Warrior Cats One-Shots [COMPLETE]

Because of You ≫ Lionblaze x Dying! Female! Reader

Art: Catwithhorns1

⚠️ Warnings ⚠️
• Angst
• Some gore
• Near-death experience

****

It had been a brutal fight.
Dozens of cats had been killed in cold blood, and a good percentage of them were your clanmates. Thankfully your mate, Lionblaze, had been unharmed. He was the strongest cat in the forest, after all.
Soft voices rippled through the rain outside, drifting like a cold wind into the medicine den.
You forced your eyes open just a crack, struggling to hear the conversation over the blood rushing in your ears.
"How is she?"
You blinked. That was Hollyleaf, the cat you had tackled Hawkfrost to save mere minutes ago.

A second voice responded, somber and full of grief. "Not good, I'm afraid. The wound on her neck is too deep to mend properly. She..."
The voice that belonged to Jayfeather trailed off, and you thought you heard a pained swallow, as if he was choking back tears.
"I don't think she's going to make it."
You let out a quiet sigh and allowed your eyes to flicker closed. You weren't necessarily surprised, but you had never fancied the thought of death.
It was worth it, You decided as your mind began to grow numb. My family is safe now...

You weren't sure how long you had been asleep for, but it must've been a few hours, because you woke up to bright sunlight beaming down on you and the sound of a stream bubbling nearby.
Wait.
A stream? The medicine den wasn't even close to a stream. And why was the sun shining right on you instead of filtering through the gaps in the lichen?
Gritting your teeth and being mindful of your injuries, you sat up, surprised to notice that none of your wounds caused you pain. In fact, you didn't have any wounds at all anymore.
"Where am I?" You muttered to yourself, squinting into the bright light of day.

"Greetings, (Y/N). I wasn't expecting to see you here."
You froze in place, your heart fluttering as the achingly familiar voice wreathed through your ears.
Is that...?
You slowly rose to your paws and turned around, and sure enough, a handsome flame-colored tom was standing in the soft grass mere whisker-lengths from you.

"Firestar?" You breathed, hardly able to comprehend his presence. "B-but how? I thought you were..."

"Dead?" Firestar replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. You opened your jaws to respond, but no words came out.
Your former leader chuckled, his green eyes glistening in the mid-day sun.
"I am dead, (Y/N). This is StarClan."

Your breath caught in your throat, threatening to suffocate you.
"Wait," You stammered, feeling your chest began to tighten around your heart.
"I'm dead? What about Lionblaze?"
The flame-colored tom averted his gaze, a strange somberness shadowing his features.
"What is it?" You asked, your voice rising slightly. "What's wrong with my Lionblaze?"

"He's hurting, (Y/N)," Firestar meowed gently. "Look."
The former ThunderClan leader pressed both his paws firmly into the grass, and you watched in awe as a swirling mist ascended from the ground and wove around his paws like smoke.
There was a sound similar to shattering ice, and a strange, pool-like structure opened in the ground.
You slowly crept forward, peering cautiously over the edge of the pool. Far below, in an image that rippled like uneasy water, you saw a scene that you could only describe as surreal.
It was you — your body, anyway — laying as still as the night in a nest stained crimson. Jayfeather and Hollyleaf stood beside you, comforting a sobbing Lionblaze.
Your heart shattered into a thousand pieces as you watched his broad shoulders tremble, wracking his entire body as he cradled yours.
Firestar stepped back then, and the pool vanished. You stared at the ground where it had been, your jaw hanging open.
Your former leader watched you gently, touching his tail-tip to your shoulder.

"I can't stay here!" You blurted, whirling around and staring at Firestar with tears in your eyes. "I can't leave him, Firestar! He's my everything!"

The flame-colored tom watched you for a moment, then, a smile crept onto his face. You could've sworn you saw a soft glint of pride flash across his green eyes.
"You're a great warrior, (Y/N)," He meowed, taking a step forward and gazing into your eyes. "You will serve ThunderClan well."
Then, he touched his nose to your forehead, and everything around you was swallowed by darkness.

The first thing you noticed when you came to was the sound of soft snoring, reverberating through a small space and ringing in your ears.
Then the pain came back to you, followed by the taste of blood. An achingly familiar scent wreathed around you,  and finally, after a short struggle with yourself, a light began to glow gently at the end of a dark tunnel, then you were staring at the stone wall of the medicine den.
You could feel another body pressed close to yours, gently pushing against your aching spine. You immediately knew who it was, and tears began to brim in the corners of your eyes.
"L-Lion...blaze...?" You croaked, weakly lifting your head to peer over your shoulder.
The tom's snoring suddenly ceased, and his whole body stiffened like beech bark.
You purred softly, slowly rolling onto your other side to see him.
His amber eyes met yours, and they immediately filled with tears.

"(Y/N)..." He whispered, chuckling breathlessly. "I don't believe it... I was so afraid that you were..."

"Dead?" You croaked, a chuckle escaping your sore throat.
"Well, I was dead, but I'm okay now. That's what matters."
Lionblaze smiled, gently draping his foreleg across your flank and pulling you in for a kiss.
You kissed him back passionately, wrapping yourself up in his embrace and breathing in his comforting scent.

"I must be the luckiest cat in the whole forest," He whispered once you broke the kiss for air.
"How did I not lose you?"

You sighed softly, reaching up with a paw and gently stroking the side of his face.
"I came back because I love you so much," You murmured. "It's all thanks to you, my love."

Lionblaze gazed at you for a moment longer, then smiled and twined his tail with yours.
"I love you," He whispered. "So, so much."

You purred. "I love you, too."
Then, you allowed yourself to sink further into his warm embrace, your tired eyes flickering closed. You thought about the warm meadow in StarClan, how your wounds no longer aches and throbbed, and for just a moment, you missed that feeling of eternal serenity.
But then, Lionblaze shifted slightly and pulled you even closer to him, and suddenly, you didn't care how much pain you were in.
You had Lionblaze by your side, and that's all you had ever wanted.

****

I was going to make this one a major tear-jerker, but I fell in love with the concept of a near-death experience.
I think it turned out pretty good!