Two halves of a whole (Jay x Briar AU)

Chapter 4

Jayfeather entered the den and heard Briarlight yawn and assumed she was awake and put the herbs into their piles and turned to her. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great. You?" she responded. "I slept alright," he lied. Really, he'd had a nightmare about the Dark Forest taking over everything, including the mountains and the Tribe. Thankfully, she didn't suspect he was lying and he heard her leave the den and returned with prey. "Are you hungry?"

"A bit." He smelled the scent of mouse. "You can have this. I'll probably get a vole or something." He heard her go back out and he ate the mouse. When she came back, he thanked her and sat in his nest. He could feel her watching him and the curiosity coming from her. "What do you want?" He turned his head toward her. "What are you thinking about this time?"

"Is it true? Is my sister actually training in the dark forest?" she asked with concern in her voice. "Yes sadly, but we don't know the reason, it could be anything." He said trying to cheer her up but he could feel her dismay and worry in heavy waves, he knew that this won't be off her mind unless he did something unlike him decides to lay down beside her and nuzzled her. Briarlight looked shocked and had a bit of blush on her face then asked why he did that.

Jayfeather shrugged and yawned, putting his head on his paws. "Tired?" Briarlight asked. "Nope. Just bored. Maybe I'm a little tired." Jayfeather could feel her gaze on him but what was this emotion? Surely it couldn't be this? He thought to himself.

"You look tired. And distracted." Her voice distracted him from his thoughts. "Just thinking. I'll probably go to sleep, though." He didn't know what time of day it was but he could feel the sun heating his back and guessed it was sunhigh. The last thing he felt before going to sleep was Briarlight grooming his fluffy pelt.

When he awoke, she was asleep, snoring softly. He got up, careful not to disturb her, and left the den. He exited the camp and just walked, unsure where he was going. After he had been out for about an hour, he smelled a scent near him.

"You're awake now." Jayfeather turned to the scent of Briarlight. "Yes, I am, why didn't you wake me?" She asked with a hint of confusion "You usually wake me up or tell me you're going somewhere or need to do something, but not this time, what's going on with you?"

"Nothing. I thought you would want more sleep. And I just came out here to think." She went over to lay beside him. "Think about what?"

"Medicine cat stuff," he responded. He could tell she didn't believe him, but he didn't really care. "What are you doing today? I'm bored."

"You're always bored. And I don't know. Probably nothing. Leafpool has collected enough herbs to last us a lifetime, even though it's still too early in Greenleaf for that. There are no injuries or illnesses. What do you want to do today?" Briarlight seemed surprised. "I don't know. Anything non-boring."

"Let's just walk around for a bit. I'll think of something." He stood up and they walked for a bit, chatting, then headed back to camp.