Lionpaw spent a quarter moon in Leafpool's den. His fight with Ivypaw had shaken him to his core, and every night he woke from violent nightmares, dreaming that he was ripping Ivypaw apart again. Even in his waking hours he saw her every time he closed his eyes.

Eventually, though, time passed, and the dreams lessened. The screams and the image of her began to wane away. Lionpaw's herbal treatments became smaller, and he needed them less than he had upon first returning. One day, Leafpool padded into the den and brushed her tail against Lionpaw's back. "Ivypaw is doing alright," she informed him. "I ran into Littlecloud while I was collecting herbs. She didn't die. She's doing much better, actually. He said she's already back to training."

Lionpaw lifted his head, blinking in the dimly lit den. "Really?" he murmured. Leafpool's treatment, though less potent than his first day, had continued to muddle his senses. It kept him calm in the day, however, so he didn't mind it much.

"Really," Leafpool affirmed. She touched a paw to his shoulder. "Would you like to go for a walk? I have more herbs to collect and some fresh air would do you good." She purred quietly as she added, "You can't sit in here forever. Brightheart is anxious to get back to training you."

Lionpaw shifted slightly. Brightheart! he thought. He'd nearly forgotten all about training. I should go out, he told himself. I don't know how long it's been since I left this den. He nodded. "Okay."

Leafpool smiled. "I'll wait for you by the exit," she meowed, before she turned and left the den.

Lionpaw was slow to stand. He turned, arched his back for a moment, and then padded towards the mouth of the den. He blinked in the bright sunlight for a few moments, standing half-in and half-out of the den.

"It's Lionpaw!" a young voice squeaked. Lionpaw glanced the direction of the voice. Icekit and Foxkit were tumbling around near the fresh-kill pile, but they had stopped as they spotted the apprentice.

Foxkit pulled himself away from his sister and bounded across camp. "Lionpaw! Lionpaw!" he meowed. He seemed to be growing rapidly—though still tinier than Lionpaw, he had become stockier since Lionpaw had become an apprentice. "I heard you had to rest in Leafpool's den after the battle. Did you get hurt?"

Icekit was only a moment behind him. She skidded to a halt in front of Lionpaw and blinked up at him. "Did a ShadowClan cat hurt you?" she asked, before she unsheathed her tiny claws. "I'll shred them!"

Lionpaw shook his head. I'm the one that did the hurting, he thought, feeling a wave of guilt. "No," he meowed. "I just… needed some time in there."

"But that doesn't make sense," Foxkit replied. "Why—"

"Foxkit!" Ferncloud called. "Icekit!" The queen was sitting outside the nursery. "Give Lionpaw some space. It's time for a nap anyway."

"No!" cried Icekit, as her eyes widened. "Mousefur promised to tell me about the BloodClan battle!" She whipped around and raced back across camp, making a beeline for the elders' den.

"Icekit!" Ferncloud exclaimed. The queen hurried after her. "Get back here!"

Foxkit ran after his mother, his tail twitching about excitedly.

Lionpaw shook his head. At least they seem normal. He turned towards the camp exit and began to walk. Leafpool was talking quietly to Squirrelflight, but both mollies paused their conversation as they noticed Lionpaw approach.

Squirrelflight smiled. "I'm glad you're finally out of Leafpool's den," she purred. "We've all been worried sick about you."

Lionpaw lowered his gaze and scuffed his paws. "I'm okay," he mumbled.

"I'll tell Brambleflower you're doing better when he gets back from patrolling," Squirrelflight went on. "He said he'd like to hunt with you when you were up."

Patrolling? Lionpaw pricked his ears. Is he still deputy? I'd completely forgotten about all that! There had been a few Clan meetings called while he had been in the den, but he had hardly taken notice of them. "Is he still—"

"—Deputy?" Squirrelflight guessed. She flicked her tail. "Nothing changed, Lionpaw."

Lionpaw sighed in relief.

Leafpool twitched her whiskers. "How about we go for that walk?" she meowed. "I've still got some herbs to collect."

Squirrelflight nodded. "I'll be here when you get back," she meowed. She gave Lionpaw a quick lick on his muzzle, and he recoiled.

"Aw, come on!" Lionpaw complained. "I'm not a kit anymore!"

Squirrelflight purred in amusement and ran her tail along his side. "Oh, you'll always be a kit to me. Even when you end up being twice my size!" She quickly licked Lionpaw's ear and hurried off before he could complain again.

Leafpool watched her go with an amused twitch of her whiskers. She turned and began to pad out of camp, and flicked her tail for Lionpaw to follow. Lionpaw padded after her. The pair headed into the forest, walking in the direction of the lake.

Lionpaw let out a deep sigh as they walked. His muscles were stiff from lying around for so long, and it felt good to stretch his legs. The day was pleasantly warm, and birdsong rang out throughout the forest. New-leaf was truly in full swing now.

Leafpool stopped first at a small, mossy clearing. "I'll collect some dock leaves first," she explained, with a gesture to a plant with wide leaves. She bent down to nip off a leaf.

Lionpaw twitched his whiskers, and felt a twinge of curiosity. "What's it do?" he asked. "Is it for healing wounds?"

Leafpool looked amused as she straightened up. "I use them to carry other herbs," she meowed.

Lionpaw felt a bit embarrassed. "Oh."

Leafpool picked up a few of the leaves and went on. She halted in a few more areas to get one thing or the other while Lionpaw looked on. She was right—the fresh air was good for him. He was feeling less twitchy and anxious and more like his old self. As they went on, his paws started to itch with the urge to hunt.

I forgot how good it feels to be out here, Lionpaw thought. He walked faster now, striding on ahead of Leafpool. She said Ivypaw was fine, he told himself. I need to get over it. I'm going to fall behind in training if I don't snap out of it. I just need to get better control of myself. It won't happen again.

They came to the lakeside and rested for a while on the shore. Lionpaw drank for a few moments, savoring the fresh water. Water from a ball of moss was nothing like a drink right from the source.

Leafpool checked over her collection as they relaxed, and nodded to herself every so often. Eventually, she rolled all of her herbs up with the dock leaves and glanced at Lionpaw. "I have everything I need," she meowed. "We can go back to camp now."

Lionpaw nodded. "Okay." A heartbeat later, he asked, "Is Brightheart in camp? I want to talk to her. I want to go back to training."

"I'm not sure," Leafpool meowed. She smiled softly. "I'm happy to hear that, though. I'm sure Brightheart will be pleased as well." She rose and gingerly picked up her herb bundles and padded back up the slope towards the forest. Lionpaw hurried after her.

Lionpaw returned to a tense camp. No cat was shouting—everyone was speaking at a normal volume—but their voices were edged with frustration.

"It was a mistake, Ashfur." That was Brambleflower's voice. Lionpaw frowned as he spotted his father sitting beneath the Highledge. Ashfur, Thornclaw, Cloudtail, and Sorreltail were all sitting around him, while other cats looked on.

Ashfur's tail lashed. "You tried to put Thornclaw on both a hunting patrol and the ShadowClan border patrol," he pointed out. "And Sorreltail was just on a patrol this morning, but you nearly sent her to the WindClan border again!"

Lionpaw watched as his father flattened his ears. "I see that," Brambleflower growled. "As I said, it was a mistake."

"Let it go, Ashfur," Sorreltail sighed. "It's really not that big of a deal."

Cloudtail's eyes were narrowed. "You've made an awful lot of 'mistakes' lately," he meowed."

Lionpaw curled his lip. How dare he! he thought. He didn't care if Cloudtail was a senior warrior—no cat should talk to their deputy that way! He nearly spoke up himself, but Leafpool touched her tail to his side. "Leave it," she murmured. "Some cats must fight their own battles."

Lionpaw stared suspiciously at his aunt, but kept his mouth shut. Does she want him to fail, too?

The conversation carried on. Thornclaw nodded briefly. "Cloudtail's right," he muttered. "You have been doing this quite a few times. Just the other day you forgot that Brackenfur was out hunting and tried to assign him to a patrol."

Firestar padded out from his den. "What's all this about?" he called, as he began to climb down the slope from the den towards the group.

Ashfur lifted his chin. "We're dissatisfied with Brambleflower's ability to organize the Clan," he growled.

"Speak for yourself!" Sorreltail spat. "Every cat makes a mistake once in a while. For StarClan's sake, his son has been in Leafpool's den since the battle with ShadowClan! Of course his mind has been elsewhere."

Brambleflower nodded gratefully to her, but before he could speak, Ashfur cut in once more. "A deputy shouldn't be making so many mistakes!" he insisted. "How is he supposed to lead us one day if he can't even keep track of who he's sent out on patrol?"

Thornclaw and Cloudtail both nodded. Sorreltail just looked dismayed by Ashfur's proclamation.

Firestar narrowed his eyes. "And I suppose you would be ready to take his place, Ashfur?" he asked, sharply.

Ashfur hastily avoided his leader's gaze. "Well, no," he meowed. Hurriedly, he added, "I just think there are cats who could do better."

Cloudtail flicked his tail. "Graystripe did a fine job before," he meowed. "Why not go back to the way things were before?"

Graystripe, who was sitting across camp, looked up at the sound of his name. He was sharing tongues with Millie, and was either oblivious to the argument at hand or had been pointedly ignoring it. "Huh?" he meowed. "What about me?"

Firestar lashed his tail. He was beginning to look frustrated. "Graystripe was a fine deputy," he agreed. "But he was lost for moons. Brambleflower has done a fine job as well. I made plenty of mistakes as deputy myself—"

"Oh, please," Cloudtail meowed. "Bluestar was losing her mind! Your 'mistakes' were just refusing to follow her mouse-brained orders. This is hardly the same!"

Graystripe straightened up. "I'm sorry," he meowed. "But are you talking about deputyship?"

StarClan, he really wasn't paying attention, Lionpaw thought. Had the situation not been so tense, Lionpaw would have laughed.

Ashfur nodded eagerly. "Don't you want to be deputy again, Graystripe?" he asked. At that questions, the other onlookers began to shift uneasily. It was the question that had been on every cat's mind.

"I've been wondering the same…" whispered Rainwhisker.

"Surely he does?" Poppypaw wondered aloud.

"Oh, StarClan's sake…" Squirrelflight stood and stalked over towards them. "I know why you're trying to usurp Brambleflower," she spat. "And it's not because—"

Ashfur quit her off swiftly. "I want to hear his answer!" he snapped.

Lionpaw frowned. What was that about?

Graystripe cleared his throat. Everyone fell silent. Lionpaw stared towards the ragged tom. Graystripe shifted his paws uneasily. "I know you've all been wanting to know what I want," he meowed. "It's been rather obvious, but I understand. However…" he shook his head. "I don't want to be deputy again. I've been replaced, and I understand why and respect it. I haven't been around enough lately to see Brambleflower as deputy, so I can't say whether or not he's skilled at it." He paused and glanced at Millie. "Besides… I have Millie now, and she'll be having our kits soon enough. I'd like to focus on helping raise them. I didn't get the chance to do that properly with Stormfur and Feathertail." There was a slight strain at the mention of his daughter—Lionpaw guessed that he had been told of her death.

A long stretch of silence followed Graystripe's speech. The gray tom chuckled wryly, seemingly at himself. "I'm not as young as I once was, either," he reminded the Clan. "Once Millie's kits are born… well, I'll be ready to retire."

"Retire?" echoed Firestar. The tom's eyes were wide. It was clearly the first he'd heard of it.

"Retire," repeated Graystripe. He smiled fondly at Firestar. "Come on, Firestar, you and I both know we're getting on in our seasons. You've got your extra lives, but I'm getting old and tired. My journey here took a lot out of me, too," he admitted.

After a few moments, Firestar smiled and nodded. "I understand," he said.

Dustpelt spoke up. "If I'm honest, I've been thinking about my own retirement," he meowed. "I'm even older than Graystripe. Of course, I'll wait until Hazelpaw's been made a warrior, but soon after…" the warrior shrugged. "I think I'll be ready by then."

Firestar swung his head around to stare at Dustpelt. "You too?" he asked. He chuckled quietly. "That's a hard thing to imagine."

Things had almost returned to a relaxed state, but Ashfur scraped his claws against the soft earth and growled. "None of this solves the problem at hand!" he snapped. "So what if Graystripe doesn't want to be deputy?" he asked. "There's plenty of other warriors who can replace Brambleflower!"

Firestar whirled around quite suddenly to face him. His eyes narrowed to slits. "I decide who is deputy of this Clan," he growled. "I have put Brambleflower in charge. I trust him to perform his job well, and he has. Unless he dies or steps down, no cat is going to replace him."

That's right! Lionpaw looked towards his father to see his reaction, but Brambleflower had a strangely distant look in his eye. It took him a few moments to nod at Firestar's words. "Thank you," he meowed.

Firestar lifted his chin. "I want no more of this talk," he declared, speaking to all cats this time. "If you have an issue, you may bring it up with me. No more of these public attacks on Brambleflower." He narrowed his eyes and looked pointedly at Ashfur. "Is that clear?"

Ashfur was silent for a few heartbeats before he nodded. "Yes," he grumbled.

"Good," Firestar said. With that, he turned and headed back towards his den.

So much for having Brambleflower fight his own battle, Lionpaw thought, though he was pleased to hear that Firestar supported him. I wonder why Ashfur is being such a pain-in-the-tail about it.

Leafpool leaned down to pick up her herbs. "I'm heading back to my den," she meowed. She grabbed her bundles and hurried off.

Brightheart! Lionpaw remembered. I need to talk to her about training. He looked around camp for a few moments, but the warrior wasn't out. Lionpaw headed towards the nursery—she spent much of her free time in there with Daisy nowadays. He stopped just outside and poked his head in.

Sure enough, she was sharing tongues with Daisy. Ferncould and her kits weren't in the den, so the two mollies were alone. "Brightheart?" Lionpaw meowed.

Brightheart glanced up, her eye wide. "Lionpaw!" she exclaimed. "You're up!"

Daisy let out a loud purr. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you're back on your paws!" she meowed. "Ferncloud and I have been so worried about you."

Lionpaw scuffed his paws in embarrassment, but he felt a rush of affection for the queen. "Yeah, I'm starting to feel much better," he said. "I think I'm ready to train again."

"That's great news," Brightheart purred. "We'll join one of the dusk patrols tonight."

Lionpaw grinned. "Great!" he replied, relieved to hear that Brightheart sounded just as eager to return to training. He only vaguely recalled the talk she had tried to have with him after the battle, but it sounded like she was starting to have a change of heart. He felt a twinge in his stomach and realized he had yet to eat. "I'll see you then." "See you later." He turned away.

Cats seemed to be trying to return to their usual business after the previous ordeal. Stormfur and Brook were sharing tongues, Brackenfur and Sorreltail were sharing a squirrel, and Mousefur and Longtail were sunning themselves outside of their den. Lionpaw was surprised to see how easily things had calmed down. He realized quickly that the main instigators had left camp—Ashfur, Thornclaw, and Cloudtail were nowhere to be seen. No wonder things have settled down, Lionpaw thought, before he nodded to himself. Good. They shouldn't show their faces around for a while. I can't imagine attacking a deputy like that in front of the whole Clan!

Lionpaw crossed camp, heading straight for the fresh-kill pile. He chose a mouse for himself and took it a few paces away before he settled down to eat.

Brambleflower approached him soon after he began to tuck in. His father stopped in front of him and smiled. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.

Lionpaw swallowed his mouthful and nodded eagerly. "I saw that whole thing with Ashfur and the others," he meowed. "That was so stupid! I can't believe he acted like that."

Brambleflower sat down, but he frowned slightly. "Well… it didn't exactly surprise me," he admitted it. "Though he did have some valid points."

What? Lionpaw nearly scoffed. "No he didn't!" he retorted. "He just wanted Graystripe to be deputy again."

Brambleflower shook his head. "Ashfur just isn't exactly fond of me," he meowed. "It's less about Graystripe and more about the fact that he doesn't like me."

How could anyone not like Brambleflower? Lionpaw was perplexed by the thought. His father was strong and brave, and he cared about his Clanmates. He was one of their best warriors!

Brambleflower shifted his paws. "Once you're done, would you like to go out and hunt? Just you and me."

Lionpaw brightened up. "Of course!" he purred. He'd hardly gotten any proper time alone with his father since becoming an apprentice.

"Great!" Brambleflower meowed. "I'll be back in a moment. I just need to put some cat in charge of the next patrol before we go out." He rose and padded away, calling out a greeting to Stormfur as he walked.

Lionpaw hurriedly ate the rest of his mouse. He finished just as Brambleflower returned, and Lionpaw stretched and swiped his tongue across his lips. "I'm ready," he said.

"Then let's go," Brambleflower meowed. He led the way towards the thorn tunnel, and Lionpaw followed him back out into the forest.

They were both quiet as they walked. Lionpaw tasted the air every so often, trying to pick up on some sort of prey. I'm going to show him that I'm a great hunter, he thought. I've just got to find something first.

They rounded a blackberry bush, and Lionpaw stopped as a fresh scent hit him. Squirrel! He narrowed his eyes, and a moment later, he spotted it near the trunk of an oak tree. He touched his tail to Brambleflower's leg, then nodded to the squirrel.

"Good find," Brambleflower whispered. "Go on. You can get it."

Lionpaw dropped into a crouch. He pressed his ears flat and kept his tail low, but was careful to not let it drag on the ground. He crept forward, making sure to step lightly as he moved. Easy does it, he thought. He froze once as the squirrel stood and sniffed the air, but it quickly settled back down to chew at an acorn. Lionpaw slunk closer until he was hardly more than a couple fox-lengths away.

Now! Lionpaw exploded forward in a leap. The squirrel jumped and tried to run for the tree, but it had spotted him too late. He slammed a paw down on its thick tail, then trapped it with the other. He gave it a sharp bite and held it until it went limp.

"Great catch!" Brambleflower called. He padded towards Lionpaw, tail lifted high in the air. "Your stalking was really great, Lionpaw. I'm sure the queens will be happy to have that."

Lionpaw purred and nodded gratefully to Brambleflower. "Thanks!" he meowed.

"Let's sit a while," Brambleflower suggested. He sat down and leaned back.

Lionpaw gazed curiously at him. That distant look was in Brambleflower's eyes again. Lionpaw shifted awkwardly. "Brambleflower?" he meowed.

Brambleflower blinked. "Yes?"

Lionpaw twitched his whiskers. "Is everything okay?"

Brambleflower shifted. "Well… there's been a lot on my mind lately."

Lionpaw stiffened. Oh, StarClan… did he take me out here to talk about the battle? he swallowed. I just want to stop thinking about it. If I worry too much about it I'll just go back to feeling awful again and—

"I'm not sure I want to be deputy anymore."

What? Lionpaw's eyes widened. I… I can't have heard that right. "What do you mean?" Lionpaw demanded. "You're a great deputy!"

Brambleflower closed his eyes. "Not everyone thinks so."

Lionpaw couldn't believe his ears. Brambleflower never talked like this. Who cares what stupid Ashfur thinks? "It was just Ashfur!" he protested. "Sorreltail defended you, and Firestar thinks you're great!"

Brambleflower shook his head. "It's more than just that," he said. "And more than Ashfur, too. I'm used to him being a pain. There are a number of senior warriors who clearly have lost faith in me, but—" He sighed. "That's beside the point. It's something I've been thinking about for a while, but Graystripe is who really made me consider it."

"Graystripe?" Lionpaw repeated. Every word was confusing him even more. "He didn't even want to be deputy!"

Brambleflower opened his eyes and nodded. "Exactly. Graystripe knows how he wants to spend his days—with his kin. I've been feeling the same of late."

Lionpaw lashed his tail. I don't understand. "So?" he meowed. "Who says a cat can't be deputy and spend time with family?"

Brambleflower sighed again. "Being leader… it's putting your Clan above everything else. Of course you can still have friends and family, but…" He shrugged. "When we left the forest, Firestar couldn't wait for Graystripe, because he had to put the safety of the Clan first. I know he wanted to try and find him, but… it just wasn't an option for him. Who knows what he would have decided if he didn't have the weight of the Clan on his shoulders?"

Nothing you're saying is making any sense! Lionpaw thought. What could be better than leading the Clan? Everyone thought Graystripe was dead! It would have been mouse-brained for anyone to wait around for him!

Brambleflower carried on, seemingly oblivious to Lionpaw's displeasure. "Then the battle happened and you were in Leafpool's den for so long—"

There it is, Lionpaw thought, flattening his ears.

"—and I wanted to visit you," Brambleflower meowed. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. But I had no time. I had to organize patrols, settle disputes, train Berrypaw… I couldn't pawn those things off on other cats." He bowed his head. "I was too busy thinking about how you were that I kept mixing up patrols. I've been deputy long enough that I shouldn't be making such simple mistakes."

"I don't get it!" Lionpaw blurted. "You're the best cat to be deputy. Nobody else would do as good a job as you are!"

Brambleflower smiled. "I appreciate that," he said. "But that's not true. ThunderClan is full of capable warriors. I want to focus on you and Squirrelflight. I'm worried about you, Lionpaw, especially after that battle." He flicked his tail. "And who knows? Perhaps I'll become deputy again one day. But I don't want to be destroyed by desiring power over everything else…" his voice darkened for a moment. "I've seen cats be ruined by ambition."

He's thinking of his own father, Lionpaw guessed. Tigerstar was known by all as the most fearsome villain of all time—he had murdered numerous cats to work his way to the top, and then he tried to murder the leader of ThunderClan. After exile, he tormented ThunderClan, took over ShadowClan, and nearly led a war against all Clans until he was killed.

Lionpaw unsheathed his claws, bristling with frustration and confusion. But it's not the same! He thought. Brambleflower is nothing like that! Why is he being so mouse-brained!

A more worrying thought came to Lionpaw. Wait. He swallowed. Is… is he stepping down because he's worried I'm like Tigerstar? His stomach swirled. He's doing it because of me!

Brambleflower touched his tail to Lionpaw's shoulder. "I know you're confused," he meowed. "Maybe you'll understand if you have kits of your own someday. I just want—"

Lionpaw flinched away. "Don't put this on me!" he spat. His mind was whirling. "It's not my fault you're giving up!"

Brambleflower's eyes widened. "Oh, StarClan… no, Lionpaw, that's not what I—"

Does he really think I'm like Tigerstar? Is he going to "spend more time" around me because he's afraid of me? Lionpaw stepped back. "You're a coward!" he blurted. "I thought you were the best warrior in ThunderClan."

Brambleflower stood up, concern flashing in his eyes. "Lionpaw, please—"

"No!" Lionpaw growled. He turned around. "Leave me alone!" He took off into the woods.

"Lionpaw!" Brambleflower called. "Wait!"

Lionpaw didn't reply. His throat was tightening. He raced through the undergrowth. Hot tears threatened to fall as he ran. He's trying to make this about family, but it's not about that! He's not worried about himself! He thinks I'm going to be like Tigerstar! All because I lost control in some stupid border fight!

He ran on without direction. Part of him, deep down, knew Brambleflower meant well—but Lionpaw couldn't help but wonder about his true motives, and the only explanation that made any sense at all hurt him deeply.

Lionpaw plodded into camp, dragging his paws along as he walked. It was well past sundown. He had missed the patrol that Brightheart had promised to take him on, and he wondered numbly if she would be furious about it. He had planned to slip into the apprentices' den silently and hope she would resolve to chew him out in the morning, but his plan seemed doomed.

Every cat in the Clan was gathered in the center of camp, and Firestar was perched atop the Highledge. The fiery tom looked towards Lionpaw as he entered camp, and everyone turned to stare at him.

Great, Lionpaw thought. Everyone's here to see me.

Firestar flicked an ear and looked back down at the gathered Clan. "Brambleflower tells me has something he wishes to share with everyone," he meowed.

No! Lionpaw thought. His eyes widened. He's already doing it? So soon? He had wondered if Brambleflower had reconsidered, but clearly, he had not.

"Yes," Brambleflower replied. He was closest to the Highledge, sitting to face the Clan. "I've thought for a long time about this—it was not today alone that made my decision."

"What decision?" Rainwhisker called. "What are you talking about?"

"I'd like to get to my nest," Longtail muttered. "Will this take long?"

Brambleflower shifted his paws. "I'm resigning from my position as deputy."

A great cry of shock came from many of the cats. Questions flew from every direction, and it was impossible to tell what any cat was saying. Lionpaw flattened his ears against the din.

"Quiet!" Firestar shouted. "Settle down!" He stared down at Brambleflower, eyes wide. It was the second time he had looked utterly surprised that day—clearly, he was as blindsided as Lionpaw felt. "Brambleflower, are you certain?" he asked. "This is a very serious decision to make. I would not expect that a few cats with concerns would scare you away from the position you've worked well in for so long."

"It's not just that," Brambleflower said. He began to recount all he had said to Lionpaw, though there was a more confident tone to his voice. Lionpaw's heart sank as he realized his reaction must have only further influenced Brambleflower's decision. He went on about his mate and son, before he noted wanting to avoid ambition. Calm returned to the Clan, and a few nodded along understandingly as he spoke.

He finished as he had with Lionpaw. "I saw cats destroyed by ambition," Brambleflower said. "I don't want to be ruined by it, too. You all deserve a deputy who is prepared to focus on the Clan as a whole, but right now, that isn't possible for me."

Firestar was quiet for a long while. His tail flicked back and forth as the leader looked down. He seemed to be deep in thought. Finally, he nodded. "I understand," he meowed.

Lionpaw gritted his teeth. He won't even try to convince him otherwise? He wondered. He was so eager to defend him earlier, and now he's just going to let him quit!

"I cannot force a cat to remain in a position they no longer want," Firestar said. He looked almost sorrowful as he spoke. "Although this is a surprising decision, and not one I wanted, I will respect it." He raised his voice and looked to the stars. "Brambleflower is no longer the deputy of ThunderClan. He has returned to the rank of a regular warrior."

Lionpaw looked over the Clan, trying to gauge their reactions. Sorreltail and Birchfall looked disappointed. Many cats simply seemed confused. Ashfur, however, was nodding to himself, eyes gleaming. Lionpaw wondered once more what it was that caused Ashfur to want Brambleflower out of deputyship—especially considering he didn't want the job himself.

Firestar was quiet for a few more heartbeats. He rose and looked up at the sky once more. "I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice."

Everyone was silent. Lionpaw leaned forward. Despite his frustration, he felt the same curiosity as his Clanmates. Who will it be?

Firestar looked down at someone in the crowd. "The new deputy of ThunderClan will be Brackenfur."