Grieving Claws

'The silence was too much for me. I broke down, falling to her, letting out my desperate cry: "Come back!"'

When Oaktail discovers his mate, Robinsong, is sick, he does everything in his power to help her.

But there always comes a time when everything hurts everyone.


 * My eyes were centered on her, only her, waiting for her reaction.


 * She stood stone-still, as if listening to an echo. Her ears were pricked, her eyes were wide with fear. She was staring directly at me.


 * "What's wrong, Robinsong?" I asked quietly. "Don't you want to have kits?"


 * "Believe me, I want to," she whispered, taking a step forward to touch my nose. "I want nothing more."


 * I felt my heart soar.


 * She wasn't finished. "You need to talk to Shinefoot," she mumbled. "You need permission."


 * I felt my heart soar. It pounded in my chest, threatening to break free.


 * Licking my chest fur, I replied, "Yeah, I will. I'll go tell her."


 * Her gaze pierced me, cutting my chest with the claws of grief.


 * "She can't have kits," Shinefoot told me straightforwardly.


 * My chest deflated. "W-why not?" I heard myself stammer pathetically.


 * Shinefoot's searching stare seemed to tear at me at the seams. "Because, Oaktail," she mewed, "Robinsong is sick."


 * "How sick?" I heard my voice quaver as I asked the question.


 * Shinefoot stared levelly at me, regret shining in her eyes. "Very," she replied quietly. "She's in risk of dying."


 * "Does she know?" My voice was high-pitched.


 * "Yes, Oaktail, she does." Shinefoot sounded slightly exasperated despite how calm she seemed.


 * "Is she going to die?" I asked.


 * "StarClan is unclear." With that, she turned away from me, clearly a dismissal.


 * Over the next moons, Robinsong became more and more confined to Shinefoot's eye. After being told to mostly rest, she was moved to the medicine den when it became too cold for her to bear.


 * I was forced on extra border patrols, as the threat of a ShadowClan attack increased with the amount of their aggression. Soon, no cat escaped their claws, but every time our Clans crossed, there was no fight.


 * Desperation rose as Shinefrost treated Robinsong.


 * Soon the day came when her eyes closed.


 * "Robinsong!" I screeched. "Please, no!"


 * She opened her eyes again. "Yes?" she asked softly.


 * "Don't die, don't die, don't die..."


 * "I can feel myself getting better. I'll be fine." Her eyes closed again as she fell asleep, her chest rising and falling steadily.


 * "She'll be alright?" I asked Shinefoot hopefully.


 * "She'll be better than alright," the medicine cat replied happily. "Let her sleep."


 * Leaf-bare moved into newleaf, and on the first day we could sense warmth on our whiskers, Robinsong decided to try and walk. She had been sitting or laying down for the last few moons, listening to the Clan gossip from inside the medicine den.


 * I greeted her by touching her nose, aware of the wetness from the sickness and the cold.


 * "Hello," she purred. "Shinefoot says I can't be alone with you for another moon. And then she says she'll see."


 * I shrugged. "I'm just glad you're okay," I mewed quietly. "I want to make sure." My hopes were still on kits.


 * She nodded, her eyes sad. "So do I," she murmured. "So do I..."


 * At her coughs, I would call desperately for Shinefoot. When her eyes drifted closed, I would offer to help her in whatever she was doing.


 * Finally, the day came when Shinefrost permitted us to take a walk in the woods.


 * We walked together, our pelts brushing, the silence being relished. It was only broken by her occasional cough.


 * Her eyes were drifting closed. She looked exhausted, and I couldn't do anything, anything to help her.


 * We stopped walking in a sunlit clearing, the warmth making us feel better.


 * She began a coughing fit, eventually laying down on her stomach. I was stunned into watching her.


 * When she stopped, I padded to her. "Are you okay?" I asked.


 * "I'm always-" a cough- "fine," she rasped.


 * I helped her stand. She was shaking.


 * "Do you trust me?" I asked quietly into her ear.


 * She nodded.


 * I drove my claws into her belly. She instantly went limp, her body falling to the ground. I watched as she gasped for one last time, her eyes displaying the message she could not speak. Thank you.


 * And then everything was silent.


 * The silence was too much for me. I broke down, falling to her, letting out my desperate cry: "Come back!" It echoed through the clearing.


 * She didn't reply. Her blank, cloudy eyes stared at the sky, where the sun was beginning to set.


 * My screech echoed as my misery began and hers ended.

''If you're wondering what in the name of StarClan just happened, Oaktail killed Robinsong to end her misery. End of it.''