[Deleted]

&& who will remember your last goodbye

---

Rowanpaw stood terrified in the center of an inferno, fur fluffed up and out, green eyes wide. Frantically, she spun in circles, fist one way, then another, searching for any opening or exit she could find. The heat was overwhelming; she could almost feel her insides boiling. Her throat tightened, her lungs burned, her eyes stung and watered. Her entire being felt on fire, as though just the heat of the flames had set her pelt ablaze.

"Rowanpaw!"

The sorrel apprentice could barely hear her brother over the sounds of the fire. She did, though, and immediately responded, screaming out as loud as she could, even though her lungs burned and her throat felt raw. "Lionstar! Lionstar!"

A flash of gold caught her eye as Lionstar soared through the air, flames brushing his belly. As he landed, a sharp crack filled the air. For a moment, she thought it was one of her brother's forelegs that had snapped upon impact with the ground. A heartbeat later, as Lionstar stepped toward her, she realized that it wasn't him, and her green eyes flicked upward to see the tree limb directly overhead. Before she could even lower her gaze, teeth dug into her scruff, and a great force heaved her off her paws...

Rowanpaw's world slowed as she became weightless, thrust into the air by her brother's sheer power. The flames danced slowly as her body twisted, placing her paws beneath her, eyes toward the flames surrounding Lionstar. Her eyes widened, the tree limb falling from the air agonizingly slowly, leaving Lionstar with no time to escape.

Pain overwhelmed her as she landed heavily, her momentum causing her to skid backwards a little. Ignoring the pain in her limbs, she stepped forward, a mix of panic and worry filling her eyes and voice. "Lionstar!" The sorrel-shaded cat looked back toward Thunderclaw, green gaze pleading. "We have to save him!" Her gaze peeled back to the fire, even as it spit hot ash to singe her fur. Her wide green eyes searched frantically for any sign of her brother, sending up a plea to her warrior ancestors.

'Please, StarClan. Don't let him lose a life because of me.'

---

R O W A N P A W

[Deleted]

Thunderclaw's thick gray coat brushed against Lionstar's as they powered across through the inferno. Veering sideways to avoid a branch that had fallen crashing to the forest floor. The heat left him panting, throat burning, eyes stinging in the smoke. He spotted Rowanpaw moments after Lionstar leaped into the air. Time blurred as a deafening crack filled the air, and Thunderclaw's blue eyes widened in horror as Lionstar flung the reddish apprentice towards him as the burning birch crushed his leader. "No." His voice was raspy in the smoke, but it was deep and obstinate. This he would not allow. He rejected the universe's decision to take Lionstar from this forest. Rowanpaw looked dazed, but he met her eyes anyways.

"Listen," he began, his voice urgent, "I will lift the tree from his body." It was not a question of whether he would try to complete this impossible task, but rather an assertion that he would. And, by StarClan, he would. "I need you to pull him out." His leader was unconscious under the smoking birch, losing his first life. The gray tabby bounded to his leader's side, growling as he slammed his shoulder against the fallen tree. The leaves and branches were catching fire beside him, and he repeated the motion, this time causing the tree to shift slightly. A guttural, feral cry rose from within his chest and into the air as he pushed the tree with all of the might of StarClan itself. The tree rotated back for a few heartbeats. Unable to breathe against the strain, Thunderclaw waited until the small apprentice had managed to pull Lionstar just far enough before darting sideways, allowing the smoldering tree to roll back to where it lay.

The tom panted as he grabbed Lionstar once more and pulled him father back. The mere inches he'd been able to rock the tree back had caused his bones, muscles, and sinews to protest violently, and he was now left quivering. "Rowanpaw, find your sister; she'll be searching for you." He paused and looked up, his blue eyes boring into hers with fierce intensity. "I will take care of your brother." The long haired cat motioned with his feathered, singed tail to a fairly clear path where the fire had not consumed the life. "Whatever you do, do not stop. Keep moving until you find Silverpaw."

Thunderclaw closed his jaws around his leader's scruff again, pulling him back. He was so lifeless that the tom began to doubt that he would ever awake. But no matter. Even if this was the corpse of Lionstar, he would not leave it to burn here. StarClan, send him back soon, he prayed, the smoke swirling around him.

Word count; 463
Character; Thunderclaw
Notes; -has a cheese seizure-

[Fawn]

LIONSTAR

The breath returned to his body in a painful gasp, every fiber of his being screaming in agonized protest over the arboreal violence inflicted upon it, Lionstar wheezing in gulps of black, sooty air as he rejoined the land of the living. Unable to make out friend or foe, the tom crawled forward on weak, badly trembling limbs, as though he had returned a frailer version of himself, barely conscious of Thunderclaw's presence.

If the effort hadn't been made to dig him partways out from under the tree, Lionstar likely wouldn't have been able to move - his joints screaming in pain as he half-crawled, half-dragged himself forward, feeling as though he'd been fragmented into pieces and held together only by his unbroken golden coat.

Funny how he wasn't bleeding anywhere, and yet hadn't ever felt so much pain in his entire life.

Vision pulsing white with every spike of agony, the newly revived leader didn't trust in his ability to speak, but expressed his gratitude for the young warrior through his gaze, able to throw caution to the wind and hope Thunderclaw could see it. Walking was a lot more difficult then he'd expected, and several what were likely cracked ribs left him wheezing out in agony every few steps, his teeth clenching together as a frustrated sound added itself to the cackling, burning ugly cacophony of a whole forest burning down.

Fox dung!

Convincing his body to do things it wasn't presently capable of was proving fruitless, that is, until he felt a small surge of strength enter his splintered limbs, a familiar scent wreathed around him - the kind that he could instantly draw comfort from.

Thank you, Dad.

With the young warrior at his side to help him walk, Lionstar's gait gradually improved, pawstep by pawstep, the urgency throbbing in time with his anxiousness over the rest of the Clan, heart pounding against the walls of his chest. He had lost his first life.

Though it might've seemed hard not to dwell on that irrefutable fact, the entire experience like a burning coal, not yet cooled down - heck, it wasn't even over yet, they still had to reach the others - it wasn't taking up the bulk of Lionstar's thoughts. As if he'd come back with all the aggressive intent he swore he'd bring to his leadership when he'd first been given his lives, Lionstar was solely focused on ensuring the safety of his Clanmates - even if he was restricted by a damaged body, his spirit had been whipped up into an inferno to match the fiery onslaught all around them.
"Where's Rowanpaw?" He croaked, voice hideously raspy and jagged sounding from all the smoke inhalation.