This is a short telling about Brambleclaw's relationship with his father. I will say that this is my first Songfic; I hope I don't screw it up. This is set up during Sunset, and I know it's not exactly what it's like in the book, but it seemed to fit here. The beginning is a little story and then it evolves into the actual song part. Hope you enjoy it! And if the formatting is screwed up, I'm sorry, I've tried to fix it, but it just doesn't like me.
I do not own Warriors, which belongs to Erin Hunter, nor do I own Numb, that's Linkin Park's.
So here's Numbed Expectations!
Alone, a young cat stood. His fur quivered as the wind buffeted against him, trying to knock him down. He stared at the clearing in front of him, the clearing he grew up in; the old ThunderClan camp. The dark brown tom slinked forward, disgusted with this illusion. This was my home, my beautiful home that I once shared with my sister. And now he brings me back here... Disgraceful. The tom thought, though he knew it was useless. Sighing, he spotted a familiar pelt… shared by two cats. Unenthusiastically, he padded towards them.
"Brambleclaw, about time you arrived." one growled. The tom turned to glare at his father, the scoundrel shunned by all the Clans.
"Tigerstar, Hawkfrost." he acknowledged, a hint of a snarl etched in his voice. Tigerstar paid no heed by this small challenge; instead he stared at both his sons.
"The Gathering is coming up, and I have the future ready for you two. Both of you will lead a group of your followers to the Gathering. Make sure the strongest ones block the entrances to the Island; that way no cat can escape. Then you can kill the leaders, and take their places. Brambleclaw will rule both ThunderClan and WindClan, merging the territories and controlling those mouse-brains. Hawkfrost, you will lead ShadowClan and RiverClan. The lake will be under your control!" he roared, his eyes glittering as he imagined the future.
Hawkfrost smiled at his father's words, an eerie grin that sent shivers through Brambleclaw. He saw his half-brother's claws flash in the little light, along with his teeth that appeared more menacing than usual. The ThunderClan tom lowered his head and let out a sigh. This is going to far... I'd never kill at a Gathering! I'd never even kill any cat, it's not honorable.
"Isn't there something else we could do?" he asked, his voice wavering. Two glares instantly met him, one blazing amber and the other a piercing blue. Brambleclaw flattened his ears but didn't back down.
"Oh, the little kit is afraid of killing at a Gathering. He still fears StarClan…" his brother mocked, a snide in his tone.
"No I don't! I just think its low to kill a cat out of bloodlust and not in a fair battle! Just because I have more honor in one of my pads than you do in your entire body, doesn't mean I'm a scared little kit. And I'm not going to become a villain like you!" he snarled, glancing at his father. Anger rippled through the deceased leader's pelt.
"How dare you speak that way to me you insolent fool!" he spat, swiping a claw across his son's muzzle. Brambleclaw dodged and retaliated by lunging forward. His front paw tore through the tabby's fur, leaving trails of blood. The two toms barreled over in a fury of fur, claws and spitting rage. Hawkfrost watched on, interested on who would be the victor. Finally they broke apart, both gasping for breath as blood splashed to the earth. Brambleclaw supported a ripped ear, a wrenched shoulder and a torn tail. His father had streaks of scarlet crisscrossing his pelt, showing that he was given no mercy. One of his eyes was swelled shut from a well-placed blow and his muzzle was bleeding heavily.
"Leader of the Clans, feared by all… who would want that? You are the cats that have been shunned from memories, or at least will be. You want me to rule, to be the monster from nightmares that scare little kits." Brambleclaw mused, his eyes narrow slits.
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertone)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertone)
Tigerstar let out warning snarl, but it seemed to go unnoticed as his ignorant son let out a hiss. Anger rolled through the leader, causing his claws to sink through the grass.
"I've done everything for you! I've helped you since you were a bumbling kit, following that filthy kittypet. At night I taught you fighting skills that no other cat knows, I helped you get stronger. And how do you thank me? By throwing it all away! You disgust me." he spat in fury. The ThunderClan warrior held his head up, unafraid of his father's threats.
"It's become too much for me to handle, too much for me to bear. I'm sick of it. You want us to carry on what you couldn't do, what you failed to do because of Firestar. He's more of a leader than you ever could be!"
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
"I don't want you to tell me what to do! I want to follow my own path, become great because of what I did, not what I was told to do. Besides, you're the worst father ever! Tawnypelt never wanted anything to do with you while I ignored everything the others told me. Even when I saw you being killed, I felt sorry for you. Now I know that you deserve no sympathy!" Brambleclaw shouted, letting his rage flow out along with his words. "I even tried to ignore you, everything you told me, everything you promised."
Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
Tigerstar seemed scared, truly and utterly frightened out of his fur. He saw his dreams of the future, everything he had planned, everything he wanted for his sons, crashing in front of him. He was never spoken to like this, he was always feared, always respected… but never had a cat backtalk him. Snarling, in order to clear this sudden fear, he faced his son, his traitorous son.
"Without me, you'd never even be here! I was protecting you all these moons, from that idiot Firestar, from that cat that will betray you, from weak cats that will trick you. Bluestar and the others feared you and hated you, and who helped you overcome it? I did all of it to try and help you, but you're too blind to see it! Hawkfrost understands, so why not you?" he roared, hoping to convince his son back to his side. But all he did was glare and look on with rage
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertone) I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertone)
And every second I waste is more than I can take
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
He couldn't believe what he was hearing; all these lies just in order to get him back. Only half of what he heard was truthful, but not even convincing. He was seeing his father break, collapse because he finally was denied what he wanted. His sons power, his sons ability to carry on his dreams. It was pathetic.
"Listen to yourself! You sound like a groveling kit that did something wrong. You think you can control us, change us so that we become like you? Well you can't, and how did you even become this heartless? Was it because you were afraid of becoming like your father, a kittypet, and you hungered for the darkness that Thistleclaw gave you?" Brambleclaw felt like clawing his own father's eyes out, just because he appeared to be blind already.
And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
Tigerstar felt a nerve get struck. How dare he bring up my father! What I feel towards him is instinctively my thoughts and mine alone. That tabby is going to die.
"Can you hear yourself? You desired the power I could give you. You didn't let anything stop you until now. You can't turn your back on me now; you can't just throw me away like a rotten mouse." he raged, the fury growing as he saw his son walking away from him.
"Watch me." Brambleclaw spat, turning only his head. Tigerstar snarled and hissed as he raced after his son. Malice shone in his eyes as he felt his blood boil. He couldn't bear to take this abuse from his son, the one cat that was supposed to be afraid of him, to listen and obey everything he said. Instantly the young warrior turned around and glared at his father with pure venom.
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
"Father, these are my last words to you… Everyone judges your past, not you alone. They judge your background, your stereotype, and what your parents did. There's no justice in that, especially for me. I've risen to greatness by what I did, not what you did. You've haunted my dreams, taught me, telling me, driving me and Hawkfrost. But finally… I've had enough. From now on, if you dare enter my dreams, or whisper anything in my ear, I'll personally claw you until you get my point. Otherwise I'll just pretend that you're nothing more than snow, something that just needs to be ignored until it goes away. You can't harm me anymore, nor can you control me anymore." He then turned to his brother. "And Hawkfrost, you better do the same before it costs you your life." he warned, his voice as cold as ice. Tigerstar let out a roar before charging at his son, but he had already disappeared, to wake up in his warrior den, finally free of the nuisance known as his father.
There's Numbed Expectations! I hope you enjoyed it and I would appreciate any comments about it; this was my first Songfic and I hope to write more that will hopefully be better.
Sayonara!