For ohmygawd, owner of Brambleblossom:

Brambleblossom:

Of Vanity and Lying

"Sagestar, I know this a...random request, but do you mind...walking with me?"

I blinked at the gold-and-white she-cat in front of me. What an odd thing to ask. Toms certainly asked that a lot of the time, but never she-cats, and certainly never anyone like Brambleblossom. It was certainly intriguing, so I agreed.

The way her amber eyes lit up was, well, as odd as her request. It wasn't a happy or appreciative gleam. No, it was nervous, almost fearful and regretful. Why she felt such things I didn't know; I knew I wasn't the most pleasant of cats to be around, but I certainly wasn't the worst.

Well, according to some of our clanmates anyways. The other clans seemed to think otherwise. Bah, what'd they know?

I let her lead the way, and the third oddity of the day happened when she made way above ground, out of the tunnels and into the stoney plainlands. Her tail twitched nervously, and I was willing to bet a moon of dawn patrols that neither of us were much comfortable above ground, nor very appreciative of the cold. Sure, things got chilly in the tunnels and caverns, but at least we didn't have the mouse-dunged breeze.

Silence seemed to rule the both of as we walked rather briskly through the territory, and we only stopped when we reached the very edge of our boundaries, one unbordered by another clan. Sighing, Brambleblossom sat down, and I sat beside her, waiting for something interesting to spring out of her mouth, but nothing did.

Did she have a frog on her tongue? I didn't know.

Eventually, though, when the sun had set and the moon had risen, she did end up speaking up. "Do you miss being a medicine cat?"

Not a question I was expecting from her.

"Of course," I readily answered. "I chose that path because I loved it. Why?"

"And if you didn't love your path?"

"Bambleblossom -"

"Well?"

An awkward conversation to say the least, and I had no real answer. "Well...I guess I wouldn't have picked that path. Became a normal warrior."

"Do you think your personality helped you in your duties?"

Personality? Duties?

Was the she-cat losing it?

"A part, yes. I never liked violence, and I've a great creativity when it comes to healing. Of course, I wasn't - still aren't - very... approachable, which is needed for others to trust you."

"And...trust is important in a warrior, isn't it?"

"I imagine it is."

Brambleblososm went silent, so I settled with looking at the territory beyond. On the horizon, I could see more grass and less stone than on our land. And trees. There were more trees.

"Am...am I a good warrior?

Blinking at her, I thought on the question. She wasn't the best in the clan, obviously. She was lazy when hunting, and her fighting was to be improved upon from what I gathered, yet she often claimed she were great.

Personal opinion? There was work to be done.

Dewleaf often tells me honesty is what made a great leader. But in this instance, would honesty chase one of my warriors away? Probably. So I lied. Lied a few times, actually.

Lie one:

"Yes, Brambleblossom. You're an asset to the clan, and as important as any cat to roam the tunnels. Why do you ask?"

"I just...don't feel comfortable I guess. I don't think the other warriors trust me much."

She was a vain she-cat. Of course she wasn't much trusted.

Lie two:

"DarkClan is family; of course your fellow warriors trust you. It's what keeps us all together. It's why we honor everyone on Membrance."

"Does my doubt mean I don't trust them?"

Lie three:

"No, it doesn't. To doubt doesn't mean you don't trust. You just...have questions."

Brambleblossom shook her head, like I was giving her a headache.

"I try to do good, Sagestar. I really do. So why is it so hard for me?"

"You're learning." I stood up, hoping that my legs would manage to make me at least eye-level with her. "Not everyone's naturally born good. It takes time to learn it, and we all have stages where good isn't exactly prevalent in our lives."

You might be able to consider that lie number four. Saying 'all' was a stretch. I mean, I was pretty positive Dewleaf always had a good heart. And Bluenose, that IceClan elder. They both never made a bad impression on anyone. Anyone still alive, at least.

"Do you think I'll go insane?"

To ask a question like that, you had to be headed there. So I lied to her again and told her no. I thought I did good lying to her; she seemed more confident in herself, more at ease, and I was proud of it. But as usual, Dewleaf was proven right yet again: honesty was what did good in the world.

Brambleblossom did wind up going insane. How or why, I don't know. No one knows. Every night after, though, I wondered if telling the truth might have helped her. Dewleaf tries to comfort me and tell me no, it was "Brambleblossom's own fault for not helping herself".

But I was at fault, too. I was the leader now, wasn't I? I had to be there for my warriors. I wasn't there for her, though.

Vanity was her nightmare. Lying is mine.

Still, I have faith that lying might do some good for the clan. Someday.

AN: Very dialogue heavy, but still I hope it was enjoyable. Like stated earlier, ohmygawd, if you no likey, I will re-write-y. :P

Review Replies:

snowwolf12132: Saaame. xD I'd pay for them to get at my bro. xD

ohmygawd: Maybe not one-shots, but they'll definitely play a significant role. :) Hope you liked this one!