he had heard the yells of the loners, the cries as he was pushed away, as they ran for their lives. but he wasn’t running, not this time. he sat, utterly motionless, utterly stunned as the whole world seemed to collapse around him, again. he had thought the destruction of the serpentine dynasty was the only time he would have to watch his home burn to the ground, but that was only the beginning. the cries of the cats around him seemed to drown around him as a tear slipped down his cheek, as he closed his eyes, willing for the world to stop, as the lava flowed, reaching closer and closer. and as he willed for the noise to stop, for everyone to just pause for a moment, for a second, a familiar voice played in his ears, like a lullaby calming the storm. “i . . . i don’t forgive you, i can’t,” he had told her, his voice in barely a whisper. “not after the way you’ve looked at me all these moons, the way you’ve spoken about me, not after the way /all/ of thunderclan has spoken to me.” a pause. “but . . . it’s a start.” and she had only looked at him with the kindest eyes, she had only seen him with a pure, whole understanding. "I don't ask for all your forgiveness. All I want, is for me to try to be better,” she had told him, softly. "I don't know if I can make Thunderclan better, but I can try." his tears turned into sobs as he opened his eyes, as he looked around at all the cats fleeing for their lives. he had been so alone for all these moons, wandering through the forest, he had forgotten what it was like to be hugged. to be loved. for someone to tell him everything was okay. he missed plumsquash. he wanted to tell orcalush how much she meant to him. he should have told cherishedmirth how he always made him feel welcome, even though they had never spoken much. he should have given them all a deep, warm embrace. but now, he would never have the chance to. their territories were collapsing. the whole world was falling apart. the lava grew closer and closer, right to where he stood, until it was nearly closing in on him. he wanted to tell them he loved them. one last time. maybe his time was ending. maybe he would never see the sun rise above the horizon again. maybe he would never hear the laughs of the kits in the nursery, or the smiles on his sister's faces when he had come back to the serpentine dynasty. but maybe there was a chance maybe someone would love him back maybe he would see the warm summer days again, the mornings he would spend going out on walks in thunderclan territory, exploring everything there was to see maybe he could be happy like that again slowly, anenomedrift, the visionary, the son of the solstice, the traitor, stood up. he lifted his paws, until he broke into a light jog, and then into a run. he was going to see everyone again. he was coming back. he was going to live.
