Goldenshine's POV

All I could do is stand, frozen in complete terror as I watched Snowstorm collapse onto the hard ground, the heavy thump of her body seeming to echo throughout the camp.

No...

I felt so dizzy that I was almost sure that I'd be the next to fall soon enough, and my head felt as if I had dunked into in the wildest, most violently-flowing river. Things couldn't have gone any worse... I thought with dismay as yowls and gasps of surprise began to spread throughout the camp.

I felt myself quickly becoming overwhelmed with panic as continued to stare at Snowstorm's still figure - her pelt that seemed to be covered with more wounds than blood, how tired and dull her closing eyes were. What have we done? I thought, my breaths coming in uncontrollable, quick and shallow huffs. What have we done?

I was practically trying to hold back a whimper as I burst ahead to meet Swiftflight, who was looking down at his friend and gently shaking her. "Snowstorm?" he cried out, his gray-blue eyes wide with horror. "Snowstorm, can you hear me? Say something!"

I ran up to stand just by my son, but my eyes stayed on the she-cat below him. "Swiftflight, is she alright?" Was the only thing that I could think to ask through my spiraling mind, even though I didn't want to accept the fact that I already knew that answer.

Swiftflight whipped his head towards me, his eyes suddenly blazing like flame. "Am I suddenly ThunderClan's medicine cat?" he hissed. And while his gaze was sharp and hostile, the immense worry beneath it was clear. "I have no idea if she's alright!"

I took a step back, my head beginning to shake slowly. "Oh my StarClan, oh my StarClan..." I breathed, my panic further continuing to consume me.

I then broke into a run once again, racing past Swiftflight and Snowstorm. "Jayfeather!"

I made a break for the medicine den, my fast pawsteps seeming to match in pace with my heartbeat, and I practically had to skid to a halt by the time that I made it to the bramble screen.

I nearly ran straight into Jayfeather, who seemed to have been on his way out. He luckily also seemed to have sensed my presence quickly, and hopped back as I burst into the den. "What's the matter now?" he muttered, and quite frankly, I wasn't sure if it was exasperation or dread that I could see in his blind eyes.

But I didn't have much time to analyze his emotions, especially when mine of alarm and distress were driving me up the den walls. "Snowstorm collapsed, Jayfeather!" I nearly cried out. "She's not moving. She's not responding!"

All I could do was stand and wait, trying to catch my breath when Jayfeather simply stared back at me, saying nothing. But I followed behind him when he suddenly turned around and padded to the back of his den, not a single word still escaping his jaws. "She seemed fine - well, as fine as she could be... just heartbeats ago!" I explained, my voice trembling.

I then sat down just a few fox-lengths behind the medicine cat as he began to dig through his stocks of herbs. "Swiftflight was keeping her upright while we waited for you to treat her," I went on, my eyelids then lowering shut, "but then she just... fell. Like a cat had just given her a sharp blow to the neck. It all happened so fast..."

I then trailed off of my own words as I began to relive the horrifying, bone-chilling experience all over again, and it all became too much to bear all over again. I held back another whimper as I took a step forward. "Jayfeather-"

Suddenly, the gray tabby tom whipped himself around, dropping the herbs he'd been carrying in his mouth. "Goldenshine, be quiet!" he growled back at me. "I'm trying to get what I need!"

I shook my head slowly as I my shoulders sank with helplessness. "What could you bring that could possibly help her?" I meowed huskily, emotion beginning to well up in my eyes. "She's down, Jayfeather... she's dying!"

"And you think that you have the expertise to be able to be sure of that?" Jayfeather replied. When I attempted to answer, he took a step closer to me and rose his tail, hardening his gaze. "You don't," he hissed, his voice sharp once again. "So stop talking and let me see what I can do, for StarClan's sake!"

The medicine cat then turned around once again, and as he continued to go through his supplies, I made my attempt to stay quiet and let him concentrate. It's a good thing that he didn't tell me to keep still as well, I thought. Because that would be absolutely impossible right now with how much I'm shaking.

Clearly, by my words and actions alone, I figured that it would already be pretty clear to Jayfeather how I was feeling. But as usual, the medicine cat wasn't giving away much on his end. What does he think about all of this? He's done nothing but deny the situation and snap at me. Is he worried or upset at all?

My curiosity beginning to rise, I slowly and hesitantly walked up to sit next to Jayfeather, already prepared for some more harsh words to be thrown my way. "Jayfeather..." I nearly whispered. "What does this mean for-?"

Jayfeather slowly turned his head to face me, revealing dark, anxious, and somber blue eyes. "I don't know, Goldenshine," he whispered back, his voice slightly trembling. "I really don't."

It quickly became clear to me that the medicine cat was just as troubled and saddened as I was, which managed to make the situation seem even more frightening. "Have... have we been wrong this entire time?" I then forced out.

Jayfeather then closed his eyes for a few heartbeats. And after a long deep breath, his lids slowly opened again, his eyes glinting with obstinacy once again. "I don't want to say that yet, so I'm not going to," he meowed more loudly before grabbing his herbs and brushing past me to head towards the camp entrance. "Come on."

For a moment, my friend's words actually seemed to spark something inside of me, and the hope that everything could actually work out in our favor actually brought me to take a few pawsteps forward.

But that moment of hope and encouragement was incredibly brief as yet another troubling thought crossed my mind, and I quickly came to a stop again, lowering my head in defeat. "Jayfeather..." I murmured.

I then closed my eyes, my stomach feeling hollow with guilt. "I was the one that insisted that I guide Snowstorm through her destiny..."

I then forced myself to lift my head and look ahead at the gray tabby tom. "Is... is this all my fault?"

With my words, Jayfeather came to a stop just as he'd been about to crawl through the brambles. And to my surprise, he then turned around, running up to meet me and putting the tip of his tail on my shoulder.

His tail was trembling, and his eyes were sincere, but grim as he looked back at me. "StarClan taking Snowflight's fate into their paws is not your fault," he insisted softly. "You did everything that you should have."

I looked away from Jayfeather and screwed my eyes shut. "But... everything still wasn't enough, was it?"

I looked back at Jayfeather as I heard him let out a sigh. "If we really were wrong about this, then we'll figure it out," he then breathed after a few heartbeats.

He then rose a single eyebrow back at me, giving a lash of his tail. "And this time, I really mean that we'll figure it out," he muttered more sharply, but I found that his gaze was more warm and teasing than harsh and bitter. "I'm not letting your stubborn mouse-brain have a choice on the matter."

I managed to feel the smallest twinge of affection at the medicine cat's words, and I rolled my eyes, giving him a small nod. He definitely doesn't need to fight it anymore, I thought. No way am I ever going to figure out something like this without his help ever again.

I then watched as Jayfeather then seemed to look back towards the medicine den entrance. His blind eyes then shut again, screwing up with pain as if a cat had just scratched him across the flank.

But after a moment, he opened them again and proceeded to make his way forward a second time. "But I'm praying to StarClan that we won't have to figure out anything," he called back to me. "Let's go."

This time, I actually did follow Jayfeather all the way out of the medicine den, and I tried to push down all of the anxiety and dread that was threatening to rise up inside of me all over again. Even if this had nothing to do with Snowflight, I'd still hate to see a Clanmate like this... Hollyleaf's and Firestar's deaths have already been difficult enough! I thought gravely. I had already been shaken greatly by the ThunderClan leader's death, and the loss of one of my closest friends, but StarClan had decided to grace me with even more distress and pain.

I burst out into the open to see that many cats had begun to gather around Snowstorm, their eyes wide with surprise, and their fur bristling with panic. Poppyfrost, Snowstorm's foster mother, was just next to the white she-cat, her head bent down so that she could lap at her head. Swiftflight was just next to the tortoiseshell, and my heart broke just at seeing my son look so crestfallen.

Lilypetal and Thornclaw were also close by, and Icecloud and Dustystorm were just a few tail-lengths away from them. I was then a bit surprised to notice, Lightningpaw, my younger brother, pressed up against Lilypetal, his yellow eyes wide as he stared back at Snowstorm.

Jayfeather didn't seem to care one bit that so many cats were showing so much concern for their Clanmate. "Everyone, get out of the way!" he hissed as made his way across camp from his den. "Breathing down her neck isn't going to cure her!"

He then glared at Poppyfrost and Swiftflight, who hadn't moved at all at his command. "Everyone includes you two!"

Both cats seemed personally offended by the medicine cat's words, but nevertheless, they both hesitantly got to their paws and stepped back, both of their eyes not leaving the white she-cat lying on the ground. The other cats that had cleared nervously watched from afar.

But despite Jayfeather having accomplished his goal of clearing everyone away, he didn't immediately go up to see to Snowstorm. He stayed exactly where he was, and he seemed to be hesitated to take even a single step forward.

I tried my best to hold myself back from barking at the medicine cat to snap out of his thoughts and get to work, because I quickly realized what the tom's actions might mean. Maybe he's scared... I thought curiously. Is he hesitating to look over Snowstorm in the fear of what he might discover?

Whatever it was, Jayfeather seemed to push through it, and finally bent down to observe Snowstorm - who, to my dismay, looked just as lifeless and limp as she had when I'd left her to go to the medicine den. I practically felt like I was going to crumble even just looking at her for a single heartbeat.

And it felt like I had already been waiting an eternity as I waited for Jayfeather to look over the younger white she-cat. A whimper was rising in my throat once again, my legs were shaking, and my pounding ears most definitely masked any sounds of movement in camp. I can't take it... I can't take it at all... I thought, feeling so certain that I was going to collapse myself.

I then flicked my ears, slightly startled as another tail began to wind itself around my own, and I glanced behind me, my heart managing to warm just a bit as I met Dustystorm's worried, but compassionate and sympathetic pale blue gaze.

As always, his presence made even the hardest moment I'd ever experienced seem just a bit less difficult to cope with. And that's why he's the love of my life, I thought as I dug my head into his fur, letting myself be comforted by the touch of my mate. He's the most amazing, caring cat in the world. And I don't care if I had to go through a mate that ended up being a fox-heart to find him.

I continued to lean into Dustystorm as I then looked across the clearing, concern emerging for another tom that was incredibly dear to me. Swiftflight watched his best friend collapse at his paws... I realized, my heart welling up with sadness as I searched for his dark gray pelt. I felt a strong urge to run up to him, wherever he was, and give him all of the support and comfort it would take to make him feel better.

But once my eyes fell on Swiftflight, I realized that he was already receiving it.

I managed to let out a weak purr as I recognized the ginger tabby pelt of Cherrypaw standing at my son's side. And while my apprentice was sitting about a tail-length from him, their tails were twinned, Swiftflight gripping Cherrypaw's tabby tail tightly.

The she-cat seemed to be giving my son his space to grieve, but was managing to support him and be there for him at the same time. She knows him so well... I thought. It seems that another she-cat is going to be my son's rock from now on.

And while the thought of my son and my apprentice growing so close managed to preoccupy me for the briefest moment, I then felt as if the ground had disappeared from beneath me once I noticed Jayfeather finally back away from Snowstorm.

And time seemed to stop as I waited for the medicine cat to speak. My mind began to spiral with all of the possible things that he could say - good things, bad things, good things that could take a turn for the worst... or bad things that could possibly be fixed?

Unfortunately, the answer came quickly, as Jayfeather's face already said it all.

I truthfully had never seen the medicine cat look so dejected in all of the time I'd known him. His blind eyes were glossed over with dismay as he seemed to be staring down at Snowstorm. "She has the faintest heartbeat..." he began as he ran a paw over the she-cat's flank. "But she's not breathing."

I then saw his gray tabby pelt ripple. "Her body is already beginning to feel cold."

And with those words, the whole entire world, and every single thought of happiness in the future seemed to physically disappear right in front of me. I was sure that every cat around me would be able to hear the crack of my heart breaking. "No..." I choked out, feeling physically weaker the more that Jayfeather's news sunk in.

I then let out a grieved cry, digging my head into Dustystorm's neck fur. "No!"

I honestly couldn't think of anything sort of experience that would match the amount of pain that I was in - the grief, heartbreak, and confusion that I felt, felt truly unmatched on all levels. Snowstorm is dead... which can only mean that...

I let out another whimper out loud, hardly being able to even think of the reality of what was happening. After all of this... it's gone, and Snowflight is... I still couldn't force out the words. It was all wrong. All of it was wrong! And Snowstorm fought Ashfur, dying from her battle wounds for nothing! Well... we did nothing but send her to her death!

I then forced myself to open my shut eyes, and I immediately glanced Jayfeather, knowing that he was going to be feeling the exact kind of defeat that I was. Despite the news that he had just delivered, he hadn't taken any action to tell cats to move her body, to prepare her for vigil... nothing at all.

He simply stood by her side as others around him mourned, not seeming to care one bit about what cats might think about him showing so much concern for Snowstorm. But, just as he had stated to me many times, his love for the spirit that Snowstorm carried was so incredibly strong, that he likely didn't even think to worry about what others would think.

I then let out a shaky sigh, and found myself looking back at Dustystorm. I met his gaze to find that he seemed to be giving me an encouraging look, and he was using his tail to prompt me forward towards Snowstorm.

And as much as I loved the comfort and support of my mate, it didn't take much convincing for me to run forward towards the white she-cat.

As I made my way across the clearing, my tail dragging against the ground, my eyes fell on Swiftflight once again. He seemed to be holding Cherrypaw's tail even more tightly from where he stood, his eyes closed as he looked down at the ground and shook his head slowly.

But as much as I wanted to go and comfort my son, I knew him better than any other cat, and I knew that his grieving ways were very different than mine. He'd surely not want to feel crowded as he tried to come to terms with his own feelings. So, I forced down the urge, and finally settled down in front of Snowstorm, Jayfeather just beside me.

And I'd only been there for a couple of heartbeats before I heard gentle, wary footsteps just behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see that my parents, Lilypetal and Thornclaw, were walking up to join us.

And just as I had with Jayfeather and Swiftflight, just seeing their pain at the situation further made my own grow. My father's pale blue eyes were dark and solemn, while Lilypetal's hazel ones were wide with disbelief, sadness and awe.

She was shaking her head slowly as she padded up to us. "Oh, Snowstorm," she breathed as she lowered down to sit next to me, Thornclaw doing the same on her other side. "I don't understand..."

Lilypetal then turned her head to meet my gaze, and her next words came in a very low whisper. "If... if she is dead..." she began, her eyes washing over with concern and fear. "...then what about Snowflight? Her destiny?"

My mother's words hit me like a physical blow, and I had to suppress another cry of grief and pain. Yet, my reply came in a very weak, shaky whisper in return. "We were wrong... it was all wrong," I choked out, and my words became even hoarser as I finally spoke the words that I hadn't even been able to think up until now. "Snowflight's spirit was relying on Snowstorm to fulfill her destiny; to do what she never could."

I then had to shut my eyes. "But her destiny must not have been what we thought it was, because..." I then weakly lashed my tail towards Snowstorm. "...and now that she's dead... it's all gone."

My gaze then fell down towards Snowstorm, and I'd only been staring at the lifeless she-cat for a heartbeat before I was ruthlessly trying to fight the emotion that was building up in my eyes once again. Jayfeather said that we'd figure out what went wrong, but... I don't know if I'll ever have the heart to be able to continue on. Not after this.

I then let out yet another whimper as my head fell into Snowstorm's fur. Not after we've completely failed. "Oh, Snowflight..." I then whispered out, this touch probably being the closest I'd ever get to be to my sister. "I am so sorry."

At this point, I was practically drowning in my own grief, guilt, and regret. I thought that we had come so far... but have we really done nothing but go backwards? I wondered in dismay. All I had wanted to do was be ensured that my sister would get to fulfill what she was meant to, and to be able to go up to StarClan, as herself, peacefully...

I then let my muzzle dig even deeper into Snowstorm's fur. But that can't happen now, can it?

Up until now, my entire life, and everything around me had seemed to stand frozen since Jayfeather had last spoken. So, when the medicine cat suddenly sprung up to his paws, I was actually quite startled.

I looked back at the gray tabby tom to see that, for some reason, he was backing away from Snowstorm's still shape. "Jayfeather?" I whispered to him, my eyes widening with concern. "What's going on?"

Jayfeather barely acknowledged me, and his gaze was locked on Snowstorm as if he could see her clearly. "I... I don't know..." he replied after a few heartbeats, his fur beginning to bristle. "I just... I felt something."

I stood up, feeling utterly confused by his words. "You felt something? What do you mean, you felt something?"

I then actually felt myself feeling the smallest bit of hope again as I thought of the possibilities of what Jayfeather could've meant. "Did you feel a stronger heartbeat?" I pressed to him. "Is Snowstorm breathing again?"

For once, Jayfeather didn't seem phased by my many questions. He was way, way too caught up in this thing he had supposedly "felt", and simply shook his head dismissively. "No, no. Nothing like that," he muttered. "I... I..."

I tilted my head to the side, realizing that the medicine cat didn't seem to understand just as much as I didn't. I really, really don't understand. What could he possibly feel that I wouldn't be able to see for myself?

I then let out a nearly inaudible gasp and flicked my ears as I actually came up with an answer to that question, and the more that I stared back at Jayfeather's awestruck, completely taken-aback expression, the more that I realized that this all actually made sense to me.

I know exactly what Jayfeather is talking about.

I began to nod slowly back at the tom. "...You felt something," I whispered back to him.

It was then that I then began to recall the words that Jayfeather had said to me many moons ago, when he had described how he'd first noticed that something was different about Snowstorm; that this kit that a ThunderClan patrol had found in the forest wasn't just any ordinary kit.

...As soon as I got close to that kit, I felt something, I began to recall. I don't even know how to describe it. It gave me such a feeling of warmth, yet it sent a chill down my spine.

A chill then ran down my spine, Jayfeather's exact wording coming to mind as if he'd said them to me just moments ago. My heart began beating so fast, and as soon as I stood in front of that kit, it almost felt like there was this presence, and I almost felt something rub against my flank and lick my ear.

My heart was beating like it never had before. But this time, not from fear, and not from dread or sadness, as Jayfeather's words echoed in my mind one last time. It almost felt like there was this presence... this presence...

My eyes slowly began to widen. Could it be that...

Before I could even open my mouth to speak to Jayfeather to see if my suspicions were right, I nearly let out frightened gasp, taking a step back when suddenly, a bright ripple ran through Snowstorm's body.

What in the name of StarClan...?

I stared back at the she-cat on the ground, hardly being able to believe what I'd just seen.

At first, I wondered if I'd just imagined it, or the moonlight had maybe just strangely reflected against her fur, but the shocked expressions of my Clanmates told a different story.

And while that had been strange enough, I had no idea what I was in for next.

I stood close to Jayfeather, my heart skipping a beat as yet another stronger, even brighter ripple brushed against Snowstorm's fur. And from there, her body then seemed to sparkle and shimmer, just as the StarClan cats' pelts were as they stood in our camp. Is Snowstorm's spirit being separated from her body, so that she can ascend to StarClan?

I then frantically looked to Jayfeather beside me, and I felt a chill run down my spine just looking at his gaze, which seemed to be filled with so much awe and certainty at the same time. He seems to know exactly what is happening.

That expression on my friend's face, right then and there, confirmed all of the theories that had been swirling in my mind. And I think that I do too... I thought as Snowstorm's body then began to glow, the light growing so large that she was barely visible beneath it. Then, the light seemed to rise as high as the tallest tree in the ThunderClan forest.

But just as quickly as it had risen, it descended like a wave, and what was beneath it was revealed.

And I could hardly believe my eyes when the light completely faded, unveiling the white she-cat that stood beneath it.

And this white she-cat didn't have white ear tips or paws, but pure-white, soft-looking fur with ice-blue eyes that would be piercing in the darkest night.

Snowflight was the spirit that stood there, her white pelt shimmering like the stars.