Mourning over a loved one's death (open)

Sunpelt, awoken by the wailing, hurried out the den. He smelled fear and grief, and the fur on his spine prickled nervously. Fighting to keep calm, the yellow tabby hurried across the clearing, his ears pinned back. He saw the small group of cats and a broad body stretched across the rock.

He walked solemnly over to the group and sat down next to Fawnpaw. As Sunpelt looked closer, he saw with a stab of horror that the dead body was Blazingheart. He gasped, grief-stricken. Blazingheart, though not his mentor, had helped him through training; had helped him through his silent hardships. And now this cat was dead. "No," he whispered, staring blindly at the shape.

Blazingheart had been so strong, so loyal, so determined, right to his last breath. I will pass down his memory for as long as I live, Sunpelt vowed to himself. He looked over to Frozenflame, and sadness pierced his heart. Frozenflame, the strong warrior, was his cousin, and to know how much he had been through hurt him. He had faced so many troubles, though had so strongly pulled through them.

Whimpering slightly, Sunpelt crept over to Frozenflame and pressed himself against his cousin's side. Looking over Frozenflame's shoulder, he saw Hawkstrike doing the same. He slowly rasped his tongue over his cousin's ear, though he knew one small gesture like that could never ease Blazingheart's son's pain. "I'm so sorry," was all Sunpelt could say.

He left Frozenflame for a moment to bend down and press his muzzle to Blazingheart's cold fur. "I looked up to you when you were alive. You taught me so much, yet you were not my mentor. I will still look up to you in the stars, and I will continue to trust you with my life. Let StarClan receive you with grace. You died so bravely. I will never forget you, uncle." Then he stepped back and sat with his tail curled around his paws, pelt brushing Frozenflame's.

~

Meadowpaw heard the screech and scrambled out of her nest. She dashed across the clearing but stopped dead when she saw the huddled, grieving group. Slower now, the cream she-cat tiptoed closer. Seeing her uncle pressed against Frozenflame's flank, Meadowpaw wondered if it was okay to talk to him.

Deciding it was, the young apprentice hurried over to Sunpelt and pressed her muzzle into his shoulder fur. "Sunpelt.... What happened?" Meadowpaw gasped quietly. But she knew what happened. Though she had never met Blazingheart, she knew he had been a powerful and honorable warrior. Sunpelt had told her many stories.

Suddenly feeling scared, Meadowpaw whimpered and pressed herself to the ground. She leaned forward hesitantly and briefly pressed her muzzle to Blazingheart's shoulder. "I'm sorry I never met you, Blazingheart. But I know you will be watching me and ThunderClan from the stars. I know you were a noble warrior, and I believe you will continue on to be one in the ranks of StarClan." A bit nervous that she had chosen the wrong words, she crept back and pressed herself to the ground again, trembling next to Sunpelt. She snuggled into her uncle's foreleg and looked up at the sky. Where is Blazingheart? she wondered.

Meadowpaw gasped, and immediately stood up from her tight crouch. "Oh, Silkpaw! Don't blame yourself... please. It's bad enough for me that a cat I never met, who is still my Clanmate, died. Please don't blame yourself." The cream apprentice hurried over to her denmate's side. She pressed herself against Silkpaw's shivering body and buried her muzzle in her fur. She rasped her tongue over Silkpaw's ear.

~

Flamestripe hurried from the warriors den. He stared down at Blazingheart's limp body, and pure grief threatened to overwhelm him. "Father!" he yowled. "No!"The orange tabby threw back his head and let out a yowl of grief. "Why? StarClan, what have you done? Blazingheart is my father!"

Tears welled in his eyes and dripped to the floor, creating a puddle at Flamestripe's paws. But he didn't care. No, no, no, no! Father! Oh, my beloved father! Why? He threw himself to the ground and buried his muzzle in Blazingheart's fur. He pressed himself against his father's cold pelt, and leaned his head on his shoulder. Why him...?

Worn out by grief, Flamestripe let out an agonized sigh, and pressed closer to his father. Why did this have to happen?

Meadowpaw nodded, and licked Silkpaw's ear one more time. Then she went to sit down next to Sunpelt again.