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Fawnleap's eyelids slowly lifted, to see the sun just barely peeking through the trees, beaming onto her emerald eyes. The she-cat groaned, wishing she could stay in her nest forever and never wake up. As her eyes furrowed, she realized how many things she needed to get done today: telling her medicine cat about her dreams, asking her about the bad omen, and returning back to ForestClan with her dreadful sister.

Fawnleap bunched her haunches and lifted herself forward, muscles aching its protest as she stepped outside, being greeted by the flurries of white that clung to her oak-brown pelt. Snow. She immediately realized, her mouth falling agape. Snow meant Leaf-Bare. Cougarclaw approached her from the fresh-kill pile, however empty pawed.

The she-cat trudged towards the shorthair, tilting her head to see the fresh-kill pile behind him- or what was left of it. There was a patch of dead grass, yet it was completely empty.

"How are we supposed to fight a war half-starved?" Cougarclaw echoed her thoughts, turning towards her. "I don't know." She desperately sighed, her gaze laying on her thin paws.

Freckleface approached the duo with Pearlwhisker beside her.

"I'm sure we'll eat plenty of plump turkeys once GorgeClan is gone." Pearlwhisker attempted to console the two, but it just made Fawnleap feel even worse.

"Where's GorgeClan going to go, though?" Freckleface meowed worriedly, her eyes clouded with sympathy. "They'll figure it out." Pearlwhisker scoffed, bunching her hind legs as she groomed her paws.

"I'm going to see Halfleaf." Fawnleap informed, hauling herself up. "Are you hurt?" Freckleface huffed anxiously.

"No," she assured, "I'm just going to tell Halfleaf about my dream." Fawnleap informed, looking up to see Pearlwhisker's confused face. Right, she's here.

"You had a dream?" Pearlwhisker resounded. "From StarClan!" The freckled cream she-cat emphasized, making Fawnleap cringe, but of course she couldn't stay mad at the cat she adored.

Drooping her ears to block out their conversation, she approached the weary den that looked more dull than before, the plants that blanketed the entrance were crumpled and ragged, dead from the cold. Fawnleap sheepishly invited herself in, sighing in relief when she saw that Halfleaf was already in the den, motherly laying right next to a coconut tom, who Fawnleap quickly recognized to be Chestnutspots; yet, Fawnleap immediately knew that something was wrong: the way Chestnutspots's eyes were lifeless, his body was limp but his rising belly showed that he was just barely breathing.

"What's going on?" Fawnleap mewed worriedly and alerted. Halfleaf slowly shook her head, uncertainty clouding her once optimistic gaze. "He's starving." She cooed, curling her tail around him. "I've given him what seemed like the last of my herbs, but so far nothing has worked."

Fawnleap's breath hitched, and she quickly padded beside him. Halfleaf was right, there was hardly any fat left in him. His legs looked like twigs, and his ribs clearly yelled out. Chestnutspots's belly groaned for food, but it couldn't get it. "What about the hawk? Do we still have it?" Fawnleap desperately meowed.

Halfleaf slowly shook her head. "We gave it to the queens, so they'd be able to nurse her kits." A pang of betrayal stabbed Fawnleap's heart, sharper than a badger. But she couldn't bring herself to be mad, it was for the kits.

"He's going to make it . . . right?" Fawnleap didn't know Chestnutspots that well, but she did know how the tom constantly defended her ever since the bear's nest incident, and how the tom was smart and comedic. Halfleaf hushed Fawnleap with the flick of the tip of her tail.

The medicine cat's paws dragged alongside the tom's hazel fur, Chestnutspots's eyes were half-lidded with heavy, dark lavender eye bags. His fur was matted and clumped, showing how he has no energy to clean his own fur anymore.

Halfleaf's muzzle rested on his forehead, whispering cooed words in his ragged ear that Fawnleap could just make out: "May StarClan guide you to the plumpest of vegetarian, your name will be forever praised throughout history, and may your body stop fighting and finally have endless relaxation. StarClan thanks you." And by the time Halfleaf's prayers were finished, Fawnleap watched in horror as his the tom took his last breath, and never inhaled.

𝖋𝖆𝖜𝖓𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖕'𝖘 𝖋𝖆𝖎𝖙𝖍 | 𝙬𝙘 𝙛𝙖𝙣-𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣Where stories live. Discover now