Shadow

The night was cold and bleak, a soft breeaze blowing steadily over the treetops as the moon observed from its place in the stars. Fallencloud glanced up at the sky, sliverpelt shining brightly against the night. The moon bore softly against her pelt, lighting the path before her like a guide. Only the presence of her ancestors did not calm her beating heart, only embedding a deep sense of foreboding inside of her. She could feel her paws tremble beneath her from a cause that was not her own.

In the last moon, when the clan had been in bright spirits from their victory and vengeance agaisnt those who stole their home, her included, she had been feeling a dark sense of anxeity that she had trouble placing. Of course the she-cat had put her clanmates first, ignoring it with a halfhearted swing of her head. She had even been given an apprentice, a young she-cat, to train, showing the trust her leader had placed in her. She couldn't afford to think about herself - she had a responsibility, and...And she didn't want to let Nightwing down, by failing in a duty she was entrusted with. All she wanted was to make the deputy proud of the warrior she mentored...

But some nagging feeling inside of Fallencloud told her that she would never get that opportunity.

Gingerheart hadn't been too far behind Fallencloud when the she-cat had left the camp. She had seen the young warrior walking into the territory with a certain kind of pain etched into her figure. It wasn't normal for Fallencloud to act that way even though Gingerheart wasn't exactly too familiar with the she-cat, but in a way, the warrior knew how Fallencloud felt. She had climbed out of her own little nest that same night, aching from head to tail. For the past few days she had ignored it, hoping it would just go away on its own but it seems to have gotten worse. But, knowing her, she was too stubborn to try to see the medicine cats because she knew how busy they were with repairing and restocking their dens, so she left it to nature and Starclan to heal her wounds... but they had become inflamed and more painful... puss-filled, even.

As Gingerheart followed Fallencloud, she finally gave herself up when she let out an aching cough, but she wasn't too worried about revealing herself. She wasn't here to spy on the young warrior, she was there to see what was wrong, but she was pretty sure she already knew. The journey out here had already made Gingerheart extremely tired and she didn't feel like she could stand up much longer, much less stay awake. "Fallencloud," she called softly with worry to the warrior.

Fallencloud had sensed the elder she-cat as she approached - not at first, when she herself had trouble concentrating, but as Gingerheart coughed her presence became all too apparent. She turned around, noticing a falter in her own paws, yet continuing on to meet her clanmate in her sickness, even if she knew that her own health was far from exceptional at the moment.

"I'm here." Fallencloud replied softly, walking beside the she-cat to help support her even as her limbs begged her not to take the extra weight.

She could sense the dread in her bones - and the burning in her chest, the scar-like wound that she had thought healed long ago, but that didn't mean that Gingerheart would go along with her...As she turned her head to glance her clanmate's eyes, Fallencloud could see illness swirling inside, something that made her fear for both their fates.

Could it be that Gingerheart was succumbing as well? Fallencloud stiffened, not in the least banishing the tremble in her paws. Her nerves seemed to freeze, forgetting about the pain, as she saw the hostile eyes of her enemies - the ragged tom, Fredrick, and the pale ginger she-cat, Anna - their claws digging into her sides...

Fallencloud had assumed that her qualms with them over, after she had extracted vengeance the last moon...But they always would haunt her, wouldn't they? They weren't satisfied with just killing all those innocent cats?

No. She had to die, too.

As soon as Fallencloud had come to help her, she could feel some of her weight being lifted off of her. No, she couldn't do that to her own clan member. Instantly, she pushed away from Fallencloud, making sure that she carried her own weight and didn't burden the younger warrior. That wasn't her duty. Her duty was to protect her other clan mates no matter what and it was easy to tell that something was troubling her. "Are you okay?" She asked feebly, taking a seat on the soft earth underneath her paws. Oh, it felt so welcoming-- so warm even though Gingerheart knew the ground was cold underneath the moonlight and the light of Silverpelt. Instantly, she had sucked up her own pains and bad health to look stronger for the sickening she-cat. Just by finally looking her in the eyes, she could tell that Fallencloud was going through the same thing she was, and through the strength and the will that Gingerheart had left, she didn't know how much longer she herself had. At first, she was thinking it would simply pass, but as time went on, she had come to accept her fate. She had helped her clan, and she couldn't do anymore now but make sure that her clan mate was going to be okay.

Fallencloud felt Gingerheart's weight slip from her, easing the strain on her legs, yet along with her release from the burden rose a sense of sorrow. She followed Gingerheart's movements, sitting herself down on the ground with a small sigh. Fallencloud herself held a streak of ShadowClan independence, one so fierce, accompanied by pride. One would refuse help, if only long to give it.

But she understood.

"I'm fine." She whispered, her heart not in the words. Gingerheart's calm seemed strained, and Fallencloud knew the feeling well. But her strength inspired the young warrior. She still felt the need to reassure Fallencloud..."The moon is bright tonight, isn't it?" She mewed quietly.

The warrior nodded, looking up at the moon. "I don't think I've seen it this bright in a long time," she added, not getting enough of the sight laid out before her eyes. Of course, though, her mind was distracted and she felt like she couldn't think straight. It felt like bees in her brain. She looked back over at Fallencloud. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I know exactly how you feel right now. I can see it in your eyes." The warrior had definitely seen it, and pointing it out was a little strange, but she was truly concerned, yet she was coming to terms with her sorrow and sympathy for the young warrior. These could be her last moments as well.

"StarClan is watching over us, and we should trust them?" Her statement came out as a question, something the young warrior felt disappointed in. Of course she should...I-If StarClan chose this time for her and her clanmate, it must be so. Fallencloud felt the ache in her heart as well as her body as she shook, finding herself crumble silently, placing her head on her paws, sorrow filling her soft green orbs. "It doesn't seem fair..."

The pain in her wounds weakened her, but never before had she questioned it. She had an apprentice depending on her...Fallencloud should have had many more moons of hunting for ShadowClan...But suddenly Fallencloud realized her selfishness. Gingerheart, was she not feeling the same way? What about Cedarfur...And what about Nightwing?

She couldn't help but curse the solemn acceptance her heart grasped. Fallencloud couldn't feel the strength to fight anymore. With a small, ragged cough, Fallencloud sheathed the claws that had unconsciously gripped the earth.

Then everything began to fall quiet. It was as if the entire forest knew what was going on. The frogs stopped croaking, the wind hushed itself into silence. The grass had even begun to lay still until only the water underneath Gingerheart's feet made noise as she took a deep breath and moved closer to Fallencloud. At this point, the warrior knew she was not okay, but there wasn't anything she could do. Fallencloud was now in the paws of Starclan. Only they could keep her here now. But as more time went on, Gingerheart knew that Fallencloud's life was fading. Starclan was taking her to their hunting grounds, and all she could do was sit and watch.

No, she was going to do more. Using a little bit more energy, the warrior lay next to her clan mate before pressing her nose into the fur on Fallencloud's shoulder. Gingerheart would help her until her last moments. She was not going to give up until then. And after what seemed like eternity, Gingerheart finally spoke in a hushed voice. "Don't worry, Fallencloud. Everything will be fine. Just sleep. When you wake up, you'll feel better than ever." It was something the ginger warrior could only believe, but she was pretty sure it had to be true. Starclan would take great care of her.

Fallencloud could slowly feel the pain dull, until she felt herself feel nothing at all. It was a numbness filled with a sense of bitter cold, and a small contentment. The anxiety inside of her seem to fade until her body was relaxed...She could feel the warm presence of another cat against her, and it felt good....She wasn't alone...

Her tense shoulders slumped, and then she was gone.

For hours it seemed like Gingerheart was lying there next to Fallencloud as she tried to calm herself down from the thought of the young warrior's death. She thought she was prepared for it, but the anguish in her heart would not let up. But, it was only inside that hurt. On the outside, her face was emotionless and her own body numb from not moving for so long. She couldn't really feel anything except for the heat leaving her clan mate's body as she kept her nose pressed into her fur. It was a terrible feeling, losing a clan mate. It was the first time this had happened to Gingerheart. Yeah, she had seen Sagestar die a couple of times, but there was always relief at the thought that he would return. Fallencloud, however, would not. She forever belonged to Starclan.

After some time, Gingerheart finally began to stand up, her joints and muscles protesting angrily as she did so. Shaking out her pelt, she looked up at the sky one more time to realize that dawn was almost upon them. She didn't even realize they-- she had been out here for so long. Finally, after gaining her composure, the warrior grabbed onto Fallencloud's body and hoisted her up onto her own body to carry the young warrior back to camp. It was the least the ginger she-cat could do at this point. She couldn't save Fallencloud, so she was going to honor her. Slowly and painfully, she began her solemn walk back to camp, arriving just as the sun began to rise which meant it was time for most of Shadowclan to be going to bed. As she entered through the thistles surrounding the camp, her eyes did not come up from the ground as the hustling and bustling of cats around her began to stop as they watched. Well, she hoped someone would pay attention to her ;A;

The ShadowClan leader had been laying outside of the den, licking the last traces of frog off of his muzzle and letting out a long yawn, ready for a long day's rest; as he assumed was going to be the same of the rest of the clan. The tom cleaned the remains up and stretched, about to head into his den when he heard the familiar rustling of someone entering the camp. He scented them before anything else, "Gingerheart, Fallencloud - Where have you -" He whipped his green gaze around, freezing when he noticed the still body of the younger she-cat. The tom knew of her illness and knew that she wasn't supposed to leave her brother's den. "What happened? Is she alright?" Sagestar demanded, bounding over.

Gingerheart looked up at Sagestar with lifeless, solemn eyes before she nodded her head. She had finally come to peace while walking back with Fallencloud, and she wasn't as sad as she was, just tired and weak. "She's fine now, Sagestar. She's with Starclan. I'm sorry I couldn't help her, though. I did everything I could--" She then just stopped talking, for it took too much energy. No matter how much she explained herself, she knew she couldn't make the situation any better. The loss of a clan mate was always hard on everyone, and no words could soothe the feelings of despair. Without another word, she continued past Sagestar towards the middle of camp to place Fallencloud's body in its place for the vigil held tonight. After the weight was lifted off of her shoulders, Gingerheart quickly stepped only a few steps away before lying down next to Fallencloud's body once more, trying to regain her own energy to at least make it to the den, but she didn't feel like moving...

A dark glaze shadowed over his eyes as he looked at the body of the she-cat with sadness. Nothing in her life went as it was promised. She didn't have her warriors ceremony in the warm, welcoming comforts of her home. She was to look forward to a long and fulfilling life among them, but that seemed to be taken away too. Once more, the leader cursed the rogues who had done them so much damage; and taken the life of their youngest warrior who had so much potential.
At first, admittedly, he was unsure of how well she'd do; for when she joined the clan, she was obviously only an abandoned kitty-pet, a wailing kit left abandoned by twolegplace and she had been taken in with reluctance, but she proved to be an invaluable warrior; and Sagestar was immensely saddened to see her join StarClan. "Goodbye, Fallencloud." He muttered as he shared tongues with her for the last time.

As Gingerheart lay there, she truly began to feel how weak she was becoming. She had already accepted how close to death she was, but her lovely owner just couldn't bring herself to kill Gingerheart so instead she will break character and ask for help. "Sagestar," she called for him softly as she lifted her head and heavy eyes. "I need Mallowroot..." she then put her head back down, letting out a weak cough before she tried to stand again, only able to do so out of sheer willpower.