Warriors: Frecklesky's Heart

[ Final Farewell ] Bonus Chapter

Frecklesky's breathing was labored. She could feel death looming over her like a rabid fox, waiting, ever patient, for her spirit's release. Will I join StarClan? She wondered through the haze in her mind. Or have I been condemned to the Dark Forest?

She moaned, another wave of heat rippling through her. It felt as though the rats were still digging their fangs into her pelt, leaving a permanent, blistering agony. StarClan, if only it would finally end.

She could hear movement shuffling through the den. Fallowstep's voice was fading in and out, panic evident in her mew. Frecklesky wished she had the energy to speak. To comfort her. She opened her mouth, but another blaze scored through her body, and all that came out was a tormented gasp.

There was so much left to her life. Though she prayed for the pain to go away, she wasn't sure she wanted to leave just yet. Fallowstep will be devastated. And what about Dreamfall and Hopeskip? I won't be around to see them live their lives to their fullest.

Her sister's face blurred into focus. "Frecklesky, please hang in there," she begged. "We found some marigold. Remember that? It heals infected wounds. It'll heal you."

Frecklesky croaked. There's no sense in wasting precious herbs on me, she wanted to say. Save them for those who need it. I'm already too far gone. But of course, no words came. She closed her eyes. Darkness was crowding her vision as she opened them again, and an eerie sensation chilled her to the bone. Her breathing was odd. It felt as though every breath she took was cold and empty, yielding nothing for her lungs.

She closed her eyes again, glazed and unseeing. This time, she was overwhelmed by a nauseating brightness. With it came a complete, utter sensation of relief as her pain lifted away.

Finally, it was over.

She reopened her eyes.

She was still in the medicine den. Her sister's wail was endless, but there was an unnatural ring to it, as if Frecklesky was sitting at the open end of a vast tunnel. Everything felt surreal. Her pain was gone, and so was the cloudiness to her mind. She looked down. Her body lay there, lifeless. The infected wounds were hidden under layers of cobwebs, but the ill state of them was doubtless to even an untrained eye. She lifted a paw, and it phased through her own fur until it was in empty air. Stars. Her pelt was full of stars.

Frecklesky moved forward. She could feel the ground, but with a certain weightlessness. She looked around. Snowpaw was comforting her sister, and an ensemble of cats had gathered at the entrance. Firewatcher was there, too, looking shellshocked. Amid the crowd was a face Frecklesky was astounded to see. A face she hadn't seen for many season cycles.

"Rachel?" She called out, bounding forward.

The dark-furred she-cat padded through Firewatcher. Her body was transparent, and though starless, it held an ethereal light. A warm smile lit up her face.

"I thought you didn't want to watch the living," Frecklesky purred, recalling their conversation under the starlight from many moons ago. She stopped a mere whisker-length from the stunning she-cat, drinking in the moment as if it were the purest water.

"I never did," Rachel mewed, her voice as delicate as it always was. "But something was calling me back, and it's a good thing I listened." She blinked slowly, staring up at the tall warrior. "I'm glad to see you again, Frecklesky."

"I'm glad to see you, too." The tortoiseshell's eyes glistened. "How've you been? Are you happy?"

Rachel chuckled wryly. "As happy as a dead cat can be, I suppose. I'm a wanderer now, like I've always wanted to be." She flicked her tail animatedly. "It's not the same as it would've been, had I still been alive, but it's still great."