This chapter only serves as a reminder for me to stop writing for Ignite after Bramblestar's Storm. .
I stole a bunch of stuff from the books again. I'm broke, and thus cannot afford to weather a lawsuit Erins. I don't own anything.
Can you believe that it's been almost 2 years since I started Ignite? I wasn't expecting it to go past 1 year tbh...
Reviews are appreciated!
What was once a quest towards finding some nice dry pelts from the Twoleg dens had turned into something of yet another rescue mission. He saw a dark brown she-cat pawing at something on the ground, close to the wall of the den. Her movements were frantic, matching the thin wailing she was making. Bramblestar tried to hear what she was saying, but the wind in his ears meant he couldn't make out the words. He wished briefly that he had Firestar's level of hearing.
For a moment Bramblestar was tempted to turn away and pretend he hadn't seen. But he knew that the sight and sound of the distressed cat would haunt him if he refused to help. Bramblestar raced down the slope until he reached the Twoleg den, and approached the kittypet. "What's wrong? Can I help?" he called.
To his astonishment the kittypet swung around to face him with her lips drawn back in a snarl. "Stay out of this!" she meowed, giving him a shove in the chest to emphasize her words.
Bramblestar stared at her. The she-cat's amber gaze met his without flinching. 'She's bold, for a kittypet!' he thought, admiring her courage in spite of her hostility.
The faint sound of yowling drew Bramblestar's attention to the den. At ground level there was a narrow opening covered by transparent Twoleg stuff. The yowls were coming from a gray tabby tom who had pressed his face against the transparent barrier and was caterwauling for help.
"There must be a way to get him out of there," Bramblestar mewed, pawing at the gap.
"What would you know about it, flea-pelt?" the kittypet hissed. Bramblestar felt his shoulder fur begin to bristle and consciously forced it to lie flat again. She's asking for a clawed ear!
"I've seen stuff like this before," he replied, remembering the way that he and the others had got into the Twoleg den from the ledge while they were rescuing Minty. Experimentally he pressed his forepaws against the top of the transparent barrier, and let out a grunt of satisfaction as it swung inward, opening a narrow gap at the bottom.
But the space wasn't wide enough for the tabby tom to get out. "Press harder," the she-cat ordered, adding her weight to Bramblestar's. "Frankie, you push from the bottom."
With all three cats heaving, the gap opened up and the tabby tom, Frankie, was able to squeeze out. His pelt was bristling and his eyes glared with a mixture of fury and terror. His pelt was soaked up to his belly fur, and when Bramblestar peered down into the den he could see floodwater sloshing about just below the opening.
"Thanks!" Frankie gasped. "I thought I was going to drown!"
The brown she-cat's gaze raked over Bramblestar, her hostility fading, though she still remained wary. "Yeah, thanks." Her tone was grudging. "My name's Jessy, and this is Frankie."
"I'm Bramblestar." He eyed Jessy, intrigued by her independence and spirit. "You're pretty brave, for a kittypet."
"Really?" Jessy's tail lashed. "Well, you keep a pretty civil tongue in your head, for a wild cat."
Bramblestar was looking for a retort when he heard paw steps approaching from behind and turned to see the rest of his patrol running down the slope. Lionblaze halted a couple of tail-lengths away, his eyes wide with shock. "Great Starclan!" he exclaimed. "More kittypets!"
Bramblestar surveyed the kittypets more closely. Jessy looked in fairly good shape, but Frankie's fur was wet and clumped, his ribs were showing, and he was shivering.
"Jessy, have you seen Benny?" the tabby asked urgently. "I saw him get washed away when the water came. I couldn't reach him!"
Jessy shook her head. "No, I haven't. I'm sorry."
Frankie spun around to face Bramblestar and the rest of the patrol, his eyes wide and distraught. "Have you seen him?" he demanded. "He's my brother—he's tabby like me, but darker."
"No, sorry," Bramblestar replied. "Look," he added, reluctant to offer more help to kittypets, but aware that he couldn't just leave them, "why don't you come back to our camp? There's food there, and—"
"No!" Frankie exclaimed, backing away with his ears flattened. "I have to stay here, in case Benny comes back."
Bramblestar exchanged glances with his patrol. They were all looking uncomfortable and impatient. "We can't hang around here," he meowed to Jessy. "But we'd like to help. Can you persuade Frankie to come with us? He looks ill, and there are cats in our camp who can help him."
Jessy gave him a thoughtful nod and padded up to Frankie. "Are you flea-brained?" she snapped. "These cats just saved your life. The least you can do is come with them, so you can get better."
Bramblestar repressed a purr of amusement. It hasn't taken Jessy long to start trusting them!
Frankie's shoulders sagged. "Okay," he mewed in a small voice.
Jessy stayed close beside him as Bramblestar led the way back to where he had left the tub and the pelt. "What are you doing?" she exclaimed, giving the Twoleg stuff a sniff. "You stole this tub and blanket from the Twolegs? I have to say, wild cat, I like your style!"
"Whatever," Bramblestar muttered, feeling embarrassed. He forced down his embarrassment and gave them a hard stare. "I feel as though I should warn you though. Please don't scream when we get back to our camp."
"Why would we scream?" Jessy asked, narrowing her eyes.
From behind them, Cinderheart snorted. "Because Firestar has sensitive hearing."
Jessy blinked in confusion. "Who?"
.
.
Bramblestar didn't feel much as the tub finally scraped against solid ground. Poppyfrost had almost drowned and for what? Looking down into the tub, Bramblestar saw that the pelt was soaked through with the water that had splashed in during the crossing. 'I've risked all our lives for a wet pelt and two homeless kittypets,' he thought with mingled disgust and guilt. And after Firestar had been telling him time and time again to rest! How would he react to the knowledge that Bramblestar and his clanmates had almost died?
'Disappointed, worried, fearful, overprotective,' he started listing off in his head. He wondered for a moment if Firestar wouldn't mind Bramblestar drying his wet fur on the dragon's warm scales, knowing full well that he was going to fret over his hatchling and keep Bramblestar close to him all night anyway.
By the time they had pushed and dragged the tub and Frankie in equal parts, he was too wet and exhausted to even care that they had trekked through Shadowclan territory with two kittypets and the Shadowclan patrol that had passed them by hadn't even cared. They were wet and their scents were all over the place, but it wasn't exactly like they were well hidden.
"This is where we live," Bramblestar told Jessy and Frankie.
"Here? Really?" Jessy sounded incredulous as she gazed around. Bramblestar could understand the kittypet's disbelief. The territory looked so different since the storm. Everywhere had the harsh tang of the sun-drown-water, and even the trees that were clear of the flood looked sick. Bramblestar wished he could show his home to Jessy and Frankie on a sunny day in greenleaf, with leaves rustling above and the warm scent of prey in every thicket.
They had abandoned the tub at the edge of the lake because it was too awkward to push through the undergrowth. Poppyfrost and Lionblaze dragged the pelt between them as the patrol headed for the tunnel. By now it was wet, filthy, and stinking, and kept tearing when it caught on concealed roots or sharp stones.
As they approached the makeshift camp, Bramblestar spotted several cats outside the tunnel and saw their looks of shock as they realized that he was bringing more kittypets to join them.
Firestar was in his same spot as always, Seedpaw and Lilypaw propped up beside him as they took in his warmth. They were doing better, but the two apprentices were still slightly in shock from their near-drowning experience from the day before.
"What is that thing?!" Jessy yelped from behind him.
"Is it going to eat us?" Frankie whimpered, body shaking. His fear-scent was leaking out of him in droves.
Firestar's eyes immediately flashed dangerously with a mix of different emotions, first hurt, then indifference, then anger. Bramblestar could see the stone light up in a fiery blaze for a moment, before it died down as if it hadn't reacted at all.
Bramblestar was also welling with different emotions, mainly exhaustion, but also anger; anger at the stone still manipulating Firestar's thoughts and feelings, and anger at the kittypets for daring to call Firestar a thing.
But he supposed that he couldn't blame them for being scared…
"Don't call him that," Squirrelflight hissed at the two.
"Seriously Bramblestar? Are you turning Thunderclan into a home for lost kittypets?" Jayfeather demanded, giving the two newcomers a disdainful sniff.
"It's bad enough that the first kittypet we picked up is still hiding within the tunnels to avoid Firestar!" Dustpelt called out.
The dragon snorted at his comment. Bramblestar could have rolled his eyes himself; like half the clan hadn't done the same thing to Firestar when he first started changing!
"They needed our help," he retorted. "Frankie especially. Do you have anything to calm him down?"
Jayfeather heaved a deep sigh. "Like I don't have enough to do. Okay, I'll take a look." He trotted back to the tunnel entrance and vanished. Soon he reappeared with a bundle of thyme leaves in his jaws. "Here," he mewed to Frankie, dropping the leaves in front of him. "Eat these. They're good for shock. When you're feeling better, I'll give you poppy seed so you can sleep."
Frankie sniffed the leaves and took a step back, curling his lip. "I don't eat green stuff," he mewed, giving Firestar another wary look.
Jayfeather shrugged. "Okay, so suffer. Your choice."
"You should eat them," Cinderheart urged him. "They really will make you feel better."
Frankie still hesitated until Jessy gave him a hard nudge. "Eat, flea-brain." Then, to the clan's shock, she bowed her head to Firestar in an apologetic manner. "I-uh, sorry about calling you a thing," she murmured, a tinge of embarrassment in her voice.
Firestar stared at her, only giving her a nod before setting his head back down on the ground.
Still reluctant, Frankie licked up the leaves and swallowed them, then kept passing his tongue over his jaws as if he was trying to get rid of the taste.
Bramblestar realized that Squirrelflight had padded up beside him and was surveying the kittypets with a disapproving gaze. "Honestly, Bramblestar," she meowed, "what were you thinking? Two more kittypets! How are we going to feed all these extra mouths? It's not like they can hunt for themselves."
"Would you rather I left them behind to die?" Bramblestar asked incredulously.
Squirrelflight rolled her eyes. "No, I suppose not. But it's not making life any easier. Did you at least bring back something useful?"
"There's this Twoleg pelt," Bramblestar meowed, pointing with his tail at the sodden object Lionblaze and Poppyfrost had dragged up.
"That?" Squirrelflight wrinkled her nose. "You went all that way and put your clanmates in danger for that? It's disgusting!"
He did his best to hide his flinch, knowing that he had indeed endangered his clanmates and had nothing to show for it besides having two more mouths to feed. Shame and disappointment burned through him, exacerbated by Squirrelflight's comments.
"No, it might not be so bad," Daisy mewed, looking up from where she was sniffing the pelt. "We can stretch it over a bush to dry it."
Squirrelflight just let out a snort.
Privately, he agreed with her, but her dismissiveness still hurt.
Before he could reply, Jessy pushed her way forward. "Who do you think you are?" she snarled at Squirrelflight. "You should be grateful to Bramblestar. He risked his life to get that!"
Squirrelflight seemed too taken aback to match the kittypet's aggressiveness. "I know how brave Bramblestar is," she responded. "I'm going to help Rosepetal with patrols. Bramblestar, you need to eat and rest."
Jessy watched Squirrelflight as she stalked off. "Wow, is she always like that?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Bramblestar muttered, still hurt by Squirrelflight's words.
Jessy went over to join Frankie, who was still shivering. Minty poked her head out of the tunnel, cautiously watching Firestar, then picked her way carefully over the muddy ground to touch noses with the other two kittypets. It seemed as if they already knew one another, but it was hardly a joy-filled reunion.
"Thanks for getting the pelt." Graystripe had padded up while Bramblestar was watching the kittypets. "It looks like the floods are more dangerous than we realized," he commented with a nod at the three.
Bramblestar murmured in agreement. All three kittypets were huddled together, small and hunched against the wind. Even Jessy looked out of place and miserable. 'What are we going to do with them?' Bramblestar wondered.
"Come here, hatchling," Firestar's order rumbled through him, startling him out of his thoughts. His head swung around wildly, only to realize that Firestar had his eyes on him. In that moment, he felt like a scolded apprentice, trudging his way through the mud in order to sit at Firestar's claws. He let out a small yelp as Firestar moved faster than he could react, his front legs trapping Bramblestar within the dragon's hold.
"She is right about one thing though. You do need to rest," he murmured.
Realizing how exhausted he was, he leaned against Firestar's warm scales, purring softly. "Hope you don't mind the wet and muddy fur," he rasped.
'Am I doing the right thing?'
I can understand why people don't like the JessyBramble ship and Jessy herself. She kind of is a discount Squirrelflight who almost replaced her as Bramblestar's mate.
But Bramble and Squirrel weren't mates at this point in time? Sure Squirrel might have lingering feelings for Bramble, hence the jealousy, but does Bramble not deserve to develop feelings for another cat? Not that he'll develop any feelings for Jessy here- he just thinks she could make a good warrior. Discourse might be influencing whether I decide to put Bramble and Squirrel back together... (≖_≖ )
Do I need to say anything bout the stone? It doesn't want Firestar to take comments about himself lightly, but he's fighting back against it.
Tell me how I did.