Hi, everyone! Sorry for not updating. I try to do these things at least once a week, but sometimes it gets past me.
Enjoy, my friends!
"No, Cinderpelt. You can't go into the fire with your leg like that!" Fireheart hissed.
"Then I'll go!" I volunteered.
"Ugh, we can't stand here arguing all day! Yellowfang, with me. The rest of you, to the river!"
Oh, you're here.
I'm Yellowfang.
Now's not the time to be talking to me.
Why?
Because the camp's on fire, you idiots.
Duh.
Why else would there be, oh, let's see, HEAVY SMOKE AND LARGE, ORANGE FLAMES COMING FROM THE DIRECTION OF OUR CAMPING SPACE?
StarClan help your tiny brains.
Ugh, fine, you can tag along. Just don't get burned, because I don't want to have to treat your squishy skin.
I dashed into the fire. There were two cats missing: Halftail and Patchpelt.
I glanced around, searching for the two elders.
"Halftail? Patchpelt? Are you in here?" I called, my voice rasping from the smoke fumes channeling through my throat.
I heard a groan coming from the medicine den, and a stubby, dark brown tail covered in ash twitched at the entance.
"Halftail!" I meowed. I rushed up to him, pressing my ear against his chest.
Thump thump . . . . . . . . .thump thump . . . . . . . .thump thump . . . . . . . .
He was still alive.
"Halftail, are you alright?" I murmured.
The dark brown tom lifted his head a bit.
"Yellowfang . . . I don't . . . want . . . to die . . . " Infinity War flashback. Okay, I'll go.
"Halftail, you don't have to die. I can help you, just focus on your breathing."
"I'm trying, but I . . . " The old cat let out a choked gasp before falling back.
Thump thump . . . . . . thump thump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . thump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The heartbeat stopped.
Another cat I couldn't save.
I sighed, then realized I couldn't.
No . . . I was suffering the same fate at poor Halftail.
Then there was darkness.
"Yellowfang? Yellowfang, no!"
Fireheart . . .
I groaned. The world swam before me.
"Yellowfang? Your alive!" The young ginger warrior looked at me with shining green eyes.
I couldn't bear to look at the hope in them.
"Fireheart. I am glad it is you who came."
Fireheart pressed his muzzle into my ash-stained fur. "Yellowfang . . . I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left you."
"Is Patchpelt safe?" I asked.
Fireheart shook his head. "No. He breathed in too much smoke."
I sighed, well, took a longer breath than my others. "Same for Halftail." I felt hope drain from me.
"But we saved Goldenflower's kit," Fireheart offered.
"Which one?"
"Bramblekit."
Bramblekit. Tigerstar's copy. I closed my eyes. He would be an outstanding warrior, if he chose the right path.
"You're a brave warrior, Fireheart." I opened up my eyes. "I could not be prouder of you if you were my own son. StarClan knows how many times I wished you were, instead of-" I drew in a sharp breath. I had to tell some cat before I died.
"Brokentail."
Fireheart visibly flinched.
I shook my head.
"I was the one who fed him deathberries."
Fireheart crouched over me. "Hush. Save your strength."
The ginger tom turned to the pile of moss in the corner. "Here, let me get you some water."
I lifted my head. "Water's no good for me now." I croaked. "I want to tell you everything before I-"
"You're not going to die!" Fireheart cried. "Tell me, what can I do to help you?"
"Don't waste your time. I'm going to die whatever you do, but I'm not afraid. Just listen to me."
The tom leaned in.
"I wish you had been my son, but I could not have borne a cat like you. StarClan gave me Brokentail to teach me a lesson."
"What did you need to learn? You are as wise as Bluestar herself."
I let out a huffed laughter. Yes, Bluestar and I were the same in many ways.
"I killed my own son."
"He deserved it!"
"But I was his mother. StarClan may judge me how they will. I am ready."
Fireheart dipped his head and began washing me. I felt a flicker of love for the rambunctious tom.
"Fireheart."
"Yes?"
"Thank you for bringing me to ThunderClan. Tell Bluestar that I have always been grateful for the home she gave me. This is a good place to die. I only regret that I will miss watching you become what StarClan destined you to be." Darkness crowded at the edge of my vision. My heartbeat slowed.
"Yellowfang, don't go!"
It stopped.
I felt the pain ease. I took a deep breath, finally in StarClan.
Raggedstar padded up to me. "Yellowfang."
"Raggedstar." I responded.
"Come. Hopekit and Wishkit are waiting for their mother."