Requested by Pokewarrior42689

"B - but I didn't! I swear!" My tail lashed back and forth nervously. "Froststar, please. I didn't betray WindClan. I couldn't and I wouldn't!"

"Lies," said my leader, as cold as the ice she was named after. "You obviously helped those ThunderClan cats raid us and take out herb stock. We saw you talking with those exact cats at the last Gathering, Sunstorm."

"We're just friends!" I protested, but to no avail. Froststar continued, raising her voice above mine.

"Sparrowbreeze here can verify it. And he says that he heard you talking about the sicknesses this leafbare, and how cats all over the place need more herbs."

I gritted my teeth. "I didn't do it!" I wailed. My best friend, Shadowdawn, stepped up next to me.

"If Sunstorm says she didn't do it, she didn't do it," said the light brown she-cat. "Froststar, you know she's the most honest cat in the clan."

"No," spat our leader. "She is a traitor. An elder died in the raid; you have indirectly caused the death of our beloved friend, Hareclaw."

"I didn't betray our clan!" I cried, and was about to say more, but Froststar cut me off.

"This is no longer your clan," she said. "You are now exiled from WindClan. If we see you still on our territory after sunset, we will treat you as we would a common rogue."

I gasped. Exile!

"If Sunstorm's going, I'm going with her," said Shadowdawn. "I'm not letting her leave without me."

"Go ahead," said Froststar dismissively. "Who knows whether or not you also helped plan the raid?"

"But she didn't-" Shadowdawn slapped her tail across my mouth.

"We'll be going now," she said, and I watched in disbelief as she turned and left the only clan she'd ever really known. I followed her, trotting briskly to keep up with her pace.

"Why did you do that?" I asked. "You could've stayed in WindClan. You would've been happy without having a traitor as a best friend."

"You're not a traitor," purred Shadowdawn. "Besides, you would've done the same for me."

"Erm... yeah." I squashed the knot of guilt in my stomach, knowing that I probably wouldn't have.

But guilt was the least of my worries. How would I ever survive as a loner?

"Oh StarClan," I gasped, sitting down, before being struck by another sudden revelation. Did StarClan exist for loners? Did the Dark Forest? Was the warrior code still for me? Would I ever meet a mate, settle down, and have some kits?

"Oh," I moaned. "I won't make it out here. I can't-" I buried my face in my paws.

"Don't worry, Sunstorm," said Shadowdawn cheerfully. I didn't know how she did it. "We'll get along just fine out here. Can you believe it? No elders to take care of, no stinky moss beddings to be replaced, and no more training annoying apprentices."

"But aren't you sad?" I asked. "I mean, WindClan was our home. Our life. My family is still there, thinking that I'm a traitor. StarClan, it hasn't even been a day and I miss my home already."

Shadowdawn said, rather gently, "It's not your home anymore, Sunstorm. That was then. This is now. We're loners, free and wild, doing whatever we please!" Maybe it was just me, but I detected a hint of happiness and excitement in her voice. "It's amazing, right? Practically better than being a code-bound warrior!"

"No!" I wailed. "I only ever wanted to be a warrior. And I've only got to be one for a moon or two! Now I'm a filthy loner."

"What?" Shadowdawn asked, puzzled. "You sound so miserable."

"I am!" I loved Shadowdawn, really, but she was a bit insensitive and clueless at times. Curling up into a ball, I nibbled at my paw for a bit, tears streaming down my face. "I can't do this, Dawny. I can't. I'll never make it. I miss WindClan." The tears become full out sobbing, and I buried my face in my tail. "I can't!" I wailed.

"Yes you can," said Shadowdawn, but I ignored her.

"Oh StarClan. I wish - I wish I was back home, or dead. Anything is better than being clanless." I slammed a paw into the ground, leaving a gash. "There, I said it. See this little cut in the ground I just made? Well, it'll just keep getting bigger and bigger as the seasons wear on it, just like my heart. The gash is exile." Right then and there, there was a little snap inside me. A cool, dark, refreshing snap into insanity, into never getting better, into wanting death. The snap would keep on widening, snapping some more, sending more of that delicious insanity into me. It powered me. I felt strong.

"Sunstorm..."

"I can't. I can't." I laughed. "Oh, funny word, can't. They say nothing is impossible, but everything is. Everything is impossible now. Life, death, everything. All impossible."

I stretched out on the forest floor, inspecting my claws. "My," I said fondly. "Nice claws. Perfect for cutting. Bit dull, though. It'll have to do."

Insanity was amazing. It made me do amazing things.

I tore the claws into my throat, and Shadowdawn screeched and swiped my paw away. "What are you doing!"

"Snapping some more," I said, purring. "It feels good." My claws had inflicted the tiniest cut, but I could feel blood slowly oozing out of it. Blood was like the insanity. It was cold and calm and soothing.

"Please... don't." Shadowdawn pushed her nose into my fur. "I don't want to lose you."

"Neither do I. You should snap, too. It's fun. You'll feel better about being exiled from the only home you've ever known."

"Don't..."

"Try it, Dawny." I paused. "Or kill me. Either way is fine. I want death right now. Insanity is fun, but it can only power you for so long. Death is eternal."

"Stop that crazy talk."

"You can't stop the talk of the crazy. Kill me. My claws are too dull. Make it nice and slow. I want to feel the blood."

Shadowdawn was hysterical. "Don't..."

"Please. As a last favor."

Then, my sweet Dawny finally lost it. "Fine, fine," she sobbed, raising her claws above my throat.

"Nice and slow," I said. "The blood is good. It smells nice."

Her paw came down, ripping my throat. I could feel pain, yes, but the blood was flowing out, swiftly and quickly. It coated my tabby fur and pooled around my neck.

"Careful," I said. "Not too fast."

More tears. The blood bubbled in my throat, tasting sweet and delicious.

The more became hazy and dark. Then I finally slipped into my long, eternal sleep.