Hi Too Loo Rye (Songfic)

"oa is Hop Along, Queen Ansleis""AU"

Hi, Too Loo Rye
Lionblaze was sitting in Jayfeather’s den, being absent-minded background noise as he helped with herbs, with help of Briarlight.

“Brother, once I awoke as an old cat. My name was Lion’s Roar.”

--

He threw pebbles at anyone who passed his nest.

He didn’t know why, but, he didn’t throw them at the kits, so he thought he was a good guy.

A dark gray tom came in and pressed his nose to his forehead.

“Hi!” he exclaimed, “Too-loo rye!”

Lion’s Roar broke out into a coughing fit. He soon swallowed and smiled again. He looked at the nest in the cave with him. Silver Frost and Snow Hare were long gone and soon enough, he’d see his mate Misty Water again. Maybe even Broken Feather was waiting for him.

“It’s the day before I die,” he said somberly, looking past the tom to watch a casting, “So why, is everybody walking by?” he wheezed, “I wanna sigh, I wanna cry alongside my… family…”

And like that, he was gone.

(...)

Lionblaze came in first thing next morning.

“Brother once I awoke as a… cat squirrel.”

--

Petal jumped from tree to tree to tree to tree. Her two kits were behind her, her very own since Misty had died. Oh, she hated Misty, but her kits commited to crime. Birch was eating an acorn and Alder was eating a beetle, and Petal didn’t have the heart to stop them.

Yes, living with Clear Sky was perfect for her. Leaping from branches is how it felt to fly.

It didn’t feel like quite so long later, but Petal was sick. Terribly, terribly sick. She needed the blazing star, but no one had any idea what the blazing star was.

She couldn’t die until she repaid Clear Sky for helping her.

“Too loo rye,” she cried, her kits coughing around her. “Tomorrow I could die.” She tried to stand, looking to Clear Sky and hoping he’d get the hint, “So I’m gonna climb the pines and half myself a time.”

Suddenly she managed to cough her life out of herself.

(...)

Lionblaze didn’t give either cats a greeting this morning.

“Brother I dreamt that I died last night. See, I was a leader…”

--

Lionstar had fought just a little too long, and clawed at SkyClan until he’d lost a live. The mottled black tom clawed at him one last time for good measure before running back screaming, realizing what he had done.

Lionstar had a hundred ambush ideas in his head, but once he arrived in StarClan and saw that haunting faint image of himself glow brighter, he’d forgotten them all.

He’d opened his eyes again to see the cat he’d come to know as Greeneyes dragging him away to camp, hissing and spitting every so often to get his fur out of her mouth. Lionstar hummed and stood, wobbling. StarClan wouldn’t have the rest of him today. Greeneyes purred and pressed her muzzle into his neck.

The second they entered camp, their son Vinekit was going to do the same to Lionstar’s belly fur.

“You’re the warmest cat in the clan, dad!” he exclaimed as Greeneyes picked him up by the scruff to deliver both of them to the nursery. He made his way to the medicine den.

Watching this, Lionblaze wondered if Greeneyes had become Cinderpelt like she’d become Cinderheart.

“I thought that I had died,” he admitted as he entered the medicine den.

(...)

That night he was asleep in the nursery, curled up to Cinderheart and their newborn kits. He closed his eyes and were met with cats, swearing he’d dreamed of being all of them.

Lion’s Roar, Petal, Lionstar, Sunnytail, Specklepelt, Lightningpelt…

He closed watery eyes and beamed. He finally understood. Jayfeather was Jay’s Wing, Dovewing was Dove’s Wing, he was all these cats. He wondered what other cats his brother and apprentice had been.

He didn’t have very much time before both cats came into the den, Dovewing purring and tapping Lionblaze’s nose to hers while Jayfeather ran his paws over the three kits.

“Brother, we’re alright.”