THE RIVER'S JUST A RIVER \ lichenpaw's vigil

[BERRYHEART]

Berryheart was done crying. The urge still lay within him like a stuck hairball, like something he'd never choke out- but he could not collapse against the walls of his den and sink rib-deep into the marsh of his failure. There was work to be done.

Frustratingly, he had caught himself once or twice looking over his shoulder to jerk his head, beckoning an apprentice that walked with StarClan now to join his side- help him prepare the body. A morbid mistake, really. A freckled form lay still, sapped of the knowledge they had held. His eyes were shut now, at least- that glassy madness, even in death, had been too much for Berryheart to bear. Now, it merely looked as if Freckles was asleep.

Never had he ached like this, and hurt so hopelessly, so indefinitely- it was a different kind of pain than when Scamp had died to the tusks of those boars. Then, it had been the thought that he would never again see someone so cherished- that he would never hear his mother scold his brother for his foul mouth again. Memories of Freckles were stained now by a bitterness that had not been there with his brother, oddly... a feeling of time unspent.

The grief was no greater, and no lesser.

Beneath the silk-scarf sprawl of stars above, Berryheart pressed his nose to his apprentice's fur one last time. "You were important to me." It was an obvious admittance. His voice had regained its typical monotony, but was emptier than ever. Where politeness and pleasantness buried itself within the nuances of his voice before, now there was nothing there to glean except a tangible, deadened depression. "You would have been something great."​

PENNED BY PIN ☾​

 

[Sunfreckle]

—————————————————————⊰☀︎⊱————————————————————
Sunfreckle grips the last of the flowers between his teeth, picked by helpful apprentices to assist in adding to the burial alongside the medicine cat's own lavender. He tastes the sap as his teeth bite into the stem, bitterness rising in his throat and he can not tell if it is the plant of his unease at such a young form set motionless under the stars. Yellowcough had claimed so many older cats, elders almost, and while that in itself was a tragedy and cruel - to be lost before you were quite ready, to go so unaturally and in such sickness; Lichenpaw's death was especially pointed. The red tom says nothing, listens to sounds muffled by his own flattened ears and he wonders what this could mean for ThunderClan. Berryheart could not carry this burden alone, no cat could, to lose their other healer meant they would lack one more set of paws when eventually more cats got sick.
His mind drifts to those who had left, the journey to find more lungwort, and tears prick his ears sharply as he fights the longing in his chest. So many of his trusted friends had gone and now he felt hopelessly lost and afraid they might not return. Flamewhisker, Little Wolf - his two closest companions since he'd joined ThunderClan all those moons ago. Nightbird, cool and composed - a pillar of ThunderClan. Batwing, unfamiliar but admirably. Stormpaw, fiesty and determined as her mother. Stormywing, a testament that kittypet blood was neither a weakness nor a hindrance. Lightstrike, spunky and with a lot to prove - he remembered the mournful apprentice after Morningpaw had died, how far he'd come. Hailstorm, warm and caring - the sort of cat he'd love to call a friend and the only thing bigger than him was his heart.
Would they all join Lichenpaw or would they return? The cure had come too late for the spotted young cat, but perhaps the rest of the clan was not forgotten yet...
"The stars seem brighter." He comments, rising to stand stiffly and add his last flower atop the limp body of the apprentice once Berryheart was done, "I hope you found your way there okay."

——— ☀︎ light the fire, let it burn on top of you ——— ☀︎ breath again beneath the flames

•  
• 
  
  
  Sunfreckle
  —⊰⋅ Lead Warrior of ThunderClan
  —⊰⋅ He/Him
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ Large red tabby tom w/green eyes and no left foreleg.
  —⊰⋅ penned by Rai
  

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[RACCOONSTRIPE]

◇────────────【☆】★【☆】────────────◇​

XXXXXHis brother still grieves, though his eyes are dry. Raccoonstripe stands beside him, a foxlength from Sunfreckle, his dark gaze trained steadfastly on the freckled pelt of their medicine cat apprentice. It was an unwanted irony, to have lost their healer-to-be to yellowcough, a sickness they could not cure. He is reminded, looking upon that tortoiseshell-masked body, of how close he’d come to losing Berryheart in this way—and the stars were cruel to punish him further, to steal his protégé, the cat who was to follow in his pawsteps and become, as he said, something great.

XXXXXSunfreckle says the stars seem brighter. Raccoonstripe briefly lets his eyes flick skyward, lost in thought. Do they? Is Lichenpaw among them now, weaving against his mentor’s flank, murmuring reassurance? Berryheart looks as alone as he had when the medicine cat apprentice had died. “ThunderClan honors you and all you did for us while you were here.” The tabby bows his head, a cold seed of grief wedged between his ribs. “Rest in StarClan, now.”

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