Sunlight filtered through the gaps in brambles, as a new dawn shone upon the ThunderClan hollow, the gentle chirping of birds audible in the stone hollow. A lone cat stood in the clearing, sadness clearly dragging at her exhausted gaze. She almost seemed hurt.

Her tortoiseshell and white pelt shone in the sunlight, a light breeze ruffled her short pelt, causing it to appear even rougher than before. Tear marks streaked her cheeks, her blue eyes watering. Her breathing was heavy, sniffles coming out of her light pink nose.

A cat interrupted the peaceful song of the birds, exiting the warrior's den, her ginger pelt bright in the sunlight. She stretched, greeting the other she-cat with a chirpy mew.

"Good morning, Blossomfall!" Squirrelflight purred, her ginger tail lashing through the air next to her Clan mate.

"Hey, Squirrelflight. Need anyone for the dawn patrol?" The warrior asked.

"Yeah, if you want. I'm leading. Taking Spiderleg and Leafshade. You can come." The ginger tabby mewed, drawing her white paw over her ear. "I know how uncomfortable you might be with Spiderleg, because I know him and Thornclaw have been hanging out a lot, but just, don't let it ruin the patrol."

Blossomfall pulled her head back, surprise and fury in her blue eyes. Why would Squirrelflight think she'd ruin the patrol?! She might have been dumped, but she wasn't stupid! "I'll be fine, thank you very much." She growled, lashing her tail. "Where are they? Are they going to come, or not?"

Almost exactly at that moment, Spiderleg and Thornclaw walked out of the den, followed closely by Leafshade, who looked downright exhausted. Blossomfall glared at Thornclaw, their blue gazes meeting. His filled with panic as he scampered off to a corner, beginning to clean his rustled fur.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Leafshade asked, her tail curled happily. "We're all here! I shouldn't expect us to need to wait!"

"Will you be joining us, Blossomfall?" Spiderleg asked, his voice politely cold. "I don't know that you should."

"I'm fine, Spiderleg." She snapped, licking her lips. "Let's go, Squirrelflight. Where are we going?"

"I was planning on going to the ShadowClan border, but I think you need a dip in the lake with that attitude, Blossomfall. Maybe you should sit this one out..." The deputy responded. "I mean, you seem kind of tired and snappy."

"I'm fine." She growled, taking a deep breath. "I'll be okay."

The ginger she shrugged, leading the patrol out of the ThunderClan camp, her tail tip twitching. She continued to walk, her pelt prickling anxiously. Obviously something was on her mind. Leafshade bounced around happily, her dark, tortoiseshell pelt practically blending around with the bark-filled background. She was completely oblivious to the cold manners between the two cats.

"Here we are!" Squirrelflight mewed, her green gaze flicking with worry. "Let's mark the border!"

"Okay, Squirrelflight!" Leafshade laughed, beginning to mark the border, her lean figure moving in between the trees. "Is this good?"

"Keep going. We've got the whole border to mark." Blossomfall retorted sarcastically, snorting. "Trust me."

"I know that, Blossomfall! I'm asking- You know what, never mind." The young warrior rolled her eyes, continuing to mark the border. "Maybe you three could do some work?"

"Temper, temper." Spiderleg teased, going to the tree. "Let's get marking!"

--

When the border was marked, the patrol met at the clearing closer to the lake, all a bit tired. Leafshade still had plenty of energy, after all, she wasn't old or carrying kits.

"Well, let's go back. Unless you guys want to go hunting, or something." Squirrelflight suggested, earning an eager nod from Leafshade, and a sigh from the rest of the patrol. "You can go, I'll come with, Leafshade."

"Okay, let's go!" The tortoiseshell purred, dashing off, followed closely by the deputy, her ginger tail disappearing in the bushes.

"So, Blossomfall. How are you?" Spiderleg asked awardly, curling his tail to the side.

"Let's just say I feel like a pile of useless meep morps." She growled, causing a confused stare from the brown and white tom. "Two words I literally made up right now, don't panic. I'm going to go see Briarlight, now. I gotta find her something to eat. I'll see you later, Spiderleg."

The ThunderClan warrior didn't look back to the tom as she dashed into he bushes, her breathing heavy and tired. She had stayed up all night with her thoughts, and now she just needed to sleep. Soon, or she might just fall asleep out here.

Actually, falling asleep in the woods wasn't that bad of an idea. She needed to get rid of some stress, and going near her Clanmates wouldn't help. She curled up in the root of an ash tree, her tortoiseshell patches bleeding in with the leaf-littered forest floor, some small bushes sprung up around her, starting to lose their green leaves as well.

The expecting she-cat closed her eyes, taking one last deep breath, before the sounds and scents of the world faded around her as she drifted into a deep sleep.

--

The sun shone down on a large ash tree, a tortoiseshell and white she-cat curled in its roots, sleeping soundfully. Unfortunately for her, the world has different ideas. A leaf from the large tree slowly drifted down, its color orange. It landed directly on her nose, causing her to sneeze and wake up.

"Fox dung..." She whispered, her vision groggy with sleep. She blinked a few times, momentarily hiding the world from her sight. "What time is it?"

Looking toward the lake, she spotted the orange color of the sun resting on its waters, lazy ripples hitting the shore in a repetitive motion. Blossomfall padded over, her tail pushed gently behind her by the breeze, dragging on the forest floor.

Her blue eyes were round with worry and curiosity, a cat stood on the shore, its pelt a dull golden-brown. But something in the way it sat, she could tell it wasn't Thornclaw. The tortoiseshell padded forward, reaching the tom who sat on the shoreline, his broad shoulders sagging defeatedly.

"Hi, Blossomfall." Brackenfur rasped tiredly, sounding broken. "You're probably wondering why I'm here."

"A bit, yeah." She responded, her voice light.

"Well, I come here, and I think of Sorreltail. I'm not going to make it through this leaf-bare, so I come here." He mewed. "Don't say anything like 'you will!' Because I won't. Trust me."

"Oh," Blossomfall whispered. "Well, I'm sorry...."

"It's fine. I'm sick. I'm going to retire to the elder's den. At least I'll get some rest, then. Before I go." The golden-brown tom replied. "I'll miss my kits. But I'll get to see Sorreltail again. I miss her so much it hurts. I'm happy to have been her mate. I love her."

"I wish I had someone to share my pain with. Someone that I could tell my problems. Someone I know loved me." She whispered, her voice sore. "When are you going to tell Brightheart and Thornclaw? They need to know more than I do."

"They've always been the close ones. I was closer with Cinderpelt. I can't believe she died saving Sorreltail. They were both my everything." He mewed. "Stupid Crowfeather."

"It's okay. I understand your pain. Not exactly, but you should still tell your siblings."

"I guess. They do need to know. I can't just die without telling them why. I have to tell them." He whispered, turning away from the lake. "Thanks, Blossomfall."

The golden brown tabby ran off, his paws skipping across the sandy shore, making his appear to be flying. He disappeared into the forest, leaving Blossomfall alone to her thoughts.

I need to tell my parents. But why should I? Millie doesn't care about me! She never has! Graystripe... I don't know, he might. She thought, flexing her claws. Why does my life have to be such a mess?!

The tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat let out a low growl, pain clawing at her heart, confusion dragging at her shoulders. She took a deep breath, turning around, looking toward the half lit-up forest, the suns final rays kissing its bare branches, reflecting an orange color into the sand of the lake shore.

Blossomfall closed her eyes for a moment, padding back into the forest. She continued to walk, heading the general direction of camp. She stopped, reaching the thorn bush where the drop into the stone hollow was. She shook her head, padding to the main entrance, her tail tip twitching.

As the pregnant she-cat entered camp, her heart skipping back and forth, she licked gazes with her mother, who turned away, her gaze filled with pain and sorrow. Blossomfall padded over to the light gray tabby, her eyes filled with pain and tears.

Millie rubbed her cheek to her daughter's neck, as if trying to apologize. "Come on, Blossomfall. Let's go the the elder's den. Your father is in there."

She nodded, following her mother to the honeysuckle-covered den, the sweet scent entering her nose as she entered, Graystripe sitting there, his dark gray pelt and chubby figure melting into the ground.

"Millie, Graystripe, I'm expecting Thornclaw's kits." She whispered, on the verge of breaking down.

Blossomfall curled into her mother's flank, quiet sobs escaping her mouth. Her mother let out a grentle purr, licking the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat comfortingly, a sag twinge in her blue gaze. "I love you, Blossomfall. I'm sorry I haven't shown it, but I do."

"I love you too, Millie."