Time crawled by like an eternity and yet it felt so quick. When Willowcloud dared to look up, she found her fur soaked to the skin and her body shivering uncontrollably. Sunstrike sat next to her, head lowered in grief.

Eventually, the red tom gently nudged Willowcloud. "We should get back." His voice was haggard.

Willowcloud couldn't move. She was frozen beside Frostflower's shape. She felt if she did change position, her world would spiral away into oblivion.

Again, a soft nudge. He helped her onto her wobbly paws. Twice she stumbled, before regaining enough strength to steady herself.

Sunstrike took Frostflower's scruff and heaved her onto his back. The two sullen cats trudged through the woods, making slow progress due to the storm.

All the while, Willowcloud kept her eyes fixed directly in front of her. She didn't speak a word.

The heavy clouds made it impossible to determine night or day so upon return to camp, some cats paced anxiously while others slept. Those awake turned their faces towards the young warriors.

The moments following became a blur.

Frantic shouts, concerned faces, movement. Willowcloud could hardly keep track of all the cats rushing around. She managed to stumble into her makeshift warrior nest. Her eyes stared straight ahead, unseeing of the upheaval rising in the center of the abandoned twoleg den. Beside her, Frostflower's scent was fresh upon her nest.

A yowl of unimaginable grief rose into the air, carried by Fernbelly, Frostflower's mother.

Willowcloud shut her eyes tight. Maybe, if she closed them hard enough, she could make everything disappear.

Meanwhile, Pondpaw stood in shock, staring at her sister. Her expression was frozen. Badgerstar was at the front of the crowd, his face lowered in sorrow. Other warriors looked on with horror. They cried to the heavy clouds, pleading for help. They questioned why StarClan could allow such misfortune to befall them.

Silently, Willowcloud asked the same. She cast her mind to Firestar. Why did that happen? I thought she was part of the prophecy.

The realization was more displeasing than the question.

Because I wanted her to come. She opened her eyes with a flash, dismay causing her fur to stand on end. Had I listened to Badgerstar's orders, she would be alive. I killed Frostflower.

Willowcloud opened her jaws wide and let out a mournful yowl. She buried her head into her paws, eyes burning. More questions filled her mind. How will life go on without her? Is she truly gone?

Sorrow threatened to overtake her if she remained in the nest any longer, so she rose. Instinctively, she looked for Frostflower. Her heart shattered a bit more as she remembered. Her legs felt weak again.

She ventured to the twoleg nest's exit, where, not too long ago, Frostflower had left, following her naïve friend on a doomed trek. She looked out once again into the woods, like she had done no less than a sunrise ago. Wind continued to sway the trees. Lightning traced its way across the sky, accompanied with earth-shaking rounds of thunder. The forest took no notice of the life it had stolen.

The gray tabby sat there, her eyes reflecting the bleak sky.

Beyond the clouds, glittering stars wept. And yet, their silver tears were not enough to pierce the storm.

-

ThunderClan kept their heads lowered in sadness. Their paws dragged. Such a fiery light had been snuffed out before it had the chance to shine.

Willowcloud lay tossing in turning in her nest, commanded to rest by Badgerstar. He had promised her a vigil for Frostflower once she rested. Willowcloud had objected and lied there with her head buried in her paws, until her exhaustion caught up with her and she fell into a fretful sleep.

She was dreaming.

It was the abandoned twolegplace, temporarily populated with ThunderClan. Willowcloud knew she was not awake because Frostflower's living form rested peacefully beside her. She was half tempted to reach out and nuzzle her friend, but knew if she did, her dream would be shattered.

Instead, she rose from her nest and made her way to her usual spot by the twoleg exit. She realized the wind howled more fiercely than ever, and the twoleg structure itself swayed unsteadily. Overhead, the sky rumbled.

A forlorn expression dragged at her face.

Then, a shimmering orange shape emerged from behind the trees.

Firestar!

She couldn't say she was excited to see him again. Not after what had happened.

"Beware, Willowcloud, this storm is not yet over." He said. His dazzling green eyes were dulled with sadness.

"Enough already!" She shouted, slightly surprised by her own boldness. "I've had enough of being the prophecy cat. You never told me Frostflower was going to die!" She could feel her eyes beginning to burn.

Firestar lowered his head. "I understand. But please, hear me out. Willowcloud, you must wake up right now or else your Clan's wellbeing is at stake." His voice carried urgency.

Willowcloud, being in the state she was, barely heard the orange tom's words. "You lied to me!" Now trembling with sadness and rage, "You said I was chosen! Don't chosen cats protect their friends? Isn't StarClan supposed to protect them?"

Firestar met her eyes, his green gaze steely. "Awaken. Now. There is no time."

Willowcloud glared at him. "No! You don't understand what it's like! You..." Her voice trailed off. She sniffled.

"Willowcloud, WAKE UP!"

She snapped her eyes open just as a moaning filled the air. It seemed to come from all around her. Sickness filled her stomach as she recognized it. Her eyes darted around to find its source... only to discover the sound was emanating from the very walls of the twoleg structure.

"Everybody, wake up! The twoleg nest is falling!" She was taken aback by the roughness of her voice due to disuse.

Cats jumped from their resting places, looking around wildly. Badgerstar was quickly awake, and called for his Clan to evacuate.

The groaning grew louder, just like the falling tree had the previous morning. Panic filled Willowcloud. She raced to Frostflower's body and grabbed her scruff. Before she could drag her friend away, Sunstrike ran up to her.

"Go!" He cried, shoving her away. Willowcloud screeched in protest and thrashed.

Sunstrike relented. He half dragged, half pushed Willowcloud out of the house.

Cats rushed out of every crevice, hysterically escaping the structure like rats from carrion. They regathered a couple tree-lengths from the shelter, shivering and huddling together.

Sunstrike had to hold Willowcloud back as the devastated she-cat tried to get back into the twoleg nest. She howled for Frostflower, each time more heartbreaking than the last.

Inevitably, the den began to fold in on itself. It was slow at first, the walls tilting inward before the rest of the den followed suit. Brightblossom and Beeflight were by the collapsing structure, helping their remaining clanmates escape. The rest of the Clan could hear their urgent shouts.

With a final air-rattling roar, the den imploded. Several warriors, including Fernbelly, were thrown by the wreckage or pinned under beams. More clanmates hurried to help free them, sliding on the slick grass along the way.

Meanwhile, Hollyheart and Oakfur crowded around their daughter. Pity glowed in their eyes, paired with the inability to relate to Willowcloud's tumultuous emotions. Hollyheart rasped her tongue over Willowcloud's ear, and she let her. Any sense of pride was gone. She felt like the tiny speck she was, lost amidst this raging tempest. Once again, she felt a wretched twisting in her stomach; at this point, all too familiar.

Oakfur murmured comforting words to his daughter. Willowcloud knew her parents were only trying to help, but it felt as if they were making the situation worse. She lowered her head, again focusing her gaze on the drenched ground.

She couldn't let her eyes meet the rubble.

-

Alright, so a bit of an author's note. I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month 2016, so for the entirety of November, this book will be on hold. My attention will be devoted to writing a novel of 50,000 words in 30 days. I've actually been planning this for a couple years, haha.

So I apologize for the inconvenience, but updates for this story will resume in December.

Until then, may StarClan guide your paws and light your path.