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Before You Go to Sleep
by:Forest
Dedicated to Arti
Each day I walk through our territory
and see the many cats go about their
important business, and see the many
trees with their prey, succulent and waiting
for a cat to catch it, and I see that
you are no longer by my side. I see
you, our venerable leader, you are
wounded and sick; I see that I must reign
over our Clan alone, as their strong leader;
but I am not as strong as Bramblestar-
obviously you are my Bramblestar,
my closest ally in my life as the
ThunderClan deputy. You trusted me when
you appointed me so long ago; our Clan
was falling, and we put it together.
The battle was a necessary one
because ShadowClan had invaded us
and we were simply going to fight back.
And you, Bramblestar, you authorized it;
the battle rang strong and true, just like always,
and by the end of it all you had died,
and we had won, just one simple life lost,
your second-to-last. A strong tom had ripped
your fur down your back, and you had fallen
to the earth, and by the end you had been
covered in leaves by other cats who had
scrambled to defend you valiently;
I pulled you from your temporary grave,
saw that you were still alive, I rejoiced,
for I still had the friend of a lifetime.
We were friends from the start, kits together,
apprentices together, and in time
warriors together. Your mother would
call your name, Bramblekit, and mine, which was
Forestkit, and we would stop doing our
kitlike deeds long enough to find her face,
and ask why she needed us, and return
to our duties. We escaped camp together
on a greenleaf day, and a warrior
caught us by a fox's den, which we had tried
to drive away for our Clan, for which we
will do anything. Bramblepath and me,
Forestheart, we fought together for our
ThunderClan, and we still did up until
that fateful battle where you nearly died.
You hang onto life like the strongest, most
brave cat I know you are, will always be;
you are in the medicine den with your
life ebbing away, and Redpoppy can
only do so much. Wetstream always gets
you fresh moss, and Stargaze can always make
you laugh with her jokes, and Sunmark can tell
stories of strange lands, and our entire Clan
is behind your recovery. But I
know that you will not stay with us for long,
which is a shame, but I can understand
why you have to leave. And so, I will not
keep you here long, because your life forces
are ebbing away, and I would like to
tell you some things before you go to sleep.
You were our humble leader, strong in your
decisions, venerable in your ways,
brave in your deeds, intelligent in your
deepest mind. Bramblestar is a name to
be remembered with the utmost respect,
a name to be spoken with the purest
joy and happiness. You are truly an
inspiration to our Clan, and without
your powerful leadership, we would be
absolutely nowhere. I cannot be
half the leader you are, but I will strive
to be half the leader you are, and I
do not think I will become the legend
that you are, that you always will be, and
I hope to StarClan that you are happy.
Before you go to sleep, remain awake,
breathing contentedly, basking in the sight
that was your leadership: beautiful and
powerful and truthful. Always know that,
to our Clan, you were the most wonderful
leader we have ever beheld in our
midst. Know that you will be missed dearly, but
that we encourage you to be happy
and successful, just like you were here, and
know that we will always stand behind you.
Before you go to sleep, Bramblestar, I
want to tell you that I will mourn for you,
but I will lead with your strengh and power,
and you will not be sorry. You will be
proud of me, and of our Clan, and to me,
your pride will be our greatest victory.
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