12/28/08 Edit: Fixed spelling and grammar errors and changed Honeystripe to Honeyfern.

Disclaimer: You all know the drill, I don't own anything. The small part in italics later in the story is an excerpt from Sunset, which belongs to Erin Hunter, not me.

"Pale Death with impartial tread beats at the poor man's cottage door and at the palaces of kings."- from Odes by Horace

A sharp breeze cut through Brambleclaw's fur, reminding the deputy that another leaf-fall was just around the corner. The warm and blissful days of greenleaf would all too soon come to an end, leaving nothing but moons of hardship and starvation behind until next newleaf. Hollyfrost and Lionclaw both stood guarding the camp entrance, following the ancient tradition of sitting a silent vigil.

Brambleclaw purred softly as he watched his two kits struggle to stay awake until dawn, where they would be relieved of their post. Hollyfrost was faring better than her brother, her pose erect and alert. Only her eyes betrayed her exhaustion. Lionclaw, on the other paw, was struggling to keep his eyes open and swayed on his paws from time to time.

Remembering the sight he had seen earlier that morning, the tender affection on the deputy's face was replaced with suspicion as he eyed his son. Lionclaw, usually a cat that took advantage at being the center of attention, had hung back from the crowd congratulating his sister and had lurked over in an unoccupied corner and had began talking to himself as if he were crazy.

Was Tigerstar haunting Lionclaw? It would certainly explain a lot of strange things, like why his son knew fighting moves that had last been practiced and perfected by Tigerstar, or how he sometimes woke up in the mornings with mysterious wounds, like Brambleclaw used to sometimes get when he used to train in the Dark Forest with his father and Hawkfrost.

Hawkfrost. The very name of his half-brother brought back the nightmarish memories of their last encounter. Firestar had been lured into a fox-trap and Hawkfrost was expecting Brambleclaw to finish his leader off so he would take his place. Brambleclaw had refused and had fought Hawkfrost. Finally driving a wooden part of the fox-trap through his half-brother's throat, the RiverClan warrior had left a foreboding message with his dying words as he perished because of blood-loss and suffocation.

"Fool!" Hawkfrost rasped; the effort of speaking made the blood pour even faster from his terrible wound. "Do you think I did this alone? Do you think you're safe within your own Clan?" He coughed, spitting out clots of blood and added, "Think again!"

"What?" Brambleclaw took a step toward him, his forepaws splashing in the scarlet pool. Was Hawkfrost accussing a ThunderClan warrior of leading Firestar into this trap? "What do you mean. Tell me, Hawkfrost. Who do you mean?"

But the cold fire was leaving Hawkfrost's eyes. He turned away from Brambleclaw, staggered a few paces through the ferns, and collasped beside the lake, his haunches trailing in the water. Tiny waves rippled over his body, and his blood spread out in a scarlet cloud.

Brambleclaw shook his head, unable to bear it anymore. Because of those last words from a dying half-brother, he had lived the last year in a state of paranoia. Was Ashfur the tratior because he had been jealous of Brambleclaw being with Squirrelflight? Was Birchfall the traitor, for he had been the one that had said that Blackstar was on the territory, and had lured Firestar toward his doom?

It doesn't matter at the moment, the dark tabby told himself firmly. What is most important at the moment is making sure Lionclaw isn't following me down the path I abandoned so long ago. And that was exactly what he would do. As soon as the silent vigil was done and the two new warriors were allowed to speak, he would confront Lionclaw about this.

Turning away from the camp entrance with a sight, Brambleclaw began to pad back to the warm nest that was waiting for him back in the warriors' den. Seeing a shadow behind the nursery however, the deputy steered toward that direction to investigate.

That cat isn't making dirt. Did someone discover the secret exit out of camp and is trying to use it?

Brambleclaw paused in confusion as he saw the shadow of the cat suddenly shift into a pouncing position. The cat advanced and Brambleclaw could catch a glimpse of the shadow licking its chops in anticipation.

The last thing Brambleclaw ever saw was the cold gleam of claws that glittered in the moonlight before everything went black.

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"Medicine cat! I need a medicine cat!"

Lionclaw was awakened by the frantic cries of Daisy. Leaping up from his position from where he had accidentally fallen asleep on his silent vigil, he and Hollyfrost joined in the crowd that was quickly gathering behind the nursery. Lionclaw pushed his way through cats too shocked to speak, and yowled in grief at the sight he saw.

Brambleclaw lay upon the ground, his throat spilling blood while his amber eyes stared past everyone in silent horror. Lionclaw could only gaze at the gruesome sight in horror, unable to look away from the terrible bleeding mass that had been his father.

"Get out of the way!" Leafpool and Jayfeather fought through the ThunderClanners with herbs in their mouths, obviously meant for the deceased deputy. Jayfeather's blue eyes widenened as he stopped, catching scent of the blood. He dropped his herbs and turned his head away, blue eyes filled with sorrow as he recognized that his father was beyond saving. Leafpool, in denial, pressed a paw on Brambleclaw's neck.

"He doesn't have a pulse," she reported with an oddly calm voice. Things seemed to stop to Lionclaw as the hard reality of it all hit him like a badger.

"Father!" He shoved Honeyfern out of the way, curling up around his father as he wept tears that had refused to fall since he was a tiny kit. Lionclaw raised his head and yowled to the skies in grief, calling out to the parent he never had a chance to say goodbye to. Hollyfrost was staring on in silent horror, unable to grasp what had happened to the cat she had thought strong enough to beat death itself.

"NO! NO! BRAMBLECLAW!" Squirrelflight ran toward her mate, covering his head in frantic licks. "Please, wake up, love. Please, wake up. Wake up! NO! NO!"

A sea of cats parted for Firestar, who was still unaware of the horrible tragedy. "What's going on here?" he demanded in a hard voice. "Why are all of you standing around like that?"

Slowly, the legendary Clanleader absorbed it all in. His green eyes went from Jayfeather's dipped head, to Hollyfrost's gape of disbelief, to the wailing Lionclaw, to the hysterical Squirrelflight, and finally, to the broken and bloodied corpse that had been his deputy.

There was an audible snap as something broke after years of pressure. Firestar's green eyes almost bulged out of his sockets as he could only stare, all sanity leaving his face as he turned away and vanished into the shadows of his den.

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A cold and silver moon soared overhead, bathing the Clan of cats that lay out in the open with an ethereal light. Brambleclaw's cold and still body lay in the center of the clearing as most of ThunderClan gathered outside for his vigil.

Lionclaw lay against his father's freezing side in a state of disbelief. Brambleclaw's eyes had been closed and the blood had been cleaned off to it appeared as if he was merely sleeping. But Lionclaw knew better than that. Just like the still body of Mousewhisker that had once lain in the deputy's place so long ago, Brambleclaw was dead and gone forever.

The golden tabby could only lie there, listening to the low whispers of the cats around him.

"I can't believe it," came Ferncloud's quiet voice. "He's really dead."

"I always knew the fool was ambitious and mousebrained," her son, Spiderleg, meowed, "but I never thought he would actually die this early in life."

"Where's Firestar?" Dustpelt demanded. "It's almost moonhigh and he hasn't shown himself all day. Shouldn't he be here to announce the new deputy?"

"Maybe I'm supposed to be deputy again," Graystripe suggested in an unsure voice. "I'm almost an elder and will have to retire soon anyway, but I was deputy before I was stolen by the Twolegs."

"I'm not surprised really that Brambleclaw's dead," Hazeltail whispered. "Honestly, Berrynose, you know your mentor was always a bit reckless and on the edge."

Shut up! Lionclaw thought, trying to drown out all their talk. All of you just shut up!

"Look how petty they all are," Tigerstar whispered into his grandson's ear. "Here they are already thinking of a replacement and their deputy isn't even buried yet!"

"Go away," the golden tabby hissed, turning away from the barely visible form of his grandfather. His amber eyes so similar to his father's had lost their innocence and and in their place was a bitter and mournful gleam that belonged on a much older cat than a brand new warrior.

"I know the loss of your father is unbearable at the moment," Tigerstar's sympathetic voice came. "That cat was my son and no matter how mousebrained he was later in life, he still shares my blood, like you do. Don't you think I'm mourning as well? But sitting around here and moping isn't going to solve anything."

Lionclaw glanced over at Hollyfrost and Jayfeather, making sure they still were asleep beside him. StarClan forbid they heard any part of this. "What do you think I should do, Tigerstar?"

"The wounds that killed Brambleclaw were not self-inflicted, as you have already pieced together. Take your revenge on your father's killer!" Tigerstar demanded. "You are a warrior now, not a weak little apprentice. Use all that grief and sadness and mold it into determination to avenge Brambleclaw."

"I don't even know his killer," the tabby protested. "And if I find him or her, what would I do? I'm still a young cat and my powers come and go. What if he or she kills me instead?"

"You and Hollyfrost were watching the camp entrance, correct?" Lionclaw felt a small pang of shame as he remembered falling asleep on his silent vigil. "You saw that no one sneaked into camp and killed Brambleclaw. The murderer is a ThunderClan cat, possibly one that carries a grudge against him. Continue your training with me and, one day, we will take revenge on his killer."

The tomcat glanced over at his father. Brambleclaw's broad and power frame seemed suddenly small and weak in death and it was impossible to see the silent strength in this still corpse that Lionclaw had always associated with his father. "All right," he sighed. "I'll do it. Train me and I will kill his murderer and avenge your son's and my father's death."

"Excellant," the dark tabby purred. "Meet me tomorrow night at the usual training place. You and I have much to accomplish and only so little time to do it."

Tigerstar's presence vanished just as Jayfeather stirred from beside his brother, blinking open dead blue eyes. "Firestar is here," he murmured.

"Right on time," Leafpool whispered, looking up at the moon that soared directly overhead, indicating the time when Firestar was to choose the new deputy.

Lionclaw and the other ThunderClan cats followed Jayfeather's gaze toward Firestar's den where the ginger tomcat appeared from behind the lichen curtain that shielded his sleeping place from view. The golden tabby almost gasped as he saw his leader. For the first time in Lionclaw's memory, Firestar's true old age was showing. His shoulders were bowed by seasons of hardship and his green eyes glazed over and tired.

"A new deputy must be appointed," Firestar drawled in an emotionless voice. "I say these words before the body of Brambleclaw, so he will approve of my choice." What followed was several tense moments of waiting, each cat that had ever had an apprentice looking at each other with anxious eyes.

"Hollyfrost will be the new deputy of ThunderClan."

So I end this chapter with a cliffhanger. The story is beginning to pick up and sorry if it's feeling a bit rushed at the moment. Look forward to an Alliances page and an actual chapter coming up soon. Sorry to all Brambleclaw fans, but I don't think he'll actually ever make to being ThunderClan's leader after Firestar. And yes, I know that Cloudtail, and by extension, Whitewing, are both considered Firestar's kin as well and both have apprentices. But in my opinion, Firestar will pick a cat to be deputy that shares a close blood-tie with him, not like a nephew or great-niece or whatever Whitewing is to him.

Tamera Ali: Oops. Ah well, I'll fix it when I go back and re-edit the chapters later on. Thanks for pointing it out.

Sorrelsong of Skyclan: Agreed, NotePad does indeed suck. Stupid Bill Gates and his self-deleting software.

Nightclaw: Thanks. Heathergaze is about the only thing that fits Heatherpaw. Heatherfur, Heatherheart, Heathercloud. Nothing seems to fit.