Blackthorn’s silhouette fell across the moonlit den entrance as he shadowed the archway, his body language lingering and uncertain. A young hare swung from his jaws, which he placed beside Edgefrost’s nest letting his whiskers run over his ears as a way of intimate greeting among grieving kinsmen.
“You should eat,” His voice was barely above a whisper, so as not to disturb the other occupants. “The kits are fast asleep, and starvation benefits none of us.” Blackthorn tried his best to school his voice into a compassionate one, though it took a herculean effort on his part. Their mutual loss clawed at his insides like a hunger that could not be satiated. The only thing stopping him from taking off to search for Snowstar himself was the knowledge that it would do Edgefrost and the kits no good to lose another cat that they cared for. And care for him they did, much as he was mystified by it. What had he ever done for any of them? For Snowstar, now he would never know.
Blackthorn simply nodded, he had little advice to offer where childrearing was concerned. He could have hardly imagined any of them would be parents way back then. Let alone the predicament they faced now.
“Eh?” He was genuinely caught off guard by Edgefrost’s question, and couldn’t help but laugh a little. It was hardly appropriate- he knew. But his own situation was such a parody of a balanced response. He found it funny, even if the scars still smarted a bit. “You know what I did, Edge, I decided to be her even if it meant denying everything I already was.” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t recommend that coping mechanism.”
He got to his feet.
“Yeah, let’s get you out of here.” He grinned weakly, and led the way out.
“I don’t know what to do either honestly. But I can only promise to be by your side.”