River (Book 1) A Warriors Fanfiction

"And They Thought I Was Dead"

•Brackenstar•

Brackenstar limped into the ThunderClan camp. Yes, limped, like with pain, into the physical, earthly ThunderClan camp. Brackenstar grinned at the shocked faces staring at him, in his bedraggled, half-dead, but physical body. He limped forward a little more. For a moment, Lightstar and Brackenstar stared at each other. Finally, Lightstar spoke one word.
"How?" He whispered. Brackenstar laughed. It was a good feeling, being able to feel his body, feel himself speak, feel the pain, no matter how much it hurt.
"StarClan is letting me say goodbye. They let me choose between saving myself and Wolfkit, and I chose Wolfkit." Wolfkit looked up into his father's eyes very solemnly. Brackenstar smiled at his smallest kit.
"Thank you." Wolfkit said quietly. Brackenstar dipped his head. Wolfkit coughed; the motion wracking his entire little body. As Brackenstar looked closer, he could see the outline of his kit's ribs. Patchkit and Mistkit came bounding up to him. Their eyes were barely open, but they looked up at him with round, wide eyes. Brackenstar purred a rasping, broken purr. Lightstar suddenly stood up and came bounding toward him.
     "You really are alive? This isn't a dream?" Lightstar asked incredulously. He reached out and flicked Brackenstar's shoulder with his tail. He jumped back when his tail made contact. Brackenstar laughed again. He was relishing the feeling of being in a body again, no matter how torn and half-dead it was.
"I'm not necessarily alive, but I am here in my earthly body. I am only here to say goodbye. Tomorrow, I will be watching you from StarClan's hunting grounds. They are quite beautiful, you know." He joked. He limped closer to his brother. "I'm only allowed to be here for a limited time, so I'd better get going with the goodbyes." He bent down and touched noses with Patchkit, and then with Mistkit. Lastly, he rubbed against the frail little Wolfkit's cheek. Brackenstar inhaled the scent of his beloved kits.
"Goodbye my precious kits. Your mother and I will be waiting in StarClan for you."
"But why do we have to wait? Why can't you be with us now?" Curious little Patchkit gazed at her father, her eyes round. Brackenstar held her gaze with solemn eyes. He tried to crack a smile, but all that came was a few salty tears.
     "Oh, Patchkit. I would stay with you if I could, but StarClan wants me to stay with them, and I can't disobey their wish. I'm sorry, my kit." He replied. Now it was Mistkit's turn to ask questions.
     "Is StarClan where the dead cats go?" She asked, rather bluntly. Brackenstar chuckled a broken, half-sob of a laugh.
     "That's where the good dead cats go. The bad ones go to the Place of No Stars. The first Tigerstar and Hawkfrost went there, along with many others." He laugh-sobbed again at the look of amazement on Mistkit and Patchkit's faces.
     "If the cats in StarClan are dead, doesn't that mean you will be, too?" Wolfkit inquired softly. Brackenstar looked at his son sadly.
"I already am, my son. I am only here for a short goodbye." He murmured. Brackenstar looked up at his brother. Lightstar stood watching him with glistening green eyes. The ThunderClan leader took a step toward Brackenstar. Then he buried his face in Brackenstar's neck.
      "Oh, brother." He lamented, not caring about the shocked faces of Beepaw, Mossypaw, and Riverstorm. "Who did this to you? I want to avenge your death. I want to banish them from the Clans forever. I want them to know that I will not tolerate them murdering my fellow leader, my family, my littermate, my brother, for StarClan's sake. I will maul them and rip them to shreds if I have to." Lightstar was shaking with anger now, a green fire lit in his blazing emerald eyes. His fur was on end and his claws were out. His tail was bushed. Brackenstar shook his head. Mossypaw rounded on Brackenstar.
     "Lightstar is your brother?!" Mossypaw screeched. Brackenstar looked around in alarm. A few heads had poked their way out of their nest, and they were watching. Brackenstar tried to signal to his Clanmate to stop. She hissed at him.
     "Mossypaw, please. You don't understand." The orange tom pleaded. Mossypaw glared and hissed again. Beepaw murmured something in her ear. She leapt to her paws, spitting with anger. She growled at Beepaw. He sighed.
     "I understand perfectly well what you mean. You're telling me that the leader of ThunderClan is YOUR BROTHER! How many more Clan leaders are your brother? Or maybe your deputy? You're only half SkyClan! Are you even SkyClan at all?" Mossypaw swished her tail, as though that finalized her words. Beepaw gasped. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Beepaw beat her to it,
     "Mossypaw! Stop it! Do know what you are doing?" He stood up and looked her in the eye. "Look around. Isn't this enough? Haven't you caused enough damage already? Stop before you hurt anyone else." She held her chin high.
     "I'm not sorry. This war is not done." With that, the tabby she-cat stomped away, out of the ThunderClan camp. Brackenstar sighed. "I'd better go talk to her-"
      "No, Brackenstar. You aren't the leader anymore. Let Beepaw go." Lightstar said rather firmly, but it was in a gentle way. He put his tail in front of Brackenstar. Brackenstar just watched the tabby apprentice go, wondering how his Clan would react.
     "I'm sorry, Lightstar. I should have never let you say that. I should have stopped her. She will never be satisfied until all the Clans know. I know her, Lightstar, and she will not let this go." Brackenstar sighed heavily.
     "You were helpless in this situation, Brackenstar. You couldn't have done anything." Lightstar replied. Just then, Beepaw came running back to the camp.
     "I tracked her scent. She's already on her way to the border. I'm not as fast as her, so I just let her go. I'm sorry, Brackenstar." He said, dipping his head to his leader. Brackenstar shook his head.
      "It's okay. I'm sure the Clans would have found out at some point, anyway." He beckoned the orange-and-white apprentice closer. "Beepaw, when we got back to camp, I was going to have Bloomshade make Mossypaw a full medicine cat. Will you tell Bloomshade that I still want to happen?" Beepaw nodded. Brackensar continued. "Good. Beepaw, I was also going to make you a warrior, to honor your bravery and your courage. I was going to name you Beesplotch, for your patches, and because my warrior name was Brackensplotch, and I see so much of me in you. I hope that you will tell Shellshine that I told you this. You will make a fine warrior, my little bee. Make SkyClan proud. And when the time comes, you can join me in StarClan, and we can watch over our beloved Clan together."
     The other cats in the clearing were keeping a respectful distance. Brackenstar bent closer to the young tom. "I love you, Beepaw. You are like a son to me. You are my son. I wouldn't trade you for all the kits in the world. Bee, you mean the world to me and I wish I could stay with you on this earth. Before my time is up, I want to tell you a few things. First of all, no, I have no SkyClan blood, except for my kits—and you. Lightstar is my brother. We are half-Clan. Our mother is RiverClan, and our father is ThunderClan.
     "Second," Brackenstar hesitated, but he knew it was time to tell his beloved adopted kit. Beepaw was watching with wide eyes. "I know who your father is, even though the Clan does not. Your father, Bee, is in the Advisory. He is Darkmist, Advisor for SkyClan. I'm sorry, my bee, but he is not a father to be proud of. You saw my state when I came back to camp after visiting the Advisory, yes?" Beepaw nodded.
     "Did Darkmist do that to you?" He asked. Brackenstar nodded slowly.
     "Yes, your father did that to me. You saw that dark tom that helped Cranestar attack me?" Beepaw nodded again. His eyes were round, and his fur was bushed slightly.
     "My father helped kill you?" Beepaw asked angrily. Brackenstar sighed.
     "Darkmist did indeed help kill me. My dear kit, I'm sorry that you have to live with your father's reputation hanging over your own head. I'm so sorry I even told you this."
     "It's okay, Brackenstar. I'm glad you told me this, and I'm glad that I know who my father is, now. The thing is, I will never see him as my father. Brackenstar, you are the one who raised me and tended to me and played with me like I was your own kit. I feel like your kit, and you just told me I am your kit to you. Brackenstar, who's the one who taught me to pounce on the queens' tails?"
     "Me."
     "Who's the one who played with me when no other kit would?"
     "Me."
     "Who's the one who loved me unconditionally, even when I wanted my real father, and not him?"
     "Me."
     "Who was the one who raised me, who loved me, who adopted me, as his own son?"
     "Me." Came the repeated reply of Brackenstar. Brackenstar's eyes filled with tears. Beepaw leaned on his shoulder.
     "Brackenstar, you are my father, and you always will be. I wish with my whole heart that you could stay here on this earth, but I know that it's your time, and I will respect that. I love you, Brackenstar, and I will never forget you. Thank you, so so much for what you told me." Beepaw got very choked up on the last sentence. He took a deep breath.
     "Brackenstar, I will accept the name Beesplotch, not because you said you wanted me to be named that, but because I want to be named after you. I want your memory to live forever, and if having the same warrior name as you does it, then do be it. I am honored to have the same name as you, Brackenstar. I love you, and I will miss you." Beepaw's eyes were glistening. Brackenstar was pretty sure his own were wet.
"Thank you, Beepaw." Brackenstar turned to Riverstorm. "Riverstorm, you are such a brave warrior. I will make sure that StarClan does not forget that you almost died for me. You deserve so much better than what Cranestar has given you." Brackenstar stepped close to the gray warrior. He whispered in Riverstorm's ear. "Riverstorm, I've seen how Sorrelstream looks at you at Gatherings. I wish you two the best. I think that she will be very happy to see you when you get back to your camp." Brackenstar's eyes twinkled.
"Thank you, Brackenstar. That means a lot to me." Riverstorm purred slightly. Brackenstar wondered if he was thinking about Sorrelstream. The SkyClan leader purred too. He looked at the last cat to say goodbye to: Sunpaw.
     "Sunpaw, I think that making friends and traveling beyond Clan borders has changed you. You are still seven moons old, but you have gained wisdom beyond your age. I have seen you grow up so much in these past few days. You have gone from a naive, immature young kit who tried to drown himself, to a compassionate, honest apprentice who looks out for his friends and cares deeply about them. Sunpaw, I can't wait to see what you choose to do in the future. I'm sorry for what you've had to endure, but I think your experiences will help you later in life. I'm proud of you, Sunpaw. Keep going in this direction, and you will be a good warrior." Brackenstar looked the golden-furred apprentice straight in the eye. Sunpaw dipped his head.
     "Thanks, Brackenstar." He whispered hoarsely. "Thank you." Brackenstar looked around at all the cats in front of him.
     "Tell Mossypaw that I will miss her. Goodbye, my friends. I will miss you all more than you know. I am so glad that I have had the pleasure to meet each of you and share at least a few days together." Brackenstar looked away for a moment. "I can't believe that I have to say goodbye so soon. My kits, my Clanmates, my friends, and my brother. I will miss you like crazy, but know that I will watch over from Silverpelt each night."
     With these final words, Brackenstar turned toward the camp entrance and limped out, not looking back. He was going to start a new life now.