It was getting close to sunhigh when Squirrelflight and Brackenfur ended the battle training. Lionblaze, Berrynose, and I had tagged along with Foxpaw, Icepaw, and their mentors to see what it was like to have an apprentice. Foxpaw's mentor was Squirrelflight, and Icepaw's mentor was Whitewing. My father, Brackenfur had taken control of Icepaw's training when Whitewing, expecting Birchfall's kits, moved into the nursery. I turned back to look at the two young apprentices and their mentors in the mossy clearing. Sunlight shone on Foxpaw's reddish-brown tabby pelt, making him look like a great ball of flame, as he bounced around Squirrelflight's paws. Icepaw was sitting next to Brackenfur, her pretty white fur ruffled from the training. Lionblaze, who was leading us back to camp, stopped next to an oak tree and swung his golden tabby head to look at Berrynose and me.
"Would you two want to stop and find something to eat before we head back to camp?" Lionblaze asked.
Berrynose spoke first, "I could use some prey, how about you, Honeyfern?"
"I could eat," I answered. Berrynose brushed his cream-colored muzzle against mine and licked my forehead. I looked into his amber eyes and whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too," he answered, rubbing his head on mine. Lionblaze shuffled his paws awkwardly on the fallen leaves on the forest floor. Berrynose and I pulled away from each other, and we turned to look at Lionblaze.
"Alright, Lionblaze, where do you think we should hunt?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"This is actually a nice place to hunt. The Clan always thinks that prey hides away from the camp, but sometimes prey is smart and lives closer, knowing that we will hunt farther out," Berrynose mewed. I was surprised by Berrynose's knowledge of the forest, he wasn't the smartest tom, nor was he the dumbest, but I loved him anyway.
Lionblaze nodded and ran off into the trees. Berrynose followed, and I went after him. It was a warm day for the heart of leaf-bare; snow had not even fallen yet. The wind ruffled my light brown tabby fur, and ferns swished every time one of us would run past them. I pushed harder with my paws and got in front of Berrynose. He playfully nipped my hind leg and began to pick up the pace. Berrynose pulled in front of me, but he tripped on a tree trunk. He cursed under his breath and continued to run.
Lionblaze started to slow down in front of me so I did the same. Berrynose obviously didn't notice still focused on recovering from his fall, and the mouse-brain crashed into me. We landed in a bramble thicket, and I let out a purr of amusement. Berrynose licked my cheek, and I licked his. We got up from our landing spot, and the two of us shook out our fur. Berrynose was still shaking his fur by the time I was done; my fur was shorter than his and easier to shake out. I began to walk out of the brambles when I was pulled backwards. My tail had gotten caught in the thicket.
Berrynose noticed and purred. "My tail didn't get caught."
"That's because your tail was torn off by that fox trap! And don't make fun of me. Help me get out of here!"
"What's the magic word?" Berrynose asked mockingly.
"Berrynose, if you want to keep the rest of your stumpy tail, I suggest you help me, please," I hissed. The bramble thicket was digging into my tail, and every time I moved it, it felt as if someone was biting it harder and harder. Berrynose worked on the thicket for a little bit, and then I felt my tail become loose. I pulled it out and jumped away from the bramble thicket. Berrynose padded over to me and licked my forehead. "Should we get started on that hunting now?" I asked.
"Sure," Berrynose nodded. I nodded too and then padded slowly towards a hazel thicket. Pushing my way quietly through the thicket, I crept forward towards a rustling underneath a leaf by an alder tree. I stopped to taste the air, and I was happy to find that it was upwind of me; my scent would not flow to the prey. The prey smelled like a mouse, and I quietly crept forward. The leaf moved and the gray-brown furred creature scurried out. Before it could go anywhere, I leaped and caught it in my paws. Hooked on one of my claws, the mouse struggled to get free. I delivered the killing bite, and thanked StarClan for its life.
When I returned to the crushed bramble thicket, Berrynose had a thrush at his paws, and I sat next to him. Lionblaze returned a few heartbeats late with a fat squirrel in his jaws. He glanced at the destroyed brambles and then at us. "What happened here?"
"Well, mouse-brain here crashed into me, and my tail got stuck in the brambles," I mewed.
Lionblaze purred. The golden tabby tom padded over to us and devoured his squirrel. I ate my mouse, the warm prey soothing my slowly growing hunger. After we had finished, I stood up along with Lionblaze and Berrynose. We began to pad back to camp as my thoughts went back to Foxpaw and Icepaw, "They're doing so well. Did you see how high Icepaw can leap?"
"And Foxpaw can dodge really quickly," Lionblaze agreed. "Squirrelflight made them practice that move over and over again, and they've both got it now."
Berrynose stopped beside me and yawned. "I feel like lying in the sun for a bit to catch my breath. I wonder if Mousefur will let us have a turn on the basking rocks."
"Good idea," Lionblaze meowed.
Berrynose and I pushed our way through the thorn tunnel and Lionblaze followed behind us. I slowed down to pad beside Lionblaze while Berrynose ran up to Longtail, Mousefur, and Purdy, who were lying on the rocks.
When I got closer, I realized that Mousefur and Longtail were fast asleep, but Purdy was telling them a story. "So my Upwalker, he says to me 'Purdy, there's only you can get rid of this mouse, and—ʼ" Purdy broke off when he spotted the three of us.
"Hi, Purdy," Lionblaze greeted the old tabby tom. "We were wondering if we could bask here with you for a bit. We've been training all morning, and we're tired."
"Young cats today—no stamina," the brown tabby grumbled. Purdy rose to his old and shaky paws, stretched, and prodded Mousefur and Longtail.
Mousefur quickly raised her wiry brown head, "What?"
"These young'uns want to bask," Purdy explained to the old she-cat.
I was sure that Mousefur was going to snap at us and tell us to go lay on the shore, but she didn't object. "I suppose so. We'll even leave the rocks to you, providing one of you brings a bit of fresh-kill to our den. I could just eat a good plump vole," Mousefur muttered.
"I'll do that," I, bounding off to the fresh-kill pile, offered. I went through the contents of the fresh-kill pile, and at the bottom I found a vole and a squirrel. The elders were going off into their nests, and I bounded over to the hazel bush den. I pushed my head through the entrance and put the vole in front of Mousefur and set the squirrel in between Longtail and Purdy. When I left the den, Lionblaze and Berrynose were already jumping up on the rocks, and I followed.
Berrynose scooted over when I reached him so I could lie down. Lionblaze sat on the rock next to us, sprawled out. The rocks were very warm, and the sun, heating my pelt, spilled onto the rocks. The entrance to the bramble nursery shook, and Mille, Briarkit, Bumblekit, and Blossomkit came out. I began to groom Berrynose's fur as we watched the three kits play. Bumblekit swatted at Blossomkit, and Briarkit came in and nipped Blossomkit's leg while swiping Bumblekit's paws out from underneath him.
Berrynose lowered his muzzle to where it was less than a mouse-length away from my ear. "We'll have kits like that one day," he purred.
I looked up at him, blue eyes meeting amber eyes, and mewed, "I'd like that."
Berrynose licked my shoulder lovingly. "You'll make a wonderful mother." We began to focus on the kits again as Briarkit yelled to her littermates.
"Watch me! Watch me! I can leap higher than any cat!" Briarkit yelled from across the clearing.
"No, you can't, I can!" Bumblekit argued with his sister. I watched Briarkit leap into the air and then fall over to where she was next to a crevice in the wall of the hollow.
"I bet you can't do this!" Briarkit balanced on her hind legs with her forepaws reaching high into the air. Then, my heart stopped when I saw a dark shadow rear up towards Briarkit. The brown she-kit was too involved in playing to notice the creature. I focused my eyes and saw what it really was. Snake! I gathered my muscles and sprang. Briarkit was shoved out of the way by my paws. The snake arched its neck, and I tried to leap away; I wasn't fast enough though, its fangs dug into my shoulder.
A sharp pain filled my body and my whole body felt as if it were on fire. I fell back with a screech, "Help!"
Berrynose was off the rocks and by my side in an instant. I saw Briarkit beside Millie out of the corner of my eye; at least the little she-kit was safe. I was still in shock though, the pain seared through my blood, and my paws were splayed in weird positions. I felt blood seeping out of the wound in my shoulder and was wondering where Leafpool was. Three cats, a tortoiseshell, a golden-brown tabby, and a gray tabby rushed to her side: my mother, Sorreltail, my father, Brackenfur, and my littermate, Cinderheart.
My mother buried her muzzle into Brackenfur's shoulder. "No… oh, no…" Sorreltail whispered. "I can't lose another kit! Not after Molepaw! Please, StarClan…"
I was happy when I heard the soft mew of Leafpool. "Stand back and give me some room," the medicine cat ordered the surrounding crowd.
"I'm not leaving," Berrynose snarled. I tried to purr at his worriedness over me. Oh, how much I love him.
Leafpool put one of her white paws on my shoulder. "Try not to move."
I tried to obey her orders, but the pain was too intense to try and do anything. I was trembling, harder than ever, and I was beginning to wonder why Leafpool wasn't giving me any herbs. Why wasn't Leafpool helping me? Does she want me to die? "Help me!" I writhed in pain. "My blood is on fire! Help me, please! It hurts so much!"
Berrynose glared at Leafpool, "Do something." There was a slight hint of begging in his voice. He looked around at the cats gathered and screeched, "One of you, do something!"
My breathing began to slow, and dark spots filled my vision. I knew that I would be joining StarClan soon, before Berrynose and I were going to have kits. I would never have kits, watch them grow, or move into the elders' den with Berrynose when we grew old. Leafpool's amber gaze drifted down at me as I continued to hold on to life.
Sorreltail slid out her claws and was ready to spring at the medicine cat. "Why aren't you doing anything?"
Leafpool lowered her head, "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "There's nothing I can do. The poison has taken hold of her."
Sorreltail looked up at the sky and screamed in sorrow. Brackenfur wrapped his tail around her shoulders and drew her close to him. I folded my legs towards my belly, and my back arched because of the pain. A spasm passed through my body, and I, lying limply, was barely breathing. My legs continued to twitch, and my eyes began to glaze over. Berrynose was the last thing I saw, but I could still hear.
Berrynose's soft mew sounded from beside me. "We would have had wonderful kits together. Just as strong and beautiful as you. And one day I'll see you in StarClan," he whispered.
I tried to say 'I love you,' but my jaws wouldn't let the words come out. Berrynose continued, "You saved Briarkit's life." He bent his head down and licked my head. "Every cat in StarClan will honor you." I, giving up on life, sighed heavily. I could no longer hear, see, or smell until the light came.
I opened my eyes, their pupils focusing to the light. My gaze drifted towards my paws; there were little stars surrounding my pelt, and it looked as if my pelt were glowing. The sun shined brightly in the sky overhead. It warmed my light brown tabby pelt and I wallowed in it. I sat for a while, and then I remembered. Lionblaze, Berrynose, and I had come into the camp. The three of us were resting on the basking rocks when Briarkit was about to be attacked by a snake. I jumped up before Lionblaze could, and the snake bit me instead of Briarkit.
The feeling of my blood being on fire had subsided. I no longer felt pain, and my shoulder didn't have a bite wound on it. Berrynose's comforting meow was the last memory I had, and it was a good one. I would miss him, but he had to move on. He would still love me, and I him; we were most likely not meant to be. Everything happens for a reason, and it wasn't Berrynose's path to be with me.
A gorse bush shook next to me, and a gray tom squeezed out from underneath it. "Hello, Honeyfern," the tom mewed.
As soon as I saw his face, I recognized him. "Molepaw, it's you!"
I ran up to him and started to lick the smaller tom's forehead. "Okay, okay, that's enough, Honeyfern. Are you okay?" he said, purring one heartbeat and worried the next.
"Why wouldn't I be okay? I'm in StarClan. I am in StarClan, right."
"Yes, Honeyfern, you are in StarClan. I was just wondering if you would be okay away from Berrynose. You won't be able to talk to him for a very long time." Molepaw's amber eyes looked into my blue ones.
"Since I died, that means that Berrynose and I were never meant to be. StarClan—we—must have another path laid out for him," I mewed. It broke my heart to say these words out loud. I was letting go of my one true love.
"Alright, come on, do you want to meet, our mother's littermates?" he, padding off in the direction of the gorse bush, asked.
"Do you mean Sootfur and Rainwhisker?"
"Yes, they're by the river." Molepaw started to slither under the bush, but I put my tail on his back to stop him.
"Molepaw, what would have happened if Lionblaze had gotten to the snake first?" I, remembering that Lionblaze was ready to jump too, asked.
He let out a long sigh and looked at me with sad eyes. "Lionblaze would have pushed Briarkit out of the way. The snake would have leaped at him, but he would have dodged it. Millie would then step in front of her kits and kill it. You and Berrynose would have had kits and eventually joined the elders' den together."
I let out a wail of despair. I could have been with Berrynose. Why StarClan? Why? Molepaw put his tail on my shoulder and mewed, "There is a way for you to speak with him." I looked at him with confusion; StarClan cats cannot talk to living ones. My uncertainty must have shown on my face because he said, "If you go to a certain pond in StarClan territory and stick your face in the water while thinking about the cat you would like to talk to, you can communicate with the living word. You may only do this once, though."
I nodded; I had to speak with Berrynose, to tell him that I was fine and to tell him to move on. I was dead, and he could no longer be with me. Molepaw crawled under the bush, and I followed my brother. The gorse scratched my fur, but I was too excited to notice the fur being ripped off of my back. Sun dappled the forest floor as we padded through the woods. On our way there, Molepaw had been talking to me, but I didn't hear anything that he said; I was too focused on figuring out on what I needed to say to Berrynose.
A squirrel raced up an oak tree when we spotted it, and several birds flew off of their perches in fear of being killed. There was an abundance of prey here, and it still appeared to be greenleaf, which was odd considering that it was leaf-bare in the Clans. Molepaw looked back at me and mewed, "Are you ready?" I nodded frantically, desperate to see my love. Passing Molepaw, I padded forward to find a small pond the size of the fresh-kill pile in the hollow. "Now, this is your one and only chance to ever speak with him. After you are finished think about coming back to me, and you will. Good luck, Honeyfern," Molepaw mewed and then padded to sit in the roots of a maple tree.
I took a great big breath, more to relax myself than to hold my breath underwater. Why was I so nervous to meet the cat that I love and had seen for every day of my life? I calmed my nerves and took one more breath before plunging my face into the cold water while thinking of my mouse-brained, cream-colored tom.
It was strange; I felt like a ghost, staring at my body and my Clanmates surrounding it. Sorreltail, Brackenfur, Poppyfrost, Berrynose, Cinderheart, Leafpool, and Firestar were the closest to my dull, lifeless body. Brambleclaw sat with Squirrelflight, Cloudtail, Brightheart, and Thornclaw, and the rest of the Clan was scattered around the clearing. It made me feel happy to see that the entire Clan with the exception of Daisy, Millie, and her kits, would go to my vigil. The stone hollow was exactly how I remembered it, except that there was a bramble wall where I was attacked.
Talk to him, Honeyfern, Molepaw's voice sounded in my ear. I padded forward, careful not to disturb any cat. My paws stopped moving when I reached Berrynose. I prodded him with one of my light brown paws, and he looked up at me with sorrowful amber eyes, "Honeyfern! Honeyfern, you're alive!"
"No, Berrynose. I have come to you from StarClan; I had to tell you that I will love you forever, but you have to move on. You have always dreamed of being a father and nothing is stopping you from fulfilling that dream. Find a mate here in ThunderClan, just please forget about me," I choked. My heart felt like it was being ripped in half. "Good-bye, Berrynose, I will see you again one day. I love you." He was about to say something, but I began to think about Molepaw and chose to return to StarClan. I didn't want to give him any time to say anything; I couldn't bear to hear him say that he loves me back or that he can't move on.
Berrynose is free; I have set him free.
PLEASE REVIEW! I had to write a first person perspective of a minor character from one of my favorite series for school, and I thought that it turned out good so I posted it. Thanks for reading!