"Dovepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, even at the cost of your life?" Firestar rasped, trying not to cough.
"I do!" Dovepaw squeaked in excitement, and then looked embarrassed as amused purrs rose up in the crowd behind her.
"Then, from this day forward, you will be known as Dovewing. ThunderClan honors you for your peaceful mind and bravery in battle."
Firestar coughed out the same ritual for Ivypaw, turning her into Ivyflower, trying not to sneeze and cough in the middle of every word like he had with Dovewing.
"Brambleclaw, please come to my den. I must talk to you." Firestar flicked his tail in dismissal, and slid down the High Rock and padded into his den.
Moments later Brambleclaw arrived. He looked scared and worried, and Firestar pondered if he was hiding something again, but pushed away the thought. Brambleclaw was trustworthy.
"H-hello Firestar. How are you doing, you didn't sound so good earlier." Brambleclaw's voice shook as he addressed his leader, and Firestar felt the same tinge he had felt a moment ago.
"No, Brambleclaw, I'm not okay." He sighed, trust, Firestar, trust. He thought calmly. "Brambleclaw, we both know that I'm going to die soon. And we both know you will be leader. And Brambleclaw, I have a few requests. First off, send my family in, including Squirrelflight. Second, please, please, make Lionblaze deputy. And when you go get your nine lives, bring Cinderheart. She must know the truth. And Brambleclaw." He stopped briefly, coughing. The metallic taste of blood was in his mouth, and he knew he had little time. Brambleclaw looked devastated and buried his nose in his leader's fur, letting out small sobbing noises.
"You can't die Firestar, you can't! I can't lead the whole clan!" He cried.
"Brambleclaw. The last thing is… be confident. Now, please send in Sandstorm, Cloudtail, Leafpool, Squirrelflight, Lionblaze, Jayfeather and Graystripe." he mewed, his voice barely above a whisper.
Brambleclaw nodded, and left his den to fulfill his duties.
Firestar sighed. My clan will be good in his paws. He grinned inwardly, tomorrow Brambleclaw, his apprentice, his warrior, his deputy, and the one cat who could beat Hawkfrost, would be Bramblestar.
"Firestar? It's us." He heard Sandstorms worried mew at the door and he lifted his head to call out 'come in'. But all that came out was "co im."
Leafpool's brown tabby head popped through the lichen.
"Oh dad! Don't die! Please!" Leafpool cried, burying her face into him.
Firestar let out a raspy purr. "I'm going to miss you guys." He meowed at the rest of his family-and Graystripe, while Sandstorm twined her tail with his.
"Graystripe, I would have gladly made you deputy, but Brambleclaw seems that he should be leader. You've been a great friend, even when we argued.
"Leafpool, Squirrelflight. You both betrayed the clan. But you both did it for love. Your ex-mates both love you. And, even if it breaks the code, Leafpool, be his mate.
"And Cloudtail. I couldn't be prouder. I'm so happy I brought you here, even if you weren't accepted for the first while."Jayfeather, you obviously like Cinderheart. Tell her, she feels the same. Lionblaze, you will make a great deputy.
"And Sandstorm, my dear mate. There are no words that could describe my feelings for you. And don't worry, I won't hang out with Spottedleaf too much." He purred.
Graystripe and Sandstorm eyes were misty with sadness and Sandstorms tail twined tighter. Leafpool and Squirrelflight both nodded, and looked relieved. Cloudtail looked proud. Jayfeather and Lionblaze both looked shocked.
"Face it guys, the fire that saved the clans, is dying."
They all nodded slowly, blinking back tears.
Firestar let out a long sigh, closed his eyes, and one tear fell down his furry cheek.
Firestar let out a gasp as he woke up.
Ting-tingle-chink
What?
"Rusty! Dinner, come here boy!" something called.
Rusty sighed. One day…
He sniffed the pellets disgustedly, and padded away from them, walking out the kitty-flap.
Firestar-no Rusty, sniffed the air. Wild cats. Clans.
"Hey Smudge," He mewed.
"Awww… how'd you know I was here?" A small meow said behind him.
"You didn't do anything to hide your scent. Your upwind, and smell like… you."
"Hey, Smudge, do you think those are cats up there?" Rusty continued, staring up into the sky.
"I dunno. Do you?"
"I think so. StarClan."
"StarClan? What's that?"
"Hey, Smudge, want to hear a story?""Sure."
"Okay. There's a kitty pet-one like us. And he had a great destiny about him…"
Completely different than my usual Births, but I thought this would be cool. And I needed to make it before Firestar really died, otherwise it wouldn't work. And yes, Smudge did get easily distracted. It's not how I was planning on ending it, but I liked how it turned out. Hope you liked, please review! And I will get onto the few Birth stories I have to do, but I haven't really been feeling an inspiration.