[ This post is kind of rough, but wanted to get it out there. RC cat is portrayed with their owner's permission! For clarity: Fernpaw is a missing WC cat who accidentally trespassed in RC land, was mistaken for a prey thief (it was a different rogue who did it, he just was in wrong place/wrong time), and was fatally injured. He managed to escape his attacker and end up on WC land before collapsing / dying. Post is primarily open for @
taillow and @
Rani so talk to them if you want to join in.
End of post is based in StarClan, as Fernpaw's power card curse is being removed from him so he can finally die for real. ]
How .. long had it been?
Fernpaw was struggling to remember. One minute, he'd been in WindClan's camp on guard, and the next an owl had claimed him for its next meal. It happened so fast he barely could register it.
From there, it was just an endless cycle. He awoke in plains unfamiliar, and found himself in the jaws of a coyote. A badger, sickness, a cave in while he tried to shelter underground, a monster that came out of nowhere when he darted across a path..
By now, he was simply a mess. His fur was a combination of torn and matted and he moved with a distinctive limp, no longer able to move faster than a shuffle. One of his eyes was completely glazed over from being plucked, and despite an overall slow pace he found himself panting. To any onlooker, he looked like a sick rogue.
A sick rogue on a quest. For all the torture he'd undergone, he had a simple goal in mind: make it home. He persevered through the trials that broke his body, determined to make it. He'd done it once, he could do this again. .. Stars, he was tired.
A familiar scent reignited his senses, and Fernpaw's eye flickered around. The land was only faintly recognizable - for reasons he couldn't quite place, but that smell... It was the strong odor of fish and salt, and his first impression of it was safety. Home. He had.. friends, nearby, he thought? So he followed it, paw dragging along the ground, he followed the scent in the hope of that security. He needed a break from constantly fighting to survive.
Beneath the scent was a tinge of blood, but Fernpaw didn't fully register it until he was nearly on top of the scene. Pieces of a bird were scattered across the ground, a messy kill with a half-eaten corpse left behind. .. who would do this? it seemed like such a waste.
"HOW DARE YOU!"
Fernpaw only had a second to connect the explosive to danger. With the allure of a nearby friend, his guard was down - a fatal mistake. He felt the searing pain of claws and teeth tear through him, shredding through already fragile skin like a knife through cloth. He attempted to twist away and put some distance between them, but only succeeded in leaving vulnerable spots open - spots Her claws found.
"I'm going to make you bleed for stealing from my Clan." Her words dripped with venom and Fernpaw choked, trying to respond - but he couldn't with blood in his throat.
The catfish was ripping him apart, and Fernpaw barely managed to tear free and hobble away. His blood ran faster than the swollen river, and darkness was creeping in the corner of his vision. He.. he was scared, but not for himself. he was scared that he'd failed, that he'd never make it home.
the river was behind him, but the land he was in looked alien to him. And finally, the adrenaline that kept him going faded, and he collapsed. Fernpaw fell beneath the moor's skies, unaware just how close to home he was.
-----
When Fernpaw awoke, it was in the starry woods he knew well. He'd been here so many times, it truly felt like another home.
"Hello?" he called out, wondering who he'd be seeing now. He'd met a variety of spirits over the course of moons - sometimes repeatedly.
The cat who emerged was one he knew only from a distance. It was hard to
not know who Brokenstar was, probably one of the most active dead leaders of StarClan. Fernpaw knew him a little better as 'that cat that doesn't like revivals' and he couldn't help but swallow.
Seasons ago, Fernpaw had made an impulsive decision to defy the stars and force his own resurrection. It was during Brightstar's leadership ceremony... and he'd been so excited to see his sister again. Now his sister was gone, his family was gone -- Wolffang was gone and Bravebird was probably gone too - and it hurt, he hurt. waking up every time he died, hurt. His body was a shell of its former self, and he was so tired.
"I suspect you know why I've come." Brokenstar's gaze swept over him.
"Are you finally done with this game, Fernkit? How many more times are you willing to be tortured for another breath of life?"
.. None, was Fernpaw's reality. His body was getting to the point where it was no longer healing properly, and he was aware his quality of life was only going to become worse and worse. He lowered his head, ashamed.
".. i'm sorry.."
"I don't want your apologies, boy. I want an answer: are you ready to end this?"
Fernpaw wasn't ashamed by the life he led, he was ashamed of the pain he caused. He never meant to leave, or to die, to make Twilightstar wonder where he'd gone or leave Bravebird and Laurelpaw. Stars, please let them know they were loved, and that he was forever sorry.
"Yes, sir."
Brokenstar closed the gap. His ice-cold muzzle pressed against Fernpaw's forehead and a heavy weight lifted from his shoulders. For the first time in ages, Fernpaw no longer felt a burden over him -- he felt
free.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I lift your curse of undeath. Next time, think before you jump.."
Brokenstar stepped back, and beckoned him to join him as he headed into the forest.
"We do have to discuss what to do with you next. You've caused a disruption between living and death that cannot go unpunished."
And this, Fernpaw knew. He thought of the cats who'd seen him come back, die, come back.. He thought of Nettlespark, Deadmoon, cats who never had that chance.
"I understand." And he'd follow Brokenstar into the heart of the stars, finally crossing over the border of death for the first time since his stillbirth.
-----
In the world of the living, Fernpaw's body would remain still, and this time rigor mortis would set in. By the time his body would be discovered, it'd reek of a combination of death and fish.