a star born from the fire [VA]

[Wingnettle]

Lynxshade strained her neck to the moon. She had closed her eyes and was standing straight, letting the cool breeze ruffle her fur in a peaceful symphony.
Little stars, one shinier than the other, danced in the black orbit and kept her company. Tonight, she felt more hopeful than she had in a long time. Tonight she didn't feel lonely.

Are you there, my brother?

She had desperately wanted to reach Starclan for so many moons, stretching her paws to grab one warrior from their perfect lands just to ask them one question. But I'll never have this chance on this earth, won't I?
She opened her eyes again. One tear was twinkling there, without having any obvious intention of trickling down her cheek.

The guilt had trapped her for a long time, surrounded her heart, and closed her mind. It was her fault if Tigersun wasn't there, was it? Because she had abandoned him.

An eerie crackle, and a whole life was struck down in a fraction of a moment.
The red image of a forest in fire stormed in her brain, but the scariest part kept repeating itself all over again at the center of it: dark gray cat legs coming out from underneath a huge tree, a collapsed symbol of the place she once had called home.

No blood.

But she could swear that, at the same moment that the tree fell down, she could hear the sound of his brother's spine breaking in a terrifying cracking.

Where was his spirit now?
This question had tormented her since then, and even now she couldn't be sure of the answer. If only she could talk to Starclan...

Only for a moment...

She would ask
whether his beloved brother
had followed her
on the star trail
that had led her
to a clan of cats.

She would pray Starclan...
to let Tigersun join them.

...Would they?

Lynxshade stared at the constellations above her head. No, Tigersun wouldn't have left her.
She needed to have faith that in that same sky... her brother was one of those stars.
The brightest one.