She could hear it now; the wind rushing by her as it picked up speed. It was not a normal wind. Of this, she was sure. The usual gusts that swept over Windclan were light and warm, whispering, calling to her, asking if she'd like them to blow her up into the air to dance amongst the clouds. She always politely declined despite how much she would love to fly in the ocean of sky. Alas, her paws belonged on the moors, chasing after rabbits, batting at enemies, and tucked beneath her chest fur as she dozed off beneath the sun.

How much she longed for that warmth and sanctitude now. The sun; so kind, so generous. If only she had not turned her back on all of it. Why had she run? Where was there for her to run to, anyway? At first, it had all seemed so romantic. Escaping the hardships of clan life alongside her beloved Shadowclan mate. But she had been younger than; blissful and foolish- caught up in the promises that love had to offer. When she signed herself away to the life of a loner, she had thought herself a traveler, a sight-seer, a lover. But when Reedfang had died, she realized she'd been tricked. Not by life, or love, but by herself. She became not a glorified runaway, but a rouge, an outcast, a renegade who'd relied so heavily on another that, when that wooden support had finally collapsed, she'd fallen so painfully that the shock was too much to recover from.

And yet, she had not wanted this. When had she ever agreed to this? Maplewind had never asked to die. It was not something she had ever foreseen. Not so near in the future, anyway. She had thought she had more time; time to find her way back to Windclan, time to sort out how she would beg them to take her back. But that time was steadily fading as she watched the dog grow closer and closer. Its jaws were parted the way her brother Blackfire's were whenever he yawned. But this was not a sleepy opening of the maw. This was death, an eternal abyss of shadows that she would never be able to escape.

It was too fast for her to feel frightened. She could comprehend, but she could not fear. This dog's fangs could tear into her, but it wouldn't mean anything. She had felt pain before, and she was fairly certain there was nothing more painful than a broken heart. She had nothing left to give but her heart, and even the kits within her belly would mean nothing. She was one cat, a single mother. How was she meant to care for them on her own with Leaf-bare just around the corner?

Death was the best call she could make for all their sakes now. It was a sad conclusion to this chapter in Maplewind's young life, but all stories must come to an end. She closed her blue eyes, letting the blue waves become swallowed in black. She imagined her mate's face, his soft amber eyes, the way he used to rest his chin on the space between her ears. His warm voice, the tickle through her pelt when he fell asleep beside her and purred. She longed for his comfort, his warmth so painfully similar to that of the sun above Windclan.

Now, the she-cat willed the wind to come back and make its offer once more. For now, surely she would take it. She would agree and be swept off her feet again, protected in the arms of love. Yet surely this time those arms would never break. Nothing could defeat the wind. Twoleg monsters could break down the relationship she had built with Reedfang, but dogs could surely not break those of the wind. The wind would protect her, for she was its kin.

The she-cat felt her heart race as the air stirred chaotically. The dog was so close now as it cut through the wind. The wind that now raced by her, and she felt the fear. The fear of realizing that even the wind could not save her now. Her eyes flew open, and Maplewind's jaws parted in a plea for help that would not come. She could see the dog, so close now, body lunging towards her. Every muscle beneath its hardened frame was visible, and she cried out at the force that ricocheted through her body.

She thought it would hurt so much more than when Reedfang died now that she'd seen its brute mass, yet the shove was only light. Perhaps Starclan was pitying her and making her death less painful. Did that mean her warrior ancestors would still take her into Silverpelt to walk alongside them?

Maplewind's eyes rolled to the side, and she stared at the paws standing over her. Strange, the dog had seemed so large. Were its limbs really that slender?

Her gaze rose and rested on the auburn cat protecting her. Maplewind wondered vaguely if it was a Starclan character, or perhaps just her imagination. But then her eyes widened, for this cat was strikingly familiar.

-Reedfang?-

Yes, that must be his burning ember pelt! That was his battle stance! He had come back for her! He had come back!

And then the she-cat felt a firm set of jaws dragging her by her scruff into the bushes, and the cats who had heard her cries hid her away in the undergrowth.