Brackenwhisker let out a soft purr, her pale golden-brown tail brushing the top of the bramble den as she stretched in her nest. She stepped out into the clearing of ThunderClan's camp, and made her way over to the fresh-kill pile, sitting but not yet picking out a piece of prey. Her blue eyes automatically began to scan the camp around her as she began washing her snow-white paws and chest, trying to find if any cat was awake. More precisely, if one particular cat was awake- Hollythorn. The black she-cat was the deputy of ThunderClan, and with her tall stature, she cast an intimidating shadow onto nearly every cat in the Clan. One of the few who remained undaunted was Brackenwhisker, who had become a warrior only a moon and a half ago. Throughout her entire apprenticeship, Brackenwhisker had been desperate to befriend the older, incredibly powerful deputy, but despite her efforts, Hollythorn had rarely acknowledged her. The golden-brown she-cat suppressed a sigh at the thought.

Of course not. I'm only ordinary.

But ever since becoming a warrior, Hollythorn had begun to pay a bit more attention. When she sent Brackenwhisker on patrols, she'd occasionally slip a "good hunting" in between giving orders. She no longer ignored Brackenwhisker when she tried to sit with the senior warriors in the nettle patch. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Brackenwhisker had always admired the black she-cat immensely. She'd been deputy ever since the day she and her brother Oakfang were born, and from the rumors she'd heard, ThunderClan hadn't lost a single battle since Hollythorn had come to power. Brackenwhisker had the misfortune to be a bit on the small side for a warrior- she'd been teased plenty of times during her apprenticeship- and thusly was not picked to go into battle very often. But the she-cat had never given up the hope of a prowess as respectable as Hollythorn's one day.

At last, Brackenwhisker caught a glimpse of a black pelt emerging from the warriors' den. Her heart quickened hopefully as she saw Hollythorn's odd green-amber eyes flash in the sunlight. "Hollythorn!" she called, standing and trotting cheerfully over to the deputy. "I wanted, uh…um…if you…." Suddenly the smaller she-cat was flustered, unsure of what she actually wanted to see Hollythorn for. All Brackenwhisker really wanted was to be around her; Hollythorn was practically her idol. The whole of ThunderClan adored their deputy, and Brackenwhisker was often pushed out for the senior warriors. Paleclaw and Mistfoot, along with countless others, spent all of their time surrounding Hollythorn, and Brackenwhisker was rarely given the chance to talk to her. Now, however, the clearing was nearly empty. Few ThunderClan cats wanted to brave the chilly air of early morning in leaf-fall unless they were picked for patrols.

"Well?" came Hollythorn's mild inquiry. Brackenwhisker jumped, realizing her voice had suddenly trailed off.

"Oh!" she muttered in reply, golden-brown pelt burning in embarrassment. After that very intelligent response, Brackenwhisker mewed, "Um….I was just wondering if you wanted to go on a hunting patrol together?"

Hollythorn tipped her head on her side, considering the offer. "I have patrols to send out this morning. But I'd be glad to take a sunhigh hunting patrol with you and Paleclaw. Is that alright?"

Stifling a purr of excitement, Brackenwhisker nodded. "Yes, that's- that's great, Hollythorn! Thank you so much." The golden-brown she-cat waved her tail enthusiastically, hardly able to contain her happiness. It had taken moons for her to get on a patrol with this honorable she-cat; now all she could do was hope not to spoil it.

Slowly, the morning crawled past, the sun gracing the horizon briefly before rising above. Brackenwhisker spent most of the morning in the nursery with her sole friend Finchflight, whose light gray tabby stomach swelled with her soon-to-be-born kits. Finally, at sunhigh, she spotted Hollythorn striding towards the pair with a collected and intelligent expression on her face. Paleclaw's cream tabby pelt appeared just pawsteps behind her.

"Come on," called Hollythorn with a trace of a smirk. "We've decided that this hunting patrol will be a sort of assessment for you, Brackenwhisker. Your first lesson: how not to be late." Paleclaw gave a nasty snicker at this, which Brackenwhisker only acknowledged with an indifferent flick of her ear. The golden-brown she-cat didn't truly think that Hollythorn had meant for her to take offense. With an assertive nod, the black deputy led the small patrol out of camp. They headed towards the WindClan border, keeping nearer to the lake. The stream that ran through part of ThunderClan's territory was likely to be rich with prey trying to forage for one of the last times before the cold of leafbare set in.

Brackenwhisker lifted her head high with pride as she presented her cache of prey to Hollythorn and Paleclaw. The hunt had taken longer than she'd expected, and the orange sun's edge was already skimming the tops of the trees around the three she-cats. Hollythorn leaned forward to sniff one of the squirrels the golden-brown she-cat had caught, greenish-amber eyes filled with approval.

"Good job," she mewed at last to Brackenwhisker. Paleclaw merely shot her a disdainful glance, then spoke in a voice loaded with sarcasm. "Yeah. Nice catches." Brackenwhisker resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn't about to let the cream tabby's pessimism get to her.

Between the three of them, they could just manage to carry all of Brackenwhisker's prey; the proud huntress had to situate a mouse between her shoulder blades due to her full mouth. At least the Clan will eat well tonight, she thought in satisfaction. The trio was nearing the main path to camp when Paleclaw stopped, then set down the assorted fresh-kill she'd been carrying.

"Squirrel," she muttered softly, then took off in the direction of the scent without asking Hollythorn- or Brackenwhisker, for that matter- for permission. Brackenwhisker just let out a muffled sigh and picked up the dropped prey. Hollythorn stooped to help her, and then Brackenwhisker realized something that made her drop her prey as well. The mouse comically rolled off of her back as she glanced at Hollythorn. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out but a dull squeak; the deputy gave her an odd glance until Brackenwhisker murmured, "Thank you."

"Thank you?" repeated Hollythorn, eyes filled with confusion. "For what?"

"For the hunt today." Brackenwhisker used her golden-brown tail to point at the woods behind them. "And…" She paused, searching for the right words to say. "For everything. You've been such a powerful cat, since the day I was born. I've always looked up to you, I guess. As a strong and loyal she-cat. I always wanted to be like you."

Shock was clear on Hollythorn's face. "All I ever did was serve my Clan, as loyally as I've known how-"

"No, you don't have to explain yourself. It's okay," Brackenwhisker purred. As the moment passed, she began to pick up the fresh-kill again, but gave a few final words of appreciation to the wonderful black she-cat before her.

"Thank you…for being my inspiration."

AN: Here is the first chapter! This is for theme #20, My Inspiration. {{ Like I said, these aren't necessarily in order. Oops. }} This story is a bit on the longer side, but I like how it turned out! I might write one more for today, but if not, expect two tomorrow for sure. I'm considering actually doing #1 next, Introduction, though I might do #3, Making History, since I have no muse for #1...

Anyway.

Please rate and review- I'd really like that! Thank you so much for reading!