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Post by gingerluna on Jun 22, 2019 9:35:45 GMT -6
“It was a pale white horse, with a crooked smile, and I knew it was my time.” All who wish to say goodbye to Spottedeye are welcome, but towards the end, res for those closest to him.
  After he and Paledawn returned to camp, Spottedeye lay curled in his nest for the rest of the day. He ate a little, drank a little, and slept. In his dreams, he stood upon a starry moor, his mother and lost siblings watching him from a distance. He existed in this state for days, eating the herbs Dartwing brought which dulled the pain, and holding on stubbornly. Dreamfeather visited often, and he always purred when he saw her. Paledawn stayed nearby as well, grooming him when the task proved too difficult. The Clan came, filtering in and saying their goodbyes, sharing bright memories. And then, finally, there was a day when he couldn't get up. His limbs were useless. Stirring brought him great effort. His limbs felt like dead weight. It was dusk, and golden light spilled out into the camp. Soon the stars would be out. Wouldn't it be wonderful, he thought to himself, to look up at the stars until he joined them? "Paledawn," he called in a hoarse voice, tilting his head to look for the she-cat. "Could you fetch Dreamfeather for me?" The thought of dying without seeing his last apprentice made him feel hollow. "Please?" |
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Post by Warrioress on Jun 22, 2019 9:47:58 GMT -6
Dreamfeather had spent the past couple of days splitting her time between her warrior duties and visiting Spottedeye in the elders den. His slowly weakening condition breaking her heart everytime she entered the den, but today there was a foreboding feeling in her gut, something was telling her that it was different today, something was different. She had spoken to Acorndrop briefly, informing him that she was spending the day with her mentor, she just couldn't focus on hunting or border patrols if she was worried about her mentor.
Shaking her fur uneasily she started for the elders den, her tail tip flicking back and forth behind her with unease.
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Post by silentpaws on Jul 2, 2019 19:03:17 GMT -6
True to her word, Paledawn hadn't left Spottedeye's side since their return to camp after his last outing on the territory. She could feel StarClan's paws treading near, circling but never growing closer, and Paledawn made the most of every extra second they let her have with him. It felt right, to be able to sit by him and groom him and bring him food when he could stomach it. She wasn't sure why, but she knew it felt right to give something to her old friend after all he had given to her and to their Clan.
But when she woke up from a light doze that evening, she could sense it immediately. The starry presence was so much closer now, so much so that she could see wisps of starlit fur and whiskers surrounding him when she glanced his way. The StarClan cats looked her way when she stirred, and their emotionless gazes told her all she needed to know. It was clear from Spottedeye's words that he could sense it too, but not in the same way that she could, and she licked his ear after standing from her nest. "Of course," she murmured quietly, pausing with her eyes closed for a moment to savour their last moment alone together, before she steeled herself and padded out of the den.
By some miracle, Dreamfeather was the first cat who Paledawn's gaze landed on when she emerged into the clearing. "Dreamfeather," she said as the younger she-cat padded towards her,motioning with her tail for her to pause before she entered the elder's den. "Listen, dear, it won't be long now. It's time to say your goodbyes." There was a sad smile on her face as she spoke; delivering that news never got any easier, even now that she technically wasn't a medicine cat anymore.
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Post by Warrioress on Jul 2, 2019 20:20:11 GMT -6
Paledawns form emerging from the den had Dreamfeather's heart squeezing, a permanent feeling at the she-cats words. She took a unsteady breath before slipping into the elders den, her gaze falling on her mentor in his nest. "Hey Spottedeye" she purred as she moved forward until she was crouched beside him, blinking her eyes as she felt them start burning with the urge to cry. "I've got the day off, so I can stay as long as you like" she mewed shakily "I'll be here until the end"
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Post by gingerluna on Jul 2, 2019 20:31:13 GMT -6
Acorndrop detested this situation. He knew death was a part of life, but it killed him to be so...helpless. Dreamfeather was a mess, and it was all he could do to be there for her. Arcticpool had lost her mother, and now Dreamfeather would lose her mentor. And there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it. He'd excused her from warrior duties without a thought, knowing how important it would be to them both to spend more time together. He'd just come into camp from patrol when he saw Paledawn emerge from the elder's den, and he could tell by the way Dreamfeather slumped that this was it.
He stepped over cautiously, not wanting to disturb their time together, but not wanting Dreamfeather to face this alone. He waited by the entrance, catching her eye and silently asking if she wanted him there, or not.
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Post by gingerluna on Jul 2, 2019 20:39:29 GMT -6
Spottedeye opened his eyes as Dreamfeather stepped into the den, letting out a weak purr at the sight of her. "Suppose that's a perk of being the deputy's mate," he teased, tilting his head to look up at her. She looked utterly miserable, but he supposed he had to look worse. "Oh, thank you, little one," he murmured, fixing his gaze to the darkening sky once more. All he could smell was his mother. "The sky is golden. Let's wait for the stars together." He wondered what it would feel like. He wondered if he'd have a choice.
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Post by Warrioress on Jul 2, 2019 21:45:20 GMT -6
Dreamfeather spotted Acorndrop and gave him a small smile of thanks, her gaze flicking back to her mentor at his words regarding her mate status. She chuckled at the words, settling in more comfortably. "Okay, always going to be here for you" she replied as she cast a glance out at the golden sky, her nose twitching.
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Post by silentpaws on Jul 16, 2019 17:51:30 GMT -6
"As am I," Paledawn spoke softly, giving Acorndrop a gentle smile as she padded back into the den. She hung back a little as Spottedeye spoke to Dreamfeather, watching the pair fondly and thinking of how much their relationship reminded her of that between herself and Dartwing. It was nice to know that in a way they'd both found the families they'd dreamed of and been convinced they could never have due to never taking a mate. They both had their apprentices. She decided then that later on she would go back to the medicine cat's den and sit with Dartwing for a little while, missing her son's presence beside her all the time, but for now she had a duty to sit by Spottedeye as he waited for the end.
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Post by Warrioress on Jul 24, 2019 15:00:16 GMT -6
Arcticpool hesitated a moment before approaching the elders den, while she didn't have a deep relationship with Spottedeye she still cared for the elder, remembering the stories he told even before he retired. She slipped into the den, spotting Paledawn, Acorndrop and Dreamfeather. She gave a smile to her mentor before her attention focused on Spottedeye. "hey, just wanted to say goodbye" she mewed softly, her low voice helping to hide the slight waver she felt. There was too much death going on in her opinion.
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Post by gingerluna on Jul 25, 2019 8:05:35 GMT -6
Spottedeye gazed off into the distance, nodding faintly in reply to Dreamfeather's inquiry. Paledawn entered the den again, and Spottedeye flashed her a grateful glance. Acorndrop was lurking, and then Arcticpool stepped inside. "What a send-off," he murmured, looking over at her with a glassy expression. "Oh, thank you my dear." He knew the agony of her mother's death would be fresh in the she-cat's mind. "I'll tell your mother hello for you. How about that?" He wasn't sure if speaking so candidly about death and the dead was a help or a hindrance, but it was his party, and he supposed the rules were his to set. The light was shifting, gold steadily fading to dusk. The stars were on their way. Spottedeye laid his head down, shifting so he could still see the sky.
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Post by silentpaws on Jul 26, 2019 19:12:11 GMT -6
Paledawn gave Arcticpool a soft smile as she approached, touched on Spottedeye's behalf that he'd made enough of an impact in the Clan to warrant such a heartfelt goodbye from so many young cats. "Hello dear," she said to her quietly, shifting a little and patting the ground next to her with her tail if she wanted to sit down. The younger she-cat was someone she considered a friend, remembering well their conversation back on AspenClan territory when she was a new apprentice keeping her company, and in the wake of her mother's death she wanted to be there for her if she could.
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Post by Warrioress on Jul 29, 2019 23:53:26 GMT -6
Arcticpool gave a shaky smile to Paledawn at the invitation and settled down next to her, close enough for her fur to brush the older she-cats, needing the contact. She heard Spottedeye's words but was slightly surprised that they didn't seem to hurt as much as she thought they would, instead a shaky purr was given "I'm sure she'll bug you with questions, ensuring everything is okay here" she mewed, her voice wavering slightly.
~
Dreamfeather gave a brief smile to Arcticpool as she slipped inside before shifting closer to Spottedeye, her pelt brushing her mentors fur, settling in beside him until the end.
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Post by gingerluna on Aug 8, 2019 15:56:07 GMT -6
Spottedeye let out a low hum in response to Arcticpool's question. He was so tired, and yet so content. He laid still for a long while, watching desperately for the first shining light in the dark sky. Dreamfeather's fur against him brought him more comfort than he'd expected. He could smell his mother, hear her breath, her purrs. He wanted to go with her so badly, but the sweetness of their reunion came with the bitter sting of leaving his clanmates behind. What else could he say to them? What did they not know? He shifted ever so slightly to look at Dreamfeather. "Remember what I taught you," he rasped. Moving was very difficult, and he only managed to slowly blink as a sign of affection. He glanced over at the sky. The stars were out. He let out a wheezy breath, resting his head down again.
His mother stepped into the den, stars shining in her pelt. He felt her muzzle press against his forehead, and for a long moment all was still and dark. And then he was rising, and she was as clear before him as the day she'd died. Both of his eyes shone as his littermates bounded towards him, and with the energy of a kit he greeted them, a joy in his chest so full and bright he didn't know how he'd ever lived without it. He glanced back at those he'd left, his body, cold in his nest, and felt a single pang of grief. And then he followed his family to the stars.
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Post by silentpaws on Aug 10, 2019 15:47:19 GMT -6
Paledawn felt it before it happened. She glanced away from where she'd been looking down at Arcticpool towards the den entrance where she saw a cat even she herself hardly recognised, something that was unusual for deaths by now. There were tears in her eyes as she looked frantically back at Spottedeye before he left, desperate for one last selfish glimpse of her oldest friend before he died, and she was just in time to watch as he laid his head down on his paws for the last time. But the freedom in his starry form as it lifted from his body was worth the grief in her own heart, and she gave a watery smile as he met her gaze with his eyes free from the malady she'd given her life's work trying to cure at long last. And then, in a swish of stars, he was gone.
It took her a couple of seconds to regain enough composure to form words. "He's at peace now," she murmured after a long, heartbreaking silence, void of the raspy breaths which had at least reminded them he was still alive. But now there was nothing. But at least her words were the truth, and he was free of the pain that had haunted him for so long. As much as she would miss him with everything she had she could never wish he was here knowing that he was free from pain where he was now.
{ f i n }
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