Chapter 14: Another Goodbye…
*Sad crying noises* (And again, thank you again for your reviews! And yay, we've already hit 1500+ views!) :3 –Majesty and Fox
~1 moon later~
"Blossomfrost! Stormfeather! Fernheart!" the cats of WindClan cheered. Blossomfrost frost smiled brightly at her clan-mates praise, forgetting her dream for a few precious moments.
"We're warriors," newly named Fernheart whispered happily. Blossomfrost watched her friend whisper a silent prayer to StarClan, most likely about Mintpaw. She wrapped her tail around Fernheart's golden and black tail supportively.
"I miss her too," she smiled softly. Fernheart nodded, leaning on Blossomfrost's shoulder. StarClan let me protect her and Stormfeather.
During their silent vigil, Fernheart fell asleep, leaving Blossomfrost alone with Stormfeather. She shivered a cold breeze ruffled her ginger fur. "It is pretty cold tonight," he commented, pulling her close to his flank.
Blossomfrost purred softly and snuggled into his warm, soft fur. Her heart stared to race when he licked her cheek, a purr rumbling in his throat. "Thanks Stormy," she whispered genuinely.
"You're welcome," he smiled, wrapping his tail around hers. "Now be quiet, let's get this vigil over with already."
Slowly, Blossomfrost rose to her paws. Did I fall asleep? And why am I in the warriors' den? She looked over to where Stormfeather sat grooming his fur, awake and alert.
"Why am I in here?" she mumbled, rubbing her muzzle with a white paw.
"After the vigil, you were so tired that Fernheart and I lead you in here to rest. The dawn patrol already left too, and Fernheart groggily joined," he laughed.
"Thank you, Stormfeather. And thank you for the nest!"
"Oh! I didn't make it. Hawkpaw did. She made mine and Fernheart's too," he smiled, waving his silver and white tail.
"I'll have to thank her later," Blossomfrost smiled, walking out of the warriors' den where Fernheart sat with Breezefeather and Graysky.
"Hello mother," she purred, rubbing her cheek against Breezefeather's.
"Blossomfrost," Breezefeather purred. "Come on, walk with me," she said gently.
"O-ok! I'll see you later," Blossomfrost whispered to Fernheart, who nodded and resumed talking to Graysky.
As the two she-cat's walked up the moor's hillside, the grass shining with frost, Blossomfrost realized how similar her and her mother's features were. Both she Breezefeather shared a slender and lithe body, large eyes, and a pink nose. Her mother was beautiful.
"Blossomfrost," her mother meowed. "I wanted to tell you that I've been thinking about joining the elders' den."
Blossomfrost frost, flabbergasted. "Mother! You're not old at all!"
"I-I know but…I'm not much use to our Clan anymore. I mean, I'm not even a warrior…"
"Mother. You would never admit to being useless, which you aren't—" Blossomfrost's sentence was cut off by Breezefeather's coughing fit. Realization finally set in as her mother wheezed. "Y-You're sick…aren't you?"
"I-I'm sorry for not telling you earlier… I-I…" she continued to cough, hunching her body and shaking.
"Come on, let's go to the river and get you a drink," Blossomfrost whispered, her mew thick with sadness. She wrapped her tail with Breezefeather's and let her to the river.
Once the arrived at the river, trying to stay out of Blazewhisker and his patrol's way, Blossomfrost sat next to her mother as she drank. She's sick. S-She's actually…sick…
After Breezefeather drank her fill, she turned to face her daughter. "You don't have to speak," Blossomfrost whispered. "I'm sorry that you're sick…"
"Hush, my love. I've many years to come, and hopefully longer years with the elders." Breezefeather let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes. Blossomfrost turned her attention to where Blazewhisker was chatting with Rainstep, Fernheart, and Stormfeather, but the two new warriors seemed to be ignoring the older warriors while Hawkpaw and Lizardpaw were lost in their own conversations.
It's the same cats…by the river…NO! "Mother, give me one moment please," she whispered hurriedly, rushing over to where her two friends started to wrestle.
"G-Guys! S-Stop please!" she wailed, starting to run towards her friends. Rainstep cast her a strange glance but continued to talk with Blazewhisker.
Stormfeather and Fernheart continued to play, nearing the river more and more. "Stop!" she cried, slipping on her own paws the faster she ran. Suddenly Fernheart let out a shriek as she and her brother slipped and fell into the bubbling river.
"NO!" Blossomfrost screeched, leaping into the air and landing river's edge. "STORMFEATHER! FERNHEART!" She was about to jump into the river when a pair of jaws pulled her back. "Rainstep no! They're going to drown!" she wailed.
Suddenly a splash soaked her fur, making her shiver. Who jumped in?! Blinking away the freezing water droplets, she saw her mother's black and white fur in the river, swimming towards the struggling warriors.
"BREEZEFEATHER NO!" Blossomfrost tore herself away Rainstep and followed the river edge, fear clenching her heart as blood roared in her ears. "Mother!"
Suddenly she saw Stormfeather and Fernheart crawl away from the river, shaking violently. They were alive…but where was Breezefeather. "Where's my mother?!" Blossomfrost cried.
Fernheart whimpered and shook harder. Letting out a yowl of fear and anger, Blossomfrost searched the river for her mother.
Her stomach flipped when she saw Breezefeather's pelt bob up once before disappearing again under the freezing river. Without a doubt in her mind, she leapt into the river, gasping at the river's freezing sting. She gripped her mother's pelt and started to pull her towards the shore, her legs starting to give up.
Blazewhisker and Rainstep helped hoist her and Breezefeather's unconscious body out of the water. Once they were on the ground, Blossomfrost immediately licked her mother's fur. "W-wake up, mother! You're fine! You saved them and you're a true hero! PLEASE!"
Breezefeather's fur was soaked to the skin and her moth hung open. A tine line of blood seeped from her left ear as her flank trembled before it stopped moving. "Blossomfrost, help me carry her body back to camp," Blazewhisker commented quietly.
She shuddered and nodded, grasping her mother's scruff. She's alive. She's alive. SHE'S FINE! Stormfeather helped carry her, despite his shivering. Rainstep and the apprentices helped lead Fernheart back to camp, but Blossomfrost remained silent, convincing herself Breezefeather was fine.
Blossomfrost stood, frozen as a stone as the elders prepared her mother's body for vigil. She couldn't believe it. Her mother, her only kin left, was dead. Treeheart said it was the freezing water that killed her. The shock had killed her, and her sickness didn't help.
She had saved two lives. She knew she was going to die from a sickness and she jumped into the river to save Stormfeather and Fernheart.
Suddenly Vixenbreeze wrapped her tail around Blossomfrost and rested her head on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry," the medicine cat whispered, sniffling slightly.
She hardly heard the she-cat. All Blossomfrost could heart was her own broken heart beating and a shrill buzzing.
Once the elders cleaned and readied her body, the vigil started. Graysky let out a wail and cursed StarClan for taking another WindClan life, but Blossomfrost remained frozen.
After the incredibly long and painful vigil, Blossomfrost helped bury her mother. She remembered to drop a flower in Breezefeather's grave before stumbling into the warriors' den and crashing into her nest.
She let out muffled sobs, cursing herself for not saving her. I had the dream. Stormfeather and Fernheart are alive, but I could have jumped in first and saved my mother. I'm a murder.
If it makes sense, Breezefeather helped lead Stormy and Fernheart to the shore, which saved them. But the cold and shock killed her. We will be mourning. :'(