Whispering Willows
The leaves rustled gently, whispering sadly; the willows swished and swirled in the river that slid gently by, beneath the dappled sunlight that shone through the forest above them. Them. Graystripe and Silverstream. Together.
Her body was on the rocks, surrounded by blood, her beautiful silver fur matted with blood, her eyes closed, and her face finally calm. I don't know long I stood there, staring at those eyes that I had seen shining so many times, smiling calmly, determinedly as she swam across the river towards me, beaming and blinking contentedly as we talked beneath the sunlight at Sunningrocks. StarClan, why did you have to take her from me? Why?
Graystripe crouched over his love's body, consumed by grief. They needn't have been so careless, they needn't have had kits; how could they have been so foolish? He'd never know how long he sat there, staring at Silverstream, waiting, wishing, aching...
She loved the river. That was where I buried her; the river. Just beside it. I put a stone on the grave, and I'd go back as often as I could, and put willow sprigs on her grave, or violets, maybe; that grave is gone now. I knew she was gone then. She wasn't coming back then, and she won't be now. Our kits are gone, I'm gone, we're all separated, we've all been torn apart. We can't be a family, ever. We never were, and we never will be. Ever.
His paws scrabbled against the earth, unearthing little pebbles and spraying up soil. Graystripe's heart felt raw and sore, as if someone had raked their claws across it. It pounded wildly in his throat, his eyes screwed up against the flying earth. The sun sank slowly towards the horizon, lengthening the shadows, and shedding a beautiful orange light that filled the forest.
The night was so beautiful, I could hardly stand it. I wanted to charge through the forest, jump at the sky, make StarClan feel just a tiny bit of my pain, and it was their fault, all their fault. How could they? Why did StarClan have to take her? Why?
And why was the forest so beautiful? It was so unfair, it was like the forest and nature were mocking me—us, Silverstream and I. If I had been in StarClan, the wind would have been tearing at the trees, lightning and thunder would have been crashing and rolling, rain pouring down in sheets, dripping from the leaves, falling like tears...
Fireheart led his friend through the forest, back home to ThunderClan camp, the moonlight falling, silver, through the branches of the trees, and the stars studding the sky gleaming like moonlit diamonds. Graystripe's heart brimmed with gratitude towards his friend for sticking by him, even as his clanmates shot him angry, accusing looks.
But I couldn't help but feel a my heart flood with grief as we walked away from the riverbed, away from where Silverstream lay, beside the river she loved so much, lit by the moon, and beneath the dark blue sky. For a second, I thought I could see her silhouetted against the sparkling river, her eyes bright, and her fur shining with starlight. She smiled at me one last time, and dissolved into moonlight. I watched her with anguish as she left this world, left this forest, and left me.
The leaves rustled gently, whispering sadly; the willows swished and swirled in the river that slid gently by, beneath the dappled moonlight that shone through the forest above him. Him. Graystripe.
Alone.