Bramblestar's Wishful Nights

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 5

"Bramblestar, BoulderClan will become a problem," Snowwish meowed as she followed Bramblestar to the leader's den. "We have no idea how many warriors they have. I've been seeing new cats every day since that ambush!"

Bramblestar was growing irritated by her deputy's attempts to talk about BoulderClan. The moment Bramblestar and her cats came back from the gathering, Snowwish and a few others who were concerned about BoulderClan were trying to put their concerns onto Bramblestar. And now Bramblestar was stressed.

"Bramblestar, we have to do something," Snowwish continued, Bramblestar's fur ruffled as she narrowed her eyes and a low growl escaping.

"BoulderClan is growing far too much for us," Mapleleaf cut in.

"ValleyClan is hunting on their land! They could be working together for all we know!" Stagpaw exclaimed.

I already know!

Bramblestar was now shaking on her paws, anger flowing through her and now, she was feeling a pain deep within. The worried voices of cats calling her name were continuous and it was angering her further.

"Shut up!" Bramblestar yowled, all the cats around her grew quiet.

"I don't care right now," she hissed, tail lashing, trying to calm herself, "everyone, just go and get some rest, we'll talk about it in the morning."

Bramblestar watched as her clanmates glanced at each other in concern, but the leader then turned to go to her den. Out of the corner of her ear, she saw Mintbreeze pad over, Pikemouse following. A sigh of relief was released when Bramblestar saw Pikemouse.

"You heard Bramblestar," Mintbreeze called, "Go to your dens and get some sleep."

Bramblestar then padded into her den, the sounds of the clan slowly growing quiet as cats began to go to their dens. As Bramblestar moved to slid into her nest, she heard Pikemouse come into the den.

"Are you feeling alright?" He questioned her gently as he moved next to her.

Bramblestar didn't say anything as she curled next to him. She felt stressed as this new situation with the other clans was unfolding. A sharp tang hit her nose and she looked at Mintbreeze as the medicine cat moved in front of her.

"Here," the gray cat nudged a few seeds to the leader. "They'll help you sleep and be less stressed."

Bramblestar gave a small nod and lapped up the seeds. Bramblestar could feel the worried stares from both her mate and the medicine cat, but she didn't look at either of them.

"Good night, Bramblestar," Mintbreeze meowed, "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Bramblestar could barely register what Mintbreeze was saying as she buried herself in her nest, curling up beside Pikemouse before her eyes began to close.

xxxx

Watching the patrols leave, Bramblestar couldn't help but feel better. The seeds that Mintbreeze gave her last night had helped tremendously. She had talked to Snowwish, Goosefern, Pikemouse, and Smokefeather about the BoulderClan and ValleyClan problem. The leader had listened to the solutions and ideas about trying to find out how many cats that are in BoulderClan and if ValleyClan were working with them.

Bramblestar did her best to find a solution, but at the moment, she settled on having patrols to count the number of cats they didn't know. It was going to be a long process, or a short one, but Bramblestar didn't know what to expect.

Bramblestar gave a small sigh as she turned to go to the fresh-kill pile. She had been feeling a bit hungrier lately and she had an urge to lay down in the sun and sleep. As she sniffed the pile and grabbed a mouse, a gray cat caught her attention. Bramblestar blinked as she looked at Mintbreeze as the medicine cat came over.

"Bramblestar," the medicine cat dipped her head, "are you available?"

Bramblestar watched her before she gave a nod. Mintbreeze turned and gestured for the leader to follow. Bramblestar tilted her head and then padded after her.

This is odd. Bramblestar thought as Mintbreeze lead her towards the medicine den. As the leader entered the den, she could see Mintbreeze moving towards her storage.

"Is everything alright?" Bramblestar asked as she set down her mouse, which she had no idea why she brought it with her.

"That depends," Mintbreeze spoke up, looking over at her, "mind if you lie down?"

Bramblestar blinked before she did as Mintbreeze said. Mintbreeze then came over, sitting before she looked at Bramblestar.

"Any pain?" She asked, the gray cat looking over her.

What's this? Bramblestar found this odd. Mintbreeze hadn't said why she wanted to see to the leader. What kind of pain? Stress?

"Last night, the stress last night was a bit painful. Though I did have some pain in my belly," Bramblestar replied, her paw moving to the mouse. "Why?"

Mintbreeze was silent before she looked at Bramblestar, before she looked to her storage in thought.

"I was just concerned," Mintbreeze told her, "You hardly get stressed, even if you are a new leader. So I was a bit concerned."

Bramblestar looked at the mouse and then back to Mintbreeze. "Yes, I suppose so. This BoulderClan and ValleyClan situation came so fast..."

"Yes, of course," Mintbreeze meowed, "Though I believe I found the source of your sudden stress."

"What?" Bramblestar questioned, watching the medicine cat.

"Bramblestar, I believe you are pregnant."