Words Fail (Closed)

Specklefangs paws dragged as she limped to the thunderpath, her hips and shoulders aching something fearsome with the wet and cold. Whatever possessed the unkempt she-cat to come to the thunderpath when her time was lowest was beyond her, after all. Waspstep was dead- that red tom attacked her daughter, Blazeflight got into a scuffle with Tatteredleaf, everything that the thunderpath once was for her, was gone. So why did she come? The large she-cat gave a raspy sigh, sad sunken eyes looking across the path as she remembered the good times. When life was easy, sneaking out of camp and meeting the two, Waspstep becoming a father to her.

Her voice hitched as she stared across. Missing them, missing everything that she once had. There was nothing she could do about it. Specklefang made a small promise to herself, that aside from border patrols she would no longer come to the thunderpath, there was nothing for her in the area anymore. Maybe, just maybe, she should depart from Thunderclan altogether. There was nothing to keep her there but suffocating memories.

His paws guided the large red tom back to the Thunderpath and he didn't know why neither. He had been in a lot of fights there and there was no reason to come back but... the memory of the father he admired. Even if he tried to hate Flamestrike for every lie he told him, the Shadowclan warrior couldn't forget that feeling, the one he felt during his first training lesson with his dad and when he saw the Thunderpath for the first time. He was... so happy and excited about it but now... he only was frustrated and sad by thinking about the cat he once admired. Why did it have to end this way?

He tossed a rock covered with snow, trying to throw away those memories. I should go back. There's nothing here for me... He thought but before he could even turn away, a familiar scent stopped him. His green eyes gazed at the other side and, as he expected, Specklefang was there. He froze in his spot. How should he act after he attacked her daughter in this place? Of course, he didn't wound her at all because he thought that that battle was almost like a friendly challenge but still... the Thunderclan she-cat must be angry at him because of that. Firestone didn't know what to do. Talk to her and explain everything? Just go away and finish the relationship they had? After a few seconds, he finally made a decision. "Specklefang... I didn't think that I will see you here... I'm happy to see you again."

Specklefangs eyes did not move, nary did anything move in response to Firestone. Exhaling harshly she turned her head just barely to look at Firestone, she curled her lip just a bit as her gaze hardened. "After what you've done to my daughter?" She simply spat, but the simple amount of anger seemed to suck the life right out of her. The large she-cat tried to curl in on herself, her body rigid as she looked at her paws once more.

Did she really have anything to say to this tom? Any parting words or gifts? She supposed that she should at least let him know her plans, with a voice that rasped with disuse she turned to him. "I won't be coming back to the Thunderpath, after this." She meowed simply.

Firestone gulped, clearly ashamed of what he did. He was guilty of attacking Sharptooth, there was no doubt about it but... she wanted to fight him as well when he left to his side of the Thunderpath and she attacked him back. "Wait! You don't understand! I didn't know she was your daughter and, anyway, I didn't wound her in purpose. I mean... I have to admit that I was really angry at her at first but as our battle continued...  I couldn't hate her anymore. She might have a sharp tongue but she's a good fighter and I respected that. That's why I proceed the fighting as a challenge for both of us and not as something of life and death." He confessed, sinking his claws into the snow. He was speaking the truth and there was honesty behind his green eyes.

The Shadowclan tom watched how she was going, frustrated. Seeing that shape fading away reminded him of how both of his biological parents left him behind without any explanation. He couldn't let something like that happen like that... he wouldn't bear the pain of losing anyone else without saying a word. "Please! Don't go! I know I messed up some things but at least tell me... it's because of me why are you never coming back? Is it my fault even after I explained you what happened?"

"You wouldn't understand. Firestone. But I'm not... I'm not coming back, not because of you but, but because of something... else." Specklefang mentally recoiled at how cliche she was being. "I appreciate you as a friend Firestone, no matter the skirmish you had with my daughter. I just- I don't know if I can take it, staying in Thunderclan for much longer." She meowed roughly, falling onto her rump with a huff. "My daughter was killed in the battle of sunningrocks, murdered in cold blood by Riverclan scum." She hissed, lowly, her eyes tearing up at the thought.

The orange tom heard her with a concerned look on his eyes. He flattened his ears against his skull as he heard how sad she was speaking. Firestone cheered up just a little when the brown-furred she-cat told him that she still considered him a friend. However, he frowned when she said that she wasn’t sure if she would stay in Thunderclan. Why would she abandon her own clan? The idea of leaving Shadowclan terrified him. For the ShadowClanner, his clan was his home... there were his friends and family. Specklefang had a family too, why would she...?

At the end... the reason of that sad expression of her was explained. The big warrior widened up his eyes, surprised. She lost... her daughter during that battle. He knew how it felt to lose someone you loved. He experienced that with his brother, Sparkpaw, and his own father, Flamestrike (even if he was still angry at him when the tom left this world). But losing a kit... that was a pain he couldn’t imagine.

What should he do? Firestone didn’t know how to console her... but he couldn’t stand seeing her at the verge of crying. With a deep breath, he made up his mind and decided to risk it all for this friendship. Knowing that he was breaking the rules, the tom trotted to Specklefang and sat down in front of her, determined to stay no matter what she would say. ”Hey... Don’t say that...” He mewed, touching her paw slightly with one of his own big paws. ”I know... I won’t say that you’re going to be okay after your loss because you won’t. But I also know that leaving your clan won’t help at all. Your daughter might be walking with the stars right now but... you still have a family in Thunderclan. Sharptooth loves you... I am sure that she would be devastated if you leave her and your mate. Do you really want her to suffer? I doubt it. From what I know, you’re a good cat, Specklefang. That’s why I’m your friend, even if we belong to different clans.” He said with a sad smile, trying to show her how worried he was for her.

”If you consider me your friend like you said, then listen to me. If there’s something that is as horrible as losing a kit, is losing a mother who abandoned you. Trust me... I know how that feels.” He glanced away with a sad expression, remembering the day he discovered that his mother, Honeydrop, gave up on him and his littermates the day he was born.