|:| the black in tiger stripes |:| [death topic]

Tigerblaze stared fondly at the very same creek in which he'd become mates with Cherrymist.

He was standing at the edge—the water was high, and it tickled the large tom's paw pads, making him feel almost like a kit. But he wasn't. Now he had beautiful kit whom he was so proud of, and in his eyes, she was the most perfect cat (besides Cherrymist, of course) that existed. The tom smiled as memories hit him, the mud beneath him squelching as he leant to lap from the water.

It happened all at once.

A bird squawked in the distance, he whipped around, his feet slipped, and suddenly there he was—falling, falling…

Water, cold and dark, nothing like the reassuring warmth he'd felt when dipping his paws in with his gorgeous mate, filled his lungs as his muscular paws thrashed through. But air did not come that easily, and he was gone, vanished into the deep. Three small bubbles broke the surface of the river, then it was still. The tom, infamous for his strangely beautiful coat, making him look like a cat from Tigerclan, was gone forever beneath the black of the dark, unforgiving Moonlit Creek—the place he'd first shared his mate's love and his silent fate.

How ironic.

Cherrymist padded in the clearing where she thought he could smell the sweet tinge ofher mate, Tigerblaze. She was so happy that he had confessed to her, and even ahppier that their kit was not blind like herself. The young warrior bounded towards the creek, looking around even tho she could not see. "Tigerblaze? Tigerblaze?" ahe called at first, but no answer came, and something felt so not right in the dreadful air. "Tigerblaze, I followed you, maybe we could hunt together? Tigerblaze...?" he voice was losing her sureness, and soon she was trembling from the silence. "Tigerblaze! Oh, Tigerblaze! TIGERBLAAAAZE!" she yowled, her voice hoarse with terror. He would never ignore her like that, but now she could feel his scent drifting away, not as if he was walking away, but as if he was disappearing. The blind cat, shaking with grief, fell on her knees, laying down with her bead down between her paws and her tail teitching contantly in fear. She felt so alone and lost, as if nothing was where it should have been, and when her mate was gone, nothing was in it's place. Cherrymist wanted to get up and walk of, figuring the body of the warrior was unretrievable, and not wishing to risk her own life by trying to get it, and go to camp, seek the aid of her parents and the wise words of her grandmother, Snowstorm, but sitting in the cold, her muscles were numb.

Rippedsky had been trying his luck along the river when he heard the terrible shrieks. Memories of Pansypaw being attacked flashed in his mind and he raced towards the sound. Beside the creek was a white she-cat. Cherrymist! Glancing around, he noticed there wasn't any danger and let out a sigh of relief. But something was still wrong. Tentatively, he padded over to her side.

"Cherrymist, what's wrong?" He meowed seriously, concern shining in his deep, blue eyes, even though she couldn't see it.

"Tigerblaze, my sweet, loving Tigerblaze. Tigerblaze..." she murmured to the voice she did nit bother to register, still hunched and feeling miserable.

The black and white tom scented the air and followed Tigerblaze's scent to the edge of the creek. There the scent trail disappeared. Horror crossed his face as realization hit. A gasp escaped his throat, "Oh no." Cherrymist's mate. Eagleheart's brother. His own valued clanmate. Rippedsky had always liked the tom and never had an issue with him. Tigerblaze had been a great clanmate and warrior. Grief tugged at his heart and he padded back over to Cherrymist. He couldn't even begin to imagine how the white warrior felt in this moment. Rippedsky had never known the love or loss of a mate. Sure, he'd had feelings for Robinpaw back in Windclan, but never like this.

Without a word, he wrapped himself around the grieving she-cat. Nothing he could say would fix things or change what had happened. But he couldn't just leave her alone. Part of him was still not used to her not hating him, and it felt strange to be this close to Cherrymist, but he hoped the comfort of another cat would fight off the cold and keep her from feeling entirely alone. Anyways, he couldn't sense any hostility coming from her, only unbearable sadness. Based off her response, he knew the blind cat hadn't taken the time to figure out it was him. But he stayed there, next to her, without saying anything.

((the only thing I can think of now is when Steven hugged Pearl and she broke into tears XD))

The touch was so warm and pleasant, making her feel safe, despite all of the worries that started to come for the blind she-cat with older age. Only then did she bother to register the scent, wondering whether it was someone in the family. But the scent was different, and part of her was glad to feel it. Her heart was slamming in her chest with emotion as she was overwhelmed by the scent of the former WindClanner. Rippedsky. she thought, almost with a gasp she managed to hold back. She didn't want to be impolite, or to shun the younger warrior away from her now that she felt so comfortable. Cherrymist realized almost with shame of how much she enjoyed his cuddle, even when she peered over the creek where the dead body of her mate had sunk only heartbeats ago. But something in her heart was so happy. She doesn't have to know. She can have a father. she thought of her only kit, little Willowkit, the only sunshine left for her in this world.

"Rippedsky, I'm sorry. I've been cruel to you when you arrived in SkyClan, but that did not stop you. You wanted to prove yourself to us and when you saved my little sister, I knew you were good. But... now Willowkit is an orphan, with no father to raise her. So I will have to ask you."

"Will you be her father?"

occ: so ik that's a Steven Universe reference, but I've never seen it lol

Rippedsky pulled back a bit in surprise. Not only had she recognize him and not pulled away, but she had apologized. And asked him to father her kit. The young tom had never even considered having kits of his own and had long forgotten about taking on a mate. It had been a long time since he had thought of more than fighting for his clan. But something about the desperation and softness of her voice hit him. The warrior remembered growing up without any close family. He knew what it was to feel alone in the world. Cherrymist was right, Willowkit would need a father.

He let out a ragged sigh. Will I make a good father? I mean Cherrymist trusts me enough to ask, if she believes in me...

"I will," The voice sounded not his own, and distant. But he could feel his own decision and determination, "I will raise her like my own, Cherrymist."