Yeah.. so I finally bought River of Fire *sigh* I didn't want to, but I need it to add onto and modify Briarlight's death cause it's so short and practically forgotten :( Not to mention Briarlight's supposed to have a deep bond with Jayfeather but it's not really shown at all… Yeah… not happy with the new arc or ending of Omen of the Stars… anyway, it is briarfeather because I'm a sucker for briarfeather fluff, but it's not too strong… at least I think it's not.
Briarlight's Death
(River of Fire rewrite)
Alderheart padded softly over to Briarlight, where the disabled cat was stretched out on her side among the moss not far from Daisy. She was lying oddly still, her breathing sounding hoarse and raspy. Feeling a sense of unease, he bent his head and sniffed her muzzle, only to pick up on a familiar and heart stopping sour scent. The sickness… Briarlight has the sickness! His gasp of dismay and movement against her whiskers disturbed the weak she-cat.
Who's blue eyes cracked open and she weakly heaved herself up and propped herself up on her shaky and slightly trembling forelegs.
Alderheart's stomach flipped over, she was so weak, and her scent had soured too, hinting subtly at an outcome her didn't want to believe. "Briarlight… I'm going to go get Jayfeather okay?" He mewed, knowing Jayfeather would want to know, "let's get you back to medicine den."
"There's no need to get me, I'm already here." a gruff mew grunted and Alder looked behind him to see his the medicine cat trotting over, blind blue eyes focused hard on Briarlight. The silver tabby stopped in front of Briarlight, his ears flattening in concern, "why didn't you tell me?" He asked her a little harshly, bending his head to sniff at her muzzle and check for himself.
"I didn't want to bother you," Briarlight mewed softly, "there's other sick cats to worry about."
"I choose who to worry about," Jayfeather mewed sharply, "and everything effects you faster and harder Briarlight." He swung his head to look at Alderheart, "get Greystripe and Lionblaze to come help me, then tell Bramblestar." He swung his head again to look back at Briarlight, his tail swishing angrily and in a worried manner from side to side.
Once Alderheart left Jayfeather bent his head and licked the sick cat between the ears, his gruff mew sharp and determined. "I won't let you die here, like this. Not to a sickness I can cure."
Briarlight's glazed blue eyes shut at his silent affection before she sluggishly rested her head down on one of his front paws, tired. "It's okay," she mewed hoarsely, "I don't mind this time."
The fur on the back of Jayfeather's neck stood on end and he hissed quietly to her, "you have to fight it! Don't give up now Briarlight!"
Briarlight nudged his fur at the bottom of his leg with her nose, "I'm not giving up, I'll fight if that's what you want Jayfeather."
Jayfeather's blind eyes gazed unseeingly at the she-cat, "you're not dying," he insisted stubbornly even as Lionblaze and Graystripe pushed their way through the brambles, "you're not."
Briarlight didn't respond, instead she just gave a raspy sigh, even as Lionblaze touched noses with his mate before approaching his brother.
"Come on, let's get her to the medicine den Jayfeather," Lionblaze mewed, "so she can have a fighting chance."
Jayfeather dipped his head in agreement and moved aside to let his brother and Briarlight's father carry Briarlight to the medicine den.
Starlight gleamed beyond the bramble screen when Alderheart awoke at a soft noise of moss and bracken crunching under paw.
Alderheart lifted his head in a drowsy manner and saw his mentor approaching Briarlight's nest, clumsily reaching her nest and dropping the wet moss near the sick cat's muzzle.
"Drink, it'll help the coughing ." Jayfeather mewed and settled next to the she-cat's nest, blind eyes focused on something he distantly couldn't see. It was quiet, the only sounds were of sleeping cats and Briarlight's slow laps from the moss ball. Until Jayfeather spoke up again, this time asking her a question, "Better?"
"Yes," Briarlight purred shakily and Alderheart saw her shift onto her side, she sounded like she was struggling to breathe a little, her breathing was raspy and irregular, and yet his mentor didn't move from her nest. "Thank you."
"You're not a bother, I wish you wouldn't be so hard on yourself," the normally grouchy tom murmured between licks as he groomed his tail and Alderheart set his head down on the moss of his nest, listening curiously. "We take care of you because we care about you."
"I know, doesn't feel… like it though sometimes." Briarlight wheezed half-way through the sentence.
"Briarlight, I care about you, you know that." Jayfeather meowed quietly, hard for Alderheart to hear. "I'm just not allowed to show it."
"I know," Briarlight wheezed again and Alderheart felt worry grow in his heart. "I know you can't." Her mew was tired, defeated like she was used to hearing it.
It was quiet for a few moments Briarlight's wheezing breathing and Jayfeather's calm grooming, long enough for Alderheart to almost doze off again, but Briarlight broke the silence.
"Maybe just tonight? For my last wish." She rasped softly a hint of tired acceptance in her mew, "I'm cold…"
Alderheart held his breath, wide eyes staring at the wall of his nest. Wasn't this technically breaking the warrior code? Should he even be hearing this? There was no way his mentor would accept right? It was against the warrior code for medicine cats to fall in love and have a mate, or even anything close to one.
It was silent again for a few heart stopping moments, till Jayfeather finally responded in his usual gruff voice, "okay, just this once."
There was the rustling of fur against rock as Jayfeather got to his paws and Alderheart lifted his head enough to see over top of his nest, alarm in his eyes. Only to find his mentor stepping into Briarlight's nest, nudging the she-cat over a little, judging the space with a paw, before he laid down around her. Curled closely around the paralyzed she-cat's thin and smaller frame. It was a testament to how little she had been eating lately.
"What about now, you warm enough?" Jayfeather's mew was soft and concerned for the paralyzed she-cat, as the silver tom rasped his tongue over the fur between her ears and curled his tail around hers.
Alderheart felt like getting up and warning his mentor to not get too close to her or he would get sick, but the words became stuck as he heard Briarlight's shaky purr and watched the she-cat sluggishly rest her head behind his with a raspy wheeze. Her ears moving sideways as she relaxed comfortably with the medicine cat tom curled around her. "Yes, thank you."
Jayfeather then rasped his tongue over Briarlight's spine, beginning to smooth down and groom her messy brown fur. Neither cat said nothing, the medicine cat and paralyzed she-cat silently relishing in each other's presence, while Alderheart said nothing as well.
More silence, till Briarlight mewed something in a raspy mew Alderheart could barely hear. "I love you," she murmured, and Alderheart's stomach flipped over, the paralyzed she-cat had really fallen in love with his grouchy mentor? He appreciated his mentor very much, but he had never expected anything like this, not in a hundred full moons. What was his mentor going to say? If anything at all?
Jayfeather was silent for a long moment before Alderheart watched him bend his head down and lightly touch noses with her, "I know," he mewed in an even softer tone, "I do too." There was silence again as Jayfeather resumed grooming the broken warrior, now purring softly, likely lulling her to sleep.
Alderheart let his head drop again, his mind was spinning slightly, did they know something he didn't? Why was his mentor breaking the warrior code and so peacefully? Did Jayfeather want to end up like Leafpool? What was going on? Sure Briarlight was sick, but they could save her. After all, he had heard stories as a kit about Briarlight, how strong the she-cat was, including how she fought and survived two cases of green cough and whitecough, survived the flooding of the hollow after the last leader of Thunderclan died, a mudslide, and getting sick over and over again despite her injuries. She had survived everything up to this point, she could make it past this one… right?
Alderheart lifted his head and looked at the seemingly mostly asleep she-cat's head atop his mentor's shoulders, noticing how weak she really looked, blue eyes barely cracked open, breathing wheezy and irregular, and sickly thin. How had he not noticed earlier? That the she-cat wasn't eating, that she was sick, that she and Jayfeather wanted to be together but were bound by the warrior code?
With those questions spinning in his mind, Alderheart set his head down once more and this time shut his eyes, letting sleep calm his mind into peaceful disarray.
Alderheart was almost asleep when he heard his mentor mew five barely audible words.
"I love you too, Briarlight..."
Alderheart was jerked awake by someone nudging him, and opened his eyes to see the distressed eyes of Velvet.
"Briarlight's dying," she murmured softly and Alderheart's heart turned to ice before the kittypet silently slipped out of the den.
The medicine cat scrambled to his paws and swung his head toward Briarlight's nest, where Jayfeather was as well. The silver tabby was lying on the stone ground near her head, front paws tucked neatly under his chest while his blind blue gaze rested on Briarlight.
Briarlight's breathing was irregular, rasping, and broken up by spasmodic retching sounds. She was lying on her side, head resting on the moss of the wall of her nest with her blue eyes barely open, gazing at the medicine cat next to her.
"Briarlight…" Alderheart padded toward the she-cat, realizing what Jayfeather and Briarlight had realized last night. The blue eyed she-cat with the willpower of a thousand moons was dying… after everything she had gone through. After everything she had survived and even thrived through, this was the one sickness she couldn't escape.
Briarlight opened her eyes to look at him and struggled to lift her head up to look at him. "It's okay…" she gasped, every word a fierce effort, "I don't mind this time… I've done… enough…"
Alderheart's ears drooped, even Briarlight knew she was dying. However, she seemed to be peaceful, her eyes shining as if she was already gazing into the sunlit glades of StarClan territory.
Jayfeather just stayed where he was, saying nothing and the only sign of life was the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed.
"Jayfeather?" Alderheart spoke his name quietly, looking worriedly at the other medicine cat.
Jayfeather's ears slowly swiveled toward him and he spoke in a harsh snap. "Leave me alone."
Alderheart silently approached him and he rested his tail on his shoulders, saying nothing.
Millie's wail of heartbreaking grief echoed around the hollow, eventually making it's way into the medicine den even as Blossomfall and Bumblestripe charged into the medicine den, screeching to a halt beside their sister's nest with wide eyes.
"B...Briarlight?" Blossomfall mewed quietly and Briarlight's blue eyes opened once again, this time to look at her littermates.
"Blossomfall… Bumblestripe…" Briarlight gasped out, her body giving a weak shudder.
"Briarlight!" Millie pushed through the brambles, grief in her every move. "My baby…" she padded toward her, tail trembling as she approached. "My poor baby…" She hurried the rest way over with the hoarse mew and settled next to Jayfeather at Briarlight's head, gently rasping her tongue over her ears in long strokes.
Alderheart watched Jayfeather sit up and move around Millie, standing a little bit away from everyone and in Briarlight's line of sight, before Greystripe crouched next to Briarlight as well, nuzzling his daughter in a fatherly manner.
Alderheart wasn't sure how long he sat in the medicine den, listening to Briarlight's gradually fading breath. At one point Leafpool slipped in and sat beside her son, wrapping her tail around her son's shoulders and sitting next to him, letting him lean slightly on her. Lionblaze and Cinderheart emerged as well, taking their place on Jayfeather's other side tails entwined while their eyes remained on their dying friend.
Twigpaw made it inside as well, when the sun was high above their heads. She softly approached Briarlight and crouched beside her, "Briarlight… I hate saying goodbye to you, you were always so kind to me when I was just a kit."
Briarlight's blue eyes fluttered open and she blinked affectionately at Twigpaw. "We… had good times… together…"
Millie pressed closer to her daughter, "don't leave us! Please… please don't leave us my precious kit…" her mew was quivering, shaking in her grief.
Briarlight looked weakly up at her mother, "I'm always… with you," she rasped before her blue gaze focused on the silver tabby sitting beside Leafpool. "Jayfeather…"
At her weak rasp the medicine cat got to his paws and approached her. He silently shouldered his way between Millie and Greystripe and crouched beside her, blind eyes gazing down at the dying she-cat.
Briarlight weakly moved, moving closer to Jayfeather who gave a small shake from nose to tail before he thrusted his head forward, pressing his head against Briarlight's his ears flattening in distress against his head.
Briarlight's eyes fluttered half closed and she breathed a few more fading breaths, her ears swiveling sideways as she relaxed in her dying moments.
Jayfeather forced out a few words, his mew shaking as he struggled to remain calm. "Don't… Don't go… don't leave me…"
Briarlight rasped a few more words, managing to mew the bold statement. "I… love… you…"
Jayfeather trembled, squeezing his blind eyes shut as he did so, "don't go…"
"Please…"
Alderheart felt his heart break apart at his mentor's grief for the she-cat, he hadn't known, and by the look of shock on many of the other cats, neither had they.
Briarlight's eyes completely closed, "I'm here… with you… always." Her head drooped onto the moss, but she forced her eyes open, her glassy gaze focused on Jayfeather.
Jayfeather took a deep breath, seemed to collect himself, and moved his head away from her head. Only to lean down and lightly touch noses with her, blind eyes looking sightless at her.
Briarlight's eyes closed one last time and she breathed a final, content sigh. Her final breath.
Jayfeather rose to his paws and turned around, heading toward the exit of the medicine den, legs shaky despite his head being held high.
Jayfeather exited the medicine den and stumbled, only to feel someone press their flank against his to steady him. All at once he blinked and everything came into view, the hollow around him. Including the dark brown she-cat with blue eyes and now stars scattered in her fur. She was standing proudly on all four legs, but she was definitely the cat he had known and taken care of for so long. "Briarlight…" he breathed, his vision focusing on the she-cat, now a member of StarClan.
Briarlight leaned forward and lightly touched her warm nose to his for a long moment before she ran off, sprinting up toward the emerging stars.
Jayfeather's vision dimmed to black, but he heard her voice in his ear and smelt her herb clinging scent around him.
"I'm still here, Jayfeather… I'll visit you in your dreams… always…"