I should tell this before people get all kinds of confused later on in the story. For anybody who's wondering where this is taking place, it is taking place around the middle of "Night Whispers"! Hope that clarifies on some things.
Q—Maia Carr: It says under 3k words on the word count for the story?
A—I understand that it did for the Prologue. But now it should be well over 3k ;) I type a lot, don't worry.
Review afterwards please! I'll do my best to answer your questions~
I do not own the Warrior Series. The rightful owner is Erin Hunter.
Chapter 1
Her tailtip twitched in anticipation as she watched the squirrel nibble on large acorns while scavenging the forest grounds. Her muscles relaxed and tensed every couple of heartbeats, keeping them from falling asleep or growing numb. It was a feeling she didn't like thinking about, especially now—when she was hunting.
The squirrel scurried closer to her patch of tall grass. She took in a quiet whiff of air, her mouth almost drowning in saliva as she smelt the delicious meat of the squirrel. Gathering her power, she forced her tail to still, so that her prey wouldn't hear and run off, leaving her empty-stomach. With a deep breath, she pounced from the grass.
Hearing her rustle from the grass, the squirrel, with its amazing speed, zipped from its nuts. The two—cat and squirrel—ran in sloppy circles, with the she-cat gaining the advantage. She placed all her strength into her hind legs to obtain better speed. With claws of one paw, she snagged the squirrel's tail in the right spot, swiftly pulling it back to her. Skidding to a halt, the she-cat bit down on the squirrel's neck, feeling the snap of the bone under her grasp.
'Yes! I did it! Oh, how I wish the others could see this.' Briarlight chirped happily at the thought. Purring proudly, she lied down and began eating her prize kill, licking her jowls of the warm blood, savoring the meat trailing down her throat. She didn't take forever to finish up her meal. With a final lick, she started up on grooming herself clean of the furry mess.
A twig snapped, echoing eerily in the air. In mid-lick, Briarlight looked around warily, but didn't see anything suspicious around her. The birds above her head were chirping still, oblivious to her hunting down below. Despite their happy manor, Briarlight's ears picked up the noise of grass and bushes moving.
On all four now, she dropped into her fighting stance, her mouth curling back in order to take in the smells. She soon detected another cat very close by. "Show yourself, cat!" She exclaimed, her voice trailing off in the forest air. The rustling stopped abruptly, making everything deathly quiet. For a few long heartbeats, Briarlight thought she had scared whomever it was off.
However, the noise started again, growing louder than before, till a shadowy cat-figure stepped out, shaking leaves and twigs from its pelt. "Oof! Meadow forbid that I would find this place so easily!" The cat said in a slight breathy yet feminine tone. When she looked at the brown she-cat, her voice turned more curious. "I assume you are Briarlight?"
Briarlight's heart skipped a beat in fear. She stood upright, trying to give off no hints of her confusion. "H-How do you know me? Are you a StarClan cat?" She said in caution, squishing down the urge to back up a few steps. This didn't go unnoticed by the shadow cat. Striking blue eyes looked her over and shrugged.
"It is nice for any cat, tom or she, to say yes or no to a question that was asked to them first," She said politely. The she-cat shook it off quickly though. "But I'll answer your questions first, dear. I know you because I've been watching over specifically you for a while now. You've grown so much, love, and I'm proud of you. But I also am sorry for…never mind. I'm getting off track, silly me. Do forgive this old cat's choice of staying old. My mouth talks more than I should."
"Uh…it's okay?" Briarlight was thoroughly confused by this she-cat, but she had to admit, she was a little funny; sort of like Purdy when he babbles about his stories. "What is your name, she-cat?"
"My name isn't important right now dear. I wish I could tell you, but we're running out of time," The she-cat paused, walking up closer. Briarlight gasped as the silvery tabby cat seemingly glowed in the moonlight. Her blue eyes shone with wisdom and age. "I must give you a message before I depart, Briarlight." Even as she said that, however, her voice was already starting to fade off.
"Wait! Come back! Please stay." Briarlight yowled pleadingly. Her world started growing dark too, as she started to sink deeper into it. The last thing she recalled was the she-cat's voice echoing in the darkness.
"The broken briar shall rise from the lake, only to ready itself for the war far dangerous than any cat shall know of that comes, with the guidance of believed monsters and its pure light."
.
.
Briarlight gasped loudly, eyes snapping open and wildly looking about. She realized that she was back in the medicine den. A plop of rain fell onto her nose, making her sneeze in a cute manner. She closed her eyes as a bright wave of sunlight angled its way into the warm den. The drying moss and leaves underneath her body crinkled as she moved into a sprawled out position, sighing when her muscles relaxed in an almost blissful fashion.
With a tired yawn, she went to stand and stretch her whole body, but didn't feel anything from the middle of her back down. Looking behind her, she grimaced at the sight of her lifeless limbs.
"It was all a dream…" She mumbled, setting her nose in her paws. "All a dream…" 'If so, what—no, who—was that she-cat? Was that a prophecy she gave me…'
The broken briar shall rise from the lake, only to ready itself for the war far dangerous than any cat shall know of that comes, with the guidance of believed monsters and its pure light.
'What could that mean?' Briarlight wondered.
A hiss, followed by a cold mumble of 'fox-breath' grabbed her attention quickly. She turned her head to see Jayfeather standing up stiffly, rolling his shoulders and attempting to relieve his pain. "Jayfeather, you okay?" She called out, crawling over to him. When she went to lick his ear carefully, he flinched away, like she had raked him with her claws instead.
"I'm fine. I just slept wrong, that's all." He growled. But even as he said that and turned away, he stopped when another wave of pain went through his body.
Shaking her head, she crawled closer to him, balancing on one paw and lifting her other one onto his shoulder. "Just hang on there, Jayfeather. Let me get some of the kinks out before—"
"I said I'm fine, Briarlight," She could hear Jayfeather holding back his annoyance as he pushed away from her. "I want you to go and check up on Sorreltail's wounds before doing your morning exercises going, okay? Don't push yourself, though, Briarlight. Let Sorreltail get you a mole or something afterwards." He instructed rather sternly. The gray tabby got up and briskly walked out of the den, leaving behind a dumbfounded Briarlight.
Briarlight hated how he still thought she was not capable of doing things on her own and that she still needs help even with the smallest things. Despite this, she couldn't be angry at him forever. Something inside his eyes always made her feel sympathy and caring for all of his hard work.
He was the medicine cat after all. But something else inside her said otherwise.
She did her morning grooming, pulling out a few ticks here and there, before dragging herself outside. The brown she-cat squinted as the bright morning sunlight became seemingly brighter once she left the den, blinding her for a few seconds. Leafbare was starting to settle in, beginning with a few sprinkles of snowflakes falling from the sky.
Once her eyes adjusted to lighting, Briarlight went over to Sorreltail, who was trying to soak up the warm rays of sun over the occasional cold breezes in the late morning, kneading the ground as she relaxed more.
"Beautiful, cold morning today, huh Sorreltail?" Briarlight chirped happily at the tortoiseshell. Sorreltail looked up and smiled amusingly.
"Sure is. I'm guessing you're here to check on my wounds, Briarlight?" She inquired.
Briarlight nodded eagerly. "Yep! It's something Jayfeather wanted me to do. He's out busy doing medicine cat stuff," The brown she-cat explained, placing one paw on the senior warrior's shoulder and pressing, seeing where it was stiff. "Plus, I need to keep myself entertained somehow." She added in, giggling a little.
Sorreltail chuckled. "I'm sure you need to."
The she-cat seemed in great condition on the trail of recovery. "I don't feel anything wrong or sore, and I'm positive that in the next few days, you'll be ready for more battling!" Briarlight said enthusiastically. But she stopped when she saw Sorreltail's expression of shame. "W-What's wrong? Are you hurting somewhere? Did I miss it? Are you feeling ill?"
Sorreltail raised her tail for Briarlight to settle down. She gave the younger she-cat a sad smile. "Nothing is wrong with me, dear. But…" She paused, glancing over her shoulder. Briarlight looked in the same direction, noticing ThunderClan's proud leader, Firestar, was looking awfully older than she realized before.
"You're thinking about the fight, aren't you?" Briarlight guessed out loud.
The pretty tortoiseshell sighed, her shoulders sagging down. "Yeah. I honestly look back and question why we even fought for a mouse-brain piece of grass territory. Now, Firestar has lost another life. Even worse, Russetfur died."
"But she's a ShadowClan cat."
Sorreltail suddenly glared at her. "It does not matter whether she's an rival clan cat. StarClan, she could've been a rabbit for all I care about! No cat should be killed like that. And I know Lionblaze didn't mean to kill her. He feels just as guilty as we all that fought that day."
Understanding now, Briarlight only nodded and started crawling back towards the medicine den. Two mewls caused her to stop and remember her exercising rituals. That, plus the little hairballs that jumped onto her back and clawed their way up to her shoulders. Not that she could feel them part of the time. She chuckled a meow.
"Hello, Cherrykit, Molekit. Ready for more balancing?"
"Yep!" They said happily. Briarlight's day got brighter as she and the only kits in the nursery played, instructing her to crawl while they were standing proudly on her shoulders. Whenever Briarlight glanced over to the nursery, she saw Poppyfrost idly watching the three of them playing around. Before, she would've felt hot with embarrassment and tried to stop, seeing as she looked like an apprentice more than a warrior.
Once doing her daily balancing and push-ups with the kits, Briarlight watched Cherrykit and Molekit jump down from her, careful as to not trip. She was proud at how much they had grown, almost ready for apprenticeship soon. 'Probably in newleaf they'll get their -paw names.' Briarlight thought with a proud smile.
"Hey Briarlight! Come over here please," Molekit meowed loudly. Obediently, the brown she-cat did so, dragging herself over to a large, broken off tree limb. The log was definitely taller than Briarlight had thought from a distance, more than likely broke off from a fallen tree during the thunderstorm a few moons back. "We're going to place a different game now. This one is climbing up the tree limb as quick as you can!"
"Yeah! I came up with the idea!" Cherrykit puffed out her chest proudly.
Molekit swat at his sister. "No I did! I thought of the game!"
"Did not!" Cherrykit growled.
"You guys! I think it's a brilliant idea from both of you," Briarlight intervened the argument quickly. "You guys go up first and I'll follow last."
"Okay!" Like the excited they were, Cherrykit and Molekit zipped up the log with ease, reaching the top and digging their claws into the bark.
"Whoa! You can see the entire camp from here, Briarlight! It seems bigger…" Cherrykit said in awe.
"Come on up, Briarlight!" Her brother insisted.
Instinctively, Briarlight looked back over to the nursery, seeing Poppyfrost and Ferncloud eyeing them with a little concern. But they nodded for her to keep going, indicating that they trusted her with the kits; alone.
Taking in a few hesitant breaths, Briarlight unsheathed her claws and latched onto the bark, her muscles flexing and tensing up as she began pulling herself up. It was much harder than once might assume, considering she could only climb with just her forelegs and not including her lifeless hind legs. Luckily, Cherrykit and Molekit had been there to give her words of encouragement.
Many grunts, a few slip-ups, and one restart later, Briarlight finally made it to the top. Her shoulders were screaming for her to rest, the burning sensation almost too much for her to handle. She turned around, smiling at the kits' happy cheering, and threw her paws tiredly down over the log.
"That…was definitely…a good workout…" She said through her breathless panting.
"Great job, Briarlight!" Molekit chirped. "Do it again! Again please!"
"Yeah! Climb again, Briarlight." Cherrykit meowed innocently, giving the brown she-cat those big amber kit eyes. With a breathless laugh, the crippled cat did climb a second time.
After she had climbed up and down a third time—with the pleading yowls of the kits—Briarlight's shoulders and forepaws started feeling unbelievably sore and numb for the day. She told Cherrykit and Molekit that they would play another time, but now she had to rest up and grab something to eat.
Stiffly, she crawled over to the fresh-kill pile and snatched up a plump vole, her favorite. She took note of how little was left in the fresh-kill; another sign of leafbare growing closer every day. Briarlight ate her vole slowly, savoring the meat that traveled down her mouth and into her stomach with every delicate bite. Before, she insisted on getting food for herself, yet the others didn't think she could do such thing, not while being crippled. Licking her jowls one last time, Briarlight began grooming herself, a habit she never lost, even as a kit.
She cleaned her pelt thoroughly, thinking back to the mysterious silver she-cat. She looked as if she groomed constantly to make her pelt shine and glow so beautifully. It made Briarlight envy her. 'Then again, many she-cats would kill to have such a exquisite pelt,' She thought with a goofy smile. Questions about her and the prophecy that she told Briarlight floated through her mind. 'Why me? I don't understand it in the first place. I hope I get to see her again…she was awfully nice, even if we talked only for a few seconds. Then again…' She looked at herself in a semi-frozen mud puddle.
'Why did StarClan bestow me with losing my back legs? I could've been the best warrior in the Clan!' She huffed, noting that if she could, her tail would be lashing angrily back and forth. Briarlight gazed high into the growing colder sky. 'Longtail…I wish you were here still. You didn't have to die…I know you were only trying to be a good tomcat. We all miss you.' She prayed to StarClan that her message was received.
Dipping her head onto her paws, she stared idly around, watching other cats do their things. Her parents, Graystripe and Millie, were grooming each other while chatting up with Foxleap and Dustpelt on a subject she couldn't hear. Cherrykit and Molekit were sticking close to the nursery, yet played in the small pile of leaves that gathered in front of their den. Berrynose was bringing Poppyfrost a mole for her to eat while he watched over their two kits. Briarlight couldn't help but noticed how they or her parents looked at one another.
Love. Love was filled in their eyes for their mates.
'Mate…that's another thing I don't know about. Will I—' Her thoughts were cut off when she started coughing a little. 'Better go and crawl around the camp. Maybe that'll help, despite my new yet tiring exercise.'
She abandoned her time of observation and crawled her way slowly around the camp. She greeted cats as she went, usually with an enthusiastic nod and smile. Briarlight stopped at the elder's den and saw Mousefur talking with Purdy; mostly Purdy doing the chatting. "Hey Mousefur!" She meowed, getting both elders' attention.
"Oh! Hello Briarlight…" Mousefur said hesitantly. Briarlight knew the former warrior she-cat was staring pitifully at her legs, replaying what happened during the thunderstorm.
"I'm fine, Mousefur. No worries! I can crawl much faster now, see?" The brown she-cat demonstrated by pulling her limp body around in long but quick circles. When she finished, she was panting a little, but a smile was on her face nonetheless.
Purdy let a chuckle of meow escape his lips. "You have indeed gotten faster, Briarlight. Good job. You remind me of when I was a younger tom, on my own…"
'Uh oh, here he goes again.' Briarlight groaned mentally upon Purdy's unfolding past story. Trapped, she placed her head on her paws and listened.
She didn't know how long he had been talking, but as he ended his story, Briarlight suddenly realized that it was a little past sunhigh. She had been listening to Purdy's babbling storytelling throughout the remaining morning.
"Briarlight! What are you doing over there?"
The noise of Jayfeather's voice sent relief through her pelt. 'Thank you, StarClan! My savior!' She turned completely around to see the gray tabby glaring at her blindly, confused as to why she wasn't in the medicine den. He had dropped a large mass of catmint and yarrow in front of his paws to speak at her.
Giving him an unnecessary guilty smile, she crawled over to him. "Sorry, Jayfeather. Purdy was telling such a magnificent story I just had to stay and listen," She faked the kindness in her voice. Almost right on, Jayfeather's expression changed to that of slight amusement and annoyance. She glanced back at the elder tom and purred. "Thank you so much for the story, Purdy!" she said before quickly following Jayfeather back to their nests.
"How are your legs?" Jayfeather asked bluntly.
'Well that's a mouse-brain question! I'm crippled!' Her mind screamed. But instead, Briarlight shrugged. "Hanging in there still." She said casually.
"Sorreltail?"
For a second she was confused, but then she remembered. "She's well. Her wounds are healing up great and she's not so stiff anymore. That's good, right?" Briarlight, though spending probably the rest of her life in the medicine den, was still getting used to things around here.
"Yeah. Good job." Jayfeather said, not bringing his blind gaze down to meet hers. Briarlight felt a swell of pride rush through her chest when he approved her well on her work, even if it didn't show in his features. They entered the medicine den, the smell of herbs and moss filling her nostrils.
Ducking her head down in embarrassment as she relaxed in her nest, Briarlight whispered, "Thanks."
However, her admiration was short lived when she started coughing abruptly. Jayfeather walked over and analyzed her, rubbing his paw on her back to soothe the clogging of her coughs. Briarlight looked at him, ashamed at her weakness to illness just as Millie came bounding in. 'And here I thought the exercises were clearing them!' Briarlight thought angrily.
"I heard her coughing! Jayfeather, why aren't you doing anything for her?!" She hissed at him accusingly.
"There's not much I can do, Millie! Only time will tell us. Briarlight is strong, and she needs to keep exercising in order to stay strong," He said back, ears flat against his head as he moved past the she-cats. "Let me go and get some coltsfoot for you and see how things go from there."
Briarlight watched the medicine tom to the shelving of the large den, sniffing here and there for the too familiar scent of coltsfoot. 'At least it'll give me some support. Too bad it's wearing off a little quicker than I want it to.' She thought sadly.
"That won't help you a whole lot, Briarlight dear." A soothing purr echoed the air.
Briarlight's head snapped up in the middle of a cough, looking in the back where Jayfeather was. Her heart skipped a beat—uncertain if it was in shock or amazement—seeing the mysterious silver-gray tabby she-cat from her dreams, sitting not too far from where she was laying. Briarlight wanted to speak out, mewl to Jayfeather that there was a ghost cat in the den, but both him and Millie would think she officially had bees in her brain.
The tabby, dipped her head down, pushing a large root of some kind forward with a smile. "This ginger will do you so much better, Briarlight. It'll clear your lungs far better and get rid of those pesky coughs for a long while." She said quietly, as if she was skeptical of Jayfeather or Millie hearing her. Before Briarlight could ask, she disappeared.
"Um…Jayfeather?" She went to say just when he dropped a leaf-full of coltsfoot in front of her paws.
"Eat this, it'll do you good for now." He said.
"That's all you're going to give her? She needs more than just some coltsfoot, Jayfeather!" Millie growled.
"Like what? I've got nothing else that's as good as this—"
"Hey! You guys!" Briarlight yowled, grabbing the two arguing cats' attention. She pointed over with a paw to the root. "What about that?"
Jayfeather sniffed the air and walked over to the root till it bumped into his paw. Dipping his head down, he sniffed it thoroughly, recoiling in confusion. "I've never seen a plant root like this. What is it?"
"I think it is called ginger, Jayfeather. I'm sure it's got to be stronger than coltsfoot." She insisted, trying to slide past the fact that a ghost cat had somehow brought that into the medicine without anyone noticing at all.
"Whoa, who made you the medicine cat? And how do you even know about this ginger thing, Briarlight?" Jayfeather asked, glaring at her with his sightless blue eyes.
Realizing she was caught, she gulped, blurting out whatever came to her mind. "Um… I remember seeing it in a dream, and…uh…it's really good for me. It tasted wonderful. I was going to tell you before, but you left so quickly that I didn't have time. Maybe we should bury and care for the remaining ginger nearby the lake. It'll grow under the growing snow and sprout in newleaf. Well, that's where I saw it in my dream…" She trailed off, giving a nervous laugh under her breath.
Her mother and Jayfeather looked at each other then at her, doubtfulness etched in their faces. She sighed in frustration. "Oh, come on! It won't hurt me! I'm sure of it." As she said that, Briarlight could've sworn she heard a chuckle in the air.
At last, Jayfeather finally sighed in defeat. "Alright. Chew it up thoroughly before you swallow first, Briarlight." He sat there, his eyes fully on her—probably his attention too—as she dipped down and ate through half of the ginger, leaving the rest for planting. Millie shifted on her paws as she saw her kit chew it till it was nothing but slop in her mouth.
The taste was rather sweet, yet had a sharp bitter taste to it after she swallowed. The she-cat shuddered in semi-disgust, but put on a proud smile. "See? No trouble at all." She said with a little burp, quickly feeling embarrass.
"Let her rest now, Jayfeather. She's probably exhausted from all that unnecessary exercising." Millie urged to Briarlight, who simply rolled her eyes and moved away from her overly concerned mother.
"I'm fine, Mother. In fact, I probably could go hunting!"
"Yeah, and cause all whole bee swarm of chaos out there," Jayfeather allowed himself to chuckle a little. He stopped when his brother, Lionblaze, walked in. His golden tabby pelt heaved as he breathed heavily. "Lionblaze? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. But…can we talk? It's something…important."
Jayfeather got the look of understanding on his face when Lionblaze mentioned that one word. He quickly turned his attention to the she-cats. "Briarlight will be fine, Millie. And I hear Firestar calling you for a border patrol. Stay here and regenerate your energy for now, Briarlight. I'll be back in a little while." He didn't give them a chance to object his words as he followed Lionblaze out of the medicine den, taking the remaining ginger with him to bury at the side of the lake.
Millie sighed, giving her daughter a final lick behind the ears. "I'll be back later, Briarlight. Sleep well." With that she, too, left the den, now leaving the brown she-cat all alone.
Briarlight groaned, suddenly feeling bored again. An amused purr sounded the air, startling her again. She looked over to the little pool inside the den to see the mysterious she-cat. "Why do you do that? It's like you're stalking me, and I'm the prey!" She hissed quietly. She didn't want to grab the attention of any cat outside.
Her guest shook her head and walked closer to Briarlight. She placed her tail on the brown she-cat's head. "Have no worries for now, dear. I'd recommend you get up and follow me quickly, or else the other cats might find out."
"Hold on, where are you taking me?" Briarlight mewled.
"Outside of ThunderClan camp." The she-cat stated bluntly.
"Wait, you want me to leave the camp?! But why? Where would you take me?" Briarlight asked. When the she-cat held up her tail for Briarlight to quiet down, she reluctantly obeyed.
"If you want to know more about what I told you before, leaving the den is the only way. You stay here and try talking to me, and cats that come in unexpectedly will think you've completely lost your head. It's not far; just a little ways into the thorn bushes." She turned back around and walked farther into the den, rather than exiting from the entrance.
'What should I do? If I'm not back in time, Jayfeather will get upset and Ma will worry about me till she dies of a heart attack!' Briarlight fought inwardly. A part of her wanted to go and escape the confinement of the den and of camp, to see the wild side of ThunderClan territory again. Snow was falling faster as the day waned on, but even then, it felt like it would be worth the sneak out. Then again, she didn't want to make anyone scared of her disappearance.
With a sigh of defeat, Briarlight crawled after the vividly transparent cat, seeing as she came to a stop in front of what looked like a small hole, far too small for either one to slither under. But she was proven wrong when the cat pulled away the shrubbery, revealing the hole going down a little lower; giving just enough space for even a cat like herself to crawl under.
"Come." The silver tabby said, going first through the hole.
Briarlight looked over her shoulders, glad that she didn't see any cat walk in. 'Yet.' Holding her breath, she dropped her forepaws into the small ditch, grunting as her back legs fell behind her. Though the hole wasn't entirely small, it still gave Briarlight a hard time crawling through, with her being crippled and all.
By the time she pulled herself up and out of the cramped area—after she had slipped a few times—dirt was matted on her once neatly groomed fur and she was panting a little harder than normal. However, the brown she-cat didn't complain, not wanting to look weak under the beautiful stare of her guidance.
Without speaking a word, the silver tabby led Briarlight through the bushes. Briarlight was worry that her rustling in the bushes would alert the Clan of her loud noise making.
"Do not worry about them, darling. They don't know that it's you. They would only think of it as a weasel or something smaller." The she-cat reassured Briarlight.
Wanting to keep the conversation going, Briarlight clear her throat a little. "Um…so what's your name? You never told me it in my dream last night."
The silver tabby was silent for a heartbeat, but it felt like eternity to Briarlight when she spoke again. "My name is Billie."
It took Briarlight by immense surprise to hear such a simple name from a uniquely mysterious she-cat such as her. " 'Billie'? But that sounds like a kittypet name!" She gasped. She immediately regretted saying that last part. The tabby turned around, her once heartfelt and warm blue eyes now a cold glare, like icicles piercing through her skin.
"And what of it? What will you think of me now? A stupid and lazy cat that knows nothing of the wild side of her old ancestors?" She countered back harshly, her odd ears flattened against her head.
"N-No! That's not what I would think!" Briarlight tried to convince Billie. Yet she admitted to herself, she had thought that idea for a split heartbeat. "But what is a kittypet cat like you doing here in the real world, full of danger and wildlife?"
"Because I've chosen to. Just because I'm not from around here, and I'm most certainly not a full-blood warrior," She placed cold emphasis on those words, making Briarlight flinch. "doesn't mean I'm stupid. You wild cats think we are out of our minds to have a No-Collar, or Twoleg, around to take care of us; but if you were all in the places of a very abused cat out in the streets, starving and begging for death, you would understand then. Maybe."
Briarlight recoiled back, feeling completely ashamed now of misjudging Billie upon hearing her name. "I'm…I'm sorry. You're probably going to leave me here so I can get lost, huh?"
She looked up into those piercing blue eyes, so similar to Jayfeather's blind sky-blue ones. But Billie just sighed, shaking her head. "Not a chance, Briarlight. And I accept your apology, sweetheart. Let's continue our talk while we walk. Ask me anything and I'll try answering it." Billie said with an amused chuckle.
When Briarlight was crawling next to her finally, she hesitated at first. "Um…can you tell me how, or what, happened to your ears? Did they not grow right as a kitten?" It was an odd question, but a question that Billie answered to keep the conversation flowing.
"No. As a kit, I had wonderful hearing. Growing up, it stayed that way. Just an infection that eventually deformed my ears, but didn't take my hearing from me completely. I only had hard times hearing when I was a little older. Oh, how my No-Collars tried their very hardest to fix my ears, placing that putrid ointment in them. It relieved the swelling, but never the true affect." Billie explained with a sad smile. Briarlight at first thought it was of her deformity that Billie was sad about. But her gut told her otherwise.
"Why do you call Twolegs this 'No-Collar' name?"
"Because most kittypets—or Collared cats, as we call ourselves—have some kind of collar around their necks, kind of symbolizing who and where their No-Collars are. But many others and I call them simply No-Collars because they almost never place anything around their necks."
"Why did you live with a Twoleg?" Briarlight didn't miss the confusion that slowly etched onto Billie's face. She kept quiet until they broke free of the bushes and fell into a small clearing inside of the bushes. Sunlight pierced through the small openings of the shrubbery, warming Briarlight's pelt up. Memories of when she was an apprentice with Thornclaw, her former mentor, floating through her mind. Sad memories of the good past
Billie disappeared for a second in the light, only appearing again as she laid down. With the tip of her tail, she gestured Briarlight to lie next to her and rest. After she did, Billie answered the question. "I never was a wild cat before, Briarlight. I've lived with No-Collars all my life."
That left Briarlight astonished. "You have?"
"Yep. And I never regret in my later years staying. As a young cat, around your age, my original No-Collars, a happy couple, had a kit. But, with the birth of their new kit, they feared I was going to hurt the baby even in the smallest ways. And…something did happen after all," She paused, holding up one paw. Briarlight could see the silver she-cat trying to flex out her claws, but nothing appeared. "That is how I lost both my back and front claws."
"That's awful!" The brown she-cat gasped in horror. 'Why would Twolegs do such thing?! Cats need their claws to protect themselves!' Her mind screamed. 'Twolegs are so heartless, no matter what mother tells me.'
"Not all No-collars are bad, dear," Billie spoke almost as if she knew what Briarlight was thinking. Seeing the shock on the brown she-cat's face made Billie smile wider. "Some are just too confused to think right. That's sort of normal for any living thing. Before I died I was with two loving No-Collars for ten seasons. Or at least a hundred and twenty moons for you wild cats. I died right around my nineteenth season of life; about two hundred and twenty eight moons old."
"Wow, you're older than Mousefur! And she's really old!" Briarlight giggled the last part. "I'm curious. Do you live in StarClan, or are you just a ghost that roams around?"
Billie sighed softly. "Since I was never born or raised in the wild, Briarlight, I do not live in StarClan. Neither does my sisters, my brothers, my mates, or any other cat that is dead like me. We live in a place we call Rainbow Meadow. Think of it as a StarClan, only for the strays and kittypets."
Remembering the words Billie said to her before, Briarlight asked, "What were you talking about before? That…prophecy you told me?"
"So you do remember it. I was afraid you would think it was nothing and forget about it," Billie gave a sarcastic laugh, suddenly sitting up and licking a paw. "If I told you what it means, you'd never believe a solid word of it. You'd think I'm crazy, just like the StarClan cats thought of me when I explained it to them." Her head was down in a low bow. "Why do cats honestly think that we've lost our minds once we—the outcasts—step foot into their territories?"
Briarlight's mind was buzzing like bees in their nest with questions, not one being answered yet. "Please…tell me," She insisted, wishing that she could reach up and touch her tail on Billie's shoulder for comfort. "I trust you. Crazy like flying hedgehogs it may be, but I trust you and your words, Billie."
Blue eyes met amber, debating if she could believe Briarlight's honor and loyalty. Heaving a long sigh, Billie's posture turned rigid and serious.
"You must leave ThunderClan and the lake, Briarlight."
Cliffhangers~ XD Try to keep up ;)
Review please for any questions you have for this chapter! They'll be posted on the next chapters! Until next time~
EDIT 11/29/13: Adding an IFT here!
Interesting Fact Time!
Ever questioned why your cat may lick your fingers when nothing is on them? Or why they sometimes lick your hair? Or even your face? Scientists and cat behaviorists had discovered a while ago that this is because of how they first start off as kits. A kit's mother will lick them to stimulate breathing when they are first born, and then later on do it for grooming reasons. The feel of the washcloth-like tongue moving on a cat's body brings those memories back. And doing so on our faces, fingers, etc. also shows a sign of marking their territories! That's right, you truly are a piece of territory to your cats when they lick you. Some might nip and bite before licking, which is what cats have done since they were kits. As if testing the durability of whatever they are nipping on before smoothing it and soothing the pain quickly. Cats also do this as if to return the favor of petting their bodies, the movement of your hands feeling much like their mothers' tongues. Give comfort, receive comfort! No wonder cats will spend over 30% of their waking hours grooming! ^w^
Wrapping it up, don't be too alarmed or confused as to why a cat may lick you. They simply are trying to show affection…that, or showing that you are a piece of treasure to them! XD