❝ 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 ❞

xvii | the last echo

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Dawn arose pink saturated with mourning. Dawn didn't arrive on the usual, soft clouds crumbled with colors in the sky. Dawn was usually a new beginning, a chance to start again. Instead today, daybreak was drowned in suffering. Mist dotted the air, forming a lingering blanket of sticky sadness. The Clan cats were all gathered, exhausted from waiting throughout the night to hear the news of their leader. Despite the temptation of sleep weighing down their eyelids, they stayed awake waiting. They were waiting and waiting; time easily slipping from beneath their paws as they foresaw the tragic news; their leader was dying.

Hidden away under the shelter of a den, lay the breathless leader. She was strewn helplessly on a cold block of stone, her eyes earnest with the color gray. She was breathing but a bit, her sides lifted painfully to feed her collapsing lungs. Laying there, Molesnake studied grievously, Echostar looked as though she were already dead.

The pale brown tom rested patiently beside her, this thin tail swept over his paws. He ached to see his mother in such a way. He wanted to cry to her, he wanted to tell her to keep holding on, however, he held his tongue.

Echostar could feel the growing sense of sadness seeping from Molesnake's aura. It tingled through her paws and then suddenly vanished, leaving a dark cloud covering her heart. "StarClan will never forgive me." She breathed softly, her voice a bare whisper. "But last-minute decisions tend to be the right ones."

Molesnake frowned, he wasn't quite sure what his mother meant. Even so, he wanted her to spare her breath. "No, mother-" He attempted to cease her speaking softly.

But Echostar continued. "Falconrain," She beckoned with an unrelenting cough. Her throat was dried from the ravenous sickness that held her hostage.

The tortoiseshell pricked his ears. He was sitting in the back, allowing Molesnake to have his space. After all, he was Echostar's biological son, it was only fair he was the one to wish her goodbye. Falconrain chewed his lip enviously as he wandered closer.

Echostar's ethereal eyes fell onto him then to Molesnake. "You are brothers now." She spoke raspily, "Not by blood but by soul." An unexpected wave of tears glossed over her eyes. She seemed to be a sea at storm when imagining of her sons fighting. "Please protect each other." The colorless leader begged morosely. Echostar inhaled a hoarse breath, "Falconrain," She focused on the mottled tom. "You must learn to control your emotions or they will control you." Echostar's words sliced through the tom agonizingly. He knew what she was going to say next, "So, I think it's better if Molesnake takes the place of leader, love."

Hatred swarmed through his thick fur on his coat. He opened his mouth to testify, but no words appeared. Falconrain scrunched his face in rotting jealousy, he had waited for felt like centuries to lead WindClan. And now the moment disappeared from beneath his paws. Falconrain yanked away from Echostar, cowering in the corner of the den. He turned his back to his so-called "family," not allowing them to see his discontent.

Echostar nudged Molesnake with her dry nose. "Bring in-" Her breath fazed for a second. The pearly-colored she-cat coughed loudly. "Violetsky."

Molesnake was bemused by her request but obliged anyway. The creamy-haired tom nimbly parted through the streams of vines, slightly sticking out his head. As he did, the crowded Clan raised their gaze, waiting for the tom to speak. Molesnake cleared his throat, "Violetsky." He beckoned then turned away and slipped back into the dark oasis.

Violetsky stepped after the mournful tom, her thoughts crisscrossed over the fact of Echostar wanting to speak to her. The vines trickled down on her back as she poked herself through. A sharp scent stung her nose, it emanated of dead flesh. She blinked a couple of times, nearing the unmoving leader.

Echostar's face subsided a broken smile. "Violetsky," She breathed barely. "St-Stormrunner is still," Her words were suspended by her suffering. Her sides surfaced and then collapsed. "Good. You can still bring him back." Her hushed words sent goosebumps glazing above Violetsky's skin. Her whiskers twitched sadly.

Molesnake placed his paw on his mother's side, concern. "Mother," His voice was shuddering with fear. He knew the moment was coming close, the moment where Echostar would join the rest of the stars.

But Echostar wasn't afraid. She gazed into Violetsky's star-like eyes; the last thing she would ever see. Echostar gulped down a heavy breath, "Fight." Her voice echoed. "I want the Rebellion to fight."

Violetsky couldn't move, it was as though her paws were glued to the ground. Her heart raced in her chest like a wild horse. Ever since she first arrived at the camps, Echostar was avoiding strife. But maybe there was something deep in Echostar that had hope. Perhaps it was Molesnake's return. Or maybe it was something she recognized in Violetsky's eyes, a brilliant lavender flash of freedom.

"Mother!" Molesnake shook the white-furred she-cat. Tears trickled down his face. He continued to jar her, but she made no movement. Echostar was dead. Molesnake's ducked his head, devastated. Rain-like droplets crawled down his face and splashed onto the ground.

Falconrain was standing there too, bathed in sadness. Yet, Violetsky could see something else was tormenting him. His thorny eyes were unrelenting, however, she could read him like an open book. She peered harder but was disrupted by Molesnake's grumble, "Let's take her out to the Clan. We shall sit vigil for her."

The emotionless sky thundered of loss. The thin, silver clouds were gauzy with anguish. Goodbyes were always the hardest part of life because all that beared left were the memories. She was carried out by her two sons, her lifeless figure settled peacefully along their shoulders. They strode through the cluster of cats as if they were holding a coffin. The cats bowed their heads respectfully as the toms passed, droplets of sadness freckled beneath their eyes. Molesnake and Falconrain delicately placed the body in the center of the camp, allowing the good friends of Echostar to pay their regards. Kits and young apprentices scurried up to their former leader, laying brightly colored flowers in her fur. Her once warm wool was now buried in gardens of love. All Violetsky could think was that Echostar looked beautiful. And that's how the rest of the Clan wanted to remember her too; beautiful, kind, and a true leader. 

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