Chapter 2
Brambleclaw nearly couldn't control the anger, the pure rage, brimming in his throat and blazing through his limbs. He could have ripped Ashfur's throat out then and there as his tail entwined with Squirrelflight's, but he grudgingly held himself in check for the she-cat's sake.
We would have been perfect for each other, Brambleclaw thought. He would have made everything up to her, the harsh way he'd treated her in the past few moons. Him the son of Tigerstar and her the daughter of Firestar, two of the greatest rivals ever to walk to earth, would have brought a combination of fire and ice previously only found in legends. Their kits would have been extraordinary, legendary even, with power no cat had ever seen before - but no. She had chosen Ashfur.
What was special about Ashfur anyhow? He was a simple warrior - no famous relatives or ancestors, relatively low down on the unspoken hierarchy of warriors. His sister was a respected queen for the kits she produced and for those she lost, but she was merely Dustpelt's mate, not a cat who would go down in the legends. He had a relatively plain personality, with the generic ThunderClan bravery and guile and outer appearance of a kind inside. Was Brambleclaw the only one who saw this?
There was so much more to Tigerstar's son. His exotic heritage, in his opinion, was an asset rather than a negative, and he sorely hoped she hadn't judged him on it. His sister was an amiable, valiant warrior of ShadowClan, respected by cats of all four Clans. His half-brother was the rightful deputy of RiverClan, his half-sister the quick-witted medicine cat. He was ten thousand times braver and stronger than Ashfur - he had traveled to the sun-drown-place, for StarClan's sake! He'd led the journey there! Squirrelflight had seen him! And yet, somehow she saw through it, as if his accomplishments were transparent as falling droplets of rainwater, splashing and dissolving uselessly into the earth.
This knowledge sent Brambleclaw reeling, barely able to maintain his fragile composure. And so he found himself sprinting through the thick woods of ThunderClan which slowly began to thin into pine.
He knew it was wrong. He knew it was against the warrior code. But he felt as though if he didn't see Tawnypelt, the one living cat who he knew still loved him, his heart would be torn out from within, and he would die.
So desperate and disoriented was Brambleclaw, he had come up with no plan to locate his sister. It was getting dark - the sun was a mere sliver igniting the tips of the tree-tops and the edges of the navy night sky - and if Tawnypelt wasn't on dusk patrol, he had no clue how he would find her without getting murdered by her angry, reckless Clanmates.
He positioned himself on the ThunderClan side of the scent markers, hidden in the brush. He fervently hoped that the patrol wouldn't be able to single out his scent through the strong, pungent scents of ThunderClan and ShadowClan mixed across the border, and that their eyes wouldn't catch him in the fading light.
It seemed that luck was with him that night. The ShadowClan patrol passed obliviously, none of them any the wiser, and trailing at the back was Tawnypelt. Brambleclaw wasn't especially fond of Oakfur or his scrappy little apprentice, but then, Tawnypelt was the only ShadowClan warrior he could ever be fond of. As he racked his brains for a way to separate his sister from her patrol, they began padding away.
Brambleclaw thoughtlessly pushed through the scent markings. He had to see his sister, even if it meant tailing her patrol and risking humiliation and a fight. Fortunately he was upwind of them as he stalked them from behind, but the wind could change. He noticed that he was holding his breath as he walked, and exhaled cautiously.
He didn't know how long he followed the ShadowClan patrol, but eventually the last of the sun's light disappeared below the trees and complete darkness set in. They were getting deeper and deeper into ShadowClan territory, making their way towards the RiverClan border. The lake, which he could see through a gap in the thick pine trees, glittered in the moonlight.
Suddenly, Tawnypelt came to a stop. Oakfur braked sharply and skidded to smartly to her side but the apprentice, unprepared for the sudden halt, walked right into Tawnypelt and found his nose jammed under her tail.
"Smokepaw! Mind your manners!" Brambleclaw heard Oakfur snap. He watched in muffled amusement as the apprentice quickly withdrew his nose from the vicinity of his sister's rear-end, his ears flat and tail lowered with embarrassment. If not for his melancholy, it might have been hilarious.
"I should have you cleaning ticks all day tomorrow -"
"It's alright, Oakfur." Tawnypelt interrupted, as she brushed the shaking apprentice to comfort him. "Leave him be. It was an accident." She turned her bright green eyes to the lake. "It's my fault for stopping, anyhow. I thought I scented RiverClan."
Oakfur bristled as he let out a low growl. "Just let them try and trespass on our territory. ThunderClan may be filled with weak-blooded kittypets, but not us. We'd show them."
If Tawnypelt was offended by his comment, she didn't show it. Brambleclaw, on the other paw, dug his claws into the soil to keep himself from ripping the small warrior's ears off.
"I'll investigate. You and Smokepaw get back to camp." Brambleclaw wondered if she had been named patrol leader over the senior warrior, or if she had simply taken authority. Either way, she seemed to be in command. His ears perked at Tawnypelt's suggestion - it would be the perfect chance to speak to her alone.
"Are you sure? What if you need back up?" Oakfur's voice was laced with concern and unmasked defiance. "I could send Smokepaw back for help, and the two of us can investigate." Smokepaw's wide yellow eyes diverted to his paws, unwilling to argue.
"No, no, I'm pretty sure it was nothing," Tawnypelt assured the older warrior. "I just need to check for peace of mind. I don't want to keep you and Smokepaw away from sleep." She studied the hard look in Oakfur's hazel-green eyes. "Don't worry, if anything goes wrong I'll come running back."
Oakfur paused in thought. "Fine," he meowed reluctantly, and maybe grudgingly? Brambleclaw couldn't tell. "But please, don't let yourself get hurt. If you get attacked, run back."
Tawnypelt nodded affirmative, and sprinted off into the bushes. Smokepaw and Oakfur turned to walk in the other direction at a much slower pace. Brambleclaw waited with frustrated patience until mentor and apprentice were out of eye and earshot, then darted after his sister.
He paused to roll in a pile of fox dung dropped conveniently right in his path. More accurately, he tripped over the droppings, and then realized he'd forgotten to mask his scent. The last thing ThunderClan needed was ShadowClan accusing them of trespassing, and he only hoped he hadn't spread his scent too much as he disguised his Clan identidy.
It was now fully dark, with Silverpelt glowing brightly in the midnight sky. Between waiting for Oakfur and Smokepaw and rolling in the fox dung Tawnypelt had gotten a sizable jump on him, Brambleclaw thought ruefully. The burning desire to speak to his sister was growing stronger and stronger as he followed her scent trail.
She has to stop soon, he thought. She obviously hadn't let up yet, as he couldn't see her up ahead and he wasn't getting any closer. From the looks of the displaced twigs and leaves she'd left behind, she'd been sprinting. How far did she need to go to ease her paranoia of trespassers? Surely not this far. And why did she have to run? Brambleclaw continued onward in confusion, his yearning to see her joined by a strange curiosity.
Maybe she was just scared, and therefore rash. Or maybe she'd something similar in past nights, and was running to the same spot to check it again. Yes, that had to be it, Brambleclaw decided. And once she stopped, he could speak to her.
And then he heard voices. The ThunderClan warrior froze. For a dreadful, horrifying moment, he was afraid that there really were RiverClan attackers, and his sister might be in danger. Brambleclaw ran forward and bunched his muscles, fully prepared to leap to Tawnypelt's aid without a care for revealing himself.
But as the voices began to take shape, he realized that there were only two - Tawnypelt's and another. He forced himself to stop running frantically and inched forward, nearly going mad with curiosity. He strained his ears to make out their conversation.
"I know, I'm sorry," Tawnypelt was mewing apologetically. "I was on dusk patrol tonight, and I had to shake them off."
"It's alright," the other voice meowed softly. RiverClan scent wafted into Brambleclaw's nose, striking the ThunderClan warrior like a blow to the face. What in StarClan's name was going on?
"It's getting harder and harder to slip away," she continued. "For some reason, cats are paying more attention to me."
The other cat purred. "It's because they like and respect you, Tawnypelt. When will you see that? You'd make a good deputy."
She laughed, a laugh Brambleclaw had never heard before. It was so pure and filled with genuine joy that it almost brought peace on her brother's heart. Almost. "You always say that, Reedwhisker. I think you're biased."
He laughed along with her, unaware of the stricken ThunderClan warrior hidden in the brush. Reedwhisker? As in, Reedwhisker of RiverClan? What was he doing here at night with Tawnypelt?
"It's hard for me to get away too," he mewed more seriously. "Hawkfrost watches us like, well, a hawk. He's convinced that there must be a traitor in RiverClan, but personally - don't repeat this - I think he's just pretending to be powerful. He's been bitter ever since Mistyfoot came back."
Brambleclaw shoved his head forwards so he could see the two cats. Sure enough, the sleek black tom standing next to his sister was Reedwhisker, the RiverClan warrior. It took every ounce of self control in his body to hold in a growl.
Who did Reedwhisker think he was, talking about his half-brother like that and meeting with his sister in the middle of the night? From the sounds of it, they'd been meeting for awhile. Reedwhisker was a complete mousebrained piece of crowfood, tearing Tawnypelt away from her Clan like he was. Didn't he realize what would happen to her if they were caught? ShadowClan already looked down on her for being born in ThunderClan. The RiverClan warrior was endangering her reputation and her life for his own selfish wants. It made Brambleclaw want to tear his throat out.
"Hawkfrost - he just kind of bothers me," Tawnypelt continued. "I mean, he's my half-brother, and I trust him because Brambleclaw trusts him, but there's just something about him..."
Her words of trust warmed him, but Brambleclaw was still dangerously on edge.
"I know." Reedwhisker's amber eyes sparkled in the moonlight, white-tipped tail waving to and fro. "But I'm not the cat to speak up. If I draw too much attention to myself, I wouldn't be able to come see you anymore..."
"That would be awful," Tawnypelt murmured, her voice laced with genuine fear.
"Yeah. It would." Reedwhisker's tail dropped between his legs. Great StarClan, Brambleclaw thought bitterly, he looked like he was crying at the very thought.
"I love you." The black tom's voice was a low, passionate whisper. "Don't you forget that."
Brambleclaw's fur prickled, his entire being ablaze. The piece of crowfood had no right to her! He was forcing her to betray her Clan and the warrior code, and placing her life in harm's way! He prepared to spring out of hiding and rip his throat out then and there, but his sister's next words stunned him into paralysis.
"I love you too." Her soft whisper was a tone he'd never heard tough, headstrong Tawnypelt use before, but the words frustrated and set him on fire more than the tone. Trembling with rage, he stumbled forward and tripped over a tree root.
His stomach flipped in horror as his mind realized what was happening. As if in slow motion, the ThunderClan warrior tumbled forward, crashing loudly through the brush and landing in a heap right in the open, a mere five foxlengths from where Reedwhisker and Tawnypelt's pelts were melting into one.
The two of them broke apart instantly, in the blink of an eye. Tawnypelt blinked before she recognized the intruder on their secret meeting.
"Brambleclaw?"
She wasn't sure whether to be terrified or relieved. For a moment she'd been frozen in fear, terrified it had been Oakfur back with Smokepaw, and she'd be found out and exiled from her Clan. Relief with more than a dash of confusion washed over her when she'd recognized her brother. Would he understand? Of course. He had to.
Reedwhisker stood stone still as Tawnypelt took a step towards the ThunderClan warrior.
"Brambleclaw... I -"
"No, I don't want to hear it." Brambleclaw pulled himself upright, snarling through his tears. Tawnypelt opened her mouth to explain, as if her actions required an explanation more than his, but her brother was already dashing away into the woods.
x
Brambleclaw felt the tears streaming out of his eyes and flowing behind him as he ran. He sprinted back towards ThunderClan, telling himself he needed to make it back before dawn, but he knew in the back of his mind that he was running out of anger.
Or was it anger? Was it not sadness, or disappointment, regret or fury? Or a combination of them all? An overwhelming nameless emotion propelled him away from Tawnypelt like a negative magnet, making him want to be as far away from her as possible. He would have burrowed through the ground to the opposite side of the earth if he could have, to get as far away from his sister as possible.
The best word, he decided, to describe how he felt was betrayed. Tawnypelt was knowingly breaking - no, smashing and shattering - the warrior code, and hadn't even thought to tell him. She obviously didn't trust his judgment and his loyalty to her. He told himself this was why he was so angry - it was the lack of trust, the breaking of the warrior code he clutched so near and dear to his heart - but that wasn't it.
It was jealousy. He hated himself for the selfish envy, but he couldn't help it. He'd run to Tawnypelt believing her to be the one cat on Earth who still loved him, but she had Reedwhisker now. What need did she have for her distant brother, who she only saw once a moon, when she had a handsome lover whom she met every night? Brambleclaw felt as though Tawnypelt had shoved him aside.
Just as Squirrelflight had.
The ginger-furred she-cat pounced back into his mind as if his thoughts were her prey. The two cats closest to his heart had abandoned him in one night, all in the name of love for another.
Another. Not him.
Never before had Brambleclaw felt so alone and betrayed. Not when Tawnypaw had left ThunderClan, not when his father had tried to kill his entire Clan, not even when said Clan and even his mentor, Firestar, had mistrusted him simply because he resembled Tigerstar. No matter how furious and bitter he had felt then, he felt ten times angrier, grief-stricken, and depressed now.
He had never felt so lost.
He had never felt so alone.
You're not alone.
Brambleclaw skidded to a stop and whirled around, but all he saw were insects hovering in the darkness. He looked up, down, around, and tasted the air, but there was no one around.
I'm becoming delirious, he rationalized. I haven't slept in almost a full sun cycle. I'm depressed. I'm hearing things.
No. I'm as real as you are.
Brambleclaw shook the voice out of his head. Was he going insane? He wouldn't be surprised.
No. I am real. You aren't insane.
I am, he thought. I am so insane.
Just sleep, my son. We will speak more in your dreams.
In his delirium, Brambleclaw hadn't even registered that he was nearly back at ThunderClan camp. He took great care to slip in the back way, through the rocks and thorns at the back of camp. Spiderleg and Thornclaw, the night watch at the entrance to camp, never heard the slightest rustle of leaves.
The young warrior took care to sleep on the opposite side of the den as Ashfur and Squirrelflight, who were cuddled together and breathing softly in their shared slumber. Brambleclaw held in a hiss of pure fury as he settled down next to Rainwhisker and slowly drifted into his dreams.
You're never alone, the mysterious voice murmured in his ear. I am always with you. Together, my son, we will rule the forest.
--
A/N: Yes, I've just given everyone more reason to send me hate mail. Yay.
So I was planning on doing individual review replies... and then got lazy. So, in general response to everyone:
Thanks for the lack of hate mail! The positive response made me really happy, for lack of a better word. I love bringing out all you hiding Ashfur fans. :) I agree with Iceleaf's mention of Shrewpaw, he was adorable... now can I have my enchilada back? ...Sorry, I said I wasn't doing individuals. Anyways. To the question of Brambleclaw going evil: does Brambleclaw really seem like the evil type to you? Something to ponder.