Plot Thread Embers Dim

"You're a star in my sky!"

⚝──⭒─𖣂.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･𖣂.ೃ࿔ ✈︎ *:･─⭒──⚝

Young Cedarkit who was about two moons old now had snuck out of the nursery in hopes of hearing some stories from either Barleyswipe, Emberback, Rooknose, or Sunbear. The young feline didn't know any of the elders very well and wasn't very close with any of them but their sire Bayflower had taught them to not be anxious when approaching other cats. Especially if they were clanmates. "The worst they can do is be a little rude." he had told them.

However, when the feline adventured into the den it was... Empty. Maybe all the other elders were busy. If they remembered correctly Barleyswipe and Sunbear liked to sunbathe out of the den sometimes while Rooknose wasn't actually old and could help around. Maybe they weren't remembering correctly but oh well. Cedarkit was about to leave when they noticed ginger fur in the corner of their vision, noticing Emberback.

Approaching the elder slowly, Cedarkit ever so gently placed a paw on Emberback's. "Emberback?" the kit called quietly. No response.

"Your happiness is mine."

≿━━━━༺˚˖𓍢ִִ໋🌊❀˚˖𓍢ִ✧˚.༻━━━━≾

Having noticed Cedarkit's absence, Bayflower had followed the kitten's paw prints that were in the snow until they reached the elders' den. It dawned on them almost immediately that Emberback had gone to StarClan. "You wanted to hear some stories, didn't you, Cedarkit? Go back to the nursery and I'll ask Barleyswipe to tell you some, okay?" Once the black feline was sure that Cedarkit was gone, they let out a sigh, settling down beside Emberback. "May StarClan light your path. May you find good hunting, swift running, and shelter when you sleep." Bayflower whispered. They weren't sure what to do. Tell Fawnstar? Aspenberry? Rowanglade? Pipertuft? That was probably the logical thing to do.

Like the sun, I may burn fiercely, but it's my fire that warms those I hold dear.

━✦━✶━✺━☀️━✺━✶━✦━

Sunbear's red fur was dark enough to blend into the shadow, but her eyes were piecing enough to burst through the shadows of the elders' den, but her gaze was glued onto Emberback, staring at him with sympathy, but understanding as he made his last breath, she didn't know him well but hadn't wanted Emberback to die feeling lonely. She certainly wouldn't have wanted her death to be experienced alone, or at least without memory of any cats she care for.

Hazel eyes silently observed Cedarkit from the shadows of the den, she hadn't noticed Sunbear, but its not like she would care too much about that. But then... Bayflower followed her, her gaze briefly flicked to the kit leaving the nursery and then to Bayflower, wishing Emberback safe travels. "It just happened, before Cedarkit came in" Sunbear stated, shuffling her body forward into the light, her gaze held something a little bit more than her usual indifference, but she made sure that her pity and grief wasn't so easily read.

"These things happen, I've visited enough close one's graves to know that" Sunbear stated, pressing her nose onto Emberback's forehead in a brief moment of vulnerability. Her thoughts flicked to Emberback's kits, Cloudflare, Pipertuft and Brighteyes. how would their grief affect their duties and how would it affect them as a whole? She had experienced enough to sit back and let them battle it alone.

"I'll tell Cloudflare, whenever I can" She stated with a gentle flick of her torn ear "I'm not exactly subtle but in this situations, I don't think you should be, Cloudflare is a fully grown cat, I feel he would be able to handle some bad news"