my body's made of crushed little stars. [p]

[lio]

When she awoke in StarClan, Gentledoe was confused. Everything had happened in a blur, stepping onto the rumbling path one moment and waking up in StarClan the next. It hadn't hurt, she hadn't felt a thing. Perhaps that had been the best case scenario. She much preferred having a quick and unexpected death than to see it coming. Though, as she sat in the stars, she realized she would never step foot in ThunderClan again. Never feel the warmth of another cat beside her. Stars, she was too far from ThunderClan borders for anyone to even happen across her body- that is, if it was still there. They would have to go searching for it.

Tail curling over her paws, she went to take a deep breath only to remember that she didn't need to breathe at all. A frown settled on her lips. This would be... a lot to get used to. Nobody really prepared you for what dying was like, did they? Hah, she never would have been prepared. She hadn't wanted to die so soon, but life- or, well, death- seemed to have had other plans.

Oh dear, would Bumblestar ever know? What about Asterdance, or Redhawk? How she missed them all, having not spoken to any of them- especially her sister- in oh-so long. Were they all okay? Were they worried about her? Did they miss her? Gentledoe could be hopeful, a small spark in her once-beating heart that her presence in ThunderClan was missed, that her loved ones were safe. But she had not made much of an impact, so it... wouldn't be a surprise if she had been forgotten. And oh, she could only hope they were okay...

One thing about being dead, though, was that she could see. Like, with both eyes. It was a nice touch, she supposed. If being dead meant she had both eyes again, maybe it wasn't so bad. Heh.

Her heart weighed heavy as she sat alone, peering around her. Endless starscape in all directions. It was beautiful, of course, but she missed her home. The one she had been returning to when, well...

Gentledoe shook her head. She was stuck here, so it was best not to dwell. But oh, if only she could speak to her sister once more. They had never had the chance to say goodbye to each other. And with that thought, another blossomed in her head. Oh! She was in StarClan now! Couldn't StarClan cats speak to the living through dreams? That was a thing that could be done, if she recalled correctly. Well, it wouldn't hurt to try...

Nose scrunching in concentration, Gentledoe thought real hard about her sister, willing the younger she-cat to appear in front of her. Come on, come on...

If it were to work, Gentledoe would look toward Redhawk with a sad smile.

"Hello, little hawk," she would say, head tilting to the side. Her mismatched eyes would shimmer with the stars in her fur, a clear sign as to what she had attempted to bring Redhawk here for. But it could not last long- there was very little time before the sun rose once more. She had to be quick if she were to say all she needed to.

"Ah, I don't have much time, but I believe it is clear what has happened to me. I'm no longer alive," she would begin, paws shuffling where she sat, "I was... attempting to return to ThunderClan, but I had not been careful enough in my journey. As I stepped onto a rumbling path, something hit me, and I, well, I woke up here. My body... it is outside of ThunderClan territory, in the Outskirts, but I believe it should be near the rumbling path." She blinked slowly, though her words grew rushed as time ran out.

"I only wish that I could have returned to at least say goodbye to ThunderClan. It is... regretful that I couldn't become the warrior I wished to be. But... ah, Bumblestar, is she well? Is ThunderClan well? Oh, there's no time to answer those questions. Just-" Gentledoe would stand, a pleading look in her eyes, "please, let her know of my fate. And let her know that I miss her. I miss all of ThunderClan, and I'm sorry I couldn't return. How I wish I could have done more."

With a sad smile, she sat once more. Time was up. So, with the final few heartbeats of time she had, Gentledoe spoke her final message.

"Goodbye, little hawk. I love you, and I'll watch over you from now on. It's what a big sister should do, right?"

With that, she would fade into the stars, pleased with her final farewell.

[ if there's formatting issues no there isn't i'm doing this on my phone ]
// @tallulah \\

[taillow]

Redhawk
She/they | 29 moons | Ultimate Predator • The Collector • Kitty Softpaws

A large yawn parted her jaws as the reddish-brown warrior finally made her way to her nest. Lately it felt like Redhawk was always up on her paws, and though she had started out easily exhausted, it seemed her body was catching up to the workload and adjusting to the new endurance she was gaining. That didn't mean she never got tired though, as seen in the way her legs shook as she sank into her nest.

Another yawn slipped out from her as she laid her chin on her paws, eyes fluttering closed almost immediately. Every muscle in her body aches, weary and tired, and Red was looking forward to getting a good rest for the first time in awhile it felt like. With the quiet calmness of the night settling over camp, she allowed herself to slip into comforting darkness and let the world float away from her.

-

She had not expected to dream. Upon opening her eyes and seeing a vastly different territory than the inside of ThunderClan's warrior's den, Redhawk blinked several times. Okay so she was... dreaming. Where was she, exactly? Stars twinkled in the sky above her, and seemingly all around her - wait, was this StarClan?? Was she in StarClan's territory??? A smile spread across her face as she spun around in wonder, taking it all in. Woah! It looked so cool! Double wait - did this mean she was in the clouds??? Was this -

As Redhawk started complete her turn, her green eyes landed on a cat she had been praying every night she would see come strolling in through camp. At first happiness and joy nearly made her leap high in the air, jaws parted to call out to Gentledoe. Her sister was safe! She was here! She was - wait. Her older sister's expression was crestfallen, the smile on her face sad. Why was she sad??

She also looked different. Drizzlecloud's words about her sister's injury to her face... her missing eye... Her face scrunched up and she drew her ears back, the warm feeling of familial reunions starting to dissipate. And then Gentledoe said something that shattered Red's heart; no longer.. alive? B-But that would mean that... "You're not ever c-coming home?" Her voice was soft and squeaky, shaky with every word. The hope that her sister was alright, that she would make it back eventually, had been Red's driving force in all she did for ThunderClan. She wanted to impress her big sister when she came back, show her how much of a warrior she'd grown into.

Now, it was becoming apparent she would never get the chance to do so.

As Gentledoe continued, Redhawk failed to stop the tears that fell freely. A monster had hit her... inside her chest she could feel her heart shaking, quivering with each word. Despite the fog that settled into her head she retained the detail of where her sister's body was. A rumbling path. Outskirts. Rumbling path. Outskirts.

Her questions about ThunderClan and Bumblestar were met with an agape jaw, with Redhawk not sure how to answer them. She hadn't realized her sister and the leader had been close. It made sense though, considering Gentle had been a hornet. In any case, she wanted the tabby leader to be made aware of her fate. and Red closed her jaw and simply nodded, feeling her paws start to go numb.

Wait! There was something infiltrating the dream, and something in her gut told Red that their time together was fleeting. "W-Wait! There's so m-much I w-want to t-talk to you about! SS-So many things I n-never got to sss-say! P-Please!" The desperation in her voice, the pure pleading tone that encapsulated every word, was blaringly obvious as fresh tears continued to fall. This couldn't be where their story ended! There had to be more!

But already Gentledoe was starting to fade. 'Goodbye, little hawk.'

Red wasn't sure how the shattered heart in her chest continued to beat, or how her legs didn't give out under the immense weight of grief that collapsed onto her back. She wasn't sure how she didn't forget to breath against the onslaught of rage that racketed through her body, violent and unforgiving. It wasn't fair! She needed her sister and now - now she was gone.

"I-I love you too, Does. Y-You were... you w-were the be-est big sister... I c-could've e-ever had." How would she carry on without her steady presence?? "I-I'm sorry I d-didn't return sss-sooner." Why couldn't StarClan have taken her instead??

"...I-I'll carry on y-your legacy. I s-swear it."

Gentledoe was gone now, faded into the stars. Redhawk stood there numbly, unsure of what to do. Everything felt foggy and distant, like she wasn't really there. Blinking did nothing but blur her vision and cause more tears to fall.

"...W-Who am I suppose t-to talk to?" The territory started to fade away and Red eventually gave in to the rings of blackness that surrounded her vision. "...What am I sss-suppose to do?"

Darkness surrounded her now, and sleep once again reclaimed the ThunderClan warrior.

"...if there's no you?"

[ @lio i greatly greatly appreciate you taking the time to post this the start of closure for red ]