Chapter 6

Bush

The shadows of the Shard's den welcomed him and his blackened heart. Within those shadows was the gentle rise and fall of Cedar, three fluffy bundles of fur in the curve of her belly, blanketed by a plumy tail. Frost and Timber were gone from his sight as he focused on Jagged. He crept closer and closer a commotion was outside, but he was virtually deaf to it. Cedar's brilliant green eyes opened sleepily, before blinking in alarm. Her jaws parted in a horrified gasp as, what felt like it took moons to do, he reached in and grabbed his eldest daughter by her scruff. Just as soon as all was slow, it was fast again. Cedar flashed her claws across his muzzle, barely missing Jagged who let out a startled wail. He reeled back as his muzzle burned and stung from her sharp claws.

"What in the river are you doing!? Put my kit down!" Cedar screeched, he dropped Jagged without a care planting a paw over his daughter. "Let her go! Why are you doing this!?"

Bush hissed like a snake. "You may have her as your first-born, but she is not my first-born!" Her green eyes stared in terror and shock, her gaze falling onto her kit as he went on. "You've chased out my true first-born and her mother, so you will pay the price. You will never have an heir!" He roared, pouncing onto Cedar, Timber and Frost scrambled to escape, mewling in confusion and fear.

He ignored the kits and slashed Cedar's belly with a swift kick of a hind paw, she let out a wail of pain. As he raised his front paw to slash out her throat and leave their kits to die without her, he felt a weight pull him off, his claws ripping fur out of Cedar's pelt as he nearly landed on top of the kits. Claws burning into his fur as he craned his neck to see who was holding him down with all their weight. Honey-colored eyes, hard with fury, was all he needed to see to know. Heather, that forsaken she-cat! He snarled wordlessly, bucking to kick her off and crash into Cedar's wounded body.

"How could you!?" Heather shrieked, pain glittering in her honey-colored eyes. "She loved you!"

"And I never loved her!" He snapped back, his bushy tail lashing. "She was so blind, she never even realized that I never felt the same!"

The creamy brown she-cat lunged at him, her claws raking through his pelt, ripping clumps off as she managed to overpower him and force him onto his back. She began to kick violently, raking at his belly with her hind claws. Her front paws grappling him fiercely as he struggled against her before giving into the temptation. He sprang his head forward and sank his fangs into the she-cats shoulder, biting as hard as he could as she screamed in pain and agony. Her grip on him loosened for a heartbeat and he took that moment to rip himself free just a hair before her grip returned. Blood dripped from each wound he was given, but he moved swiftly, hearing the commotion outside as, for the first time in moons, his vision was cleared.

Jagged was struggling to the den's entrance, possibly for help. Cold horror filled him as he realized what he was doing. The darkness that had it's hold on his heart and eyes had lifted, but he knew he had to finish what he had started. He stepped to the kit and spoke without looking to the she-cats he had marred forever with their own scars. Jagged looked up at him with horrified green-hued eyes. The fear in them made his stomach drop with even more guilt. I'm a monster. The thought came crashing down as his legs felt they would begin to shake.

"I'm leaving and I will never return to the River-Fragment. I'm taking Jagged with me, not as prisoner, but because I truly have become a fox in a cat's pelt." He meowed, reaching his daughter who was frozen in fear. The moment his jaws grabbed her by her scruff, she let out an alarmed squeal of terror.

"Mama!" She squealed, unable to move thanks to him having her scruff. "Mama, help me! Please! I'll be good I promise!"

Bush stopped, mortified for a heartbeat, before pushing through and escaping the den. Council-cats and a few Fragment-cats as well as the Advisor were glowering at him. Hatred in their eyes and distrust. He had destroyed more then Cedar's image of him, he had destroyed the entire Fragment of BloodClan. Feeling shamed, he began his pained shamble, leaving with his prize in his jaws. Jagged kept wailing and crying out her calls, but he never shushed her. His heart was heavy, it was so broken he wasn't sure he was even the same cat his previous love ever felt affection for.

Not long into the walk, Jagged had finally grown quiet and it added to the misery Bush felt. His neck was aching, his jaws feeling cramped, but he kept going, crossing the Twoleg Bridge and heading straight for the moors. Every few heartbeats he was sure that he saw the shine of the eyes of cats in the shadows of the brush, yet he saw nothing. Feeling uneasy with this newfound guilt, he began to pick up the pace ignoring the trail of blood he was undoubtedly leaving behind. He just had to hope that no one would come after them. Just for a moment longer, so those who may have been wounded, like himself, had a chance to try and heal.

Once he was on the moors, he felt freer then ever before. The winds picked up with a slight chill of the night, the dove-gray dawn welcoming him to his new home. As swiftly as he could, he pelted through the moorland and headed straight to the dip that Poppy had discovered a moon ago. The moon above him was nearly a half-moon, he had waited a little longer than he should have, but he didn't want to put it off any longer. He had to finish what he had planned and now what he had started. He almost had her, but Heather gotten in the way. Now, he had to work on figuring out how to remove the looming threat that was Cedar. They could have a quarter-moon or countless moons to prepare. All he knew was he had to plan it all quickly to save the cats who wanted to find a new home to call their own.

Within mere moments, Bush padded into the new camp, it had been cleaned out well during the moon of waiting. Poppy had been waiting with Night, he barely registered them as he went to Dapple and placed Jagged with her and Leaf. They were the youngest ones now, he twitched his ears and looked to Poppy who seemed relieved, but looking off into the distance far beyond the rise of the camp's walls. Almost as though he was looking for something he could not fathom.

"What have you done?" Dapple suddenly demanded, catching the reddish-brown tom's attention.

Bush stood silently, looking over the aging queen before answering. "Destroying everything Cedar ever thought of me." His mew sounded like it belonged to someone else, it was hallow in his ears and forlorn.

Poppy, at last padded up to him and murmured into his ear fur. "I'm going to explore on tomorrow's half-moon night. I feel there is somewhere I must go."

"No need to whisper it to me." He told the older tom. "I'm only going to be leader until these cats figure out where they want to go and go there."

The other cat's ears perked up. "We can leave if we want to?" One asked.

"I'm only going to hold onto this territory until I've finished my spat with Cedar. I don't want any of you involved, so as soon as you are able, find a new place to live. Until then, I will do my best to keep you safe." He promised despite how hallow the words sounded to him. "So, do what you want. Night will give you jobs to do so we at least survive. But let her know if you plan on exploring to find new territory. If she is on the rock, then that means I'm getting some rest and to do what you think is best to help."

"We will." Pigeon promised, his eyes bright. "Thank you Bush for giving us a chance to leave."

Bush hesitated, pain searing in his heart. "Glad that I could be of use."

.

Two moons passed and leaf-fall was slowly taking over the forest as well as the blood being shedded on the moors. Last moon, the River-Fragment had been attacking with new faces in their ranks. They had been torn to shreds over and over, but there had been a small break and luckily, peace seemed to be returning. Ginger was expecting kits and Jagged was still giving him the cold shoulder now at three moons of life. Her eyes had settled on a beautiful yellow color, making her look stunning and him feeling pride that she was his daughter. However, he knew he severed those ties two moons ago when he violently attacked her mother. Her image of him had changed drastically, harming her trust far more then he ever dreamed off.

He luckily learned that the cats who joined Cedar were a rather large group of loners who saw him kidnap a kit and wanted to help get that kit returned just as violently as he had taken her. The only other news was Poppy vanishing every half-moon night, but Bush could care less what the dark ginger tom was up to. All he cared about was trying to keep the cats safe and alive. They already began to branch themselves into the spindly forest on the edge of their territory and the cat scent had grown faint since the merge of loners and the River-Fragment. He was concerned on if they could make a grand escape or not when the time came.

Night was falling, a claw-shaped moon hung in the sky after a hard day of every cat trying to find a new place to live without him. Jagged already making it clear she is staying away from him in particular. He couldn't blame her, the darkness that took over his heart and mind had transformed him into a foul, heartless beast. A beast that only wanted to tear everything apart and did so without mercy. Now, he was suffering from the weight of being a leader. Closing his eyes, he was ready to rest, knowing that Night would keep them safe.

Yet, it was too good to be true as a shriek jolted him from a dreamless sleep. Amber eyes wide in horror, he jumped to his feed and left his chosen den for the night. Screeches and screams grew louder and louder as he laid his eyes on the dimly lit clearing. Pelts were thrashing all around, hisses and paws slamming into bodies as cats writhed in pain. Heads thrown back in yowls of rage and pain. He scanned the area, feeling his fur rise along his shoulders and spine as he saw the cat he was looking for. Beneath her paws was Ginger, struggling with her heavily pregnant belly to fight her off. Pigeon was trying to save his mate, but was being beaten and battered by some she-cats.

Swiftly, Bush raced over, slipping between the warring cats as Ginger let out an agonized yowl, her entire body seeming to spasm out of control. Glistening liquid pooled out of the she-cat, it was dark despite the faint light of the moon. The scent of blood washed over Bush's senses as he saw Cedar prepare to give a bite to the ginger she-cat's neck. Pigeon's agonized wail managed to reach his ears, which had blood roaring in them in the panic he felt. "NO!" The sleek gray-and-white tom's wail became his own as he slammed into Cedar.

With a screech of shock, she tumbled backward while he clung on furiously with his claws. The River-Fragment leader was stunned while he slammed a paw into her chest, his claws digging into her thick fur. He kept a good hold of her, kicking with his hind legs to rake her belly until she screeched for mercy. Once she had, he let her go, watching her race into the gorse barrier and leaving her pelt behind in the process. He turned around seeing every cat fighting on their own, but Ginger was in a terrible state. The dark orange she-cat was straining, bundles of lifeless and strange forms slicked with the dark liquid slithered out of her with agonized wails.

"This is all my fault..." Bush whispered in horror, his amber gaze falling on each cat in the clearing. Blood was splattered onto the earth, bodies of cats that were unmoving. They're all dying! He thought as fear crawled over his pelt before leaping onto the stone pillar and letting out a yowl. "Cedar has left, the rest of you fox-hearts get out before we kill you all!" Please, just go! I have to finish this faster, no more dawdling, I have to make sure my cats are safe! He thought as cats streamed out with snarls and hisses.

They were his cats, whether he liked it or not, they were his to look after and he was going to give it his all. The clearing of the camp was cleared, dead bodies remained and wounded cats were all over. He was panting, heaving with the effort, he couldn't recall getting wounded, but he might have been when he was fighting Cedar. He looked to Ginger, Pigeon was by her side with wide blue eyes. Another feline shape quickly appeared, it was a tom working fast for the she-cat who was moaning in both physical and emotional pain.

Bush leaped down, hitting the earth harder then he ever had before. He shook it off, padding closer and closer as he smelled the thick scent of blood in the air. Slowly, he approached hearing the tom's voice and recognizing him as Poppy. He was doing something to the dark orange she-cat. His paws moving feverishly as he muttered to himself.

"Poppy seed for the pain, burnet to give her strength, chamomile to give aid to the heart and mind, chervil to fight any infection, feverfew to get her temperature back down, and parsley to stop her milk from being produced." He was muttering to himself, putting it all in a leaf wrap made of raspberry leaves. "This will ease any kitting pains and stop the bleeding." He gave it to Ginger. "Eat this, quick, it can save your life."

"N-no... leaves are for prey not cats." Ginger moaned.

"Ginger, these leaves will help you. Now, eat it!" Poppy snapped.

Pigeon nodded to his beloved. "Please, for me Ginger."

Ginger hesitated before finally eating the leaf wrap altogether with a wrinkled nose at the taste. "Ugh, it's so disguising! How does prey eat this?"

"Just as easily as you can eat a fish." Poppy growled, his tail flicking, before rounding on Bush. "We must bury all of the dead, even these... these things!"

"Things? My kits," Ginger suddenly sounded heartbroken, looking to Pigeon. "I don't have them inside me anymore, do I?"

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "They're gone."

A growing wail began to echo around the camp, cats looked on forlornly. Bush dipped his head, walking to Night, who was licking a nasty bite wound on her front leg. "Night, organize cats to bury the dead and..." He hesitated, unsure what to call the strange slimy forms that Ginger had kitted. "And what Ginger made."

"She lost her kits." Night murmured, "She would be heartbroken."

"I know, but we can still let them go. Outside of camp, bury the dead cats and hade someone keep Ginger from seeing them. It's the most we can do."

"And your injuries?"

"I'll be fine." He promised, going back to Poppy ever so slowly. The tom was looking him over from a distance as he approached. "So, what on earth have you been doing?"

"It's called healing." Poppy told him. "I am only doing my best for now. I don't know much, but I am learning."

"How?"

"The stars called upon me. Just, as I believe, they began to call upon you." He replied.

Bush blinked slowly, "What do you mean?"

"That wound is bleeding a lot and it would normally kill a cat, so the stars have saved you. Now come with me, there is somewhere we must go to make it official. You won't survive the night even with the limited knowledge I have."

The reddish-brown tom felt unsure, but shook it off. "Very well. Whatever you have been up to has at least given us an edge against any fragment now."

Poppy looked away. "May that be true for a long time." He rose to his paws. "Now come, we don't have much time left."

"Much time left for what?" Bush asked, confused on what the strange older tom was talking about.

"I'll try to explain on the way." He meowed, leading the way on a path that he seemed to feel. "There are spirit-cats in the stars, Bush. They called upon me to find what appears to be a shard of the moon lodged beneath the earth. Ever since I found it, I had a choice to make and I made it for the good of our group. however long it stays, I want to help them in a way that doesn't include hunting."

"You've been a good hunter." He pointed out, cutting through the older toms rambling. "You always have been."

"I struggle, Bush." He told him vaguely. "I never been able to fully focus on hunting. I bring back prey, yes, but hardly enough to earn my keep. So, I'm learning to heal with plants, herbs are what they are called, just so the cats I am with can survive. So my kits can survive as well."

"Mint is considered a grown cat." He reminded him.

"I know, but no matter how old she becomes she will always be my kit. Taking care of her and Leaf has been my commitment until they can take care of themselves. But the cats of the stars have told me that even grown cats need to be cared for to be kept healthy. We've only lived as long as we have because of the Twolegs catching us when we got sick. Although, most cats who were captured either didn't come back or came back unable to make kits anymore." The dark ginger tom explained. "My duty will now be to try and keep every cat healthy, or as healthy as I can get them to be."

Bush blinked, watching him curiously. "I don't think I can understand about how this came to be, but whatever you say."

"The spirit-cats are teaching me everything I need to know." He promised.

"But who are they?"

"They call themselves StarClan." He breathed, "They are the Elders of StarClan and they guide my paws and heart now. With their help, you can have a fighting chance against Cedar."

"Being a Fragment of BloodClan, we are forbidden to turn to anything involving those Clan-cats after what they have done to disgrace us!" Bush flared up, stopping in an instant, the roar of the thunderpath was in the distance, sounding sluggish and desolate.

Poppy looked to him, his amber eyes seeming to twinkle with the vast stars high above them. "Have they, or has it been Scourge's fault since the beginning? We were lead by a monster, then we were lead by angry monsters, lazy and cowardly beasts, and revenge hungry cats. How often do you think a Clan-cat's group is lead by a monster of a cat?"

"That tom that brought BloodClan to the forest." He muttered, his tail swaying uneasily.

"And that was the only one we had ever known." Poppy concluded. "Most Clan-cats are honorable, the envy of rogues and Twoleg Place cats. We envied them for their longer lives, now we have the secret to why they live for so long."

"But to turn to StarClan of all things? This is why we have been saying 'forsaken-stars' for seasons." He reminded him. "We just are not supposed to be like them."

"Bush, you have kidnapped your own daughter, broke a she-cats heart, and made a group that is nameless and destined to dissolve." Poppy snapped. "Your destiny is to finish what you have started, so to do that you have to do this for the advantage! They have told me that leaders get nine lives, if you can have that mystical power to be revived from death, you can finish this spat with Cedar!"

He wanted to argue, so desperately to fight him and his words. However, he knew there was no point as he looked away and began to walk again to the older tom. "Fine. No good comes from Clan-cats and their beliefs, but if you are so certain it will give an advantage over Cedar, we can try."

"Thank you, Bush." Poppy mewed, turning away and going back to leading the way in silence.

Clan-cats and their beliefs had turned the forest on it's head many moons before any of them were kitted. After the days BloodClan and the Clan-cats had met and fought, they had been shamed by kittypets, wanderers, and loners alike. Made fun of and seen as pathetic cats who couldn't even defeat the Clan-cats. Thus making Clan-cats the most feared in Twoleg Place ever since. So, cats who became leader were the most ruthless to strike fear in the hearts of others. Of course, they also fell just as quickly as they rose into power.

Bush sighed softly, hardly realizing that it was getting harder and harder for him to breathe as the acrid scent of the thunderpath reached his nose. He waited for Poppy's signal and raced across with him, reaching the other side before he coughed violently. He hadn't noticed before, but now that he was started to calm down, there was a burning pain across his chest and throat. His legs felt weak, much like he could lay down for moons and sleep it all off. Just as he started to lower his head, Poppy nudged him to his paws.

"There is no time for you to rest, you might not wake up. The moonlight might be gone just like you." He grumbled. "Come at once, follow me."

Bush stumbled to his paws, following the dark ginger tom with heavy paws. The grass seemed so stringy in the dusty dirt and pebbles. The pebbles soon became stones and larger rocks as he walked to a strange cavern. He flicked his tail uncertainly before following Poppy into the darkness. How had they gotten into the cave so fast? It was as though Poppy knew the path itself. Then again, he was going this way for a few half-moons and must have created a path with his body in that time. Time was moving too fast for Bush, or was it too slow? He stumbled into the massive cavern where the faint glimmer of the shard of the moon was hidden within.

Before he could speak, Poppy gestured for him to lay, he obeyed. Flopping onto the hard earth, stretching his neck to touch the stone has he was told to do. An icy chill filled him from nose to tail tip, his eyes fluttered closed, darkness filling his vision as his breathing became slower and slower. With a soft sigh, he fell into a deep slumber, his breathing becoming more clear as he relaxed. The cold stone beneath him had turned into sun-warmed grass and peat, his whiskers being tickled by a wind he knew shouldn't be there.

His amber eyes opened, a sea of tall grasses surrounded him, wild and free as it hissed all around him. He pulled himself to his paws, for a brief moment, he thought he had passed at last onto the other side of life. That was until he saw the stars blaze bright, eight of the brightest ones he ever had seen flowed down, transforming before his eyes into feline shapes. Their fur speckled and glittered with what looked like frost, their eyes glowing as though they were colored moons.

"Welcome to StarClan proud to-be leader." The dark gray she-cat meowed, approaching him. "There are only eight of us in this realm, but you have lost the life you have already received by birth, so we will refill your body with eight new lives to finish your path."

"Your, your Clan-cats." He stated, looking them each over. "What business do you even have with Fragments of BloodClan?"

"We wanted to help in any way we can." She told him, her brown eyes glimmering. "My name is Shadepelt and the life I wish to give you is Compassion, so that you may learn to put yourself in the paws of others." She touched his nose with her own, a sharp pain seemed to slash into his chest, filling him from the inside out, his eyes feeling as though they were going to be pouring tears for endless moons. A pain he could not fathom as his claws dug into the earth beneath his paws.

Another cat walked up to him just as the pain began to ebb away. "My name is Loudbelly," The dark brown tom greeted him. "For your second life, I give you the life of Listening, so that you can hear what your group has to say and keep it in mind." He touched his nose to Bush's, letting him feel as though he could hear all across the mystical forest he was within. No pain, only freedom filled his entire ribcage, almost like he could do anything.

"I am Frostfur, it is quite the pleasure to give an honorable tom like yourself a life." The snow-white she-cat trilled, her tail raised in a friendly manner. "For your third life, I give you the life of Nobility, so that you can become as noble as we see you to be." She touched her nose to his, creating a feeling as though he was about to burst with a pride so strong, he wasn't sure he had enough room for five more of these lives inside his fur. It felt cramped, as though he was somehow too big for his own skin with these extra lives. Just as the feeling faded and his anxiety threatened to wake him from this strange dream turned nightmare, another she-cat was before him.

"N-no..." He gasped. "No more... please..."

"You must endure." The pale golden tabby told him firmly. "I am Speckletail, for your fourth life, I give you the life of Forgiveness. To forgive the Clan-cats for the pains we may have caused in the beginning of our destinies being intertwined. And so you can forgive yourself above all." She murmured, touching her nose to his. Sending a new pain that came from his throat, almost as though he was emotional, but much more powerful than that. A pressure built up behind his eyes, tears feeling ready to flood through his eyes and soak his fur as he gasped through the pain, feeling as though he couldn't breathe. His chest felt cramped with emotion and possibly the lives that were being forced into him.

"M-make it stop..." He struggled to speak.

"Be strong, your destiny is almost upon you." A creamy brown tom pointed out. "I'm Oatwhisker and the life I will give you for your fifth is the life of Wisdom. So you may look beyond your whiskers and ears to find the answers." He gently touched his nose to Bush's, sending a vibrant pain into the back of his skull. He almost hissed in pain, darkness threatened to overcome his sight, his head pounding with a headache so powerful he was nearly knocked off his paws from it.

"I'm Tangleweed." A meow began, his vision clearing as he could see a gray-brown tabby tom before him. "For your sixth life, I will give you the life of Endurance, so you may protect your group that way and save your own life when needed." His nose was pressed to his before he was even ready, a new sensation of pain filled him, almost as though he was burning beneath his pelt. He let out a faint growl of pain, shuddering as he tried to endure it as the life was said to make him able to, but it was useless. Tears, hot and damp, ran down the fur of his cheeks as he breathed hard and heavy.

The pain left him, ebbing away, as a thick set dark brown tom padded into view. "I'm Marshstep and the seventh life I will bestow upon you is the life of Justice. I wish for you to find your justice and soon, so you may live a long and peaceful life." He mewed, touching his nose to Bush's own, sending the vengeful feeling racing through his veins like it had several moons before. It felt vicious and like he had run through many thunderpaths and in alley ways as he started to pant from the way his heart raced without him. Almost feeling close to hurting in some way.

It faded, like the others, but it felt sooner and faster. Perhaps these lives are like powers of some kind and work right away? He thought, blinking as a light orange she-cat stepped up in front of him. Her eyes a pale yellow color as they flickered almost guiltily over him. He was curious on why that was, until she parted her jaws and spoke. Her mew, he felt he knew it from somewhere before, but he couldn't put his claw on it.

"I am the last cat to give you a life, your eighth one. I am Braveclaw and the live I bestow upon you is the life of Courage. So that you may face any truth with a brave face and protect your group with everything you have." She breathed, touching her nose to his.

Just as the pain flared in his chest with an aggression and feeling he could charge up to a massive dog and fight it single pawed, he remembered. Her mew, her voice. It was gentler now, but he remembered it clear as the moon's face during it's full-face time. His amber eyes snapped open, anger glittering in his gaze as he stared at her. Through the feelings, he spoke, his voice darkened with rage. "You. Your the one I heard!"

Braveclaw looked away, at least having the decency to look ashamed of herself. While Shadepelt lifted her head and announced before the pain could finish leaving his body. "The Nine Lives Ceremony is complete, from this day forward, Bush will now be known as Bushstar, leader of his group until the day he is welcomed into StarClan!"

"Bushstar! Bushstar! Bushstar!" The starry cats cheered.

Bushstar listened to them, but his gaze never left the silent light orange she-cat stared away, her jaws moving without a sound. Anger filled him, he was right all along. Nothing good ever came from Clan-cats. She was proof enough for making him become the monster he was now. He wanted to confront her, but his paws felt rooted to the spot now. The cheers soon faded, Frostfur stepped up, her sky-colored eyes glittering.

"Return to the waking world, Bushstar. The era of your group depends on how well you can finish the job, or they will never survive." She told him, sending a chill down his spine.

What did I get myself into? Bushstar thought, mortified.

"Tell Poppypaw that we send our regards." Shadepelt added in.

Poppypaw? I don't- He felt faint as darkness enveloped his gaze and he seemed to fall, crashing back onto the stone floor. Poppy was nearby him, licking the blood off of him. The wounds he had no longer stung, clearly having been healed somehow and scarred over. He didn't understand anymore than he had before, but he did know one thing. He wasn't going to help the stars. They would have to depend on Poppypaw for that in return of one of them turning him into a monster.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He snapped, making his way to the exit. "Let's just go home, who knows if Cedar is smart enough to stay away while wounded."

One kit-step at a time, Bush. He thought darkly. No one will ever know you are Bushstar now if you never tell them.

Author Note:

After a long while, this chapter is finally finished! We don't have much more to go, I am just going to put as much story as I can in each chapter for this one. So no worries!

Poppy is now revealed to be Poppypaw, while Bush has become Bushstar and we finally know what cat had encouraged him to do the darkest things he could ever do.

Before you go "Oh so it's ShadowClan's fault like always!" You have to remember that Bush was already planning to make Cedar suffer. All Braveclaw actually did was speak to him and tell him to do it, rather then guide his paws into it. Even if she didn't do anything, it is very likely that Bushstar would have done it on his own anyway.

Updates will return to their normal schedule from now on, I took all the time I needed to get used to life without the strongest man I knew growing up. It still feels like he is here and will come out of his room in any moment, but in time I'm sure this feeling will go away. I will remember him always and in his honor, I will make more stories and hopefully someday write a character with his likeness to spread his love of animals, joke-telling, and fatherly appreciation and love. Until then, let's just make do with Bushstar being a less than stellar father himself.

Thank you for reading and have a fantastic morning/day/evening/night; if not, I hope it gets better for you. - NightSky