Never Left Your Side

He was watching. Of course he was watching.

The starry forests, plains, deserts he roamed were beautiful, dappled in starlight - the rivers that cut through the ethereal landscape pure moonshine, lapping lightly at sapphire shores. Echoing laughter of kits was audible in the air, silvery pelts tumbling and chasing eachother on starry paws. He was surrounded by familiar cats, those who had passed alongside him, luminescent pelts of those long forgotten.They had welcomed him with open paws, initiated them into their starry ranks, some with scorn in their gaze, others with sorrow. But still they had taken him in as one of their own.

But nothing in this cosmic landscape compared to her beauty. The silver trees seemed bare, lifeless, without her smiling eyes beside him, empty without her laughter. The throngs of hundreds of cats lonely company, for only she could fill the void inside his heart. As soon he had entered the land of the dead, he had turned his eyes to the world of the living, golden eyes forever alert, forever watching, a beam of sunlight stuck in the night sky.

It was, in the simplest of terms, a faux-pas for those of lower ranks to cross realms, to set paw beyond their starry landscape. Not strictly forbidden, but entirely unaccepted by those who had trodden the land of the Spirits, StarClan, for years long forgotten. Some, more familiar faces had warned that he shouldn't dare return, for the homesickness that would surely set in would be too great to bear. But he didn't listen. He turned his head away from the stars, eyes set on the earth.

Her.

He emerged into the world a misty shadow, an echo of something that once was, a ghostly reminder of one that had long since passed. The moonlight streamed through him, dappling the snow with its crystalline touch. He felt no warmth on his fur. His chest was void of a heartbeat. But he could feel its ache, as at last, she came into view.

She was just as beautiful as she had been when he had passed. He had comforted himself in his last moments with images of her, dancing in his mind. He could still remember the voice his mind had created, encouraging him it was alright to let go, to give in. And he had made that cat, the one who owned his heart, the one who he had gifted his last of breath a promise. I'll never leave you.

A silent, heart wrenching purr emerged from the starry tabby's throat as he descended invisible steps from the sky towards the form of his mate, a sudden warmth - a sensation he hadn't felt since his last day on earth - wafting from his body, wrapping around his love in a warm cocoon. He had pressed his ghostly muzzle to hers, murmured words of comfort when her tears refused to give in, when they ran dry, and all she could do was close her eyes and give in to restless sleep.
He wasn't sure if she could feel it, but he was there.

He was there beside her as her fur began to mat, lose its shine, as her movements grew listless. He was there when she tipped her muzzle to the sky, calling out to him, her voice cracked with tears. He was there when she could not speak any more words, instead pleaded silently, wishing, hoping.  He was there to comfort her when her dreams were filled with restless, stormy waves, threatening to take her under with their icy paws.

And he was there as her stomach began to grow, show signs of plumpness beneath a ragged, scarred pelt. When the first sign of their children began to show, even though she'd yet to know. He had pressed his starry ear against her stomach, wrapped around her, promised her he was right beside her, always would be.  He'd felt ghostly tears drop from his pelt, entering the living world with a whoosh of almost undetectable, cold air. Tears of joy, of longing, of love, regret that he had left so soon. Left her.
Left them.
He was going to be a father.  

And he was there, beside her, when she had at last discovered the new life blooming inside her, the seeds of their love that would soon sprout into massive oaks. When she cried out for him that night, he was there, his tail resting on hers, his breath whispering comfort in her ear.

A tiny tickle of air brushed against the she-cat's cheek, and Sunstorm closed his tear-laden eyes, for the first time since he had left the world feeling warmth enter his chest once more, filling the void that being without her had left. And he made her a promise, a silent vow for only her ears to hear, the one of earth and the one of sky twined together, his paw rested on hers.

He was there.

He had always been there.

He always would be, by her side, forever.