Chapter 24

Strong beams of sunlight shone through the tree branches, hitting Bramblestar in the face. The dark tabby tried to adjust his position, but no matter which way he turned, the sunlight stayed in his face.

After spending a couple of minutes tossing and turning, Bramblestar decided to get up. When the ThunderClan leader was finally up, he gave himself a good stretch before grooming himself. As he washed his fur, he could see the large silhouette of the mountains in the distance. We'll definitely arrive in the Cave of Rushing Water by sunset, he thought.

By the time he was done grooming, a majority of the other Clan cats were awake.

"Before we go, we need to send off a couple of hunting patrols," Bramblestar mewed to the cats around him.

"I'll go!" Amberclaw offered happily.

"As will I," Spiderleg replied.

"We'll go too," Ivypool said, flicking her tail towards Dovewing.

Bramblestar nodded his head in approval, and the four cats set off. As the other leaders sent out cats from their own Clan to hunt, the forest clearing started to feel emptier and emptier.

"It's really shocking how small the Clans are," Squirrelflight commented, coming to sit next to him.

Bramblestar nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, I know... it's sad, really."

Squirrelflight rested her head on his shoulder. "I just know things will get better once we arrive at our new home," she whispered.

"But for how long will it last?" Bramblestar frowned. He knew he was being pessimistic, but he couldn't help it – that was exactly what the Clans had thought as they settled beside the lake, but just look at what had happened!

"You can't think like that," Squirrelflight snapped, narrowing her eyes in annoyance.

Bramblestar just shrugged. "I know, but after everything we've been through, it's hard to be positive about the future."

"I wonder what the Tribe has been up to," Squirrelflight said, changing the conversation.

"Who knows? It'll definitely be good to see them again. I have to admit though: knowing this is the last time we're ever going to see them again hurts. They've always been so good to us," Bramblestar sighed.

Squirrelflight nodded. "This has to be especially hard for Graystripe. Stormfur is his son, so it can't be good to know you'll never get to see him again. This will also be the first and last time he'll be meeting his grandkits."

"Stormfur and Brook had kits?" Bramblestar exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Squirrelflight gave him a surprised look. "I could have sworn I told you before, but yes, they had two kits: Pine and Lark. They were born a couple of seasons before Lilyheart and Seedwhisker."

"We're back!" Amberclaw announced happily.

Bramblestar and Squirrelflight turned to see the patrol returning. In each of the cat's jaws held a plump rabbit.

"How in the name of StarClan did you manage to catch those?" Cherryfall gasped, rushing to the patrol.

"We just stumbled across them, believe it or not," Ivypool replied, dropping her catch.

"This is a miracle," Mistystar purred, padding up. "Those rabbits will be enough to feed all of the kits, queens and elders!"

"ShadowClan doesn't need your rabbits," Rowanstar snarled, lashing his tail.

"Don't be a mouse-brain!" Tawnypelt hissed as she walked up, glaring at the dark ginger tom. "Now, you'll take those rabbits and be grateful for them! This could be the last good meal any of us has for a long time."

Rowanstar looked surprised by Tawnypelt's outburst, but didn't say anything. "Fine," he finally said.

"I'll go gather the kits, queens and elders," Tawnypelt muttered, before hurrying away. Ivypool nodded, and all four cats followed after her.

Bramblestar's entire body ached as he followed Tawnypelt up the steep mountain side. It was late in the afternoon, and the Clans were nearly at the Cave of Rushing Water.

"We're nearly there," Tawnypelt assured the rest of them.

"Thank StarClan!" Featherpaw, a WindClan apprentice, purred. "My paws feel like they're about to fall right off!"

As the cats got closer and closer to the Cave, a loud roaring sound could be heard. Finally, the cave came into their sight, prompting Bramblestar to let out a sigh of relief.

"Watch out, the ledge is going to be very slippery!" Tawnypelt warned as they got even closer.

Right as they were about to enter the cave, two figures appeared in the entrance. Their tiny bodies were plastered with mud, and they appeared to be very angry.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in the Tribe of Rushing Water's territory?" the first cat, a tom, snarled.

"Greetings," Bramblestar replied, dipping his head. "My name is-"

"Brambleclaw! And Tawnypelt? And... great StarClan! What are all of you doing here?" a familiar voice sounded.

Bramblestar let out a sigh of relief as Stormfur pushed his way through the two guards. "It's okay, you two. These cats are our friends."

"It's a long story," Bramblestar sighed.

"You can tell us once you've settled down – follow me!" Stormfur turned and headed back into the Cave of Rushing Water.

As the Clan cats padded into the cave, Bramblestar and a few others hung back to make sure everyone made it in safe. Once every cat had made it in safely, Bramblestar followed.

Inside, the cave was bursting with life. While most of the cats accounted for were from the Clans, several of them belonged to the Tribe. They've definitely grown a lot since I've last visited them, he thought.

"Ah, Brambleclaw. It's definitely good to see you again," Brook purred as he walked past.

"Greetings, Brook. And it's Bramblestar now," he corrected her.

"You're leader now? Congratulations – but what happened to Firestar?" Stormfur gasped.

"It's a long story," Bramblestar repeated, glumly.

Stormfur's eyes were filled with sadness, but he nodded his head in understanding. "I'll let you all settle down, then you can tell me."

Bramblestar dipped his head in thanks, before padding towards his Clan mates. Right as he was about to ask Squirrelflight to help him make nests for everyone, he was intercepted by a young tabby she-cat.

"You are... Bramblestar, yes?" When he nodded, she continued, "My name is Lark that Sings at Dawn, but you can call me Lark. My father Stormfur has told me and my brother very much about you, as well as the Clans. It is an honor to finally get to meet you," the she-cat purred, bowing.

Bramblestar returned the gesture. "It's nice to meet you, too." he smiled.

"I also apologize for my brother's behavior. He isn't usually that hostile towards newcomers; he was just overwhelmed by all of you," Lark explained, glancing towards the mud-streaked tom Bramblestar had first encountered.

"I can apologize for myself," the cat mewed a little to harshly. When he realized how rude that had came off, he mewed, "I'm sorry – er... hi, my name is Pine that Clings to Rock. It is an honor to meet you." Pine bowed.

Once again, Bramblestar returned the gesture.

"Would you like us to help you build your nests?" Lark asked, her eyes shining with excitement.

"That would be great!" Daisy purred as she walked up. "The kits need somewhere to settle down for the night; they're getting restless."

"I'm sure Pebble would allow your kits to settle down in her den," Lark suggested.

"Thank you so much! I'll go round the kits up right now," Daisy chirped, before trotting towards all of the kits. Lark happy followed Daisy, and Bramblestar could hear the young she-cat purring with excitement when she saw them.

"Oh, they're simply adorable!" Lark exclaimed.

Pine gave Bramblestar a small smile. "She loves kits, if you can't tell. I just know she's going to be all over mine when they arrive."

"You're going to be a father?" Bramblestar asked, astonished. He could hardly believe a cat as young as Pine would already be settling down with a family of his own.

Pine nodded awkwardly. "Yeah." The tom glanced towards the back of the cave where a heavily pregnant speckled gray cat lay. "Her name is Rain."

"Congratulations, Pine. I know you'll be a great father!" Bramblestar smiled.

"Pine!" Stormfur's voice sounded. The gray warrior had a slightly irritated look on his face as he made his way towards his son. "Are you disturbing Bramblestar?"

"I was just helping him make his nest," Pine answered.

Stormfur raised an eye. "Really? Because it sounds like you're talking about Rain."

Pine lowered his head, embarrassed that his father had caught him slacking off. "I'll talk to you later, Bramblestar," he mewed, before trotting off.

Bramblestar waved goodbye to the young tom, before turning back to Stormfur. With a twitch of his whiskers he laughed, "It looks like you've got your paws full."

Stormfur nodded. "Don't I know it." With a smile he added, "I love them though. I still can't believe I'm going to be a grandfather, though. Speaking of becoming a grandfather... I hear Lionblaze and Cinderheart have had kits! How are you feeling about that?"

Bramblestar felt as though he had been run over by a monster on the Thunderpath. Obviously, Squirrelflight hadn't told Stormfur about her and Bramblestar's... predicament.

"It's... can... can we talk about this in private?" Bramblestar glanced around, feeling nervous. This was a sensitive issue for him, and he hated always bringing it up.

Stormfur frowned. "You can tell me later if you aren't ready yet... Bramblestar, what's been going on? Has that much really happened since we've seen one another?"

"You have no idea." Bramblestar looked down at his paws and huffed.

"You want to go sit outside the cave and talk about it?" Stormfur asked.

Bramblestar nodded, and together he and Stormfur exited the cave.

With several mighty leaps, Stormfur climbed the steep, rocky slope. It took Bramblestar slightly longer, as he wasn't exactly the healthiest he had been. The recent events had taken a major strain on his body, leaving him weaker.

"So much has happened that I honestly don't know where to start. Well, I guess I'll start with this: I'm not the father of Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf. Leafpool and Crowfeather are their real parents." When Stormfur gave him a confused look, Bramblestar mewed, "Squirrelflight... is barren, so when she found out Leafpool was pregnant, she took the kits to be able to be a mother. I had no idea at first, and I only found out until Hollyleaf revealed it at a Gathering..." Bramblestar trailed off, too hurt to continue.

"Bramblestar... I'm so sorry. If you don't mind me asking, where is Hollyleaf? I-I haven't seen her tonight."

"She's dead."

Stormfur's eyes widened, then filled with sadness. "How?" he whispered.

"Hawkfrost killed her," Bramblestar began slowly. He realized that this would make no sense to Stormfur, so he quickly added, "The Dark Forest gained enough power to walk in the waking world, where they waged war against the Clans. Several cats were killed, including Hollyleaf and Firestar."

Stormfur bowed his head in a gesture of respect. "That sounds terrible. I'm deeply sorry for your loss; it sounds as though the Clans have truly suffered."

"Oh, that's just the beginning of it," Bramblestar growled. "Directly after the battle, a terrible bought of greencough struck the Clans. Several of our younger warriors were killed. Then, right as things were starting to recover, we got hit with a flood. It was one of the worst floods I've ever seen, Stormfur. You should have just seen all of the water... half of the Clans were wiped out by that storm. It was so bad that we were never able to recover, and each day we continued to lose more and more cats."

"Is that why the Clans are leaving the lake?" Stormfur questioned.

The dark brown tabby nodded. "It's the only option we have left, Stormfur. It was either stay at the lake, or die."

The gray cat sighed. "I know... I'll be sad to see you go, though. Where are you going to settle down at?"

"We're going to try and find a gorge to settle down. StarClan is calling us there, for whatever reason," was Bramblestar's response.

"May StarClan light your path," Stormfur whispered, bowing his head. "Like I said, I'll be sad to see you go, but I understand. The Tribe will never forget everything that you've done for us."

"Thank you."

"Stormfur? Are you out here?" Brook mewed, climbing the slope.

"Yes!" Stormfur yowled to his mate.

When Brook finally reached the top, she panted, "You should come in now. It's getting late." When Brook glanced at Bramblestar, she gave him a small smile. "I'm sure you are exhausted. You need to get your sleep."

I apologize if this is a filler chapter, and I apologize more for the fact that this may be the last chapter for a while. I have just been very busy lately, and I haven't had the time. Not to mention, school work is getting serious. Since I'm homeschooled, we're able to end school for summer whenever we want, so we're trying to finish a bit early this year. Due to this, we're cramming in a lot of extra work into a small amount of time. This gives me not much time to write, as I'm busy with my classes. Hopefully, our plan will work out well and I'll be out in April or early May. Don't worry though, because I will still be updating! Just not as much as I'd like. So, just in case I go long periods without updating, this is why.

Thank you to every one who has reviewed/favored/followed this story!