Sablerose knew she hadn't been allowed to see her mate earlier, but that didn't mean she couldn't see her mate now, right?

Decisively, she rose from her spot near to the fresh-kill pile. Her gaze swept the clearing and spotted a few cats milling around, particularly noting Batpaw. The tom, with elongated limbs, was a Magi. Perhaps he'd healed her mate, and so she strode carefully toward him, her tail flickering back and forth behind her.

"What's that?" He asked immediately, pointing accusatorily up at her head. She'd forgotten again. The symbol.

"What's what?" She repeated, head tipping, and she continued. "Can I see Finchnose?"

"You know," Batpaw repeated, looking up at it. He lifted a paw and poked at it, and she jerked backward, swatting at him. He looked offended, eyes sharpening.

"Hey!" She allowed her eyes to sharpen. "Don't touch me."

"You can see her," he answered, turning away as he headed past her. "But she'll surely ask about your head." 

"There's nothing on my head," she answered, confused. She turned around, feigning further confusion as she called out, "What're you talking about?" His tail flicked and he soon grabbed something from the fresh-kill pile. Within moments, he was gone.

A gangly silver-pointed she-cat - Owlbrook - glared at her from across the clearing. Sablerose felt a great deal of guilt for what she had done, but... but it had to be done. She knew it. The deal would save her mate, and while it would kill her, it was okay.

Her ears fell to her skull at the reminder that she was going to die and she simply couldn't do anything about it. The dark-furred she-cat headed for where her mate was. She assumed that the she-cat was in the Magi's den, or at least in a place that allowed her to be safe from the various issues that were brought up in a usual setting.

She was likely hidden from the sun, from the moon, from everything bright. She was all alone within the den, lonely in the silence she'd been sentenced to. Guilt once more flushed Sablerose and she took a few more quick steps toward the den. Her ears were pinned to her skull.

Sablerose knew she needed to do something. Something to make her mate happy. They both had to cherish every moment they had together, even if Finchnose didn't know about her mate's eventual death. That didn't matter. What mattered was that Finchnose was happy and healthy; that was why she had made the deal, of course. 

I need to make her happy.

Every step she took toward the she-cat's den was another wave of guilt and fresh sadness. She knew that she was going to die. And her lifespan was so, so short, whereas hopefully her mate's was longer and more prosperous than hers would ever be. She knew it wasn't something that she could control but she knew she could try to help her mate out.

She thought of an idea so simple yet so meaningful that Sablerose knew it would work. Of course, only under the permissions of a Magi would it actually work... though if she didn't ask, she could get in trouble, which would make Finchnose sad, which was the opposite of what she wanted. So she had to ask.

But what if the Magi denied her?

Sablerose turned swiftly, ears pricking sharply. She had to find Batpaw, or at least one of the other Magi, as soon as she possibly could. Before she died. She had to do this all before she died. And theoretically, it was an easy task. It was to her. But if the Magi said no, then she had to think of another idea.

I could always think of a couple more.

Tawny eyes sweeping the clearing, she soon spotted Batpaw once more, though his figure was consumed in shadows that were overlapping his and another cat's figure. It appeared to be a larger, slimmer cat, though it didn't matter. If she could get a yes from at least one Magi, then she would be completely fine. Well, her mate would be.

Sablerose headed for the Magi and stopped in front of him. "Batpaw?"

"Sablerose?" Cloverear. The other cat, a Magi, looked over to her. Confusion flickered across his verdant gaze but he simply seemed to quell the questions that were clear upon his tabby expression.

"I was wondering if I could take Finchnose out on a walk," she asked quietly. "I want to see if I can do anything for her, I've just missed her a lot these past couple quarter moons."

Batpaw and Cloverear shared an almost suspicious look, and alarm fluttered within her like a large-winged, dying bird. The Magis titled their heads together and began to discuss quietly, which supposedly were the statistics behind the situation. She assumed so, anyway. Based on their ears flickering and twitching, she assumed it was going well. Hopefully.

The older Magi looked up and with it, he sent her a nod. "Feel free."

She dipped her head and too late she realized she was directly showing the Magis her symbol, so quickly she spun upon her paw and headed for where her mate was. Swiftly, she managed to scent the she-cat and locate her. It was a swift motion she made for the she-cat, and when she saw her mate, she wanted to cry.

The tabby she-cat was just as she remembered: her perfectly groomed brunette fur was striped with gorgeous slashes of ink as if placed by some sort of higher power that none could ever know. Her gaze was as shiny and as beautiful as she recalled, with a wonderfully luminescent gleam within each viridescent eye.

Her smile was pleasant and stunning, with a lovely twitch of it turning upward at the sight of the long-furred she-cat. Sablerose almost felt ugly, in her smoke-tipped fur and her shiny tawny eyes, looking at her mate. She was like a rock, black and smoky in color, whereas her mate was a strong, tall, attractive tree with green eyes like the leaves.

"Sablerose," she breathed in her wonderfully rumbling voice, reaching a paw up to touch her mate's face. The she-cat quickly scrambled to sit beside her, leaning into the other cat, and in that moment, she wanted to melt away into her striped pelt.

And then she was reminded of her coming death. The death she had caused. But the life she had also saved in the process. Though, it couldn't get rid of the nagging sadness that seemed to hang around her like a shadowed cloud.

"Finchnose," she replied in an equally hushed tone, pressing against her mate. "I've been so worried, I-"

"What did you?" 

"Wh-what?" She turned to her with confusion flickering within her gleaming tawny eyes. She didn't understand. Suddenly, with a jolt, she recalled the symbol once more. I really have to do something about that.

"Your-"

"Finchnose, you know I would never do anything, I swear," she whispered, letting her head rest upon her mate's scruff. The tabby she-cat wrapped her tail tightly around the dark-furred she-cat, who continued, "I swear I didn't do anything... I just want to go on a walk with you. If it's the last thing I do..."

"It won't be," responded Finchnose with a soft flickering of her tail, and she rose to her paws. Surprisingly, she rose confidently and swiftly, with the strength of a large and powerful cougar compared to how crippled with illness she had been a few days ago.

It might be.

"I've already asked the Magis, don't worry about that," Sablerose assured her, letting her dark tail drift upon her mate's shoulders. She rose to her paws too, nuzzling the she-cat. "I'm so glad you're doing better."

"As am I," replied the she-cat with purr rising alongside her words. She exited the den, leaving Sablerose to trail after her, transfixed by her beauty. Her soft-furred tail flicked delicately as she exited the den, and once more Sablerose felt a wave sadness slap upon her, a dull, sandy shore.

Though, as Sablerose left, she realized that a small cheer had taken up the onlookers: "Finchnose! Finchnose!" It was like a warrior ceremony all over again, but it simply wasn't. They were cheering for her, for her getting better, for her recovery, for... her.

Sablerose strode by, letting her tail wrap tightly around her mate's, and the two strolled to the exit. Her tawny eyes flicked around, catching Batpaw and Cloverear muttering once more, and briefly, she wondered if anyone else had caught the symbol upon her head. She realized that more than one cat had been muttering, and guilt choked her up.

She hadn't realized she'd stopped dead in her tracks until Finchnose's pleasant voice broke the silence that had started to suffocate her poor upset mate.

"What're you doing?" Sablerose turned and spotted her mate standing at the exit. Her long tail flicked invitingly, ears perking happily as she looked back to the she-cat who was her mate.

When she smiled, Sablerose fell in love with her all over again, and the dark-furred warrior quickly caught up with her. As the two walked out of camp, Sablerose pressed against her.

"I never want to leave you," Finchnose whispered.

"Neither do I."

But I'll have to anyway.

Written by Lamb
Edited by Solstice