Six ~ Grasspaw's POV:

I felt like I was dying.

In fact, I knew I was.

My chest burned in a way I never thought possible. I never thought a cat such as myself, with so much to live for could die in such a short time.

But this was my destiny; it had been for seasons now.

I could hear him, shouting my name. I could feel his tongue rasping along my ears, my body... He knew the end was near. I could sense it.

He knew I would die here. This is the reason why he didn't move me from the place, why he didn't bring me back to camp... Why he didn't try and get help to save me.

He knew I would die here. He knew it all along, and I had a feeling that was why he had brought me to this place beside the shoreline.

Yet, my attempts to get him to bring me back, to help me, to save me... All failed because of my destiny. All because of what StarClan felt was best for me...

Curse you, StarClan... I thought hotly as my breathing shortened, my heart slowed, and finally my world went black. Curse you...

~~Lichenpaw~~

When the clearing went silent, I knew he was gone.

Grasspaw, my lover... My one, my only... My forever, was gone.

And I did nothing - nothing - to try and save him.

I just sat there like an mouse-brain, watching him. Watching his breathing patterns stutter and become shallower than the last each time he sucked in a breath... Feeling his heart slow to not even a murmur of pumping blood to the rest of his body as I lay next to him all that time... Watching, heartbroken and lost, as his eyes dulled, the light that was usually held within them died, and his breathing slowed to a stop.

And he, along with my soul, my being... Died.

He was my everything. Now, I had nothing.

I was alone.

"You told me forever..." I whispered against his soft fur. It was growing cold, its once humble atmosphere and warm texture dying along with the rest of him and now slowly reeking of death and loss. "You promised me forever..."

And slowly, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter, a voice I knew all too well responded to me:

"Always, my love. Always..."

~~Grasspaw~~

I watched as he turned, his eyes gleaming with hope that I had not left him. He looked around, frantic, as he tried to pinpoint where I just so happened to be.

"Grasspaw!" My heart tore in two at the way his voice cracked when he spoke my name. "Come back to me! You can't leave!"

I watched as the four others - Swanleap, Lynxfire, Blossomtail and Furzepaw - each entered the clearing, halting in their tracks when they saw Lichenpaw sobbing and calling my name to the sky.

Swanleap's horrific scream echoed through the air and I tucked my ears back against my head. She and Lynxfire ran to my side, shoving Lichenpaw away from me with a snarl of hatred. Blossomtail followed, while Furzepaw just stood there, rigid in place.

My mother nudged me with her nose; the same thing she used to do to me when I was a kit to get me to wake up in the morning. "Grasspaw... My only son..." she murmured against my muzzle, and I felt her breath tickle my whiskers, even as a spirit.

My father stood silent next to my mother, wrapping his tail around her. I watched, heartbroken, as Swanleap dug her muzzle into his chest and cried her sorrows into him. "Our son is gone..." Lynxfire whispered solemnly, his eyes brimmed with tears.

"I'll never be a mother again..." Swanleap's muffled sob rang clear in my ears. "He was our last kit..."

"And now he's gone..." Blossomtail's body was shaking with sobs. "Oh, little brother... Y-You're gone..."

I tore my attention away from my family to where Furzepaw and Lichenpaw sat. Furzepaw was whispering calming things in Lichenpaw's ear, yet the tom's sorrowful and reddened eyes were distracted. He and his sister suddenly rose to their paws and padded away from my family. With my family's sobs still ringing through the air, I followed them.

They stopped at a shallow bank of water. I could catch snippets of the conversation:

"Are you okay, Lichenpaw?"

I watched as my lover, my everything, shook his head. I watched a tear fall from his eye and land on the sand beneath his paws when he spoke. "No. I've lost him, Furzepaw. I've lost the one cat who loved me..."

"I love you, Lichenpaw." Furzepaw murmured quietly, licking his ear comfortingly.

"It's not the same with you, Furzepaw," Lichenpaw's eyes closed and tears flowed from the surface. "G-Grasspaw's g-gone, and I-I c-can't get h-him back!"

Furzepaw's eyes flashed with sorrow for Lichenpaw. "I know, Lichenpaw... I know how heartbroken you are right now, brother... But just think: He's in a better place. At least he isn't suffering anymore."

"S-Suffering?" The question seemed to exit Lichenpaw as though he'd never heard of the term. "W-What do you m-mean?"

Furzepaw sighed, her ears flat against her head. "Grasspaw had a heart condition, Lichenpaw... A really bad one at that. Blossomtail told me that he's had it ever since he was a kit, and that's why he can't run very fast or catch a lot of prey because his heart always falters every now and then. I-I guess..." She trailed off, collecting her thoughts and keeping tears at bay. "I-I guess this time, it was fatal."

Lichenpaw sank harshly to the ground, sobs racking his body. "I j-just want t-the cat I-I loved b-back!"

"I know you do," Furzepaw said softly. "But you can't bring him back, unfortunately." She rose to her paws and touched her nose to Lichenpaw's ear. "I'm going to gather the others and send them back to camp... Come when you're ready. I'm sure Hazelstar will allow you some alone time with Grasspaw." With that, she left him alone on the shore, going to gather my family and my body.

He was silent for a few moments, until he raised his head to the sky and shouted, "You can't leave me, Grasspaw! I love you! You can't leave me now!"

His next words seemed to shatter my soul:

"You promised me forever and always! You promised!"

I know I did, Lichenpaw... But sometimes fate has other plans...

In loving memory of Bennett Grayson Lippens... May you rest in peace, my love.

Forever and always, Ben... Forever and always.

With life and love,

~Nikki