Author's Note: This is just a short oneshot story that came to me. It's a bit of an older story that I ended up coming across when I was searching through my documents and I decided to edit it and touch it up a bit so I could post it up on here. It's been quite a bit of time since I've read Sunset in the warrior series so I apologize if a few parts seem a bit off and if Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost seem a bit out of character. I hope everyone enjoys it though! Feel free to give me any feed back!

P.S. There's not too much mentioned in this story that could be considered spoilers, but if you dislike spoilers, please proceed with caution as there are still a few parts that may be give aways.

It was a simple plan really.

Before him and Brambleclaw would meet, he'd lure Firestar to the trap and he'd convince Brambleclaw to kill the ThunderClan leader. Already his claws were twitching in excitement as he could see all of the events fall into place. Perhaps somewhere deep in his mind he knew that his actions would eventually have consequences, but he could deal with that later. Right now all that matter was ensuring that he and his brother became leaders – it was what was best for the clans. Together, they would make the clans even stronger.

"Hawkfrost?"

Brambleclaw's voice made his heart nearly skip a beat, and he almost delivered a pawful of claws into his half-brother's muzzle. "What are you doing here?" He hissed, involuntarily crouching.

His brother's amber eyes narrowed suspiciously. "This is ThunderClan territory," The other tom glanced around a bit nervously before he ducked closer to Hawkfrost's ear, "I thought the plan was to meet near ShadowClan's border later on."

Hawkfrost straightened. "There was a patrol nearby. I didn't want to rise suspicion."

Brambleclaw knew the other tom was lying through his teeth, but with an irritated flick of his tail, he beckoned Hawkfrost to follow him. The two of them headed in the direction of where they intended to meet. "Watch out," He heard Hawkfrost's voice behind him as they neared the lake, "I saw some fox traps about when I was wandering around here." There was a note of annoyance in the tom's voice that Brambleclaw couldn't really understand. He hoped his clanmates hadn't noticed his abrupt disappearance – he'd been anxious most of the day trying to make sure all of his new duties had been completed. Everything had been going smoothly so far, but it certainly was a change from his normal life of being a warrior.

He allowed a smile to twitch across his muzzle as he sat down across from Hawkfrost. "I feel like today's been a bit of a blur to me. Being deputy is certainly a change of pace."

Hawkfrost's earlier irritation seemed to lift from his features, and he purred in amusement. "I bet so. It'll be interesting once we're both deputies," His icy blue eyes narrowed a bit, "Though, I would still be deputy if it weren't for Mistyfoot."

Brambleclaw gave him an encouraging nudge on the shoulder. "Try not to dwell upon it. I'm not as eager as Father when he talks about Leopardstar dying – but when she does, I do agree with him that it's hard to believe that Mistyfoot would appoint anyone but you as her deputy. You already have a bit of experience."

His brother gave a thoughtful nod. "And if she doesn't? I suppose knocking heads with her ever since she's returned hasn't really given her the greatest impression of me lately…"

"That's actually something I wanted to bring up here during our meeting," Brambleclaw's eyes brightened a bit, "I had an idea that might put Mistyfoot in your favor. You might not completely like it, though…"

Hawkfrost gazed at him, his expression guarded, but curious. "Go on."

"I think you should try not to clash with her anymore," Brambleclaw stated, "I know that sometimes it may feel a bit difficult to hold your tongue, but arguing with her consistently won't get you anywhere. If you get the chance to do so – support her as well. Such as if another clan member tries to challenge her, or something like that. Perhaps make it subtle, though – otherwise she'll probably be suspicious as to why you have your nose up her fur all the sudden."

Brambleclaw could see Hawkfrost grimace. "I suppose that might be a good idea." The tom's voice sounded reluctant but understanding. "It would give me a better chance in the long run."

He could feel a hint of nervousness in his chest as he pondered on what he wanted to bring up next. He knew that he'd have to choose his words carefully – otherwise Hawkfrost would turn tail and leave him for good. The other tom would also be quick to inform their father and he didn't want that either – but he had a sickening feeling in his stomach that this may very well be the last chance he'd be able to reason with his brother. At least if it ends up where it doesn't work – I'll know that I at least tried. "Hawkfrost." He finally spoke, drawing the other's attention back to him. "There's something else more important I needed to speak to you about. I figured it'd be best if I brought it up here while we're meeting awake rather than dream."

Hawkfrost slowly nodded, the calculative gleam from before fading into curiosity once more. "Go ahead."

Brambleclaw drew in a deep breath. "I know it might take more than a brief discussion like this to change your mind, but I don't think we should follow Father's path for us."

The change in his brother's feature was almost instant and he could hear the beginning of a growl rising in Hawkfrost's throat. "And why do you think that? Don't you want to lead the forest together? His path is laid out perfectly for us. We'd be fools to ignore it."

"I think its fine to be ambitious," Brambleclaw interjected quickly, "But there's a difference between being fiercely ambitious and being a murderer." He hissed, "Weren't you listening to how Tigerstar was talking? He was excited about Leopardstar dying soon – and in the future death of Mistyfoot. And what's all this nonsense about the clans merging into two larger clans? There's always been four clans in the forest – that's just how things have been. Don't you feel like it'd be much more rewarding to become a leader that's respected rather than feared?" He could feel his claws sinking deep into the earth as he spoke. "I'd rather be feared by those who are my enemies rather striking terror in my own clan mates."

Hawkfrost sneered. "That's just a soft-pelt's way of thinking. You're thinking to narrow-mindedly, Brambleclaw – by merging the clans into two, we'll make them stronger. We'll be able to combine their territories and resources will be more plentiful – there'd be less reason to fight tooth and claw over limited herbs and prey. Less cats would get hurt, and there'd be less borders to worry our furs over."

He breathed out slowly, his eyes closing briefly before re-opening them. Hawkfrost was staring at him with a glitter of satisfaction in his eyes – almost as if he could tell that he was weakening his resolve. He had to admit that those were valid points – but he refused to believe that gave them any excuse to take lives. Besides, how could have it even be suggested to kill at a Gathering? Just fighting at a Gathering was terrible alone. "I could see where having only two clans could prove to be beneficial," He agreed a bit reluctantly, "However, that doesn't give us an excuse to take lives," He growled, "I want to become the best leader ThunderClan has ever known – but I don't want to gain that position with blood staining my claws. And I believe you could become the best leader RiverClan has ever known by the same means. You're a really good warrior – reliable and loyal to your clan. Ever since you and your sister joined, I could tell you valued the code and wanted to be the best warrior they've seen." He met his brother's gaze. "Tigerstar doesn't want what's best for the clans – he only wants to destroy them. He's using us."

"And?" Hawkfrost challenged, his icy orbs glittering.

"And I'm growing sick of it," Brambleclaw hissed fiercely, "I trained under him to become the best for my clan. The idea of becoming someone they fear makes me feel ill and I want no part of it. But I don't want you to have any part of it either. You're my brother, Hawkfrost. I care about you and Mothwing as much as I care about Tawnypelt. I don't want to see you fall and ruin your life."

Hawkfrost's gaze softened just a touch. "So you're proposing to forget everything that's occurred and turn away from it for good."

"Yes."

"And what about Father?" Hawkfrost gave him a light smirk. "You know that he's probably lingering around right now, don't you? He knew about you becoming deputy after all. I'm guessing he's not too happy."

"I'm aware," Brambleclaw gave a soft scoff, "If he's listening then so be it," His tail lashed once, "He's dead because of his crimes – and I have no intentions of following down a path as such. What use would it be if that's what happens? I want to be there for my clan – and you should be there for yours as well."

A sigh left Hawkfrost and the other tom looked up briefly towards the sky before speaking. "I still believe his idea of merging clans would be the best future for them," The tip of his tail twitched slowly, "And I still believe you're just being too of a soft-pelt. Sometimes sacrifices simply have to be made for the better – but I can understand your perspective. I know you might not completely believe me, but I'm not too keen on the idea of seeing anyone suffer if they don't have to either." He gave him another smirk. "I'll give your words some thought for now. We can meet another time." He stood up and began to walk away. After a few paces, however, he turned to look towards Brambleclaw. "This isn't me agreeing with you, though. Just so you know. We still have much to discuss with – I'm just agreeing to postpone our plans for now." With that being said, the RiverClan warrior disappeared in the brush.

It only seemed as if they had met for a brief moment, but Brambleclaw was surprised when he found out that it was already becoming quite late. Everyone is probably wondering where I am. I really should get back. He could only hope his words had truly reached his brother. From the outside, it still seemed like Hawkfrost wasn't wanting to let go of their original plan. There still had been a hard glint in his eyes – and a lust for power. He had a feeling that it would still take much more convincing to finally win him over. Exhaling softly, Brambleclaw quickly bounded into the forest, disappearing as he headed back to the ThunderClan camp.

It was enough, however, for those very actions, Brambleclaw had unintentionally changed fate itself...

And the dream filled with blood spilling out upon the lake never came to be.