***WARNING!***

Spoilers for Sunrise inside.

***END WARNING!***

Note: This takes place at the Gathering near the end of Sunrise, when Hollyleaf tells the Clans everything, including that Squirrelflight is not the three's mother. When everybody hears that, Brambleclaw asks Squirrelflight why - and he thinks she didn't tell him because she didn't trust him.

And he left the Gathering, unsure of what to do.

This is written from Brambleclaw's point of view, if you're unsure c:

Please note that I changed the chain of events that happen after the Gathering to fit my Fanfiction! c:

*******

I shouldered my way through the crowds of cats. I was heartbroken, utterly heartbroken. Squirrelflight didn't trust me. After everything we'd been through - the whole Ashfur thing, getting back together, the sign from StarClan about us that Leafpool had received - she didn't trust me. The pain was searing.

Cats parted left and right to let me through. I passed them all without speaking. Their faces were full of sympathy, but I didn't want their sympathy. All I wanted to do was understand. Each cat I passed looked like they felt bad for me, and that made me feel even worse, if that's possible.

During my desperate escape I passed Tawnypelt, who tried to stop me. She put a paw out in front of me as she saw me coming, her green eyes sharp with worry and confusion. I weaved my way around her paw and kept going, however much she wanted to speak to me. She must've wanted to talk to me a lot, because she kept following me until I turned around.

"Brambleclaw! What are you doing?!"

"What does it look like?" My voice was dull with pain. "I'm leaving. I've got nothing better to do. After all, if this happened to you, what else would you want to do?" My voice turned snappish with heartbreak. Didn't she understand it? Had she never felt this way before?

"Don't leave!" Tawnypelt hissed at me. Cats were turning to look at us; I saw Reedwhisker of RiverClan and Tornear of WindClan just a few tail-lengths away from us. "Please, Brambleclaw, don't leave…"

I didn't stay to listen any longer. I turned tail and started to shoulder my way through more cats, and I made sure that Tawnypelt wasn't following me. Once I finally reached the tree-bridge, I leapt on top of it and stared back at the Island, looking through the bushes and at the cats that I could just barely make out. When I saw the leaders all trying to calm everybody down, I shook my head, feeling remorseful. I didn't feel any regret, though - I knew deep down that I was making a good decision.

I leapt across the tree-bridge and onto the peaty ground on the other side. The instant my paws touched the soil I started running towards WindClan territory, hoping that the Clans would stay at the Gathering long enough for me to get back to the camp without them catching up. I just wanted to be alone.

*******

I padded into the camp. As the familiar scents of the Clan washed over me, my eyes started to sting. I instinctively padded towards the fresh-kill pile and sat beside it for a few heartbeats, just staring at the sandy ground beneath my paws. I couldn't do anything more. In my head I was reliving the times Squirrelflight and I had shared. I could remember the sheer look of bliss on her face and how she twined her tail with mine when she told me of Leafpool's sign. The sign that told her that we were meant to be together. So much for the sign; maybe StarClan had gotten it wrong.

Slowly I raised my eyes towards Silverpelt and looked up at the Warriors of StarClan. I wondered if my mother, Goldenflower, was watching me, or if her attention was turned towards the catastrophic Gathering.

My heart burned when I looked at the nursery. I'd used to visit there so often when Squirrelflight had been raising Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather. Back then, I hadn't known anything. If a StarClan cat came down from Silverpelt and told me that Squirrelflight was hiding everything from me, I wouldn't have believed them. But it was the truth, nevertheless.

I stood up and stared at the paw prints of all of the cats. I looked at them, wondering which were mine, and wishing I could go back to the time when I'd made them. I wouldn't have known, yet. I averted my eyes from them since they caused too much pain, and looked up at the Leader's Den. Firestar. How would he react to his daughter's secret? And how would he react upon hearing that his other daughter, the Medicine Cat, had broken the Warrior Code and had kits - especially with a cat from another Clan?

All of a sudden, Brackenfur, who had been left behind from the Gathering, padded out from the Warrior's Den. He froze when he saw me, his eyes wide. "So I was right," he murmured. "I though I smelled you. What are you doing back so early? Where's the rest of the Clan?"

Oh, StarClan, I thought to myself. I froze like he had when he first saw me. This wasn't good. "Brackenfur… she left me."

"What?" Brackenfur asked, looking genuinely puzzled. "Who left you? I don't get what you're saying."

"Squirrelflight. She left me." My voice broke a couple of times when I told him. "She… Hollyleaf, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze aren't my kits at all. She was lying to me this whole time, Brackenfur."

"What?" Brackenfur repeated, his eyes wide. "That's impossible! Who's the father, if you're not it?"

Our conversation had quickly developed into a heartbreaking subject for me, and apparently our voices had been more than a whisper, because Cloudtail and Sorreltail stuck their heads outside of the Warrior's Den simultaneously. Their eyes were wide with horror.

"We heard the whole conversation," Sorreltail said. "Brambleclaw, I'm sorry." Her amber eyes were soft with sorrow.

Cloudtail was gritting his teeth as he fully emerged from the den, his claws piercing the ground. "Who was the father? Why would she do that, and lie to you?"

"I'm not sure why she would do that," I answered. Brackenfur was over at the den with Sorreltail now, touching his nose to one of her ears. "And the father was Crowfeather."

"Crowfeather? WindClan?!" Cloudtail spat.

"Yes, but Squirrelflight wasn't the mother." I didn't feel like stopping for a dramatic pause, so I just launched right into the explanation. "Leafpool was the mother. Squirrelflight was covering for her sister all along."

The blank look of horror in all three cats' eyes wasn't hard to identify. I felt a pang of worry; everybody would be on Leafpool when she returned from the Gathering. What would the poor Medicine Cat's fate be? I wasn't nearly as mad at Leafpool as I was at Squirrelflight.

"What will happen?" Sorreltail asked. I noticed that her voice sounded small, and that she was now leaning against Brackenfur for support. I guessed that she could hardly believe that Leafpool, her best friend, would do something like that.

"I'm not sure," Brackenfur whispered into her eyes, his tail draped across her shoulders comfortingly. "Nothing bad will happen to you, I assure that."

"She's Firestar's daughter, I'm sure she won't be hurt," Cloudtail hissed. His fur was bristling still. After all, he and Leafpool were family, connected by the flame-furred leader.

"I'm not worried about myself, Brackenfur - I'm worried about Leafpool! And what will you do, Brambleclaw?"

"I don't know." I hung my head, feeling heartbroken. I smell Squirrelflight's stale scent from earlier that day before the Clan had left for the Gathering. The thoughts of her wouldn't stop coming. I felt bad; what had I done to be deemed untrustworthy? Had she ever loved me, or was she just covering for Leafpool all along? Was I just another piece of the puzzle?

I pricked my ears, and at the same time, so did Cloudtail. "Here comes the Clan," he murmured, his fur laying flat.

I nodded, having noticed the same thing, and turned around to face the oncoming Clan. Firestar was at the lead, Sandstorm and Graystripe on either side of him. His eyes were confused and his pelt was dull. Sandstorm's tail was lashing, her eyes worried. Graystripe just looked like he thought the world was ending.

The whole Clan filed into the camp, and Firestar immediately leapt onto the Highledge. In the crowd I picked out the faces of Leafpool and her three kits, but Firestar's calling of a Clan Meeting interrupted my thoughts. I sat down, chills going down my spine as the rest of the Clan filled up the empty space. Soon, the flow of cats stopped as Firestar began to speak.

I scanned the crowd of cats.

Squirrelflight wasn't among them.

*******

To Be Continued

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So, how'd you like the first chapter? This is my first fanfic c: I'd really, really appreciate it if you'd review, it'd make me feel all sparkly and special. You know you want to make me feel sparkly and special! XD