Sun Mote Copse I'm not about to fight until the last of me dies

Hearing her child's distressed cry made Wildfire hiccup herself into silence. She blinked wetly at the concerned little girl, biting her lip as she pondered how to explain herself. Should she lie? No, she immediately decided that she wasn't going to leave this life by misleading her child, making the inevitable loss hurt all the worse. But how on earth could she convey what all of this meant to someone as young as Weejay? There was absolutely no way this wasn't going to have a huge impact on her one way or another and there was nothing Wildfire could do but try to cushion the blow.

"I'm sad," she began, feeling herself choking up and breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth to try to calm herself, "because I have to go away and I'm going to miss you. I don't want to leave." As she said these words, she dropped down to the pup's level to look her in the eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her voice shook as she willed Weejay to understand that, "I love you so, so, so much. I would never leave you or your brother on purpose. But I'm—" Her voice wavered dangerously and Wildfire wasn't sure she could continue.

For the moment, while she tried to collect herself, she leaned forward so their foreheads bumped gently together. Her eyes closed and she breathed in Weejay's—her final daughter's—scent, which was intertwined with her last son's, as well as her mate's. "Your daddy and Elfie will be here with you," she found the strength to whisper, "and I'll be with you in spirit, always. Do you know what 'spirit' means, Weejay?"