Summary: A woman abandons her newborn on the doorstep of a person she knows will keep him safe.
Too bad said person has no idea how to take care of a baby.
20 chapters? 20 ChApTeRs!
Except not really because of the intro, so this makes this chapter idea #19, not 20.
I managed to get this stuck in my head. Good thing too, cause these days I'm not in the mood to continuously update Ignite. I need a break to think up of ideas to either keep it going for a few more chapters or just wrap it up entirely if that makes sense. I can't do that if I feel the need to update every week. So I'm thankful I got an idea for the AU Dump in.
I think this is the first idea of mine that has no mysticism or mythological creatures or weird stuff going on. Just a Human Warriors AU. Maybe some people will appreciate a little normalcy.
Reviews are super appreciated!
Thunder Valley- a big town, filled with luscious greenery and flowing rivers. Its citizens took great care to keep their home free from impurities to keep nature's beauty intact. It was a beautiful place to live, but also incredibly exclusive. Outsiders weren't too welcome and those that were welcomed into the town took a bit of time for the locals to get used to. They especially didn't like those from the other neighboring rival towns, such as Shadowed Hills, River Gate, and Windy Slopes.
Though the town was big, the community was very tightly knit. Its citizens would get together to improve their lifestyles, maintain their town, have parties, and share news about their day to day lives. To most of the citizens, it was paradise.
Lately it hadn't been much of paradise, with the repeated murders of the higher councilmen of Thunder Valley, and the outing and expulsion of one of the councilmen that had killed them all in order to ascend the ranks higher, but it still at least looked like paradise.
But for one young woman, 'paradise' wasn't the word she'd currently use for it.
It was a dark, cloudy night, enough to look as if a storm was brewing overhead. Faint sounds of thunder sounded out, and she wondered if she should have waited an extra night to do what she was about to do.
She looked down at the address written on a piece of paper within one of her hands, the other arm occupied with carrying a precious bundle. She shifted her gaze to the moderately sized house across the street, it's front littered with all kinds of beautiful flowers and lights that made it stand out from the rest of the houses within the block.
She tightened her coat, chewing her lip as she made her way across the street. She walked up to the doorstep, looking down at the bundle within her arms with a fond, loving look. She gave it one last kiss, before laying it gently on the doormat. She withdrew a note from within her coat, placing it on top of the bundle.
A tear managed to escape an eye, and she knocked firmly on the door a few times, before running away as fast as her legs could carry her.
Once she was sure she was far away enough, she slowed down her pace into a casual walk, trying to reassure herself that she had made the right choice. She wiped her tears away with a finger. Telling herself that she made the right choice wouldn't make her feel any better over what she had just done.
She was only reassured further when rapid footsteps sounded behind her. Her heartbeat quickened, speeding up into a brisk walk. As she rounded the corner, her walk turned into a run, and the footsteps behind her also turned into a run.
"Hey! Stop! Get back here!"
"Not a chance!" she yelled back. More footsteps sounded, pounding on the sidewalk as more figures chased after her, though she dare not look behind her. They chased her across streets, over hedges and even over fences through people's backyards until she finally hit the main part of town.
She cursed at the lights of motorcycles and vehicles blocking the street ahead of her, almost as if they knew she was going to come this way.
She ducked into a alleyway, hoping for either a place to hide or for a straight way to other side...
...only to be met by a brick wall taller than herself. She jumped and gripped onto the wall, preparing to climb, when hands grabbed her coat and yanked her off and onto the ground.
"Get off me you hooligans!" she shouted at them. One of the figures smacked her head, while the others tied her arms behind her back with some rope.
"Now, now, stop that. That's no way to treat a lady," a deep voice echoed into the alleyway, and her blood stopped cold. The click of his boots was the only thing she could hear as he sauntered into the alleyway, other than the sound of her own blood roaring in her ears.
She was hoisted up onto her feet, the men behind her gripping her arms to keep her still.
The man in front of her grinned at her. "Been a long time, love. Long time no see. What's it been, a few months since we've seen each other last?" he rumbled.
"Not long enough," she spat. "I could have gone a lifetime without seeing your sorry face, murderer." She took in his new appearance; he was wearing a polished looking suit, new shoes as if they had just been shined, a fedora that didn't do anything to tame his wild hair, and sunglasses that tried to hide the amber orbs she knew were behind them. "Joined the Mafia while you were away? Not very surprising considering what you did."
He barked out a laugh. "Well, if you consider Shadowed Hills the Mafia, then yes, I suppose this is what the High Councilman wears."
"A murderer and a traitor? Should have known," she muttered.
"You'd think you'd be a little more happy to see your husband after he got unjustly exiled from his own hometown. How about a kiss, honey?"
"You went and killed the Deputy Councilmen so you could get the seat. You got caught. It wasn't an unjust exile. And I'd sooner kiss an aardvark than your lips again," she sneered.
His smile dipped into a frown. He took his sunglasses off, revealing his bright amber eyes and pocketed them into his suit. "Hmph. Well, you're not really the reason I'm here tonight." He strode forward, fingers grasping at her chin to force her to look into his eyes. "You've kept a certain something to yourself all these months without telling me. Don't you think I would have loved to know that I was going to become a father?"
She said nothing, glaring into his eyes.
He sneered at her. "Where are they, Golden? My sources tell me you gave birth to twins. Where are they?"
"...What makes you think I didn't miscarry?" she tried stalling.
"Oh please. My sources are very good at what they do. You gave birth to a healthy boy and girl about two weeks ago. I want to know where they are."
"Why? So you can corrupt them into becoming killers like yourself?" Golden muttered crossly.
"So I can have an heir, my dear. Nothing quite so melodramatic as you put it." His nails dug into her cheeks. "Now I'm not going to ask again. Where are they?"
She said nothing.
"I have ways of getting answers you know," he said, nodding to one of his men. One of the men holding her grabbed a knife from his pocket, brushing it over her face.
"Let's see how pretty you look after they're done with you."
She only scoffed at him. "You think slashing up my face is going to get me to talk? Listen Tiger, I'm only going to say this once: the children are gone," she said, smirking.
Tiger paused, his eyes widening. "What do you mean gone?!"
"You'll never find them. I made sure of that."
Tiger's face was scrunched up with anger. "I'll find out where you've hidden them. Either I find them myself or I'll get the answers out of you," he hissed. He snapped his fingers, bringing his men to attention. "See how she likes her new accommodations in Shadowed Hills," he ordered his men. Even as she was forced into one of the sleek black cars, Golden couldn't help but cast a smug smirk over in Tiger's direction.
.
.
.
.
Fire looked down at the massive file of paperwork for him to fill out, kindly given to him by High Councilwoman Blue earlier in the day, eye twitching. This was just for one little thing- why was the file so thick!
It was at times like these that he regretted taking the position of Deputy Councilman of Thunder Valley. Was this all the people of the council did all day and night- fill out never-ending piles of paperwork?
But someone had to do it, since the people that were qualified to handle Thunder Valley affairs were murdered by Tiger in order for him to ascend the ranks. His face twisted into a scowl at the mere thought of that man. Tiger had never liked Fire, especially because he had been an outsider who had been lucky enough to have been granted entrance and a home in Thunder Valley. Then Fire, as young as he was, had started rising up in rank fairly quickly.
He would have joined the pile of bodies Tiger was making if Raven hadn't warned him of Deputy Councilman Red's murder first...
He cracked his fingers, preparing himself for a long night of mundanity, and was just about to open the file-
*Knock knock knock*
He looked up, startled. 'Who could that be at this time of night?' He glanced over at the file and figured that it wasn't going anywhere. So he stood up from his chair and hurried over to the front door, opening it and expecting someone on the other side.
He blinked, wondering if he had been the target of some kind of prank. There was no one around, and why would anyone be outside when it looked like it was about to pour gallons upon their heads?
A faint shuffling and what sounded like a yawn beneath him made him look down. There was some kind of bundle and a note laying on his doorstep. He picked up the note, opening it to read its contents.
"Please take care of him. His name is Bramble."
-G
He blinked again, confused. 'Bramble?' Did someone leave him a cat or something? He lifted up the bundle, and it shifted, the blanket falling away from its face, leaving two sleepy amber eyes to stare back into his green ones.
Fire's blood froze. A baby. He was holding a baby.
Someone left a baby on his doorstep, right about when it was about to rain!
'Oh. Oh no. Oh Stars. Oh Stars no.'
He chewed his lip, eyes frantically searching for anyone that could have dropped a baby off at his house. There was still no one out, so whoever 'G' was, must have made a run for it as soon as Bramble was dropped off.
He carried Bramble into his home, and good thing, because he heard thunder and the sound of raindrops hitting the ground as soon as he closed the door. After a few minutes of just...staring at the baby he realized-
'I have no idea how to be a Father!'
For now, it just seemed that Bramble was tired, so he tried rocking the baby so he could fall asleep.
'Am I doing this right?' he thought, panicking in his head.
Bramble only gave Fire a gummy smile as he drifted off, paying no attention to Fire's obvious panic, and Fire's heart melted.
"Okay, I guess you're pretty cute," he murmured to the baby. But he still had no idea how to take care of a baby, even for a night.
He made his way into the kitchen, picked up the phone and dialed her number, one arm still holding onto Bramble.
"Please be home, and please be awake," he muttered.
Finally the phone clicked and connected.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Sand? I've got a bit of a problem. Could you come over?"
"What kind of a problem? Also it's raining cats and dogs out there. There better be a good reason for this, Fire," Sand's accusatory voice made him cringe.
"Uh- well- someone left a baby on my doorstep and I have no idea how to take care of him," he put it in blunt terms, casting his eyes down on said baby in question.
Sand was silent, and he wondered if she had hung up on him, but he hadn't heard the click that told him that she hung up-
"What?!"
So yeah. Human AU. Except Goldenflower drops off Bramblestar at Firestar's house and now Fires has to raise him. And Sandstorm. Sandstorm helps. Soooo I guess I made it so Fire and Sand are Bramble's new parents?
Maybe later down the line Tigerstar realizes just who was raising Bramblestar and then tries to convince his son to join him or something like that. Maybe Bramblestar goes on a quest to find his birth mother, who has been held hostage in Shadowed Hills (which btw, I doubt people wouldn't have noticed that Golden dropped off the map, so Thunder Valley would just know that something happened to her).
As for Tawnypelt? Use your imaginations. Maybe she got dropped off at Speckletail's and Smallear's and eventually ran away to Shadowed Hills cause her grandparents are awful to her.
Tell me how I did.