Short chapter today. Next one will probably be the badger fight.
I managed to finally get an actual full-time job that pays well, but I don't know what that means for my writing. Hopefully I won't feel too tired that I won't be able to update regularly.
Reviews are appreciated!
Bramblestar's mind was whirling as he went back to Brackenfur and Graystripe. He said nothing to his warriors, and they accepted his silence and didn't question him. 'Rowanstar made it clear that he didn't want any more interference from Thunderclan,' Bramblestar thought as he led the way back to camp. 'I respect that. But it's clear that Shadowclan is in great trouble. Can I stand aside and let them fall?'
Tawnypelt's words rang in his ears. Were things so bad in Shadowclan that she was desperate for any kind of help, even if it came from Firestar? Shadowclan and Tawnypelt had made their disdain for Firestar very known during their last encounters together. 'What changed her mind so suddenly?'
That night, as he curled up in his nest, Bramblestar raised his head and prayed silently to Starclan. 'Send me a dream,' he begged. 'Speak to me and tell me what I should do.'
As sleep surged over him, Bramblestar found himself walking beside the lake- a lake shrunk back into its old boundaries. Pale sunlight glinted on the water, turning it to silver, the surface ruffled by a gentle breeze. Bramblestar looked around, expecting to see Leafpool. Instead the wispy shape of an enormous cat began to appear on the other side of the lake, taller than the trees, broader than a Twoleg den, the tips of her ears reaching up to the clouds. As the figure grew more solid, Bramblestar saw that it was a dark gray she-cat with a broad, flat face and amber eyes. Not Leafpool, but Yellowfang!
The former medicine cat stood at the edge of the lake, and at her paws the silver water turned red with blood: swirls of blood that rose to the surface of the water until the whole lake was scarlet.
Bramblestar's eyes stretched wide. "Is that how much blood is going to be spilled?" he whispered.
"Blood does not have to mean death," Yellowfang meowed, her voice echoing from the hills. "It can bring more strength than you can imagine."
"What do you mean?" Bramblestar protested. "I don't understand!" But Yellowfang didn't reply. Her form began to fade again, and at the same moment the scarlet water rose and flooded over Bramblestar, sweeping him off his feet. He struggled, flailing his paws, but the water choked him in its salty grip and he sank into a swirling darkness.
Bramblestar jolted awake, trembling. Faint moonlight spilled into the tunnel. He felt a paw on his shoulder, gently calming him, and looked up to see that Jessy had left her nest and was bending over him. "Was it a bad dream?" she murmured.
"More than that," Bramblestar muttered, staggering to his paws. "I need to speak with Jayfeather."
"You can talk to me if you want," Jessy offered.
"No, this is medicine-cat stuff." Seeing Jessy's hurt expression, Bramblestar added, "I'll tell you later."
'Not,' a traitorous part of his mind whispered.
He picked his way through the sleeping cats, heading farther down the tunnel to where the medicine cats slept. Jayfeather roused at the sound of his approach. Without a word, he gestured towards the tunnel entrance.
In the open, he took a long breath of the clear, cool air. The night was calm and quiet, with not even a faint breeze to stir the branches. The moon was floating above the trees, beginning to swell toward full.
"I missed a medicine-cat meeting at the Moonpool," Jayfeather remarked. "But I doubt many of the others were there. Riverclan is still cut off, and we don't know what the floods are like in the mountains."
"I hope we can get to the next Gathering," Bramblestar mewed. "We've already missed one. Have you had any omens about the water going down?"
Jayfeather shook his head. "Not a whisper. Only the signs of the waterline dropping below the sticks on the slope."
Bramblestar sighed. "I suppose we can only wait. But meanwhile," he continued, trying to feel more optimistic, "the kittypets are settling in well. Especially Jessy. Did you hear how much fresh-kill she brought in from her last patrol?"
Jayfeather gave him a sidelong glance, his narrowed blue eyes so sharp that it was hard to remember he was blind. "You're spending a lot of time with Jessy..." he murmured. "You shouldn't let any cats think you care more for the kittypets than your clanmates."
"All the kittypets need my time if they're to fit into the clan. Frankie has improved by leaps and bounds," he responded, aware that he wasn't being entirely truthful. The kittypets didn't necessarily need his time.
'But Jessy could definitely learn that every decision I make doesn't need to include her input…'
Jayfeather hesitated for a moment, and Bramblestar braced himself for a stinging retort. But then the medicine cat shrugged, as if he too wasn't comfortable talking about Jessy. "Did you bring me out here to enjoy the night air? Usually you would go to Firestar these days," he meowed.
"No," Bramblestar replied. He had briefly thought of going to Firestar to talk. "I had a dream..." Struggling to find the right words, he told Jayfeather about Yellowfang's appearance beside the lake, and the blood that had risen when her paws touched the water. He repeated the mysterious words she had spoken. "She said, 'Blood does not have to mean death. It can bring more strength than you can imagine.' Jayfeather, what do you think she meant? Is there going to be another terrible battle? Was Yellowfang trying to warn me?"
Jayfeather twitched his whiskers. "It doesn't sound like a warning of doom," he admitted. "It's more like... something strong. It's obviously connected with that other dream you had, about Leafpool," he continued. "'When water meets blood, blood will rise.'"
"And what does that mean?" Bramblestar asked tartly. "Why can't Starclan tell us something clearly, instead of talking in riddles?"
"Starclan tells us as much as they want us to know," Jayfeather retorted. "And sometimes even they don't hold all the answers. You can't expect them to know everything. Sometimes they are just cats, like us. Trust your own instincts, Bramblestar. That's why Starclan made you leader, because they had faith in you."
"Do you think I should have Firestar…?" He paused suddenly, unsure of what he was asking.
"I think that's a question you need to ask him yourself."
The next morning, he found himself in Firestar's claws as the dragon ascended into the sky so their conversation couldn't be heard. He repeated what happened during his patrol the day before, and how they had found badger scent and the evidence of a battle just inside Shadowclan's extended hunting grounds; about his conversation with Tawnypelt and her plea for help.
"But you don't want to be seen as interfering?" Firestar questioned.
Bramblestar shifted uneasily on the somewhat coarse scales. "It's not just a matter of interference. We've been going through a rough time ourselves. What if we're too weak to help?"
The dragon huffed. Combined with the beat of his wings, Bramblestar was almost thrown off balance. "They're getting a little too close to our territory for my liking. If these badgers decide to move onto Thunderclan sooner than we think, then what?"
Bramblestar's ears lowered. "Like when we caught off guard in the hollow?" They had been in a better position back then, but they had still lost some cats.
"I should deal with the badgers if they interfere with our hunting, but not before?" he frowned.
"Okay, how about I lead a patrol up there, to see if there are any new developments? We'll have to keep a close watch on Shadowclan territory from now on. The first sign that those badgers are crossing into our adopted territory, we have to be ready for them," he murmured, more to himself.
"But that's not what you wanted to talk to me about it is?"
Bramblestar tried to meet the dragon's eyes. "If push does come to shove, and we have no choice but to battle, can you…"
"Try not to interfere?" Firestar sighed. Bramblestar nodded sheepishly.
"It's not that I don't trust you! But Shadowclan is already on edge as is, and I-" he paused for a heartbeat. "I need to prove that I can do things without you."
"You already have been proving yourself hatchling. It's not like you've been coming to me for every decision you've had to make," he rumbled, leaning forward to slightly press his muzzle against Bramblestar's body.
"I'll try to do things your way. But I can't fend off these instincts forever. If I hear you getting hurt, I won't be able to stop myself from scaring off those badgers myself, regardless of what Shadowclan or anyone else thinks," Firestar grimaced.
He flinched in shock. "What-?"
"Let me put it this way: you would do anything for Tawnypelt wouldn't you?"
"Of course I would! She's my sister!" he cried.
"You would do anything to help her because she's your sister and you love her. You are my hatchling, and I would do anything to make sure you were safe," he explained.
The cool wind did nothing to soothe his nerves. He almost wanted to ask himself when Firestar had gotten so protective over him.
'No, he's always loved his clan. That much hasn't changed.'
"Well… I can't exactly stop a dragon from doing whatever it wants," he muttered.
Firestar seemed to smirk for a bit. "I need to get down before something sees me. Don't worry hatchling. The clan will understand and support you all the same."
Firestar couldn't care less about what Shadowclan thinks. He doesn't seem to care about Bramblestar's reputation either...
Although it might end up being a good thing to known as the leader that can call upon a dragon that can eat the clans in one bite. Good luck messing with him.
I'm also trying my best to distance Bramblestar and Jessy. Even Bramblestar's own clanmates don't get pulled into the fold, why does she think that Bramblestar needs to tell her everything?
Tell me how I did.