him more. But the past was in the past. All she could do now was try and console Beechface. And try and delay the time that they would have to tell Smokefeather.

Ravenclaw had been on an early morning patrol, but it seemed the real action was happening back at camp. She got back only to feel the negativity hanging around her fellow warriors, and it didn't take long to see why that was. When she saw a cat being taken to the medicine cat's den, she sucked in a breath. It wasn't on their own power. She came further into camp quietly, padding to the den to see that it was Copperfox. Her brother... It couldn't be, and yet the preparations Beechface was doing spoke the truth. Their brother was dead, as if SkyClan hadn't been suffering enough. He was too young to go. What had even happened? He had seemed perfectly healthy just yesterday. She wanted to ask, but it didn't seem like anyone surrounding his body was in a revealing mood. Instead, she stood back, head down.