Brackenpaw and Cinderpaw were two total opposites. Brackenpaw was quiet and patient; Cinderpaw was energetic and a chatterbox. They were apprenticed before Thornkit and Brightkit strangely enough, but worked together complimentary. For a while, they were two peas in a pod, trained under one mentor because the other didn't know when to stay and train him.
But Brackenpaw never expected his sister to get hurt.
Likewise, he never expected his sister to never recover.
He gazed down at ThunderClan as Bluestar named his warrior name.
"Brackenfur, Brackenfur!" they chanted.
He came down and was greeted by his mentor, Graystripe, who was never there for him, yet Brackenfur held no hard feelings. Then came Fireheart, whom he owed much of the credit of his training for. Frostfur came out of the nursery to welcome him to his new status as well. Soon his remaining brother and sister will follow too.
Just as the crowd around him began to break up, his was greeted with kisses by his sister, Cinderpaw.
"Congratulations Brackenfur!" she exclaimed.
Immediately, his feeling of triumph faltered and was replaced with regret.
"You should have been with me," he murmured.
But Cinderpaw promised she was alright as she was. She was going to be a great medicine cat. Brackenfur held that belief through.
And Cinderpelt held that truth. She delivered Silverstream's kits just fine, despite the loss of the RiverClan cat. When Bluestar's faith faltered, Cinderpelt kept hers together even at the expense of Yellowfang.
Then came the dog attacks and once again, one of Brackenfur's sisters were hurt. Permanently damaged, just like Cinderpelt. Even though he was never as close with her as he was with Cinderpelt, he felt resentment when Bluestar dared to rename Brightpaw to Lostface. What if Bluestar had changed Cinderpelt's name to Cripplefoot?
After six cats disappeared and five of them came back, Brackenfur heard the news they would have to move. Worry filled him. What if Cinderpelt won't be able to make it? What if she'll have to stay with their mother and slowly starve to death.
Relief filled him when she went anyway. How could he lose another family member?
They arrived at their new home in one piece at last. Brackenfur found love through Sorreltail, and for a while, everything else was forgotten. He learned he had kits coming, but what if these kits killed his mate just the way his mentor's Silverstream was killed?
He didn't have time to worry about that when the badgers attacked camp. All he knew was that he had to protect the nursery. However a badger overthrew him.
Once the battle was over and Leafpool had returned and Sorreltail had her kits, Brackenfur rushed into the nursery. He paused and stared at Cinderpelt's body. Seeing his sister dead came as a shock to him.
But his kits' mewling forced him to keep moving and he huddled up beside Sorreltail to support her. When he heard his mate's brother was killed, he looked back to stare at his sister.
Looks like they had more in common.
Yet a shock came to him when Sorreltail decided to name one of their kits Cinderkit. She looked almost like the cat she was named after. Even more, she had the same spirit and sometimes he swore he saw the familiar shine in her eyes that were once in Cinderpaw when they trained together in the old forest.
A familiar pang of regret when he remembered he barely sat in vigil for her. He was busy building the nests and running the camp. It wasn't until everyone fell asleep that he felt he was able to place his nose to his sister's fur and say goodbye one last time.
Things went to go on smoothly for a while. His three kits were apprenticed and the new Cinderpaw seemed just as energetic as ever.
"You remind me of my sister when she was an apprentice." He murmured fondly to her one day, remembering the old forest and the time spent hunting together under Fireheart's mentorship.
Then Brackenfur learned the truth about Cinderheart. She was a reincarnation of Cinderpelt! But what was Cinderpelt doing there?
Cinderpelt had lived a second life with a second chance to finally live as the warrior she was never able to be. She was not as lucky as her sister Brightheart. Brackenfur felt no resentment that his sister inhabited his daughter's body, although he found it very strange.
While she may have been happy as a medicine cat, Brackenfur knew that she had a shot of finding a true happiness with the same triumph he felt standing beside Bluestar on the day of his warrior ceremony.
A/N: It bothered me so much when Brackenfur didn't pay attention to Cinderpelt when she died, even when they trained together for a while. So what did I do? Write a short story on his feelings about the ordeal, from the warrior naming to finding out his daughter was a reincarnation.
Hope you enjoyed! Reviews keep Brackenfur happy!