Not much to say on this chapter, except that new things pop up. Not gonna say anything else until you read B)

Other than that guys, I hope you enjoy this new chapter! Review after you're done if you have any questions or have comments! Enjoy!

I do not own the Warrior cat series. All original references, characters, ideas, etc. belong in the ownership of the amazing Erin Hunter.

Previously:

"You must leave ThunderClan and the lake, Briarlight."

Chapter 2

Briarlight suddenly forgot how to breathe. Such a simple sentence made her double take, questioning if she heard things right. When she found her voice again, she managed to squeak out, "L-Leave ThunderClan? Wh-Why?"

"Because it is part of your prophecy, Briarlight."

"How in the name of StarClan would I be able to leave? I'm crippled! And where would I go? It's rather pointless to just walk out of ThunderClan without knowing my designated location, right?" Briarlight forced herself to keep her voice down, no matter how much she wanted to yowl angrily at Billie. Keeping their secret meeting, well, secret, was important in order to obtain more information.

The silver tabby looked halfway between amused and a little annoyed. "I understand you are crippled, Briarlight. I'm not stupid, not even when I was alive. Your answer will come soon enough, though I can't say when or what it'll be," She explained softly. Briarlight gave a low growl of frustration at this. Billie, with a smile, leaned down and licked the brown she-cat's cheek. "I know you're very confused right now, sweetheart. But, in due time, your answers will come to you, and you to them."

"You say it like you've experienced this before. Experienced pain, grief of a dead clanmate, or even the outcast feeling of being a crippled cat. The feeling of not being able to help with warrior duties. But you don't," Briarlight hissed, pulling away from Billie's licking. "I'm not leaving ThunderClan or my loyalty to them just to go somewhere that I'll probably end up dying at."

Briarlight started dragging away when Billie made her breathless a second time;

"What if I told you that where you will be going can give you the one thing you want back in your life since your accident?"

Her whole body felt stiff like an oak tree, unable to move a single step further. But her mouth managed to work. "That's impossible! Jayfeather told me I'm no longer able to walk." She huffed down at the ground. 'So much for thinking positive for the rest of my life.' Briarlight scolded to herself.

"To the cats, you are crippled forever, yes. But not where you should be going."

"But even if I do leave to…wherever this place is, how will I know that when I come back, the Clans—my Clan—and my Clanmates will forgive me? Will they still consider me as a warrior and a loyal one to ThunderClan?"

"You speak wise wording, and it's manageable, Briarlight. But let me ask you this," Billie appeared in front of Briarlight, halting her in her chance to escape. "Do you think staying here—and threatening the lives of your friends, your family, and your leader, with the danger of darkness that is unfolding quicker than your ancestors and mine can stop—is better off than at least trying? From what I recall, trying has gotten this Clan around for many seasons, both in the past and present." Billie said in a cold voice, each word piercing deeper and deeper into Briarlight's mind. She tried to argue back; but when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out.

Everything Billie was telling her outmatched her opinions. She was right.

"The choice is all up to you, Briarlight. My words of wisdom and care, hopefully, will guide you in the right path. But I'll never be able to force you completely to make your own decisions. Not now, not ever. No cat, not even StarClan cats, can change that," Billie's shoulders sagged forward in unexpected exhaustion, her deformed ears flattening to the sides of her head. "ThunderClan will start worrying. You know the way back. I must leave too; my mate will be worried of my disappearance."
She went to turn away, but Briarlight placed a paw on her shoulder urgently. "Wait! Can't you give me another sign? Something to make things clear again?"

"Even if I could, I will not. Signs come from your soul and believing in what you are destined to be. I know you can believe, Briarlight, but can you believe strong enough for your Clan?" Without waiting for an answer, Billie vaporized into the crispy air.

Briarlight felt cold being all by herself, the fading sunlight suddenly not warm enough. Reluctantly, she slowly pulled her half-limp body back to the medicine den. As she crawled, her mind was filled with the serious words that Billie spoke to her. 'But how am I suppose to leave? What if leaving will cause more pain than help for the Clan?' She thought, growing more puzzled with every what-ifs that came to mind.

She crawled back through the dipped hole into the den, seeing that no one was there. However, just as she started to rest her sore shoulders from the long crawl, Jayfeather's head popped in.

"How're you doing, Briarlight? No coughing or anything?" He spoke. Briarlight almost missed the stressfulness in his voice, and how grave it seemed. She looked up at him and nodded, placing on a fake smile.

"I'm doing just fine, Jayfeather. I think that ginger is working great. Nothing wrong!" She giggled half-heartedly. She looked at the gray tabby, seeing his face scrunched up in confusion. "Is something wrong with anything, Jayfeather?"

That seemed to snap him out of his trance. He quickly shook his head. "Nothing. I'm alright. Let's get some more rest for the night."

Briarlight knew Jayfeather was holding something back, but she decided that if he didn't want to speak it to her, then it was none of her business until he did so. She saw that his fur was matted up in some areas, twigs sticking out here and there. She watched as Jayfeather practically collapsed into his bedding, letting off a frustrated sigh.

'Whatever Lionblaze had discussed with him, it must've sent him through more stress than he normally goes through.' Briarlight thought sympathetically. With a soft grunt, she pushed herself over to his side, lying behind him. She felt him wince away from her sharply, obviously confused at her actions.

"I'm cold Jayfeather. Just… this one time. Please…" She insisted with a tired yawn. After a long moment, he finally sagged back against her, dropping his head sideways to the ground.

"Fine." He snorted, just as tired.

Briarlight gave him a short lick on the ear before doing the same. "May StarClan walk in your dreams, Jayfeather." She sighed, drifting off into welcoming darkness.

The next morning she woke up, her shoulders—just as she predicted—were very stiff from her new workout from the previous afternoon. Groaning quietly, she shifted closer to the warmth that coated her upper body. She sighed happily into the furry obstacle under her nose.

'Furry? Wait…I know this scent…' Her mind struggled to register through the fog of drowsiness, trying to figure out what it was for a few heartbeats. Reluctantly, Briarlight opened her well-rested eyes. Almost instantly, her whole face grew hot at her discovery.

Somewhere through the night, Briarlight had moved far closer to Jayfeather without him knowing. Apparently, it had caused the tom to sprawl out more, his forelegs crossed at the paws only after being lengthen out to their limit; the same went for his hindquarters. For her, Briarlight's head was on his neck, snuggled comfortably into unusually warm and soft fur.

With a sigh, Jayfeather craned his head into more of an arch, appearing to dive deeper into unconsciousness. Briarlight couldn't but help but stare at the content on his face. 'I've never seen him sleep so limply. He's always grumbling in his sleep...' She thought with a smile.

Hoping not to wake him up, the young she-cat shuffled away, almost missing the warmth they shared. 'Stop! He's a medicine cat! It's so against the code.' She yelled mentally to herself. Briarlight glanced outside and nearly squealed in joy.

Throughout the night, early leaf-bare officially started with a large snowfall. Snow piled a few mouse-heights deep, so white that it would surely blind her when the sun rose later in the day. Currently, the skies were a dull blue, mixed in with pretty pink and orange colors of the late morning.

As quietly as she could, Briarlight crawled into the snow-covered ground. She giggled when it made soft crunching noises. An idea popped in her head when she felt it being a little more difficult to crawl. Taking in a deep breath of the cold, crispy air made her lungs sing with clearness. 'My breathing does seem a lot clearer. I guess I have Billie to thank for that.' She noted that thought for later. Happily, the brown she-cat crawled slowly around the camp for her early morning exercise. There were parts of the camp that had more snow than some, making it a little more difficult for her. But she had managed, especially with the fun she was having.

After her ritual and a quick nap to rest up, Cherrykit and Molekit awakened Briarlight again later in the morning. ThunderClan cats kept themselves busy for the day by clearing away the snow into ditches and large piles, but not big enough to get hurt on if a kit or apprentice falls from them. Firestar assigned three hunting patrols that day, knowing that they still needed to stash up on as much fresh-kill as possible, and two boarding patrols to re-freshen their markings. If a severe blizzard came in, they needed to be prepared.

Briarlight, in the midst of her exercising, heard a gruff clear of someone's throat, grabbing her attention. She turned to see none other than Jayfeather sitting a few foxlengths away from her and the kits. In a optimistic voice, she yowled out, "Hey Jayfeather! The kits and me invented a new game to play. It's helping with my breathing and making me stronger too!"

"Huh…well, finish off whatever you're doing and come help me. I need to go and stock up on more herbs today and I need you to stay back and sort everything out. Brightheart is helping too." He explained, walking closer to the large log.

"Okay! Hang on a sec." Briarlight watched the kits hop down easily from the log, but for her it was still hard, so it took her a little longer. Once she was down on the snowy ground, she made sure the kits got back to the nursery safely before following Jayfeather back into the warm medicine den.

"You know what to do, right?" He asked idly.

"Yep! Um…did you sleep okay last night?" She was unsure on why she asked that, since she saw that he did sleep well.

"Yeah. You weren't too cold afterwards were you? Any coughing last night?" He seemed to be worried about her condition too. Briarlight nodded shyly, giving him a smile.

"Nothing was wrong. It felt…nice to sleep like that. Thank you," She said gratefully. When the silence became a little too much, she cleared her throat. "So, where will you go to get the herbs?"

He scoffed annoyingly. "By the abandoned Twoleg house, of course. Make sure to get all of the herbs sorted correctly by the time I get back, okay?"

"Sure." Was all she got out before he left swiftly to do his job. 'Geesh, he may be irritated all the time, but he sure does not hold back on giving orders and leaving,' Briarlight thought with a sigh. 'If he isn't back before the sun starts setting, I'll ask Firestar to find him.'

As she carefully sorted out the herbal medicines, Briarlight began to have the feeling of being watched again. She turned her head to see nobody there. 'Huh…I wonder if this is Billie playing with me…'

"It is not my sister, kit." An icy cold voice was her response. Briarlight felt as if cold claws raked down her upper body, making her shudder involuntarily. When she turned around again, the brown she-cat had to hold down a scream upon seeing a tortoiseshell mere pawsteps from her face. But what got to her was the green glare of her eyes. Taking a few steps away from her herbs and the she-cat, Briarlight tried focusing on calming down her breathing.

"Um…are you one of Billie's friends?" She whispered nervously, not totally if this cat was a good or bad one.

Unfortunately, she just scoffed disgustingly. "Yeah sure, call me that if ya want to. I really didn't care for that hag when were alive and I most certainly don't still, now that we're dead."

"Oh…okay. Um…what is your name?"

The tortoiseshell clearly appeared annoyed with all of the questions that Briarlight kept asking, so opposite of Billie by many tree lengths. But, she was determined on something, yet Briarlight couldn't tell what it was. Finally, the tortoiseshell and white she-cat snorted out, "Name's Amy."

"So you also came from a Twoleg family? Like Billie's?" Briarlight smiled, trying to loosen the tension of Amy's attitude. Sadly, it was almost complete futility when Amy squinted one eye narrow but kept her other one wide open.

"The hag didn't tell ya did she? Typical," Amy muttered harshly. Seeing the obvious confusion on Briarlight's face, she continued. "I lived with that old cat the majority of my life. Up until her death, that is. Then I was forced to live with the two little brats that did the same thing that that old she-cat did to my No-Collar."

Briarlight could tell now that Amy's tension was coming from overpowering anger, much stronger than Jayfeather's on any bad day. She peered down to see Amy digging her claws into the dirt deeply. "You're going to have to clear up on me, please Amy." She announced, starting to fear of standing up to this short-tempered she-cat.

Without warning, Amy's ears tipped down to her head, her pupils turned to slits, and the green glare turn painfully hot. "That's none of your business!" She snarled, causing Briarlight to recoil back in fright. "A kit like you? How does she even think—no, how do any of them possibly think a flipping crippled kit can save them? It makes no sense!" In some sense, Briarlight watched Amy vanish abruptly, clearly fighting over herself on unanswered and frustrating questions. It was scary, yes, but surprisingly painful too. Briarlight didn't like seeing any cat go crazy because they don't know something.

With batted breath, she slowly went back to sorting out the remaining herbs, however kept looking over her shoulders every few heartbeats, just in case Amy popped in again. "It seems she blames a lot on other cats; especially Billie. I wonder why she hated her so much? Billie looks like she couldn't harm a fly, even when a little annoyed…" She mumbled out loud. "I wonder why I'm seeing ghosts?"

That made her stop in her pawsteps. She didn't realize that her body was starting to shake a little. "Am I…am I going to die soon?" That question hung frozen in the air, with no one to give her an answer. For many bloodbeats, Briarlight prayed that StarClan, or even Billie, would come down and give a response.

Unfortunately no one came.

Still shaking, she quickly finished sorting and went outside to get some fresh air. The brown she-cat looked around, seeing everyone—even the elders and kits—doing something for the Clan. The warriors were still shuffling away snow, some still moving away fallen debris from the storm, only it was much harder with the snowfall the Clans just had. Cherrykit and Molekit were eagerly helping their mother and Ferncloud and Daisy bundle up fresh moss bedding and cleaning out the queen's den. Mousefur and Purdy were the same.

'Everyone does so much, and yet I can only waddle around on two legs,' Briarlight thought pitifully. 'Maybe they've got the wrong cat after all.'

She looked at the fresh-kill pile and saw that it was moderately filled. Her stomach grumbled for food, but she decided against it. With sudden stiff steps, Briarlight walked around the camp slowly, not in any hurry to finish up.

Briarlight's ears flickered when she heard bushes rustle loudly. She turned just in time to see Ivypaw burst out, her steps stiff and angrily stomping down on the cold ground. "Ivypaw, come back!" Dovepaw followed her sister out of the bushes, quickly catching up to her.

'Hmm, a sisterly argument it seems.' Briarlight thought, shamefully eavesdropping on the two apprentices.

"Leave me alone, Dovepaw! I don't want to…" Ivypaw lowered her voice to a hiss, barely audible for Briarlight's ears. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"But—" Dovepaw wasn't given a second chance as the white and gray tabby scurried away. Dovepaw's tail lashed in the air viciously, showing that she was angry too.

'What's with cats today? Everyone seems angry at someone or something since that battle.' Briarlight thought, quickly regretting her negative thoughts from before.

"Hey, Briarlight!" The sound of her brother, Bumblestripe, made her happier to think of something other than bad stuff. She turned to see the gray and black tabby trot over to her, a grin on his broad face. "You doing alright?"

"Better than ever! Jayfeather gave me this new herb called ginger. It's made my coughing and breathing so much better and I'm very pleased that it worked."

"That's good. Um…listen," Bumblestripe paused, glancing around them, as if to see if anyone was listening or watching. "Do you want to head out of camp and just, you know, take a much needed walk?"

Briarlight thought she would never hear any ThunderClan cat offer such a thought to her ever again. Holding down a kitten squeal, she merely nodded her head eagerly. "Of course! That's very kind of you, Bumblestripe." She said with a big smile.

"Okay. Follow me quietly." He said, turning and heading towards the bushes. Briarlight followed, peeking behind her to see no one noticing them creeping out of camp. Thanks to all of the new exercising, she was much quicker in catching up to Bumblestripe, taking him by surprise of course.

In some sense, this chapter was a little slow –shrugs- but I don't like immediately jumping the gun barrel without giving some kind of suspension XD

Review please, and tell me what you think about Billie or Amy! Questions are allowed if you want to ask them :D

Until next time~

EDIT 1/25/14: Adding an IFT!

Interesting Fact Time!

Do cats dream? Many people used to question that. Now, it's quite apparent that yes, they do! In fact, kittens begin to dream a little over a week old. Cats show various of actions when they dream. While humans have 5 stages of sleep where the last stage is REM (rapid eye movement); this is the stage that most humans begin to dream. Similar to humans, cats have only 2 types of sleep—REM and non-REM (deep sleep). And it's a proven fact that cats usually spend more time—about 30% —in their REM state than humans—which is around 20%. Several movements can signify that a cat is dreaming; sheathing and unsheathing their claws, curl of the lip, lick of the jowls, purring, kneading, twitching body parts—including the tail—and even chattering or murmuring. Most of the time, chattering from a cat indicates frustration when they reach a prey but can't obtain it. But because cats sleep up to 17 hours every day, it's probably easier for them to fall in and out of a REM and/or non-REM sleep.

Wrapping it up, cats have been proven to dream and they dream as widely imaginative as us probably XD

Hope you enjoyed the IFT and story! Review your comments or questions. Also, if you have a suggestion for an IFT, submit it in a review!

Until next time~