Thornclaw padded through the fallen foliage, the dead leaves crumbling beneath his paws. His heart felt heavy, along with his paws, and he just wanted to go back to camp.

But he had saw Blossomfall go back to camp, and right mow, he didn't want to see his former mate. But he had to tell his kits... He had to tell them, or they'd hate him for whatever was left of his lifetime. He had to see them.

The golden-brown tabby turned his blue gaze through the dark forest, the trees looming threateningly above him. But he couldn't be scared of his home. It was his home.

"Come on, Thornclaw. Get back to camp. Go tell your kits." He growled to himself quietly.

The ThunderClan warrior took a few steps, hearing the chirping of crickets in the distance, the almost mechanical repetition calming him. He shook his head, licking his lips once before continuing forward through the deciduous trees, their soothing scents calming him a bit.

A squirrel raged throtgh the trees above him, probably preparing for leaf-bare, twittering away along with the few birds that remained awake. He continued to pad through the forest, the sounds of the forest surrounding him.

He could hear the tender speaking of his Clanmates ahead, their mews echoing through the dark forest. His pace sped up, wanting to make it back to camp so he could speak to his kits.

But it was too late. As he padded into camp, calling out Eaglepaw's name, his daughter turned her head, looking at her father with tears in her eyes.

At that moment, Thornclaw broke. He felt everything fall apart. His legs just seemed to break as he fell to the floor, his heartache worse than anything else.

First he lost his former mate's respect, then he lost his kits' love. He couldn't take it. It was too much for him. He could hear his kits' voices callimg his name as he succumbed to the threatening darkness in his gaze, its emptiness seeming like comfort.

--

"Thornclaw! Wake up! Thornclaw! Dad!" A distant yowling could be heard. It sounded almost panicked. It was afraid and worried, tense. "Please, dad! Please wake up!"

A sort of wet substance fell onto Thornclaw's cheek, making its path down his face, stopping at his chin. It stayed there, stone cold and resting.

It was as if the one tear triggered an emotional reaction within the normally serious tom. A tear came from his eye, winding down his face, landing on the moss he was laying on.

Wait, moss? Where was he?

His light blue eyes opened, and he spotted the ginger pelt of his daughter, Eaglepaw, her eyes closed, tears trickling down the sides of her face, her muscles tense with fear.

"Please, dad... Please come back!" She cried, not noticing that her father had opened his eyes, and saw her crying.

"E-eaglepaw..." He whispered, his voice  hoarse. "I'm here... I'm awake..."

"T-Thornclaw?" She whispered, opening her beautiful eyes. "Y-you're awake! Dad, you're awake! I have to tell Stempaw, Shellpaw and Plumpaw. They'll be thrilled! They're training now, but I asked Berrynose if I could stay in. He told me I could."

"Oh, that's great..." He whispered, lifting his head up. "What happened?"

"Well, you just fell... Jayfeather wouldn't let us near you... But Leafpool told us that you had a heart attack... She said she was surprised that you were still alive... I remember Purdy went quick when he had his, erm, heart attack..." She whispered, obviously not knowing much about the dead elder. "I don't..."

"Yeah... He did, unfortunately." Thornclaw replied, licking his lips. "I had a heart attack?! How long was I out for?!"

"Just a few days. You're awake now, though! Good thing... I didn't want to lose my dad. Also, Brightheart and Brackenfur are coming over soon. They're really worried about you... So are Sorreltail and Brackenfur's kits. Cloudtail and Whitewing are worried... But more so just Brackenfur and Brightheart. I'm sure that, erm, Cinderpelt would be too, if she was here."

"Oh... That's a lot of cats. I need to go see Brightheart and Brackenfur. Can I go?" He asked, beginning to stand up.

Jayfeather entered the den, followed closely by Alderheart and Leafpool, all of them holding herbs in their mouths. Alderheart looked to Thornclaw and Eaglepaw, his eyes widening slightly. He whapped Leafpool with his tail, the medicine cat turning her head to the patient, placing down her herbs, rushing over.

"Thornclaw! You're awake! Good! Stand up! Let me see how you are!" She mewed enthusiastically, her eyes bright. "I'm sure you can see Blossomfa-"

The brown tabby closed her jaws, as if suddenly remembering. She looked to Eaglepaw, motioning for the apprentice to move out of the way. Thornclaw winced, flattening his ears. He stood up, stretching his golden-brown legs, his blue eyes hopeful.

"I'm feeling fine! Quite well, actually! I need to go see my littermates. Can I?" He asked, sounding like a kit, despite his old age. "Please?"

"Okay." Leafpool sighed, blinkimg. "But make it quick. I don't want you getting injured. Or anything!"

The ThunderClan warrior nodded, taking a few steps to the entrance, looking out nervously, though, by the way his eyes sparked happily, you wouldn't be able to tell. He padded out, his claws dug into the ground, only to find camp mostly empty. Briarlight was at the fresh-kill pile, her paws on top of Blossomfall's, obviously trying to comfort the calico, who looked extremely upset.

His former mate glanced over, her yellow eyes narrowing when she spotted the golden-brown tabby. She turned back to her sister, who looked over, looking back to Blossomfall.

"Hey, Thornclaw!" He heard his name, turning his head to the source.

He was almost knocked down when a pelt almost identical ran into him, purring loudly. It was Brackenfur, who looked incredibly happy. Yet his muzzle was flecked with gray, his amber eyes tired. Old age was reaching his brother.

"Brackenfur! Yes, I'm awake! Amazing, huh?" He joked, chuckling. "I'm glad. Where's Brightheart? Eaglepaw told me you two were on patrols, or something..."

"Brightheart is out with Whitewing. They're talking. I think that Whitewing is expecting kits again. That's just a guess, but she was looking a bit plump, last time I saw her." He laughed, winking to his brother. "I don't know. It's a guess."

"Oh. I can't wait to see her! Do you think she'll be happy? I hope she will... Have you seen Spiderleg?" He asked, wrinkling his nose. "I need to talk with him..."

"No. But of course she'll be happy! You two were the close ones, like Cinderpelt and I were... Too bad she's gone. But at least I have Cinderheart!"

"At least." The blue-eyed tom let out a sigh of relief, blinking. "Here, I'll be back."

"Okay. And Spiderleg might be sleeping, I did hear he was on the dawn patrol. He might be tired." The golden-brown tabby mewed, loojing around. "I'll go with you. I have nothing else to do."

Thornclaw sighed, knowing that his brother was still grieving his mate. Sorreltail had been his love. She didn't even have to die, but she had. At least he had most of his kits..

"Okay, thanks," he mewed. "I don't want to talk to Blossomfall. I almost feel bad..." He whispered, beginning to pad away.

"You shouldn't. I know, you think you should, and she might be upset. But you'll eventually be friends again, like Spiderleg and Daisy." He mewed, a thought suddenly obviously coming to his mind. "Oh! Is that why you want to talk to Spiderleg? He might understand!"

"Partially." Thornclaw whispered, speeding up, the stone making an echoing sound beneath his paws. "We're also kind of friends."

"Oh, okay."

As the two brother's padded into the warrior's den, Brackenfur padded away to his nest, obviously tired and done with the day. They were getting old. They would be elders soon enough. But Thornclaw stayed up, his shoulders sagging in defeat when he didn't spot the familiar rise and fall of the brown and black tom's chest.

The golden-brown tom padded out, only to be interrupted by someone running into him, knocking him down, their paws on his chest. He blinked, recognizing the familiar scarred face of his sister, Brightheart, her calico pelt glistening in the sunlight, her eyes bright, a huge smile on her face. She could still have been a new warrior, with how youthful she looked. The only indication of her gradual aging was her muzzle, which was slightly flecked with gray. Her whiskers twitched happily, distracting him for a moment.

"Oh! Brightheart! You surprised me!" He purred, pushing his sister off. "I don't know if my old bones can take any more of that!" He joked, his tail curled happily.

"Oh, please! We're not that old... Are we?" She asked, her eye suddenly lit up with confusion.

"We kind of are... Only 2 moons younger than Graystripe. That's old." He mewed, looking a bit nostalgically at the entrance. "Remember when we first got here? Never thought I'd live that long..."

"Hey, me neither! At least us three are alive, huh? Too bad never got to see the lake, though. She would have loved it here..."

The golden-brown tabby nodded in agreement, looking at the ground sadly, scraping his paw across the unnaturally smooth stone sadly. He grunted, looking up to his sister, directly meeting her eye.

"Brightheart... I feel bad... I mean, I just left Blossomfall," he murmured, looking down for a moment. "Should I ask her to be my mate again?"

"Thornclaw," his sister mewed, padding right in front of him, touching noses with him. "Do you love Blossomfall?"

"No... I don't..."

"Then my answer to you is no. If you don't love her, you're fine without anyone. It's okay." She purred, nuzzling him. "Now, go find whoever you were looking for, Thornclaw."

The tom nodded, turning his head, spotting Spiderleg's bright amber eyes staring straight at him, an indescribably emotion in them. He looked over, feeling his pelt burn with embarrassment. They needed to talk.