Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors

Epilogue

"Life is beautiful. Death is brutal. And nothing can ever take away true friendship- not even tragedy."

~Boy Meets Depression, Kevin Breel

Silence. That was all there was. Silence.

There was nothing to say. What could they say? Nothing. There was nothing to say. Runningnose couldn't emphasize that enough. There was nothing to say. Of course, there were things to say. Words could always be spoken but were they important? No. That was why there was nothing to say.

At least Nightpelt understood that. Runningnose would be eternally grateful for the older tom's companionship. They shared a mutual loss, a mutual friendship, a mutual feeling of hopelessness.

Neither cat knew what was going to happen. And they didn't want to. Runningnose could say with absolute certainty that denial of the inevitable was far better than facing the truth.

She was my best friend, Runningnose thought, looking up in the direction of the sky. And I think I loved her. We could never be but no cat ever made me feel the way she did. And she's gone. I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye.

Runningnose felt a soothing tongue run over the fur on the back of his head. He relaxed against Nightpelt's comforting laps. It wasn't much but it let Runningnose be reminded of the tom's presence. That was more than enough. Just knowing her was there made Runningnose feel a lot less alone in the world he knew would echo with loneliness until the day he joined StarClan in Silverpelt. Nightpelt made it a bit more bearable but Runningnose could feel despair setting in.

"Do you think…" Runningnose started but his voice cracked and he let the silence set in again. He and Nightpelt were curled up in Runningnose's nest in the medicine den, the warrior insisting that Runningnose not be left alone tonight. Nightpelt rested his head against his shoulder and rubbed his head against his, quietly telling him to stop talking.

He knew it. Runningnose knew it. There was nothing to say. Silence was nice. StarClan knows they both needed it.

The pad of pawsteps sounded from outside. Runningnose and Nightpelt looked up to see Yellowfang standing in the medicine den entrance. Grief clouded her eyes. Runningnose knew he didn't have to ask but he couldn't leave everything unsaid.

"Did she…?" Runningnose trailed off, once again losing his words. Thankfully, Nightpelt was there to catch them.

"Did she go peacefully?" Nightpelt asked. Yellowfang looked away, not saying anything. Runningnose felt Nightpelt tremble beside him. He could only imagine the pain the other tom was feeling. He doubted it could compare to the pain he felt though. His heart ached in a way he never thought hearts could. Hopeheart…

Runningnose wanted to wail like a kit. He wanted to yowl into the night until he couldn't yowl any more and then keep yowling. He wanted to grief like a kitless mother or be anger than a fire or feel anything other than this overwhelming, inexplicable emotion that seized everything in him down to the tips of the individual hairs on his pelt. It hurt in a way he never thought it could. The concoction of emotions... It was pain. Pain on a level he never knew existed. It felt like his heart was going to fall out of his chest and die while he watched it throb on the sandy floor, struggling to stay alive until it just gave out. It hurt in a way that herbs couldn't heal. Only a few moments had passed but already he didn't know if he could take it.

"Are you two going to be okay?" Yellowfang asked softly. She padded over and settled next to them, pressing her own flank against theirs. Runningnose felt very secure with the two cats on either side of him but it wasn't enough to close wound in his heart.

"No," Runningnose said truthfully after a brief pause. I'll never be able to move on."But I'll survive."

Nightpelt started lapping his shoulder. "I still think of Wishvine every day. I still carry her loss in my bones. It weighs me down but I keep my chin up and I keep walking forward. Now that they're both gone… It'll take some time but I think I'll survive too."

Yellowfang rested her head on the top of Runningnose's. "I never had the chance to tell them that I loved them or that I was sorry for abandoning them."

"Me neither," Runningnose whispered. He closed his eyes and let his body go limp. "I never got to say goodbye or let either of them know how much they meant to me or anything. I thought Hopeheart had more time."

"We can never prepare ourselves for loss and we can never truly get over it," Nightpelt said quietly. "But we still have each other and Hopeheart and Wishvine's memory. That's what matters. I will hold onto them forever."

"Me too."

"I as well. We will never forget."

A yowl sounded from outside. Runningnose didn't want to get up but he knew that he would end up out there if he took himself or not. With heavy hearts, Nightpelt, Yellowfang, and Runningnose peeled themselves apart, picked themselves up, and padded outside.

"All cats meet at the clan rock!"

ShadowClan's new leader was standing on the clan rock, orange gaze sweeping over the clan. Runningnose, Yellowfang, and Nightpelt found Stumpypaw sat down beside him to see what he had to say.

"I have received my nine lives and name from StarClan," he announced. "It's time let all the clans know that ShadowClan is the greatest among them."

"ShadowClan! ShadowClan! ShadowClan!"

Runningnose's breath hitched but he didn't have the time to contemplate why. After a few heartbeats, the clan broke into a new cry.

"Brokenstar! Brokenstar! Brokenstar!"

Brokenstar lashed his tail for silence, cutting down the noise almost instantly. "I thank all my clanmates for their support. Now, WindClan's crimes have gone on too long. They took my father's life and they will pay with theirs. Who's with me?"

The clan exploded into bloodthirsty yowls. Runningnose ducked his head and flattened his ears, unable to face his leader or listen to his clanmates. Brokentail's reign has begun.

Final Note: ... And we're done!

I got this idea while scrolling through some Warriors stories. I wasn't looking for anything, I was just seeing what the rest of the community was up to. I actually came up with the idea of Brokenstar's broken spirit by misreading the description of another story. Unfortunately, I do not remember what story it was but I do know that it had nothing to do with Brokenstar or his sisters so I didn't steal it or anything. I'm not totally sure how I came up with it.

I've been wanting to write a story with a more serious theme for about a year. I played around with some ideas but none of them stuck until this one. I especially wanted to write something involving identity so a divided spirit was the perfect way to do that. I didn't intend for there to be so much violence, death, or angst but I think this story turned out as I planned it. I knew from the start that this would take place within cannon, meaning that both Hopeheart and Wishvine would be dead before Brokentail's reign began.

This story continues as it does in the books. I'm considering writing a companion story to this one detailing the Dark Forests' role and following up but no promises. Broken Nature is more of a complementary story than an AU. It's something different than what most Warriors stories do but I'm glad I brought something new to this fandom and I hope you all enjoyed.

If you liked this story, I don't have many others like it at the moment but a new story is going up the day this last chapter was posted. I encourage you to check it out. It's called Falling Feathers and it focuses on Jayfeather and Crowfeather's relationship.