☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 19

𝒯𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽𝓅𝒶𝓌

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

It wasn't Thornflame she had seen in her dream. She could conclude that now. Before she was a large gaping hole in the ground, dirt, and soil piled around its edge. And inside, ready to be buried, was Runningfox's body.

The kind-hearted tom had died during the night, and Twitchpaw hoped that by now he had made his way to SpiritClan. Perhaps he was even watching over them at that exact moment. Every clan member had gathered around to say their final goodbyes to Runningfox.

"Would you like to begin, Thornflame?" Burningstar asked the she-cat, Runningfox's sister. She looked on at her brother, her round, yellow-green eyes sad before finally nodding and clearing her throat.

"I always felt like Runningfox was all I had growing up. My parents never cared about us, and the thing I admired most about him was how he never wanted any other cat to feel how we both did our entire lives." She said, "He always made sure he could be there for any cat who felt like they had no one." She went silent and Tigernose, who was sitting beside her, spoke up next.

"I always appreciated how respectful he was to every cat, even those from a different clan and I wish every cat could act that way toward one another." The cobwebs that had been applied to the reddish she-cat's ear had been removed and dark, dried blood was visible across the torn edge.

There was a long moment of silence as no cat seemed brave enough to say anything else, but eventually, Skystreak broke through the eerily quiet moment. "He was a loyal member of FlameClan and I'll make sure to make that known to every cat until the day I join SpiritClan." She said, with a look of defiance etched across her orange and white face, almost blocking out the sorrowful glint within her green eyes completely.

Burningstar finished off by saying, "He was very well-loved by all of FlameClan and he'll never be forgotten as long as our Clan lives on!" Many murmurs of agreement filled the clearing.

"Runningfox! Runningfox!" They all cheered, and then they filled the hole back in with dirt.

Twitchpaw couldn't believe that the tom was actually gone. It wasn't very long ago she had seen the tom perfectly fine and healthy, kind and helpful as he always was. That was before the battle at the river.

It was rare for Twitchpaw to feel angry at anything at all, but at that moment she was furious. Furious that Rainstar was so selfish to take the river for CliffClan and refuse to share it.

As the gathered cats dispersed to carry on their clan duties, Oddblaze approached her. "You'd best get ready for your ceremony today." He told her.

Confusion crossed her warm, amber eyes as she flicked an ear at him questionably. "What? But I don't deserve to be a full healer. Not yet."

"Of course, you do!" He replied, licking her shoulder in assurance. "I've seen you treat your clanmates and I know you have most, if not all herbs and treatments memorized by now."

"But Runningfox- "

"Is gone now." Her mentor cut her off. "That is not your fault, Twitchpaw. You're ready for your full name and healer status. You've been a great apprentice to mentor."

Twitchpaw dipped her head, giving her chest a few embarrassed licks. "Thanks," she said, sheepishly. "I've been taught by the best mentor."

Oddblaze let out a purr before pulling away from his apprentice and padding off toward their den. Although her heart still wrenched painfully with grief over Runningfox, she couldn't help but feel excited about her approaching ceremony.