Ooo, I'm so excited! I want to spoil everything and explain in detail EVERYTHING I have planned coming up, but I will try to resist.

Mistlion Mmm, yes, Sol... and Jayfeather is good at anything he sets his mind to.

WarriorsAce55 Indeed.

"You know those times when your mouth is so full of food and you have to spit it out to cut it into smaller pieces before trying to eat it again?"

Briarlight whiskers twitched with amusement as she tried to contain her meow of laughter and curled her tail more tightly around her paws. "I can't say that I do," she chortled, her eyes following Cash as he danced around her with excitement. They were in the back of the Tribe's cave so hopefully he wouldn't bother anyone. "In the Clans we're taught to respect fresh-kill and share with others. If you have so much fresh-kill in your mouth that you can't swallow, you need to slow down."

It was the day after Jayfeather had left to return to the Pack and Briarlight was doing her best not to regret staying and letting him go alone. She hadn't even had time to talk with him before he left. I know why he did it. He was afraid of putting me in danger if the Pack declined his proposal of peace. Cats like Boulder might have even attacked us against Flora's orders if they didn't agree with her.

Briarlight narrowed her eyes, her gaze dropping down to some pebbles at her paws. She pictured her mate's long thin body disappearing out of sight as he climbed down the cliff side. She could have forced him to let her join, but grudgingly, she agreed it would be more useful for her to be with the Tribe. She would learn all she could about the mountain cats so that in two days, when the Tribe and the Pack were face to face, she would know what to say if an argument broke out.

So far the Tribe seemed content staying away from the Pack. Stoneteller was keeping his word and he ordered every cat to give the old border a wide berth. And even though they had less area to hunt, the morning patrol had still managed to bring down a hawk. Briarlight had never eaten hawk before but she had been disappointed that it didn't taste too different from sparrow.

"Oof!"

Briarlight was so deep in thought that she was caught by surprise when a heavy body crashed into her from behind and knocked her off her paws. She sprawled onto the ground, but quickly spun around onto her back to face her attacker with her teeth bared.

"Sorry!" Cash cried, scurrying off of her with his ears drawn back. "I was trying to practice one of the moves Jayfeather used when he was fighting the rats and I tripped. I'm really really sorry! I hope I didn't hurt you!"

Briarlight let her fur relax and hastily returned to her comfortable sitting position. She could never be mad at Cash. The young tom was doing his best not to show he was upset that Jayjay had stayed with the Pack, and talking and playing was his way of coping. "That's alright," Briarlight meowed calmly, trying to slow her own pounding heart. Thinking about the Pack put her on-edge. "I'm okay. Show me the move Jayfeather used. I wasn't there to see it."

The young cat's eyes were still round as moons, mortified that he might have upset her. "I really am sorry. I promise I'll be more careful next time."

Briarlight rolled her eyes and lifted her chin. "I really am okay! And I'll cuff you over the ears if you don't stop talking about it. Show me this move Jayfeather used."

Cash perked up again in relief that she wasn't mad and he took a step back towards the cave wall so he'd have room to perform his trick. He wasn't as coordinated as Jayjay but that didn't stop him from trying his best and enjoying himself. His face scrunched up with concentration and he lifted himself up onto his hind legs. He wobbled a bit at first but quickly settle into a comfortable battle-stance.

"You really saw Jayfeather do this?" Briarlight inquired with fascination. Even though Jayfeather was brave and determined, he was still a blind medicine cat with limited fighting training. Just the thought of him fighting off a fox and a pack of rats was hard to imagine.

"He really did," Cash puffed, still concentrating hard. With a sudden swing of his paw, he slashed at the air with such speed that he unbalanced himself and fell over backwards. "Ughh, it was much cooler when he did it- and he didn't fall over every time he swung his paw."

Briarlight purred in amusement, padding over to the young tom and helping him onto his paws with her muzzle. "You did fine. With some training you'll be just as good at killing rats as he is, probably even better."

"I wish," Cash sighed, his tone dipping sadly. "I'm not very good at hunting or fighting, at least not as good as Jayjay."

"Don't say that-" Briarlight began but he cut her off.

"And you don't have to pretend, I know I'm not as good."

She held her lips closed tight. Cash was smart enough to know his own limits, and unlike many apprentice in the Clans, he didn't openly proclaim that one day he would be the very best hunter and fighter to ever walk the forest. She respected his judgement, but at the same time, it made her wonder if only in the Clans did apprentices expect to be the very best. Were most young cats like that?

"You would think that since we're half brothers, we'd be just as good as each other," Cash meowed, licking his paw and swiping it over the fur on his neck. "We share the same father but I guess his mother was was a better hunter than mine."

Briarlight was suddenly reminded that Bramblestar also had a half-brother. Before she was born, Hawkfrost had tried to murder Firestar but Bramblestar had killed him to save his leader's life. She knew the story well but she had never stopped to wonder what it must have been like knowing you had a sibling who didn't live with you- and who could possibly be evil.

"Our father took care of both me and Jayjay when we were really little," Cash meowed, his eyes glittering as if he could still picture it in his mind. "Jayjay's mother abandoned him soon after he opened his eyes and my mother was killed by a streetbeast soon after that. We're lucky our father took us both in and taught us how to fend for ourselves."

Briarlight already knew from the young cat's tone that the story didn't have a happy ending. "What happened to your father?" she asked tentatively.

"He was killed by a stray dog that was roaming the area where we lived. Soon after that, me and Jayjay were discovered by Sentinel's gang and we lived with them in the houseplace for a couple moons. We ran into Jayfeather just a few days after Sentinel exiled us."

Briarlight's heart ached for the young cat. Her own story had an awful middle, but at least the beginning was good before she had been hit by the falling tree and lost the use of her hind legs. Cats outside of the Clans or even the Tribe didn't have patrols of trained warriors guarding, guiding, and feeding them until they were strong enough to fend for themselves. She pictured Jayjay and Cash as tiny kits wandering that horrible twolegplace, mewling in the rain as their parents were either killed or deserted them.

"Don't look at me like that!"

"Sorry!" she mumbled, realizing she had been staring at him. She quickly looked at the floor of the cave. "I just feel awful knowing young cats like you suffer without a Clan to watch out for you."

Cash let out a warm purr of laughter and padded closer to her. "The past is behind me now. The only thing I care about is where I am now and where I'm going. Besides, if all those horrible things hadn't happened to me, I would never have met you and Jayfeather. It looks like things are finally looking up for me."

Briarlight was a little surprised but also happy when Cash sat down close to her and leaned his head against her shoulder. She knew she could never fill the place of a mother for him, but if he looked up to her for comfort and guidance she would be proud to give it. "I'm glad you feel that way," she meowed before giving him a lick between the ears.

"Can I interest either of in joining our hunting patrol?"

Briarlight looked up. A she-cat she didn't know the name of yet was staring at her with pale gray eyes. She looked older than most of the other Tribe cats, her brown fur thin enough to show how skinny she was, but her eyes were pleasant and kind. Briarlight felt welcomed just by the tone of her voice. "I would love to," she replied.

"I guess I'll go too," Cash added, standing up and stretching his forepaws so his claws stuck out. "I need to get into practice since I don't have Jayjay around to hunt for me anymore."

Briarlight laughed. She remembered Jayfeather suggesting she tell Cash about Stoneteller's herb collection. If things didn't go well on the hunt she'd make sure to tell Cash all about it so he wouldn't feel bad about himself. Not that I'd be any better out there, she thought, remembering how miserable her hunt had been while she was staying with the Pack. It would probably be many moons before she was good enough to feed herself.

"My name is Brook Where Small Fish Swim," the Tribe cat continued. "I-"

"You're Storm's mate!" Briarlight exclaimed, remembering the stories. She hadn't even been born yet when Jaypaw had made his first journey up the mountain to visit the Tribe. He had been Leafpool's apprentice then but his adventures with the Tribe had sounded like legends to Briarlight when she was still a kit.

Brook's whiskers twitched with amusement. "I wasn't aware that me and my mate were still so well known among the Clans."

Briarlight lowered her head. "You aren't, but I was born soon after Jayfeather went up into the mountains so those were the stories I heard about when I was growing up. I always envied how he could go to the mountains so many times while I was always stuck in the camp."

Brook blinked slowly. Even though she was an older cat and her greatest adventures were behind her, the look she gave Briarlight depicted gratitude. "I didn't think I would see another Clan cat again after the last time Jayfeather visited. ThunderClan seemed so safe and satisfied that I couldn't think of a reason why they would ever travel up here again. But perhaps the Tribe of Endless Hunting has called to him for a reason."

Briarlight nodded, wondering if the Tribe's ancestors really had summoned Jayfeather away from the Lake. Could they do that?

"Come, the hunting party is waiting for us."

Briarlight and Cash followed Brook through the cave. Briarlight dipped her head respectfully to each cat along the way, not sure what the customs of the mountain cats were yet. It dawned on her that the Tribe still didn't know anything about the Dark Forest attack against the Clans by the lake. Did they need to know or was it better for that to stay a secret?

There was a small gathering of cats already standing by the opening of the cave when Briarlight, Brook and Cash approached. They stood close enough to the cliff's edge that a few shafts of sunlight could reach their pelts, but a few tail-lengths away from the thundering waterfall. Briarlight noticed how the smaller thinner cats stayed closer to the center of the group while the bulkier cats stood at the edges. Jayfeather told me that they split up into prey-hunters and cave-guards, but that sounds inefficient. It would be better to have all the cats learn to do both.

"Hi Cash! Briarlight!" one of the young cats meowed loudly as the two cats followed Brook over to join the rest of the hunting patrol. Briarlight guessed she was one of the cave-guards by how tautly her muscles bunched beneath her tabby fur.

Brook purred, gazing lovingly at the young she-cat. "Briarlight and Cash, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Lark that Sings at Dawn."

"Greetings," Briarlight meowed curtly, aware that some of the other Tribe cats looked impatient to be going. They must have been waiting for a while.

"You're Pine's sister, right?" Cash asked. "I overheard him talking with Jayfeather yesterday."

"Yeah I am," Lark chirped. "But he's not hunting with us today cause he's with Storm on another patrol."

"You're name is very pretty," Cash blurted out. His eyes suddenly grew wide with horror. "I'm sorry, is that a rude thing to say? I don't know how the Tribe traditions work!"

His words were met with a chorus of cheery laughter by all the Tribe cats close enough to hear. Even the cats who were standing impatiently couldn't help but be amused by the young tom's naivety. It was a pleasant sound since hardly any cat had any reason to laugh in the past few days. The tiny spark of normal life seemed to diminish the atmosphere of hunger and hostility for a moment.

"Will Sol be joining us on our hunt?" asked one of the Tribe cats who sat closest to the waterfall. His black fur was shimmering with a thin glossy film from the mist.

"I saw him leave the cave by himself earlier this morning," meowed a gray-furred she-cat. "He didn't look like he was in a pleasant mood so I didn't try to stop him."

Sol is never in a good mood, Briarlight thought to herself. In fact, ever since Jayfeather had left to help the Pack, the gloomy rogue had been almost completely silent. He hadn't even complained once that he was hungry. She had been watching him closely and sometimes, when he thought nobody was listening, he would mutter things under his breath and looks of horror or anger would flicker across his face. She wished she had the courage to confront him and find out what he was thinking about, but she didn't want to offend him.

"I'm sure he's fine wherever he is," Brook meowed, raising her tail to signal the others. "The truce with the Pack should be enough to keep the mountains safe for at least today. Now let's begin our hunt before all the fresh-kill dies of old age."

I actually had another whole section planned for this chapter but it would have made the chapter huuuge! So I'll save that for the next update.