Let's say my computer crashed down, okay?

Ch 7- Peace

Frostfur's stomach growls in hunger as she woke up from her dream. She was chasing a mouse, but no matter how close she got, the rodent always slipped away. Frostfur passed her tongue over her teeth, spitting out a rotting one. She rose shakily with weak legs out of the pile of leaves. It did not help that she was growing old.

"Frostfur?" Speckletail rasped quietly, blinking sleep out of her eyes. "What are you doing so early?" The tabby she-cat cocked her head to the side.

"Hunting," Frostfur joked, but their half-hearted chuckling was interrupted by an unusually large cry from Loudbelly's stomach.

"Obviously you are well named," Shadepelt commented dryly. This caused much hilarity among the elders beside Loudbelly.

"Why are we still here?" Loudbelly complained, ignoring the chuckles. "My stomach hurts. It is eating my insides."

"The Clans could do much better without us," Shadepelt replied automatically, "we would only slow them down." But she too sounded uncertain. Their hunger was too close for comfort, and it seemed like she was reassuring herself more than Loudbelly.

For nearly a moon, the four elders survived on their wits, avoiding traps and Twolegs. Prey was getting scarce, and all they could do was lie on their creaky bones.

"I'm just so tired," Frostfur murmured. "I wish StarClan could take me now, so this suffering could pass." Silence met her statement before Speckletail broke it.

"Nonsense," she said briskly, "you haven't gained much wisdom since you were a kit. We keep going until we die like warriors."

"What I could really have right now," Loudbelly said suddenly, "is a fat, tender fish."

"Fish are disgusting," Frostfur scoffed, "a few mice from Greenleaf should do the trick."

"Oh, shut up, you're making me drool," Shadepelt groaned. "Can we please do something else?"

"All right," Speckletail agreed, "what do you think the Clans are doing now?"

Frostfur began to worry for her kin. "Whitepaw's inherited her aunt's clumsiness. I do hope she doesn't fall off a cliff or anything…"

"Stop being such a worry-wart," Speckletail chided, "how do you know if there are cliffs? If someone does fall off a cliff, it would be Smokepaw."

"Who is Smokepaw?" Shadepelt asked.

"He's from ShadowClan," Loudbelly explained.

"I hear he has two left paws," Frostfur purred, "but I do hope none of them gets hurt."

The elders forced themselves to talk about kits, scandals, old gossip, anything but their hunger. However, it grew so much that soon they stopped talking all together, their stomachs paining them greatly.

"I'm so hungry," Loudbelly moaned.

Frostfur twitched her ears irritably, and tried to fall back to sleep. Sleep was her only comfort, even if mice were being annoying. She shifted on her side, closing her eyes. Speckletail was strangely quiet, her eyes closed in a deep slumber. Frostfur vaguely thought through her fevered mind that it was strange.

--

It seemed only like a heartbeat when she woke up again. She did not open her eyes immediately, lingering in her nest for a few more seconds.

"No," Frostfur murmured, remembering her starvation. "Why now?" With a jolt, she realized that her stomach did not growl with hunger. She stood up, energy coursing through her veins. She felt young again.

Frostfur began to get up, surprised by the sudden power in her old veins. Actually, she did not feel old at all. Her dizzy head was becoming clearer, and she ran. The details of the dark forest were all a blur now as she gained more speed.

She didn't know how long she ran; the sheer bliss of feeling youthful and fed again was clouding her thoughts. But she did finally stop, not feeling tired at all. She looked around the beautiful clearing. Where was she? Majestic trees loomed over her, and the melody of birdsong was in the midnight air. This was not the forest, or rather, what was left of the forest. And where were her friends? Frostfur began feeling panicky, and she trembled all over. She looked up, her nose sniffing for any familiar scents. Squinting, she suddenly realized that the stars were moving!

One by one, they came down next to her. To her surprise, the stars were cats.

"Mother?" Frostfur whispered, recognizing a small brown she-cat. Robinwing glanced fondly at her, but she did not speak. The cats slowly turned towards her, their pelts sparkling with stars.

Then it hit her.

"Oh Great StarClan! Foxdung, I'm dead!" Frostfur exclaimed, and a sparkling kittens snickered at her.

"Mosskit, shush," Bluestar commanded her kit. Mosskit fell silent. Bluestar turned to Frostfur, smiling. "Welcome to StarClan, my old friend."

"Bluestar…" Frostfur bowed her head, feeling as inadequate as an apprentice around this powerful she-cat. "I am honored in StarClan's presence. But what about Loudbelly… and Speckletail…"

"Fool, are you blinded?" a familiar voice hissed. Frostfur looked up, and to her joy and sorrow, Speckletail was sitting next to a magnificent golden tabby and a small white kit. "Your brains are as addled as ever." Frostfur was too stunned to retort.

"Frostfur," Bluestar began again, "it is time for you to join StarClan. Follow us to our hunting grounds."

"But what about Loudbelly and Shadepelt?"

"They will come and join us when it is time. You shall meet them soon."

Without another word, Frostfur took her first step towards StarClan, feeling peace at last.

There are not a lot of fanfics about Frostfur, unfortunately. Therefore, I decided to write this one about what happened to the elders who decided to stay behind. According to Warriors Wiki, they died of starvation. I also decided to show StarClan as what they are usually shown as, instead of my twisted version with Ivyheart in it.