[Ginger]

Leaf-bare 26: A dip in the temperature and a light snowfall adds to the snow already covering the ground, making the valley seem fresh and new again after yesterday's brief thaw.

Even after the light-hearted and beautiful Sparrowpaw had taken the name Sparrowfoot, Emberlight had kept his distance from her. The rumors of a relationship between the two of them had hurt his reputation so badly that it had felt like the only option at the time. But the older Emberlight got, the more he realized that things like that didn't matter.

So, naturally, it felt like the right thing to do to invite Sparrowfoot on a patrol of the territory. The two of them could reminisce, talk about their current positions in the clan, and simply catch up. It was something that Emberlight had needed to do for a long time.

The ginger deputy, who had been sitting in the camp to watch the sun rise, padded over to the warriors den. Sticking his head in, Emberlight was surprised to see that Sparrowfoot was already awake and in deep conversation with her son, Waspstrike. The young warrior, who had quite the rambunctious streak as an apprentice, was shaping out to be an excellent hunter with only a mild attitude around his fellow RainClanners. 

Well, it would be rude to interrupt and then only invite one of them. "Waspstrike, Sparrowfoot," he called softly. The two warriors looked at him, Waspstrike's face conveying annoyance and Sparrowfoot's face trying to contain her surprise. Her surprised look softened into a wide smile, and Emberlight immediately knew she had forgiven him for cutting her off. "Whatever you're inviting us to do, we are in." 

Waspstrike made as if to protest his mother's sudden acceptance of Emberlight back into her life, but thought twice and shut his mouth. Maybe it would be nice to observe the dynamic between his mother and her old mentor. He had only heard of the dynamic through stories that Sparrowfoot would tell him with a melancholy sigh. Emberlight's sudden desire to ignore Sparrowfoot had caused her a lot of pain. She had never explicitly told Waspstrike, but he knew by the way she looked after him every time he walked by. By the way she was always first to volunteer for patrols in the hopes that Emberlight would patrol with her. And he had shut her down every time. It was only recently that Emberlight had even begun to do even small talk with her again.

But this time was different.

The three small warriors walked out of the camp, the cold air circulating around them. Light flurries hit the ground, making the territory look soft and untouched. It was beautiful.

Waspstrike hung back, giving Emberlight and Sparrowfoot some space to talk. They needed this. 

"Sparrowfoot. I'm so sor-"

"You don't need to apologize. I understand." Sparrowfoot pressed against Emberlight, warmth in both her voice and her pelt. 

They were silent for a moment, the only sound the crunching of their paws against the fresh snow. 

"I think those rumors... They affected me so much because they were true. I love you. Not in the way that mates love one another." Emberlight stopped walking for a moment, and Sparrowfoot stopped as well, confusion in her wide eyes. "I love you as fiercely as a father loves his daughter." His voice cracked. Emberlight did not realize how difficult this simple confession would be. "You are as a daughter to me, and it hurt that the others twisted that love into something else."

Sparrowfoot was speechless, but only for a moment. Her parents had both caught lost the fight to Greencough while she was still in the nursery. She had once had a mate, but he too had left her. It had only been her and Waspstrike. But now, it was her, Waspstrike, and Emberlight. "Nothing anyone could ever say would change how much I care for you."

There were tiny droplets of tears in her eyes when she backed up ever so slightly, puffing out her chest and speaking loudly. "From now on, Emberlight is part of the family. Waspstrike, you can call him granfat-" and then she gasped in pain.

And everything fell apart.

Sparrowfoot looked down at the source of the stabbing pain. A bite in her hind leg. But this was more than just pain, and Sparrowfoot realized it as she felt the venom making its way up her leg and throughout her body.

Waspstike rushed towards the snake, leaping onto it and ripping into its flesh with his teeth. But by the time he had killed it, Sparrowfoot had fallen to the ground. Emberlight stood just in front of her, his eyes widening in horror at what he was watching. His chosen family, his daughter by merit, was convulsing on the ground, silent screams contorting her face.

"No." Waspstrike ran to her, putting his face right next to hers. "No, no, no, no, NO!" Tears fell from his eyes onto his mother's nose. "We can save you, we can save you." Was he saying this to Sparrowfoot, or to himself? His mother was breathing too hard to respond, but she touched his heart faintly with a paw before jerking it back as the pain led to another spasm.

Emberlight recognized the snake. There was nothing they could do to save her. All they could do was be with her in these final moments to make sure she didn't leave this world alone. He tried to be strong, to walk towards her. But after the first step, he simply fell, broken. He couldn't protect his blood family, and now he couldn't protect his chosen one? There were so many things that were unsaid. So many memories they had yet to make.

Both toms watched, their hearts breaking, as Sparrowfoot took one final ragged breath, then froze. She was gone. 

Waspstrike snapped his head towards Emberlight, who was still on the ground, staring at her with eyes brimming with tears. "This is your fault!" The bengal tom tried to stand to confront the deputy, but the weight of his mother's death was too much. He too was crushed. "W-we would n-never have come here if it wasn't for you." 

There was nothing to say. The young warrior was right. Emberlight was the reason Sparrowfoot was dead. Waspstrike had every right to blame him. And blame him he did. The young warrior shouted again and again, his voice breaking more every time, until he was doing nothing but sobbing, his yowls penetrating every part of RainClan's territory. 

It was this scene that a patrol of RainClan warriors arrived at: Waspstrike uncontrollably sobbing as he curled up to his mother's body as the heat of life left her, and Emberlight staring straight ahead, unable to move. Two broken hearts, unwillingly bound together by the pieces.

She was gone. A mother to Waspstrike. A daughter to Emberlight. A heart that loved both toms unconditionally. A heart that no longer beat.