#hawkbramble

some bramblehawk for @kidgephobe !!

she tells him that hawkfrost would be mad if he just let himself waste away, and then practically shoves a mouse down his throat

seasons and seasons and seasons later, after bramblestar has lived a long, full nine lives, as he lays in his nest, surrounded by his clan- by his family- he sees hawkfrost pad into his den, and he smiles and says in a hoarse voice, “i kept you waiting, huh, brother?”

and hawkfrost smiles and licks his ears, runs his tail over his back and says, “you sure did. are you ready to go?”

bramblestar nods, and just like that, he loses his last life

👀 i wrote a rly short sfw drabble of them if u want!!

but as far as nsft goes lemme see if i can think some up real quick, im pretty braindead rn dfbsdjgbdg

-brambleclaw tops. he just does

-hawkfrost really loves it when brambleclaw nuzzles into his neck fur as he comes, panting soft praises into his ear

-brambleclaw is a gentle dom, he’s very big, esp compared to hawkfrost, so he makes sure to not be too rough

-hawkfrost doesnt mind rough, but brambleclaw does, so he doesnt push

-brambleclaw rly loves biting, he loves biting hawkfrost all over, and i know cats cant get hickeys but if they could... lmao

Bramblestar never saw his death coming, but when it finally wrapped it’s pitch black claws around him, he decided not to fight it.

Sickness has swept though the Clans, mercilessly killing many cats, and while Bramblestar gave every ouce of strength he had to stop his clan from falling apart, his weak immune system broke down and let in the deadly virus. The situation had almost an ironic resemblance of his own fathers death, and Bramblestar couldn’t help but wonder whether the event, so many moons ago, had juxtaposed his own.

Just like Scourge’s claws tore open Tigerstar, sending his 9 lives spilling out along with crimson blood, The Sickness took eight of Bramblestar’s, leaving him with only that one glimpse of hope hanging in the humid air of his den.

A pained yowl sliced through the air, fluctuating in amplitude, and bile climbed up Bramblestar’s throat at the desperate noise. It dragged on and on, fluctuating in amplitude, and as much as the brown tabby wanted to obtain some extraterrestrial power to heal every suffering warrior, he couldn’t do as much as shift position without having agonising pain flash though his body. Every joint was numb, every limb was heavy. He could hear the uneven beat of his heart and the constant pounding in his brain.

The Ilness originated when a group of twolegs left some toxic substance behind them, which then contaminated the blood of prey. On multiple occasions, all medicine cats and leaders have gone to speak with StarClan, but not a single starry cat knew neither the cure, nor what The Illness really was.

"I have never seen something like this. A sickness wiping out more than half of an entire clan, and claiming more than half of a leaders lives." Firestar has murmured, after Bramblestar lost his fifth life.

He remembered vaguely as some of the first cats fell sick-it started off oddly enough with a simple cold. As more and more cats, not only in ThunderClan, demonstrated the symptoms, the medicine cats thought it to be a cataclysmic outbreak of white cough, but after the symptoms grew more and more severe, every cat was left confused. The cold was followed by vehement stomach cramps and vomiting, and before a cat was left completely paralysed and then faded into death, there was more to follow. Bramblestar thought of it as his eternal system breaking down, bit by bit, with all the bitter content of hi stomach spilling out and submerging his lungs and joints. And the whole thing took an interminably long time.

As Bramblestar lay there, wheezing and trying to ease the pain, he knew his time was nearing. He might have been a young cat, but he knew that some had to go earlier than others.

At least I will get to see Squirrelflight again, he thought. The vicissitudes of fate meant that her life was claimed by The Illness three days earlier-she fell asleep, and her eyes never re-opened. And that was the night when Bramblestar lost two lives in a row. He remembered feeling this immense pain, both physical and emotional. And when he dropped limp in his den, letting out a prolonged yowl, even StarClan couldn’t stop his consecutive deaths.

He faded out of his thoughts as the entrance to his den, partly submerged in tenebrosity, rustled and unable to open his eyes quickly enough, his nose was the first to recognise Jayfeather’s scent.

"Brambleclaw" his voice was low and monotonous. "Things aren’t looking any better. Cloudtail has just started coughing, and Ivypool’s symptoms are getting worse. We need to start separating the more ill cats from the ones that are still managing because I have found that helps."

There was a think, prolonged pause, as Brambleclaw tried to muster up the strength to say just a few words, to show that he wasn’t giving up completely.

"StarClan help us."

There were many times when a cat has said those words, but this time the leader really meant it. This was a problem in the paws of not only StarClans, but a force beyond them, whatever that might be.

———————————

Brackenfur and Berrynose were amongst the last completely healthy cats left in camp, and with prey growing scarce and more and more warriors dying, hunting was becoming a tremendous effort, even with such a small portion of cats whose bodies still accepted food.

Both warriors shouldered though the entrance of the camp, carrying limp bits of prey. Feeling his stomach rumble, Brackenfur swallowed and tried to remember-the more prey, the less chance a cat has at catching The Illness (he wasn’t sure whether it would prevent them from dying, because so far, not a single surviver has emerged).

Sorrowfully, the golden warrior flinched at the low sounds of pain dragging on and on from Jayfeather’s den-he wanted to hide underneath the ground, to not witness the suffering, but he knew he had to be there(while he himself was still alive). He spotted Berrynose drop the mouse he was carrying in the pitiful fresh kill pile, and as the cream tom scurried over to the warrior’s den, Brackenfur sighed. “Berrynose, I know that you’re tired, but we have to keep hunting while still can.” Berrynose turned around, and shock flooded through Brackenfur as he realised that all colour and life has faded from his friends eyes. Even though The Illness didn’t take Berrynose’s health (at least not yet), it sucked everything else right out of him. Unable to be assertive, Brackenfur ducked his head. “Alright, go and rest. We can go hunt later, and perhaps we can take Leafpool with us.” As Berrynose walked off, fulminating under his breath, Brackenfur looked around the deserted camp. Rain plundered down from the looming grey sky, hitting his nose occasionally, and an arid wind ruffled his fur.

Maybe I should go check on Bramblestar, he thought. A part of him knew that there was no way for his leader to escape death, but he decided to keep holding onto hope. He walked towards the once menacing den (ever since his best friend became leader, he walked in and out of it as if it was his own), and as he neared his nose wrinkled at the sour smell of sickness and decay. Bile climbed up his throat, and Brackenfur swallowed forcefully in order not to gag.

———————————————

Bramblestar lost track of time ever since Jayfeather left his den in a panic muttering something about “staying with him” and “not falling asleep”. Falling asleep…that thought seemed so alluring and enthralling, and he imagined how good it would feel to close his eyes, and let go completely. But that part of him, the one that knew that there could be hope, remembered that falling asleep was the worst idea.

If Lionblaze falls ill, the clan will lose both it’s leader AND it’s deputy.

No. No. I am not going anywhere.

Just face it. My time is nearly here.

Once again, the den entrance rustled almost inaudibly, and at first Bramblestar thought it was Jayfeather, but a few heart beats passed before he realised that the scent was different. He twitched his whiskers, and recognised Brackenfur.

Panic flashed though him like a jolt of lightning. He knew that his best friend was one of the only healthy cats left in camp, and being around ill cats was a huge risk for him.

"Please leave.." He rasped. "Get away from me."

With every word, he could sense himself drifting further and further away from reality, and as much as he wanted to open his eyes and catch at least a small glimpse of his friend, he found his eyelids to be sealed shut. Oh no…

"You’re dying." Brackenfur breathed. There was a brisk scurrying of feet and the golden warrior neared his leader. "You’re on your last life."

As Brackenfur strode around in panic, the only thing that was on Bramblestar’s mind was the pain of leaving him behind, when there is so much left unsaid between them.

"Please…I lost Sorreltail and most of my kits, I can’t lose you as well!"

And as Darkness finally cast it’s shadow over The leader,

Both of them knew

There was something they needed to say

And neither of them knew what it was

The paralysis slowly spread through Bramblestar’s body, engulfing every limp.

He could hear mingling voices filled with panic as multiple cats entered his den But he could only think of Brackenfur And he didn’t know why

He wanted to say something

But as the light drew nearer

He knew he couldn’t

'Get up, Scarclaw!'  I awoke in my nest to see Hawkfrost looming over me poking me hard with his paw. Hawkfrost never liked me, but I didnt really care because I didnt like him neither. I have no idea why, we just didn't seem to get along very well and constantly bullied each other. 'Don't just lay there, Tigerstar wants to see you!' he growled, then pushed me with his paw. I rolled my eyes. 'Okay, okay, calm down foxdung.' I meowed, sitting up. Hawkfrost hissed. 'When will you learn a little respect?' I licked my paw a couple of times, just to wind him up, then replied. 'I learnt respect a very long time ago, actually. I respect all cats that should be respected, but I don't know why I should respect idiots like you.'

(wow)

Scarclaws eyes flickered open just to meet with bottomless pools of ice. She was hypnotized for a second, unable to come to her senses, enthralled by the brilliant blue. 

"Get up, Scarclaw."

She shook her head rapidly, and looked up to see Hawkfrost's menacing figure casting a shadow over her, which blended in with the dark monotony of her surroundings. His whiskers twitched, in irritation presumably,  and bitter resentment expanded within Scarclaw at his constant impatience. She could hardly contain her pure vexation when he started to roughly probe her with his fore-paw as if she was a piece of prey.

"Get up! You know to never keep Tigerstar waiting."

In that moment, Scarclaw wanted to rip out his throat for making an assumption, because she, in fact, did not know that Tigerstar was waiting for her, and she had no way of guessing or making a prediction while she was engulfed in the calignocity of sleep.

Scawclaw scrambled up to her paws, purposely dragging out her movements and rolling her eyes every few seconds. Hawkfrost had exasperation plastered on his face as she drew her tongue over her paws in smooth, rhythmical motions, brushing back the stubby hairs to lie smoothly against her skin.

"Oh dear, who made dirt in your bedding?!" she sneered, somewhat mimicking Hawkfrost's raspy tone of voice.

"Respect." He hissed through gritted teeth, lowering his ears and squinting. Scarclaw was pleased that she was able to make him this angry, when no one else could.

"What about it?" She meowed unceremoniously.