Iceblossom approached Coalfur cautiously. One wrong move, and it was over. Everything she had dreamed of would be over.
"Coalfur," she said. The tom turned away from watching the kits practicing their fighting skills. "Could you come here for a second?" she asked.
Coalfur nodded and padded over to the side with her.
"I have to tell you something," Iceblossom murmured.
Coalfur's eyes lit up. "You're expecting kits?" he asked.
Iceblossom let out a mrrowl of laughter. It was probably the last laugh she would ever make. "No," she said. She paused, then spoke. "Stonecloud has been coming to me in my dreams lately. I've actually ben having a lot of dreams lately. Coalfur, I want to be leader of my own clan. Rainstar told me I was the one who would bring IceClan back," she told him.
Coalfur's smile faded and was replaced by shock and anger. "What do you mean?! I thought you liked living out here, being with your kits and me! If you became leader, you wouldn't be able to spend as much time with us! Rainstar was old and insane when he told you that. He didn't mean it literally."
Iceblossom sighed, tears forming in her eyes. "Coalfur, I'm sorry. This is my decision. Look, Coalfur, as a leader, you know I can't have a mate or kits. No one could even know my past. I-I can't be your mate anymore, I can't raise the kits anymore. I love you so much, Coalfur, and I love our kits too, but this just won't work anymore. Stonecloud and Rainstar were right. This is my destiny."
Coalfur looked hurt, unsheathing his claws. He sunk them into the dirt, yowling, "You're choosing this over me?! You're choosing this over your family?!" he yowled. Tears streamed down his face.
It was as if all of Iceblossom's memories had come back at once. She remembered when he had told her Lilypaw would be fine, she remembered when he had comforted her, when he had declared his love for her.
"Look, Coalfur. I don't want to choose anything over you. Some decisions are hard to make, but this is my destiny," she sighed. "Please, don't make this harder than it is. I was always meant to lead."
Rosepaw stumbled out from behind a bush, tears in her eyes. "You're leaving us?" she whimpered. Jetpaw and Pebblepaw stood by her too. Obviously they had been eavesdropping the whole conversation.
"I don't want to leave you, my kits," she said sadly. "But sometimes we may see an opportunity as a good thing, while another sees it as a bad thing."
Coalfur looked at Iceblossom in rage. "You don't love me anymore, do you?!" he yowled. "That's what this is all about! I still love you, Iceblossom!" he cried out.
"Coalfur, stop it," Iceblossom demanded. "You know I love you," she said, stroking her tail against his pelt. His eyes flashed with anger though, and he ran off. Iceblossom froze, knowing it had not gone well. "Kits, follow me!" she instructed, beginning to run off after her mate.
She found Coalfur at the edge of the waterfall, leaning over.
"Coalfur, don't do it. Don't you dare do it," Iceblossom said, her voice quivering.
He looked at her, sadness shining in his eyes. "I have to. It's the only way to show you that I love you," he murmured, tears streaming down his face.
Before Iceblossom could say anything else, he leapt off, his black body fading into the water. "COALFUR!" she screeched. Her kits mewed for their father, and she felt her heart breaking.
"Stay here," Iceblossom told the kits, padding down to the bottom. The water became shallow, and the current wasn't as strong. She spotted Coalfur's body floating in the water, and she groaned.
"Coalfur!" she yelled, dragging him out. He laid there, coughing up some water.
"I love you," he whispered.
"Oh, Coalfur," Iceblossom cried. "I love you too. Why-why did you do this? You always knew that I loved you. Why did you jump?"
But Coalfur did not speak another word. His eyes were unseeing, and he did not move. He was entire family, her entire life-dead. That's all her life was! Dead!
"NO!" she screeched, tears flowing down her face. She watched as his body flowed away, and sge padded back up, racing to her kits.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, sitting near her kits. Together, she cried with her family.
She had lost everyone she loved. She had to make sure her kits survived.