Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors and I never will, sadly. Please review!
FLINTCLAW POV
Flintclaw woke to a whack across the ears. Reedfoot sat glaring at him, looking drowsy. "I was planning to sleep until the night patrol woke me for the dawn one, but now that I'm roused," he muttered, "I might as well get ready." He glanced at Flintclaw, blinking sleepily. "Well, you too! Or have you forgotten you've got the dawn patrol also?"
Only then did the gray tabby remember his dream, but he was wise enough to say nothing. The two cats hurried outside into the chill air of leaf-fall and grabbed a piece of fresh-kill from last night. Flintclaw began ripping the soft downy feathers out of a thrush's winter molt with his claws, while Reedfoot began taking off the tail of his fish. When they had eaten the last tasty morsels of their meal, they took their scraps and buried them. Then they hurriedly began to wash.
Reedfoot muttered between cleaning Flintclaw's back, "I think…that even…though we…got up early…it didn't help. We're…still going…to be late. Okay, my turn." The tabby began to lick his friend's back and quickly smoothed the damp fur.
They heard the rustle of the night patrol coming in through the cattails surrounding the entrance. Flintclaw licked his chest fur, swiped a paw over his ears, and skimmed his tongue over his long, bushy tail. Mistystar padded in, followed by Browntail, Graywater, and Fishpaw. "Hello, you two," said the leader with a smile. "Where is your apprentice, Reedfoot?"
"I'm right here, right here, Mistystar!" called out a small voice. Stripepaw bounded out of the apprentice's den, trying to clean her ears as she ran. "Sorry I'm late. I was having this amazing dream! There were fish everywhere and Fishpaw and I were eating and playing and then the whole Clan came and they cheered—"
"That's quite enough, Stripepaw," Reedfoot said, giving her a look. The brown tabby tried to look innocent, washing her ears. Flintclaw liked the bold black stripe on the leg she was using to clean her face. He looked up and noticed Mistystar examining the same. Then she straightened and said, "Off you go!"
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SPARKFUR POV
At the crack of dawn, Sparkfur was up like a shot. She pedaled her legs, throwing moss all over Blackfoot, and darted to the medicine cat's den. As she did, she plowed through the fresh-kill pile, which scattered prey everywhere. With a ping, a skinny blackbird bounced off a rock and hit Redstripe between the eyes. This caused a pile of pebbles to fall, which rained upon him as well. The deputy gave a small growl, but began collecting the fresh-kill, not noticing the pebbles rolling down a tiny hill, which tripped Sandstorm, causing her to roll away to knock Cloudtail over. Then they turned into a furry knot and fought, trying to untangle themselves as they rolled all over camp.
"Leafpool! Is Firestar okay? Can I see him? I need to talk to him!" Sparkfur yowled. The medicine cat lifted her head sleepily.
"Huh? What? Leave me be, Sparkfur, I've only gotten to sleep at moonhigh. And even then…augh!" She flopped back down. "I'm sure he's fine," she mewed, her voice muffled by moss.
"WHOA!" Sparkfur had been unable to stop and tripped right over Firestar. "Oh! Firestar, I'm sorry!" she gasped. The leader, with his wounds bound in cobwebs, looked up at her feebly.
"It is…alright," he croaked. Her father's voice woke Leafpool instantly. "I feel no pain. My time has come and gone. Yours is just beginning."
Sparkfur felt tears running down her face. "Does this mean…you're dying? But why? You've got two more lives left. Don't leave me. Don't leave any of us!"
"Dear," he whispered. "I'm not leaving. I'll be in StarClan. And I am so old, and so willing to go…well, StarClan saw fit to let me go." Firestar began looking smaller. "Goodbye. And Sparkfur…I want you to tell Sandstorm. Leafpool, I love you dearly, just as I love your sister and Cloudtail. Tell them this, Leafpool. Now…goodbye." He shuddered and breathed no more.
"SAAAANDSTOOOORM!" Sparkfur yelled. She ran to the pile of cats and quickly undid the knot. Cloudtail slunk away, muttering. Sandstorm looked worried as Sparkfur ran her tail across the older cat's shoulder.
"I am so sorry," she whispered. "Firestar is…dead." Sandstorm screamed and lost consciousness.
"Oh, boy." Sparkfur shook her head and turned to see all the damage she'd caused. "This all happened when I was going to Firestar?" The name clicked in her head and she sank down.
Blackfoot, with moss hanging off his ears, glowered. "Yes. How is he?" He looked horrified when he found out that Firestar was dead.
"I'm going to miss him so much." Then she saw a milky pool of blackness and she sank into it. It was softer than moss…
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Sparkfur heard quiet sniffling in the distance. She raced forward, surprised to see Spottedleaf. The cat hung her head as she looked into a pool of water. Firestar was moving in the depths, looking around him. He passed by beautiful trees, full of leaves and a few squirrels. Frosty starlight surrounded his paws.
"He is in StarClan now," she said, acknowledging Sparkfur's presence though not looking up. "Every day is greenleaf. Some days are tragedy, some days are greatness. But now…we can…no." She looked up. "His love belongs with Sandstorm. If Bluestar caught me thinking about what could've been again…
"Listen, and listen closely, because I will only say this once." Spottedleaf gazed around to make sure no one was looking. "As far as we know, if anyone asks, you didn't even come to StarClan territory. Go to the RiverClan group at the Gathering tomorrow and find Flintclaw. Yes, Flintclaw. Talk to him about me. Tell him your dream. Other than that, I can't tell you what's going to happen.
"Now. Go!" Spottedleaf gestured into the waters. "That's the only way out." Sparkfur jumped.
