i’ll sleep when i'm 6 feet deep [ebonyxhawk]

[frosty]

Ebonystar pushed herself into camp, carrying two mice by their tails. Today was a gloomy, bleak day. Clouds choked the sun, casting a bright gray light down onto the mountains. Cold breezes whispered through the wetlands, making the water in the territory frigid and unpleasant. A steady drizzle had begun falling from the lightly colored clouds earlier this morning, and had steadily gotten heavier and heavier. The dark clouds looming on the horizon promised a terrible thunderstorm, so the dark gray she-cat had worked her tail off all day to catch only two mice. The prey was likely hiding from the miserable weather but Ebonystar had wanted to catch as much as possible. The fresh-kill pile had been meager as of late. Thankfully, there were no queens or kits in the Clan to feed but that also meant less young cats. Sooner or later, the younger warriors would have to start having kits otherwise MarshClan would be horribly unbalanced. And what would Hawkstar do then? He had suggested killing cats who had begged for forgiveness at the last Gathering. Would he suggest raiding other Clans' nurseries at night to steal their kits?

Twitching her ears in terror at the idea, she padded slowly acorss the camp. Shaking the water off her thick ashy gray pelt, she found her paws had taken her straight to Hawkstar's den. Ebonystar had been meaning to speak to the tabby tom, regardless of his mental state. She needed to share her deepest, darkest secret with him - that StarClan had prophesied her death long ago. Ebonystar would have died out with the rest of VenomClan long ago if StarClan hadn't chosen her to birth two kits that never had a chance at life. Her sister, Winterfrost, had told her that she would live long enough to mother Sleetkit and Quillkit until they were warriors. Just yesterday, Hawkstar had performed the ceremony that had given Sleetstorm and Quilltail warrior status. Although Ebonystar still had three remaining lives, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have to leave MarshClan to tread the spiral path of stars in the sky.

"Hawkstar, may I please speak to you?" she meowed, her voice as calm as the frozen river. Ebonystar atleast owed it to the cat who had saved her life, and the lives of her kits. Hawkstar had accepted her and her unborn kits into the Clan after she had travelled miles away from VenomClan's destroyed territory. She would never pay back the debt she owed to the MarshClan leader, but she could atleast give him her genuine thanks and share her burden with him before she died.

[Rebecca]

Hawkstar sat alone in his dark den, a habit he had taken to only quite recently. He knew it wasn't "leaderly" (as his too-helpful son Bearheart had called it) of him to sit alone in his den for such long periods of time, away from the rest of MarshClan. But truth be told, lately Hawkstar had needed time to himself. He knew his Clan did not understand his judgement, that they were starting to mistrust him... It was hard for the supposedly mad tabby leader to look into their eyes, eyes that had once glowed with respect, and see the badly disguised malice in them. Well, perhaps it wasn't malice. But it was something, something that he found unsettling.

With a sigh Hawkstar let his mind drift to other things then the feelings of his Clan. He took a deep breath, taking in the earthy smell of his moss-covered den. His navy eyes searched the lonely den sadly, wanting so badly to see a familiar ginger form walk through. Gingerstripe, his beloved mate, the she-cat who had given him Bearheart and Brackenfur, and the she-cat who he had loved so dearly. But Gingerstripe was gone, and had not yet visited him when he spoke to StarClan. She had died when he was well into his deputyship, and had become so heartbroken that he had considered joining her by his own hand.

Luckily things had not come to that, and his destiny was realized. He sighed again, and the deep, sad sound filled the den with the anguish that its owner had inside hime. Gingerstripe was wise in not coming to him. He looked around stupidly, as if expecting her to pop in for a hello that instant. Hawkstar shook his head and looked down at his large paws. Pathetic. He had to get up and move on.

Hawkstar sat up and began to pull the moss out of his thick, brown tabby fur. He mind, clouded by greif, blankly wandered from Gingerstripe to his former apprentice, Quilltail. He wondered how she was getting on. She was a different sort of cat, that Quilltail. She was also a pretty sort of cat. Hawkstar sighed again and shook his head. He had been her mentor, and he was certain that she didn't feel anything for him and he shouldn't feel anything for her. As it should be. He thought...

Ebonystar's entrance caught him off guard as he stared blankly at the vine curtain without thought. He blinked twice, stray scraps of moss still in his pelt, and then put on a cool composure, the composure that leaders forced so often.

'Hawkstar, may I please speak to you?'

"Of course." He replied with a nod. "Will you sit down?"

[frosty]

"Of course. Will you sit down?"

Ebonystar pickd her way across the den floor of Hawkstar's den, dipping her head to the cat she owed her life to. Never once had she participated in the Clan gossiping about how 'mad' the tabby was. Ebonystar knew the pressures of being a StarClan-chosen leader; the other warriors and apprentices did not. Being a 'star was not an easy job, and perhaps it had proven too much for Hawkstar. But she knew he would perservere through the hardships and eventually restore his Clan to full power once again.

Ebonystar sat down gingerly, suddenly feeling as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders, Neatly tucked her tail over her darker gray paws, the former VenomClan leader fixed Hawkstar with her icy blue stare. It was time for the truth to come out - she atleast owed it to Hawkstar to tell him the truth if no other cat. She inhaled softly, preparing herself to reveal the secret she had kept for seasons.

"Hawkstar," she began slowly, "I have something very important to share with you. Long ago, when I came to MarshClan, heavily pregnant with Sleetstorm and Quilltail, I received a prophecy from StarClan. It haunted my pawsteps ever since my daughters were born, and now it is time for it to be fulfilled. StarClan spared my life when VenomClan was destroyed because my destiny was to raise those two kits, who never had a chance at life. Now that they're grown up, it is time for me to depart to StarClan. They have prophesized my death long ago, and only recently have the dreams become extremely vivid. I'm afraid I don't have much time left in MarshClan, but I wanted to say thank you. You saved my life all those seasons ago, and gave my kits a good home. I owe you more than I can ever repay back. And I know that when I am gone, my kits will remain safe under your care."