Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors or "I Want Crazy." They belong to Erin Hunter and Hunter Hayes. I only own the characters.

I Don't Want Easy

"I caught a bird on my first day as an apprentice!" The feisty she-cat's emerald eyes sparkled as she boasted to me.

I grinned, shoving her playfully. "Oh yeah? And when was that? Yesterday?"

Brackenpaw giggled, giving me a flick of her orange-tipped tail. "Maybe?" I felt a purr rise in my throat as she tripped over the root of a tree while gazing up at me. She mewed in surprise, then quickly scrambled to her paws. I was soon rolling around on the ground with her as she tackled me to the ground.

"Ha! I beat you!" she purred, her tiny orange paws planted on my chest as she pinned me.

"Pretty good," I smiled, blinking my pale green eyes, "for a cat who just became an apprentice yesterday." With that, I shoved her off of me, sending her sprawling across the dirt.

When Brackenpaw's body failed to move, I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a second. I dashed over to her, my black-and-gray pelt spiked with fear.

"Brackenpaw?" I meowed quietly.

Her eyes flittered opened and gazed up into mine. "Pinepaw?"

"Y-yes, Brackenpaw?"

"You've killed me."

In a flash she was on her paws and pouncing on me. I was about to retaliate when my father's voice sounded in my ears.

"Pinepaw! Hurry and catch up with the group!" Glancing over at Brackenpaw, he growled, "You too."

Rolling my eyes, I pushed the she-cat off of me and shook the dirt from my pelt. "Coming, Spiderfang."

The black tom stared at the two of us for a moment before dashing off to find the RiverClan leader.

When he was out of earshot, Brackenpaw muttered, "What's with him?"

I sighed. "That's my dad. He's been a total pain in the tail ever since he became deputy."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence between us, before she finally broke it by meowing, "Race you back to the group!"

I grinned, lashing my tail. "You're on."

I immediately sped off, making sure to kick dirt up into her face.

She gasped, shaking her head. "That's not fair, Pinepaw!"

"You'd better hurry up then!"

"Trust me, I will!" Before I knew it, she was right up beside me, her short legs pumping.

When we caught up to the group, she looked like she was ready to collapse.

"Wow, you're fast!" I panted, my words coming between breaths.

She glanced up at me, a smile glued to her face. "It's one of my many amazing qualities."

Leaning forward, I swiped my tongue across her forehead, cleaning off some clinging dirt. "I agree."

The memories of our first day together flashed through my mind as the battling cats around slowly fell to a halt.

"K-kits?"

Brackenpaw's beautiful green eyes shimmered with tears as she panted heavily. "Yes, Pinefrost, I'm going to have kits. Your kits."

The wounds that her sister, Hedgepaw, had inflicted instantly stopped stinging as joy flooded my body. "That's great." I moved in to rub her check with mine, but instead she pulled back and hissed.

"No, it's not, Pinefrost! I'm eleven moons old! Eleven!" The fur along her spine rose and her tail lashed.

I recoiled backwards like she had raked her claws across my nose. "W-what? Brackenpaw, this is great! Just imagine, little you and me's running around!"

Her eyes grew cold. "How can I get this through that thick skull of yours? Have you forgotten that we're in different Clans? It's just not going to work, Pinefrost."

My dark ears flattened against my head. "But, Brack—"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" the she-cat screeched, turning tail and sprinting away with that incredible speed she's had since the day I met her.

Having nothing left to say, I sat down and let out a sigh of utter defeat. I could feel my heart slowly cracking through the middle, splitting in half, shattering into millions of tiny little pieces.

My thoughts were interrupted by a voice I knew all too well.

"Well, well, well. It seems your little ThunderClan mate has abandoned you. Are you ready to be loyal to your Clan now?" I turned my head to see the sneering face of my father, now Clan leader. Spiderstar seemed unfazed by the several scars that laced his pelt.

My sadness being temporarily replaced with anger and pure hatred for this cat, I slowly rose to my paws and faced him. "Spiderstar," I began quietly, "I suggest you turn and walk away right now."

A few gasps were heard among the crowd of watching cats as the smirk on Spiderstar's face turned into a snarl. "How dare you speak to me like that?" he growled, his amber eyes threatening. "I am your Clan leader, not to mention your father."

I unsheathed my claws, my anger finally spilling. "Don't call me that! You are no father to me; you've treated me like fox-dung ever since you became deputy!" He opened his mouth to growl a reply, but I beat him to it. "I've spent most of my life trying to make you happy, but you continue to constantly put me down! Brackenpaw's been better to me than you have ever been, and now that she's gone, you taunt me about it?! I am ashamed to share the same blood as you, Spiderstar."

The leader snarled, advancing towards me. I was completely ready to fight him, but ThunderClan's leader, Frozenstar, stepped between us.

"Spiderstar," she meowed softly, "what Pinefrost says may or may not be true, but I am in no place to get into any of this. I will say however that this battle needs to stop." She turned to face the ginger tom who was growling lowly towards a ThunderClan she-cat. "Foxstar, I agree Whitefern shouldn't have attacked your son, but she was defending her daughter. Surely you'd do the same?"

I didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. My mind was reeling, my breathing rapid. I had to find her. Brackenpaw. My Brackenpaw. Staggering away from the leaders and shoving my way through the gathered cats, I desperately called out to her.

"Brackenpaw! Brackenpaw, where are you?" My senses felt too muddled to do anything, so I did the only thing I could think of.

"Ca caw, ca caw!" It was our special call; our signal to each other to tell when another was around.

I strained my ears for any sign of her beautiful voice, and just before I decided to call out again, I heard a muffled, "Tweet tweet."

Pricking my ears, I quickly dashed off towards the sound. I found the golden brown-and-orange she-cat curled up in a clump of bushes.

"Brackenpaw?" I mewed quietly. When she said nothing, I leaned forward and nudged her.

She raised her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Pinefrost…"

I crouch down beside her and licked away the salty liquid. "Shh. It'll be okay. I'm here."

"Pinefrost…I'm not even a warrior yet. How can it be okay? Nothing will ever be okay again." Brackenpaw's emerald eyes gazed into mine, full of fear and uncertainty.

Gently twining my tail with hers, I whispered, "I love you so, so much, Brackenpaw. I think about you all the time, every living moment. I regret nothing." Meaning every single word, I continued on. "Your Clan will help with this. They won't think down on you, if that's what you're worried about."

Sniffing, she leaned her head on my shoulder. "That's not what I'm afraid of…I'm afraid of what cats will think of our kits. They'll be known as those cats who had an apprentice for a mother. Not to mention of RiverClan father. Cats will talk about them, Pinefrost. They'll be shunned throughout the Clans…I don't want that to happen. I already love them too much."

I felt my heart break a little more at this. She was afraid for the kits, not for herself. She doesn't care what cats think of her. "We can make sure that never happens. Together." A purr rose in my throat as a thought formed in my head.

Brackenpaw looked back up at me. "How? Our Clans…"

"I'm joining ThunderClan," I replied simply. Her eyes lit up with shock and she quickly shook her head.

"No, Pinefrost, you can't do that."

I frowned. "And why is that? I don't want my kits to grow up believing they have no father. Plus, I really, really love their mother and I think we should be together forever."

A small smile made itself onto her face, but it disappeared again as she left out a frustrated sigh. "It won't be easy, Pinefrost. I don't know who will welcome you or not, and—"

"I don't want easy, Brackenpaw!" I obviously surprised her with my sudden outburst, because she stopped talking and looked up at me confusedly.

Hurrying on, I meowed, "Don't you see, Brackenpaw? Our relationship is already crazy enough as it seems, why not make it even crazier?"

She was silent for a long moment, as if letting my words soak in. "Alright, I'll ask Frozenstar." Despite her weary tone, her beautiful eyes glittered with excitement. I could tell she was pleased with her decision.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I began covering her face with licks, to which she only purred in response to.

Maybe this will work after all, I purred silently.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

I paced restlessly outside the nursery. I could tell something wasn't right—Brackenfire had been kitting since sunset the day before; it was sunhigh now. Shouldn't she be done by now? Hardly a cat had slept that night, because my mate's pained cries echoed throughout the camp every few heartbeats.

However, her screeches seemed to be getting weaker and weaker with every passing hour. I longed to dash into the nursery and see what was taking so long, but Cinderfang had strictly ordered no other cats be inside with them.

Forget Cinderfang, I thought angrily, and squeezed through the entrance to the den.

I was immediately greeted by the metallic tang of blood in the air, and Cinderfang whipped around to face me. The medicine cat stood in front of the queen, blocking my view of her.

"Pinefrost, get out. Now," he growled.

I dug my claws into the ground. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong with Brackenfire!"

The gray tom stared at me for a moment, then closed his eyes and let out a defeated sigh. He glanced back at the she-cat, then looked back at me.

"She's not going to make it, Pinefrost. She's lost too much blood, and she's been kitting for much longer than normal."

My heart literally stopped. "W-what? Brackenfire can't be dying! She's just tired!" I felt light-headed, like I could pass out any moment now. "Let me see her."

Cinderfang looked at me in sympathy before stepping, leaving me to gape in shock at Brackenfire's appearance.

Her golden brown-and-orange fur was spiked and wet with sweat, she was panting heavily, her beautiful emerald eyes were half-closed and empty, and a huge pool of blood surrounded her, along with blood matted into the fur on her hindquarters.

"B-Brackenfire? A-are you a-alright?" I waited quietly, but some part of me knew I wouldn't get an answer. My attention was soon drawn to the three little kits at her belly, all eerily still and not making a sound.

I looked over at Cinderfang, meowing, "Cinderfang, what about the kits? Are they alright?"

"Pinefrost…the kits are dead."

The whole nursery seemed to collapse on me. I suddenly felt suffocated, and the desperate need for fresh air filled my thoughts. But I couldn't leave. I had to stay with Brackenfire.

Giving each of the kits a small lick to the head, I padded over to where I was beside my mate's head. Her breathing was slowly getting shallower, and she didn't even acknowledge my presence.

"Brackenfire, you'll never truly understand how much you mean to me. You are my whole world. You can't leave me." I sobbed quietly into her ear, not at all expecting her to answer.

"I think I have a pretty good idea." I heard her beautiful voice, barely audible. Too shocked to speak, I stared at her, willing her to say more, to prove to Cinderfang that she would live.

"You were right, Pinefrost," she panted, pausing to catch her breath. "This is crazy. But I love it. Thank yo—" She let out a small cough, followed by a harder one. Nevertheless, she still tried to continue. "Thank you for making my life so great." More coughs.

"No, Brackenfire, don't say anymore. You have to save your strength." I kept on trying to convince myself she would live. She had to.

The she-cat acted like she hadn't even heard my words. But then again, she may not have.

"You have to stay strong, Pinefrost for—" Brackenfire began to cough more violently his time, but still spoke. "—for our kit. I love—" Her whole body began to shake as more coughs came from her mouth. But this time, they didn't stop.

I began to panic, whipping my head around at the medicine cat who stood unmoving beside the entrance of the nursery.

"Cinderfang!" I cried. "Help her!"

He merely shook his head, replying sadly, "There's nothing more I can do."

"No!" I yowled. "Brackenfire!" I began franticly licking her face and neck, hoping to ease her coughs. Eventually, her body grew still again, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Brackenfire?"

Instead of my beloved's voice, I heard Cinderfang. "She's in StarClan now, Pinefrost. She's gone."

"No! No, she can't be dead, I-I—" I was cut off my a faint squeal. Pricking my ears, I turned towards Cinderfang.

The tom's amber eyes were wide as he immediately moved over to Brackenfire's rear.

"There's another kit," he meowed in astonishment. "There's another kit!"

I leapt to my paws, making my way over to the medicine cat. Sure enough, a tiny white kit lay by Brackenfire's tail.

"It's alive!" I exclaimed.

Cinderfang nudged me sharply with his muzzle. "Well don't just stand there! Lick it!"

Nodding, I excitedly began swiping my tongue over every part of my only surviving kit's body.

"It's a tom!" I squeaked, sounding like a kit myself.

I believe Cinderfang may have said something after that, but I paid no attention to it. My tiny son resembled his mother in every way except for fur color. He was a snowy white with a dark gray stripe stretching from the tom of his head to the tip of his tail, and another stripe going from his chin to his underbelly, until meeting the other stripe at his plain gray tail.

"Sootkit," I whispered. "I'll name him Sootkit."

Unable to control myself any longer, I rose to my paws and dashed outside, calling out to the sky. "Thank you for such a crazy life, Brackenfire!" I could feel cats staring at me, but what did I care?

"I love you!"

As my words echoed off the stone walls of our camp, I caught a brief trace of Brackenfire's scent and felt her presence beside me. I could also swear I'd heard her beautiful voice whisper, "I love you, too."

Although Brackenfire was gone now, I knew she would never really be gone. I'd see her in every step that kit took, and I'd go to sleep at night knowing she's there beside me.

Despite my mate's death, I don't think the joy I was feeling could compare to any other cat's in the world.