Flamepaw's Destination

Chapter 41

Flameclaw would not leave Barkfern's body for a long time. She licked his bleeding wounds and cleaned him up as best as she could, but he did not look like the same Barkfern she'd known that morning. He was in StarClan now, and there was no changing that.

Soon, the other surviving elders moved the rest of the bodies next to each other. Flameclaw was saddened to see Dovewing among the bodies, though she knew the she-cat wouldn't survive. The young calico, Leafkit, seemed heartbroken.

At one point, a large flash of light gleamed through the entire forest. The other cats in the camp seemed confused to what this was, though they supposed an explanation would come soon enough.

Shortly after the giant flash, Flameclaw began to hear voices, and cats began entering into the SnowClan camp. Many were limping or had blood oozing from their wounds. Some, unfortunately, carried dead bodies. Everyone appeared to be exhausted.

A few gasped in shock to see some deceased bodies already piled near the middle of camp. While Cloudstar and some others had known of the invasion, Flameclaw guessed others in battle were not made aware.

She glanced around quickly for her kits and finally watched as they began to appear. Daisyfern and Snowripple padded next to each other. Snowripple had a bit of limp, and Flameclaw could see some wounds on Daisyfern, but both were alive and well.

Goldnose appeared moments later, appearing almost unharmed. She guessed he had fought well in battle. Everyone's mates approached them moments later, and Flameclaw was hit with a pang of sadness, knowing her mate was gone.

She waved her tail to catch her kits' attention. After a short time, they noticed her, and started padding over.

"You look like a mess!" Daisyfern gasped.

"I heard vaguely about the attack on the camp. Are you all right?" Snowripple asked her mother.

Flameclaw nodded, her mouth quivering.

"Where's Barkfern? Is he getting patched up?" Goldnose asked, glancing around.

Flameclaw opened her mouth to speak but let out a cry instead. She glanced down at her paws, tears dripping down.

"Oh, no. No. He's not dead, is he?" Goldnose asked, shocked. 

Flameclaw pointed her tail to where his deceased body lay. At once, the three ran over to their dead father and began to mourn as well.

"Did he fight well?" Daisyfern asked sadly as she glanced at her father.

"Very well. But not well enough," Flameclaw sighed.

"I'm so sorry," Snowripple muttered quietly, wrapping her tail around her mother. The other three did the same, and for a little while, they sat and mourned together.

"Goldnose...your kits," Flameclaw spoke up.

"All are fine," Goldnose assured her.

"That's good."

"I heard Dovewing passed away too," Snowripple brought up. "Cloudstar seemed heartbroken."

"You're correct," Flameclaw confirmed. "But they got to say their good-byes, and I think that's all that mattered."

"Did...did you get to say your good-byes?" Goldnose asked nervously.

"Somewhat. Though not as much as I would've liked," Flameclaw said.

There was a wave of silence, and then Cloudstar's yowl echoed from the top of the rock.

"ALL SNOWCLAN CATS, PLEASE GATHER FOR A CLAN MEETING!" he shouted.

She went to sit down with her kits, guessing they'd be the ones she was closest to now. But who would she go on walks with now? Who would share meals with her? Her kits were busy warriors, and her grandkits too. And even Dovewing, one of her closer friends, had joined StarClan as well.

"Is Cloudstar recapping the battle?" Flameclaw asked, realizing she'd never really asked about it. She had assumed they'd won from the slightly cheerful mood of the cats, though he'd never confirmed it.

Snowripple nodded.

"The battle was hard and long," Cloudstar explained. "MoonClan put up a good fight, and for a moment, I suspected they might win. But we joined with NightClan and FoxClan, and though we suffered many losses of brave cats, we won. But this wouldn't have been possible without Shinypelt."

"Shinypelt?" Flameclaw asked.

"It was so odd," Daisyfern whispered. "She had been in a prophecy from StarClan or something. She stepped out in the middle of battle and told Hazelstar off. Then, the spirit of Moonstar appeared, and Shinypelt was able to vanquish her with this great light."

Flameclaw gasped. "I saw that light!"

Daisyfern nodded. "Moonstar vanished, and so did the MoonClan army. But...Shinypelt died...I think. Her body was lifted up into the air, and a kit came down. It's all very confusing."

"Patchfur, I invite you and your kit up," Cloudstar called.

Flameclaw watched, suddenly intrigued by this story. Shinypelt's mate, Patchfur, padded up the rock holding a newborn kit.

"Since I do not have Shinypelt to thank, I'd like to acknowledge you and your new kit, whom you've named Lifekit. Your mate truly saved this clan," Cloudstar said.

"I-I believe so too, Cloudstar," Patchfur stammered. He, too, appeared very sorrowful, most likely from the loss of his mate.

"We will begin the burial shortly. I would like to ask all of you to remain a few minutes in vigil. Family members may keep vigil for the night," Cloudstar announced.

The cats soon dispersed, and burial began. Flameclaw and her kits helped them bury Barkfern's body. As the sun began to set and the sky was replaced with orange, the entire SnowClan camp sat out and sat in silence for a few moments as they remembered their clanmates.

Once the sky turned dark, many began to head into their dens to sleep. Flameclaw's kits' mates soon stepped inside, as did her grandkits. Flameclaw and her kits intended to remain awake all night to remember Barkfern's presence.

Cats began to disperse, and soon, only close family members were left. Flameclaw was saddened to see Cloudstar and his three kits watching sadly over Dovewing's grave.

"I-I miss when we used to play as kits," Goldnose muttered quietly. "Barkfern was always so fun to play with."

"He always visited us," Snowripple added. "There were so many other cats I knew whose father didn't visit that often."

"He was a good father," Daisyfern agreed.

"He was one of the best friends I ever had," Flameclaw whispered.

They remained silent for a while longer. About halfway through the night, her kits decided that it would be best to get some rest, especially after a long day of fighting. Despite their pleas for Flameclaw to rest too, she disagreed.

Once they had left, Flameclaw laid down and gazed at the ground.

"I'll miss you, Barkfern," she said. "I don't know if it was coincidence or destiny that you stumbled through that bush on our journey, but I'll never forget that. Thank you for being a good friend, for calming me down, for being a great father. I love you, and maybe someday soon, I'll see you in StarClan."

Finally, sleep began to overtake her, and she shut her eyes and drifted asleep, her nose pressed against the fresh dirt of his grave.