Not me realizing that April 1st is on a Saturday again this year and I could do another April Fool's chapter for the AU Dump but not wanting to mess up my schedule HNNNGNNNNGG

Slowly but surely getting towards the badger battle and then to the end of Bramblestar's Storm.

Reviews are highly appreciated!

The next day saw Bramblestar taking out the kittypets yet again for some uneventful training. Jessy was shaping up to be an excellent hunter, already knowing what kind of prey to catch and what prey to leave alone to replenish the forest.

After returning to camp, he had gotten sidetracked as he heard Dovewing's voice calling out to someone in the tunnels.

When asked if she was calling out to Bumblestripe, her ears had laid flat on her head, giving him an incensed glare.

"I don't care about Bumblestripe," she had muttered, surprising him immensely.

He realized that Dovewing was trying and failing to bring out her powers.

Dovewing let out a long, frustrated sigh. "It's awful, not being able to hear anymore," she told Bramblestar. "I feel as if I've let my clanmates down."

"Of course you haven't!" Bramblestar assured her. "It's not your fault."

Dovewing's eyes were pools of sadness in the dim light. "In spite of the powers the three of us had, the clans were still devastated by the Great Battle," she mewed.

"But without you, we would have suffered much more."

Her tail flicked back and forth agitatedly. "They forced us onto our paws and made us watch as they slaughtered Leafpool like prey," she stated sourly.

Bramblestar wasn't sure what he could say to comfort Dovewing, and he paused for a moment, hoping that Starclan would give him the right words. But no words came.

'Starclan can't help me with this,' he thought. 'I'll have to figure this out on my own.'

"Starclan gave you those powers for a good reason," he went on at last. "You knew where the Dark Forest warriors were attacking. Lionblaze fought like a whole clan of warriors without shedding a drop of blood, and Jayfeather united Starclan."

Dovewing shook her head. "So why have we lost our powers, if we needed them so badly?"

"Perhaps because Starclan knows you don't need them now," Bramblestar suggested. "We will still face challenges, like the flood, but we can survive them using our clanborn knowledge. You and Lionblaze can still hunt and fight as well as any cat. Jayfeather still heals us."

"Or maybe they saw that it took Firestar to become a dragon to win and figured we never needed them in the first place," she muttered bitterly, brushing past him without looking back.

"Dovewing!" he called out to her. Knowing it was futile, he sighed and decided to make his way out.

When Bramblestar emerged from the tunnel he spotted Jessy at the other side of the clearing, spreading moss out in the sun with Brightheart and Whitewing. As soon as she saw Bramblestar she rose and bounded over to him.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. "Those tunnels look pretty scary!"

"Oh, they're not that bad," Bramblestar replied. "We've fought battles in them before."

"Really?" Jessy sounded impressed.

Bramblestar was about to embark on the story of the trouble with Sol and Windclan when he saw Squirrelflight returning at the head of a hunting patrol. She was carrying a blackbird; Graystripe and Brackenfur both had mice, while Rosepetal was dragging along a squirrel.

"I'll tell you about it later," Bramblestar mewed to Jessy. "I need to have a word with Rosepetal now."

He padded over to the fresh-kill pile, where Rosepetal and the others were depositing their catch, and beckoned her aside with a flick of his tail.

"Is there a problem?" his deputy mewed.

"I've just heard Dovewing calling in the tunnels," Bramblestar explained. "She was trying to get her old hearing back. And Cinderheart is afraid that Lionblaze will take too many risks in battle because he can't accept that he can be hurt now."

Squirrelflight riffled her whiskers thoughtfully from the fresh-kill pile, her concern clear in her green eyes. "It's tough on them," she meowed after a moment, "but I'm sure they'll find a new balance in the end. After all, they see every day how their clanmates have to live, and they both care deeply about the clan."

Rosepetal's whiskers twitched. "If it's any consolation, we can try to keep an eye out for them, if you're so worried," she offered.

He blinked at the two gratefully. "That's all I'm asking for. Look, I'm going to give the kittypets a battle-training session," he went on. "Do either of you want to join us?"

Rosepetal gazed at him, her eyes narrowed with faint amusement. "Oh, no, I think I'll leave that to you," she mewed.

Squirrelflight fidgeted awkwardly. "I wouldn't want to get in the way," she murmured.

Bramblestar's pelt suddenly felt hot and uncomfortable, remembering their last conversation after training. "Okay," he mumbled.

Commotion drew their attention away from the suddenly awkward conversation. Firestar was sitting upright, head raised towards the sky and eyes narrowed in concentration.

Bramblestar swiftly padded up to the crowd surrounding the dragon. "What's going on?"

"I think Firestar is picking up sounds of a battle," Graystripe told him, being closest to the leader.

The fins on the dragon's head twitched. "Shadowclan," he reported.

Bramblestar's whiskers twitched into a frown. 'Didn't we help them with the kittypets though?'

"Sounds like badgers. Seems they're struggling a bit," Firestar rumbled.

He hoped Tawnypelt was okay.

The sound of cats brushing past undergrowth thankfully took his attention away from his thoughts. He turned to see Millie emerging into the open at the head of her patrol, followed by Thornclaw, Ivypool, and Snowpaw. All four cats were bristling with agitation. Bramblestar padded across the clearing to meet them, with Rosepetal at his shoulder. Brightheart and Whitewing looked up from their task with the bedding, and the rest of Squirrelflight's hunting patrol gathered around to listen.

"Bramblestar!" Millie burst out. "We found fresh badger scent!"

Bramblestar's ears pricked and he felt an unpleasant hollowness in his belly. "We figured," he murmured, casting a glance at Firestar. "Where?"

"Across our top border," Millie replied. "Just at the edge of Shadowclan's forest. There were at least two of them."

"I'd better go take a look," Bramblestar meowed. Glancing around, he beckoned to the two most senior warriors. "Brackenfur, Graystripe, you can come with me."

Jessy pushed herself to the front of the group. "And me!"

"No," Bramblestar responded, feeling a flicker of irritation. He appreciated that Jessy was trying hard to contribute to the clan, but that didn't mean she could thrust herself into every situation Thunderclan came across. "Remember that you and Frankie and Minty are due for a battle-training session. Brightheart," he added, turning to the ginger-and-white she-cat, "will you take that over for me, please?"

Brightheart dipped her head. "Sure."

Jessy looked disappointed. "I'll learn a new move, so you'd better watch out when you come back!"

He touched her shoulder with his tail-tip, trying not to smile awkwardly. "Looking forward to it."

Bramblestar headed out of the clearing, with Brackenfur and Graystripe flanking him.

"You know," Graystripe murmured as they headed for the ridge, "not all kittypets are bad news. After all, Millie was a kittypet. She settled down well in the Clan, and we've been very happy together."

"Yes, of course..." Bramblestar wondered where Graystripe was going with this subject. Bramblestar thought that Jessy could become a wonderful warrior, but they certainly weren't mates. In fact, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind before… 'Before Squirrelflight brought it up. Great, now thinking about Jessy is getting weird too,' he bemoaned. "I'm worried about these badgers," he meowed,hoping to stay on topic. "I wonder if they're the same ones who attacked us before in the hollow."

"I thought we taught that lot a lesson," Graystripe growled.

The patrol crossed their own top border and headed for the woods beyond Shadowclan territory. As they drew closer, Bramblestar began to pick up the strongest badger scent he had smelled yet, mingled with the scent of terrified cats. He exchanged a glance with Brackenfur and Graystripe.

"Something's seriously wrong here," he muttered.

The scent grew stronger. Determined to find out more, Bramblestar risked venturing into the trees above Shadowclan's border, his clanmates treading warily behind him. Thrusting through a dense patch of ferns, he halted on the edge of a clearing and stared in horror at the scene of destruction.

Grass and bracken were trampled down over a wide area. The reek of blood hit Bramblestar in the throat, and he spotted streaks and splotches of it on the grass. Tufts of fur lay scattered, most of it from cats.

"Oh, Starclan!" he whispered. "Did any cats die here?"

Brackenfur gave him a hard prod in the side. "Shadowclan's coming!" he hissed.

Bramblestar hadn't heard the approaching patrol. Rapidly he backed into the ferns and crouched down with Graystripe and Brackenfur beside him, hoping that the stench of battle in the clearing would hide their Thunderclan scent. Peering through the arching fern fronds, Bramblestar watched the Shadowclan patrol cross the clearing, heading deeper into the woods. Rowanstar was in the lead, with Tigerheart, Ferretclaw, and Tawnypelt. All of them looked battered and scarred.

'That must be from fighting with the badgers,' Bramblestar thought.

As the patrol disappeared into the undergrowth, Tawnypelt, who was bringing up the rear, suddenly halted. She looked around, her jaws parted to taste the air. Then she ran across the clearing toward the ferns. Bramblestar rose to his paws and stepped out into the open to meet her.

"We're not trying to cause trouble," he meowed before she could speak. "We never meant for you to know we'd been here."

"You're my brother," Tawnypelt responded. "I'd recognize your scent anywhere."

Bramblestar winced when he saw fresh cuts across his sister's muzzle and a clump of fur missing from her shoulder. "We were tracking the badgers," he explained. "Have they moved into your territory?"

"Not our usual territory," Tawnypelt mewed. "But there are some old sandy sets in these woods. It looks like several badgers have moved in since the flood. The water must have driven them out of their original homes."

"Well, the floods are going down now," Bramblestar mewed, trying to sound hopeful. "Maybe they'll go back where they came from."

"And maybe hedgehogs will fly," Tawnypelt growled. "Bramblestar, my clan is suffering so much... The kittypets have stopped bothering us since you fought them, but now the badgers are making it impossible for us to hunt here. And most of our old territory is still underwater." She lowered her head, and her voice was full of shame as she continued. "I was too harsh with you before," she confessed. "Rowanstar and I- and all of Shadowclan- should have been more grateful for your help with the kittypets."

"That doesn't matter," Bramblestar murmured, touching his nose to her ear. "I know we should never have interfered. I'll make sure it won't happen again."

Tawnypelt raised her head again, her green gaze locking with her brother's. "Do you really mean that? Because I don't think we can fight these badgers alone. We're too weak, too hungry."

Bramblestar gazed at her. "Are you asking for Thunderclan's help?" he asked carefully.

Tawnypelt took a deep breath. "Yes," she meowed. "I am."

"Even if it meant having a dragon interfere again?"

She hesitated for a moment, before nodding. "I think having a dragon put true fear into those badgers would be great right about now."

Tawnypelt thinking her brother's going to rush into battle on a dragon:

Dovewing is still bitter, nothing new there.

Bramblestar's conversation with Squirrelflight about Jessy has now made things awkward for everyone! Jessy really is a discount Squirrelflight- she tries getting in on everything even if it doesn't involve her. Which is making Bramble a little irritated right now...

Tell me how I did.