Super Edition: Briarsong's Renascence

Chapter 20

The trees were beautiful shades of red and gold, and the unbearable heat had passed leaving behind a crisp breeze. Squirrels were busy hiding their nuts and simultaneously forgetting where they put them. The first Gathering the new Medicine Cat apprentices were to attend was tonight and Briarsong was nervous. She and Ivyrbanch had been working hard to drill as much information into the Apprentices as quickly as possible so they were prepared for Leaf-bare. They had spent over a moon working nightly with them and pushing them harder than any Medicine Cat Apprentice had been pushed. Thornpaw continued to shine brightest with his bottomless pit of knowledge as he soaked up every lesson and memorized it. Rainpaw required a lot of extra one-on-one time because his nervousness caused him to second guess himself, but he was still steady moving forward with his training. Berrypaw was easily distracted, hard to keep focused, but passionate about learning. Training apprentices was a great way to keep busy and emerge herself back into clan life. Briarsong gave her everything to prove she was a clan cat, but deep down, she missed waiting for Brody and the flock every evening.

Briarsong grabbed a vole from the fresh-kill pile but paused when she heard some of the Warriors whispering.

"Have you seen how big Fernwhisper is getting?" Ivyfeather whispered to Littleleaf. "I heard the father is Sully."

"I heard the father was Voletail." Littleleaf argued. 

Ivyfeather scoffed. "She couldn't win over Voletail. He's too much tom for her. I think it was most likely Mouseclaw. She was taking him out on private hunting trips. Bramblesun said he saw her with him a couple times."

"Mouseclaw is probably trying to get back at me for leaving him." Littleleaf nodded. "After the second litter of kits didn't make it, I just couldn't look at him anymore. He said he understood but I think he's still mad about it."

"It would be like Fernwhisper to get pregnant with Mouseclaw's kits just to annoy you." Ivyfeather shook her head in disappointment. "She could have been a great Warrior if she wasn't so self-centered and just plain terrible to be around."

Briarsong moved on and thought about what she had heard. Fernwhisper hadn't announced a father but it did sound possible that it might not be Sully after all. Briarsong had only talked to Sully once or twice since their fight when he tried to apologize, but she felt so betrayed she couldn't even meet his eyes. Fernwhisper was due soon and they would all know for sure once they saw what the kits looked like. Mouseclaw was a grey tawny tom, Voletail was a grey and white tom, and Sully was a long haired tom with a brown face, tail, and shoulders. If the kits weren't Sully's could she forgive him for having a fling with Fernwhisper? Could she trust him with her heart, trust him to protect her at all costs, and trust him to grow old with? Cats made mistakes and she wasn't perfect herself, but could she forgive him? Would he forgive her if she had done the same thing? As much as she loved seeing Dawnstar and Ivybranch and the other Warriors it didn't feel the same anymore. She was on the outskirts of their groups, lost during their conversations about other clan cats, and the new younger Warriors didn't know her at all. Life had completely moved on without her and the clan hadn't stopped. She didn't doubt that some of them had missed her and mourned her disappearance, but while she had spent every day wondering about them, they were worrying about food and borders and kits. 

"Are you going to eat that or just hang on to it for a while?" came a soft chuckle. Briarsong didn't realize she had been standing still as stone, amerced in her own thoughts.

"Oh, I, er, got distracted." Briarsong muttered through the vole.

"I see that." Dawnstar smiled warmly. "Why don't you and I take a little patrol." Dawnstar turned and led the way out of camp, passed Voletail and Bramblesun who gave them both a smile. Being out of camp felt freeing and Briarsong felt all her muscles relax almost as if they had been holding their breath. Her ears twitched as she listened to the rustling of squirrels in the leaves, and smelt the wet ground. Everything around her was alive but also still. The smallness of the camp suddenly felt suffocating and the freedom of the forest brought with it relief. Briarsong followed Dawnstar through the Moonclan territory away from the bordering clans and towards the less used parts of the territory. The trees thinned out and the underbrush of brambles, fallen limbs, and tall grass built its own natural tunnel. Ahead a tall elegant deer looked up and watched as the two she-cats made their way past and it stomped its foot in warning. As they emerged from the natural tunnel the edge of Moonclan territory where the large flat stones that stuck up out of the ground lay soaking up the sun. 

"I always wondered why Moonclan didn't better utilize this part of our territory." Dawnstar mused as she made her way onto the stones where a harsh drop on the other side led to a dried up creek. "I think it's because there was that poor apprentice who got kicked and killed by a deer out here. The deer aren't scared of us and aren't afraid to trample or kick. But its so beautiful over here. So far away from the other clans. For a moment you almost feel like the only cat in the entire forest."

"I used to come here for herbs quite often." Briarsong looked around and smiled at the memory. "The deer were used to me and left me alone. Although I could see a frisky apprentice getting into trouble with the deer. There are also fox that live out here too. Dangerous place if you don't know how to move around it."

The two she-cats sat on the warm stones and looked out over the drop below into another section of the forest that belonged to the fox, deer, and traveling twolegs. 

"I came here once with Cinderstar," Dawnstar pointed out past the dried creek. "I made it just to that stump before getting scared and coming back. She said it was a Moonclan traditions that a new Deputy had to show their bravery and get to the stump."

"I didn't know that," Briarsong looked over at Dawnstar.

"She said it was because we had to face the unknown and overcome it for our clan. Patchpelt made it a little past the stump before a acorn fell and knocked him in the head and he came running back." both she-cats laughed. "I know it's silly to do, but at the time it felt so special to be out here, just Cinderstar and I, and trying to make it out into the uncharted part of the forest for my clan."

"I miss her a lot." Briarsong admitted. "I never wanted to let her go. I thought I could change her. But Sunheart did what he had to do to keep the forest from going into an all out war."

"I miss her too." Dawnstar said sadly. "I try every day to be like her. Do you know, Cinderstar gave me my fifth life. She told me I needed to love my clan, love the forest, love my job, love Starclan, and find the ability to love another."

"You love Appleblaze..." Briarsong offered.

"I do love him." Dawnstar nodded. "Cinderstar loved Sunheart more than her clan, and she realized that after his death left her with a hole in her heart. I love Appleblaze but not more than my clan. I learned from her mistakes that a mate is not more important than my duties to protect and lead." She looked over and Briarsong met her gaze. "Fernwhisper is pregnant with Mouseclaw's kits."

"What?"

"They planned it on purpose. Mouseclaw wanted to get back at Littleleaf for leaving him, and Fernwhisper was made at you so wanted to hurt you through Sully. I'm not proud to have petty Warriors like that in my clan, but," she shrugged. 

"How long have you known?" Briarsong asked, feeling a little angry at Dawnstar for holding back information like that.

"I believed you needed to look deep within and decide how much Sully meant to you so you can decide your future after your time here is done. I'm obviously glad you are here helping us, and I missed you terribly, but you aren't the same cat who served under Cinderstar. You've seen things, you've experienced love, and you have new life you created for yourself."

"So you brought me all the way out here so I would tell you that I love Sully?"

Dawnstar gave her a playful shoulder shove. "I knew you loved him the moment you two walked into camp. The way you look at him whenever you walk by, the way he talks about you to the other Warriors. He adores you. Honestly I've never seen you so happy and silly. It's like watching two Apprentices fall in love."

"But what he did with Fernwhisper. I don't know how to forgive that. I trusted him and he did that to me."

"I know you are mad at him for having a fling with Fernwhisper and you have every right to be. Just think that when New-leaf comes, your job here will be over and you will have to decide whether to stay or go back to where you came from with Sully."

"How am I supposed to decide such a thing?" 

Dawnstar gave her a shrug. "You already know the answer. You knew the answer before you even made it back to the forest. You don't need me to tell you. As your Leader I hope you stay here and keep Moonclan safe with your vast knowledge. As your friend, I want you to smile every day the way you smile when Sully walks by."