Anyone ever notice how sexist the Erin Hunter team is? Eight women and no men, even though Erin can be a male or female name. There is one male who worked on the manga, some guy named Dan, but it is made explicitly clear that he is NOT an Erin Hunter. And people have said I should work for the Erin Hunter team... Ha! I can't. I'm a dude.

Guest JayxBriar is actually far from being my favorite shipping. JayxPoppy is my fav cause Poppyfrost was the first cat to ever be nice to him in The Sight and things could have been so different if Jay never became a med cat. JayxWillow is my 2nd favorite ship since med cat romance is hot. And finally, JayxKestrel is my third favorite ship since I could totally see them both being possibly geigh.

MistLion Jay and Briar really do seem to sync up, don't they. It's a travesty that Briarlight was killed off in the cannon. I hope I can keep writing, too. I survive off of feedback and yours is some of my favorite.

The Apocryphal One Thanks. I always feel obliged to write because I made an oath to complete the story, but sometimes I just don't feel appreciated and just want to go to sleep instead of write. Thanks for the review, it keeps me up at night. :P

Peaklog3727 Jayfeather and Briarlight having kits... hmmm. I can't confirm or deny if they will have kits since that would be epic spoiler territory, but I hear you... having one be blind as a punishment? Jeez, haha!

saltwolf129 No offense, mate, but I don't give a damn what Erin Hunter wrote in her books after The Last Hope. I made Graystripe, Sandstorm, and Millie retire cause they are fricken old, and I made Dustpelt die because he is also fricken old. I've made it abundantly clear that this story has nothing to do with the stuff Erin Hunter wrote.

Briarlight rolled over in her nest, that night's dream slipping away from her memory. She could vaguely remember being chased by a giant mountain cat a hundred times her size through ThunderClan territory, only for a giant wave of water to sweep over her and wash her and the giant cat away. What a weird dream. With her eyes still closed, she reached with her paw for Jayfeather who had gone to sleep with her in the same nest the night before, but her paws only found emptiness. He must have already left the nest. Slightly disappointed, she tucked her paws close to herself again since even with moss surrounding her, the stone floor was cold to the touch.

She could hear cats awake nearby but she was still tired. She and Jayfeather had gotten back to the cave very late and she hadn't had much time to rest. I hope he comes back to the nest soon, it's really cold without him. His familiar scent still lingered and she breathed it in.

Their journey back to the cave the night before had been uneventful. They had completely failed to find any kind of cave that could be useful to the Pack or the Tribe, but Flora and Nettle also hadn't returned. She assumed that meant they either found something useful and stayed to investigate, or they had been eaten by a Sharptooth.

Briarlight opened her eyes, annoyed that she was still alone in the nest. Jayfeather wasn't returning so she would have to find him. The cave was dark, but she could see pale light coming from the entrance. It looked like it was still early morning and she moaned, wishing she could go back to sleep. But the sound of other cats moving about made that impossible. Instead, she stood up and stretched each limb in turn. "I'm awake."

Once she was satisfied, she stepped out of her nest and padded in the direction of the cave entrance. It looked like everyone else was already enjoying the morning. Pack cats and Tribe cats were milling about in the large central section of the cave. Night was playing with her three kits by the fresh-kill pile, and what looked like a hunting patrol was poised to leave. Briarlight noticed that Crash and Jay were both a part of the patrol and they looked very excited.

Briarlight then spotted Stoneteller, Sheer, and Jayfeather discussing something in a secluded corner, and she steered her paws in their direction. I'm glad Stoneteller is talking again. The Tribe will need his guidance if they want to find a new home.

Hey! Hey Briarlight, over here!"

She stopped and turned. Lark had spotted her from the side of the cave and was beckoning her over with a paw. Asphalt was there too, and both young she-cats seemed eager to chat.

Briarlight glanced back longingly at Jayfeather, and the tom's blue eyes seemed to be staring back. Jayfeather gestured with his paw that she should join Asphalt and Lark before turning back to Stoneteller and Sheer.

Ok, fine, Briarlight thought to herself. But you had better tell me about everything once you are done. I know you are discussing something important. She changed directions and padded over to join the other she-cats. The Tribe cat sat with her tail neatly wrapped around her paws, while the Pack cat lounged on a large boulder two tail-lengths high. Lark and Asphalt were very different individuals and them enjoying each other's company was a sign of just how close the Pack and the Tribe had grown.

"Hey, Briarlight," Lark meowed cheerily, standing up to touch noses with her in greeting. "You finally woke up."

"I was up late," Briarlight retorted, feeling heat rise beneath her pelt.

"It's a shame you couldn't find a cave or something for these pesky Tribe cats to live in," Asphalt meowed cheekily, glancing over at Lark. "Those greedy badgers are taking up all the good nests."

Lark wasn't about to get baited into an argument. "Take it up with your leader. Flora insisted that we make ourselves comfortable."

The Pack cat rolled her eyes, annoyed that she failed to get a reaction. "You are no fun." She turned to Briarlight. "Anyway, before you showed up we were trying to decide, who is cooler; Jay or Crash. I think Jay is since he spent so much time hunting for us while we were starving. He's so selfless."

"Bur Crash is so sweet and he looked after the Tribe for a time when Stoneteller couldn't," Lark countered, her tone filled with longing. "He makes a fool of himself all the time but he's also so eager to learn everything about everything."

"So in other words, Crash is good at soft gushy Tribe stuff," Asphalt laughed, her tail curling and uncurling as it dangled down the edge of her boulder. "And even a lot of that he still isn't very good at. Jay can already hunt and fight."

"It's okay to not be perfect at everything," Lark meowed. "Crash is always learning from his mistakes. As the saying goes; a wise cat knows they are a fool, while a fool thinks themselves to be wise."

The Pack cat did not seem impressed. "What a droll catch-phrase. I bet some old Tribe cat came up with that a thousand moons ago, and everyone thought it was so clever that they kept saying it over and over again." She opened her mouth wide and pretended to vomit.

Lark rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned back to Briarlight. "So what do you think? Crash or Jay?"

"Uhhh," Briarlight hesitated. She had seen enough of both young toms to know that Jay was better to have in a fight, while Crash was more likely to solve a problem with logic. "I think they are both equally cool," she meowed, deciding not to pick a favorite.

Asphalt and Lark let out identical exasperated moans.

"You are also no fun," Asphalt muttered.

"What can I say," Briarlight laughed. "I think the coolest cat is Jayfeather. No other cat comes close."

"About that," Lark meowed carefully. "Why do you follow him around so much? I know you two are mates, but Brook doesn't follow Storm around nearly as often. Whenever you aren't hunting and he isn't doing medicine stuff, you are always together."

Briarlight felt hot embarrassment start to seep under her fur again. That is a really personal question. She gave her pelt a quick couple of licks to keep it flat. "I guess it's because we haven't had the opportunities to be together for a very long time. Back in the Clans, our love would have been forbidden. Maybe in a few moons, we will be bored of each other and not want to hang out all the time."

"That's extremely messed up that any kind of love would be forbidden," Asphalt meowed, rolling over onto her belly so she could look Briarlight in the eye. "And I thought the old Pack traditions were harsh."

Briarlight shrugged. "The rules are there for the greater good of every cat and would only have any effect on a small group of the Clans. I was just unlucky enough to be in that tiny portion." She turned back to Lark who's eyes were filled with thoughts. "Does that answer your question?"

Lark focused and nodded. "That makes perfect sense. I hope I didn't offend you, I was just curious."

"No offense taken," Briarlight meowed cheerily.

The two young she-cats dove back into conversation with each other, but Briarlight was too distracted by her new thoughts to pay attention. Even though she was justified, she couldn't help but dwell on Lark's observation that she stuck to Jayfeather like a burr. I want to be my own cat, but can I be truly independent if I'm always clinging to someone else? Did I only leave ThunderClan to be with Jayfeather or did I also want to prove that I could be my own cat and carve out my own destiny?

"What are you three gossiping about?"

Briarlight's attention snapped back to her surroundings. Jayfeather had padded over to join them. The gray tom held his head high and his blue eyes were bright. Whatever he had been discussing with Sheer and Stoneteller must have made him happy.

"We were talking about toms," Asphalt told him, her tail flicking back and forth again. "That's all you need to know."

"That's all I wanted to hear," Jayfeather purred in amusement. "I can't say I'm interested in toms."

Briarlight instinctively wanted to rush to his side and breathe in his scent, but she stopped herself. Lark and Asphalt were looking at her expectantly and the familiar heat of embarrassment began to simmer beneath her fur once more. Instead, she held her head high and slowly padded to her mate's side. "What did Stoneteller say to you? You look like you are in a good mood."

Jayfeather nodded, his eyes following her movements. "I have good news. The Tribe think we've helped them enough and say it is fine if we decided to leave. I just want to speak with Flora first before we go."

"That is good, but also sad news," Briarlight meowed, turning to face the two young mountain cats. "We've made so many friends here."

"We've greedily kept you here for long enough," Lark purred, her pale amber eyes shimmering. "What has it been, like two moons?"

Asphalt meowed. "I can still picture how we first met," Asphalt meowed. "Your small group was plodding up the mountain through the cold when Stripes spotted you first. Our patrol came rushing down to confront you because we thought you were Tribe cats."

"And if they had been Tribe cats, would you have killed them all?" Lark inquired.

"Probably," Asphalt answered without hesitation. "It's crazy how everything has changed since then. I can't even see all of my ribs anymore!"

All four of them laughed.

Briarlight enjoyed the lighthearted banter, remembering a time in her apprenticeship when she and her two littermates had acted the same way. A precious time in the opening days of green-leaf when everything was perfect and nobody could imagine anything horrible happening.

"Thanks for keeping my Briarlight occupied," Jayfeather meowed, dipping his head respectfully to Asphalt and Lark. He rested his tail on Briarlight's shoulder and began guiding her away. "Enjoy your discussion about Jay and Crash."

Lark's eyes widened and Asphalt tipped her head to one side, confused. "We never said we were talking about- wait what?"

Jayfeather only purred and he and Briarlight headed towards the cave entrance.

"You use your power to read their thoughts, didn't you," Briarlight guessed.

"Nope, didn't need to," Jayfeather stated simply. "It is obvious that they are in love with Jay and Crash- even a blind cat could figure it out."

The cave was almost empty since most of the cats had recently left on hunting patrols so they made it to the cave entrance without any cat stopping them. Two guards watched the entrance, both Pack cats. Shred, a large brown and white tabby tom, and Twist, a tortoiseshell she-cat. They greeted Briarlight and Jayfeather with curt but respectful nods.

"Are you two waiting for Flora and Nettle to come back as well?" Jayfeather asked, sitting down by the cave wall so he wouldn't be in the way if a patrol came through.

"We are," Twist meowed. "No cat has heard or seen anything of them since they went out yesterday."

"I'm sure they will return soon," Jayfeather meowed confidently.

"I'm not worried," Shred added. "Those two are some of the fiercest in the Pack. They can handle anything they might run into."

Briarlight took a seat next to Jayfeather and stared out at the sunlit stones. The sun was doing its best to heat up the mountain but it was still early in the day. The wispy clouds from the night before were gone and the sky was bright and clear. It had already been hot before they traveled up the mountain and she could only imagine how hot it would be once they went back down. Greenleaf had arrived and she would miss the modest temperatures that came with being so high up.

She glanced over at Jayfeather. His ears were pricked and he seemed to be staring intensely at the sandy path in front of the cave's mouth. There were so many things he could be thinking about. Saying goodbye to the mountain cats, why the moon was reflecting off the ground last night, SkyClan, the lake Clans, me... When she first learned that Jayfeather could read minds, she used to like to pretend that she could do it herself and guess what other cats were thinking. Most of the cats in the Clan were easy, but it had taken her many seasons living in the same den to understand him.

She didn't notice that she was dozing off until some cat spoke. The sun dappling her fur was so warm and she was far enough away from the heart of the cave that the air was quiet.

"Someone's coming," Flick announced, lifting her head and breathing in the scent. "It's Flora and Nettle! They made it back safely!"

"Told you so," Shred meowed.

Moments later, two cats scrambled into sight. Dust dulled their pelts, but their eyes were vibrant with energy.

"How was your trip-" Jayfeather began, but Nettle cut him off.

"We found something!" she cheered, shaking her pelt vigorously and creating a dusty cloud. "We found a cave and when we went inside, I felt a connection with our ancestors. We stayed the night and I had a vision!"

"You can tell our friends all about what we found," Flora meowed, padding past Jayfeather and Briarlight. Her tone was steady but it was clear that she was doing her best to contain her enthusiasm. "I will speak with Stoneteller. Once all the cats are back from hunting, we'll make the big announcement."

Briarlight felt excitement buzzing in her fur. She had never seen either of the Pack cats so ecstatic before. She and Jayfeather padded back into the cave with Nettle and found a place to sit by the wall. She spotted Flora's brown and white tail disappear deeper into the cave.

Nettle took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to regain composure. When she opened them again, they were calm. "Yesterday, when we split up to look for new caves, Flora and I raced to the border and started searching once we were on the other side. We assumed you two would probably be slower and not get as far since, well, you know."

"That is fair," Jayfeather agreed, unoffended.

"For a long time, we couldn't find anything that could be a new home for the Tribe or a place where we could contact the ancestors," Nettle continued. "We were about to give up and come home when Flora got hungry and tried to hunt this white wagtail that was sitting in a bush. The bird escaped, but it lead us to a crevice in the side of the mountain that looked like it had opened up very recently. We decided to explore and inside we found a large cave with single muddy pawprint on the wall."

"So someone got there before you," Jayfeather mused. "How could you tell the crevice was newly made?"

"It looked and smelled fresh, you just have to trust me on this."

"It sounds like a cool place," Jayfeather meowed. "But are you sure this place has a connection with the ancestors? You mentioned having a vision."

Nettle nodded. "As I said before, we went to sleep inside and I had a dream. I was standing on a rocky cleft with the stars and the moon shining bright above me. Dead Pack cats were there with me including Sparrow, Petal and her kit, Glass, Boulder, and even some cats I didn't recognize but smelled like the Tribe where there, too."

Briarlight glanced over at Jayfeather as his pelt began to rise slightly. He still had some vicious scars lacing his muzzle from his fight with the deceased Pack cat and there was probably some resentment bubbling beneath his fur somewhere.

"If Boulder was there, that means he was accepted among the other ancestors," Jayfeather muttered. "Good for him."

Nettle's whiskers twitched with amusement, noticing the tom's agitation. "He wasn't a bad cat, he just believed fiercely in his own dream of what the Pack should be. He didn't seem upset when I spoke with him. He said he regretted what he did but he was at peace for the very first time in his life."

"I'm glad he's doing okay," Briarlight meowed, remembering how aggressive and impatient Boulder had been when she met him for the first time. "How was Petal? Was she sad that she died and left Slate behind?"

Nettle shook her head. "She wished she could have stayed and watched him grow up, but she is happy that Night adopted him and is raising him with other kits his own age."

Jayfeather stood up, his shoulder's seeming to relax as if they had been tense for a long time. "So it turns out the ancestors didn't need me after all. The Pack can take care of itself and their new Starspeaker is doing a fantastic job."

"It would appear so, yes," Nettle purred, appreciating the compliment. "I've noticed that every ancestor I've met so far seems pretty relaxed. Are dead cats always happy? Does something happen to you after you die that makes you wiser, calmer, and nicer?"

"Definitely not," Jayfeather answered without hesitation. "Not including the Dark Forest cats lead by Tigerstar and Brokenstar, I can think of one StarClan cat in particular who always acts grumpy and disapproves of everything that I do. Then again, she is the only really unlikable StarClan warrior that I know so maybe she is just the exception. If I had to guess, I'd say dying brings out a cat's true self. With nothing left to lose or to hide, you see a cat for who they really are."

"Wow, that's deep," Nettle murmured. Her eyes suddenly became lost in thought as she stared blankly at the floor. "I'm still really new to the whole 'ancestors' thing, I know I have much to learn."

"You will be a great Starspeaker!" Briarlight cheered confidently, standing up and padding to Jayfeather's side as they began to move deeper into the cave. The few cats left in the cave were gathering around Stoneteller and Flora. The meeting wouldn't start until every cat was back from hunting but everyone was excited to hear the news about what Flora and Nettle had discovered.

"Thanks, Briarlight," Nettle purred, her eyes filling with emotion. "Being the very first Starspeaker means I have a lot of responsibility. I'll start traditions that will be carried down for maybe thousands of moons after I'm dead, and I might have to come up with rules and stuff that every cat after me has to follow. I can't help but worry that I'll mess everything up."

"You have nothing to fear," Jayfeather meowed soothingly. "Your ancestors will guide your paws and keep you on the path to success. Have faith in them." He stopped and frowned for a moment as if the words he had spoken suddenly left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. "Anyways, let's go see what Flora and Stoneteller are up to."