You Promised Me...

        It was a beautiful night. The crisp breeze  gently blew, and stirred the long blades of grass in the MeadowClan territory. Pale rays of moonlight lit the ground. A she-cat and a tom were walking together. The black rosettes on the she-cat's white fur shone in the moonlight.
"I love you." purred the jet black tom, his eyes filled with love for his mate.
Leopardmoon, the she-cat, stepped closer to the tom and gently licked his cheek. "Echostorm, I love you, too."
The couple finally arrived at their favorite spot. They laid side by side at the edge of the cliff, watching the stars above twinkle and shine.
"I always like it out here. Just me and you, laying side by side on this cliff," mewed Leopardmoon.
"Yeah. And watching the stars together. And talking to each other for hours," said Echostorm.
Caught in the moment, the two stared into each others eyes, as a gentle wind swirled around the couple, shielding them from the rest of the world. The grass seemed to hum silently with the wind.
Leopardmoon looked up to the starry sky and smiled.
Leopardmoon and Echostorm laid down beside each other near the edge of the cliff.
"I remember all those times when I was an apprentice, and you were my mentor. I would put myself down a lot because I thought I was never as good as the other apprentices." reflected Leopardmoon. "I would always come crying to you and you would give me a warm smile. Then you would promise me that I would be a great warrior in time with training."
"Don't forget all your stammering. You were my apprentice who would always speak like that with anyone unless you were comfortable with them." teased Echostorm. "But in the end, you have become the great warrior that I knew you could be."
Leopardmoon chuckled in amusement.
Once again, the two fell silent, enjoying each others company.
Then Echostorm asked, "Leopardmoon, can I tell you something?"
"Sure." replied Leopardmoon.
"I promise that we'll be together as mates. Forever and always, For you are my one and only true love. I always want to be in your life and to make you happy. I'd even use my last dying breath to make you happy for one last time." meowed Echostorm, his voice sweet like chocolate and calm like a gentle creek.
Leopardmoon nuzzled her cheek against his. "I feel the same. I love you so much that my life would have been so miserable without you."
Their pelts brushed against each other and their tails entwined. The couple seemed inseparable.

                                           ~~~
The couple had fallen asleep on the cliff the other night. Delicate, golden rays of sunshine warmed up their pelts.
Echostorm began to cough a little.
Leopardmoon looked to him with concern and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." answered Echostorm, then the tom coughed a few more times.
Leopardmoon raised an eyebrow at her mate. "Let's go to camp. I need you to see Smallrose to make sure you're okay."
"Fine." agreed Echostorm.
The two padded to MeadowClan camp.
As they entered camp, a white she-cat padded up to Leopardmoon and Echostorm.
"Hi, Snowlily." said Echostorm, coughing in between.
Snowlily looked to Leopardmoon with worry in her deep violet eyes.
"Hey, sis. Echostorm is coughing and I want to take him to the medicine cat den now to see Smallrose." answered Leopardmoon.
"Okay." said Snowlily in a understanding tone.
Leopardmoon and Echostorm walked to the medicine cat den.
The she-cat nodded to one of her friends, Rainwish, who was carrying a thrush to the medicine cat den.
Rainwish smiled awkwardly with the thrush in her mouth. The feathers of the limp fresh-kill muffled the she-cat's words a bit as she said, "This is for Smallrose to eat."
The group of three stepped into the medicine cat den.
Scents of fresh herbs filled the air.
"Hi!" exclaimed a white she-cat with pale ginger paws and tail-tip.
"Hi, Smallrose." said Leopardmoon.
"Here's a thrush for you, Smallrose." meowed Rainwish, after the tortoiseshell she-cat placed the fresh-kill down.
"Umm…Do you guys need me too help?" asked Smallrose sweetly, as she looked at Echostorm, who was coughing more.
"Yes please." answered Leopardmoon.
"Okay." said Smallrose.
"Umm…I need to get back to more warrior duties now…" said Rainwish, as the she-cat shifted from paw to paw.
Leopardmoon nodded at her friend. "Bye. See you later, Rainwish."
"Bye!" exclaimed Rainwish, as she padded out of the den.
Smallrose examined the black warrior.
"Hmm…definitely…" mumbled Smallrose.
"Definitely what?!" asked Leopardmoon, her voice filled with anxiety.
"Echostorm has a mild case of whitecough." answered Smallrose.
"Okay." smiled Leopardmoon. "It's nothing too big. He'll be better in no time."
Echostorm gave a small smile to his mate.

                                           ~~~

Strangely, it had been almost two moons since Echostorm got sick with whitecough. The whitecough became greencough, becoming more serious by the day. Echostorm had to be keep in his own den underneath the roots of the tree that was in the center of the clearing.
In the medicine cat den on a leaf-bare night, Rosestar, the leader of MeadowClan, was talking to Smallrose.
"The herbs don't seem to be helping him." said Rosestar.
"I can see that, Rosestar. I'm not a mouse-brain. But I've tried as hard as I could...He's not going to make it…He's going to join StarClan soon." answered Smallrose.
Rosestar sighed. "Oh StarClan, why would you let us lose a brave warrior like this? He's a great part to the clan like every other warrior. And to make Leopardmoon suffer like this…She loves him so much… Yet she still won't lose hope on him."
"It's so sad." mewed Smallrose. "But I think we have to tell Leopardmoon."
"Yeah." answered Rosestar.
"Tell me what?" asked Leopardmoon, as the she-cat walked in with two mice, hanging by their tails, in her mouth.
The she-cat set the mice down on the ground.
"Leopardmoon…Echostorm won't live because of his serious greencough…We've tried everything, my dear…" murmured Smallrose, deep sympathy showing in her eyes.
Leopardmoon's pale violet eyes turned to icy violet slits. "I won't believe it! Echostorm's going to live! And he's going be with me and we're going to live a happy life together!"
The she-cat stormed out of the medicine cat den.
He's going to live. He has to live. I need him here with me.
Tears began to well up in her eyes. Leopardmoon looked to the side and saw Echostorm peacefully sleeping. A deep pain entered her heart. The troubled she-cat ran out of camp. She blindly ran on and on with her tears flowing down her cheeks. Finally the she-cat came to a stop. She looked at her surroundings.
Whoa…I've made it to the cliff that Echostorm and I always go to…The last time we went here was before he got sick.
More tears streamed down her face.
In all her anger and pain, the she-cat screamed to the sky and moon saying, "Why, StarClan?! Don't take Echostorm from me!!! He means the world to me!! He's my everything! And as selfish as it may seem, I need him here with me…"
The she-cat collapsed in racking sobs.
"Leopardmoon?" whispered gentle voices.
The gentle voices came from her sisters, Snowlily and Whitefern. Snowlily and Whitefern padded towards Leopardmoon.
"What's wrong, sis?" asked Whitefern.
"E-echostorm's going to d-die…" murmured Leopardmoon through her quieting tears.
"It's going to be okay." whispered Snowlily, as she gave her sister a hug.
Leopardmoon gave her a weak smile.
~~~

The next night, Leopardmoon spent her time with Echostorm. For it was becoming hard to breath for the black tom and his pulse was getting weaker. Snowflakes were falling down gently.
"I love you, my angel." rasped Echostorm.
"Huh?" asked Leopardmoon, her head tilted to the right a bit.
"You're my sweet angel. And plus you look like you have wings because of the frost and snowflakes." teased Echostorm, with coughing fits in between.
Leopardmoon giggled, despite the pain in her heart.
Then, suddenly, Echostorm took his last breath. The tom's eyes, which were usually filled with love and warmth, turned glassy as his body went limp.
Tears welled up in Leopardmoon's eyes.
As if by magic, Echostorm's spirit parted from the limp body. The spirit nudged Leopardmoon gently.
Leopardmoon looked up and gasped in surprise. Then the she-cat nuzzled her mate for the last time.
Nothing else seemed to matter to her at that moment because she was with Echostorm. Even though it was her last time with him, she was just happy to be with him. Slowly, he began to fade away.
"I love you! Don't go!" wailed Leopardmoon, as she deperately tried to keep him with her. Echostorm shook his head. The she-cat, understanding it was useless, watched the last of her mate disappear in the frosty air.
        He was gone.
        Leopardmoon laid on the ground beside the cold pelt of Echostorm.
        Then she suddenly remembered something. The promise.
        Leopardmoon looked up to the sky and whispered, "You promised me that we would be together. For forever and always. You broke the promise, but I forgive you and will never forget you." The she-cat shed a tear and murmured, "You promised me…"
The wind howled around her and snowflakes began to fall. The bitter cold wrapped around her as she cried in her pain.