The Parting of Ways

Tears streamed down Rose's pale cheeks and splashed onto Ashe's. There, they cleared trails through the dirt on her face as the made their way into her blood-soaked hair.

Rose held Ashe against her gingerly, afraid to hurt her more than she already was. Ashe had saved her life, by taking silver bullets to the chest. She had fallen backwards into Rose, the force of several pistol rounds having thrown her off balance. Rose had caught her friend as the man who had fired those silver bullets died from his place on the ground, facedown in a pool of blood.

Ashe had gone limp, and Rose sank to her knees with her, trying to apply pressure to the numerous wounds, failing because there were too many. And now, when everything was so eerily silent on the battlefield, Ashe lay dying in her arms, bleeding red and silver.

Ashe drew in a ragged breath, staring up at Rose, wanting to reach up and wipe her tears away. She shivered violently instead, gripping Rose's cold hand in her own. She could barely feel the pain of the silver slugging its way through her bloodstream anymore. There was a darkness on the edge of her vision that kept tempting her to close her eyes. But she kept them open, because there was something she needed her friend to know.

She opened her mouth and made an attempt to speak, but what came out was a cough and a small amount of blood from her lungs. Rose squeezed her eyes shut, halfway stifling a sob. Ashe tried again.

"D-don't cr-y." she choked out. Rose shook her head. "It's alright."

"Ashe, how is any of this okay?" Rose asked hoarsely.

"Won...peace..."

Rose snorted derisively, eyes flashing red in anger and anguish. "Peace?! Is that what we've been fighting for?"

Ashe shook her head slightly, drawing another short and ragged breath. "N-not me. T-them." With difficulty, she raised her arm and pointed to the pyre of dead soldiers, both vampire and werewolf, that was being built for burning.

Rose gazed at it, a sorrowful expression etched into her face. "What about us?" She whispered.

Ashe reached up with a shaking and bloody hand to touch Rose's face. "I s-swore to...always...protect y-you. Looks like this...is the l-last t-time...I can."

"No." Rose said weakly, her breath almost gasping. "No. Don't say that. We'll get you help, okay?"

Ashe choked out a bark of laughter that shook her whole body and made her cry out quietly in pain. Rose let out a strangled sob and pulled Ashe closer, resting her arm lightly across Ashe's chest. Ash let her hand fall from Rose's face and onto her arm. The blackness around her vision was growing closer.

"Rose...listen..." She whispered. Rose leaned in closer to hear. "D-don't let them...forget t-t-today. Ever."

She let go of Roses's hand and brought it up to tangle it in her hair and pull her closer, so that their foreheads touched.

"Promise me...they will...never forget." She rasped, desperation coloring her words. "Promise."

Rose nodded slowly, "I promise, Ashe." she whispered.

Ashe let her hand fall to the ground, and as she did, it began to rain, lightly at first,  but then the sky opened up and let loose a downpour. Rose sat up a bit to look at Ashe's face, blood from her friend's forehead now staining her own. Ashe looked back, holding Rose's gaze and smiling. It puzzled Rose.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because we did...w-what we said....we would do." Ashe aswered.

Rose paused, surprised, but then allowed a small smile of her own. "Yeah. We did." Rose looked up and let the rain fall onto her face to wash away her tears. "We did it, Ashe."

"Y-yeah." Ashe chuckled softly and it turned into another bloody cough.

They sat in silence for a few moments, the wolf and the vampire. It was they who had broken the long mutual hatred between their races, they who had dared to dream that they could change the world. Ashe, impulsive, loud, loyal, fierce Ashe, had promised to always be there to protect her, to always come when Rose needed her, no matter how far away. And she had always done so. There was nothing Rose didn't believe Ashe couldn't accomplish. Ashe was more than just her best friend.

"Ashe."

"Mmm?" came the weak response.

Rose looked down at Ashe and stared her directly in those striking emerald eyes as tears began to leak from hers yet again.

"Thank you. For being my hero, my sister, my sword and shield, my eyes, and my ears. Thank you for showing me that nothing is impossible and that there's beauty in everything. Thank you for forgiving every mistake I made, and for encouraging me every step of the way. Thank you for being my guardian angel. Thank you for being my best friend."

Ashe's eyes were streaming when Rose finished and she squeezed her arm as hard as she still could.

"No...thank you, Rose...f-for being you. Without you..." Ashe stopped, the lump of emotion in her throat making it hard to talk.

"I know." It was all Rose needed to say. Ashe smiled again.

The rain slowed, slowed more, and then stopped altogether. The clouds began to part, revealing a bright white full moon that illuminayed the entire battlefield. It shone with a beauty that made Rose's breath catch.

"Do you see her?" Ashe's voice was almost inaudible. Rose looked down at her friend to find her looking up at the moon with glazed faraway eyes. "She's calling for me."

Fresh tears began to make their way down Rose's cheeks. She looked up at the moon with Ashe, emotion welling up and aching in her chest.

"Go." she said quietly. "Be with her."

Ashe didn't say anything for a few moments. As Rose looked down at her friend, Ashe was smiling again, looking up at Rose with those green green eyes. They held each other's gaze like that for a few long moments. Finally, Rose broke the silence.

"I love you." she whispered as Ashe's eyes began to close. "Always will."

Ashe's eyes closed and the hand that had held Rose's slackened. Her body stopped trembling and Rose felt the last of her breath escaping her body. And as it did, Rose heard it.

"I love you too. Always."