For What Goes Up, Must Come Down [OPEN WIDE]

The experienced warrior rushed in the camp like a flood. His eyes were semi-covered in tears and in his face, there were deep concern and desperation. He looked around, his body soaked in water and searched for any cat as his sister and brother entered the camp with Jaystar's body on their backs. "Mistlepaw! Scorchclaw! Jaystar is really injured! He needs help!" He cried, hoping both medicine cat and deputy would arrive.

---

The world was dark, getting colder every second despite not being in that wet environment. The leader felt no pain but he was growing more tired with every second. The voices, the sounds... sounded so far away but he could feel their concern, their sadness. Was he dead already? Or was he in limbo? Jaystar tried to open his eyes but everything was a blur. Despite that, he recognized his camp... his home and the scent of his kits next to him. Did they... carry him here? Why was he alive anyways? He had died before. Two times. The tom already knew how it tasted to dance with the death so he was certain that he didn't have much time. And even though he knew this was going to be the last time... and that he wasn't certain he would end in Starclan... the tom was no longer afraid. He just felt tired and... somehow in peace.

His worst fear had come true. The moment Scorchclaw saw the wet, sopping heap of fur that Sparkfrost and Ivybrook were dragging through the camp entrance, he instantly broke off the conversation he had been having. Moments later, Berrycloud confirmed everything. With those pain-filled words echoing out, the peace of the island camp instantly shattered. Scorchclaw drew a deep breath instinctively. Calm down. Calm down...

"Mistlepaw! Someone get Mistlepaw! Scorchclaw roared. In a moment, he was by the leader's side. Even from a distance, the leader's injuries had been clear to see. The water had washed most of the blood away, but more was oozing out at that very moment. Deep lacerations marked the leader's body. "Jaystar," Scorchclaw hissed, "can you hear me?" The silver tom was too badly hurt. With an impending sense of horror, Scorchclaw realized that any other cat would probably have been dead by now.

Jaystar could get through this. He had been hurt badly before, but he had still pulled through without losing a life. He could... right?

Hailsong's head lifted at the sight of the distressed warrior. He seemed quite lost, in so much pain and desperation that the she-cat could hardly imagine what could have gotten him in such a state. However, before the she-cat could make his way to him to calm him down, Berrycloud shouted the terrible news just a few seconds before Ivybrook and Sparkfrost entered the camp. Hailsong's heart stopped when she saw her father, so hopeless, with his fur soaked and bleeding. "DAD!" She cried, rushing to where Jaystar was left and reaching Scorchclaw's side as well.

Her green eyes looked at him, his wounds and for the first time... she noticed his ribs under the fur that was now sticking to his skin. She stopped her breath, slowly realizing why her father had been seen so tired and so weary. Tears started to come out as she fixed her eyes on her father's, who was weakly opening his own. "Dad... oh... dad, what have you done? Why... did you do this to you...?" She whispered with sadness, unable to understand how low the tom had fallen for the past moons. Did he really starve himself to this state? Hailsong shook her head and tried to not think too much about it. There was no time to lose now. "I'll get Mistlepaw for you." And after saying that, she ran away into the medicine cat's den, looking for her daughter. "Mistlepaw! Your grandfather needs you!" She mewed when she finally spotted her.

It was the sound of wailing and shouts that caught Honeykit’s ears, causing her to look up from where she had been curled up in the nursery. She recognized the voices as curiosity ate away at her, clambering to her paws as she slowly poked her head out of the den to try to see what was going on. Her ears perked at the sight before, swiveling to catch the words as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Her Clanmates were gathering in the clearing, surrounding what looked to be a sleeping cat. But why were they sleeping in the middle of the camp clearing? That was strange...

She pouted, pulling herself free from the nursery’s walls as she spotted her father among the gathering cats, his eyes wide, ears down and...She froze, the barest wisps of a memory awakening in her head. Her mom was asleep, she wasn’t moving... she couldn’t understand why mom wouldn’t wake up. Why wouldn’t she wake up? She wails, hungry and confused on why her mom was so cold. Cats came in and herded her and her siblings away from their mother, offering whispers of comfort but no answers on why.. She never saw her mother again and her father and others would only explain that she was gone. Leaving her confused on why her mother had abandoned them for so long... Until she finally was old enough to understand what they meant.

The cat wasn’t sleeping. Her ears fall back, her eyes remaining fixed on her father before she slowly start to approach again, stretching and ducking her head as she tried to get a glimpse of who the...The...The badly hurt cat was until she realized. Jaystar? She was confused. Their leader? Why was he...How had he...She struggled for words that she couldn’t come up with, the harsh reality conflicting with the image she had for the leader. No, he was the leader. He couldn’t die, he was great! Powerful! He was…He was the symbol of the Clan! If he was...If he was to die then that would mean...

Her eyes snapped back to her father, dreadful energy filling her paws as she bounded toward him. “Daddy!” she cried, pressing her head into his shoulder - the highest she could reach on him. She wasn’t scared for him, not exactly...But as cats yowled for Mistlepaw, to get help for the leader, she just barely understood what it would mean for her father if no help was gotten for Jaystar in time... She shook her head as she buried herself as far as she could, trying to comfort him with her presence. She wished she could say something, anything to help him but...She couldn’t.

She didn’t know what words would help him.

At the commotion, Dappleshine emerged from the warrior den, concern clear on her face. In the bustling, quickly gathering crowd, she sought out her daughter. Her eyes scanned for the young apprentice, and landed on Sparkfrost in the midst of it all. From the yowls around her, she pieced together that Jaystar was hurt, and Sparkfrost had witnessed it. Heart breaking for everything that was happening, she made her way to Sparkfrost's side, touching her nose to his shoulder. "Dacepaw, come here please my dear..." She called out to her daughter upon sighting her among the crowd, remaining by Sparkfrost's side, concern and sadness written on her features as she waited to see what Mistlepaw would be able to do to help.

Addershade carefully approached the scene taking place in front of him, concerned and apprehensive about what might be going on. When he saw what it was-- that Jaystar had been hurt, badly hurt, and-- he stopped dead. For a cat always expecting the worst, who cared about nothing more than being prepared to deal with it...he was frozen, utterly unsure what to do. Bad things happen all the time, to everyone, and Addershade was painfully aware of that fact. He spent all his time making himself ready for it, as ready as he could be. But seeing the clan leader, his former mentor-- in such a state...still hurt, and he was at a loss.

"What-- I-- Is..." the brown-black pelted tom said quietly, not really speaking to anyone in particular, simply lending one more concerned voice to the crowd. "Is he....?"

The sudden yowling of familiar voices instantly made Magpiepaw's head pop up from behind the tall grass he had been eating behind, golden eyes wide as full moons and small rounded ears pressed flat against his head.  What's going on?  Berrycloud, Ivybrook, Sparkfrost...why are they so upset?!  His adopted siblings had left camp a little while ago on a patrol with Jaystar, why would they be back without him?  After taking in the scene though, he quickly realized the truth; Jaystar's limp form was lifted onto Sparkfrost and Ivybrook's backs, and he was bleeding.  Really badly.  The little bi-color tom's heart slammed to a halt, and for a moment he didn't think he could breathe.  On shaking paws, he crept forward as if walking through a daydream, gazing down at his leader's once magnificent body now marred by crimson...and to his shock, the signs of hunger.  Jaystar's ribs shown clearly underneath his waterlogged pelt, and the sight made Magpiepaw whimper unconsciously.  How did he come to be this way?  He was their leader, if any cat deserved to eat it was him, surely?

"...W-what h-happened to h-him?"  His head snapping up to meet Berrycloud's gaze, the overaged apprentice's voice was pleading, clearly not just asking about the great tom's injuries.  This didn't make any sense to him...RiverClan's prey pile was always full!  He had even helped fill it as of late, making him feel less and less guilty about taking food for himself.  Why did Jaystar look like he had been on the lakeshore?  As more confusion began to set in, Magpiepaw found himself looking around to his other adopted siblings, noticing that Dappleshine had come to stand beside Sparkfrost.  For once, the situation took precedence over his fears, and he shifted closer to his brother and his best friend, gazing at them both as he mewed; "I-Is he g-going to be o-okay?"

Her muscles ached, every fiber of her body screaming at her to collapse right where she was. If this had been any other cat, she would have. Nothing but the sheer determination to get her father back home kept her going, and she was pushing herself far past what any cat should have. Everything had happened so fast. Within just a moment's notice, it seemed as if all of her peace and happiness had been taken from her. Though Ivybrook was well aware that her entire life had just changed, she was strangely quiet. Walking with a slight limp, she finally entered camp after what had seemed like an eternity of walking through the reeds and tall grass.

Her strength was fading quickly, and just before her legs gave in completely, she managed to gently lower Jaystar onto the ground. Even if he couldn't quite grasp the gravity of the loss he was experiencing at that moment, Sparkfrost's help in carrying the silver tom was greatly appreciated. As Ivybrook looked at her bleeding father from in front of him, she seemed oddly... distant. Though tears filled her eyes and eventually rolled down her cheeks, she was reacting far less... chaotic than one might've expected. It may not have been quite as obvious to the rest of the cats, but Ivybrook knew that the trauma Jaystar had experienced was unsurvivable. With the combination of the rapids pushing him about and the gravity shoving him into the jagged rocks, Jaystar surviving such events would be beyond a miracle.

Ivybrook's legs finally collapsed underneath her, but she didn't move from where she lay. Her nose touched Jaystar's as tears fell from her chartreuse eyes, sobs heaving from her chest as more and more cats gathered around. The Warrior was soaked and covered in her own father's blood, shivering despite the warm sun that beat down on her back.

One minute they were standing at the edge of the gorge, speaking about things far beyond the tom's emotional comprehension, and the next, everything had been thrown into discourse. The warriors had fished their leader's body from the rapids. And now, he was bad touch over Sparkfrost's back. A heavy burden was shared by both he and his sister as they trekked back to camp. The entire way, his paws trembled ever so slightly. Even if he hardly felt the bond of kit and father, as he had already lost the cat he saw as his sire, something about this was horribly wrong. His stomach churned with discomfort and his eyes were glued ahead. Eventually, the calico assisted in resting the weary body onto the earth. From the shallow gasps of breath, to the still frame, even he knew what was about to come. And it made him take a step back. This was supposed to be his father. But it didn't feel like it. Standing in the midst of some sacred mourning felt wrong, like he was out of place and standing in the pawsteps of anther cat, one who he did not know.

Dappleshine was at his side in an instant. She had been an ever present friend throughout, well, everything. He turned to pull away from the crowd and motioned both her and Dacepaw to the edge of the clearing. Cats who had known Jaystar well in life would be able to say their farewells in peace without the air of his own disorientation over the whole ordeal. It brought forth something in him, something that had been there and that grew stronger when he looked at Dappleshine. His eyes were weary, and slightly glazed over but he managed a weak smile as he met her gaze. Somewhere deep inside those dull, hazel eyes, there was also a glimmer of hope. A hope that had begun to blossom with their relationship and bloomed with the birth of their daughter. For as talkative and easy-going as he normally was, the words didn't flow this time. They stuck at the back of his throat and clung to his tongue with invisible claws.

"Dappleshine... I have to go. You know I do. But I think it's time now. I can't stay here anymore. My paws are telling me to leave. And, I think my heart is too."

His eyes were opened but not for long. The scents of his clanmates, the voices of his family and friends... they were all around it that it could be considered overwhelming but Jaystar just felt... warmth. In the ground, he struggled to lay down in a comfortable position and his head just dropped on the top of his front legs, unable to lift it up enough. He looked up to Scorchclaw, Hailsong, Berrycloud, Sparkfrost and Ivybrook... his deputy and kits... they were all around him. It was his time, he knew it and even if Scorchclaw and Ivybrook were the only ones who were actually aware of his last life... deep inside he was certain that the rest of the cats present knew, at least deep inside. The silver feline rested his head to one side, so he could see his clanmates around him and a faint, weak smile showed up in his muzzle. With one, gentle paw, he stopped Mistlepaw from working on him. Was this what Fallowlight felt? The realization that she would not make it and didn't want to waste the efforts of others on her? Maybe he would ask her if Starclan did not decide he should go to the Dark Forest... "M-my time... h-has come... don't you worry... Mistlepaw... it's n-not your fault. It isn't... anyone's fault..." He started to say with a trembling yet loud enough voice. The leader felt his strength slipping away as well as his energy. There was so much to say, so much to do... but at the same time... he felt complete for now he had faced his fears, faced his kits with empty paws and they forgave him. That was more than enough for his broken soul.

Jaystar let out a tired sigh, he fixed his eyes to the cats around him, even though he was starting to lose sight of what surrounded him, probably because of the wound of his head. "Mistlepaw... be loyal, be strong. You're young and the world will beat you to the ground with the loss but that is what will make you stronger, wiser. You will be a good medicine cat, I'm certain of it... Hailsong, my daughter... your mom and I... we are proud of you. You have become... a strong warrior and a shelter to the abandoned ones, d-don't change, my love. Ivybrook, Sparkfrost and Berrycloud... I can only t-thank you a-all for your... f-forgiveness. I-I am sorry I have t-to leave you a-all so soon but y-you have to s-stay together... in y-your home. Y-you are your family, t-this is where you belong..." He let out a small yelp of pain when he felt a sting on the back of his head. His vision was starting to get red and that only meant one thing. Jaystar didn't know what will wait for him at the other side: the starry plains or the shadows of the Dark Forest. But right now... he had to cling to his last seconds of life so his beloved ones... won't fall in the same disgrace he had.

The tom stretched one of his paws and reached Scorchclaw's chest. With one bit of effort, he raised his head and looked into the eyes of his successor. "I-I k-know I was not the b-best m-mentor to you... b-but let me say... I'm still proud of you... as you w-were my own son. As my last wish... p-please... protect them all..." He mewed, referring to both his forbidden kits and their clan. Scorchclaw was stronger than him. More determined and less driven by his emotions. The tom knew justice, fairness and even if he wasn't the best interacting with his clanmates, he had fine leadership abilities. Jaystar never regretted naming him deputy...

Not able to hold on any longer, he let his body fell numb and closed his eyes, feeling how that endless sleep was coming to him, like a calm stream dragging him away. The pain was vanishing, just like his consciousness. A single tear fell down his cheek as he closed his green eyes for last time. The large, scarred tom smiled a bit and with his final breath, he shared his last wisdom... "After all this time, after all my mistakes... I've learnt that with love... comes loss. It hurts... but at the end... there's no greater gift in life... than love. My kits... Scorchclaw... love each other deeply. Love your home... your roots... your home because at the end... it is what truly matters. The bonds we create... the ones who vanishes... the ones who are re-born... forgiveness, loss, love, sorrow and hope... All are part of life and is worth living it. Don't cry for this old, sad tom. I've lived my life... is time for all of you... to live yours and be better... than I was."

The sounds of yowling and cries of cats sounded from a distance; Dacepaw was startled, immediately sitting upright from her nest in the apprentices' den. The cries grew louder, and the tone made the recently named apprentice's blood freeze. For reasons she didn't understand,  her heart was pounding. What was wrong...? Then the voices were in camp, and they multiplied, crying for Mistlepaw. The medicine cat? Dacepaw had met her a few times as a kit but didn't know her well. She was there to heal; did someone need healing?

The pale tortoiseshell kit steeled herself, trying to push back the unfamiliar sense of foreboding getting heavier in her stomach. The smell of blood wafted in and Dacepaw's green-hazel eyes widened. Immediately her hesitation was replaced with a morbid curiosity to know the source of the fear. She exited the den in nearly a crouch, creeping fully by instinct towards the source of the commotion. Yes; someone was hurt, but who...?

"Dacepaw, come here please my dear," Dappleshine's voice rang, edged with anxiety, and the kit gave in to her instinct to turn away from what she had not yet seen. She was trembling as she scampered towards Dappleshine, and she was immediately relieved to see Sparkfrost at his side. Dacepaw squeezed between them, wide-eyed. "Mommy? Daddy? What's happening?" she asked nervously.

Sparkfrost gestured them further from the commotion and Dacepaw followed, practically walking beneath her mother's belly as they withdrew. When they were farther away, Sparkfrost turned to address Dappleshine. The words he said didn't make sense. She gazed up at him, feeling confused. "Where are you going?" Dacepaw asked, gazing imploringly into his face.

Where was Mistlepaw? Berrycloud's cry must have summoned most of RiverClan, for a crowd swiftly gathered around Jaystar's prone form. The familiar faces that flashed at the edges of Scorchclaw's vision all bore some variation of the same emotions. He could hear the fear thick in their voices, sense the anxiety that was building like a cloud over the island. Their questions echoed in his ears. They wanted to know what had happened to their leader. They wanted to know if he was going to be okay. Of course they did. He had no way of reassuring them, for he was just as desperate for the answers as they were. "Stand back!" The large tabby ordered, his voice strained. "Give Jaystar some space." There was little else he could do apart from issuing such instructions. Where was Mistlepaw? With every second that slipped by, Jaystar grew weaker. It was only at that moment that he realized how dilapidated the silver tabby had become. Now that Jaystar's pelt was soaked with water and clinging to his frame, he seemed so small―so fragile. His ribs were showing, and Scorchclaw could practically count them. The sight caused a cold wave of shock to wash over him. When had the leader grown so weak? Scorchclaw should have had every opportunity to notice, as the second-in-command; yet he had not even known that the leader had not been eating. Did he not pride himself on his keen eyesight and sharp observation skills? What, then, had happened? Ever since Scorchclaw had found out about Jaystar's forbidden romance, a rift had been driven between the two cats. The once harmonious relationship between leader and deputy had deteriorated, and the brown tabby had begun to interact with the other tom only when strictly necessary. It was no wonder that he had not noticed, under such circumstances!

Is this my fault? Scorchclaw swallowed with difficulty. Could I have done a better job? The old, familiar guilt reared its head over the tom, its claws poised to strike into his heart. So distracted was he, he did not even notice the approach of his daughter Honeykit. At her clear, distressed voice by his side, he started and looked down. Moments later, the golden she-kit pressed her face into his fur. "Honeykit..." He began, uncertainly. The words he was so desperate to say choked in the back of his throat. He could not bring himself to put such a burden on a cat so young, let alone his own daughter. "Honeykit, where are your siblings? Go watch over them." He knew he was turning her away when she was only trying to comfort him. But the bloodied, tattered sight before him was not one for a kit to see.

At Jaystar's broken rasp, Scorchclaw immediately turned his attention back to the leader. "What foolishness are you speaking, Jaystar?" Beneath the edge in his voice, the fear was audible. "This cannot be your time. StarClan has told you that RiverClan needs you. We still do!"

Stop it. Just stop speaking. Save your strength. Jaystar had pulled through before; he would pull through again. Scorchclaw believed that the leader would. At least, that was he thought he believed. The panic mounting within him, however, said otherwise. He tried to suppress the panic, reign his emotions in with his usual self-control. Some part of him, deep down, knew that he was hearing Jaystar's last words. It was a truth that he was denying with all of his might. If RiverClan lost their leader now, what would become of them? Could he lead RiverClan? The stars had denied him back then. Why were they changing their mind now? Scorchclaw gritted his teeth, holding back the vulgarities that were on the verge of spilling out. It was well-known in the clan that he despised swearing, regarding such language as beneath him. But the temptation was stronger than ever before now.

Stop it!

The dying leader stretched forth one wavering paw, laying it on Scorchclaw's chest. The deputy seemed to freeze under the touch. "Do you think it brings me joy," He hissed sharply, "to be likened to one of your sons?" Some parent Jaystar had turned out to be. The admiration he had once held for the silver tabby had died the night those crimes had been revealed. His breath caught in his chest, and he struggled momentarily to form words. "Do not pretend to act like a father or a mentor now. If you die here, Jaystar, I will never forgive you!" It was so strange. He hated the tom he saw before him. He hated the leader who had broken the Code and deceived his clan. He was sure he did. The very thought of what Jaystar had done disgusted him. But if so, why?

Why were there tears wetting his cheeks?

This situation did not make sense to him. As sorrowful as he had been, as crushed by grief as he had been, Scorchclaw had never shed a tear before―not when Blackpaw had died, not when Adderfeather had vanished, not when his first litter had passed away, not even when his mate had died. The pain could have torn him up on the inside, but he had always succeeded in holding the tears back. Now, however, the accumulated sorrow of all those times past seemed to well up afresh, finally causing the tears to overflow.

The emerald-colored eyes, so dull in their last moments, closed for the final time. A small shudder passed through Jaystar's body, and then the leader went truly still. Woodenly, Scorchclaw placed his paw over the silver tom's face. When he felt no breath stir, he sunk down and closed his eyes.

RiverClan had lost their leader.

Berrycloud saw it all, silent, in shock. The view of the cat he saw as his father... the tom who recently revealed to be actually related to him... was dying. Leaving their side before they could make up all the moons in the darkness of the unknown. He stood close to him when he moved Mistlepaw's away, giving himself up to the unavoidable fate of death. Jaystar knew he was dying, he accepted it. But Berrycloud couldn't... not yet. The tears came out of his eyes when he called his name and the name of his siblings. He closed his eyes, unable to see the cat he had respected for so long... the one he admired... dying. But the words still reached his rounded ears as the song of a bird. Calm, peaceful, and clear. When no words kept coming from him, he ignored the fact of Scorchclaw's angry words against his father and he simply laid down next to the silver tom, for today he had lost his second father. Curling his tail around his body, the stocky, fluffy warrior cried. He did not care what others thought of him. All that mattered was that the leader was dead... his father... "Not yet..." He whispered in a soft cry, letting his forehead touch the fur as he closed his green eyes.

---

It was too late... even if her daughter arrived to help, the wounds, the weakness her father had carried for so long was too much. Hailsong knew the truth. She knew death first-hand... her kits... her mate... Torrentstorm. Over and over life had made her witness the death of her beloved ones, her family and now Starclan had chosen to take Jaystar's soul. The small she-cat settled down next to her daughter, curling her tail around her as the tears fell down quietly from her face with every word her father said to her. She looked at him at the eyes, unlike Berrycloud, because she knew it would be the last time she would see them with that spark of life.

Hailsong wished to remain calm, despite her sorrow but when Scorchclaw snapped at the tom who was only trying to give him some supporting for what would become of him as a future leader, she lashed her tail violently and face him with a hiss with tears of both sadness and rage in her emerald eyes. "I don't what has gotten into you but as long as I'm alive you will not talk of my father like that! Especially when he is only trying to give you courage!" She snapped, ready to jump against Scorchclaw if he dared to keep insulting her father's last wishes. And then... Jaystar's said one of the wisest words she had ever heard of him. All the rage fell down and the small warrior quickly turned her sight to the dying tom, who had now his eyes closed, ready to sleep forever.

There's no greater gift in life... than love...

She backed up, unable to hold her stance any longer and, right after Berrycloud, she fell over her paws and cried on his fur, feeling his last life-breath. Her father... was gone.

---

OOC: I'll edit this to add Redpaw ;;

Heronflight dashed past many RiverClan cats when he heard Jaystar was extremely injured.  Please don't let him die, he doesn't deserve it.... He knew some of his clanmates, including the RiverClan deputy Scorchclaw, might disagree.  In his eyes, however, whatever mistakes Jaystar made when he was younger could be forgotten, even ones that break the code, as long as he felt remorseful for them.  Heronflight himself made a stupid, code-breaking mistake when the gray tom was an apprentice.  During his moonstone journey, the young deputy of RiverClan helped the gray apprentice veer towards a better path.  The deputy at that point of time was Jaystream, who eventually became the leader of RiverClan.

Quite simply, Jaystar saved Heronflight’s life.  

Almost like Jaystar was never forgiven by Heronflight’s clanmates for being mates with Goldeneye, Heronflight never saw darkness in the leader’s heart, and when he broke the code, Heronflight knew it was a mistake that Jaystar would like to have back.  Losing the faith of the clan you are trying to lead, and even Scorchclaw, his deputy, would feel devastating to the gray tabby as well.  Despite everything Jaystar did, Heronflight still believed that the silver tom was a great leader, no matter what he himself thought.

Heronflight soon noticed that Jaystar had bled out a lot, perhaps too much for StarClan to help him.  It seemed more and more likely that Jaystar would die.  Jaystar asked his children and Scorchclaw to live life to its fullest.  Scorchclaw retorted, obviously angry about how Jaystar got into a forbidden relationship with Goldeneye.  The gray tabby expected someone to step up and yowl at Scorchclaw, and Hailsong, Jaystar’s daughter, did just that.  While the she-cat was telling the soon-to-be leader off, the gray tabby glared at Scorchclaw in a way that showed his discontent with how the tom treated Jaystar.  Jaystar told his children to “be better than he ever was”; the experienced warrior immediately corrected, ”No... you were a great leader, a great father, a great cat.  You may discredit yourself because of one mistake, but you should know that RiverClan will honor you as an excellent leader.”  Tears started falling after Heronflight spoke those last words, as his mentor, his deputy, his leader, was now gone.  He took some of Jaystar’s advice to heart, trying his best to not cry longer.

Flooded with relief as her daughter came running, she nuzzled the top of her head gently. As she followed Sparkfrost away from the main crowd, she walked funny to account for her daughter under her, she was still quite small but she had certainly grown so much. "Don't worry, my dear, I'll explain everything soon. Something has happened, and it's very sad, but everything will be okay." However, as she stopped and Sparkfrost spoke, she had the sudden gut-wrenching feeling that maybe everything wouldn't be okay, at least, not for a while.

Dappleshine stared at Sparkfrost in shock and dismay. Of course, she wanted him to follow his heart, and go where it lead him, his happiness was something she wanted more than almost anything in the entire forest... But now? With everything that was going on? Jaystar's final words echoed in her mind as she hesitated before looking back to the tom's eyes, seeing the confusion and unease, as well as the determination in them. She sighed, her shoulders and head dropping as she nodded. "Go safely, Sparkfrost. I hope you find the happiness you're looking for, and feel like you're where you belong. May the river guide you, always." She touched her nose to his gently, as if he was a feather about to blow away with the next wind. And like that, he did, drifting away from the camp and his kit, Dappleshine watching his back as he disappeared from sight.