***WARNING!***
Spoilers for Sunrise inside.
***END WARNING!***
I feel so bad for not updating in so long… well, at least, it feels like it's been a long time. I've been really busy lately, I guess~! I feel so bad because I got people asking me to update soon in the reviews and I even wrote at the bottom that I'd try and update soon. D: I'll try and make this chapter awesome to make up for my terrible updating skills.
Thanks for the reviews! ^^ I feel so awesome when I get some great reviews. This time I got like, 7 or 8, right…? Which brings us to 47 reviews! Just 3 away from 50. I'll feel AMAZING when we reach 50 reviews; 50's a big accomplishment for a beginner like me. :D
This chapter's too early to start my pretty-big plan for the plot, but it's not just filler; it's pretty important. You probably won't ever see filler coming from me. xD
Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors! If I did, I'd bring Cinderpelt and Yellowfang back to life.
Once again, I remembered the disclaimer. ^^
Once we were a good way's away from the Tribe, I finally let myself, Squirrelflight, and Lionblaze stop running. We'd been running ever since we left - I wanted to get as far away from the Tribe as I could, as fast as I could.
We were still in the Tribe's territory, so I didn't let my guard completely down. That would be stupid and foolish of me, coming this far only to let myself be tricked into some trap. There could be traps anywhere, or Brook could suddenly appear… the thought made me shiver.
It seemed like I couldn't shake the tabby she-cat from my mind.
Every thought led to thoughts of Brook; I didn't know what to think. She loved me? Thinking back on it, it wasn't too hard to believe. Ever since I'd arrived in the mountains looking for Squirrelflight, she had seemed unnaturally nice to me… too nice for her to feel like I was just a friend.
My aching throat screamed for something to drink. When I looked at Lionblaze and Squirrelflight, I could only imagine how thirsty and tired they must've been. They hadn't been awake as long as I had been, and they didn't have the aid of adrenaline to keep them running. They must have been exhausted… at the sound of running water, my ears pricked.
"Water." My voice was hoarse.
"Thank StarClan!" Squirrelflight whispered, relief showing in her bright green eyes.
I nodded, while Lionblaze looked around. "I can hear it," he said, "but I can't see it. Where is it?"
"I'm not sure," I meowed back. "Let's try and find it. We could use something to drink; I can tell that you two are tired."
"You'd be right," Squirrelflight sighed, giving me a sharp glance. "And you still haven't told me why we're leaving; I think Lionblaze and I deserve to know the reason why."
I winced and looked down at my paws. I was pretty much cornered; if Squirrelflight was demanding the answer, it wouldn't be long before I cracked and told her. I decided to take the easy way out of the situation and just tell her, however much I didn't want to tell her.
"Fine. I'll tell you."
Squirrelflight visibly perked up, and that made me a little bit happier. She'd probably be moody after I told her what happened, though… the happiness wouldn't last too long.
"Brook… well, you know how you scented her over where we were sleeping?"
Lionblaze stopped looking for water to listen to what I had to say. Squirrelflight nodded as an answer, her green eyes curious.
I took a deep breath and tried to get through it as fast as I could.
"Well… Brook came over at moonhigh and told me she had something to tell me. I asked her what she had to say and she said to follow her… so I did. She led me away from the cave until we were pretty far away, and then… she told me she loved me."
I heard a sharp inhale from Lionblaze, and I could tell that he was shocked. I looked to Squirrelflight, expecting to see horror in her eyes, but instead, she was emotionless; she wasn't the least bit shocked.
"You're not surprised?" I asked her, confused.
"No." Squirrelflight shook her head.
"What…?" I asked, trying to understand. Had she known that Brook loved me?
"I knew that Brook loved you," Squirrelflight said simply. That answered my question; looks like I didn't have to ask. "She didn't tell me that; I could just… I could guess, from the way she looked at you and was always trying to hunt with you."
Lionblaze shook his head. "I couldn't tell."
"Neither could I, Lionblaze," I meowed, shivering. "It was really surprising. Anyways, I didn't want to put my relationship with you in jeopardy, Squirrelflight." It felt strange to say something like that to Squirrelflight when we were around Lionblaze, but it was something that had to be said.
Squirrelflight smiled slightly. "That's nice to know," she mewed in a soft voice.
Lionblaze looked at his paws, obviously embarrassed to have witnessed that. "Umm, let's look for some water and then get going, okay?"
"Sounds good to me." I stood up and stretched, then started walking around. I could really go for some water; my throat felt like it was coated with sand.
Just a few heartbeats later, I heard Lionblaze yell that he'd found water. Thank StarClan! I thought to myself, relieved. Not caring if I made a lot of noise or not, I ran over to where Lionblaze's voice was coming from until I reached him. The golden tabby was grinning and pointing with his tail to the water, which turned out to be a small, bubbling creek.
Thanking StarClan again, I started to greedily lap the water up as Squirrelflight ran over and started to drink as well. Lionblaze joined Squirrelflight and I in enjoying the water.
The water tasted better than the fattest, juiciest mouse I'd ever eaten. After I lifted my head, water dripping from my muzzle, I felt completely refreshed.
We rested for a few minutes by the creek; Lionblaze hunted and caught a hare, even though it was late into the night. After feasting on the hare and regaining some of our energy, we set off again, headed towards the Clans.
I couldn't wait to get back to ThunderClan. I couldn't help but worry about the wellbeing of the Clan; what if the Clans were at war because of what had happened? I certainly hoped not. For the millionth time, I wondered if Firestar was okay, and if ThunderClan was rebelling or not.
My questions would soon be answered.
Around sunhigh the next day, I spotted the copse of trees where I'd sheltered when coming to the mountains, and where Lionblaze had caught up to me.
We were close!
Relief rushed over me like water.
"We're almost there, aren't we?" Lionblaze asked all of a sudden, obviously recognizing the small patch of trees and bushes as well.
"Yeah, we are." I smiled at the younger cat, feeling my heart start to beat faster. "We'll stop to hunt up in those trees. That's where you caught up with me."
Lionblaze waved his tail and nodded. "I thought I recognized this place."
Squirrelflight yawned and stopped to stretch; Lionblaze and I stopped and waited for her to start walking again. "Good thing we're almost to ThunderClan. I don't think I can take much more of this traveling, you know!"
I padded closer to her and gave her a lick on the cheek. "What ever happened to the adventurous little apprentice that just had to tag along to the Sun-Drown place?" I asked, finding it hard to believe the change she had undergone from the time when she was an apprentice to now. "I remember a cat that couldn't be left at the camp and always had to be out exploring."
Squirrelflight took a playful swipe at me with one of her forepaws. "That cat's still in me somewhere, don't worry. I just think that I'm ready to see the Clan again."
"Don't worry. I feel the same way." I dodged another playful swipe and then ran up ahead to walk with Lionblaze. Squirrelflight ran up too, obviously not wanting to be left behind.
"Silly Brambleclaw," Squirrelflight purred. "You can't leave me behind."
"I know, Squirrelflight," I purred back; this time I took a swipe at her with my paw before she could swipe at me.
Squirrelflight nimbly dodged, and then looked over at the trees we were quickly approaching. "I could go for something to eat… good thing we're going to stop and hunt."
"Lots of 'good things', huh?" I asked, noting how she said both being near ThunderClan and hunting were good things.
"Sure." Squirrelflight shook her head playfully and then sprinted ahead; Lionblaze was already at the trees.
The scent of the trees welcomed me and made me smile. The warm sun felt wonderful on my pelt as I padded into the trees.
Lionblaze lifted his nose into the air. "Mmm, there's so much prey around. Thank StarClan!"
I scented the air and was surprised to smell squirrels, mice, and an assortment of different birds. I could easily identify thrushes and sparrows, but other than that, the scents became muddled.
A few minutes later, Lionblaze had caught two mice, I had caught a squirrel, and Squirrelflight had caught a mouse.
I tucked into my squirrel and dispatched it quickly, feeling better once I had something in my stomach.
"Well, should we get going again?" Squirrelflight asked, once she'd finished her mouse and Lionblaze had finished his mice.
"That's what we should do," I meowed, standing up and stretching. Personally, I felt like taking a nap after eating, but we had to get back to ThunderClan, whether I liked it or not.
Lionblaze licked his chops and stood as well, while Squirrelflight stretched. "Let's get going. Who knows what's happening to the Clans?"
Fear coursed through my blood.
We were standing right outside the ThunderClan camp; somehow, I felt reluctant to enter.
Lionblaze and Squirrelflight stood on either side of me. Squirrelflight's fur was pressed into mine and her ears were bent back on her head. She was obviously just as reluctant as I was. I didn't know why we were reluctant, but we were. It couldn't have been a good sign.
All of a sudden, a voice hissed out of the shadows.
"Who's there?" I immediately recognized the voice as Spiderleg; I was instantly calmed by the sound of a ThunderClan cat's voice. I was worried that the camp would be full of enemy cats who had taken over or something. I could stop worrying now.
"It's me, Brambleclaw - I've got Squirrelflight and Lionblaze with me."
Spiderleg melted out of the bushes a few fox-lengths away, scaring me. "Brambleclaw? Thank StarClan!" The relief was obvious in his voice. He ran over, purring and smiling at us. "Firestar was really starting to worry about you three, you know… we weren't sure where you'd gone…!"
"We're back," I meowed simply, not sure what to say.
"Come with me, you three. I'll go tell Firestar that you're back."
And with that, Spiderleg ran into the camp, leaving us behind.
To Be Continued…
Again, I'm really sorry that this is so late. The chapter's not all that exciting, but it moves the story on a little bit. ^^
The chapter kind of moved a bit too fast in my opinion. If you noticed, the whole chapter kind of died right around where they were hunting in the trees; that's when my inspiration died and I got interested in DeviantArt. :P
I'll try and update this soon. ^^; We're almost to 50 reviews! Can you believe that? I can hardly believe it myself.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :D
Please review! Don't forget to click that little green button. ;)
