A/N: Yeah last chapter was a downer and while I enjoyed writing it though it also hurt to write at some parts. So far I'm really proud with how this story is going and I'm really enjoying writing it. If I had to change one thing, it would probably keep Redtail around for another chapter or two, but that's a minor nitpick from me. Oh I also finally made a cover for this story! It's supposed to be Brindlfeace on the cover, but I can't draw tortoiseshells to save my life. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Review Replies

Ran

Yes she does. Poor baby. But she has friends and family by her side at least. who will be there for her. As much as I love Squirrelflight and her POV in NP, Tawnyplet and Feathertail should've gotton POVs themselves. Even Crowfeather should've gotten a POV over them. Honstely have Crowfeather take Leafpool's POV then let Feathertail and Tawnypelt share Squirrelflight's and Stormfur's. Once Feathertail dies introduce Squirrelflight's POV in her place instead. It honestly makes the most sense. Same here. And thenk you for reviewing!

Dawn had arrived and Brindleface was still awake by her mate's side. She didn't sleep at all the previous night and refused to leave his side. Redtail was going to be buried that morning by the elders and it would be the last time she'd lay eyes on her mate. Sandpaw had awoken early and stayed beside her mother. As the pair of she-cats began to get up, warriors emerge from their dens ready for patrols. Brindleface gazed down at her paws and let out a ragged breath. Redtail wouldn't be announcing patrols that morning or any morning after that. The thought of not hearing his voice again only made the gray-and-cream queen feel even worse. The clearing was full of chatter as cats began to awake and begin their morning duties. Apprentices went to the elder's den and nursery while warriors gathered in the clearing for patrols. The new deputy would be announcing patrols soon and the camp would soon be empty. After that Redtail would be buried. Lionheart took his place on the Highrock and began announcing patrols. He was the new ThunderClan deputy. He would lead the Clan well as the new deputy though he would never replace Redtail. Soon enough the camp was fairly empty and had quieted down.

Sandpaw and Dustpaw were allowed to stay in camp for the day after staying up for most of the night to mourn Redtail. It would also give them time to recover from the loss. After patrols were released out, the elders came to bury the body. Brindleface watched the group approach the tortoiseshell tom and quickly paid their respects. The green-eyed queen padded up to them and kept quiet. The elders picked up the body ready to bury the former deputy. When they did that, they noticed the queen. Her chest tightened as she watched the lifeless tom slowly get carried out of camp. As she started to follow the group, a smoky-black tom stopped her.

"You shouldn't go with them, Brindleface. You need to rest properly and eat. When was the last time you did that?" The elderly tom asked. Brindleface was about to answer then thought for a moment. The last time she ate was the previous morning and it had been just before Ravenpaw had got to camp. Before she answered her father, the mackerel tabby queen watched the elders move Redtail's body from the camp and out the tunnel. They disappeared and she knew she'd never see him again. Her paws grew numb and her heart sank as she turned away and sat down. Redtail was gone and he was never coming back. It felt so real and that was the part that hurt her the most. After letting out a breath, she glanced back towards Fuzzypelt who was patiently waiting for her answer. Turning towards him she responded to his question.

"I last ate yesterday morning during the fight between Firepaw and Longtail. I haven't eaten since," the queen admitted. Fuzzypelt sighed and shook his head.

"You need to eat. This stress isn't good for you or the kits, Brindleface and not eating doesn't help anything. And how much sleep did you get last night? Sleep is another important thing for you and the kits you're expecting," the fluffy tom purred with concern. Before his daughter had a chance to answer, the elder went to the fresh-kill pile and brought her back a fat wren.

"Eat," he ordered. Leaning down to the small brown bird Brindleface reluctantly took a few bites. It took nearly all her willpower to swallow the prey down. She didn't feel like doing anything. It was hard work to remain calm, it was nearly impossible for her to eat and she could barely stand. Everything had settled down after yesterday and for her it was the quiet after the storm. It was an unusual silence that she desperately hated. She wanted Redtail beside her, cracking mousebrained compliments and purring on about their future kits. She wanted to watch him play with Sandpaw and later take his apprentice out to hunt. She wanted him to say goodnight to her and for him to be in the nursery the next morning much to annoyance of the other queens. But he wouldn't be. Not now and not again.

"What even happened, father? How did he die? What happened on that patrol?" Brindleface finally asked. Fuzzypelt edged closer to his daughter and laid beside her. The smoky tom let her place her muzzle in his pelt as he curled up next to her.

"According to Tigerclaw Bluestar sent them out on patrol to confront Crookedstar about the Sunningrocks. It was after moonhigh when it happened. Redtail was going to say goodbye to you but he didn't want to wake you. They left so late because the patrols needed to rest up. The patrol battled with RiverClan where Oakheart killed him. Tigerclaw killed him in revenge." After a short pause, Fuzzypelt curled tighter around his daughter. "I'm so sorry Brindleface. You don't deserve it."

"Thank you, father. Thank you for telling me…Maybe it would've been better to not ask but I needed to know. I-I needed to understand why it happened," the gray-and-cream queen confessed. Brindleface shuttered and shook her head.

"Did it help you understand why?"

"No." Fuzzypelt growled and suddenly lashed his tail.

"I swear the next time I come across a RiverClan patrol I will fight with them for what they did to you. They hurt you and I can't stand it!"

"Please don't, father. The last thing we need is to lose you too," Brindleface whimpered. The elder sighed and once more wrapped his tail around his daughter.

"I know. But remember I will always be here for you. If you ever need to talk I will always be here for you darling." Brindleface gazed at her father and forced a grin. But her face quickly twisted into sadness.

"I miss him. I-I miss him so much," the queen cried out softly. "Redtail should be here right now. He should be raising these kits with me not…not…" the green-eyed she-cat trailed off and let out a small wail of anguish.

"I know, I know," Fuzzypelt purred. "Redtail loved you very much, there's no denying that. He will watch you, Sandpaw and the kits from StarClan and will love you all the same." The queen and elder stayed curled together as Brindleface watched the camp. When she was done the elders had returned to camp after burying the tom. Some patrols had returned with them. Fuzzypelt said goodbye to his daughter and padded to the group of elders. Almost as soon as he left another tom joined her.

"Hey," Longtail greeted quietly.

"Hello, brother."

"How are you holding up? Well I-I mean how well are you holding up after yesterday? Well I mean the answer should be obvious but…Oh never mind," the tom growled in annoyance. Brindleface let out a soft chuckle as she watched her brother.

"I-I'm not doing okay actually. I want to say I'm fine but then I'd be lying to myself and to you." Longtail pressed against his older sister and purred softly.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Brindleface. Redtail didn't deserve it and you and Sandpaw don't deserve it either.

"Thanks, Longtail," Brindleface purred. As the pair relaxed beside each other, the tom suddenly spoke up.

"How much have you eaten by the way?" The tom asked with concern. Brindleface's eyes slid towards the partially eaten wren. The tabby warrior glanced at it as well.

"I've eaten a little," the queen sheepishly replied.

"Good but not good enough. Now please finish that wren. You need to eat it's not healthy for you not to. Besides, it's what Robinwing and Redtail would've wanted," the black tabby purred softly.

"You're really using that against me?"

"Yes I am if it gets you to eat," the brown tom replied. Reluctantly the tortoiseshell queen forced herself to finish the prey with Longtail by her side. It was clear the tom refused to leave until the bird was nothing but feather and bone. Once she had finished, Longtail grinned softly at her.

"Good. Now you should go get some sleep. You were up all night and you need it," the tom asked, though it seemed more like a demand. Brindleface rolled her eyes but knew her brother was right. Both ThunderClan cats got up and started heading different ways.

"I'm going to see Darkstripe and Tigerclaw now. I love you sis and I'll see you later," Longtail promised.

"See you later, Longtail," the queen purred back but he was already gone. The cream-and-gray queen quickly padded into the nursery where the other queens currently were. Speckletail napped in a corner while Goldenflower's kits quietly napped by her side. On the other side of the nursery Lionheart and Frostfur quietly dotted over their kits, careful not to wake anyone up. Brindleface tiredly entered the nursery and flopped into her nest, which was near Frostfur's.

"Hello Brindleface," Lionheart respectfully greeted.

"Hi, Lionheart. Congratulations on being the new deputy. Bluestar chose well," the tortoiseshell queen purred in reply. Lionheart chuckled uneasily.

"Thanks but we all know no one can replace Redtail. He was a truly great deputy and I know I won't be able to fill his paws."

"You will still be a great deputy though," Frostfur purred in reply. Brindleface simply nodded in agreement.

"Well I'm going to go ahead and go. Better keep it quiet in here for everyone. Nice talking to you Brindlface and I hope you rest well," Lionheart whispered as he exited the den. The green-eyed cat dipped her head in reply then turned to her sister.

"They're awfully quiet," she noted.

"Yes but that's probably because they're feeding right now. They'll probably nap after this and grow fussy later so they can eat again," Frostfur purred thoughtfully as she nuzzled her kits.

"It can be tiring to feed them almost constantly but it's worth it in the end. Sandpaw was like that when she was a kit but all kits are like that," Brindleface purred with a yawn.

"They will grow fussy later and will need to eat again," Goldenflower agreed, "But it won't be that way for much longer. They'll start walking in another moon and be like Rockkit and Swiftkit. They'll want to play all the time and end up tiring themselves out. Your kits will also start eating solid food soon and you can start weaning them then. Once that happens you'll be getting all the energy from the prey and will stop producing milk." Frostfur shot her friend a grin.

"I'm always so tried after feeding them and I'm hungrier than usual. However they're worth it and they always will be," Frostfur meowed with content in her voice.

"Yes, they're all worth that. Even still they can sometimes get overwhelming. Lucky enough for us, we have Speckletail to help out if it's needed," Brindleface noted as she glanced at the ticked tabby who was still asleep in the corner.

"Yes, my mother has always loved kits and becoming a permanent queen is the perfect job for her. She's not an elder just yet like my father, she wasn't ready to retire, but she's also not doing the laborious jobs of a warrior. This job is perfect for her old bones. Oh, but please don't tell her I said that," Goldenflower playfully mentioned. As Frostfur and Goldenflower quietly chatted, Brindleface found her eyes growing heavy. After she yawned, the tortoiseshell queen finally curled up and drifted off to sleep.

This chapter was not nearly as depressing as the last one and was a bit lighter to write. I really love the OS ThunderClan queens and a lot of these cats just deserve more love like Runningwind, Redtail, Frostfur, Goldenflower, Speckletail, Lionheart and of course Brindleface. If I'm to be honest, that's part of the reason why I decided to write this story. I wanted to explore some of those characters who didn't get much love from canon and wanted to give them some love myself. Anyway, have a good day!

QotC

Are there any canon couples that you like? Or maybe ones that you can't stand?

I actually like a lot of the canon couples. FerncloudxDustpelt, SorreltailxBrackenfur, SandstormxFirestar and BrightheartxCloudtail are up there with BrindlefacexRedtail and FrostfurxLionheart. I also have a soft spot for WillowbreezexCrookedstar. As for ones I can't stand it has to be DovewingxTigerheart, WhitewigxBirchfall, ThronclawxBlossomfall and FernsongxIvypool. Basically a lot of the new ones are difficult for me to like. I despise both DoveTiger and ThornBlossom and I just don't like or care for IvyFern. As for WhitexBirch, they had a sweet sibling-type relationship and i found it weird that they became mates. Oh and TigerstarxSasha came out of nowhere while BrambleclawxSquirrelflight was handled poorly.