Obligatory "I don't own Warriors" but it's okay because the Erins haven't sued A03 yet so I'm all good right?

I've been going through withdrawal this week, cause my Kindle Fire is finally wearing out after almost 10 years. I don't think it's normal for the battery to go from 100% to 0% in one second... so the thing wouldn't turn on, even though it was charging for four days straight. The guy at the repair shop said it was a chip on the motherboard and it couldn't be fixed cause "idk how to solder". Then I pressed the power and volume buttons at the same time and it turns on... Might need a new Kindle soon.

Not only that, but if you read the AU Dump's latest chapter, you'll all know that I clearly have a problem. After taking many people's comments into consideration, to rectify this problem, I will be sure to give you one chapter that doesn't involve Firestar having wings. 😔

I didn't say when this chapter would come out. LOL YOU'LL NEVER STOP MY OBSESSION! ಠ◡ಠ

Reviews are appreciated!

Bramblestar padded through his territory, weaving a path among the trees. The line of floodwater glinted silver a couple of tail-lengths away. Above his head the full moon shone down, so bright that the night was almost as clear as day. Walking to the water's edge, Bramblestar looked out across the lake. At first the surface rippled with a pure, pale light. Then a scarlet stain began to spread, stretching its tendrils toward the shore. Bramblestar's belly cramped with horror as he caught the tang of blood and saw thick red coils floating to the surface and swirling through the depths.

'No! A cat must be injured... I have to get them out of the water before they drown!'

Bramblestar jumped into the lake. Silver droplets splashed around him, but before he could dive below the surface, he felt the teeth of another cat sink into his scruff. He let out a yowl and flailed his paws, but he couldn't break the grip. The unseen cat dragged him back to the shore before it let go.

Bramblestar whirled around and froze, his mouth falling open as he recognized the tabby she-cat who stood in front of him, smelling of sweet herbs.

"Leafpool!" he gasped. "There's a cat in trouble," he blurted out. "Look, it's bleeding into the water! I have to find it!"

Her amber eyes glowed in the moonlight. "Peace," she soothed. "Your clanmates are safe. There are no cats in the lake."

He took a long breath. "Ah… I'm dreaming then, aren't I?" He gazed at her, studying her appearance for a heartbeat. "It's good to see you again."

She dipped her head. "It's good to be back in my old territory."

"I've been trying to look after the clan," Bramblestar meowed struggling with a mixture of joy and guilt that made his voice shake. He was so thankful that no one had died under his watch. "Have you visited Firestar yet? He's been a lot calmer these days."

Even before leaf-bare brought about Firestar's lethargy, the dragon had been swimming in self-loathing, anger and all kinds of repressed emotions that made a good pawful of cats avoid him.

"I visit him every night," she replied. His tail twitched in alarm. Most leaders and medicine cats were lucky (or unlucky) getting a visit from a Starclan cat every few moons or so, not every night!

She noted his look of alarm. "I've been granted special permission to do so. It's our way of keeping its trust and getting on its good side-" she stopped abruptly, her jaws clicking shut and a look of guilt crossing her face, almost like she had said too much.

'Its trust and good side? She can't mean that mouse-brained stone could she?'

"Anyway," she continued, "As their leader, your clanmates will look to you to make the big decisions, and to keep them safe from outside enemies, but they have to make their own choices as well. I promise you, you're doing a good job."

He began to feel soothed by her assurance in him, previous cryptic words regarding the stone momentarily forgotten. "But what about the visitors? The kittypets?" he asked. "I know Firestar would have taken them into the clan if he were still leader, but-" The words began to spill out of him; he wanted to ask about every single thing he had done since Firestar stepped down.

She raised a paw to silence him. "You know the answers already," she meowed gently. "They are in your heart." As Bramblestar blinked at her, she went on, "You are Thunderclan's leader now. Trust the cats who gave you your nine lives. They all knew you would do well-including me," her eyes glinted as she spoke. "Besides, some of those questions would be better suited to asking Firestar himself, right?"

He exhaled, nodding. "Thank you, Leafpool." Bramblestar bowed his head. When he raised it again, he was startled to realize that the former medicine cat was beginning to fade, and Bramblestar could see the stones on the shore through her starlit pelt.

"I have come to tell you something very important," Leafpool meowed. "When water meets blood, blood will rise."

Bramblestar stared at her. "What does that mean?"

"Look at the floodwater," Leafpool urged. "See how the blood cannot be drowned?"

Bramblestar turned his head to gaze at the lake again. The strange upswelling of blood still shone scarlet among the waves.

Leafpool spoke from behind him. "I can't tell you any more than this. Just remember..." Her voice died away. When Bramblestar turned back, she was gone, and the forest was dark and silent. The moonlight too was blotted out, and Bramblestar was alone in the dark.

A deep rumble sounded near him. He knew he was back within Firestar's embrace, surrounded by warm scales and the scent of fire and smoke. This time, Sandstorm and Squirrelflight were nestled in with him, sleeping soundly, though Sandstorm's slow breaths sounded a bit wheezy. The strangeness of his dream still wreathed around him, and Leafpool's mysterious words echoed in his head.

'When water meets blood, blood will rise...'

What kind of prophecy was that? 'Is a cat actually going to drown this time? What does it even mean?'

After a long time wrestling with different meanings, and discarding them all, Bramblestar gave up and curled up tighter against Firestar's scales. He slipped back into sleep at the sound of the dragon's deep breaths.

.

.

The voices and movement of cats around him woke Bramblestar. He lifted his head to see pale light spilling through the trees, his clanmates heading out of the tunnel to start the new day. He could see Squirrelflight below him stretching out her body, already having struggled to get away from her father.

Getting away from Firestar was like a whole days' worth of hunting itself. He was slightly exhausted and sore after wriggling out of Firestar's foreleg. A growl sounded behind him. Firestar was already awake and eyeing him in disappointment, like he was kit who had just lost his favorite mossball. He seemed to huff to himself, tail rattling before he settled down again.

He was purring in amusement as he approached Rosepetal, who was choosing cats for the dawn patrols. "Greetings," she said, dipping her head to Bramblestar.

With a jolt Bramblestar remembered his dream. "I have to talk to you," he told her. "Jayfeather, too. This is important." His deputy gave him a worried look but didn't ask any questions, just called Lionblaze and asked him to take over sorting out the patrols. He contemplated bringing Squirrelflight, since this was her sister he was about to discuss.

When all four cats were gathered it took a while to find a spot where they could talk without the rest of the clan overhearing them. Not for the first time, Bramblestar missed the privacy of his old den on the Highledge. Finally they found a hollowed-out spot among the roots of a nearby oak tree.

"Leafpool came to me in a dream last night," Bramblestar told his clanmates once they were settled around him. "She told me, 'When water meets blood, blood will rise.' But I have no idea what that means."

Squirrelflight's gaze lit up, while Rosepetal's eyes were filled with wonder. "Leafpool is watching over us!" she exclaimed.

Jayfeather looked less impressed. "She might have been a bit clearer," he grumbled.

"And told us what we need to do," Squirrelflight agreed, looking frustrated.

"Jayfeather," Bramblestar began, "you know as well as any cat that omens and prophecies are often difficult to understand at first. The meaning doesn't become clear until it passes."

'Like the King's flame. Wish that had been a bit clearer,' he groused. 'Who am I kidding? It was obviously about Firestar, and I didn't know about the prophecy until the day he transformed!'

"Tell me right away if Starclan speaks to you," he said to Jayfeather. "And if you have any ideas about this prophecy."

"Of course," he replied, but Bramblestar got the feeling that none of them would get any closer to the prophecy's meaning any more than they did now.

As the medicine cat and deputy both padded away, Squirrelflight turned to Bramblestar. "Thanks for sharing the prophecy with me," she meowed, almost awkwardly. "I promise to keep watch for what it might mean."

Her support warmed Bramblestar as he led the way back to the other cats, but before he could tell Squirrelflight this, Jessy emerged from the tunnel and came bouncing up to him. The other two kittypets followed more slowly.

"Hi, Bramblestar," Jessy chirped. "I had a great time yesterday. What are we doing today?"

Squirrelflight sighed inaudibly behind him, brushing past him towards camp. He flicked an ear in acknowledgement, mostly focusing on the kittypets in front of him.

He was slightly taken aback by the brown she-cat's enthusiasm. "If you really want to help the clan," he meowed, "you need to learn how to hunt. Frankie and Minty, too."

Frankie, who came up in time to hear what Bramblestar said, looked interested, but Minty blinked doubtfully and took a step back.

"Minty, you have to learn," Frankie told her, touching her shoulder with his tail-tip. "You can't stay here and expect these cats to feed you."

"But as soon as the water goes away, we'll be able to go home," Minty objected. "My housefolk will be so worried about me. Perhaps we're too far away from them up here," she fretted. "Maybe we should move closer to our homes, so when our housefolk come back they can find us quickly."

Millie, who was standing nearby with Graystripe, turned to the kittypet with a compassionate look in her eyes. "I don't think the floods will go away for another quarter moon," she mewed gently. "You're safe here, safer than you would be in any other clan's territory, and you'll be able to see when the water starts to go down. Then you can go home—but not before, not when it isn't safe."

Minty's eyes clouded with sadness. "We might be stuck here for ages," she wailed. "My poor housefolk!"

"I know it's not ideal," Frankie comforted her. "I want to go back and look for Benny. But we have to keep away from more risks. Surely that's what our housefolk want most of all: for us to survive?" Minty sighed, but she didn't argue any more.

Her eyes darted quickly, almost too quickly, in Firestar's direction and Bramblestar understood. She was worried about her housefolk, but Minty was clearly still afraid of Firestar. It showed in the way she never strayed from Jessy and Benny's sides and how she refused to get a few fox-lengths within Firestar.

'We're all so used to him being a dragon now that we've all accepted it,' he mused in wonder. It showed a stark contrast between Thunderclan and the kittypets. Outsiders were going to fear Firestar, that much was known.

But Thunderclan learned to accept him the way he was now.

'He shouldn't have to accept it,' a tiny voice whispered in his head.

"I'll take you hunting myself," he meowed. "Dovewing, will you come too?"

'Ah yes, something mundane. Something easy and won't possibly drown any cats!' He glanced at Jessy. 'Though she might prove me wrong again…'

He took Dovewing and the kittypets into the trees in the direction of the Shadowclan border. Once they were well away from the tunnel among dense undergrowth, he halted. "First you have to learn the hunter's crouch," he began. "That's essential for every Thunderclan cat—or any cat who happens to be living in Thunderclan for a time," he added as Minty opened her jaws to object. "Dovewing, show them how."

Dovewing crouched down with her paws drawn up under her and her hind legs braced for a pounce.

"See how she's ready to leap?" Bramblestar meowed. "She's putting all her strength into her hind legs—like this." He pressed himself to the ground, copying Dovewing's crouch. "Dovewing, show them the pounce."

Dovewing sprang forward, her forepaws extended and her claws ready to grip her quarry.

"Great," Bramblestar commented. "See how her forepaws flashed out? Her prey wouldn't have a chance."

"Now you try," Dovewing suggested. Bramblestar stayed in the crouching position so that the kittypets could copy him. All three looked nervous, but they wriggled into position and tucked in their paws neatly.

"Very good," Dovewing mewed, pacing around them and checking their position. "Frankie, pull your hind paws a bit farther in. That's right."

"Excellent." Bramblestar rose and arched his back in a stretch, loosening up after the crouch. "Now let's try pouncing." He peeled a bunch of moss off a nearby tree root and padded forward until he emerged in a small clearing. "Suppose this moss is a mouse," he continued, dropping the bundle in the middle. "I want you to stalk it, crouch, and then pounce."

"Is this what you do with your apprentices?" Jessy asked.

"Yes," Bramblestar replied. Jessy let out a snort that was half-amused, though her tailtip flicked frustratedly.

"But we're not apprentices!" she pointed out. "We've all hunted before, whatever you think of our skills. Why don't you let us show you what we can do?"

"I don't think-" Bramblestar began, his neck fur beginning to rise defensively.

"That's a great idea," Dovewing interrupted. "That way, we'll see what we need to teach you."

Bramblestar nodded, appreciating the sense in what his clanmate said. 'Even if Jessy is determined to give me gray fur!'

Frankie's and Minty's attempts left much to be desired. Frankie needed to learn how to be more quiet instead of charging straight ahead towards his prey, though he was genuinely disappointed with himself over how he went about it.

Minty, on the other paw, needed to learn how to scent in general, mistaking a old log for a rat of all things.

"My turn now," Jessy announced.

Instead of standing still, she began slipping quietly through the undergrowth, her paws hardly touching the ground, while she stared up into the trees. Bramblestar and the others followed her at a distance. Eventually Jessy froze, her gaze fixed on a low branch where a thrush was perched.

'Hunting in trees?' Bramblestar thought. 'Not a chance!'

To his surprise, Jessy leaped up the tree trunk, quick as a fox. The thrush spotted her, and with a loud alarm call fluttered away into the next tree. Without hesitating, Jessy ran out along the branch and jumped after the thrush, pinning it to the next branch with one paw. The thrush struggled and nearly got free; Jessy almost overbalanced as she lowered her head and managed to bite it in the throat. She hopped down neatly with the thrush in her jaws and dropped it at Bramblestar's paws.

Bramblestar thought he had never seen a cat look so smug. 'And I told her when we first met that I bet she'd never caught anything!'

"Wow, that was great!" Dovewing exclaimed.

"Oh, Jessy's a brilliant hunter," Frankie told them. "And she loves to climb. Hey, Jessy, did you tell them about the time your housefolk thought you were stuck on the roof?"

Jessy tossed her head. "I can't believe they thought I couldn't get down!"

"Yes," Frankie purred, "but you could have shown them before they climbed onto the roof themselves."

Jessy swished her tail and looked innocent.

"I shouldn't have dismissed your skills," Bramblestar admitted to her. "That's a rare skill, being able to jump between trees. Firestar wanted Thunderclan cats to learn, but it doesn't come easily to us."

"I've never felt comfortable being off the ground," Dovewing agreed. "I don't have wings, in spite of my name."

"Maybe I should give you some lessons," Jessy suggested. There was a teasing glint in her eye.

"Maybe you should," Bramblestar mewed, meeting her gaze. "Meanwhile let's head for the Shadowclan border and see what else we can find. Jessy, if you scratch some earth over that thrush, we'll pick it up on the way back."

As the five cats headed off, Bramblestar felt more relaxed than he had for days. The peace of mind that came from teaching young cats how to hunt was a welcome change after all the danger his clan had gone through in the last few days. It was good to be part of a patrol, without the weight of his duties as clan leader. And he was impressed by how well Jessy was fitting in.

Dovewing continued helping Frankie and Minty improve, leaving Bramblestar with Jessy, gradually padding away from the Shadowclan border. But while they were still some way from the border, Bramblestar heard a faint hiss coming from the trees ahead. Pausing to taste the air, he stiffened, feeling every hair on his pelt begin to rise.

'Shadowclan scent!' Bramblestar suspected that a Shadowclan patrol had crossed the border. Anger rose within him. 'First Windclan, now Shadowclan? They couldn't have forgotten about the deal already!' He motioned Jessy to get back with a wave of his tail, wishing that he weren't stuck out here alone with only a kittypet.

Then a tortoiseshell head peered out from behind a bush, and Bramblestar let out a puff of relief.

"Tawnypelt!" he cried. "What are you doing here?"

Oh hey, Leafpool's here.

Because Bramblestar's Storm is in Bramblestar's POV, he doesn't really know what's going on between Starclan and the stone. If I don't screw up the plotline too badly, the deal will come up again.

Firestar doesn't like giving up his treasures so easily, even though he knows that Bramble has to get on with his day.

Surprise, surprise, I still don't have a plan for the next 16 chapters of Bramblestar's Storm. I'm still winging it. But part of the plan(I have a plan? News to me...) involves Squirrel and Bramble talking it out and Squirrel realizing that Bramble doesn't like Jessy that way.

After the flooding is over and everything is back to normal, Bramble will demand Fire take him on vacation cause he's been leader for like 6 moons and he's alread d.

Tell me how I did.