A/N: Ok, this request was from Icefeather. :) Icefether wanted a fic about Brambleclaw thinking about Hawkfrost's death, Brambleclaw loving Squirrelflight, and Brambleclaw talking about how having his father's looks have affected his life. So I tried to combine all of those ideas into 'Seeing Red'. Thank-you, Icefeather, for giving me all those great ideas and reviewing on every chapter so far. I will be sure to use your other requests some of my other one shots. :D Now, let's get started!

Seeing Red

The moonlight was concealed behind thick clouds as a large tabby Tom-cat stalked through the woods. Silhouettes of birds and other prey came alive in the black night, quickly scattering in every direction as the dark tabby passed by. But his attention wasn't focused on fresh kill as he continued his trek through the thinning undergrowth, paw step after paw step. Eventually he came to a halt, pausing at a particularly marshy area down by the lake. But the body of water that lay before him was anything but familiar, for it was not water at all. Stretching as far as the tom could see, was an ocean of red. Blood.
He quickly turned away, only to see that the marsh was soaked in crimson as well. The tabby wanted to run away as far as his paws would take him. But he didn't. Something was compelling him to move further into the weeds, only to find his worst fear. There, concealed by reeds, was his brother, Hawkfrost. The dead Tom had claw marks down his flanks, and a clean gash to the throat, meaning he was killed by experienced claws. The living brother continued past the limp body, fearing that what he might find may be even more disturbing than Hawkfrost's dead blue eyes. His fears were justified.

Just beyond Hawkfrost, stuck in a hidden fox trap, was a ginger cat. Except this time, it wasn't his clan leader, Firestar. It was a beautiful she-cat, whose coat was the color of leaf fall. The one cat that Brambleclaw loved and treasured over anyone else. Squirrelflight.

That's the last thing he saw before his world went black, drowning in the depths of despair.

***
Brambleclaw awoke with a start, his heart pounding a mile a minute in his chest. He lifted his head from his mossy bed and peered around the warrior's den. He spotted Cloudtail, Brightheart, Thornclaw, Brakenfur... and Squirrelflight. Brambleclaw's eyes rested on her ginger pelt, watching the rise and fall of her chest. She looked so beautiful, and so peaceful, yet he still couldn't get the image of her lifeless eyes out of his mind.

He sighed as he got up to stretch, knowing that there would be no point in trying to fall back into the arms of slumber. Every night for the past quarter moon, ever since the incident, he couldn't sleep. When he did manage to close his eyes, there was another bloody nightmare waiting for him. So instead, he quietly sneaked out of the den, carful as to not wake up any of his sleeping Clanmates.

The crisp night breeze felt good on Brambleclaw's fur as he slipped out of the hollow, still anxious from his lingering dream. 'Why am I so paranoid?' he asked himself while he snaked his way further into ThunderClan's territory. It had only been his second day of being ThunderClan's new deputy when he had found Firestar stuck in a fox trap with Hawkfrost looming over him. Brambleclaw could still hear his brothers demanding words as Hawkfrost commanded him to kill Firestar. Of course, Brambleclaw didn't take his Clan leaders life. Instead, he was forced to slaughter his own brother.
Brambleclaw took off running as he remembered the sight of Hawkfrost's blood spilling onto the marshy ground. He didn't want to do it. But he had too, for the sake of Firestar and for the good of his Clan. Even if it meant Staining his paws red.

He kept racing until he felt far enough away from the cats that never trusted him, the clan that always judged him because his father was Tigerstar. They didn't think it was fair that he got chosen for deputy even though he didn't have an apprentice yet. Or maybe they just don't like the idea that one of Tigerstar's kin may be leading ThunderClan in the future.
How am I supposed to prove that I'm not a murder, when I killed my own brother?

Brambleclaw ran a little bit further until he finally came to a halt at the lake. The moon shown like a spotlight, reflecting a silver glow across the calm water. There was one cat that believed in him, even though she had hesitated at first. Squirrelflight. They had their ups and downs, just like any relationship. But they always made it through together. She was so intelligent, so skilled, and she was a born leader. Everything about her made him so much better; he hated the idea that he may somehow make her worse.

Brambleclaw looked into the shimmering lake, his reflection staring back at him. He did look a lot like his over ambitious father. They both had dark brown tabby pelts and unusually long front claws. Brambleclaw took one last glance at his refection before he struck his paw across it, splashing apart the water and sending tiny ripples across the crystal surface.

He didn't want to see himself as his father. He just wanted to be himself, the one thing he asked StarClan to give him. Yet as he stalked back towards the hollow, the rising sun leaving streaks of crimson across the sky, he asked StarClan another question: Will I ever stop seeing red?

A/N: I feel so horrible for Brambleclaw! The path StarClan chose for him to walk was so treacherous. :( I'm really surprised I haven't gotten any lovey/dovey requests yet! I really feel like writing some romance... Keep those reviews flowing in, my lovelies! -BittersweetXDInsanity