eternal: anemone || warrior cats

chapter 4

viperfoot

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"BRIARLIGHT." 

The large gray tom approached Briarlight with a firm air of confidence. He had questions, Briarlight had answers, and he wanted them now. He was no longer a new, timid warrior who just happened to overhear the conversation of an aunt that hardly cared for him. Now he was trying to solve this whole war and get ShadowClan back to where they were supposed to be.

The tortoiseshell she-cat glanced over her shoulder at him, her yellow, calculating eyes scanning over his figure. "What do you want?"

And all of a sudden, that newfound confidence was gone; still, Viperfoot refused to back down. "Can we talk somewhere?"

Briarlight twitched her tail-tip. "I'm about to take Lionpaw on a hunting patrol, the prey pile is dreadfully low-"

"Frozenlight's on that right now, actually," he meowed, pressing a fake smile onto his face. "So you have a few moments to spare, right?"

Briarlight looked displeased, but she complied all the same. "Alright, fine. But be quick."

Viperfoot nodded. That was all he needed. "Follow me."

He padded over to a boulder by Snakestar's den. Though ShadowClan's young leader was inside, Viperfoot figured that the rocks between them and the roaring wind was thick enough to block any sound. Plus, he'd rather this conversation be overheard by Snakestar than any of his other Clanmates.

"So?" Briarlight flicked her ears impatiently. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I-" Viperfoot opened his jaws, then closed it, wondering how to phrase this question. He thought about his kithood. The cold, unwelcoming parenthood of Clearfrost; drawing closer to Snakestar simply because Mintberry was isolated from them; the status of the siblings' relationship now. Finally, he took a deep breath. "I want to know about my parents."

As soon as she heard this, Briarlight barked a laugh. "Your father's a RiverClan cat. What else could you possibly want to know?"

"Everything." Viperfoot felt the words spilling out of him. "How did they meet? How did they get together? How did Rainstar find out about the prophecy? Just..." He trailed off. "What happened?"

Briarlight eyed him, and for a moment of horror, he was worried she wouldn't answer. But after a long draw of silence, she twitched her pelt. 

"My sister and your mother, Lilylight, was a rulebreaker." Those words came out as a statement, a fact, and though Viperfoot felt a rush of defense rise inside him, he kept silent. "Ever since we were kits, she and her friends would sneak out of camp - to the Burnt Sycamore, no less. 

"Even as apprentices, Lilylight and I hardly spoke. Our friend groups simply didn't mix. My best friend, Blazelight, hated her best friend - at the time, Ivorystorm."

"Ivorystorm?" Viperfoot folded his ears to his head, testing the word out. "You don't mean-"

"Oh, I do." Briarlight's eyes glinted. "Your mother and Ivorystar were best friends."

The large gray tom shook his head, recalling the conversation he'd overheard from Briarlight earlier. "But you said Lilylight and Ivorystar had bad history."

"They do." The tortoiseshell wrinkled her nose. "They were as close as could be, until Icestrike came into the picture?"

"My father?"

"Yes," Briarlight mewed, sweeping her tail. "Ivorystar, Lilylight, and Icestrike all met as apprentices during a Gathering. They hit it off, and Icestrike and his sister decided to invite them to RiverClan's territory for a tour. Those mousebrains accepted - Great StarClan, can you imagine how much trouble they got into?