I sincerely apologize for my absence! I simply forgot and had a bit of writer's block, so I constantly didn't feel like editing and putting up another chapter -_-; SORRY!
As a point proving my apologies, this'll be another 2-chapter submission of Briarlight's Cure :D
I must advise you all to carefully read over this chapter around the end point of it. A certain cat starts speaking in what I like to call "old language". Some of you might not get this, others might, that's okay. But the words he says are more poetic I guess (-shrugs-) and metaphoric.
Hope ya'll enjoy these two chapters~! Oh! And please review your questions, likeness so far of the chapter, etc. if you want to :)
I do not own the Warrior cat series. All original references, characters, ideas, etc. belong in the ownership of the amazing Erin Hunter.
Chapter 7
"Y-You're leaving?" Briarlight gasped, her chest clenching up painfully. "W-Why?"
"I had a vision. Something to do with the Tribe," Jayfeather said as he gathered small amounts of sorrel, daisy, chamomile, and burnet. He used his teeth to secure the wrappings around them, creating four little individual mounds to carry. "I've requested this to Firestar and he accepts. He has given me a small group to come with."
She wanted to yowl in urgency to go with him, but she instantly knew what his answer would've been. Sometimes, Briarlight believed he said no at everything she tried doing because he cared and wanted to make sure she was safe from harm. But, on more than one occasion, did she think that he said it so coldly to her because he just wanted her to leave him alone and not do anything except her routine life. It pained her so much, like he was tearing her into bits from the inside out.
And yet Briarlight didn't know why she felt this way.
"Brightheart will watch over you while I am gone, understand?"
"But what about Leafpool?" She asked suddenly. "Don't you think she could help in taking over your position for ThunderClan while you're gone? She was the medicine cat before you."
Almost a heartbeat later and Briarlight regretted saying those words. Seeing his shoulders tense up fast made her duck in shame and fear of a snap from his mouth. But instead, he took several breaths and calmed down, letting out heavy sigh after sigh.
"He still distrusts his own mother? How can any cat stoop so low?" Amy's annoyed hiss came from behind her. After what had happened the previous night, Briarlight had expected Amy not to visit her again. But she did upon waking up from the sunrise.
"I'll…" He paused, before sagging in defeat. "I'll mention it to her." He tried to sound optimistic, however Briarlight could easily make out the anger in his voice.
Jayfeather didn't speak to her again, but did stand up and walked out.
"A pity as always when it comes to useless and unnecessary codes such as yours." Amy said eerily. Briarlight felt her dissipate into nothing next to her.
The tortoiseshell she-cat didn't talk to her for the rest of the day.
The day of Jayfeather's departure was upsetting, nerve-racking, and awkward; but Briarlight forced herself to perk up in order to give him a proper and happy farewell. He had looked tired, but he also seemed to want to say something to her. He never did. Alongside him to the mountains had been Foxleap, Squirrelflight, and Dovewing. Lionblaze had given his regards, showing the brotherly concern on his words. Ivypool appeared disappointed—mad almost—at Dovewing once they had left the camp.
Like she wanted to go with and it wasn't fair.
'Don't I know that.' Briarlight thought, lying in her nest quietly.
She had been happy to know that Leafpool and Brightheart would be watching over the den. The brown she-cat knew Leafpool had missed her job, because she immediately started checking up on herbs, a smile plastered on her face during the whole time. She had even looked over Icecloud numerous times during the day, giddy like a kitten at old memories.
But then Briarlight remembered the cold rejection that Jayfeather and Lionblaze had given to Leafpool and her sister, Squirrelflight. It was aggravating to see such devoted she-cats—whom Briarlight believed they had done the right thing for the brothers—be thrown under the dirt so abruptly by nearly everyone.
Leafpool was checking over Icecloud's injury again, sniffing and pressing a paw continuously down on it, testing its strength. Briarlight admired her determination to keep going. It gave her a sense of pride in herself.
"What are you thinking about, kit?" A stubborn voice intervened her observation. Soon, Amy's form shifted in front of Briarlight. The she-cat looked at Leafpool for a moment, seeming intrigued at her examination. Amy stared again at Briarlight. "Well?"
The brown she-cat sighed helplessly. "I don't know; everything I guess. The Clan. Jayfeather leaving. His attitude towards both Leafpool and Squirrelflight. Towards me. My destiny. What must I do to prove myself as a better cat. You know, the usual." Briarlight couldn't stop the shot of sarcasm entering her voice the more she spoke.
"Tough luck, as I say, Briar," Amy countered. "You and this whole lot of Clans think and act way too much for your own skin hide. I thought ya'll were supposed to live life to its fullest. At least, that's what I'm trying to pick up."
A smile came across Briarlight's face. 'At least she'll be of entertainment for now.'
She didn't know if Amy remembered yesterday's incident—more than likely she did—but Briarlight couldn't help but feel enjoyment in an outsider like the tortoiseshell. It brought a sense of amazing knowledge to her.
"So have you decided yet?"
"Huh?" Briarlight asked innocently, in which made her receive a hard cuff to the ear. She held in a hiss of pain.
"Stupid, I mean about your decision in leaving. If ya ask me, there's a large pawful opportunity laying right in front of your nose," Amy paused, watching as Briarlight furrowed her eyes till they were slits, lost in deep thought. Her frown deepened. "Look, it may be a hard choice, but it's helping not only you, but hopefully the Clan too. It will save ThunderClan, your life and home. What more can I say to you?"
The urgency in Amy's voice made Briarlight look at her. She appeared dimmer, far more than she had been all the other times she met with Briarlight, to a point where she was completely transparent. Guilt swam in her eyes, making her almost a totally different cat.
Briarlight pulled from her gaze. "G-Give me till tonight." Was all she said.
The air grew silent, surprising her. A cold front laid over her body, making her realize that Amy was gone again.
Leafpool came over to Briarlight, mouth full of dried coltsfoot. Setting them down, she gave the brown she-cat a smile. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"
"Good." Although she didn't sound close to it. Leafpool frowned.
"What's wrong, Briarlight? You have a bad dream?"
Briarlight was quiet for many heartbeats, staring back at the rocky wall of the cave. Sighing, she spoke; "If you had to go somewhere far from here, or betray the code in order to protect someone important to you or the sake of other cats, Leafpool, what would you do?"
"Where in the name of StarClan is this coming from?" Leafpool questioned, keeping her voice soft and calm.
"I-I'm just wondering. Have you ever thought of that before?" Briarlight winced when there was a pause. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sound suspicious, Leafpool."
"No, you're fine. What would I do, you ask? …I would listen to my heart; if not, then my gut. It takes a great pawleap of courage to do something so sacrificing, potentially risking your own life. I know Squirrelflight and…Brambleclaw and the other cats who journeyed here first must've felt that way too. And I know personally what it's like to do something to protect others."
Briarlight knew she was talking about how she tried to protect her kits, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf, from the fact that she was their blood-mother. In the end, it caused one to die.
"Thank you for the advice, Leafpool. I…It helps me."
Leafpool gave her a suspicious look. "Briarlight, you have to understand that no one is holding you back from your choices. Yes, some may seem mad at whatever you do, but it's all up to you. How you believe in yourself, others, and your soul." She explained. Briarlight simply nodded, not focusing on her anymore. Smiling softly, the former medicine cat turned and left the den.
'Believe in your heart, huh?' Briarlight pondered. Suddenly she felt tired, and couldn't stop her eyes from drifting shut.
"… … …"
Something was close. Something she couldn't see in the fog shrouding in thick layers all around her. It scared her.
"…Is…her?" Words so quiet and eerie echoed almost soundlessly in the air. Briarlight sat upright, trying to shake the drowsiness from her mind. She shivered, not liking the cold claws of terror raking down her spine. Her tail swished to and fro, itching her to jump up and run from wherever she was now.
"Is that…her?"
"Could she be the curse?"
"What if she's an omen to us? To our newfound forced lives?"
"A Live One shouldn't be here! This is our place, our protection!"
The voices grew louder and louder, till it was the only thing ringing in her brain. Briarlight frantically searched for cat forms, but only heard the irritated, terrified, and curious hisses.
Something landed on her shoulder. Instinctively, she whipped around and jumped away, bracing herself for a fight.
"Do not fret, Live One. It is only I."
Briarlight recognized the voice. Soon, a white Big One appeared, no emotions readable on his face. "Wha-What are you doing here? Where am I? Am I in StarClan? Or the Meadow?"
"Neither, Live One. You're in Nothingness." He stated firmly.
The claws sunk deeper, becoming colder with every terrified breath she took. "N-N-Nothingness? What is that?"
"It is us. It is our home and part of who we are now."
"S-So why am I here?" Her eyes widened till they were fully round like river rocks. "A-Am I nothing? Nothing important like cats have been telling me?"
He shook his head. "No, Live One. If you were, then neither I nor Little One would've come and requested your help."
Briarlight let out a breath of sudden relief. She took several more in order to calm her heart, pounding furiously against her chest. "I'm so confused right now."
"Then let me show you and explain, Live One." Though nothing showed on his face, Briarlight thought she could hear an amused smile in his voice. She got up and strolled next to him, though it was hard considering he almost perfectly blended in with the fog. He must've sensed her overwhelmed curiosity, because he began speaking.
"Nothingness is the home of cats who've perished in the claws of other cats, lost souls that are trapped within the confinements of this last hope of protection. We are, obviously, nothing to other Dead Ones. Not to your StarClan, not to the Meadow. We seek very little from the other places, fearing that we will be killed once more… We rarely, if ever, intervene with the Living Ones, such as you. And yet, we care for the recently lost Dead Ones, guiding them to this shelter of ours.
"In Nothingness, the season changes, unlike your StarClan or the Meadow, and we are more susceptible to death again, whether it be from murder again or natural causes. They have to be killed in order to die off again; When we die again, we become more of Nothingness itself, lost for eternity."
"That sounds like endless torture!" Briarlight exclaimed. "And how does my doing for you guys stop it? Who am I going up against?"
He stopped walking, directing her with his muzzle. She gasped at where they had ceased their walking to. Black, continuous darkness laid out from the ledge they were on, spreading like a large cloud over what seemed like the lake in the real territory.
"Where is this place? And what is that?" She breathed.
"Where we are is still Nothingness, and it lies directly in-between the Live World, and the Dead World. This specific location, more or less, is a Passing between reality of life and death of our specific kind. And that," He pointed with his tail to the darkness. "Is the Something."
"S-Something? As in they are more than just a puff of air?"
If the tom wasn't so firm on emotionlessness, he would've smiled. "No. Rather, they are the evil spirits that threaten our lives. Cats that were purged with the lust, the intolerable desire to kill and feast on the pain of others even after their deaths. They torment us, torture our beings, into succumbing what they are. A Something is not good. Nothingness is."
"But why is everything so dark? And why does it look like it's looming over the lake territories?"
"Because they are threatening the very facture of your lives too. We Nothingness cannot stop such a force alone. The Something are breaking our boundaries of safety—the very same that was laid several seasons ago by the first Nothingness cat, who was of a certain murderer's victim. And I fear that it will come to haunt the Live Ones; your Clan and the others too."
"But…But that's impossible! Dead cats can't hurt live cats, right?"
Sadly, the white tom shook his head gravely. "Whoever started making Live Ones believe that is wrong," His voice laced with anger almost. "Dead Ones can kill Live Ones, especially more accurately when a cat is passed out or asleep."
Briarlight felt like a cold ball of stone had dropped into her stomach. "However," He continued. "That doesn't mean that the Live Ones are weak. They can kill a Dead One just as easily as another Live One, only the Dead One shall turn into nothing."
A sense of airy relief floated back into her heart. She let out an uneasy breath and stared out distantly. Their ledge seemed to be higher than she had expected, for she could see several tree-lengths out into the horizon. The sun was almost fully dipped behind the far-off mountains, giving orange and yellow rays that coated the distinctive white fog shrouding Nothingness.
'I wonder what Jayfeather is doing right now? Has he made it to the Tribe yet? Or is he still searching for the Mountains?' She wondered.
Though she just got here, she started to feel an unusually acceptance of Nothingness. It was a place almost like ThunderClan, where cats tried to be safe from harm and death.
But she couldn't help but shiver when she saw that the sunrays didn't pierce through the dark fog looming far below them. She frowned with determination overcoming her sense of fear.
"What can I do to help?"
For the first time since she met him and Little One back in the medicine den, Big One actually looked shocked. But her gaze didn't falter a bit. His own turned back to neutrality. "What do you mean, specifically? I've already asked you to try venturing out of your nesting home to find the cure."
"What is it that I must do afterwards to succeed in helping you cats? I don't want to see such a lost-filled place disappeared completely in darkness."
He nodded in understanding. "It's a logical reason, Live One. However, I cannot tell you anything else. The Lead One will be most upset if she is to find out that I'm slipping information out to you when the time is not right."
She smiled at the amusement in his voice again. "Okay. But can you inform me when it is time?" They started up once more and began walking down the ledge's side.
"Your permission is granted, Live One. But when that time comes, I will have to search for your presence. Nothingness may appear to stretch everywhere, but it's like finding a pinecone in a haystack. It will be a hard task, but I'm sure I will have the Lead One come along."
"Who is this Lead One?"
He shrugged. "You cease to see the things in front of your path, Live One. I will not tell you, but wait alongside for your realization."
"You sure do speak weirdly," She mumbled. Then she remembered something. "Hey, why are you almost white like the fog, when that Little One, the kitten, was so stark black? Is she a Something?"
"She is caught between the choice of being a Something and a Nothingness. I don't make the choice for her, but I believe she wishes to be near the Lead One. She is more lost than most of the Little Ones of Nothingness."
'I see. I wish I didn't get so deep into her pelt. I wonder what she's mad at me for?'
"This is where I let you go, Live One," He said. They had stopped directly in front of a different lake, which was smaller than the other one. It had a branched out river connected to it, trailing deeper into the distant mist. The air around them had settled into that of comfort. "I wish you the upmost of dreaming."
Seeing him begin to depart, Briarlight called out, "Wait!" When he stopped, she fidgeted nervously. "Please do call me Briarlight. And I appreciate everything you've done for me, um…what do I call you?"
He allowed himself to smile again. "Many Nothingness cats do not recall their names or who they once were after they come here. However, I vaguely remember mine...you may call me Soul, Briarlight."
She bowed her head in respect. "Then I thank you, Soul. See you soon I hope?"
"Indeed. Safe trip."
Initially, Briarlight expected her dreampaws to fall back into her body, but it didn't. Instead, the pull coming from the river called to her. With baited breath, she took one pawstep onto the lake's surface, believing she would fall in.
What really happen was she stayed on the surface top, ripples fleeing from where she walked. Briarlight felt feather light, giggling as she started trotting faster. The river appeared to grow smaller the longer she walked on. It continued to shrink till it was almost a creek.
Then suddenly it disappeared in an overwhelmingly thick cloud of fog. Gulping, Briarlight mustered up her courage and continued forth. Her paws seemed to grow heavier and harder to lift up one in front of the next. Soon, her body felt like a boulder, and blackness took over.
But deep inside her mind, she knew she was safe.
'Now I must choose…'
Review please~! (Not much else to request here XD;)
