The limp, lifeless body of the once-proud and mighty ThunderClan leader lay in the centre of the clearing. A circle of cats surrounded Brindlestar's corpse, paying their respects and sending their best wishes for the deceased leader. The grief was obvious - the atmosphere was tense with it, no spark of joy lighting anything up in the gloomy camp.
"May StarClan light your path, old friend." Stormheart pressed his nose into the cold gray pelt. Murmurs of agreement rose from the other elders.
"May you find good hunting and a sheltered place to sleep." Larksplash added, green eyes closing as she mourned the death of her leader.
Robinflight closed her eyes, sinking into a puddle of sadness. Brindlestar had been her mentor, back when she was still Brindleheart. "It's always sad to see a clanmate leave our ranks," she murmured to her brother, Brackenwhisper. He nodded back.
"But it's a part of clan life. Death strengthens us. It shows us that there's always something ahead in our journey, and that not even enternal sleep will stop us from continuing on our path. For Brindlestar, her next stop is StarClan. She'll be reunited with past clanmates once again. Change is hard, Robinflight. But we shouldn't be afraid of it. Instead, we must embrace it, let it take us where it wants, and build upwards from there."
Despite the dull atmosphere, Robinflight was tempted to smile. Brackenwhisper was always there, ready with wise words to comfort his clanmates. His apprentice, Reedpaw, padded toward them nervously. "I-is she gone... forever?" Reedpaw was always a nervous little cat.
"Of course we will. Everyone will experience death someday. It's the way of life," Robinflight soothed the apprentice, "One day, all of us will be clanmates with Brindlestar once more. In StarClan."
Brackenwhisper shot her an amused glance. "And there you were, teasing me about always preaching younger cats." Robinflight rolled her eyes. No wonder why he was the deputy - well, leader now.
I just hope everything will be alright from here. There's no telling what ShadowClan might have in mind. Who knows what they might do, now that Brindlestar's dead.
Robinflight's apprentice, Leafpaw came bounding forward, her dusky brown stripes gleaming on her pale golden pelt. "Everything will be fine, right? I mean, every clan leader has to die sometime."
Brackenwhisper gave Leafpaw an offended look. "You know, I'm going to be that next ThunderClan leader that dies next, you know?" he gently teased. Leafpaw was suddenly scuffling the floor in an embarassed way.
"It's all right, Leafpaw. Brackenwhisper's just teasing you." Robinflight chuckled.
"Keep it down, will you? It's a clan leader, we're grieving, not a pet rat." Hawkeyes snapped in annoyance. Was it just Robinflight's imagination, or did he sound smug about something?
Brackenwhisper gave his sister a reassuring lick. "I should be preparing to leave for the Moonstone soon. Willowflight will be annoyed if I don't head over soon." The pale gray medicine cat was standing by Highrock, her plumed tail lashing impatiently. Robinflight dipped her head.
"Good luck, brother. May StarClan always light your path." Brackenwhisper dipped his head in response. Robinflight watched quietly as medicine cat and deputy padded toward the gorse tunnel, which was embraced with shadows. Turning her head toward Silverpelt, she thought to herself.
I hope you're still watching over us, Brindlestar. Something doesn't feel right... and it doesn't help that you're gone. You were a wonderful mentor to me, even after I recieved my warrior name.
I'm no medicine cat, but something dark seems to be looming over our clan.