As Leaves Fall

It was a day like many others. The sun filtered through the leaves overhead, speckling the forest floor and the cat that walked across it. Her calico pelt, dulled with age, seemed to shine in these rays of light. It restored the youth she had once held. Mossbloom padded along, letting her nose do most of the leading as she meandered through the territory. She had left camp, letting a warrior know to come find her in a specific clearing when the sun was at it's highest point in the sky. The time was nearing now, and she turned her paws towards it. As she entered the clearing, she lowered her head respectfully - it was here that her mother and father were buried. Not together, for Flintfang likely would have despised that, but close. She had even carefully tended to an empty area that she had reserved for Lilypaw. A gentle breeze blew, releasing some of the colored leaves from their place on the branches, sending them spiraling to the forest floor. One landed between her paws, and Mossbloom smiled, picking it up and placing it in a central point between the others. The soft breeze ruffled her fur, whispering to her. So much had happened, she had seen and experienced so much. Nothing could last forever though.

Like so many other days, she settled in that central spot, the leaf held carefully between her paws. Resting her weary head on her aching paws, she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, reveling in her surroundings and enjoying the peace the day brought. Her breathing grew shallower and she settled in for a nap, not entirely knowing that it would be one she never woke up from, but accepting of what would come all the same. Her chest no longer rose and fell with breath, the last one having rustled the leave between her paws moments before. It was here that the warrior found her, still warm and looking peaceful, as she woke up among the stars for the final time, never to wake among the living again.  

Mossbloom now walks in StarClan.