Briarpaw's Light

Briarpaw felt dizzy. She gripped her nest, forcing down panic.

Finally, the young cat managed to force herself to speak. Hesitantly, she lifted her head to look at Jayfeather. "I'm never going to walk again, am I?" she asked, her voice shaking.

There was a moment of agonizing silence before the medicine cat replied.

"No," his voice sent an icy chill down her spine, "I'm so sorry."

The tiny bit of hope she'd had left withered away like a flower in a droubt -its purple petals turning gray- as Briarpaw accepted despair, letting it wash over her.

Jayfeather had tried to give her herbs, but Briarpaw couldn't muster the effort to take them, and instead pushed them behind her nest.

She buried her face in her forepaws, soft sobs shaking her until the den around her faded into darkness.

Briarpaw opened her eyes to a sunlit meadow. Heart fluttering with a trace of hope, she looked at her legs, then growled as she saw that they were still hanging limply behind her.

Her eyes widened as she looked up to see a cat blinking down at her. The tabby's fur shimmered with starlight and another thought came apon Briarpaw. This must be StarClan! Am I dead?

"No, little one," the tabby reassured Briarpaw, seeming to read her thoughts, "You're dreaming."

She padded closer. "I'm Honeyfern," she mewed gently, "I saw what happened from StarClan and came to comfort you."

Honeyfern... The name felt familiar. "You were..." Briarpaw murmured, feeling a pang as the realization came to her, "You were the one who saved me! From that snake. And you died..."

A wave of guilt suddenly came upon Briarpaw as the realization sank in. "Oh, Honeyfern," she wailed, "You gave up your life for me and now..." a sob came up to her throat again, "I'm- I'm useless! I'm so sorry, Honeyfern!"

"No... don't be sorry," Honeyfern murmured, wrapping her tail comfortingly around Briarpaw as the young cat nuzzled into her chest fur, choking down tears. "I would never regret saving you."

With a faint pang of surprise, Briarpaw looked up to meet Honeyfern's gaze. "But... But I'm useless."

"I know it may feel like you are," Honeyfern whispered gently, "but you're not. You're you. You've always been special- every cat is. And you know what- you can still do amazing things." She touched her nose to Briarpaw's forehead, "And you will."

"I can't even move around," Briarpaw whimpered, although Honeyfern's words did help a bit.

"Well," Honeyfern stepped back a few tail-lengths, "Let's change that."

Briarpaw tipped her head to one side, confused, but Honeyfern only blinked encouragingly at her. "Try," she whispered.

Briarpaw stared ahead. She wanted to make Honeyfern proud of her, but how would she do this? Her first instinct was to prop herself up with her back legs, but they wouldn't move. Stretching out a forepaw, Briarpaw clawed at the ground in front of her experimentally. Honeyfern nodded.

Encouraged that she was doing the right thing, Briarpaw gave a pull, hooking her claws deeper into the ground. She felt like it was maybe working. Maybe. Although she hadn't moved from her spot at all.

Padding up beside her, Honeyfern gently nudged Briarpaw ahead with her muzzle as the young cat pulled. Briarpaw's body budged and she found that she'd moved forward a tiny bit.

Briarpaw straightened, eager to try it by herself.

She began pulling herself forward again, but her limp legs weighed her down and she flopped onto her belly with a groan.

"You can do it," Honeyfern encouraged in a gentle whisper.

"I can do it!" Briarpaw echoed, feeling a touch of fresh hope as she propped herself up again.

I can do it. Eyes narrowed in determination, she sank her claws into the ground hard, and gave a hard push, forcing herself not to give up when the weight of her legs threatened to pull her back.

Briarpaw's eyes widened as the world suddenly shifted around her and she found herself moving forward. Although it took some effort, Briarpaw managed pull herself forward again. And again and-

"I'm doing it!" she yowled joyously, "Look Honeyfern I'm really doing it!"

She could walk!

"Of course you are," Honeyfern purred, her blue eyes glowing with happiness, "I never doubted for a second that you could. You're doing a wonderful job! You'll be able to walk like this back at camp, too," she added, as if reading the worry that had flashed through Briarpaw's mind.

"And it'll get even easier with time," she mewed, looking proudly at Briarpaw, "You are very strong."

"Thank you," Briarpaw murmured self-consiously, then let out a purr, "Thank you, Honeyfern- for everything!"

After giving a sweet purr in reply, Honeyfern turned around, and Briarpaw followed her gaze to the dazzling bright-colored sunset over the distant mountains.

"You have a bright future, Briar." Honeyfern mewed, giving Briarpaw's head a lick. "Just look for the light."

As Briarpaw met Honeyfern's kind blue gaze for the final time, her flower bloomed again. It hadn't dried out completely- it was still alive! And now its petals were aglow in the brightest shades of purple as it stretched towards the sun.

Waking up in the medicine den, Briarpaw dug at the moss in her nest. Apon finding the herbs she had hidden, she quickly swallowed them, then lifted her head.

"Jayfeather!" she called.

Jayfeather padded up to her nest, his expression anxious. "Are you okay?"

"Teach me some stuff about herbs," she mewed cheerfully, realizing that she was more than okay, "I want to help out!"

Helping cats was light- and Briarpaw needed as much of it as possible.