Together
by: rainfeather's hope
It is sunhigh. A cold, brisk wind ruffles itself freezingly through the individual hairs that blend to make up my tabby pelt. I pad slowly up to the ThunderClan border, ignoring the floodwater that laps at my paws, and wish he was here. Our next meeting isn't until tomorrow night, but every second that goes by, I feel more and more alone! I am Crookedstar's daughter, but day by day I feel as though that may be a curse, not a blessing.
The only cat who understands me truly, completely, entirely, is Graystripe. And for those reasons, I love him.
He is the only cat who dares to hunt upon our territory. I remember how I met him... He rushed onto the thin ice and it instantly cracked, therefore he fell in. Somehow I felt an undeniable urge that I had to save this cat. So I launched myself into the icy river, knowing full that my actions would probably end in my death. I remember Fireheart and the two apprentices standing by, huge-eyed, while my tail streamed behind me. Grasping the drowning intruder's wet, heavy neck in my teeth, I had searched for a way out, any crack in the ice – and I found it. Together we burst the surface, and Fireheart helped me pull the ThunderClanner ashore. As we left, I noticed a weird sheen in the grey tom's eyes, and he turned back more than once to gaze at me.
His name was Graystripe. He met me, inside my territory, a few days later, and begged me to meet him. I did, and the more often we met the more wholly I fell in love with the proud gray warrior. After four moons, I found out that I shall bear his kits, and right now, going on two moons presently, I should kit very soon. I feel them squirming restlessly inside me. They seem quite large, and I think guiltily of how I was not supposed to leave the camp. But all I wanted was to see Graystripe. We may have been forbidden mates, but it is worth it.
"These kits will tie us together in love forever." I echo Graystripe's words silently, only moving my lips. Forlornly, I begin to wash my black-and-silver coat. The soothing strokes of my small pink tongue are beginning to lull me into a dreamless sleep….
---x---
I wake to a severe bolt of pain. A ripple of shock slimes its way down my spine like a raw egg. The thick lumps inside me are squirming violently and seem to be kneading my insides to shreds. I howl in pain, forgetting how close I am to the ThunderClan border. Collapsing onto the cold, sharp pebbles that line our boundary river, I cry out again in agony for anyone, some cat to hear me.
Where is Graystripe? I wanted us to be together…
Realization has flooded my mind along with the water lying in a puddle at my feet: I am kitting. I shriek and scream and yowl my pain endlessly in my head but I know to do so aloud would only bring enemy cats. Out loud I only spit short, sharp hisses into the night and grind my pointed teeth together. I'm gasping for breath and writhing on the ground; my striped tail is lashing and whipping pebbles around. Grit is lodged in my eyes which keep watering painfully. My ears, once straining for any sign of Graystripe, are now filled only with the sound of my own rasping breath.
An achingly familiar scent wafts into my nostrils. I painstakingly lift my head which comes level with Graystripe's. His eyes are filled with horror. "The kits!" I finally manage to spit at him. "Silver – Silverstream – Hold on! I'll be back for you – I love you- wait for me!" Somehow I think there must be another in his life. He did not even bother to stop and twine his tail with mine, and when he claimed to love me, his eyes did not show it. Bleakly I wonder if this pain for Graystripe's kits is all for naught. What if he does not love me?
All of the sudden I catch the strangest scent imaginable. I can only compare it to my wildest dreams of stardust. My mother's voice whipers in my ear. "Dear, dear Silverstream… Graystripe loves you. Feel no fear…" And just as quickly, Smokeflower is gone. A trace of her scent, rapidly becoming stale, still comforts me much more than that ThunderClan cat's. I feel robbed of all my energy.
Another seam of pain forces its way through me, and I lose every ounce of my self-control. "StarClan, save me!" I yowl to the distant stars above. The glitter of Silverpelt seems much closer tonight. I begin to howl continuously until my once-fine voice gives out. My eyelids drop and I wonder if I'm dying. It certainly feels like it. Silently I roll over onto my side and then begin to heavily breathe. The agony is now constant and almost unbearable. Something must be wrong. Horribly, terribly wrong.
Rapidly approaching pawsteps beat into the ground and I see Graystripe, who has returned for me. Along with him is a cinder-gray she-cat who I recognize as being the ThunderClan apprentice medicine cat. The blazing-red coat of Fireheart crosses my line of vision and I realize the tom must've come with them. The dark gray queen – Cinderpaw?- chews some herbs quickly and orders me to swallow them. I do, but feel nothing. Like an out-of-body experience. Has StarClan taken me? I know they wait for me…
As though my spirit has returned to my body, I feel the most serious pain yet. A large kit lies between my hindlegs. The thing's dark gray fur is plastered to its body and its ears are flat against its head. I gaze at it lovingly, but before I can stretch out to lick it, Cinderpaw whisks it away from me. I hear the other cat's voice vaguely – "He came out headfirst!" – and all of the sudden I realize that the pain is probably due to the dull red blood staining my coat and the pebbles beneath me. There sure is a /lot/ of blood...
A kind of calm has come over me but now I jerk upwards as a streak of pain identical to the one previously hits me. Another kit is in between my now excessively tender legs. It moves slightly, and I flinch hard with pain. The she-kit is covered in film – it encases her torso, legs, and head. She looks exactly like me, only much smaller. I try to sit up, but fall backwards. How I wish I was stronger than this!
Graystripe's face looms over me. "Silverstream, don't leave me!" he begs helplessly, his voice raw as though he too is going through my pain.
Smokeflower's words must be true.
"Hold on, Silverstream!" He cries. His voice is abnormally high and panicky, compared to his usually husky growl. Dizzily I spot Fireheart bound over. I don't care. I lift my head, summoning all my strength. Gently I lick Graystripe's cheek. "Goodbye, Graystripe." I murmur. "I love you. Take care of our kits…" I let my head drop and draw in what I know will be my last breath. Fearlessly I let it out. Graystripe is pressing himself against me.
Graystripe and I, together for the last time. StarClan gleams brightly as they meet me.
I am gone.