i want you to leave me alone - o,

Ever since Featherear had shown back up in camp in the wake of the hurricane, Rhine had felt bad that he wasn't able to do more for her. Yes, he had given her the medicine cat position out of necessity and because she seemed suited for it, but he didn't think of that as a gift. That was just him acknowledging her skill, and making sure that she put it to use. What he so desperately wished he could've done for her, was reassure her that her brother was alright. He was lucky enough to still have Weepingkit around, but if the other had been swept up in the storm? He never would've been able to forgive himself, and he couldn't imagine how Featherear must've been feeling. He had spent several days after the hurricane just... searching. Searching for anyone and everyone that he had lost during the frantic dash for the forest. Most of all, he had been looking for Haystripe, trying to figure out whether or not Feather's brother could truly still be alive. He could've been, just trapped somewhere, starving and waiting for them to come rescue him. Alas, his searches had always come up empty, and he had always felt the faintest bit guilty looking over at the medicine den.

The shrill wail that Featherear let out would've been enough to wake anyone from the most death-like of sleeps, and Rhinestone's head had shot up in horror. He had just been trying to get in a few extra minutes of sleep before he got up for the day, but it seemed as though fate was not having that. He wasn't even really sure where he was going as he stumbled forth from his nest, shaking sand from his pelt, but he knew that he needed to find the source of the scream. Thankfully, Feather's scent was still fairly fresh on the air, and it wasn't long before he was following the medicine cat's trail, going considerably faster along it than she had been. In fact, Rhine barely managed to stop himself before he fell into the very same hole as Featherear, recoiling when another, terribly familiar scent filled his nose. Looking down over the lip of the hole, Rhinestonestar's heart sank when he saw Featherear there, along with Haystripe's corpse. It took everything in him not to vomit, his heart sinking at the sight of the other tom. That guaranteed that there was no chance of him still being alive, but at least it also gave some sense of closure.

With his tail faintly shaking and twitching behind him, the leader cleared his throat, speaking in a gentle tone, "F... Featherear. You just try and get up, alright? We'll lift you out of there, and we'll... we'll..." The leader hesitated, his gaze pained as his ears flattened down against his skull. After taking a moment to compose himself, he continued, "...We'll bury him, alright? We'll hold a vigil for him, to give him a proper send-off to Starclan." He wasn't sure how much comfort his words would truly provide, but what else was he supposed to say? It wasn't as if he could bring Haystripe back.

RHINESTONESTAR - PALMCLAN - PENNED BY STILLY

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