Epilogue

The stench of marigold reeked around Mossblaze. Not only did it come from the poultice rubbed along her shoulder and leg, but from the others resting in the medicine cat den. Beside her, Ravenshadow slumbered with his head resting against her wounded flank. It was hard not to smile at his sleeping face. At least there was something to smile about given the death hold on camp.

It was a few days after the battle. The cats that had died were honored not only by their Clan, but by all the Clans. When Bluestar rolled off all the names of the cats that had died, the Clan was completely quiet. At Brindleface's name, her kits were in a stunned silence that frightened some of the warriors. To lose a parent at such a young age was a terrible thing. Mossblaze knew that, and her wounds had been reopened very recently.

Featherfur had died shortly after giving birth to one, single kit. Her last words, according to Willowpelt, were that she loved her daughter and that she wanted her kit to be named Wolfkit, despite its gender. Mossblaze and Spottedleaf arrived too late to help the queen. But, shortly afterwards, Frostfur went into labor. Right now the white queen was a surrogate to Mossblaze's little sister.

Though Mossblaze had her doubts, once she saw the kit's sweet face, her heart melted. Once her physical wounds were healed, she'd visit Wolfkit every day. That was a promise she made to her mother, whether the queen heard it in StarClan or not. At least Featherfur was reunited with Leopardstripe, Wolfkit, and watching over Sunkit and Icekit. Thinking about all of them triggered her shattered heart. After all the loss she'd experienced, she was lucky it didn't shatter her ability to love. She knew she'd always love Ravenshadow and now she had a new cat to love: Wolfkit.

Cloverpaw came in, carrying a rabbit. She placed the tawny prey in front of Mossblaze. With a smile, she left. The apprentice had been taking care of her mentor since the battle. It showed Mossblaze just how much she cared.

"How are you doing?" Fireheart called from the entrance. Once he saw Ravenshadow was asleep, he flattened his ears. Sheepishly, he joined his friend. Mossblaze purred and rubbed her cheek against her friend's. Once Cindersky heard of Brackenstorm's death, she refused to leave the warrior's den. The only cat who managed to get through to her was Fireheart. Mossblaze was surprised he left her alone long enough to come talk to her. Not that she was complaining. She missed her best friend.

"Better than earlier. I can't stand for very long though." she replied. Fireheart smiled sympathetically. Twitching his ears, he heard Maplepaw rummaging through the herbs. Apparently Frostfur needed some borage.

"You'll get better soon, deputy." he purred. She snorted softly at the tease. Since she was named deputy, she hadn't done much of her duties. Whitestorm was taking over since she was injured. She was thankful to the tom for doing so.

"Trust me, it won't be too long." she meowed. Her flank twitched as Ravenshadow stirred. A marigold-horsetail poultice covered his entire belly. Spottedleaf ordered him to move as little as possible. He agreed as long as he was near Mossblaze.

"I had the craziest dream. Flying badgers were chasing me." Ravenshadow muttered. Fireheart chuckled, causing the injured to tom to look at his friend. He smiled then noticed the fresh prey. With a growling stomach, he took a few bites.

"Don't worry, there are no flying badgers out there." Fireheart meowed. Ravenshadow rolled his eyes playfully before turning back to the prey. Mossblaze purred and took a nibble out of the rabbit. Seeing how hungry they were, Fireheart dismissed himself. He was beginning to worry about Cindersky.

Once finished, Ravenshadow fell asleep. Spottedleaf said sleep was the best thing for him to recover. Following his suit, Mossblaze rested her head on paws. For the first time in a while, she didn't see blood or dead bodies.

Instead, she was running through her territory, chasing a rabbit. It dashed under a log. The squeeze was too tight, so she gave up. Clawing her way back, she sat on a small patch of grass. Birds sang around her, sounding beautiful. Puffy clouds slowly trailed across the pale blue sky. It was serene and enjoyable.

A bush rustled. When she looked, she saw a flash of striped tabby fur. Instantly, her fur puffed up as her claws unsheathed. Fearing the worst, she stalked toward the movement. A muzzle came in view. It eerily looked like Tigerclaw's, causing her fears to grow.

The cat leapt out of the bush. The only thing she focused on was the eyes. Instead of one amber eye and a socket, she saw two perfectly fine eyes.

And they were icy blue.

Thank you for reading Shattered Love. I hope you enjoyed the ride. The sequel for Shattered Love is titled Destined Paths. While you wait for it, check out Forgotten Stars, my other warrior story involving Sky and her past. Now, time for a few quick stats as of when this (the epilogue) was originally posted.

Published: 11 August 2009

Finished: 7 July 2012

Amount of words: 164,816

Number of hits: 13,113

Chapters: 40, 44 with allegiances

Number of reviews prior to last four chapters: 177

Amount of users who favorited Shattered Love: 32

Amount of users who had Shattered Love on their alerts: 16

Again, thanks to everyone who has read this, my first completed fanfic. I hope to bring the world of Fanfiction even more stories and share them with the world.

Sincerely,

Kawakage