Originally Posted by SpiritedWarrior (Post 1237773) Mapleleaf followed quickly behind Cinderstar, her nose parallel to the silver bengal's tail. It had been a while since the calico/tabby mix had been to Willow's Rise, but all the scents and scenery were the same- maybe with a few more graves. While the pair walked to an available spot for a grave, Mapleleaf sat down and watched as Cinderstar placed Cornfuzz's body on the ground and began digging with unsheathed paws. Standing up after only a moment, Mapleleaf unsheathed her long claws and padded to stand beside her leader, and helped dig. Casting a short glance at the blue-eyed she-cat, the calico tabby mix saw that she had begun to let tears flow. Deciding not to say anything until it was time to say their goodbyes, Mapleleaf breathed a short sigh of frustration with her Clanmates. She still couldn't believe she was the only other cat who cared for Cornfuzz. He was a loyal Clanmate for StarClan's sake! And a kind one at that!

Originally Posted by birdie (Post 1244037) Cinderstar Once the whole dug was big enough, Cinderstar stepped out of it and turned to pull Cornfuzz's body in. She tried to make it look as though he were just sleeping, a peaceful rest that would send him off to StarClan. Gone was the anger at her Clanmates who hadn't shown up as she stared blankly at the grave. "We shall never forget your spirit, Cornfuzz..." This would be a difficult death to announce - considering it would have to be announced since no one bothered to even show up when she had brought his body into the clearing. Giving a nod to Mapleleaf, the leader began to push dirt back into the hole, working as quick as she could to cover the still body. After a bit, enough dirt had been thrown back in to resemble a freshly dug grave. She watched it for a minute, maybe two, before looking to Mapleleaf. "Thank you for burying him with me." And that was the last of the energy she had. Slowly, the ThunderClan leader turned and padded off into the forest, disappearing amongst the undergrowth. [ I apologize this is so short and quick but I dislike roleplaying her now. We can wrap it up here ]

~BUMBLEFLIGHT~

Bumbleflight walked slowly towards Willow's Rise, the lack of sleep evident in his empty gaze. He was hear for one reason, and one alone: to visit Brightpath, his friend he had been unable to save. He had come to Willow's Rise many times before to mourn for Beesong, the mother he never got to know, and Ashstorm, his first mentor, but now, he was here to visit his friend. Surely his mother and former mentor wouldn't be upset... After all, he'd been visiting them much longer. One visit to someone else wouldn't hurt, especially if it was someone he actually knew.

The dark brown tabby moved gingerly, his paws still aching from his clawing away at the fox trap that killed Brightpath. It didn't do much in the end, however... Just allowed him to bring Brightpath to die at camp, with others witnessing, despite cutting the wire from the stake... Was Brightpath upset with him, up there in StarClan? For his lack of ability to save them? He had tried his best... But that didn't mean nothing with his friend dead now, did it? Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if Brightpath decided to come back from StarClan just to kill him for his failure... And Bumbleflight wouldn't stop them. It was deserved, wasn't it?

Bumbleflight shook his head, attempting to shake away his thoughts. No. He'd done his best to save Brightpath: at the very least, he was able to bring them to say their goodbyes to Cloudyflight... Speaking of, would Cloudyflight also be furious with the young warrior? For his inability to save Brightpath? He didn't doubt it... He hadn't seen her too often since his friend's death, so perhaps she was avoiding him. Honestly, he preferred that over being berated for his failure.

But that was over now. It already happened and, no matter how much Bumbleflight hoped, the past couldn't be changed. The only thing that could change was the present and future. At least, that's what Ashstorm told him back when he was alive. He could at least try to do so.

Which is what brought him to Brightpath's grave, dandelions in his jaws, doing his best not to break down and cry right then. It'd be pathetic to break now, after keeping up such a brave face... And he had a promise to make right now. He wasn't going to let his emotions get the best of him now. So, he gingerly placed the dandelions on his dear friend's grave and sat back, keeping a respectful distance.

"Hey Brightpath... Remember me? The guy who failed to save you?" Bumbleflight said, a bitter smile on his face. As much as he truly didn't want to think on it, that thought stayed in his mind... Would it be so bad to tell Brightpath that, even if it fell on deaf ears? "Has... Has StarClan been treating you well? Have you seen your lost friends and family there? I hope you're fine, up there... Hey, I wanna make a promise, yeah? And I don't want you to try and stop me... Well, not that you can, given you're dead and all- Actually, lemme shut up about that. Not the point."

Honestly, he was hopeless. Taking a deep breath, Bumbleflight steadied himself before continuing.

"I'm gonna make a promise to you, and I want you to help me keep it, okay?... I promise, from here on out, not to let this get the best of me. It's okay to grieve and cry and get angry... But it's not gonna do me any favors, especially if I have two apprentices to care for now. I wanna cry, and I wanna grieve, but life and time doesn't just stop and allow you to do that, huh? It's gonna keep moving forward, whether you like it or not, and it'll ignore your please to stop, ignore your anger and tantrums, too. So I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna march along with them, and gonna keep moving forward. I can allow myself to grieve... But not for so long that I become numb to time and life around me. If I wanna get better, and make up for this royal mess I made, then I'm gonna have to work on it. Think you'll support me? Or are you angry with me? Not that I'm surprised... But I'm keeping this promise, even if it kills me. Brightpath, I swear to you, from here on out, I'm gonna get better. I'm gonna become a cat you're proud to call your friend, despite failing to save you. Just you watch: I'll make it up to you tenfold."


(Open to multiple!)

Originally Posted by Whitewillow (Post 1272039) Bumblebee - Bumbleflight @Ritsuka The cream orange tabby padded into Willow's Rise. She walked over to Bumbleflight, who seemed rather upset. The she-cat sat down next to Bumbleflight. "Hey, Bumbleflight. I know that times like these can really get to a cat. But I want you to know if you ever need a shoulder. I'm always around." Bumblebee let out a soft smile hoping to cheer her clanmate up at least a little bit. The she-cat looked at where Brightpath lay buried in the ground. She smiled at him, letting a small tear drip down the side of her orange fur. "I may not have known you well, Brightpath, but I know your in starclan now. May the stars always light your path." Bumblebee finished her little speech and turned back to Bumbleflight.

~BUMBLEFLIGHT~

Bumbleflight heard someone approach but didn't bother to look up, keeping his eyes fixated on the grave in front of him. He couldn't really hear the other cat well, mainly due to them sitting at the side his shredded ear was, but the smell was enough to tell him it was Bumblebee. Seemed she'd come to mourn as well, huh. The tom didn't say anything to the she-cat but let out a soft grunt, acknowledging her presence. Truthfully, he'd preferred to have had someone he knew well to join him, but fate seemed to have different plans. So the dark brown tabby remained silent, tail curled around his paws, unsure on what to do next.