message from heaven [closed]

Shadewing poked her head into the elders' den, having just come back from a patrol. She had something important to tell Foxfire, but her life had been a whirlwind since her ceremony and she hadn't found the time until now. Gingerly, she padded over to Foxfire's nest and placed a songbird next to him as an offering. She hated seeing him so sad, but hopefully her news would help cheer him up a bit.

"Foxfire? It's Shadewing, I brought you some food. And I have a message for you, from...from Flowerthorn. I saw her at the Moonstone."

Life had been slow since he had chosen to retire, spending nearly all of his time in his nest - minus the few times he was prodded to stretch his legs or he actually had a semblance of a good day and did so on his own. But most of the time...It was just feeling the aching emptiness that the disappearance - and no doubt death - of his mate that left him. His ears twitched at the sound of pawsteps, turning to see Shadewing approach. He lifted his head slightly, blinking when the warrior introduced herself. Oh, she was a warrior now, huh? He wasn't well-versed on the current life of the cats in SkyClan minus those who poked their head into the elder's den to care for him, Smokefeather, Redfall, Wrenspring and Cloudmane.

He glanced down at the songbird that the warrior had left, giving a nod of his head in silent thanks...Before the rest of her words hit him. She had a message for him from Flowerthorn, having seen her at the Moonstone. He froze, body running cold as the words sank in. At the Moonstone... His ears slicked back a little, eyes remaining fixed on the bird that Shadewing had left. ...So she was truly gone. Any feeble hope he had of ever seeing her again while he still lived was...Just gone. He just laid there, unsure on what to say - to do. He wanted to open his mouth, to ask what it was but he didn't know if he could dare hear the words of his deceased mate - not when he always dreamed of hearing her voice again himself. He didn't know if he could stand it, the truth that she was... She was dead, and nobody knew what happened. That he would never get his chance to say goodbye to her, that he loved her until he joined her in StarClan.

He blinked, a few tears rolling down his cheeks before he took in a deep breath and finally lifted his gaze to stare at Shadewing. "...You...Did?" he questioned softly, finding some part of him wishing that she was wrong - that she hadn't seen his mate if only so he could cling to the stupid belief that she was still alive somewhere. "...What...." he swallowed, gaze falling back down to his paws. "...What did she say?"

Seeing the grief in his eyes, Shadewing's ears drooped and she padded over to curl up next to him, doing her best to offer as much comfort as she could. "I'm so sorry, Foxfire..." A gentle bump of her head against his, and she continued. "I don't know how she, um...went to StarClan, I wish I could tell you what happened. But she asked me to pass this message along: Remember that promise you made me? Live for me please, don't linger on what was anymore."

She paused then, letting her words sink in and Foxfire to gather his thoughts. One more headbump of encouragement, and she rose to her feet, pushing the songbird closer to him with one paw. She figured he wanted to be left alone. "I'll be around camp if you need anything, Foxfire," Shadewing mewed gently, turning to pad out of the den.

Foxfire's eyes remained trained on Shadewing as the young warrior approached, settling down next to him and gave him a gentle head bump as she nervously explained that she hadn't been told how Flowerthorn had died. His gaze finally broke away at that, whole body sinking a little further into his nest at that. Would he ever get that answer...? Would he ever learn what had taken his mate from him? His ears perked a little as the warrior gave the message, remaining still and silent even as Shadewing gave him one last headbump and stood up, pushing his meal a little closer before she left with a gentle goodbye.

As soon as Shadewing disappeared from view, a strangled laugh escaped the elder - filled with heartbreak as he could almost hear Flowerthorn saying those words. There was no doubt anymore that it was truly his mate that Shadewing had spoken with. His laugh soon broke into sobs as he collapsed into his nest, burying his face into his paws but the feeling of feathers caused him to pause. He glanced up to see that his paw had landed on the songbird that the warrior had left for him. ...He had been a failure yet again, hadn't he? He was always so good at being caught up in things - he hadn't had Flowerthorn to knock some sense into him...Until now, he suppose.

...He was just wasting away, wasn't he? Acting like his world was over while Flowerthorn was just...Waiting for him. But...His Clan still cared, even if he offered them nothing anymore. He drew the songbird into his nest, running his paw over the feathered hide of it. He had promised Flowerthorn that he wouldn't live in the past, that he would work harder to be better than his mistakes - than the time he had neglected her when she needed it the most. ...Was it to late to fix? No, he didn't think so. He suppose he could try - try to live for her. To make the most of what time he had...

After all, he did suppose, when he would see her again, they would have all the time in the world together...

Maybe he could try to live for her, just as she wanted. He didn't know where to start but...

He always wanted to keep his promises to her.