A/N;; This is another challenge for WingClan. The prompt was as follows ~
It must include romance.It must include death.And a butterfly.I needed a minimum of 550 words, the total was 816.
The pale she-cat lay at her mate - Snowtail's - side, watching his chest rise and fall through painful breaths, cut short and ragged by the bout of blackcough that was gradually taking his life, draining it with every breath.
His death was inevitable.
She knew she shouldn't be there, next to him as he broke into coughing fits, spreading his disease to her, but she couldn't leave him. Love does that to a cat. It leaves them weak, vulnerable and fragile. But it also gives them strength, and it was using this strength that she managed to stay by his side, ignore anyone who protested against it and not break down.
"Honeyfrost," His murmur broke her string of thoughts, and she turned her head to watching him as he spoke. "I don't want to die here, closed -" His sentence ended with another coughing fit, but he shook it off. "I can't die closed up. I don't want to die not seeing the stars."
The she-cat looked torn. Bringing him into the open would kill him for sure. He wouldn't be able to stay out for long. The certainty behind his words, the certainty that he would die tonight anyway, broke her heart. Yet she couldn't deny him his dying wish. She couldn't. So, with a nod, she slipped her shoulder under his and pushed them both to their paws.
For a moment, he was still. So still that a cold wave of fear flooded Honeyfrost's heart - had she killed him just by bringing him to a stand? - but then a ragged breath passed through his lungs and she relaxed once more.
Together, they made their way out of camp and through the forest. It was a slow and painful time for them both, but they persevered, using each other's love to fuel their journey. The stars twinkled overhead in the inky black sky, as if waving farewell. They stopped after what felt like forever, both sitting down on the moor. The horizon was growing lighter, and the look in Snowtail's eyes said that he thought it would be the last time he saw a sunrise.
But the night was still dark, so the two cats settled side by side, pale pelts brushing. They sat in a silence, not comforting, but painful. There were no words Honeyfrost could speak, nothing to say, nothing to describe the sensation of her heart being ripped apart with every breath her mate took. Every breath that was weaker than the one before it. Instead it was Snowtail who broke the silence.
"Promise me that you won't deny yourself the right to fall in love again." Those words were the last Honeyfrost expected to hear. "You should let yourself grieve, but don't be afraid to move on. Do anything that will make you happy." He gave her ear a lick before starting to cough once more. "Promise me." He repeated, and Honeyfrost nodded.
"I promise." She murmured into his fur, voice cracking. She couldn't reassure him that he would survive this another day, he would know that was a lie. And the light in his eyes, milky with sickness, told her that he didn't want to live through the pain anymore, no matter how much it would break his heart to leave her.
He nodded and closed his eyes, taking a shaky breath, exhaling a moment later. He was leaning heavily against her, as if he could no longer support his own weight. "Good." He mewed, his voice growing weaker, as was his life. He took another shaky breath. In. Out. In. Out. The rhythm, however uneven, brought Honeyfrost comfort. The love of her life was still alive, if only for another moment.
Then, hitting her like a blow with unsheathed claws, there was only silence. "Snowtail!" She yowled as he sagged to the ground.
"I love you, never forget that. Goodbye." He whispered, closing his eyes for the last time. He took a deep breath, as if memorizing the sensation, then he was still, his last breath still lodged in his lungs.
"I love you, too." Honeyfrost told him frantically. "I always will." Her tone was distressed, as if her words could bring him back, but, of course, he lay just as still as before. "Forever." She murmured finally, her voice barely holding.
She lay with him for the rest of the sunrise, barely keeping her emotions in check. When morning came and she was forced to return to her Clan to tell them of Snowtail's death, she glanced over her shoulder to see a large silver butterfly brush it's wings across her mate's forehead, almost as if it were blessing him. Thank you. Honeyfrost sent the thought to StarClan, hoping with all she was that Snowtail heard her. For everything.
