Only the Young are Good
Simply Memories
Bramblekit was trembling with excitement. Ashkit and Fernkit, like always, had been sent outside by Frostfur to play before they 'destroyed the nursery' and 'disturbed the younger kits' - namely, Bramblekit and his sister. Tawnykit's eyes were still closed, but Bramblekit was bored stiff waiting around in his nest all day. Usually he sat at the entrance of the nursery and looked out at the camp with gleaming eyes, but today, today would be different.
Fernkit and Ashkit stumbled out into the clearing, and Bramblekit followed behind them, silent as a shadow. He stopped right outside the nursery, his eyes widening in amazement. The camp was so much bigger then it seemed from inside the nursery!
Hearing a squeal nearby, Bramblekit looked to his side to see that his denmates were rolling around in the dirt. Wiggling his haunches, Bramblekit could feel a purr rumbling in his throat as he leaped on top of the kit-pile. Both Ashkit and Fernkit let out muffled 'oomph!'s of surprse at the added weight. But, taking it in stride, it became a three-cat battle, every cat for themselves. Bramblekit was purring full-on now; he'd never had so much fun in his life! He could feel adrenaline coursing all throughout his tiny body, from his pink nose to his tabby tail. Dirt from the ground was being grinded into his pelt as rolled over repeatedly, trying to throw off Ashkit before Fernkit pounced on them both.
But Fernkit never got the chance.
"Bramblekit! What are you doing?" Ashkit and Bramblekit instantly leaped away from each other as Goldenflower padded out of the nursery. "Why aren't you in your nest?" the queen asked, stopping in front of Bramblekit.
"I...I wanted to play..."
His mother bent over him, and he involuntarily flinched before he felt her tongue slide across his head. "You only had to ask." she murmured. "I was worried when I couldn't see you."
Hot embaressment washed over his pelt. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright. Do still want to stay out here?" Bramblekit nodded. "Okay. But don't stay out too long. Come in if you're tired or hungry."
Bramblekit waited till Goldenflower had returned to the nursery before turning around again to find Ashkit and Fernkit. Ashkit was staring across the clearing, his tail tip twitching slightly. He turned towards Bramblekit when he heard his pawsteps. "You still want to play?"
"Yeah!" Bramblekit said enthusiastically. "But where'd Fernkit go?"
"Oh, she went off to see the elders." He snorted. "Why she'd want to go see them again, I don't know. We just went yesterday, and they don't have any new stories." Bramblekit twitched his ear. Maybe he could go there with Tawnykit when she was ready, since they'd never been there. But for now...
"Attack!" Bramblekit pounced on Ashkit. Bramblekit couldn't imagine his life getting any better then this.
Bramblepaw stalked into the apprentice's den, his tail twitching angrily. It wasn't even close to sun down, but he didn't care. If Fireheart felt the need to come and blame him for anything, he wasn't planning on being hard to find.
Bramblepaw pushed some unscented moss together into a sloppy nest, then flopped down onto it, curling up as tight as he could with his tail covering his nose. Tawnypaw crept in cautiously after him, glancing around their new den for the first time. Thornpaw was asleep in his nest at the opposite side of the ferns, his chest rising and falling rapidly and his eyes searching underneath their lids.
"He must be having a bad dream." Tawnypaw whispered.
Bramblepaw snorted. "I wouldn't doubt it if it was about us taking over and killing every cat in this Clan."
Tawnypaw looked shocked almost beyond words. "Bramblepaw...one of his denmates just died, and another one is scarred for life. How can you say that?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe we should check with Fireheart to make sure that we're not talking about anything too treachereous." Bramblepaw drawled sarcastically.
Tawnypaw's gaze hardened. "Fine. You can be a complete mousebrain, but don't expect me to stoop to your level."
"You're not angry?" Bramblepaw asked incrediously.
"Of course I'm angry!" Tawnypaw spat. "I'm just trying to forget about it. I barely know Tigerstar, and I'm not planning on doing anything remotely close to what he did. So, I'm going to grow up and get over it."
She spun around, leaving the den much faster then when she'd come in. Bramblepaw snorted again. "Good riddance." he muttered under his breath before dropping his head onto his paws and staring blankly at the ground.
Bramblepaw wasn't sure how long he layed there, unmoving, with Thornpaw twitching and letting out little squeaks every now and again. It felt like days, moons, even, but he knew that almost no time had passed at all.
Fernpaw was the first to come in. She settled down into her nest, pretty much right in between Bramblepaw and Thornpaw. She fell asleep almost instantly, after mumbling a quiet 'Hey, Bramblepaw'. Darkstripe must've worked her hard for her to be so exhausted. Bramblepaw felt a tiny twinge of guilt in his chest. Other then walking around the territory and figuring out why everybody in the Clan gave him funny looks every so often, he'd done pretty much nothing all day.
Next, Ashpaw came in. His tail and ears were slightly drooped, but his eyes were gleaming with satisfaction. He laid down next to his sister, on Bramblepaw's side. He began to groom himself before looking to Bramblepaw. "So? How was your first day as an apprentice? With the deputy as your mentor, no less!"
Bramblepaw knew that his denmate was trying to be friendly, but at the moment, Bramblepaw felt like scratching the friendliness right off of Ashpaw's face.
"Oh, terrific." Bramblepaw muttered, just loud enough for Ashpaw to hear him. "Well, about as terrific as a murdurer's son can have!"
Ashpaw looked hard at Bramblepaw. "So you found out, huh?"
Bramblepaw glared accusingly. "How long have you known?"
"About as soon as I could understand words, I guess." Ashpaw admitted, dropping his gaze to his paws. Bramblepaw involuntarily kicked out his leg.
"Look, I'm sorry Bramblepaw. But he's just some tom that happened to father you, right?" Ashpaw looked up again, eyes wide with concern for his friend.
"Yeah, but the whole Clan seems intent on making me believe that it's not just happenstance, but an omen for the future or something!"
Ashpaw sat up a little straighter, his eyes filling with something that Bramblepaw couldn't name. "So what? Who ever said that you have to believe them, or even listen to them?"
"But, I-"
"You decide your destiny, along with StarClan. No one else has any say!"
"Ashpaw-"
"Tigerstar, Mousefur, Dappletail, Darkstripe, Fireheart, me, anyone! They mean nothing unless you let them mean something."
"You don't-"
"Your life is your life alone. So you live it however you want. And, eventually, cats will accept that you are you, exactly as you are. Bramblepaw, not Tigerstar."
Bramblepaw sat in silence for a few seconds. His friend has stunned him. He sounded so...wise.
After a few seconds turned into a few minutes, Bramblepaw scrambled to give Ashpaw an answer. Eventually, all he could come up with was, "Thank you."
Ashpaw's eyes were softer now, the passion that had filled him before drained out. "Your welcome."
Simple words, but sometimes, that's all that is needed.
Brambleclaw jerked, his eyes opening as he sat up quickly. There were no enemies, his Clanmates were safe, and he was here in his nest in the warrior's den, but...his side felt...bare. Cold. Squirrelflight wasn't there.
No, she was on the other side of the den, her ginger fur blending into a certain tom's pale gray fur. Brambleclaw felt a pang in his chest, his heart aching as his mind scrambled to understand...and remember. He felt as if he should remember something...had he had a dream? He had, hadn't he?
Well, it wasn't like he'd gone to see Tigerstar, so it couldn't be that important, could it?
Putting it out of his mind, he just wish that he could find some way to have things right with Squirrelflight again. Anything too elaborate wouldn't work, she always preferred straight-forward words...simple words.