Hey y'all! I'm here with a writing challenge for the forum, Fallenclan! The prompts were battle, guilt, first snow, and sunset... hopefully, I got them all! I hope you enjoy reading this!
You Fell From The Sky
Dusksong and Snowsky were the cutest couple, cats always had said. It had been clear how much they loved each other even just from a glance passed between the two mates. Dusksong, the whispers and rumors speculated, was never quite right after the passing of his mate. But then again, he had also lost his sister the same day, and his father before that. Losing that much would be tough on any cat. Dusksong didn't know how to move on. His Snowsky, his brave and selfless mate, had died because of Dusksong's own recklessness. Dusksong reflected that he was never quite right after his mate's death. Some said that it was the loss of his father that he had never known. Others whispered that it was the death of his sister. The especially spiteful ones even dared to say that it was his dear mother who couldn't handle raising two kits. But Dusksong knew that the thing to send him over the edge was the death of his mate and sister… the deaths that he caused… because of rash stupidity.
"We need to attack ShadowClan! They've strayed too close too many times!" Dusksong hissed.
Snowsky pressed his pelt into Dusksong's and for a moment, everything seemed fine. "Dusksong, are you sure?" Snowsky whispered. "I know your father…" He trailed off.
"We have to Snowsky! I'll lead the patrol myself if I have to!" Dusksong growled.
"Dusksong, please!" Snowsky pleaded. "Think with your head, not your heart!"
"I am thinking with my head!" Dusksong growled. "Don't you trust me, Snowsky?"
"I do but…" Snowsky trailed off.
"Don't finish that sentence." Dusksong stalked away.
Reflecting on it now, Dusksong realized that Snowsky had been right. He always had been. But now… he was gone.
Gone.
Never coming back.
And it was Dusksong's fault.
"We'll send a battle patrol this afternoon." Toadstar declared. "Dusksong, you will lead it. Bring Snowsky, Flameflight, Robintail, Thistleflower, Lightningpool, Berrysong, Mintspeck, Tansystep, Oatfrost, Rosewhisker, Dapplepaw, and Aspenpaw."
"Are you going to defy your leader's orders?" Dusksong whispered to Snowsky.
"No," Snowsky shook his head. "I'll follow Toadstar but know that I'm not following you."
Dusksong frowned, turning his face away from Snowsky so that his mate - or… were they mates anymore? - wouldn't see his tears.
They had still been mates, in name alone. A breakup would be too much for either of them. Snowsky knew it, Dusksong knew it, frankly, the whole Clan knew it.
Snowsky curled into their nest, around Dusksong. "I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier," The white tom murmured, grooming Dusksong's fur. "I just want you to stay safe, okay? I love you."
"I love you too," Dusksong murmured back. "And I'm sorry." He sighed. "I just don't want to lose anyone else."
"I know," Snowsky paused his gentle grooming to touch his nose to Dusksong's ear. "But you can't always protect everyone.
"I'll always protect you," Dusksong promised. "You and me, together forever."
Snowsky gently pressed their muzzles together for a kiss and Dusksong felt like he wanted to stay that way forever.
The battle had come too soon, Dusksong sighed wearily. There weren't enough warriors fit to go. Toadstar himself had been nearing the end of his leadership and their deputy, Maplelight, was sick with whitecough. That left Dusksong himself to lead the patrol, as he was the best fighter in the clan despite his young age.
"Stay by me, Aspenpaw," Dusksong whispered to his apprentice as the battle patrol slunk through the undergrowth. Snowsky and Aspenpaw were at his side while Dusksong's sister, Flameflight, and her apprentice, Dapplepaw, followed at the back. The rest of the patrol was between them, pelts pressed flat as they stalked silently through the forest. They reached the Thunderpath that divided ShadowClan and ThunderClan.
"Go, go, go!" Oatfrost whispered, nudging Aspenpaw forward.
Aspenpaw looked back with a scared expression before darting across the black pavement. His sister, Dapplepaw, followed. The rest of the patrol followed. Finally, it was just Dusksong and Flameflight on the ThunderClan side.
"Hey," Dusksong gave his sister a small smile. "Want to go together?"
"If you can keep up!" Flameflight laughed, then quieted. "I- yeah. Together." She gave a wry smile. "Let's try to not end up like Dad."
"...yeah," Dusksong mumbled softly. "Let's do this."
Together, Dusksong and his sister ventured onto the Thunderpath. Flameflight kept a steady pace and kept Dusksong from looking back too much.
"Come on, Dusksong!" Snowsky called, careful to keep his voice down.
"Coming!" Dusksong speeded up. "Flameflight?" He asked, looking back.
His sister had frozen and was staring down the Thunderpath. Dusksong turned and immediately saw why. A white monster was barreling right towards them!
"Flameflight!" Dusksong shouted, forgetting to be stealthy. He charged back, skidding to a halt in front of Flameflight. "We have to go! Now!"
Flamflight flinched. "It's too close! We're going to die!"
"Not on my watch!" Dusksong swore. He grabbed his still-shocked sister and dragged her by the scruff until she started running too. "Come on, Flameflight!"
"I'm going I'm going!" His sister yowled hurriedly.
"Uh… Dusksong?!" The panicked voice of his apprentice reached his ears. "We have a problem."
"What?" Dusksong asked, tearing his gaze away from Flameflight. His panicked expression immediately went slack. ShadowClan warriors were swarming the clearing in a sea of dark pelts.
"ThunderClan warriors on our territory," Snarled Springstar, leader of ShadowClan. "What is the meaning of this?"
"We-we mean no harm," Lightningpool murmured. The young warrior was cowering under Springstar's scathing gaze. "We… were fleeing… from a… badger."
"You were now?" Springstar growled. "I smell no badger scent. The only thing I smell… is your fear."
"We're here to attack you!" Dapplepaw yowled, bushing up her fur. The young she-cat sprang at the nearest ShadowClan warrior, only to crumple from one blow.
"Dapplepaw!" Aspenpaw cried.
"Dusksong, look out!" A frantic voice called.
Dusksong turned right as a blur of gold and white fur tackled him off the Thunderpath. With a sickening crack, the monster roared past.
"Flameflight!" Dusksong forgot about the battle whirling to life behind him. He didn't hear Snowsky's shouts or Aspenpaw begging for help. He was focused entirely on his sister, who's back paw seemed to be horribly broken.
"I'll be fine," Flameflight croaked, getting to her paws. She lurched slightly as she got to her paws. "Go help your apprentice, I'll be fine." She repeated.
"Stay here," Dusksong said. He turned and raced to help Aspenpaw, who was bravely trading blows with a warrior twice his size. Dusksong rammed his head into the warrior's side, sending the tom backward into a tree with a crash.
"Go help Dapplepaw," Dusksong said hurriedly to Aspenpaw. His apprentice ran to help Dapplepaw, who was still shaking but bravely battling a ShadowClan apprentice.
Dusksong swerved to face a ginger ShadowClan she-cat. She lashed out with her claws, scratching his shoulder. Dusksong growled and pounced at her head-on. She dug her claws into his shoulders as they flailed on the pine needle covered ground. Dusksong dug his claws into her belly and she cried out in pain, one of her paws flailing wildly, hitting Dusksong above his eye. Dusksong was half-blinded as the blood trickled down. The she-cat pushed him away and fled deeper into ShadowClan territory.
"Some help, please!" Robintail called from where he was being cornered by three ShadowClan warriors.
Dusksong wiped the blood out of his eye and ran over, leaping over fallen branches. He saw Lightningpool out of the corner of his eye; the young warrior had a few shallow scratches but otherwise, they look unharmed.
Lightningpool pounced on the back of one of Robintail's attackers, the two of them locked into a tight tussle of claws and teeth in a moment.
Dusksong grabbed the tail of the other attacker. The cat spun around, wasting no time, clawing Dusksong's left ear. Dusksong sank his jaws into the cat's neck, not deep enough to kill. He let go of the cat and let them scramble back before pouncing and bowling them over.
"DUSKSONG!"
Dusksong froze. He could recognize that voice from anywhere. "Sno-"
His voice was cut off as his attacker used the moment to pin Dusksong down, a paw at his throat. From where he was pinned, Dusksong could see Snowsky pinned against a tree, his white fur bushed out in terror, as he was surrounded by four ShadowClan warriors, including Springstar. Dusksong looked around frantically, but from what he could see, nobody could help his mate. Robintail was weakly laying on the edge of the clearing, blood pulsing from a long scratch down his belly. Lightningpool was still locked in his tussle with a ShadowClan warrior, while Thistleflower, Berrysong, and Mintspeck fended off five of ShadowClan's apprentices. Rosewhisker was pressing cobwebs to a large wound on Oatfrost's neck, the injured tom's eyes screwed up with pain. Tansystep had left moments earlier to get reinforcements and Dapplepaw and Aspenpaw were fighting warriors twice their size. Dusksong knew that there was nobody to help Snowsky. "Snowsky," He choked out around his opponent's large paw.
His eyes widened as full as moons as Flameflight came out of nowhere. Her injured paw trailed uselessly across the ground as she pounced on Springstar's neck. She tumbled with the ShadowClan leader out of Dusksong's line of sight but he saw the ShadowClan warrior's faces go blank with shock.
"Hold him down." Stonecloud, the massive ShadowClan deputy, growled. Instantly, two ShadowClan warriors were on top of Snowsky, one holding down his back legs, the other putting claws on his neck. Snowsky's beautiful blue eyes met Dusksong's for a moment and he seemed to be reassuring that everything would be alright and they would all wake up soon. And then…
The light faded from Snowsky's eyes.
"You may have slain our leader but we have killed two of your warriors. Retreat now and nobody else will be harmed."
Two? Dusksong glanced around and saw that everyone else, even Robintail, was still alive. Then it hit him. Flameflight.
"No…" Dusksong managed a choked cry. His mate and his sister… dead… in a battle he caused. He wearily got to his feet as the ShadowClan warriors retreated. Picking up Snowsky's limp body, he led the way back to the ThunderClan camp.
Dusksong still remembered that day in perfect detail. Seeing his mate's broken body, his sister's, Robintail's death later that day. The grief of Snowsky's parents and sister, his own mother failing at the death of her daughter. The depressed atmosphere in the camp that he had caused. His and Snowsky's nest, cold and stale from not being used.
Dusksong sat in a dark corner of the camp, staring at nothing. It had only been a quarter moon after Snowsky's death. His pelt was matted and stale from not being groomed and his eyes were dark and haunted.
"Dusksong?"
A quiet voice said. Dusksong grunted in response.
"Dusksong… there's something you need to hear."
Dusksong looked up. "Nothing is important anymore." He growled.
"No… Dusksong… I'm-" Breezeleaf bit her lip worriedly. "I'm… pregnant."
Dusksong's face went totally slack. Breezeleaf had offered to surrogate for him and Snowsky, so they could finally have a family. But now… it wouldn't be a family, not without Snowsky. "They're your kits then." He narrowed his eyes and turned away.
"Dusksong," Breezeleaf's eyes began to well up with tears. "I-I don't want kits. These are your kits, not mine. Dusksong, please." She reached out a paw hesitantly. "I know you're still hurting but please. Would Snowsky have wanted this?"
Dusksong flinched at the name of his dead mate. "Snowsky's gone." He deadpanned.
"I know," Breezeleaf murmured. "I miss him too. I was his sister, I knew him so well. But Dusksong, this grief isn't doing you any good. Would Snowsky have wanted you to be like this? Would Flameflight? Would-would Sunclaw?"
Dusksong glared at her. "My mate is dead and it's my fault. Leave me alone, Breezeleaf, we have no business together."
Breezeleaf walked away, eyes downcast at defeat, shoulders slumped. Dusksong watched her go, not caring about her slightly plump belly.
Breezeleaf… she was just a bit too much like Snowsky sometimes. They had the same blue eyes and caring personality. And… they both never gave up on him. Dusksong would thank her for that someday.
"She's kitting!" Meadowtuft called from the nursery. The medicine cat scrambled across the clearing into the medicine den, emerging a few moments later with his jaws stuffed with herbs.
Fernleap walked over to Dusksong, her eyes still dark with grief. But her mew was strong as she said, "I know you're still grieving, but these are you kits, little one." His mother sat down beside him.
"Go away." Dusksong spat out like a kit.
Fernleap sighed. "I'm too old to fight, but Dusksong, you know how hard it is to grow up without a father. Don't subject your own kits to that too." She got to her paws and walked away.
Meadowtuft walked over to Dusksong hesitantly. "You have one healthy daughter." He reported. "Breezeleaf wants you to name her."
Dusksong took a deep breath. He had a daughter. Snowsky had a daughter. A kit, to love and nurture. He could teach her the warrior code, share stories about her father. Nothing could fix his broken heart but his daughter could make it new.
Dusksong walked into the nursery. Breezeleaf was curled around a bundle of fur, mostly cover by her tail.
"You… you came!" She whipsered quietly, to not disturb the kit. Breezeleaf carefully removed her tail, revealing a fluffy gray and white she-kit. "You have a beautiful daughter."
Dusksong's mouth fell open, and his eyes dripped with tears. "She's… she's perfect." He breathed.
"I'm assuming you want to name her Snowkit?" Breezeleaf asked.
Dusksong opened his mouth to agree, but then… he shook his head. "No, I think I have a different name in mind."
"Oh? What are you going to call her then?" Breezeleaf asked, licking the she-kit's head as she whimpered.
"Dawnkit." Dusksong said, and nothing had ever felt as right. Dawnkit, for the new dawn in his life that came with his daughter.
"That's-" Breezeleaf smiled, bittersweet. "Snowsky would've loved it."
Dusksong sighed, and it felt like he was letting go of all his guilt. He stepped outside and something cold landed on his head. Looking up he saw it. It was snowing. One last gift from Snowsky, his beloved mate.
"Whatcha doing, Daddy?"
Dusksong turned, twitching his whiskers fondly as Dawnblossom walked up to him. "Just… remembering."
"That makes you sound so old," Dawnblossom laughed.
"I am old," Dusksong pointed out. "I was thinking about retiring soon."
Dawnblossom purred, sitting next to him. "You'll have plenty of stories to share… with my little ones."
Dusksong's eyes widened. "You mean…"
"You're going to be a grandfather!" Dawnblossom beamed, nuzzling him gently.
Many seasons passed. Dusksong had lived a long and fulfilling life. So many had passed, but kits were always being born.
Now it was Dusksong's time to join StarClan. He felt it in his bones. Calmly, peacefully, he closed his eyes for the final time. He would see Flameflight, his dear, brave sister. Finally get to meet his father, see his mother smile.
And Snowsky. His beloved mate. It had been too long.
As the sun set, Dusksong slipped away.
I really hope you enjoyed reading it! Please consider dropping a review if you did :)
Thanks and peace out!
Swiftie
Word count: 2,557 words