I apologize for any grammar mistakes or mistakes in general...

Several moons later...

RiverClan was in distress. Everything around them seemed to be crumbling into pieces, and no cat knew what to do anymore. Nothing felt right, and Spottypaw couldn't help but wonder if things had ever been right in the first place. This was the life he had been raised into, so nothing came as a shock to him anymore.

But this was entirely unacceptable.

Screeches of agony poured out from Featherheart's mouth as she writhed around in the nursery den. Spottypaw stood beside her, his paws firmly but gently sliding around her round belly in an attempt to figure out how many kits that she should be expecting. Pondfrost was watching with an intense gaze as he waited for the she-cat to start pushing. They didn't have time to waste. They had injured cats to tend to in the medicine den; too many for Peacepaw to see to all on her own.

"Why is this taking so long? It can't be that hard to push, for StarClan's sake!"

Spottypaw didn't have to turn around and look to know who was making those snippy comments. Featherheart's mate, Bramblefrost, was pacing around the pained she-cat as she tried to focus on pushing instead of focusing on her excruciating pain.

Bramblefrost stopped in front of Featherheart, and he glared down at her stomach. His ear twitched with annoyance. "And stop screaming. It's hurting my ears."

"I'm - I'm sorry," Featherheart grunted out as she dug her claws into her mossy nest. She closed her eyes, her ears flat against her head as she let out a pitiful wail. "I'm trying! It hurts so much."

Featherheart took a deep breath and then stopped pushing for a moment. Bramblefrost flicked his tail to the side, his cold gaze turning into one of curiosity as he watched his mate's movements. Spottypaw glanced over at Featherheart, a worried look in his eyes as he let his mind take him to a dark place. For a heartbeat he thought that she was dead. But then, before he could react, Featherheart rolled onto her belly and began to push again.

Skywish pushed her way between Bramblefrost and Featherheart, and she crouched beside her little sister. Unlike Bramblefrost, Skywish had a much softer approach to the first time queen.

"You're doing fantastic, Featherheart. Just keep pushing. Don't stop, you're doing great!"

Skywish's words of encouragement seemed to annoy Bramblefrost, because he snorted in disbelief before walking over to join Pondfrost. He glanced down at Featherheart's lower body, and then his eyes widened with horror. The tom quickly sat back up and he took a few steps back, his eyes glued onto Featherheart.

"Great StarClan, that's disgusting," he hissed out.

Featherheart's head quickly snapped in his direction, her eyelids fluttering open as she rasped out, "wait, what?"

"I see the first kit's head," Pondfrost meowed over her, his tail tip slapping the young tom's muzzle to shut him up, "keep at it, Featherheart."

Spottypaw felt a ripple going through the she-cat's body, but he could tell that this was extremely difficult for Featherheart. Featherheart was gritting her teeth in an attempt to be quiet, and she was truly giving it her all... But she wasn't getting anywhere with this kit. This caused Spottypaw to feel a bit of concern for her. He then looked over at his mentor.

"Should I apply some pressure?" He murmured. He kept his voice low, not wanting Featherheart to overhear him and stress out even more than she already was. "We still have one kit more after this, and that one feels much bigger than this one."

Pondfrost hesitated for a moment, but then he gave Spottypaw a nod of approval. This she-cat needed a little bit of help in order to birth her kittens. It wasn't completely uncommon. There was no need to worry.

Don't stress yourself out about this. Featherheart's okay. Peacepaw is okay. Peacepaw can handle herself for a moment. This won't take too much longer, Peacepaw.

Spottypaw gently slid his paws down the squirming she-cat's body, but he began to slowly apply some pressure once he got closer to the kitten. He had to be careful. He didn't want to potentially cause a mishap.

Bramblefrost lifted his chin, peering down at the mess with narrowed eyes, while Pondfrost kept an eye on the kit's head. He had done this many times before, but not during such hard times like these. He had to make sure that Spottypaw was paying attention and learning how to do this properly, but he also had to make sure that Peacepaw wasn't being overwhelmed and that the others were okay.

Spottypaw felt bad for his mentor, but he couldn't stop and think about it too much at the moment. He had to focus on helping Featherheart conceive. However, before Featherheart could start pushing again, Bramblefrost began to make a few crude remarks on his mate's struggle once more.

"Mothshine didn't take this long," he muttered, making his voice loud enough for Featherheart to hear over her rapid panting. "Neither did Airblossom. It didn't take her long at all, actually." Bramblefrost then curled his lips at Featherheart, a glint of distrust in his eyes as he stared at her. "Is something wrong with you?"

Skywish's head snapped upwards instantly, and her tail began to prickle with fury. Her pupils narrowed, and her own lips began to curl as she quickly gave into her anger.

"Is something wrong with you? Have you ever carried kits and then given birth to them, Bramblefrost? Have you ever had to push out something that's bigger than a rock from your body? Where is your sympathy? Where is your compassion and consideration for my little sister?"

"Spottypaw," Pondfrost mumbled.

"On it," he responded. Spottypaw didn't hesitate to abandon his task. He knew that he had to get Bramblefrost out of the nursery so that Featherheart could conceive her kits in peace. She couldn't focus while Bramblefrost was criticizing her every other heartbeat.

Spottypaw quickly rose to his paws, and Featherheart's eyes began to water. Her ears perked up for a moment as she saw Spottypaw leave her side, but then she started to tear up. A twinge of pity pulled at Spottypaw's heartstrings, but he quickly shook it off.

"It's not my responsibility or burden to deal with," Bramblefrost retorted, eyeing Skywish as if she had bees in her head. "But I understand that she-cats are naturally weaker than a tom, so of course she would struggle a little with birthing my kits..." He then glanced down at Featherheart, and a dark expression crossed his face. "But she's being overdramatic at this point. I've seen faster births than this, and less noisy ones as well -"

"Hey, Bramblefrost." Spottypaw padded over towards the taller tom, and he furrowed his eyebrows in order to give himself a nervous expression. "Could you come with me to go get a piece of prey? Featherheart is going to be very hungry after giving birth, and I'm not sure what she likes," he lied.

Skywish snorted in annoyance at the interference with her brewing argument with Bramblefrost, but she dropped it as soon as Bramblefrost shifted his focus from the two sisters to Spottypaw.

With a tilt of his head, Bramblefrost gave Spottypaw a quick look up and down, inspecting the apprentice as if he were a speck of dirt or a flea.

"I want to see my kits when they come out," Bramblefrost meowed coldly.

Stupid fox-face. Spottypaw flicked his ear with the slightest bit of annoyance, but he didn't lose his composure.

"I understand, but we'll be back before they're born. I just need to do this really quick. Plus," he added smoothly as he glanced back at Featherheart, "she's probably going to take a while. You'll have plenty of time to get her some prey and such before your kits come into the world."

Spottypaw looked back at Bramblefrost, and he was pleased to see that the young father seemed to be considering Spottypaw's request. Bramblefrost clearly wasn't too reluctant to leave his mate.

A screech of pain from Featherheart caused both Spottypaw and Bramblefrost's ears to flatten with alarm, but that was all it took to make Bramblefrost make up his mind. The mewls and cries of pain appeared to annoy the tabby tom, and Spottypaw watched with pleasure as the warrior rose to his paws with a stiff nod.

"Fine," he growled. "But let's make it quick. I don't even know why she would need something to eat. We've got more important cats to be offering our prey to."

The tom turned his back on Spottypaw and the others, and he quickly crossed the nursery to get to the exit. Spottypaw limped after him, his tail swishing to and fro with relief as he finally got Bramblefrost out of the nursery.

Now all I have to do is keep him OUT of the nursery while Featherheart gives birth... That's not going to be difficult at all.

Bramblefrost was cunning and obnoxious, and he was hard to keep under control for most cats, but the best thing about him was that he could be distracted by his own success and achievements. All Spottypaw had to do was get him talking about himself, and that would give poor Featherheart plenty of time to do what she had to do.

Spottypaw came up beside the warrior, but he made sure to not surpass the tom; Bramblefrost hated it when others walked in front of him, and he'd given Spottypaw an earful about it before. He tried to make sure not to do it anymore.

"Does Featherheart have any names picked out for the kits'?" He meowed out of slight curiosity. "You two are expecting at least two kits. Are you two each naming one?"

Bramblefrost's left ear flicked with interest, but he kept his eyes forward and continued towards the small heap of prey near the willow stump.

"I haven't decided yet. I want to see them first before I name them. I want their names to suit them," he explained calmly. He closed his mouth for a mere moment before speaking once again. "I'm hoping to have them look like me, of course. I need something about those kits to resemble me, or this'll all be for nothing."

"Oh. Right."

Good luck with that, Spottypaw thought with an imaginative scoff.

All of Palestone's kits had come out looking just like her, or at least resembling her in many ways, and her own kits' kits looked like their parents as well. None of them resembled or looked like the other parent. Every cat related to Palestone either had blue-ish fur or a slightly gray or silvery coat.

Bramblefrost was going to be in for a surprise once he saw the kits.

"Do you think they'll both be she-kits, toms, or one of each?" Spottypaw asked. He had to keep Bramblefrost's mind off of checking on his mate.

Bramblefrost arrived at the fresh-kill pile and his tail tip twitched ever so slightly as he inspected the prey. He didn't seem too happy with his options, which consisted of a frog, two newts, and a few scrawny mice.

"I want two toms. She-cats are emotional creatures and so difficult to deal with and be around. I haven't met a she-cat that wasn't whiny, obnoxious, or overly dramatic and confident," he hissed bitterly. He narrowed his eyes, and Spottypaw could tell that he had a cat or two in mind as he spoke passionately about his dislike towards she-cats. "I wouldn't have to be soft on my sons, and I could teach them how the real life works."

Spottypaw nodded his head with a fake understanding. He didn't agree with Bramblefrost's way of thinking, but he could at least pretend to.

"That makes sense..." He padded up to Bramblefrost and he sat down to give his limbs a break. His forepaw still hurt from stepping on a thorn earlier while hunting for herbs, but it was slowly beginning to feel better. "If I had kits, I don't think I would mind a she-cat or a tom -"

Before Spottypaw could explain why he wouldn't care about having a daughter or a son, he was rudely cut off by Bramblefrost, who let out a loud, disapproving snort.

"If? You're a medicine cat, and a runt at that. Even if you weren't a medicine cat, you would still be pretty useless. No cat would even be interested in you. You'd risk passing on your disabilities to the future generation, too. We can't have a bunch of crippled runts for warriors, now could we?"

Bramblefrost glanced over his shoulder and stared Spottypaw down. It was almost as if he were daring the apprentice to defend himself. The snobby warrior wanted to see Spottypaw snap, to defend himself and argue with the tom like he always did. Spottypaw always took Bramblefrost's bait... And today was no different.

"I'd watch your stupid mouth if I were you," Spottypaw snarled angrily while quickly rising to his paws and taking a threatening step towards the warrior. He lashed his tail to the side, his fur already bristling with fury as he glared up at the tom. "I'll rip your pelt clean off."

"Oh?" Amusement sparked in the tom's icy green eyes, and the corner of his mouth twitched into a slight smile. "I think it's you who should be watching your mouth, Spottypaw." Bramblefrost leaned forward towards him, and his crooked smile transformed into a wide, toothy smirk. "Because that's a mighty sick threat coming from such a pathetic excuse of a cat... A cat that I could easily take down if I chose to... And you know that more than any other cat here... Don't you, Spottypaw?"

A wicked glint appeared in Bramblefrost's gaze as a chill ran through Spottypaw's body. The anger, fury, and embarrassment quickly went out like a fire, and it was replaced with pure fear and a faint memory of agony seared his mind. He lowered his tail, forced his pelt to lie flat, and he took a step back from the warrior. His gaze fell towards the ground, and he felt like his heart was lodged in his throat. He felt like he couldn't breathe.

He didn't want to speak. There was no point in speaking. He didn't know what he would, or even could, say in response to the tom's spine tingling words. Bramblefrost knew just what to say to shut him up, and there was nothing Spottypaw could do about it.

And he knows that...

A chuckle followed after a few heartbeats of silence, and it made Spottypaw's stomach twist with unease. He hated that chuckle. He hated how the tom purred, laughed, and spoke. He hated everything about Bramblefrost.

"You're adorable," Bramblefrost murmured with a smile etched into his voice. "But listen... You're not that much of a waste of life. You have some potential. It's just not a lot," he snickered.

Spottypaw stayed silent, his eyes still fixated on the camp ground. He could hear his Clanmates chatting, all of them most likely gossiping about Bramblefrost's kits or the horribly injured warriors that Peacepaw was tending to. None of them paid Spottypaw and Bramblefrost any mind though. None of them had any idea that Spottypaw was frozen in fear.

Bramblefrost was quiet for a moment. Spottypaw knew that he just wanted him to say something. He wanted Spottypaw to get confrontational. He just wanted an excuse to get Spottypaw in trouble. But Spottypaw knew better.

After a couple of heartbeats of intense silence, Bramblefrost realized that he would not be getting a reaction out of the apprentice. He looked away from the slightly smaller tom, and he peered over at the camp entrance. With a tiny twitch of his whiskers, he started towards the entrance.

"Featherheart likes birds. I'll be out for a few," he meowed flatly. All of the sadistic emotion that he once carried was now gone. "Make sure that Featherheart doesn't give birth until I get back."

Spottypaw finally lifted his head, and he watched as the warrior disappeared into the shadowy tunnel. The last thing he saw was the warrior's tail tip, and then he was gone. Now, Spottypaw was left feeling shaken. He felt terrified...

I never knew that my best friend would turn out to be my worst enemy. I wish he would have died. Life would be better without him in it.

Spottypaw turned around and tried to take a deep breath. The crisp air burned his nose, but it helped take his mind off of Bramblefrost a little. It wasn't by much, but it was better than by nothing at all.

His heartbeat was obnoxiously loud in his ears, and it hammered in his chest like a bird trapped in a lion's claws. It was an awful feeling, but it was one that he would have to deal with alone. Of course, he was used to it by now. He'd been dealing with Bramblefrost's bullying for a few moons by now, and he forced himself to get over it every single time. It wasn't like he could do anything about it.

No one would listen to him, even if he did try to say something. No one would ever believe him over Bramblefrost. There was no point in trying.

"Hey!"

A sharp voice yanked Spottypaw out of his thoughts, and he quickly shifted his focus onto one of the cats by the warriors den. Sitting outside of the den was Pinewater, Shellwing, and Streampelt, and all three of them were glaring coldly at him as if he were a rat about to nipple on their last piece of prey. It was Pinewater who had yelled at him, and Spottypaw felt his heart sink as the warrior opened his mouth to say something else. Today simply just wasn't Spottypaw's day...

"Why are you just standing there?" The dark tabby snapped with irritation, his tail lashing to and fro as he glared at the apprentice from across the camp. "My brother is about to have kits, and we have four injured cats who need help. They all each need tending to, so why are you doing nothing?"

Shellwing snorted, her eyelids hooded and a lazy frown on her face. "Apprentices these days... Useless."

"Some of them," Streampelt added quickly, an annoyed expression on her face at Shellwing's comment. "Skywish's kits are pretty good. I like them."

"Stormpaw annoys my pelt off," Pinewater growled. "He and Moonpaw are both arrogant little snails."

"Mmm... I think Mintpaw is pretty obnoxious. She never shuts up," Streampelt said with a shrug. She didn't seem to be as passionate about the conversation as Shellwing and Pinewater, but she also had no problem adding to it. "She's like a woodpecker."

"I hate Spiderpaw," Shellwing meowed over Streampelt's last sentence, and she looked up at the cloudy sky with boredom now. "She's... Like... She's, like, all that. But she's not. You know?"

Spottypaw blinked at the young she-cat, and even her companions seemed to be confused by her comment about Spiderpaw. He personally wasn't very close with Spiderpaw, but he liked the she-cat. She was funny and friendly, given that she could be a little loud and act on her emotions without thinking about it first. Still, she was a good cat.

Without saying anything, Spottypaw turned his back on the three cats and padded over to the medicine den. He could hear Streampelt clearing her throat while Pinewater continued to talk badly about Stormpaw and Moonpaw. Spottypaw wasn't in the mood to argue with those three. All they were was trouble. He learned that most of the younger warriors were friends with Bramblefrost, and so that meant that most of them didn't like him.

I don't understand why, he thought with a bit of hurt. I haven't done anything to Bramblefrost. Not really, anyway...

A faint memory of his kithood flashed through his mind. It was torturous, really. A painful reminder of the friendship that he and Bramblefrost once had... Spottypaw could remember a time that the two of them would sneak out of camp and go hunting. He could remember the night that the two of them snuck into SkyClan's territory, and how they had climbed one of the maple trees. He could remember sitting with Bramblefrost on the branch, staring at the stars... And then he could remember how he had ruined everything with just a few words.

It was all Spottypaw's fault that Bramblefrost hated him.

Spottypaw shook his head with a grimace, and he hurried into the medicine den. He didn't want to think about the past. He didn't want to even think about his past friendship with Bramblefrost. That was gone now. He would never get that friendship again. He had to come to terms with that now.

A strong stench filled Spottypaw's nose as he entered the medicine den, and his stomach tightened in repulsion. He was quick to recognize that as the scent of death.

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