I let out a loud, more-painful-than-expected cough, lurching forward.

Suru placed a paw on my back, and curled his tail around mine, "Are you okay?" He sounded worried, his voice faltering.

I turned my gaze to his, managing a small, sheepish smile. I coughed again, wincing at my burning throat, and then nodded. "I'm fine," I assured him, my voice clearing up. I had been coughing all morning, but hopefully it would stop for a moment. It had been several seasons, and now, snow covered the ground, making a distinct crunch sound whenever we stepped on it. I sneezed from the cold, and Suru immediately pulled me closer to share his own faltering body heat.

"Maybe you should stay inside a few days. I can find food for both of us," he suggested, licking my cheek.

I shivered, but shook my head, "I can go outside. I'll be fine out there." I let out another small cough and stood up on shaky legs. I felt pretty horrible, but I didn't want Suru to know. If I was going to eat, I was earning it. I'm not going to sit around while he feeds me like I'm a kit. A loud cough knocked me down onto my hind legs again. Or am I? I felt too guilty though. I wouldn't be able to rest even if I wanted to.

Suru sighed, nudging me closer to the dirt floor of our den, "Okay, I can't let you go outside. We've already confirmed you have whitecough, maybe even greencough. I don't want it to get worse."

I shook my head, "N-" Another cough cut me off.

Suru was more forceful this time, but still gentle enough as to not hurt me, "Aurora, you can't go outside. I will get food and water. You will stay here," he snapped the first two sentences, but was gentler with the last. Genuine worry sparkled in his green eyes, and pain flashed through them as well, as he was hurting; hurting because his only friend was sick and refused to accept it.

Too bad. We got in quarrels like this sometimes, but I still felt bad. Of course, I was still far too stubborn. Again, too bad.

Once I was in our nest, he turned to leave the den.

I let a small, but weak growl escape my burning throat as I took his tail in my jaws, biting lightly. I used it to support myself as I stood, wincing as I coughed, yet again. I closed my eyes tight, expecting Suru to scold me, "I'm coming with you, even if you have to help me!" I argued.

Suru just stared back at me. Where I expected an irritated look, there was a smile, although his eyes were drawn up in a happy but stressed look. Admiration was showing in his expression as he spoke, "You're just not giving up are you?"

I shook my head, blushing, though he couldn't see it through my fur, "I don't want to stay home sick. I can, and will, feed myself," my gaze hardened as I spoke, "I hope you can understand that."

He sighed, "Fine," then he curled his tail over the back of my neck, pulling me close and pressing against me to give off heat, "but you have to stay beside me."

I nodded and, being shorter than him, rested the top of my head under his chin. He had come to be like a brother to me; maybe something more, but no less.

He padded forward slowly, as if trying to be careful with me, but I didn't want to be treated like a fragile kit's bone ready to break at the slightest impact.

I quickly passed up his speed and ended up leading him forward, trudging through the snow which was up to my belly, chilling my legs and immediately edging them towards anesthesia. I let my tail glide over the soft white surface, dipping down whenever it met with the holes my paws made in the snow.

Everything was white outside. The light bounced off of the snowflakes, washing my eyes in blinding rays. I looked around at the alley, taking in the surroundings, which had changed slightly because of the new monochrome color scheme. The silver tube was covered in chalky powder. The patches of ground that weren't covered by snow were soaking. Everything was cold and wet.

When the snow had begun to come down faster, we had blocked off the unnecessary gaps around our den's entrance with wet moss to keep out unwanted water, snow, or ice. The water had frozen and kept the moss stuck in its place. It was working well, and we couldn't do much else, so we had to rely on what we could, which was, at the moment, moss. We had to travel to the Duck Lake, as we had come to call it, to get moss, but it really wasn't very far from our alley.

Suru pushed ahead of me. He leaped onto the tube, nearly sliding off the other edge. He used a fore-paw to brush off the snow, and then moved on to the giant bin, clearing a path for me.

I sighed. He was pretty over-protective, but I liked it; sometimes… I followed him carefully on each slick surface until I reached Suru. My paws slid until I bumped into his hind-leg, where I was stopped in my place by his brown paw. It set me off balance though, so I ended up tumbling into the piles and lumps of slime and rotting food. I laughed as Suru hopped in right on top of me, careful not to squish me, but not being too gentle anymore. He smiled and licked my cheek, then disappeared into the depths beneath me.

I squeezed my eyes shut. My stomach ached, my head throbbed, and a terrible cough ripped through my chest. Pain was sent in waves throughout my body in different variations. I felt absolutely awful. Earlier the ill effects had worn off but now… it had been going on since we had gotten back to the den. After lodging my findings in a crevice in the stone wall, I had collapsed into the nest, unable to support myself anymore.

Suru had gone to get me something to drink, so now I curled up, feeling like a helpless kit.

Yet another cough fought its way out as I buried my face into a paw. I lifted my head, and found my paw covered in blood. Had I coughed it up? No, I couldn't have coughed up that much blood. That was when I realized it was my paw bleeding. I flipped it over, and nearly fainted. Blood was blossoming from a wound that curled around most of my paw. My pad was a pale purple, along with the skin below my pelt. I wanted to wail. I was losing too much blood. It had started pooling around my chest without me noticing. How had I been cut? It must have been in the bin. But now… Now wasn't a time for that. I tucked my paws beneath my body, letting out a small screech. I poised myself in my spot, waiting for Suru to enter.

He was back quickly, so when he set paw in the den, I stood and rushed forward. His eyes widened, "Aurora! What are you doing? Lay back down!"

I ignored him, stopping outside the entrance. I dragged him outside, by his tail, though he ended up doing most of the work, and bit down harder on his tail, "You said you would find a home," I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut in pain, "Take me there."

Suru stared at me, pity flashing through his normally open and happy gaze, which was now clouded. He shook his head, "Not yet. I can't."

I glared at him, not through hate but through impatience, "Just do it! Please!" I argued.

The tom cringed at my cracking voice. He understood my desperation and began running down the alley, pulling me forward by his tail. He didn't slow down as we whipped around the corner. I tried to keep up, but my paws were numb, so I was only able to stumble along behind him, though his tail kept me close by. We weaved between the paws of two-legs, who turned to us, but soon after turned away. My legs burned, screaming at me to stop, but I couldn't. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, and the only thing that kept me going was Suru's promise and adrenaline that rushed through my body, flowing in my veins.

One two-leg kit tried to chase us, making high-pitched squealing noises, but it was pulled back to an older two-leg by a multi-colored material around its neck. Other than the kit, no one cared.

No one cared, even though I was being followed by bright crimson paw-prints, staining the once-pure snow.

I flinched when I saw the blood, forming a path down the stone walk-way, but refused to think about what would happen soon. I refused to think of anything but Suru's promise.

Suru skidded to a halt in front of a two-leg nest. He pressed me to the ground, and then bounded up the steps, two at a time. He unsheathed his claws and scratched at the brown door, yowling and screeching until it opened, revealing two female two-legs: a kit and an older one.

Both had ginger-red fur on their heads. The kit hid behind the others leg, latching on with little paws as the older one stared down at Suru. She looked on ahead at me, and put a paw over her mouth, taking in a deep, fast breath.

I probably didn't look very nice to them, with blood and litter dotting my tangled cream fur. They probably wouldn't take us in, but it was worth a shot, I took this as my cue. I pushed myself up to my paws, my brown tail-tip brushing the ground as I headed up the steps, and started mewling pitifully like a kit, topping off the act by tucking my tail between my legs, flattening my ears, and sneezing. I could hardly manage all of that, so I prayed that it would be convincing enough.

To my despair, the two-leg backed up, pulling the kit with her, who had water streaking her face. The two-leg lifted the kit into her arms and shut the door, closing it with a loud slam.

Suru looked back at me, "I'm sorry…"

I shook my head, "It's fine. We can try again when I'm better," I smiled eerily up at him, my eyes drooping in tire. The pain had gone away, but I wasn't sure why.

He nudged me toward the stairs, "Let's try somewhere else now. We have to move quickly." His voice was shaky and choked as he spoke, but he still kept his movements strong.

I shook my head, no longer tired, "I can't…"

Suru pushed me forward again, "Come on; I have to keep my promise."

"No…" I began to hyperventilate, extremely worried and scared out of my mind now. I realized why nothing hurt anymore, "I can't- I can't feel my legs." I slumped over, landing on the stone with a thud. My legs were completely numb, with no pain or feeling running through them like normal. Now, I couldn't block my thoughts. They rushed into the front of my mind, as if fighting to get there first. I was going to die. I wouldn't ever live again. I would never meet more cats. I would never feel Suru's warmth again. I would never find a home. I would never feel anything again. It would all go black. I would be suspended in an anechoic void and would lose all my senses, both mentally and physically. This was awful! Why did this have to happen? Why? I buried my face in my paws, yowling as loud as I could, and losing control.

Suru lay down beside me, licking my fur to calm me, "It's okay. You'll be fine. You can't worry about this right now. Just try."

"No! I can't." I growled, forgetting everything. Well, not everything, but everything that kept me from losing my sanity was gone. I shrieked, scratched, and bit at everything within reach, including myself and Suru. I was blinded by fear and pain by now, with no hope of recovering. I slammed my head into the ground, enjoying the feel of pain for what I knew was the last time. Everything blurred together around me, except Suru.

He was the only thing that refused to fade. He bit down on my scruff, holding me still, "Aurora! Stop it! You'll be fine! Stop!" He cried out, but I couldn't restrain myself from lashing out at him, claws unsheathed.

I regretted my actions immediately, especially since they were my last. I shuddered in pain, and then felt the feeling slowly drain from the rest of my body. My neck would no longer support my head, so it dropped like a rock as my vision blurred more.

Suru lay down beside me, realizing it was safe, and began grooming my pelt, cleaning out everything and pulling out each and every knot. He continued running through it, and I realized he was going to at least send me off clean and beautiful. I couldn't feel it, but he had stopped cleaning my pelt and was pressing against me, touching his nose to mine as I slipped into darkness. On the edge of my senses, I barely felt him pull away, and the last thing I saw was the two-leg carry Suru, who was writhing and stretching towards me with sadness glittering through his eyes, through the door as she stared back and me, frantically speaking into something pressed against her ear, before I was lifted off the stone and stabbed with something I couldn't feel, but I could barely see. A black covering slammed over my sight and what was left of my senses, and I felt like I was floating away in a dark oceans, carried away by waves of dusk and streaming shadows.

Light filtered over my pelt, which was shiny, clean, and downy, unlike it had been most of my life. My legs were straight, my mouth was shut, and my eyes were raised to the moon. Grass stretched out around me, waving and twisting into hills and hollows. I felt a cool, chilling breeze run through my fur, sending it into a messy pattern. I closed my eyes and remembered why I was still here. When I had left him, I promised myself I would wait for Suru, and not do anything until he followed me here. I would sit here for moons if I had too, just to wait for him. Then, I wouldn't hurt him. I would protect him. Maybe then, we could try again. Then, we could find a home. Then, I would be better.

(I finished! Finally! Most of this chapter didn't happen in the song, but the challenge said it must contain something from the song. Plus, I've never written anything like that, and I really wanted Aurora to go insane and die... I'm morbid okay? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this: my first short story and my first finished FanFiction. Expect another! I have already taken another challenge, which should last a bit longer.)