A/N:
Interpretation: okay, you know how the song's lyrics where the beginning is "love don't let me go and now my feet won't touch the ground? I'm pretty sure it's about someone who's dying and at first doesn't want to, but then accepts it.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANY COLDPLAY SONGS OR WARRIORS. If I owned Warriors, and Runningwing wouldn't have died, and Millie wouldn't be with Graystripe!
Nine moons ago she became an apprentice.
Eight moons ago she mastered her first battle moves.
Seven moons ago she and Thrushflight became friends.
Six moons ago she watched her mother have a new litter.
Five moons ago she started having feelings for Thrushflight.
Four moons ago she admitted her feelings to Thrushflight, and he admitted his for her.
Three moons ago she won her first fight, taking on a warrior twice her size.
Two moons ago she became a warrior, and felt as if she was invincible.
One moon ago she got into a fight that was over her head.
And now, this moon, everything has come crashing down.
Silvercloud looked into the sky, mute and filled with pain, a single thought running through her head. She didn't want to die. She wasn't ready to die! Now, here she was, lying in a moss nest, awaiting a slow, painful death. She didn't try to comfort herself. Just simply sleep and eat herbs. Her days were numbered. Sleep. Eat. Sleep. She faintly noticed Honeystream coming inside the den and laying a bundle of herbs in front of her face.
"Eat these." Silvercloud obediently swallowed the bitter herbs as Honeystream started putting on fresh bandages, and that was when she saw another cat behind Honeystream. But she walked right through it, and Silvercloud noticed blinked as she noticed the stars in the tom's paws.
"Silvercloud," the tom said turning and walking out the den, "come with me."
Silvercloud jumped up, wincing at the pain, but speechless with surprise. "Hey Honeystream? I'm going to take a walk, okay?"
"Mhm…" Honeystream said, engaged in creating a mixture of herbs. "But make sure to come back if you start bleeding or you feel sick or even if-"
"Okay, Honeystream, I will." Silvercloud interrupted, slowly lifting herself out of the soft bed of moss and eagle feathers. She squinted as her eyes saw sunlight for the first time in a moon, but let the warm sunlight spread out across her pelt, but then remembered the tom from Starclan. She had never seen him before. Maybe a very old ancestor, she thought. She caught a glimpse of a paw leaving through the camp entrance, and ran after it.
Silvercloud was huffing heavily when she finally found the tom. "Wh… who are… huff huff… you?"
The tom turned, and she could see the sadness in his eyes. "You don't remember me at all, do you?"
"No." Silvercloud was taken back. "I'm sorry." She said, and peered closer. The tom was a gray shade, a little darker then her silver pelt, and glinting amber eyes- wait. She thought. I do know those eyes. Suddenly, there were flashes of memories that overtook her brain. First, a voice. Calm, loving voice. Then the first time she opened her eyes. Her mother, Mosstail, looking down at her, and just leaving the nursery, a gray tom. Then later, a warrior coming into the nursery and whispering something to her. The grief that shone in Mosstail's eyes. Never seeing that gray tom again…
"Sootpool?"
The gray tom's eyes shone with happiness. "So, you do remember something." He said, sitting down at the edge of the lake. Silvercloud sat next to him and looked at the sun setting. It was beautiful, and she hadn't seen anything like it for a long time, and felt happier then she had in a long time. Sitting there, with her father, no one looking at her with pity in their eyes, she felt like her life was finally full of color again.
"I wish you could stay." Silvercloud said with a slight tone of regret.
"We will be able to. Very soon." Realization hit Silvercloud, and she turned to Sootpool, but she didn't feel the terrible sadness she had been experiencing over the past moon.
"Is this why you came?"
"You can go back and say your good-byes- looks like a friend is coming right now." Sootpool ignored her question and nodded at the sight of a trembling bush about four tail-lengths back, and quickly disappeared.
"Silvercloud!" Silvercloud jumped as a tail intertwined with hers, jolting her back to reality. "Why did you leave?"
"Hey, Thrushflight." She said as in nuzzled her silver muzzle against his light brown one. "Just watching one last sunset." She said. The look of sadness and knowing that crossed Thrushflight's face made her heart melt.
"Guess I'll have to watch it with you." He said lightly. They sat there in silence until it was obvious the sun was gone, then dreading the future, walked slowly towards the camp entrance. Thrushflight insisted on even walking her back to her bed inside the medicine den, and staying with her until she fell asleep.
"Don't let me go…" Silvercloud said as she fell into sleep.
Silvercloud opened her eyes to feel her paws no longer touching the ground. She floated up slowly into the stars, the light so bright she had to close her eyes. When she re-opened her eyes, she saw she was in the Starclan hunting grounds- and Sootpool, among many other Starclan cats.
"Silvercloud!" A pale cream she-cat with green eyes pushed through the crowd. For a second Silvercloud didn't recognize the she-cat, but soon realized who it was. "Dawnflower!" She ran up and touched noses to the use-to-be-elder she had become close with during her apprenticeship, who had died briefly after she became a warrior. Now she was young and fit, no longer heaving with fits of coughing. Silvercloud felt the happiness of seeing her again, but had pang of sadness thinking about leaving everyone, especially Thrushflight.
"Here," said Dawnflower, noticing her expression, "I'll show you around."
After a brief tour of the Starclan hunting grounds, Silvercloud came across a small pool, surrounded by unusual colored stones of greens, blues, oranges, and many more.
"What's this?" Silvercloud turned to Dawnflower.
"Oh that? That's what Starclan cats use to talk to the living. You can see where anyone of your choosing is, and visit them in their dreams. But," Dawnflower said as Silvercloud's eyes shone with excitement, "you only can, though, if you get permission from Wind, Shadow, Thunder, or River." Silvercloud slumped down with defeat.
"I could talk to one of them…" Dawnflower said uncertainly, but that was good enough for Silvercloud.
"Oh, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!"
That night, Silvercloud finally found Dawnflower eating a mouse, butterflies in her stomach. "Well?"
Dawnflower turned to her, and she knew the answer by the ways her eyes were shinning. "Be happy I'm friends with Thunder. Do not go overboard, or you will be banned.
"Yes! Thank you thank you thank-" She got cut off as Dawnflower clamped her tail over her mouth.
"No problem. It's getting late. You might want to go see Thrushflight now, huh?" Silvercloud's pelt burned with embarrassment as Dawnflower purred with laughter.
"Uh, yeah bye." She said quickly, and ran off to the pond, but soon embarrassment turned to excitement, thinking about seeing Thrushflight again. Silvercloud noticed that there was prey everywhere; a rabbit hole here, a mouse scuffling around a tree root there, and pond with fish swimming which she easily cleared with a large leap. She also noticed that even though she had run a long way, she wasn't the least bit tired. Finally, Silvercloud stopped at the pond, lay down, and licked a drop of the ice cold water, and closed her eyes.
Immediately, she was looking at her old camp, but from almost a bird's point of view. Quickly, she seemed to zoom in on the warriors den, and find Thrushflight. Silvercloud paused. How was she going to do this? She continued to ponder over this until she realized that Thrushflight was already sitting up, watching her talk to herself like a delusional elder.
"Thrushflight!" Silvercloud flushed with embarrassment.
"What?"
"You saw me! And didn't say anything!"
"So? You look cute when you're confused." Silvercloud looked down, now feeling as if her pelt was on fire, but looked up just as quickly and pounced on him.
"Hey!" Thrushflight protested when Silvercloud sat on top of him, purring with laughter, "I need to breathe!"
"Fine," Silvercloud got off of him, but he just as quickly pounced on her. They spent the rest of the night playing like kits, just happy to be together.
Finally, the sun started rising over the lake, and Silvercloud sighed, knowing she had to go back.
"I have to go." She said, nuzzling her muzzle against his.
"Will you be back?" Thrushflight asked, his eyes showing worry, which made Silvercloud's heart melt.
"Yes. But not tomorrow," she slapped her fluffy tail over his mouth before he could object, "because you need your rest…" She noticed the confusion in his expression and felt a little akward "Oh yeah, you're kinda sorta gonna be tired tomorrow…"
"So? Getting to see you is better then any rest."
"Well then." Silvercloud thought, feeling like the sun had decided to take a ride on her pelt.
"I still have to go," she said sighing, "I'll come back. I promise." She licked his ear, and started padding towards the lake. She hesitated for a moment, but then noticed a puddle of water. An ordinary puddle at first glance, but on close inspection was filled with stars. Silvercloud licked up a bit, and instantly was back in Starclan grounds.
"Having fun?" Dawnflower asked, mrowing with laughter.
"Oh yeah." Silvercloud replied, happiness lifting her heart as she walked towards one of the dens where she had seen new bedding, soft and fluffy with moss, raven down, and swan feathers. She laid down, thinking about her new home. And suddenly she realized: she was okay with death.