#viti's rewrite

[stargleam-star]

Warriors Rewrite Pt 6: The Darkest Hour

Quick notes: Sasha is a tortoiseshell point siamese. Also, thanks so much for your patience while I finished up the last few posts for this series. Your long wait will now be rewarded!!

The plot of the prologue is the same; Tigerstar goes into the city to recruit Bloodclan's help. The difference here is the chapter is in Scourge's POV. That way we can get a little background on him, Bloodclan, and his feelings about Tigerstar without the context of "The Rise of Scourge" manga

Fireheart, Mosscloud, Mistyfoot, and Stonefur bring Bluestar's body home. The camp is still empty, and Fireheart leaves to fetch the clan. This gives the littermates extra time alone with their mother to grieve. At Sunningrocks, Fireheart gives the clan the news of Bluestar's death, then leads them back to the ravine

Back home the clan catches the visiting Riverclan cats laying with Bluestar, which forces Fireheart to divulge the secret of their heritage before any cat can get mad at them. Fireheart thanks Mistyfoot and Stonefur for their help once again and sends them home

Fireheart climbs Highrock to address the clan on his own for the first time. Tawnypaw steps up to ask if he is their leader now. Fireheart nods, but Darkstripe objects. He mutters some crap about Fireheart being a kittypet and how wrong it is, but Longtail shuts him down. He reminds Darkstripe of the Warrior Code: the deputy becomes leader once the previous leader has died.

After the mourning of Bluestar and after patrols have been set, Fireheart and Ravensong get ready to travel to mothermouth. While the medicine cat prepares traveling herbs, Fireheart asks Cinderpath to keep an eye on Darkstripe from now on until they see where his loyalties lie. Then he puts Whitestorm in charge until he returns with his nine lives. After they've taken their herbs, Fireheart and Ravensong head out.

Naturally, Fireheart is nervous when they get to highstones. He knows cats will expect him to be noble and wise now that he's going to be leader, but Ravensong reassures his friend that everything will be fine and cats will understand that he can and will make some mistakes, especially in the beginning. But there's no reason to worry. Feeling better, the two toms slip into mothermouth, sworn to silence until the ceremony ends

Fireheart puts his nose to the moonstone when they lay beside the giant sparkling rock, waiting for sleep to come. When it does, Starclan greets him once he wakes up in his dreams

Nostalgia, grief, and excitement flood Fireheart as each cat steps up to give him a life. Each life causes pain, but he knows there is a purpose to it and takes it all in stride.

Redtail gives him justice as his first life. The previous deputy takes this moment to thank Fireheart for all of his efforts; for revealing the truth about his death and about Tigerstar's ambitions. He promises to continue to watch over and guide him even now as the young tom moves on to become leader. Fireheart thanks him in return before the tortoiseshell tom moves back to allow the next cat to step forward

Lionheart steps up next, giving Fireheat a life for courage. Next comes Thrushpelt, giving a life for loyalty to what you know to be right. After comes Runningwind, giving Fireheart a life for tireless energy. Then Brindleface steps up, granting him a life for protection. Pigeonpaw follows with a life for mentoring. Fireheart tries to apologize to the young apprentice for what happened to him, but the tabby doesn't stick around to hear it. Yellowfang replaces the apprentice to give Fireheart a life for compassion. When she returns to her place, Rosetail steps forward to give Fireheart a life for love. Finally, Bluestar steps forward. She hesitates a moment to exchange a tender nose touch with Rosetail before approaching Fireheart. She gives him a life for faith, then tells him how she'd always known he'd succeed her. With nine lives earned, the tom is hailed by his new name: Firestar

When he expects to wake up by the moonstone, Firestar's actually thrown into a vision. He sees a hill of bones towering before him, a lake of blood seeping from the base to surround his paws. A voice which sounds like all of Starclan echos around him "Four will become two. Lion and Tiger will meet in battle, and Blood will seep into the forest."

Firestar is thrown out of his dreams immediately afterwards. Ravensong rushes him out of the cave so they can finally speak. He knows something interrupted the end of the leader's ceremony, but decides to wait for Firestar to be ready to talk about it. The two decide to get home asap

Back at camp, after a good nap and a meal, Firestar thinks about who he wants as deputy. When moon high rolls around he's made his decision. He emerges and climbs Highrock to call a clan meeting. Then, as tradition follows, he names Whitestorm as his deputy

The next day, Firestar's returning home from training with Tawnypaw when he notices Sorrelkit following Darkstripe by the top of the ravine. Firestar decides to see what's going on with them. Tawnypaw runs ahead to scope things out. A heartbeat later she cries out and Firestar hurries over. Sorrelkit's crumpled on the ground and Cinderpath's there, pinning Darkstripe. Firestar sends Tawnypaw into camp to get Ravensong so he can check on the kit. When they get back, the medicine cat discovers the kitten has swallowed deathberries. He's quick to feed her yarrow to help expel the poison, then takes her to his den so she can be monitored. Firestar drags Darkstripe back into camp and orders him to stay there or else. Then he asks Cinderpath about what happened. The warrior tells him that she saw her brother feed the berries to Sorrelkit, but Darkstripe tries to deny it. In the end its decided that they'll wait to hear the kit's side of the story so they don't just jump to conclusions

While waiting to hear from Sorrelkit, Firestar decides to take the older apprentices out for a warrior assessment. As leader, he can finally give them their names just as they've deserved. Just like expected the young cats pass the test with flying colors

A little later, after some thought and some discussion with the elders, Firestar calls a clan meeting. Thornpaw is named a warrior: Thornclaw. Fernpaw is named Ferncloud, and Ashpaw is named Ashfall. The clan cheers for the new warriors but Firestar interuppts; he's not done yet. Changing up the ceremony a bit, he calls forth Snowear, Lostface, and Tornheart. He doesn't think they deserve the horrible names they were granted, and so he's figured out a way to give them new ones. The warriors are renamed Snowstorm, Brightheart, and Swiftstrike. No cat had ever seen three warriors happier to be named.

The next morning brings good news: Sorrelkit is awake and ready to talk about what happened. Firestar eagerly goes to the medicine den to hear her out. The kitten seems a little shaky but tells her story with good detail. Sorrelkit had been restless during naptime and decided to sneak out to the ravine to try and catch a mouse. She'd noticed Darkstripe heading up the ravine alone, even though Cinderpath should be with him. So in her sister's place, Sorrelkit decided to follow her big brother. She kept herself hidden for a good distance and saw Darkstripe meet with a strange smelling cat. The description of the cat reveals them to be Blackfoot of Shadowclan. Sorrelkit then explains she'd gotten scared and ran home. When she'd reached the camp boundary, Darkstripe had caught up to her. Instead of being mad, he praised her for being clever, then took her to a bush a few paces away from the top of the ravine for a treat. The red berries he'd shown her looked so tasty so she hadn't hesitated to eat one. The last thing Sorrelkit remembers is her throat burning and feeling closed before everything went dark.

Firestar's quick to call a clan meeting after hearing Sorrelkit's tale. He summons Darkstripe forward towards Highrock, dragged there by Cinderpath and Whitestorm. To the clan, Firestar briefly explains what the kitten has said: Darkstripe poisoned Sorrelkit. Darkstripe denies this, claiming the kit is lying, and that it's just like a cat of Shadowclan blood to come up with such outrageous stories. Willowpelt snaps that that's no way for him to talk about his kit sister. Darkstripe spits that the little scrap of fur isn't any more his sister than a mouse is.

Firestar interrupts the family squabbling to question Darkstripe about something else Sorrelkit had mentioned: that Darkstripe was meeting with Blackfoot. Firestar wants to know what Tigerstar is planning, and he knows the dark tabby warrior is still in touch with the enemy leader-as proven by his meeting with the Shadowclan deputy on Thunderclan territory. Darkstripe is stunned into silence as the clan shouts out that he is a traitor. He refuses to explain himself to a kittypet, which riles the clan up more. He looks at the cats around him then takes off, pushing his way past the crowd and out of camp. Cloudtail shouts after him that he knows what will be waiting if he comes back. The clan turns back to Firestar and asks him what he thinks of the matter. The new leader sighs and declares Darkstripe is no longer a member of Thunderclan. If he's spotted on the territory he is to be chased off. With all that done, the meeting is dismissed

A few days later, Firestar goes on a border patrol. He spots Mistyfoot by the border and they chat briefly about clan news. Firestar notices she's looking thinner than the last time they met and he asks if everything is ok. Mistyfoot is unsure. She elaborates, telling Firestar that she and her brother have confessed their heritage to all of Riverclan. The clan seems to treat them differently but they're sure to reaffirm their loyalty in no time. She also mentions Leopardstar; she's been meeting with Tigerstar more frequently. Mistyfoot has no clue what could be going on, and Stonefur is being kept uninformed. There's also been some Shadowclan warriors permanently stationed in Riverclan camp. It's a big mystery as to why. Mistyfoot suddenly catches herself, feeling like she's spoken with the enemy leader too long. Firestar understand and the two part ways. As he meets with the rest of his patrol, Firestar wonders what Tigerstar could be planning with Riverclan.

Yet another few days pass and its time for another gathering. Firestar's decided to deny Tigerstar's request from the last one; Thunderclan will keep Tawnypaw and Bramblepaw. As a precaution, the two apprentices will not be taken to tonight's meeting at Fourtrees.

Riverclan and Shadowclan are late to the gathering this moon. Firestar worries about what may be delaying them, as does Tallstar. Clouds threaten to cover the moon and just when it seems the meeting will be cancelled, the other clans arrive. Firestar's quick to notice a few choice cats missing from the groups. Graystripe, Silverstream, Featherpaw, and Stormpaw don't seem to have been invited to the gathering. Mistyfoot and her kits are not here either, nor is her brother Stonefur despite him being Riverclan's deputy. Finally Firestar realizes the medicine cats have been excluded from both clans' patrols. It's extremely odd, and Firestar can't help but feel concern

Tigerstar is quick to leap onto the Great Rock and make an announcement. Change is coming to the forest, and he believes that it is his duty-and Shadowclan's-to prepare every cat for it. Tigerstar declares that the clans must unite into one. Riverclan has already agreed to join with Shadowclan to form Tigerclan, and together he and Leopardstar rule. Tallstar steps forward on the Great Rock, bristling with fury. He thinks this idea of Tigerstar's is ridiculous, and he'd rather die than join Windclan with Tigerclan. Firestar seconds Tallstar's decision; Tigerstar will never be allowed to gain control of Thunderclan.

With the floor open to him, Firestar decides this is a perfect time to tell the clans of Tigerstar's crimes. But when he starts to talk about it, thunder crashes and rain pours down. Tigerstar declares it to be a sign from Starclan in his favor. The gathering is quickly dismissed. On the way home Firestar can't help but think about the vision he had at the moonstone. "Tiger" clearly represents Tigerclan. But who or what does "Lion" stand for? And would the clash of these two forces soak the forest in blood?

To take his mind off of Tigerstar, Firestar decides to take Mosscloud, Bramblepaw, and his own apprentice for some battle practice come sunhigh. Though the young molly is the daughter of the enemy leader, she presents more like her mother. Tawnypaw is a clever cat, stern at times, but fair and level headed. She doesn't allow insults and rude comments to drag her down. It was also clear how fiercely loyal she was, showing her eagerness to defend her clan in the way she learned to fight. Firestar saw great potential in her. He was proud of how she was turning out, and proud of Bramblepaw too. Over the past few moons the leader had come to know these two young cats to quell his fear that they may turn out like their father. Now Firestar has a great respect for these cats, not as kin of an evil leader, but as brave future warriors of Thunderclan

While they train, Bramblepaw asks Firestar why it would be so bad for them to join Tigerclan. Mosscloud explains the forest was always meant to have four clans. Firestar chimes in that it would also mean the end of Thunderclan. Tigerstar can't be trusted to allow four leaders to rule; Firestar knows the enemy leader will not want to share that power. Bramblepaw says he understands, but he seems deep in thought throughout the rest of the training session. Firestar wonders if the young tom is thinking about his loyalties.

At the end of the training session, Firestar sends the apprentices off to hunt. Mosscloud disappears into the undergrowth to do the same but reappears to Firestar a short while later. There's another cat with her who wishes to speak with him. Mosscloud returns to hunting while Firestar and the stranger have a conversation. The new cat is a rouge who goes by the name of Sasha. Sasha explains that she used to be a kittypet until her housefolk moved away. A few moons back she had met a tom by the name of Tigerstar who'd taken away her collar and had grown close to her. She was in love with him for a while, almost tempted to take his offer to join his clan. One day when she had made her decision, and was on her way to Shadowclan, she spotted the tabby tom out in the woods speaking with another cat. He was boasting about soon ruling the forest, and not caring for anyone who'd dare get in his way. He'd happily shred all his enemies and watch his subjects tremble before him at the bloody sight. Scared, Sasha fled, and has been looking for a new home ever since. Originally she tried to go to Riverclan, but had spotted Tigerstar there. And now she has come to Thunderclan seeking refuge. If not for herself, then at least for the unborn kits inside of her.

Firestar feels sympathy for the rouge queen and invites her back to camp with him. On the way, he asks Sasha if Tigerstar is the father of her kits. Sasha confirms this to be so. For her safety, and the safety of her kittens, Firestar requests that no cat finds out about this information. If she needs to confide in another cat, however, then she can at least trust Goldenflower. Firestar tells the rouge that the golden molly is also mother to a litter of Tigerstar's kits and the two queens may be able to bond through this connection. Firestar is quick to settle Sasha into Thunderclan's nursery when they reach the ravine, introducing her to Goldenflower. Then he jumps onto Highrock to call a meeting and introduce the clan to their new queen. He tells his clanmates of the rouge's need for shelter, and persuades them that these new cats will be good for Thunderclan's ranks. There's a few murmurs of disapproval but overall Sasha is accepted without a fight.

Firestar goes back out into the forest to hunt. He stops by a stream to take a quick drink and is surprised by what he sees in the reflection of the water. At first, all he can see is himself, but then his form starts to morph. Around his head and neck, long fur starts to grow outward into a firey mane. His face largens and elongates, until finally Firestar's reflection looks more like that of a lion than a cat. Firestar jumps back with a yowl. When he looks into the stream again, his reflection has returned to normal. Was this a sign from Starclan? Did this mean he was the "Lion" from his moonstone vision, meant to lead Lionclan into battle against Tigerclan? Firestar realizes it must be so

Later that evening when Firestar returns home, Bramblepaw runs up to him sounding frustrated and upset. The young apprentice tells his leader about the nasty comments Smallear has been saying about him. And it wasn't just the one elder, the other elders would pitch in sometimes and so would Finchpaw, Swiftstrike, Ashfall, and Cloudtail. This has been going on for a while, and Smallear's remakes tonight have pushed Bramblepaw over the edge. The apprentice had been a little late changing bedding and Smallear said Tigerstar hated caring for elders too, so that meant Bramblepaw was on his way towards becoming just like his father. Firestar pulls Bramblepaw close and grooms him to help calm the young tom down. He assures the apprentice that he is nothing like his father, and that he will have a word with the cats that keep bothering him. Bramblepaw calms down enough to walk away, going to talk with his sister in the apprentice's den.

Two days pass. It's very early in the morning, the first light of dawn is sneaking past the horizon. Firestar is asleep in his den when a cat comes bursting in, startling him awake. Its Goldenflower, frantic and crying. She says that Bramblepaw is gone. Firestar jumps to his paws, asking if the queen is sure. Maybe Bramblepaw was out on dawn patrol, or off doing some early hunting with Mosscloud. But Goldenflower tells him neither is the case. She asked Whitestorm if her son was on patrol, but Whitestorm hadn't assigned him to any. And Mosscloud hadn't seen her apprentice since sundown. Goldenflower couldn't even recall seeing Bramblepaw come home last night. Firestar decides to find out where the apprentice has gone. And if anybody knows, it'll have to be Tawnypaw. Firestar wakes his apprentice, calling her out from her den. Her mother curls herself around Tawnypaw asking her where Bramblepaw is. At first Tawnypaw tries to say she doesn't know, but Firestar asks if she's sure about that. Lowering her head, she says no, and that she's well aware of where her brother's gone. Bramblepaw left to join Shadowclan

Goldenflower wails in distress at the news. Firestar asks why Bramblepaw would run away. Tawnypaw tears up, looking at her mentor sadly. She says its because Bramblepaw grew tired of cats hating him because he looked like Tigerstar. Cats thought he'd turn out like their father, so Bramblepaw decided to go somewhere where being Tigerstar's son wouldn't be a bad thing. Tawnypaw admits she'd thought of doing the same, but decided against it because her loyalties would only ever be towards Thunderclan. Tawnypaw swears she's going to make something of herself and prove to everyone that she can be an honorable warrior for the clan. Firestar gives her a few calming licks then sends the two she-cats on their way to comfort each other for the departure of Bramblepaw. Firestar goes to fetch Sandstorm so they can cuddle and talk about how he's feeling.

During the next afternoon, Firestar takes Cinderpath, Sandstorm, and Brightheart on patrol with him to check out the Riverclan border. When they get there, Brightheart remarks that she can smell Graystripe coming. Firestar turns and sure enough here comes his best friend, swimming swiftly across the river. But there's a haunted look on the gray tom's face, and when he emerges from the water its clear to see why. Graystripe's soaked fur sticks to his sides, revealing him to be incredibly thin under his long fluff. His eyes are hollow and he looks to be in terrible condition. Shocked, Firestar covers his friend in licks demanding to know what has become of him. Graystripe tells the leader about Tigerstar's takeover. Riverclan and Shadowclan are merged but Brokenstar's old allies seem to run most of the show under the tabby's rule. They gorge themselves on prey with little regard for waste, while regular members of Shadowclan and Riverclan do most of the laborious work. Leopardstar never speaks up about the treatment towards her clan, allowing Tigerstar to do whatever he pleases. And what's worse, all cats deemed to have "unpure blood" have been gathered and kept as prisoners. Graystripe and his family are included in this bunch as well as Mistyfoot and her kits, and Stonefur. Tigerclan barely feeds them and keeps their prisoners contained in a makeshift den in the clan's new camp. Graystripe managed to squeeze through a hole in the wall of their prison, promising to return with help.

Graystripe starts to sob suddenly, pulling back to look Firestar in the eyes. He begins to speak about a trial that Tigerstar is planning to hold. One that will test the loyalty of all the halfclan cats. Graystripe looks scared out of his fur as he whispers to his best friend, "They're going to kill my kits." Then he hides his face on Firestar's chest. Sandstorm walks over to press herself into Graystripe comfortingly. Graystripe starts to cry about how he and Silverstream should never have left Thunderclan after their kits were born. And how he shouldn't have abandoned Firestar, his best friend, his closest ally, the cat he loves. Firestar's shocked to hear the words, pulling back to look at Graystripe. Graystripe says he loves him again, and Firestar confesses he feels the same way. Sandstorm chuckles, admitting she knew the toms had feelings for one another. She doesn't mind if Firestar wants Graystripe as a mate along with her, as long as he'd love them both equally. Firestar promises he does, and proposes the same thing to Graystripe about himself and Silverstream. Graystripe agrees. Finally he begs Firestar to help save his family and the other imprisoned Riverclan cats. Firestar of course agrees and Sandstorm decides to go with them on the rescue mission.

Brightheart and Cinderpath go home and promise to come with backup if they aren't back by sundown. Firestar and Sandstorm follow Graystripe over stepping stones and into Riverclan territory. They pass Riverclan's camp, smelling something foul as they get closer to their destination. From the undergrowth, Firestar can see a small stream polluted by crowfood. And at the end of the trail is a large mound of preybones. It towers high, reeking of rotten meat so badly it makes Firestar's eyes water. Graystripe explains that this is Tigerclan camp, and that mound is Bonehill, which is basically like Highrock. Tigerstar is seen demonstrating this as he climbs up the bones and calls a clan meeting. He declares that it's time for the trials to begin

Some of the halfclan prisoners are brought out to stand before the Bonehill. They all look just as thin as Graystripe, and the younger cats among them looked terrified. Stonefur stands protective and tall over Graystripe's kits, casting hatred filled glares at Tigerstar and Leopardstar who sits at the Bonehill's base, watching everything without a care or a sign of interest. Cats cheer as Tigerstar begins to make a speech, riling up the crowd and turning them against the halfclan cats. Through the group, Firestar sees Darkstripe and flexes his claws in anger, thinking of how treacherous the dark tabby is. Then Firestar spots Bramblepaw sitting not too far from Leopardstar. He looks very uncomfortable to say the least, his gaze shifting from Tigerstar to Graystripe's kits and back again every so often.

Stonefur tries to quell the clan's hatred, reminding cats that he and Mistyfoot have always been loyal to Riverclan. Plus they'd only found out about Bluestar being their mother a few moons ago. Tigerstar doesn't care. He challenges Stonefur, telling him that if he wants to prove his loyalty so badly, then he must kill the two halfclan apprentices beneath him. Stonefur outright refuses. Tigerstar doesn't hesitate to send Blackfoot to attack and attempt to kill the deputy for his disobedience.

As they fight, a yowl breaks out through the crowd. It's Bramblepaw. Blackfoot and Stonefur pause in their death battle as the young apprentice steps in front of them to speak. Bramblepaw can't stand to watch these innocent cats die. He tries his best to persuade his father that these cats aren't bad. He reminds Tigerstar that since he is Shadowclan's leader, and Goldenflower is from Thunderclan, technically his kits are halfclan. If Tigerstar wants to purge the forest of all halfclan cats, then he'd have to get rid of Bramblepaw too. For a moment Tigerstar is silent and Firestar thinks the little tom has gotten through to him. But then, coldly, Tigerstar responds "So be it." He calls Blackfoot off Stonefur to attack Bramblepaw instead. There is no remorse shown as the tabby watches his own son be torn apart. After Bramblepaw has died, Tigerstar sends the halfclan cats away for the time being

Firestar feels sick at the sight of the young tom murdered so brutally right in front of him. Sandstorm consoles him while Graystripe points out that this is why he's so persistent about rescuing Silverstream and his kits. Firestar better understands now and has Graystripe show him the den the prisoners are held in and where he escaped from. The three warriors make it to a badly crafted makeshift den. Its formed out of thornbushes and sloppily tied together. Its easy to peer inside the den through the small gaps between the tangled branches. Sandstorm confirms she can see all the prisoners in there. Graystripe and Firestar nod. Immediately they begin to dig at the hole which was used by the gray warrior to escape, while Sandstorm keeps a lookout. The toms make the exit wider so more cats can slip out at a time. When it's big enough, Firestar pops his head inside and guides the cats out. Graystripe herds them along while Firestar ensures everyone's made it out. Before they run away, Firestar goes into the empty clearing by Bonehill to pay his last respects to Bramblepaw, who's body still lays where he had died. Firestar gives the young tom a lick and apologizes for not protecting him. He promises to tell Goldenflower about how brave he was. Then, as the sounds of cats approaching grows, Firestar returns to the rescue party

They run away as Tigerclan starts to realize the prisoners have escaped. The rescue party gets chased all the way to stepping stones and across the river. Luckily its passed sundown so Cinderpath and Brightheart have returned with a backup patrol. Thunderclan fights off the offending Tigerclan warriors, taking the prisoners into their ranks and directing them to camp. When the enemy is defeated the warriors all return home, eager to hear what Firestar's discovered on this mission

Firestar waits to tell the clan his news, going straight for the nursery. Inside he finds Goldenflower and Sasha talking while watching Willowpelt's kits. Firestar asks to speak with the golden queen alone for a few moments. Sasha herds the kits out of the den. Then, Firestar breaks the news of Bramblepaw's death. Goldenflower wails so loud cats outside are bound to hear it. In fact they do, as Tawnypaw comes to find out what's wrong with her mother. Goldenflower grabs Tawnypaw and cuddles her closely as she cries and tells her daughter the fate of her littermate. Tawnypaw begins to sob but does so quieter than her mother. Goldenflower swears vengeance on Tigerstar, wanting to tear up his hide not just for watching, but for ordering the death of their son. Firestar leaves to let the mollies grieve together in peace.

Firestar calls the clan together. He speaks about the horrors he had seen in Tigerclan's camp and about the trial held against halfclan cats. He speaks of Bramblepaw's bravery in the face of this barbaric ritual, and of his sacrifice. Then Firestar introduces the former Tigerclan prisoners, telling Thunderclan that these cats have a place here until the threat has been eliminated. Dustpelt remarks that he's sorry for what's happened to these cats, but how will the clan feed them? It's leaf-bare and the clan can only catch enough for themselves. Stonefur steps up, assuring that while his companions stay here they won't be a burden to the clan. They're all more than happy to help hunt in order to hold their keep. And the apprentices could help tend to the elders and queens on top of hunting. Firestar agrees to this plan.

Another order of business is then addressed. Firestar tells Thunderclan about the visions Starclan has sent him recently. Seeing Tigerclan's camp proved to him that the joint clan was the "Tiger" in the omen, and that they were to be "Lion". But in order to fight the enemy, their numbers would need to rise. It's decided that Firestar will try to recruit Windclan as their ally, and temporarily form "Lionclan".

Just as they are getting into discussing this, Onewhisker comes bursting through barrier to Thunderclan's camp. He tells Firestar that Tigerclan is attacking Windclan. No time is wasted in rounding up a battle patrol and sending it along with the battered warrior. By the time they reach Windclan camp the battle is already over. In the clearing, a cat lays curled around the body of another. It's Morningflower, mourning over Gorsepaw. Tigerstar murdered him to show the clan what can be expected if they do not join him. Tallstar takes this moment to pull Firestar aside and tells him about another message Tigerstar left. The leaders are to meet him at Fourtrees by sunhigh the next day, ready to decide if they will join Tigerclan or not. Clearly neither leader wants to join, but they'll go to the meeting regardless. Firestar and Tallstar agree to bring warriors with them, to form Lionclan and fight against Tigerclan when they inevitably attack them for not becoming one clan.

The next afternoon brings with it a metaphorical shadow of darkness. Lionclan joins together to stand in front of Tigerclan at Fourtrees. The rival clan surrounds the clearing, looking ready to pounce if given the order to. Tigerstar steps forward, asking if Tallstar and Firestar are ready to join him. Of course they say no.

More cats suddenly emerge into the clearing around Tigerclan, both strange in smell and appearance. Many of the new cats are battle scarred, and some of them are wearing collars with dog and cat teeth sticking out of them. Coming to stand beside Tigerstar is a huge black and white tom. Firestar assumes that he's the leader of these odd cats. Then a much smaller tom steps out to stand at Tigerstar's other side. This tom has piercing ice blue eyes, a bloodied collar around his neck, and claws that seem to be reinforced with large dog-teeth on his front paws. He doesn't seem like much, Firestar thinks at first. But as he stares at the little cat more, he begins to realize that the tom is familiar. This stranger looks exactly like the kitten Quince, the worried kittypet queen, had talked about losing back when Firestar was still living with twolegs. Could that really be the same cat? Tigerstar introduces this new group of cats as Bloodclan. He brought them from Twolegplace to aid in the elimination of Thunderclan and Windclan, since he knew they wouldn't join him.

Tigerstar immediately orders Bloodclan to attack his enemies. But no cat moves. The little black cat at Tigerstar's side speaks up. He introduces himself as Scourge, the leader of Bloodclan. His associate introduces himself as Bone, Bloodclan's second in command. He continues speaking for Scourge, growling threateningly at Tigerstar. He tells the tabby that only Scourge can command Bloodclan, no one would so much as flex a claw without his say-so. Firestar takes this opportunity to step forward and speak. He wants to convince these newcomers that they should not follow Tigerstar or trust him. At this time he tells all cats in attendance about what Tigerclan's leader has done since his days in Thunderclan.

Everyone is shocked. But Scourge seems unsuprised. Tigerstar tells him that none of what he's done in the past matters now. He's willing to give Bloodclan a share of the forest if they fight beside him. Firestar interjects, saying that Tigerstar will not give up even a pawprint of his kingdom or his power to anyone. Scourge seems to consider this, then moves to whisper into Bone's ear. Bone speaks up, declaring that time needs to be spent thinking over this new information. A battle will not be fought today.

Tigerstar yowls at Scourge, calling him a traitor. Goldenflower suddenly pipes up, pushing her way through the crowd to stand beside Firestar. She tells Tigerstar that it is he who is the traitor. He has no loyalty towards anyone; not his birth clan, to his new clan, his mates, or even his kits. She bares her teeth, asking the tom how he could be so cruel as to order his own son to be slaughtered. She looks towards Scourge, asking if this is really a cat he wants to ally himself with. If he really wants to partner himself with a remorseless, murderous monster. Scourge sways his tail with interest, almost smirking. Tigerstar snarls, launching himself at his ex-mate. Goldenflower wrestles around with the tom bravely, kicking his ass pretty well.

Tigerstar ends up bloody and lifeless on the floor with Goldenflower standing over him, eyes blazing and fur bristled with fury. No cat seems to want to get in her way, with the exception of Scourge. The little cat pads over to the queen, giving her a smirk and a raised tail. He comments that she'd make an excellent edition to Bloodclan. Confused and surprised by the remark, Goldenflower stares at him. She's distracted long enough for Tigerstar to wake up from losing his first life

After a moment of gaining his composure, Tigerstar throws himself at Scourge. Scourge dodges the attack, slipping beneath the much larger tabby with claws outstretched. He knocks Tigerstar onto his back and puts his dog-teeth claws onto him, slicing the Tigerclan leader open from neck to tail base. All the cats in the clearing watch as Tigerstar bleeds out and dies in front of them. When he revives, this happens another seven times until Tigerstar lays dead permanently. Then Scourge says the famous words, "your friend here thought he could control us... He was wrong."

Tallstar shakily tries to reason that the clans merely want to live out their lives in peace, not control anyone. They ask Bloodclan to leave now, apologizing for the lies Tigerstar had brought them there with. Bone steps forward to stand beside his leader. They speak quietly for a moment before Bone starts an announcement. Bloodclan does not want to leave the forest. In fact, they want to take it all. But Scourge will be fair and allow the clans three days to decide if they'll give it up, or fight on the fourth day to keep it.

When Bloodclan departs, the three remaining leaders gather together to speak with one another. Firestar and Tallstar are in immediate agreement that they're ready to fight to keep their homes. Leopardstar, however, is far less eager. In fact, she seems lost, scared even. She needs more time to decide what to do. The leaders agree to meet on the dawn of the third day to see what decision they've all made. With that, the clans depart

The next two days in Thunderclan are spent training. Every cat-from kit, to warrior, to elder-practices battling. Firestar wants everyone prepared in case Bloodclan manages to win and head for the camp to drive them all out. Firestar notices one cat in particular working extra hard. Stonefur stays out a lot of the time, mostly alone, and sometimes with Mistyfoot. Once or twice Firestar swears he's caught scent of the river on the tom's pelt, and he wonders if the deputy has been visiting his clan. On the third day at sunrise, Firestar meets with Tallstar at Fourtrees, accompanied by Stonefur. Tallstar is accompanied by Mudclaw. A third and fourth cat arrive to the clearing to join them. It's Darkflower and Oakfur of Shadowclan. Darkflower announces that she is Darkstar now. The clan had voted to make her leader after they drove Blackfoot from their ranks for being allies with both Brokenstar and Tigerstar, and for being a murderer. Firestar and Tallstar greet the new leader, then ask to know what she plans on doing about Bloodclan. Darkstar's decided Shadowclan will stand and fight alongside Lionclan. Both leaders are happy to hear the news. After chatting a while, Firestar notices Leopardstar hasn't shown up. The leaders decide to go pay her a visit.

Riverclan looks in better shape when they arrive, but cats seem to actively avoid where Leopardstar lay. When she tries to talk to a cat, they ignore her. And when the leaders and their escorts settle in the middle of their camp, Riverclan rushes to greet them-mainly Stonefur. Firestar goes to speak with Leopardstar while the rest of the cats are occupied. Leopardstar says that she's decided to take Riverclan away from the forest. But when she told the clan, not cat wanted to obey her. They've been more focused on Stonefur lately, who she reveals has been visiting camp. He brings prey and organizes patrols, making sure every cat is alright and that cats are preparing for Bloodclan. They seem to see him more as leader now than Leopardstar. Firestar calls to the clan and Stonefur, asking them to explain why they haven't been following their leader. Warriors start speaking up, saying that they'd rather follow Stonefur. Even ostracized he's put the needs of Riverclan above all else. No one can say the same about Leopardstar, who joined Tigerstar for the power, and allowed him to do all the terrible things he did without a care. Leopardstar protests that she did not speak out in fear for her life. A queen remarks that a true leader would stand against another when their clan is in danger, not tuck tail and bow before them. A senior warrior calls for the demotion of Leopardstar. More cats in the clan join in. Leopardstar bows her head in defeat, then the clan begins to cheer for Stonefur

Stonefur takes his place on Riverclan's version of Highrock and thanks the clan for choosing him to become their leader. As his first order of business he declares that the clan will join in the fight to save the forest. The clan cheers breaks out into an uproar of approval. The other leaders decide to leave to allow Riverclan to get ready

The final preparations are made just before dawn the next morning. The apprentices help Ravensong bring herbs to Fourtrees. Cinderpath insists she at least help guard the medicine cat during the fight, since she's not allowed to battle Bloodclan due to her pregnancy. Firestar reluctantly agrees to his friend's demands. Then he sets the queens to guard camp. With everything as ready as it can be, the warriors head out.

At the edge of the clearing, Thunderclan pauses in the bushes. During this time, Firestar takes the chance to look at his warriors. His eyes fall first upon his loves, Sandstorm and Graystripe, then drift towards Cloudtail, his niece, his only clan kin. Next Firestar's eyes land on his best friends Ravensong and Cinderpath, who set up their herbs where they now stand. Then he observes Brightheart and Swiftstrike, his first apprentice and the rebel, two of the bravest cats among their ranks. Firestar continues to study each cat in the line as they await the other clans, wondering which among them he might be seeing alive for the last time.

Riverclan, Shadowclan, and Windclan arrive at Fourtrees not too long after Thunderclan. They merge together into one to form Lionclan before marching down towards the Great Rock, led by Firestar. Over the horizon Bloodclan comes marching into the clearing, with Scourge at the head. The two leaders stand face to face in front of their respective groups. Firestar declares they will not leave without a fight. The forest belongs to the clans. Scourge laughs at the firey tom's boldness, ordering his cats to attack. Lionclan surges forward to meet them.

During the battle at some point, Darkstripe leaps out of the mob and attacks Firestar. It seems the dark tabby has joined Bloodclan after the death of Tigerstar. While fighting, Firestar asks him why he'd fight on the side of his best friend's killer. Darkstripe admits he has only joined Scourge's side for protection, and to see Firestar die. And right now it seems that he is the one who wants to cause said death. Darkstripe has the Thunderclan leader pinned, ready to sink his teeth into his neck. But as he parts his jaws to do so, Graystripe comes charging over, body slamming himself into the dark tabby warrior. He lifts a paw, slitting open Darkstripe's throat. The fully gray warrior watches as his older brother slowly fades and dies at last. There's a bit of grief glistening in Graystripe's eyes, but triumph overall seems to dictate his features. He looks at Firestar with a smile, telling him that he'll never let anything happen to his best friend and mate. Firestar thanks him for saving his life and the two take off in opposite directions to fight more cats.

Firestar spies Bone in the crowd, standing over Whitestorm's body. It seems Pebblepaw, Finchpaw, and Tawnypaw have noticed as well, and attack him. But Bone manages to break free from the Thunderclan's apprentices' grip. The large black and white tom spots Firestar watching him and barrels towards in the leader's director, ready to kill him. But before they can meet, apprentices from all the clans come surging forward, taking Bone down and killing him within a matter of moments

Firestar takes off into the crowd. He finally finds Scourge through the mass of cats fighting against Sandstorm. Firestar charges, knocking the black cat away from his mate. Sandstorm goes to battle elsewhere while the two leaders fight. Things get heated quickly. Scourge strikes a hard blow to Firestar's forehead, breaking through his skull, and kills him (cause that's how it happened in canon. Not a slice to the throat)

Firestar awakes in Starclan. Bluestar's there to greet him, and Whitestorm is there as well; by his paws their kin, Pigeonpaw and Cloverpaw, bounce around their cousin and grandmother. The two older cats tell Firestar that he's lost his first life. Between them a faint ghostly form of the flame colored tom appears. Firestar, stressed and in desperate need to return home, asks the former leader to send him back. The clans are losing and Bloodclan may rule the forest. He wants to know if this is Starclan's will, if they will not step up and help them drive these invaders out. The clans have always fought to uphold what Starclan's desired, to keep order and for four clans to remain in the forest.

Bluestar explains that Starclan is merely a guide, not an entity which can control cats. They can help in little ways-by sending signs, and occasionally granting powers-but overall they are spectators. It is up to the living to find their destinies, to determine outcomes. A perfect case of this, Bluestar points out, is the fifth clan that was driven from the forest. Firestar barely has time to register this before he's brought back to life, with Starclan's promise that no matter what, even as guides, they fight alongside him. Before he awakens, the Thunderclan leader sees all of the nine cats who'd given him his lives appear to see him off.

Awake and fully recovered, Firestar tracks Scourge down again. The Bloodclan leader is genuinely shocked to see the tom alive, having watched him die. Firestar boasts about Starclan fighting by his side, and granting him nine lives. Scourge gets mad at this and attacks.

While they fight, Firestar talks about why he thinks Scourge wants to drive the clans from the forest. He guesses it's because they'd attacked him as a kitten, and as a result Scourge wanted revenge. Sure, gaining more territory and access to live prey was also a driving factor, but the core motive for trying to take over was to exact revenge. Firestar asks Scourge if his hunch is correct. Scourge growls, and manages to gain the advantage, pinning Firestar onto his back. The Bloodclan leader laughs. He answers his enemy's question with a yes, then boasts that vengeance is his at last. He'll kill Firestar eight more times, just as he did with Tigerstar. As he lifts his claws to deal another killing blow to Thunderclan's leader, Scourge proclaims, "I am leader of Bloodclan. I am Scourge. And I. Have. Won!"

Just as he gets that last word out, Firestar strikes, slicing open Scourge's throat. Scourge chokes on the blood that begins to pour from the wound and falls over. He gives a few more jerks, staring up at Firestar when he stands before he lay still. Bloodclan's leader is defeated.

It doesn't take long for Bloodclan cats to notice Scourge has been killed. When the word spreads they scatter like mice. Lionclan celebrate their victory with a chorus of yowls

Lionclan soon starts to dissolve back into four clans. They collect their dead as the leaders briefly meet to touch bases. Firestar reports that Whitestorm, Willowpelt, Ashfall, and Thornclaw have been killed in battle. Then the other leaders give news of their dead. The once-prisoners of Tigerclan come over to Firestar. Graystripe, Silverstream, and their kits ask if they can stay with Thunderclan. Silversteam explains that the current Riverclan is not like the one she'd grown up in; the Riverclan her father, Crookedstar, had led. She'd be better off starting fresh in a clan that doesn't care about who's blood she or her kits may carry. Mistyfoot understandably wants to go back to her home clan, along with her kits. Stonefur says he'll be more than happy to accept his sister, and asks her to rule at his side as clan deputy, once he gains his nine lives. Firestar agrees to all of this and turns to lead his clan home

A moon passes. Life returns to normal in the forest. In Thunderclan camp, they welcome Silversteam and Cinderpath as queens. Cinderpath has just had her litter of kits: Icekit, a deaf pure white mollykit, and Birchkit, a silver shaded white tomkit who looks just like grandma Willowpelt. Sasha and Goldenflower are mates now, raising Sasha's kits: Hawkkit who's a longhaired seal point siamese tomkit, Mothkit who's a longhaired ginger mollykit, and Tadpolekit who is a siamese tomkit. Pebblepaw and Finchpaw have been named warriors: Pebblestep and Finchsong. Sandstorm has been named the new deputy and is taking to her new position in the clan quite naturally. And Firestar leads the clan with pride and wisdom, finally adjusted to his roll. Over the past moon he's thought long about what happened at Fourtrees; the battle with Bloodclan, the loss of his first life, and the news of a fifth clan. Firestar doesn't know what may come in the future, if things will be quite like that, but he knows one thing for sure; Starclan will always there to guide them and to fight by his side.

#warrior cats #wcs #warrior cats rewrite #warriors: the darkest hour #the darkest hour #viti's rewrite

[booksndraspberryjam]

21 questions

I got tagged by rei rei (too bad I’m calling you this wether you like it or not) so here it goes! @buckyforbreakfast

Tagging a few people who can do it if they feel like it! @notimetoblog @sebbysbuck @sebbysstangirl @strawberrybucky @sincerelymlg @writing-and-procrastinating @whocaresifyoudisagree ✨

Rules: Answer 21 questions and then tag 21 people who you want to get to know better.

Nickname: viti, vit or pipi (tho only my siblings call me pipi)

Zodiac: a very unusual Aries

Height: 5’2”

Last movie I saw: uhh I saw at the airplane mamma mia: here we go again, it was good and made me wanna go to grecce and sing abba

Last thing googled: zara’s online website in Spain

Favorite musician: the lumineers, hozier, aurora, mumford and sons, gabrielle aplin, sam smith, birdy, james arthur

Song stuck in my head: rewrite the stars by James Arthur (tho I love the Zendaya and Zac version too)

Other blogs: none!

Do I get asks: not really, so feel free to do it! I would love to

Following: 41, so feel free to reblog so I can follow more blogs!!

Amount of sleep: between 7-8 hours, I cannot function with more or less hours than that

Lucky number: uhh idk

What I’m wearing: mom fits and a light blue sweater

Dream job: doing something really cool in the entertainment industry (I’m majoring to become an actress) or starring in anything with seb or adelaide kane or anne hathaway or keira knightley or rdj or toby regbo well you get it

Dream trip: Italy or UK with my best friend or alone I really don’t care

Favorite food: pizza, pasta, idk i also really like veggies and fruits and im vegetarian so...

Play any instruments: lmao nO, in fact in music during school i had to go to summer school because i played the guitar so poorly 😂👏🏼

Languages: spanish and english, but i wish to learn italian so i’ll probably do that this year (i won’t but let me pretend i will)

Random fact: i have hypothyroidism and im very complicated when buying shoes (in fact the ones i bought on this trip i bought them in zara kids cause i have small feet)

also, im a premature baby. i was born on the 6th month and spent 3 months in an incubator and then i had nurses living at my house, i wore an oxygen tank until my first year but i was supposed to wear it until i was 6, luckily it didn’t come to that.

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: rainy days, scottish highlands, books, tea, long road trips, flower fields and idk what else

[sapphicalexaandra]

Your Deepest Desires (1/4)

Pairing: Jace/Alec

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Summary:  The meeting with the Seelie Queen didn't go as planned, and now Jace and Alec have to face the consequences of their awakened feelings.

Notes: A Canon Divergence, rewriting of the Seelie Court kiss (and beyond), but with Jalec. Read tags for further information. 

Chapter 1

“Is it fair, or is it fate?”

“Not so fast.”

Before any of them could make a move or realize what was going on, vines – thick, thorny, deadly-looking – sprouted from the earth and went to coil themselves around them. Not all of them. 

Simon, Jace and Magnus were trapped in a matter of seconds, bodies, hands and necks tightly constrained by a spiral of vines.

Clary and Alec found themselves free, however. Shouting in protest at their friends’ captivity, they turned towards the smiling, petite figure of the Seelie Queen.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t try to struggle too much…the vitis veritas answers only to me. And you really thought I’d let you go without getting nothing in return? My, my, such guests….”

“No reason to get so violent about it, Your Majesty,” came the strained voice of a struggling Jace trying to fight with his constraints. The more he moved, the more tightly the plants coiled around him, till he became very red in the face.

Clary and Alec shared a look, to acknowledge their confusion for their freedom as well as the fact that they were now the only people standing between the Queen and their friends.

(He always found himself teamed up with the little girl, for some reason, mused Alec.)

He nodded at Clary anyway, urging her to stay on the ready. He would’ve very much liked to advise her to keep her antagonizing look down by a notch, but he couldn’t afford that at the moment.

Stiffly, but trying to not look it, Alec turned his attention to their guest once more. He must not have the situation escalate further.

“Your Majesty, what is your request?” he asked, the more politely he could muster over the alarm he felt in his bones.

He knew that behind the innocent façade the Seelie Queen was dangerous, in a cold, calculated way, in her carelessness for anything mortal…so he had to study his every move.

The entire team stopped struggling to listen intently to the Queen’s words.

She smiled sweetly, if that was possible.

“A kiss,” her voice reverberated throughout the entire chamber, “is all I require.”

Alec blinked. Between all the scenarios he had been thinking up, that wasn’t one of them.

Sharing another dumbfounded look with Clary, he turned towards their equally surprised friends to inconspicuously survey their states of distress, as Clary spoke: “Do you want one of us to kiss you?”

Alec looked back at the Queen. He was the new appointed Head of the New York Institute, he was responsible for this meeting as well as for the lives of his team, the stability of a peaceful relationship with the Downworld hindering on this very moment...but he really hoped beyond hope that the fall wouldn’t be on him. He had had his fair share of public kisses worth a lifetime, thank you very much.

A trilling laugh was the only thing heard from the Queen. As it went on for longer than it'd be comfortable, the air surrounding them became even tenser, and Alec ached for his bow, left outside in the hands of the Seelie guards.

“Oh no, the kiss is not for me, it is for you.”

She looked pointedly at Alec and Clary.

Wait, she couldn’t mean…

Like she had read his thoughts, Clary turned towards him with eyes as big as saucers.

Could she had singled them out because of that? Please, no…

Alec swore he heard Jace snort behind them, the idiot.

“No,” the Queen looked to be enjoying herself immensely, “the kiss is not between you two, even if that’d be…interesting…” She giggled, for once really selling the part of the prepubescent child.

Thank god, thought Alec anyway.

(If only he had known…)

Suddenly, the ground started trembling and shifting beneath them once more. New panic enveloped Alec as Simon, Jace and Magnus, still in constraints, were darted by the moving vines half across the room.

“Please, don’t hurt them!” shouted Clary.

“We will do what you ask!” pleaded Alec, half shouting as well.

“Of course, you will,” came the brisk reply of the Queen. And in the blink of an eye, beneath her child-like feature, her child-like behavior, the iron-grip was visible again, making it impossible to believe in everything that was happening as just a cruel, voyeuristic joke. Because it clearly wasn’t.

Two paths punctuated by leaves had created in front of Alec's and Clary’s feet. Half way, they each separated into three more paths leading to the frustrated hostages, with which they shared pained looks. Simon looked nervous. Magnus looked furious. Jace seemed determined to not give the Queen the entertainment she desired.

“Let’s play a game, shall we?” continued her. “You two.”

Alec and Clary reluctantly turned at her words yet again.

“You’ll have to kiss one of them.”

That couldn’t be as easy at is sounded, reflected Alec apprehensively.

“Which – which one, Your Majesty?” asked Clary. Her stubborn look was back, as she stared directly into the Queen’s eyes; only the hesitancy in her voice hinted at her real feelings.

“Oh, you’ll have to decide that.” She cocked her head to one side. She is the puppet master, Alec couldn't help but think, and we are her puppets. “Both of you, walk through the aisles, and when you get to the crossroad…you’ll have to make your choice. The kiss that will set them free is the kiss you most desire...but only one kiss must happen. You’ll have to decide which one of you desires that kiss the most.”

Alec tried to wrap his head around all of that. Whoever…desires the kiss the most…will have to kiss who they desire the most? Why must Seelies always be so cryptic?

He found Clary’s perplexed gaze once more. What kind of day were they having?

“But how can one quantify that?” Alec started tentatively. The thought was seriously nagging at him. “How can we know who desires the kiss the most? It’s…it’s an impossible task what you ask us, Your Majesty.” Alec hoped she would listen to reason.

“Oh, that’s not my problem. It will have to be yours. And if you don’t choose right…you can very well say goodbye to your friends.”

There it is. The ball had dropped.

 Alec closed his eyes for a moment.

“But! But you can’t ask us –!”

He held out a hand towards Clary to stop her words.

“We will!” Alec quickly covered for her. The Queen had seemed ready to explode at Clary’s disrespect. “We will do as you wish, Your Majesty,” he added, trying to express a confidence in his words that he wasn’t feeling.

“Go on, then.” All the playfulness had gone from her words. She waved an impatient hand their way, urging them.

Alec went to grab Clary by the arms to face her. “We’ll get through this, okay? We’ll – we’ll figure it out. One step at a time, alright?”

Clary nodded, swallowing down her nerves. “I guess…we’ll just have to feel it, don’t we?” There was a hint of a smirk on her face.

Mundanes (or ex-mundanes) and their feelings. Alec hadn’t hated having them as well more in his life.

(That wasn’t exactly true – not then, surely not later.)

He rolled his eyes at Clary. Any semblance of normalcy was welcome at this point.

They positioned themselves in front of the paths. The three at the other end were looking very pale and somber right now.

They still all nodded in reassurance. Alec tried to draw strength from his boyfriend’s determination that he could see in his eyes (it must be so hard for him, not being able to use magic to snap them all out of there…), and from the faith he could feel coming from his parabatai bond like warming waves of deep-seethed trust. He didn’t know if he deserved it right now. He really didn’t know what they were going to do.

“If we had to take a guess though, I’ve known Simon for basically my entire life,” Clary said, as she pointedly looked at her boyfriend, sending him a reassuring smile.

“Well, but you have been with him less that I’ve been with Magnus, don’t you think?” he shot back. He saw Magnus grin back at him.

“But that’s not really how–”

“More quickly, if you don’t mind.” It was clear the Queen was the one who minded. “Actually, I’m feeling generous. I will facilitate this for you.”

The lights in the chamber abruptly lowered, and they were immersed in a nerve-wrecking semi-light coming from the now fluorescent paths in front of them.

Seelies had too much free time on their hands, clearly.

“Love is brighter in the dark*, as they say. Why such somber faces? You should be thanking me. Go on, close your eyes and let your deepest desires guide you. And you will know the answer.”

She giggled some more. She seemed to be laughing at something only she knew. Shockingly, none of this quenched Alec’s nerves. She was at her own private theater, enjoying a show of her own creation. It couldn’t end well. One wrong move…

They took a tentative step forward.

“We can do this. I guess…at the end whoever feels they want to do it the most should be the right answer, right? And that person will have to step forward.” Clary’s reasoning wasn’t entirely bad.

“Let’s hope so.”

Let’s not think about having to kiss as a spectacle in front of a self-complacent Queen and her court. It was better if he started ignoring their presence straight away. Think about what you’re trying to do for the Downworld…this will have to be worth it, for the Queen’s, if not trust, at least agreement to future collaborations.  

They started walking slowly.

He needed something to ground him, so Alec chose to look at Magnus, who nodded at him with warmth in his eyes, and Alec felt sure for a moment that it would all go alright. He felt his resolve strengthen. He had this.

Everything was quiet, so damn quiet, Alec could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He was almost at the crossroad. He could do this, it wouldn’t be a problem, he just had to focus on –

Your deepest desires.

He felt his heart skip a beat. He was at the converging paths.

Let your deepest desires guide you... or you can very well say goodbye to your friends…

The words of the Queen echoed strangely in his mind, and he suddenly just…couldn’t breathe.

The kiss that will set them free…

Images, first confused, then clearer and clearer, had started to twirl in front of his eyes. Alec felt himself stop on his tracks without having consciously given his body the command.

…is the kiss you most desire.

Alec felt his vision go completely blurry. He could’ve very well been the one with deadly vines wrapped around his neck.

This…this can’t be happening.

Yet, his eyes started moving on their own accord, no matter how much he wanted to scream to tell them to stop. Sliding down the fluorescent lines before his boyfriend, who he vaguely noticed was looking at him worriedly, they reached Alec’s own feet. Another two paths started from there.

He, stubbornly, tried to resume the steps he had meant to take. This wasn’t happening. He went to put a foot forward.

He – he couldn’t.

He couldn’t go on.  

“Alec, what’s wrong?”

His blood was boiling. Something like a flame, an old feeling, an impossible feeling, was forming and mounting in the pit of his stomach, inexorably, inescapably.

Alec slowly raised his eyes towards who had spoken.

Jace.

“No one knows.”

Jace should’ve known – he knew, that dealing with Seelies was never a simple matter.

Alec had scheduled the meeting, as the new Head of the New York Institute, with the Seelie Queen to discuss recent events, like the fact that one of her subjects had been causing havoc between Shadowhunters and Downworlders by making it look like her kills were the start of a Downworlder uprising. They needed to know if the Queen had had any hand in that, and Alec had hoped the Seelie’s impossibility to lie was going to prevail over her ability to manipulate the truth. It was a delicate, crucial task.

Magnus had chosen to come along for magical support. Jace and Clary had been requested, as Valentine’s experiments, and so had been the daylighter. Such they all went, crossing into the Seelie realm into an eerie, misleadingly calm forest.

The meeting hadn’t started well and it sure as hell didn’t end well.

The Queen, an ancient creature who had chosen to bear the looks of a child, had been cryptic and avoidant. Much time was wasted trying to courtesy to her needs, walking on egg shells in fear of angering or upsetting her. Simon had been a right nuisance in that department; Jace still wondered the exact need the Queen had had of him.

At some point, she had taken aside Magnus and Simon for some private discussions, and Jace, Alec and Clary had in the meanwhile agreed on ending their visit as soon as possible. They had managed, at least, to learn that the Queen wasn’t an accomplice in the murders; that would be enough for now.

When they had tried, as properly and respectfully as possible, to take their leave, that was when the hell had started.

Being tied, rather painfully, by a glorified rope at the end of a glittering path where he would have to witness a kiss – either one it ended up being – he really didn’t care to witness (again, he might add), was not the kind of day Jace had imagined having. No matter how much he had prepared for trickery coming from their guest.

Alec and Clary were slowly making their way towards them and Jace could feel the tension deep in his bones. One wrong move…and the three of them were dead.

“Just lovely,” he mumbled crossly.

“Tell me about it,” was Magnus's equally frustrated comment; his hands were specifically tied together behind his back. He, at least, had something to look forward to, though, mused Jace. If it didn’t end up in death, that is.

“I bet you’re regretting being a daylighter now, aren’t you, Simon?” Jace couldn't help but turn and tease the vampire. If he managed to dissolve the tension, they should only be thanking him.

“Do you think this is the right time to be mean to me, really?” came Simon's pouting reply. Classic.

Jace was distracted from his attempt at amusing himself, however, by the resounding waves of anxiety and trepidation coming to him from his parabatai. That sensation went on to set heavily on him, so much that he could feel it strangling him more than the vines were doing.

Jace couldn’t afford to doubt Alec and Clary in that moment; he wouldn’t doubt their ability to work together. They might be both too stubborn and prickly with one another, but at the end of the day they’d come through. He knew it. And he had already laid out his life for Alec to take and protect with his own, forever, a long time ago. He tried to convey all this to him, through the paths connecting them via their bond. He would’ve smiled at him if Alec hadn’t been looking at Magnus, the fact strangely irritating him.

Seriously, though, Jace’s presence there was entirely superfluous. He could’ve easily waited outside while his ex-sister (and ex-ex) and his parabatai chose who had to kiss their boyfriend in front of a room full of ogling seelies. He could’ve been spared the near-death experience, but, he guessed, where would the fun had been in that for the Queen.

Unless…but Clary wouldn’t. She had told him in no unclear words, as well as he himself had seen it, that she was happy with the nerd vamp Simon. Right now, she was anxiously but surely walking towards him with all the abandon in this world. She didn’t desire Jace in that way anymore.

Did he, though, still? Once upon a time, certainly…but in those circumstances, he wouldn’t desire the kiss. In that moment, he felt it far away from his main concerns.

Jace found himself turning his eyes away from Clary and towards Alec. Two public kisses in so many months…he personally didn’t care, but Alec was a very sensitive and reserved person. Jace felt real hot anger burning in him then, and he wished he could do more than glare at the gleeful form of the Queen watching attentively, who dared cause such discomfort to his parabatai.

He was teared away from his musing by a new, sudden, harsh sensation, that he realized a second later was still coming from Alec. It caught Jace completely off guard, as it took ahold of him. He saw how Alec abruptly stopped in his tracks, looking positively green, so much that he could’ve confounded himself with the surroundings. And that sense of dread…it was far, far stronger than it was a moment before, and it was keeping Alec rooted in place, completely frozen.

Why? What had happened?

 “Alec, what’s wrong?” Jace asked him, worry embedded in his words.

Clary had stopped too, already with a foot towards Simon (Jace had seen right, but, strangely enough, the thought didn’t even begin to cause him any distress), and was looking back as well, confused, at Alec. She must have noticed the green complexion too.

It seemed to pass an eternity before Alec slowly, very slowly, raised his eyes and looked straight at Jace. The expression on his face made the latter raise his eyebrows even more. He was feeling a real hurricane of emotions coming from Alec, yet he couldn’t tell what was going on. It was all too jumbled and too much, and his heart started beating very fast, the now exponential uncertainty of the situation making it hard to breathe.   

A giggle…no, a full-blown laugh, suddenly erupted from the other end of the room. It was more than the Queen had ever laughed so far, and that said a lot. Jace felt his head spinning. What was she planning now?

Jace looked on his left at Magnus, to see what he would say of the situation. Magnus’s face was a blank expression. He purposefully didn’t look back at him.

Something was edging at the back of Jace’s mind, on the verge of surfacing. But right then, the vines around his neck tightened even more. He couldn’t grab them with his hands to try and loosen them a bit, so he was left gasping for breath, the sharp thorns digging into his flesh. His companions weren’t in a better situation.

Alec seemed to come out of a daze, starting to frantically look at their struggles, his eyes darting back and forth between him and Magnus without seeming to settle.

…wait.

“Choose, then! Or they will be dead, dead, dead, very soon,” came the ringing, childish voice of the Queen.

Alec closed his eyes, his face scrunched in a pain rarely seen in him, and just as Jace was starting to finally catch on, he saw his parabatai take a final breath…and come striding towards him.

…oh.

Alec was staring right at him, eyes wide, panicked, apologetic…and as he felt the vines loosening, Jace couldn’t mask the shock and trepidation from his face as well.

Oh.

Alec was always the cautious one, the level-headed one, so either he did everything with exceptional study…or he plunged right into what he couldn’t control.

It all happened in a matter of seconds, from the moment Jace realized, to when he saw, to when he felt Alec’s hands cup his face and his lips crush on his.

The rough first contact felt oh so desperate, an unceremoniously rushed affair, yet it was – engulfing.

Time seemed to slow down then, and Jace found himself inexplicably lost; in the moment, in the body pressing against him as if its life depended on it, in the lips moving on his with such an indescribable want that made him open his mouth to them in a relenting gasp, to savor it all better, deeper. Their tongues grazed each other, and a chill spread throughout Jace’s entire body.

At the back of his mind, Jace knew where he was, that they were committing one of the most sacred and inadmissible crimes for any Shadowhunter who had a parabatai…

Yet, in that moment, he couldn’t have cared less. Alec’s lips were unrelenting against his own, and he tasted sweet, softer than he would’ve thought. Jace felt more and more intoxicated every second that went by. When he went to hold Alec a little tighter to himself, Jace realized he had put his arms around him in the first place.

It was Alec. He was uninhibitedly kissing Alec. He should’ve stopped – yet, again, he couldn’t find it in himself to find the oddness, or the wrongness, or any reason in it, for why it shouldn’t be the rightest thing they could be doing right then and there. The place, the crowd, the fatality of the moment didn’t matter.

When more shivers ran through him, he let them, a pleasure starting from the tip of his toes, through all the places where he could feel the pressure of Alec’s body against his, to the skin deliciously brushing against skin, till the hands that were still firmly but tenderly cradling his head.

Every one of his nerve endings was on fire, and he could feel that same fire reverberating just as well in Alec. They had never been more in sync, not even in battle. He could feel every emotion, every sensation, passing from one of them to the other.

He – they – felt joyous. All the fear and anxiousness forgotten, he – they – felt euphoric. Yet, a sadness permeated.

Why was he sad?

Jace started opening his eyes, while their lips finally, reluctantly, parted. They were still breathing the same electric air, and his mouth was already starting to tingle, aching at the loss of contact.

He looked up at Alec – it was strange, looking up after a kiss, yet it had that very same rightness to it Jace couldn’t explain to himself in that moment – and what he found there…shocked him to the core more than anything else.

Alec’s eyes were boring into his own, so intensely, so deeply, so lovingly, he felt blinded by it for a second…but his expression was also one of sorrow. Jace thought he could see some dampness. That expression lasted no more than a blink of an eye.

After that, he was back in the reality. Jace could feel the ground under his feet again, and he could take in the uncomfortable, averting looks of their friends, of Alec’s boyfriend.

Knowing his face must’ve looked entirely star-struck, Jace still couldn’t bring himself to divert his attention from Alec. He felt like he should say something, anything that would ease his turmoil, or give some sense to what had just happened.

He was left with his mouth gaping open, however, as Alec, like from being burned, forcefully took his hands away from him and, not looking at anyone, bolted out of the room.

Nobody was moving.

“Alec!” Jace called out after him, still staring at the spot he had just vanished in.

The Queen was talking to someone, he heard something on the line of “You see, Shadowhunters will always choose their own kind…” said in such a grave tone that would’ve peaked his concern in any other circumstances, but he couldn’t think, he had to get to Alec, he couldn’t just let him go away like that!

“Let him go,” tried to stop him the strained voice of Magnus.  But Jace was already halfway out of the room as he breathlessly shot back, “No, I won’t,” and followed his parabatai’s footsteps. No one else tried to stop him.

Outside, in the shadow of trees and the eerie silence of the Seelie realm, there was no one to be found.

“Alec! Alec, wait!” he tried shouting to the emptiness surrounding him.

His parabatai, the person who mattered the most to him in this world, had just revealed his deepest desire (yet again) in front of everyone, he had just kissed him with such abandon, with everything he had, and now all Jace could feel from his end of their bond was grief, humiliation, desperation more than he’d ever felt… and he couldn’t give up until he made sure Alec was okay again.

Pushing down his own turmoil that he could feel hitching to come to the surface, Jace started to run.

#my post #shadowhunters #jalec #jalec fic #my fic #seelie court kiss au #your deepest desires #my writing

[stargleam-star]

Warriors Rewrite Pt 8: The New Prophecy

Quick note: this is going to be a short summary of all 6 books

The first book takes place seven moons after the epilogue of Firestar's Quest. Tawnypelt has just been named a warrior, her ceremony is late due to Firestar being away for a while. Firestar's kits-Squirrelpaw, Leafpaw, and Emberpaw-have been apprentices for a full moon. Squirrelpaw has Siverstream as a mentor, Emberpaw has Cinderpath, and Leafpaw is apprenticed under Ravensong

The Fire triplets have that special psychic connection that Leafpaw and Squirrelpaw did in the first books of tnp. This does not fade over time

Squirrelpaw is the one who receives the Sun-Drown-Place prophecy from Starclan, and is followed by Tawnypelt who wants to keep her out of trouble. They meet up at Fourtrees with the other prophecy cats who are: Primrosetail of Riverclan (who's been followed by her brother Reedwhisker. These two are Mistyfoot's kits), Crowpaw of Windclan, and Rowanclaw of Shaowclan

Crowpaw is lithe dark gray with blue eyes, Rowanclaw is broad shouldered and with golden eyes, Reedwhisker is black with amber eyes, and Primrosetail is blue-gray -the same color as Bluestar-with blue eyes

On the journey, Reedwhisker acts as the leader. He's a natural thanks to his mother being deputy and his uncle and grandmother being Riverclan and Thunderclan's leaders respectively. Leading runs in his blood. Tawnypelt makes a good second in command and keeps the apprentices in check. She gets along well with both Squirrelpaw and Crowpaw, acting as a referee at times. Though Squirrelpaw and Crowpaw annoy each other a lot they also end up getting pretty close by the end of their trip. Primrosetail is the quiet motherly cat of the group, making sure nobody gets left behind and that everyone is fed and warm. Rowanclaw mainly keeps to himself; he's more focused on the task at hand than anything else. Though he does find himself enjoying the new landscape and learning about the Tribe

The Journey cats still meet with Midnight, and still meet the Tribe to help fight Sharptooth. The Tribe believes at first that it is Crowpaw who's prophesied to save them. But really it's Reedwhisker; in this rewrite he takes Feathertail's place. The Tirbe prophecy says something about a dark colored cat, rather than a silver cat in this case. When Reedwhisker dies, Tawnypelt takes up the leadership position in the group with Rowanclaw's help

While they're gone, disaster strikes the clans. Twolegs are tearing apart the forest like in canon. Both Leafpaw and Emberpaw are captured. Leafpaw eventually manages to escape but Emberpaw gets stuck while trying to free other clan cats. He's made a kittypet and adopted by a twoleg family who calls him Ginger.

With all that set up, we start off with three POV's: Squirrelpaw with her warrior's training and the journey, Leafpaw with her medicine cat training, and Emberpaw with a view into the life of a kittypet

When the journey cats get home they urge the clans to leave the forest for their safety. Before they go, however, Leafpaw insists they find Emberpaw. So she and the journey cats work together to search Twolegplace and eventually break him free. The Fire triplets' connection is what leads them to find Emberpaw's location. Primrosetail is the one who comes up with the plan to bust the young tom out

On the journey to the lake, Emberpaw bonds with Primrosetail. He's grateful to her for figuring out a way to free him. Meanwhile, Leafpaw bonds with Rowanclaw. She's intrigued by him; currently he's Shadowclan's deputy, but despite this he'd gone off on the trip to Sun-Drown-Place. He claims it's because it was for the best for Shadowclan, and clearly it's saved them now.

At the lake, the clans settle in. Squirrelpaw and Emberpaw are the first cats to be made warriors in their new home: they're named Squirrelflight and Emberpath. Squirrel is named for her speedy trip to Sun-Drown-Place to discover their new home, and Ember is named for the path he had to take to get here (from being captured, to getting free from the twolegs, and to finally joining his clanmates on the journey). Leafpaw discovers the moonpool and is named Leafpool

The POV switches between the Journey cats throughout the books.

Reedwhisker has a POV for the whole of the second book leading up to his death. Then for the last bit of the book it switches back to Squirrelpaw's POV

Primrosetail's POV shows her struggles with the loss of her brother Reedwhisker, and the tole it takes upon their mother Mistyfoot and uncle Stonestar. It also depicts her being drawn to Emberpath, the cat she'd help to rescue and walked with on the journey to the lake

With Crowfeather we witness Windclan's civil war first hand. They're fighting over who should be leader: Ashfoot, the wise deputy, or Mudclaw, the stronger warrior whom Tallstar seems to favor. We sees Crowfeather's reactions to his clanmates turning on his mother. Crowfeather starts confiding in his fellow journey-mates, Squirrelflight and Tawnypelt, for support at this time. Eventually though, it's settled that Ashfoot will be leader, and eventually she earns her nine lives. After all of this is done, though, Crowfeather continues to meet with Squirrelflight and Tawnypelt

In Rowanclaw's chapters we see his struggles with being deputy, and his growing affection for Leafpool. Eventually the two run away together, only to return to the clans upon the urgance of Midnight. Thunderclan gets attacked by badgers like in canon, while Silverstream has her new litter of kits (who are Briarkit, Bumblekit, and Blossomkit. Millie does not exiat in my rewrite). Ravensong is killed trying to keep the birthing queen safe. Rowanclaw asks Leafpool in secret to move to Shadowclan when the fight is over, but with her mentor dead and no other medicine cats in Thunderclan she has to decline. Luckily, Shadowclan and Thunderclan have no idea about their affair, thinking both cats had simply run off from the pressure of their jobs. The clans remain unaware that they were together.

Finally Tawnypelt's POV shows her meeting with her father in the Dark Forest. At first, she's still mad at him for having her brother killed. But Mothwing, Sasha's daughter and Tawnypelt's half sister, convinces her to train with them. Growing up, Mothwing had always been sensible and trustworthy. She assures Tawnypelt that Tigerstar is making amends by mentoring her; he just wants his kits to be strong respectable warriors of Thunderclan. Even if it may not be true though, Mothwing believes it. So Tawnypelt agrees to learn a few things from the former Shadowclan leader, if only to hone her skills and to protect her sister. Eventually though, Bramblepaw comes from Starclan to stop his littermate from training with their father before it's too late. He reminds her of Tigerstar's evil, and helps her to see just how nefarious the teachings she's been receiving are. After this, she stops going to the Dark Forest. But later on it turns out Tigerstar and Mothwing have been conspiring.

This comes to a head when Firestar gets caught in a fox trap by the lake thanks to Mothwing luring him there. She tells Tawnypelt that with Firestar dead, Sandstorm will be leader, and she's bound to pick one of them as her deputy. Then it's all a matter of killing the new leader so both sisters can ascend to higher power together. Tawnypelt truly realizes now how bad being around Tigerstar has messed both of them up. The sisters fight, resulting in Mothwing being stabbed by the stake of the fox trap, just like her counterpart Hawkfrost in canon

Speaking of Hawkfrost, Tawnypelt has troubles with him as well during her book. Squirrelflight has been hanging around him a lot, but he's kind of a jerk. And not to mention Tawnypelt has feeling for the small ginger molly too. So the whole love triangle thing plays out with the three of them instead

At some point in the arc (Im thinking the second half, or maybe in the last book) the cats who'd gone on the journey come up with the idea for the clans to have mediators. This role is to help keep peace, and to remind everyone of how they'd gotten along during the trip to the lake. Each cat who'd been sent the Sun-Drown-Place prophecy is elected for this new role, since they're already used to conversing with cats outside their clans

#warrior cats #wcs #warriors rewrite #warriors: the new prophecy #viti's rewrite

[stargleam-star]

Warriors Rewrite Pt 9: Power of the Stars

Quick notes: this part is a mashup of The Power of Three and Omen of the Stars since both on their own get boring with 6 books each. The Four main cats represent the wise monkeys: Hear No Evil (Dove), Speak No Evil (Holly), See No Evil (Jay), and Do No Evil (Lion). Also, this part is the last true installment to my series of rewrite posts. Maybe I will make another if I read A Vison of Shadows, buut I intend for the end of this arc to be the end of the series (as I'd thought it'd be when the canon books originally came out). I might also post about ideas for Super Editions in my rewrite, but that's about it for this series. I hope you've all enjoyed my ideas, and will like these ones as well!

The first half of the arc follows The Three. They are the children of Tawnypelt and Squirrelflight. Or so they think

In reality, The Three are not siblings, but cousins. Squirrelflight is the biological mother of Hollykit, who's sired by her mate Crowfeather. Crowfeather is also Tawnypelt's mate; the three are in a secret poly relationship. Hollykit is mostly black, but has small ginger spots on her face that look like berries, and a fluffy red tail which is oddly similar to Redtail's despite not having any biological relation to him, also her eyes are green.

Jaykit is actually the love child of Emberpath and Primrosetail. He is a blue-gray tabby with fur a very similar shade to Bluestar's. He has blue eyes like in canon with dilated pupils since he is blind.

Lionkit is the son of Leafpool and Rowanclaw, conceived while they were away from the clans. Lionkit is a large broad golden tom with amber eyes; his resemblance is very close to his namesake Lionheart

Squirrelflight, Primrosetail, and Leafpool's kittings all pretty much happened around the same time. Squirrelflight and Leafpool had hid in the forest together to give birth, while Primrosetail ended up having her kit on the Gathering Island-where she and Emberpath would meet in secret. Sensing that his sisters have given birth, Emberpath brings his little family to them so they could all be together. While staying in the hollow tree, during a nap, Leafpool receives the "kin of your kin" prophecy. When she wakes, she tells her siblings. She insists the kits be raised together so that the prophecy can be better fulfilled, and so their secret relationships wouldn't be revealed. They all agree to allow Squirrelflight to raise Lionkit and Jaykit, since no cat will question their origins due to the clan believing she was impregnated by an unconnected, unknown donor.

When The Three are apprenticed, things go a bit different than they do in canon. Lionpaw becomes the medicine cat apprentice, and Jaypaw trains as a warrior under Brightheart. Although, Starclan still tries to convince Jaypaw to be a medicine cat instead.

The toms' powers stay the same, and Hollypaw gets a power too. These powers, however, come with down sides. Jaypaw can walk in other's dreams, memories, and converse with Starclan/the Dark forest, but can never have his own normal dreams. Lionpaw is unable to be harmed in battle, but gets tired easily when attacked. And Hollypaw has the power of truth; cats can't lie to her and are more likely to divulge secrets to her. However a cat can tell her something that's actually a lie if they believe its the truth

In this rewrite, Hollypaw is the one who discovers the tunnels. Here she starts meeting up with Breezepaw, who also discovered the tunnels through Windclan territory. No, they don't have any romantic feelings for each other like their counterparts Lion/Heather do in canon, because that would be extremely gross

Breezepaw is still Crowfeather and Nightcloud's son, but things go a bit differently between them. Nightcloud is a lesbian and mates with Sorreltail. The couple really wanted to have kits, so Crowfeather volunteers to sire a litter for them, with Squirrelflight and Tawnypelt's blessing. Nightcloud lets it slip that Crowfeather is his biological father, and Breezepaw, despite having two loving mothers, feels like he should have a bond with Crowfeather too. But Crowfeather doesn't feel a connection to Breezepaw. Breezepaw's sense of entitlement is what fuels his rage and hatred for the older tom, and causes him to become a secondary villain in this series

As warriors, The Three are named Jaystrike, Lionflower (after Goldenflower and because he's a sweetheart in this rewrite), and Hollysong

Despite the strength of his powers, Lionflower uses his abilities for good. He charges into battles head on to heal the injured, even if enemy warriors try to attack him. Since he can't get hurt, he can be right on the frontlines

Jaystrike trains in the Dark Forest with Tigerstar and Mothwing as an apprentice. He wants to make up for his blindness, and so he trusts the dead leader to teach to him be stronger. He also trains there to spite Starclan, since they tried to tell him he couldn't be a warrior, he had to be a medicine cat. But one day, Jaypaw somehow manages to pull his mamma Tawnypelt into his dream with him. She sees what her son is up to and warns him of her kin's evil. She scares him pretty good; this ends up being the last time Jaypaw visits the Place Of No Stars. But because of Tigerstar's teachings, the blind warrior receives the name Jaystrike for being fierce in battle

Hawkfrost in this arc, like in the last one, is Ashfur's equivalent. He traps The Three in a fire in an attempt to kill them to hurt Squirrelflight. This is where Squirrelflight's forced to admit The Three are not her kits. When they all escape, however, she gathers them, Emberpath, and Leafpool together so the triplets can fully explain what their situation was.

Within the next day or so Hawkfrost approaches The Three, threatening to reveal the secrets of their parentage at the upcoming gathering. Jaystrike jumps into the tom's memories to see that he'd been spying on the Fire Triplets' meeting.

The next day Hawkfrost is found dead. After some investigation by Hollysong, it turns out Lionflower is the murderer. Upon his siblings' discovery of this heinous crime, he runs away into the tunnels. His adopted littermates assume he is dead, and wonder who the third cat in the prophecy will be now

The last three books of the arc follow Dovepaw and Ivypaw. They are Cloudtail and Brightheart's kits, birthed by Cloudtail this time, and sired by a random kittypet. Dovepaw is a fluffy, mostly white dilute calico with folded ears and hazel eyes. Ivypaw is a mostly white and gray dilute tabby calico with a gray tail and blue eyes; surprisingly she shares a bit of resemblance to Whitestorm.

Dovepaw is chosen to be the new medicine cat apprentice. It's obvious early on that she is the new third cat in the prophecy as well, made clear by Starclan, and discovered by Jaystrike after walking in her dreams. Dovepaw's powers are the same as in canon; she can hear and see things that are far away. The downside is she has trouble with memory. As a full medicine cat her name becomes Dovelight

Dovepaw is nervous about being a prophesied cat and tries to confide in her sister about this, telling her all the secrets shared by Hollysong and Jaystrike.

Ivypaw is jealous of her sister being part of The Three though, and turns to the Dark Forest to grow strong and to feel important. She divulges the secrets entrusted to her by Dovepaw to Mothwing. Soon though, Jaystrike finds out about this-via walking in the molly's dreams-and holds an intervention with the help of Tawnypelt. Ivypaw, now a warrior called Ivyshade, works as a double agent

In the second half of the second to last book, Lionflower returns from the tunnels just as The Three receive news of there being a fourth cat destined to hold the power of the stars in their paws. Reunited, the four cats along with Ivyshade devise a plan on how to fight against the Dark Forest

Also, the Dark Forest has a powerful living ally. Sol is conspiring with the Place Of No Stars, and figures out a way to summon the evil spirits to fight the living world. It can only happen on the night of the lunar eclipse, when Starclan has no power. After trying to convince the clans to stop believing in their ancestors, Sol sees this as the only way to get them to give up their faith

Before the battle, at the beginning of the last book, Jaystrike, Hollysong, Lionflower, and Dovelight go missing. Squirrelflight, Leafpool, Emberpath, Cloudtail, and Brightheart are incredibly worried about them as the time for the Great Battle draws nearer. But Ivyshade knows the truth and assures her kin that this is all a part of The Four's plan.

When the battle takes place, Skyclan arrives to help aid in the fight, rather than Starclan jumping in. They are led to the lake territories by The Four. The group found the distant clan by using their combined powers, and by recalling the stories told to them by Firestar. Emberstar leads the charge, joining her brother to fight Tigerstar and Sol. With the fifth clan joining them, the living clans are able to face off against the Dark Forest and win.

Emberstar and Firestar lose their last lives together at the end of the Great Battle. Skyclan decides to stay by the lake when all is said and done. The Four keep their powers, and decide to put them to better use by taking over for their parents as mediators in the other clans. Dovelight is the exception; she joins Skyclan to be both their medicine cat and mediator, and Ivyshade takes over for Squirrelflight as Thunderclan's mediator

#warrior cats #wcs #warriors rewrite #warriors: the power of three #warriors: omen of the stars #warriors: power of the stars #viti's rewrite

[stargleam-star]

Warriors Rewrite Pt 7: Firestar's Quest

Quick note: This book takes place immediately after the events of The Darkest Hour. Riverclan and Shadowclan are now ruled by Stonestar and Darkstar respectively. There will be major changes made to this story in the first half, but otherwise follows the same beats as the canon version of Firestar's Quest. With that said, let's get into it

The prologue for this book starts off similar to its canon counterpart. The difference is that the clans are far less caring of Skyclan's fate, and are unwilling to help even in the slightest if it means they can snag a small sliver of extra land once the Twolegs have finished building their new town. The four clans are so eager to see Skyclan leave that they decide to eject the clan themselves. The only Skyclan members allowed to stay are the clan's young kits and their mothers. The last bit of the prolouge timeskips to show Skyclan's struggle and inevitable dissolve. Skyclan does not denounce their trust in Starclan like in canon, as they do not see it as their ancestors faults.

The main story starts a moon after my rewrite of The Darkest Hour (so it's been 2 moons since the battle with Bloodclan). Cats are still feeling unsettled and jumpy, but life has gone on like normal. Firestar watches his clan from the top of High Rock as he finishes up a ceremony. Sorrrelpaw, Rainpaw, and Sootpaw have been made apprentices. Firestar finds great joy in naming these cats, taking it as a sign that Thunderclan is thriving. He knows that their parents, Willowpelt and Whitestorm, would be proud of them if they were still here

After that's over Tawnypaw requests that the two of them go hunting together. Finding this to be a smart idea, Firestar follows his apprentice out into the forest. The pair split up by the owl tree, agreeing to meet back here soon, once they've each caught a decent amont of prey.

While he's alone, Firestar begins to feel as though he's being watched. As he stalks through a clump of ferns, he comes to find out why. A gray and white patched cat appears before him; laying on the low hanging branch of a tree a few fox-lengths ahead. This cat is unfamiliar, and smells nothing like any of the clans. His blue, star filled, eyes are trained intensely upon Firestar.

Firestar doesn't take the time to wonder who this stranger may be or where they come from; whoever this is, they're a threat. He charges forward, ready to chase the cat out of the territory. But when Firestar reaches the tree, the cat's completely vanished. Feeling a bit crazy, Firestar shakes his head. He convinces himself that it's a mixture of his paranoia and hunger that have caused him to hallucinate another cat being here. After all, he's still feeling the effects from the battle with Bloodclan, even if that was two moons ago. Without lingering a mpment more, Firestar turns around and stalks back into the undergrowth to catch himself something for lunch

When they return home a little after sunhigh, Firestar and Tawnypaw share a meal together. Although he feels a bit better, the firey tom is still uneasy from the cat he saw earlier. He decides to go take a quick nap in his den to hopefully clear his mind

In his dreams, Firestar appears in an incredibly dense part of the forest. This place is almost completely covered in trees. The firey tom finds himself struggling to walk over roots as he tries to take a look around. The forest is foggy, the winds carrying the shrill cries of terrified cats. In the mist, the Thunderclan leader can barely make out blurry silhouettes. Where was he? What did these cats want, he found himself wondering aloud.

Firestar's question goes unanswered as he is suddenly woken up by one of his mates, Sandstorm. She tells the tom that he was twitching in his sleep. She laughs, asking if he was dreaming of chasing mice. Firestar corrects the molly, telling her he was dreaming of flying hedgehogs. Sandstorm headbutts Firestar's chin affectionately, happy to know that he's alright. Firestar smiles at her, although inside he's truly feeling stressed

Awake now, he decides to go speak with Ravensong about his dreams. Perhaps his friend will be able to help him decipher what it may mean, or determine who those cats were. Ravensong is alone in the medicine den when Firestar appears, curious about what the leader could need. Firestar takes the time to explain his dream in detail before asking the medicine cat to interpret it. Ravensong is perplexed by this dream, and is unsure what to make of it. Instead, he simply tells Firestar to let him know if he has the dream again, as further information would help with deciphering what message it may hold. Firestar leaves the medicine den unsatisfied, and more stressed from before. To help himself relax, he decides to go share tongues with Graystripe and Sandstorm

Two days pass. Firestar dreams of the dense forest again. This time he's around long enough to ask his questions again. "Who are you? What do you want? What can I do to help you?" In response, from this fog appears the gray and white patched cat. He looks sad, despite his proud posture. The mysterious tom's mouth moves, as if he were talking, but no sound comes out. When Firestar says he doesn't understand, the stranger dips his head in defeat. Just like that, the dream is over again.

In the waking world, Firestar catches sight of the gray and white patched cat again. Once, during a patrol near the Twoleg border. The other time is during the next gathering. The strange cat appears on the top of the Great Rock after the meeting is dismissed. Firestar sees him look down upon the other cats scornfully. Its here that Firestar notices starry figures mingling among the living clan cats. No other seems to be able to see them, however. Distressed, Firestar decides he needs to visit the Moonstone. He follows Windclan back to their territory, traveling the rest of tue way to mothermouth on his own

When he gets there, Firestar dreams of Four Trees. Standing there waiting for him on the Great Rock this time was Bluestar. She knows why the Thunderclan leader has come, and warns him that he may not like the answers he receives. After heaving a sigh, she reminds Firestar of how she mentioned a fifth clan the last time they had met. She goes on to explain that clan was Skyclan, and that is who he has been seeing. They were driven out by the clans long long ago. Firestar wonders why they've come to him, even though they probably found another home somewhere. Did they want to return to the forest?

Bluestar theorizes that Skyclan's appearance to Firestar has to do with his destiny "fire alone will save the clan". He saved Thunderclan after all, why not Skyclan? But she ensures that there's no way for Skyclan to return to the forest, for there's simply no room. Their original territory is where Twolegplace now sits, and what was left from their land was divided between the clans that once shared their borders. Plus, Bluestar reasons there should never have been a fourth cat to begin with. Just as there were four seasond3, and four great oaks where the clans meet, there should be four clans

Firestar calls Bluestar out on her bullshit and wakes up angry. Starclan, too, seems to be displeased, as they have covered over the moon and stars. Firestar ignores this sign, upset with his ancestors for so willingly abandoning an entire clan.

Back at home, tired from his journey, Firestar decides to sleep. He's no longer anxious about talking to the mysterious cats in his dream, but determined. He wants to talk to them amd help any way he can. They came to him after all, there must be a way to help

During the dream, Firestar sees Skyclan traveling along the path of Riverclan's river. He follows them, watching cats die off along the way for various reasons. Some beg the clan's leader-who turns out to be that gray and white patched cat-to find them a place already. They're starving and suffering, and the medicine cat has told them that Starclan has not beem able to provide any guidence. After that, the clan grows distant from Firestar, and although he runs to catch up they soom fade out of view. Not long after that, Firestar wakes up

Awake, and a bit frustrated, Firestar decides to join a hunting patrol to clear his mind. Snowfoot leads the patrol, taking the hunting party towards Twolegplace. The four hunters split off, and Firestar lingers as he tries to find a prey scent. A familiar sensation causes him pause in the midst of his prowling. He looks up into the canopy above, spotting Skyclan's leader perched in an elm tree not far off. Firestar runs to get closer to him, but the ghost cat turns with a wave of his tail, then leaps through the trees in the opposite direction. Firestar takes this as a sign that he should follow

Thunderclan's leader is led a different part of the forest, near Tallpines. Here he finds Pebblestep and Longtail ((who does not go blind btw)) holding down his sister, Princess. The two cats question the kittypet's motives, while Princess ignores them, insisting that she see her brother. Firestar commands his warriors to step off of her, and although reluctant they obey. Afterwards, Firestar sends the patrol away so he can speak with Princess alone.

Princess is relieved to see her littermate. She explains the reason for coming so far onto Thunderclan territory is because she believes she'll have to join the clans. Firestar is confused, asking why that might be. He asks if something's happened with Princess's housefolk. Princess assures that her housefolk are still around, and still treat her kindly. However, the reason why she thinks she has to live in the forest is because if the strange dreams she's been having

Princess goes on to explain that in her dreams, she keeps seeing a cat beckoning her into a dense forest. And sometimes the cat tries to coax her to follow him alongside a river, while many cats follow behind them. Princess goes on to describe that the following cats always wail out in agony, suffering. She wants to help, and she knows the strange cat-who she reveals to be the same gray and white cat Firestar's been seeing-is asking that she assist, despite her being unable to hear him.

With these dreams occuring so often, and the recollection that Firestar had been beckoned into the woods by his own dreams, Princess concludes that Firestar's warrior ancestors want her to become a clan cat. Firestar thinks that it's probably not what Skyclan's ancestors want of her, although he finds it strange that they're showing up in his sister's dreams.

Firestar goes on to assure Princess that she won't have to leave her housefolk. Princess seems disappointed by the news. She admits although she was scared of the idea at first, she'd grown to be comfortable with the destiny she thought she'd have to follow. Now, after having all those dreams, she didn't mind the thought of going to live in the wild.

Firestar contemplates about the idea of accepting his sister into Thunderclan. But before he makes a final decision, he asks to go home with her. He believes that maybe if he sleeps in Princess's garden for a night he may get more answers, and find out why Skyclan has been appearing in Princess's dreams

At Princess's den, Firestar starts to sees signs of possible Skyclan life in the small fenced in territory. The den sits in a slight dip, with bushes dotted here and there within the garden. As he examined the area, Firestar thought about how he'd set up a camp if he ever had to find a new one for his clan. This leads him to believe that Princess's den might be built right on top of where Skyclan's camp once. And when he settles down to sleep, Firestar awakens to see that he was correct. His dream reveals how the camp once was, and shows a vision of a giant monster coming to plow right through it, sending trees toppling and terrified cats scattering. Amongst the terror stood Slyclan's leader, calm, collected. He stepped forward through the vision of what had become of his clan's territory to talk to Firestar

The cat introduces himself at last as Cloudstar. He gives a brief tour of where everything in camp used to be. He then tells Firestar about how Skyclan has broken up. It still lives within the bloodlines of the cats decended from the clan, but Skyclan as a whole is no more. Cloudstar has come to ask Firestar to help bring his clan back together. He recites a familiar prophecy, the one that once held Firestar's destiny. Only, it sounds off when Cloudstar speaks it "The embers of fire will save our clan". Cloudstar takes it that means Thunderclan's leader can help him. Although overwhelmed, Firestar agrees to help

When he wakes, Firestar tells Princess of his dream. Then he tells her that he's going to leave to find the place Skyclan broke apart. Princess insists she come on the journey with him. Firestar denies her. But Princess is insistent. Skyclan came to her dreams too, they called to her just as they did to Firestar. She wants to see this through, to gelp Skyclan reform. Firestar finally gives in, amd accepts his sister's company. He tells her he'll come to get her in two days. Then after saying his farewells he leaves back to Thunderclan

Back at camp, Firestar prepares for his journey. He gathers Ravensong, Cinderpath, Graystripe, and Sandstorm; his most trusted allies. He tells them of the journey he must take, and informs them about Skyclan. He trusts his friends to take care of the clan while he's away.

Sandstorm gets worried about letting Firestar go off on his own. Firestar explains Princess will be with him. But Sandstorm insists that makes things worse. He shouldn't go alone without another warrior. Firestar agrees. In fact, he decides to ask her to come along. Sandstorm happily agrees. The other cats ask who will be left in charge, then. Firestar asks Cinderpath if she would become interim leader. Cinderpath accepts, but is worried that she too may need help. She has kits to take care of now after all, she can't watch the clan on her own.

Ravesong gets an idea, leaving shortly and returning with Goldenflower. Firestar calls the medicine cat a genius. Goldenflower is a brave, intelligent, trustworthy cat. She's perfect to help watch the clan while he and Sandstorm are away. Firestar lets Goldenflower in on the conversation, explaining everything again so she can understand what's going on. Once everyone's caught up and in agreement, everything is set in stone: Cinderpath and Goldenflower will take charge of the clan, and Firestar, Sandstorm, and Princess will go to restore Skyclan

The next day the mates head out to collect Princess, and begin to travel up the river along the path Skyclan once walked. The journey to the gorge is exactly the same. Actually most of what happens from this point on in the story remains the same, except there's no drama with Sandstorm because of Spottedleaf. And when Sandstorm goes missing Firestar has Princess to help him and keep his spirits up

From this point on a majority of the book is the same, with minor changes here and there to fit Princess into the plot. In fact, Princess has a lot to do with this book, and Skyclan. When Firestar starts giving cats warrior names, Princess requests to have one too. She likes Skyclan, she's come to like living in a clan. So, she'd like to become an offical warrior. Firestar feel great pride and joy for his sister, and without hesitation he names her a warrior. Firestar grants his sister the name Emberflower

As the Thunderclan cats spend more time with Skyclan, training the new recruits, and setting things up, Sandstorm occasionally complains of feeling weird or unwell. But she doesn't let anything stop her. She continues to fulfill the same roll she does in the canon books. Later on in the story, after Firestar's found Skyclan's new holy place, and has brought them Echosong, their medicine cat, its time to figure out who is going to be leader.

Echosong's leader dream is vastly different than the one in canon. She tells Firestar that she awoke into a white forest clearing, with snow blanketing almost everything in sight. But through the blankness an orange flower stood out, appearing just ahead. As Echosong approached it, the flower seemed to crackle with embers. When she'd gotten a good look, the medicine cat awoke. Firestar helps to interpret this dream, and the pair come to the conclusion that his sister Emberflower has been chosen as Skyclan's leader.

The pair swiftly break the news to Emberflower, and although she is nervous, she accepts her destiny with open arms. That night they take her to earn her nine lives. Firestar and Echosong dream with Emberflower and watch her ceremony. By the end of it, the two leaders are given a prophecy by the now deceased Skywatcher, the "Kin of Your Kin" prophecy. When the three cats awake, Skyclan has a new leader: Emberstar. At moonhigh, she chooses Leafdapple as her deputy

With nothing left for them to do, and with Skyckan restored to its former glory, Firestar and Sandstorm begin to say their farewells. Firestar is incredibly sad to leave his sister behind, but Emberstar promises that they'll see each other again some day. Sandstorm remarks that she hopes this is true, and that hopefully Emberstar will be able to meet her soon to be born nieces and nephews. This is how Firestar finds out Sandstorm is expecting. The three have a good laugh and finish their goodbyes. Firestar glances over his shoulder once last time to look at Skyckan's camp. Emberstar stands at the edge of the camp, head high with pride and confidence. Beside her, Firestar can see the ghostly starclan figure of Cloudstar postured the same way, a smile on his glimmering face

Back at home, the story's epilouge is pretty much the same. Sandstorm lays in the nursery, with not two, but three sleeping newborns. Two mollies and a tom. Firestar and Graystripe are there to see them, smitten with their new little family. The new parents think hard about names for their kits and finally choose the perfect ones. Graystripe chooses Squirrelkit's name for her coloring and the shape of her tail. Sandstorm picks Leafkit for the second molly, naming her after Leafdapple. Finally, Firestar chooses the name Emberkit for his son, in honor of his sister. As he looks on at his kittens, Firestar's reminded of the prophecy he received. He's excited to see what life will hold for his children

#warrior cats #wcs #warrior cats rewrite #warriors: firestar's quest #viti's rewrite

[stargleam-star]

Warriors Rewrite Pt 4: Rising Storm

Quick notes: Bramblekit looks exactly like Tigerclaw but has green eyes like his mama. Tawnykit is a tortoishell with 75% golden fur like Goldenflower's and amber eyes like her father; both kits are longhaired

The prologue is basically the same as in the book. Shadowclan is sick with an illness and Runningnose has received a sign that a great leader is coming to bring them to greatness and to own the whole forest

Three moons have passed. Fireheart is out hunting with Brightpaw, Frostfur, and Cloudpaw. He spots Cloudpaw catching a pigeon and argues with her about how to stay down wind. Suddenly he freezes, feeling uneasy. He's worried about Tigerclaw lurking about. Cloudpaw walks away telling her uncle he's being paranoid and that he's been no fun since he became deputy. Fireheart snorts and goes back to hunt away from his niece but his unease does not fade

Fireheart awkwardly sets up patrols when he returns to camp. He still has some trouble figuring out what to do, but he's getting better. And Whitestorm usually helps. Dustpelt mocks Fireheart for still being ass at his job, and Darkstripe snorts he's only doing as told because Whitestorm basically gave the orders

When patrols have been organized, Whitestorm leaves to talk with Mosscloud, and Fireheart goes to check on the elders. Before he steps into the den, he overhears the older cats talking. At first they are glad that there are new apprentices and more kits in the way, as those are good omens. But then Smallear starts fretting over Starclan. He fears they may be angry with Thunderclan, as Bluestar hadn't named a deputy in the proper time. Patchpelt chimes in and says he fears Fireheart's deputyship may end up being a dark time for the clan as a result, though Thrushpelt remakes that nothing bad has happened so far within the past three moons. Rosetail agrees, telling the other elders to have more faith in the young cat. Dappletail scoffs and the elders bicker some more. Fireheart became worried, turning from the den unable to face the wise old cats now

Instead, Fireheart decides to visit the nursery to cheer himself up. For a heartbeat he freezes as he draws close, seeing a familiar threatening pelt standing before him. It's Tigerclaw- No, wait-Fireheart blinked; the image before him reveals gentle green eyes paired with that familiar dark brown tabby pelt. It wasn't Fireheart's enemy at all, but young Bramblekit.

Goldenflower soon appeared with Tawnykit, who races over to her brother and tackles him playfully. Bramblekit bats his sister gently with a paw in return, giggling. Meanwhile, Goldenflower walks over to them, wrapping her tail protectively around her two kits. Fireheart realizes she'd seen his frightened look at the sight of her son. He approaches the queen and apologizes to her. She dips her head, telling the tom she knows what he thinks. She tells Fireheart about how worried she is for her kits, knowing the clan will look at them with the same fright and anger that he had. All because of Tigerclaw. But Bramblekit and Tawnykit are hers, and Goldenflower swears she'll do anything to protect them, even fight the clan. They are innocent and she will not allow any cat to punish them for their father's crimes. Fireheart wholeheartedly agrees with her, apologizing again for his reaction. He confesses that lately he's been feeling more uneasy. Tigerclaw hasn't been seen for moons and he's worried the exiled tom will attack soon. Goldenflower understands, telling Fireheart he can come to her to talk about his feelings anytime. And maybe hanging around more, and getting to know her kits will help settle his unease about Bramblekit.

After their talk, Whitestorm approaches Fireheart. He tells him Mosscloud believes her kits are ready to be apprenticed, but she hasn't gotten to talk to her mother in a while since the leader's been isolating more recently. Fireheart assures Whitestorm he'll go talk to Bluestar about the matter right away

Fireheart steps into Bluestar's den, relaying the message given to him for her. Bluestar first seems surprised her grandkits are that old already before she seemingly melts into a distant or almost dissociative state. Fireheart brings her out of it, at least slightly, by trying to gain a proper response. Bluestar asks if there's any cat they can trust. She sounds harsh, it makes Fireheart flinch. Bluestar settles, asking if he or Graystripe could mentor the kits. Fireheart reminds her he has an apprentice, and that Graystripe had left the clan moons ago. Plus there are four kits, not two. Bluestar falls silent for a moment before finally telling Fireheart to decide himself.

Fireheart takes a while to think about choices of mentor. He calls on friend Ravensong for advice and together the two of them come up with some ideas. Fireheart goes back to Bluestar and tells her he's chosen Brackenfur, Longtail, Cinderpath, and Snowear. Bluestar flatly agrees with the choice. Fireheart offers to send the warriors to speak with her when they return from patrols. Bluestar becomes instantly enraged, wondering if any warriors were left in camp. When Fireheart tries to calm her she snaps that he should not dare patronize her like some kit. She's worried about another attack on camp and commands her deputy remain in camp to help guard it. Then she tells him to send the warrior's he's chosen to her when they return to camp. Fireheart dips his head respectfully to her then leaves, worried about the leader's state

When the warriors all return home from their duties they're sent to the leader's den to receive their news. Bluestar calls a clan meeting shortly afterwards. Mosscloud's kits are being made apprentices. Pebblepaw is given to Cinderpath to train, Finchpaw is given to Brackenfur, Cloverpaw is given to Snowear, and Pigeonpaw is given to Longtail.

After the ceremony, Fireheart catches Cloudpaw sneaking back into camp. He interrogates his niece, asking why she's brought back such little prey-only a squirrel, even though she'd caught a pigeon earlier-and where she's been. Cloudpaw doesn't reply and Fireheart tells her she's lost her dinner for tonight. Cloudpaw shrugs as if it's nothing, padding away to go talk to Brightpaw. Whitestorm tells him that Cloudpaw will get over this phase. Sometimes apprentices are rebellious, that’s just their nature. And Cloudpaw's always been tenacious. Fireheart sighs, hoping aloud that the senior warrior is right

The next morning, as Fireheart's meant to lead a patrol, Bluestar summons him to her den. The leader is pacing about her den, murmuring about needing to speak with Starclan. She's decided that she and Fireheart will leave for the moonstone so she may share dreams with their ancestors. Fireheart goes outside and catches up to Whitestorm telling him and their patrol the news while Bluestar fetches herbs. When she returns, the deputy and leader both have their share then head out towards Windclan territory

Bluestar nearly gets in a fight with a Windclan cat when she and Fireheart go onto their territory because Windclan wont let them go to highstones. On their way home, Bluestar wonders why Starclan doesn't want to speak with her, and why they're angry with Thunderclan. Fireheart tries to explain it was Windclan, not Starclan, who prevented their moonstone meeting, but he soon stops trying.

Back at camp, Fireheart tells some clanmates about what happened. Then he goes on to scold Cloudpaw for disobeying Runningwind, and for eating while hunting. He tells her she's not allowed to attend the gathering and at this rate she'd never earn her warrior name. Cloudpaw scoffs and sasses her uncle as he chides her. Then she walks away, seeming sad, most likely because she won't go to meet the other clans this moon

A quarter moon passes. It's the afternoon of the gathering. Fireheart organizes patrols more confidently today, finally getting used to it. Fireheart gets news of the cats going to the moonly meeting from Bluestar then goes to have a meal. He spots little Bramblekit across the way and recalls Goldenflower's offer. He decides to go share his meal with her and play with the kits a while. While he shares prey with Goldenflower he confesses that he's worried for Bluestar, explaining her mood swings. Goldenflower finds it odd, but thinks it might just be paranoia, similar to Fireheart's. Eventually Bluestar would get over it. But Fireheart couldn't seem to get himself to agree

When night rolls around, Fireheart calls for the gathering patrol. He's surprised to realize Darkstripe, Dustpelt, and Longtail had not been chosen by Bluestar to attend. This would make the third gathering in a row that she'd excluded them. Fireheart guesses it was because of her paranoia, and due to the fact the three toms had been good friends with Tigerclaw. Despite their clear anger, Fireheart avoids them and fetches Bluestar. Bluestar takes a little more time than usual to lead the patrol, sharing tongues with Mosscloud as Fireheart walks up. Eventually she gets up and the warriors head out

At the gathering, Fireheart looks for Graystripe, but he's not there. Luckily Fireheart gets a chance to speak with Leopardfur. She tells him Graystripe's doing kind of ok as a Riverclan cat. He's getting used to water and he and Silverstream are starting to introduce the kits to swimming. Fireheart's happy to hear his friend's getting used to his new life, though he can't help feeling a twinge of sorrow knowing Graystripe is probably happier in Riverclan.

The next day, Pebblepaw wakes Fireheart, telling him that she, Cloverpaw, Cinderpath, and Snowear have captured two trespassing Shadowclan cats who'd fallen asleep by the Owl Tree. Fireheart gets up, following the young apprentice out to investigate. The prisoners have already been brought to the clearing. Fireheart identifies them Littlecloud and Whitethroat. Cinderpath explains the two warriors had begged to be brought to camp. Fireheart can tell why, the two cats appear to be weak and underfed. They must need help

Bluestar comes out of her den, having been informed by Cloverpaw of the intruders. The leader is angry and frantic, worrying that this is an invasion. Fireheart tries to ensure her its not, but Bluestar's convinced at least this is a trap. She sends warriors and apprentices out to check and make sure no other Shadowclan warriors are lurking about in Thunderclan's forest.

Ravensong emerges from his den a moment later, having heard some commotion, wondering what's going on. At the sight of him, Littlecloud begs for Thunderclan to share prey and food with them. Ravensong approaches, starting to examine the two cats, and comes to the conclusion that they are sick. Before Ravensong can finish, Yellowfang comes out and interferes, driving her apprentice away from the disease ridden cats. She asks the Shadowclan cats why Runningnose hasn't taken care of them. Littlecloud confesses Runningnose has become negligent towards his clan. Nightstar is sick, and the medicine cat will only give his attention to the leader. Whitethroat chimes that he's afraid Runningnose will allow his clanmates to die, then he begs once more for Thunderclan's help.

Yellowfang tells Bluestar of the disease these cats are plagued with, telling her they must be sent away before they infect Thunderclan's cats. Bluestar agrees, demanding Fireheart throw them out of the territory. Fireheart takes Sandstorm with him to escort the warriors back to Shadowclan

As Fireheart and Sandstorm follow Littlecloud and Whitethroat, they find a secret tunnel that Shadowclan probably uses to get to gatherings. The two Thunderclan warriors rush home to tell Bluestar.

Later on, Fireheart decides to take Cloudpaw out for an assessment. He's noticed she's been getting fat recently, thanks to some lighthearted comments by Sandstorm and Cinderpath, and he wants to see how well Cloudpaw's hunting must be. He follows her through Tallpines and to Twolegplace. At first, he thinks the white molly has come to visit her mother. But as she keeps traveling, it becomes clear to Fireheart that she's actually here for something else. He watches helplessly as his niece approaches a Twoleg den, yowls out, and is allowed inside by a Twoleg. Fireheart is disappointed that Cloudpaw is being tempted back to the life he'd taken her from. You cannot have a paw in both worlds, Fireheart can hear the echo of Redtail's words in his head. When Cloudpaw returns, Fireheart decides, she'll get a strong talking to.

Cloudpaw and Fireheart argue when she gets home. He wants her to decide where she belongs, not sit in the middle like she is now. Cloudpaw sasses him, and Fireheart puts her on elder duty. Not just for sassing though, but because she broke the warrior code, and brought back such little prey for the clan. After, Ravensong comes into camp, looking a bit suspicious. Fireheart groans internally, wondering if he's another cat sneaking around and keeping secrets. Fireheart tries to ask his friend what he's been up to, but Ravensong says he must seem jumpy because Willowpelt is kitting and he had to rush to get herbs just now. Fireheart lets him go, but still thinks something might be up

Fireheart decides to visit Graystripe by the river the next day, needing to speak with his best friend after feeling such stress from Cloudpaw, and a possibly sneaky Ravensong. On his way, Fireheart catches the unexpected scent of Shadowclan. He tracks it, finding Littlecloud and Whitethroat are back. He spits at them to leave, not wanting Thunderclan infected by their illness. But before he can chase the warriors off, Ravensong jumps out of the bushes to defend them. Defeated, he decides to tell Fireheart what's going on before he can jump to conclusions. Ravensong explains that he's asked the warriors to come back so he can treat them. He can't sit back and watch innocent cats suffer, especially after they've begged so hard for assistance. Plus, medicine cats were outside clan rivalries, so to him, these cats were just ordinary patients. Ravensong apologizes, knowing Fireheart would be mad upon finding out. Instead, Fireheart is forgiving and is happy his friend was able to find a cure for Shadowclan's disease.

When he gets home, Fireheart talks to Sandstorm. He tells her what he was up to-minus the thing with Ravensong-and she tells him that she noticed Cloudpaw slipping out of camp to hunt first thing in the morning. Both of them seem to share a similar thought about the apprentice's whereabouts. Together, they decide to find out if their suspicions are correct

When they arrive at the Twoleg den, the warriors find it to be eerily empty. A moment later a monster pulls out from inside part of the den, storming away. Inside the belly of the beast, Fireheart spots the familiar long white pelt of a cat. He and Sandstorm run after the monster, trying to catch up, to see where it's going. They have to rescue Cloudpaw.

The monster is too fast and it gets away from them, disappearing from sight. Fireheart and Sandstorm retrace their steps, heads hung in sadness over the loss of the little she-cat. When they return to the garden, they prepare to head home. Just then, a voice cries out. Fireheart whips around to see Cloudpaw coming from the bushes, her ears and tail drooping. Before he can even think to do anything else, Fireheart rushes his niece, tackling her and covering her with happy licks. Cloudpaw pushes him off of her with a laugh, asking whats the matter. Sandstorm explains what happened, praising Starclan that Cloudpaw wasn't really kitnapped and that the apprentice is safe. Cloudpaw explains the cat they must have seen in the monster was her biological brother, Zack. Cloudpaw had been visiting him and sharing meals with him recently, after learning her littermate lived nearby last time she paid Princess a visit. But when she arrived today she couldn't find Zack, and his Twolegs wouldn't open the door. Cloudpaw had managed to find a way in though, and saw the place was empty. That’s why she'd cried out; she hadn't gotten to say goodbye to her brother.

Fireheart then cuffs Cloudpaw over the ear for making him worry like that. He points his tail in the direction the monster went, asking her what she would have done if that'd really been her in there. He would never be able to find her again, to rescue her. Cloudpaw would be stuck a kittypet, whether she'd chosen to be or not. Cloudpaw apologizes. She hadn't thought about things that way. She's realizes now Fireheart was right; she supposes she really can't keep a paw in two worlds like she's tried getting away with recently. Cloudpaw promises to stay away from Twolegs from now on. And to only go near their dens to visit her mother. Fireheart is happy his niece has learned her lesson. After they talk the patrol heads back home

Fireheart dreams of Redtail that night. He seems worried, fur bristled and eyes wide. He whispers out a message , seeming to stare right into Fireheart's soul as he speaks. Beware an enemy who seems to sleep.

Fireheart wakes up, thinking he knows the meaning of the dream. He rushes to talk to Ravensong who's alone in the medicine den, questioning him about the Shadowclan cats. He thinks maybe the illness they have is the enemy who seems to sleep. Ravensong assures no cat is sick and the Shadowclan cats are getting better. Fireheart insists Ravensong send the enemy cats home, if he has to give them the recipe for the cure then so be it. Ravensong agrees to do so tomorrow. He then tells Fireheart he needs to focus on more important things than these two harmless Shadowclan cats. Like the clan, setting up patrols, his apprentice, or Sandstorm. Fireheart asks why he mentions Sandstorm. Ravensong rolls his eyes, exclaiming every cat can see how fond Sandstorm is of him. Fireheart suddenly begins to realize that perhaps Ravensong is right. He leaves, taking the rest of the morning to think about what the medicine cat has said.

A few days pass. There's a terrible drought. Fireheart goes to the river to fetch water for the queens after a patrol spotted Twolegs on the territory. He's also looking for signs of Littlecloud and Whitethroat. By the river Fireheart spots Graystripe. Graystripe swims across to reunite with his best friend, tacking him playfully. The two tussle, covering each other in licks, mewing how much they've missed each other. Fireheart asks about how Graystripe's life in Riverclan is. Graystripe tells him its great, he's adjusting well and the kits are growing strong. Silverstream is back to normal too. Fireheart says he's glad to hear everything's going well for him, but he wishes Graystripe would come home. Graystripe says he can't leave Silverstream and his kits, even though it kills him to be apart from Fireheart. He loves his mate, his children. Fireheart feels a pang of jealousy over the gray tom's love for the Riverclan queen.

Graystripe then changes the subject, asking if Fireheart's here to look for the Shadowclan cats. Graystripe had spotted the a couple days ago, and had crossed the river to talk to them. Littlecloud had told him everything, and he figured Fireheart already knew about what was going on. Graystripe then assures he'd seen the enemy cats leave about two days ago. Fireheart thanks Graystripe for the information, watching his friend effortlessly swim across to his territory. They shout a farewell, promising to see each other again soon

Back at home, Fireheart gives moss to Goldenflower and Willowpelt. He talks with the queens a bit, and looks over the kits. Willowpelt's kits have opened their eyes and are just barely starting to test their legs. Fireheart asks their names. Willowpelt proudly introduces them as Rainkit and Sootkit. Rainkit is gray and white while Sootkit looks pale gray, with a body shape similar to his older brother, Graystripe. Fireheart then looks over at Bramblekit and Tawnykit. He greets them, throwing a mossball thats near his paw for the kits to chase. He's grown to like Goldenflower's kits. He doesn't see their father in them anymore when he looks at them.

While eating with Sandstorm a little while later, a patrol of cats comes rushing back to camp. Cinderpath claims they've been attacked by some unknown cats. Fireheart has her patrol heal up with the exception of Snowear, who's hardly scratched. Fireheart signs to the white warrior, asking him to show where the patrol had been ambushed. Snowear nods and leads towards the thunderpath, where the tunnels to Shadowclan are. Next to the thunderpath, Fireheart finds the body of a dead warrior, along with a Shadowclan cat. It's Runningwind and Whitethroat. Fireheart's heart drops; he instantly wonders how he's going to explain this to Sandstorm. She's already lost Redtail, how could she handle Runningwind's death too? Fireheart suddenly becomes angry, and attacks Whitethroat, clawing him and sending him running. The enemy warrior flees in fear onto another part of the thunderpath. As he races across, a monster comes roaring by, hitting the Shadowclan cat. Fireheart rushes to the cat's aid, trying to bring him to safety. Whitethroat's body is crushed, breathing rapid. It's clear that he's living his final moments. The warrior's eyes travel from Fireheart, who standing by Whitethroat's head, onto something behind the deputy at the edge of Thunderclan's woods. The warrior's eyes glitter with pure terror, then gloss over with the tell tale sign of death. Fireheart follows the now deceased warriors gaze, finding what he'd been staring at. Fireheart bristles as he recognizes the figure in the shadows: Tigerclaw.

Fireheart wastes no time throwing himself at Tigerclaw, fighting with him with all his might. From the shadows, some of Tigerclaw's rouge allies emerge to attack Fireheart's patrol. They are greatly outnumber, and just when all seems lost, help arrives. It's Graystripe and a patrol of Riverclan warriors, Stonefur and Mistyfoot among the bunch. Graystripe helps defend Fireheart, knocking Tigerclaw over as he's about to land a hard blow to his friend. Fireheart jumps to his paws, and together the two warriors fight side by side, just like old times. With time, Riverclan and Thunderclan drive away the rouges and Tigerclaw for the time being. Fireheart thanks Riverclan for its aid. Mousefur asks what brought the warriors to the thunderpath. Stonefur explains that Graystripe heard Fireheart's yowl from Fourtrees where they were patrolling. He then assures their aid is no big deal, as rouges are enemies to all clans. Once again Thunderclan thanks Riverclan and the river cats return to their territory. Fireheart sends his patrol home with Runningwind's body. Meanwhile he decides to take Whitethroat home to his clan.

As Fireheart brings Whitethroat across the border, he wonders if the dead warrior had stumbled upon Runningwind's body, rather than having killed him. He then starts to wonder in fear if it had been Tigerclaw who'd killed the Thunderclan warrior. After leaving Whitethroat on the opposite side of the thunderpath, Fireheart rushes home.

Back in the camp, Runningwind's vigil is being held. Fireheart sees Sandstorm already glued to her father's side as he remembers her doing with Redtail all those moons ago. Bluestar is also with the deceased warrior. She rushes Fireheart at the sight of him, questioning about what happened. She's heard Tigerclaw was responsible for this. Fireheart admits it might have been one of his goons, but for the most part it was the ex-warrior's doing. Then Fireheart warns his leader of the threat Tigerclaw made. Suddenly Bluestar starts to wail, exclaiming how foolish she'd been to trust him. Then she becomes frantic demanding a beefed up guard on the camp. Fireheart happily obliges. After, he goes to join Sandstorm in her vigil. He presses his pelt against her and Sandstorm turns her head to cry into Fireheart's shoulder. Fireheart leans forward to share tongues with Runningwind for the last time, promising him that he shall avenge his death. On Sandstorm's opposite side Fireheart can see Mousefur settle beside her niece. By Runningwind's head, Bluestar is settled with Mosscloud and Whitestorm on either side of herself. The rest of the clan briefly stops by to pay their respects

A quarter moon passes, with no sign of Tigerclaw. The clan is getting on well, though warriors are far more busy. Especially Fireheart. He reports to Bluestar today that no activity has been spotted on the territory. Bluestar doesn't respond. She hasn't spoke much in the past few days. Fireheart leaves her to her thoughts.

As he heads out from under Highrock, Fireheart spots Pigeonpaw playing with Willowpelt's kits. Whitestorm has just arrived home from a patrol, with Brightpaw, Cloudpaw, and Frostfur. Dangling from Frostfur's jaws is a little bundle. Fireheart pads forward to investigate, curious about what the queen's brought home. Frostfur puts her cargo down at her paws, revealing it to be a kit. Fireheart is surprised. Giving it a sniff, the little molly smells of Shadowclan, but she seems healthy. Whitestorm explains they found this kitten by the Shadowclan border. She seems abandoned, the scents of an older cat stale on her spotted tabby calico pelt. Fireheart guesses a Shadowclan queen might have abandoned her baby so she would have a chance to live. Brightpaw runs to fetch Yellowfang on Fireheart's order. Yellowfang comes over and checks out the kit. She sees nothing wrong with her, other than the kitten being underfed. Whitestorm asks Fireheart if the clan could keep the little molly. Bluestar hadn't even so much as looked at the nursery in moons, and probably would not notice the extra kit. Plus, it means another warrior for Thunderclan. Fireheart thinks it over for a heartbeat, then agrees the clan could keep her. But only if a queen were to adopt her and act as if this kitten had been part of their litter all along, to blend in with clan. Cloudpaw suggests asking Willowpelt; her kits look to be the same age. Fireheart and Whitestorm take the kit over to the queen, explaining the situation. Willowpelt is sympathetic towards the kit, happily accepting her into the family. Whitestorm licks his mate affectionately. The pair decide to name Thunderclan's newest edition Sorrelkit

Two days go by. Fireheart curls up in his nest after another day busy with patrolling and training Brightpaw. As he sleeps, he dreams of a forest filled with mist. Blackened trees crowd around him, uncomfortably close. Fireheart's voice gets swallowed when he tries to speak, to yowl. The setting is eerie, and makes him feel panicked. He doesn't recognize anything. The only thing he can identify-but couldn't seem to name-was an acrid scent in the air around him. As Fireheart presses on through the cramped forest, a familiar pelt materializes beside him. Redtail is there to guide him through the fog. His noble features are like a light in the darkness, and Fireheart feels safe beside the other deputy. Finally able to speak, he asks Redtail what's happening. He doesn't reply. After a heartbeat the tortoishell stills, the turns, taking off in the opposite direction. Fireheart only managed to get a glance into the dead cat's eyes, seeing them brimmed with fear. Suddenly frightened, Fireheart turns and follows. He tries to keep up, but Redtail is eventually engulfed by the mist. Fireheart is alone again, but keeps running. He hears a roar behind him, an uncomfortable heat at his heels. Before he can stop himself, the orange tom ends up tripping over his own paws. As he falls to the ground with a hard smack, he wakes in the real world

Something is wrong when he's fully alert. The smell from his dream has made its way to reality. A choking mist fills up the warrior's den. Fireheart rushes to his feet looking above him through the den's branches. The world outside seems to glow an eerie orange-red and Fireheart realizes what's going on. The forest is on fire. Fireheart races out of his den, urging everyone to wake up and get out of camp. He orders the clan to go to the river, guiding cats towards the gorse tunnel, and watches as every cat heads up the ravine. Willowpelt and Whitestorm carry two of their kits up the rocks, while the third runs after them. Fireheart stops by them, asking if they've seen Goldenflower. She's the only cat he hadn't seen get out of camp. Willowpelt points at the top of the ravine. Fireheart's relieved the queen and her kits are safe already. He picks up Willowpelt's third kit, handing him off to Longtail to carry so the family can move faster. As most cats make it up the slope, Fireheart looks around at his clanmates. Some cats are missing. He can't find Bluestar anywhere, and Finchpaw yowls that he hasn't seen Thrushpelt or Rosetail. And Cloudpaw chimes she didn't see Patchpelt either. The last cat to report someone missing is Goldenflower who frantically searches through her clanmates for Bramblekit. Fireheart decides to go back to camp and look for them all. Yellowfang decides to go with him. The rest of the clan continue heading towards the river

The camp is on fire when Fireheart and Yellowfang go through the gorse tunnel. By the elder's den they spot the shape of Patchpelt. Yellowfang goes to drag him out of camp. Near the leader's den, Fireheart sees three cats slowly moving across the clearing. Thrushpelt and Rosetail flank either side of Bluestar, guiding her as they walk. Rosetail covers the leader's mouth and nose with her fluffy tail so Bluestar won't breathe in smoke. Fireheart rushes towards them, helping guide them to the camp's exit. Yellowfang comes over to help. Fireheart rushes up the ravine, watching the four old cats slowly make the climb. Yellowfang is the last climbing the rocks, making sure the other three cats don't fall back.

Fireheart hears desperate mewling of a kit from the sidelines and turns. Bramblekit is clinging to the branches of a small tree, probably having gone up there to escape the fire. But the flames were already climbing up the bark, fast approaching the kit. Fireheart goes to save him, leaving the other cats to get out alone. He climbs the tree, grabbing Bramblekit's scruff, and leaps down just as the whole tree is engulfed.

The tree topples as it burns, falling down the ravine. Horrified, Fireheart looks desperately for the four old cats. Bluestar, Thrushpelt, and Rosetail have made it to the top, their shapes merely silhouettes against the smoke. Fireheart calls out for Yellowfang, receiving no answer. Then Fireheart grabs Patchpelt's scruff, dragging him along to safety while Bramblekit follows. Regrettably, Fireheart leaves the ravine behind, without his medicine cat friend

At Sunningrocks, the cats meet up with the rest of Thunderclan. Bramblekit runs to his mother, and Mosscloud and Whitestorm rush for Bluestar. Ravensong immediately examines the leader, feeding her herbs he'd managed to bring with him to heal cats badly effected by smoke. Fireheart puts Patchpelt down. The old cat lets out one long wheezing cough before laying still, dead. Fireheart then goes to check on Thrushpelt and Rosetail.

The two old cats lay side by side, coughing just as bad as Patchpelt just was. Fireheart asks why the elders didn't rush out of camp with the others. Rosetail weakly explains she hadn't seen Bluestar leave her den and decided to check on her. It took convincing from her and Thrushpelt to get the leader to finally come out. Fireheart asks why they didn't get younger cats, like him, to save Bluestar instead. Thrushpelt hoarsely mews that neither could bare to leave her side. They loved her, though Bluestar's feelings had never been returned towards either cat. Rosetail says she'd happily die for Bluestar, and Thrushpelt agrees. Rosetail wheezes some more, closing her eyes. Ravensong comes over, and Thrushpelt weakly asks if Bluestar is ok. The medicine cat assures she is. Thrushpelt nods slightly, then rests his head on his paws. As Ravensong tries to examine the elders, he shakes his head. Their flanks have stopped moving. Both cats are dead.

Fireheart hears the fire approaching now, and urges his clanmates to cross the river. Riverclan wouldn't fault them for trying to escape a fire, so the cats agree and rush into the territory. A Riverclan patrol arrives, and leads the outplaced clan back to their camp where its safe. Crookedstar accepts Thunderclan among his ranks until its ok for them to return home. Fireheart gets to spend time with Graystripe and his family during their stay. Cinderpath happily reunites with her older brother and Willowpelt introduces her son to Rainkit, Sootkit, and Sorrelkit. Meanwhile, Graystripe introduces his mother and sister to Silverstream and their kits. Seeing Graystripe back with his Thunderclan family makes Fireheart wish the tom would come home, even more than he had before. During their stay in Riverclan, Fireheart comes to find himself feeling a very familiar sensation for his best friend, the same he feels for Sandstorm. Fireheart pushes down this feeling, deciding he's probably confusing his affection with longing.

After a full day of waiting, and a hard rain, Fireheart goes to check on Thunderclan territory and the camp. Graystripe accompanies him. Everything is ashes and soot, plant dens are burnt away and rocks are stained in black. Fireheart decides to check around the camp, looking for signs of Yellowfang. In her den is where he finds the old cat. She's alive, but barely. Fireheart's made it to her just in time to hear her final words. Yellowfang tells him she wishes he was her son, and that she's grateful the young tom brought her back to Thunderclan. With that, the old cat dies

When Fireheart and Graystripe make it to Riverclan camp, Fireheart breaks the news to Ravensong that Yellowfang is dead. He is Thunderclan's medicine cat now. Ravensong hangs his head, Mosscloud padding over to comfort him. Bluestar suddenly jumps up and yowls out about the prophecy Spottedleaf had given her, the spits that the message had been wrong; fire has destroyed her clan, not saved it. Fireheart tries to assure it hasn't but Bluestar won't listen. She suddenly demands the clan return home immediately. Fireheart pipes the forest is bare, and the camp is destroyed. Bluestar doesn't care, ordering her cats to stand.

Thunderclan is devastated when they see their territory, especially their camp. But they settle in, mostly happy to be home. In the clearing, Bluestar harshly demands to be taken to Yellowfang's body. Fireheart tells her where she is. He then goes to speak with Ravensong and Cinderpath who stand outside, waiting their turn to pay the old medicine cat theor respects. Suddenly Bluestar wails and comes marching from Yellowfang's den. Her eyes are distant, her expression furious. She asks why Starclan would do this to her clan. She claims they've declared war upon them, and now she shall never forgive them. She sounds mad, so unlike herself. Ravensong decides to feed Bluestar some poppy seeds to help her calm down and takes her to her den. Fireheart then addresses the clan, ordering patrols and commanding the remaining cats to help rebuild the camp.

After all is organized Fireheart sits in thought for a while. He thinks about Bluestar and her behavior. She was in such a terrible state now. Would she recover? Fireheart tried to chide himself and reassure himself she would. But a dreadful point of reality creeps into the back of his mind. What if she never did? A night later, Fireheart addresses the clan. She refuses to conduct a ceremony for Thunderclan's deceased members. She says she does not want to put them in the paws of Starclan, their ancestors don't deserve the company of Thunderclan cats. Mosscloud comes to soothe Bluestar, taking her back to her den to rest

Two nights later its the gathering. Fireheart asks Bluestar who she'd like to go, but she declines to choose. In fact, she decides she will not be attending the gathering, not wanting to honor Starclan for they have done nothing but bring hardships for her clan. Fireheart reluctantly leaves Bluestar alone in her den to tell the clan the news. Then he organizes the gathering patrol and leads the clan to Fourtrees. When they reach the clearing, Fireheart sees Runningnose run over to the leaders. Just as Fireheart was explaining Bluestar's absence, the Shadowclan medicine cat assures the leaders that his clan is healthy and their leader will stove shortly. Then Runningnose breaks the news that Nightstar has lost all his lives. Tallstar asks who the new leader of Shadowclan is. Runningnose is about to answer when the rest of his clanmates arrive. Fireheart's blood runs cold as he spots who is at the head of the patrol. It's Tigerclaw

#warrior cats #wcs #warrior cats rewrite #rising storm #warriors: rising storm #viti's rewrite #finally posting this part. thanks for your paitence guys #the other parts will be up soon too #at least for the rest of The Prophecies Begin

[stargleam-star]

Warriors Rewrite Pt 1: Into the Wild

Just a note, these posts are always gonna be kinda long so Im throwing it under a read more. Let me know what you think please!

Our story begins in the same way that it does it canon. There's a Riverclan battle, and Tigerclaw is not at all pleased that Redtail's called a retreat. He silently swears to get back at the tom, and Oakheart.

We move on to see Bluestar and Spottedleaf. Bluestar worries about the clan's need for warriors, and asks Spottedleaf if she thinks it would be wise to name Willowpelt's kits apprentices early. Spottedleaf chides her softly, telling her that is not Starclan's will. They must be made apprentices in the proper time. But Willowpelt's oldest kit (Graykit) can be named.

Bluestar then thinks about the kits she gave up. Would Thunderclan be suffering as much if Mistyfoot and Stonefur had been among their ranks? Spottedleaf asks if Bluestar is asking Starclan for answers. Bluestar breaks from her train of thought and responds that that is what she is doing. It is then when Spottedleaf sees a shooting star and receives the Fire Alone prophecy

Now we cut to Rusty who dreams of the forest. When he wakes, he leaves his home to explore, much to his friend Smudge's displeasure. Before Rusty leaves, Smudge tells the little tom about the wild cats who live in the woods. He also mentions hearing from a local queen named Quince that one of her kits had ran away into the forest, and she never saw him again. Rusty thinks it's just a story the worried queen tells young cats to keep them from the wandering off. He assures that he'll be fine and that he'll be back by nightfall.

As Rusty explores the forest he gets attacked by a cat named Graypaw. Graypaw says he's an apprentice warrior of Thunderclan, just named at Sunhigh. He'd snuck away from his patrol because he scented something strange

Cue said patrol. The cats who come from the bushes are Bluestar of course, and Redtail. They scold Graypaw for wandering off and then chide Rusty for attempting to hunt on Thunderclan land. Bluestar offers Rusty a place in Thunderclan after explaining a bit about wildcat life, and Redtail gives the "you cannot have a paw in both worlds" speech in place of Lionheart. Rusty needs time to think it over, so Redtail escorts him back to Twolegplace

The next day after saying goodbye to Smudge, Rusty meets Lionheart and Whitestorm in the woods. They take him back to Thunderclan. Longtail says his insults, and Lionheart goads Rusty into fighting the rude tabby.

When the fight's over and Rusty has been named Firepaw, Bluestar names Longtail as the new apprentice's mentor. Since Longtail was so keen on fighting Firepaw and having him prove himself worthy of joining the clan, Bluestar figures this sort of thinking will be good for the kittypet, to toughen him up and help him adapt to being a Thunderclan cat. Meanwhile she hopes that training an apprentice will teach Longtail patience, and that it will show the young tom that even cats who come from different places arent so different after all.

Graypaw teases Firepaw about his new mentor. He then offers to take Firepaw to the medicine cat den to have his scratches checked out and healed. Upon them entering, Spottedleaf is pleased to meet Firepaw. As she cleans his cuts, she tells Firepaw her brother, Redtail, had talked about him. At the mention of the deputy's name, suddenly a cat bursts into camp. This cat, Ravenpaw, is frantic. He's panicking and bloody, and starts to choke out the words "Redtail is de-" before he's interuppted. Redtail comes rushing into camp, collapsing on the floor. He's alive but terribly injured. Spottedleaf rushes out to heal him and Ravenpaw, tending to her brother first.

While she's busy, a third cat comes into camp. Its Tigerclaw. He narrows his eyes at the sight of the deputy then turns to talk to Bluestar. He tells her and the clan about whats happened. There was a battle with Riverclan at Sunningrocks. Redtail and Oakheart were fighting, and Riverclan's deputy tried to kill Thunderclan's. But Tigerclaw intercepted and killed Oakheart first. As he did so, Redtail and Ravenpaw had left to go home to be healed. Bluestar thanks Tigerclaw for his bravery, seeming to try and hide some sadness, then excuses herself to visit the elder's den.

Spottedleaf gets Redtail's wounds under control. She then works on Ravenpaw who has a cat beside him with white and lilac patched fur. The cat mews worries about him, but assures him that she's proud and that she's sure he did his best during the fight for Sunningrocks. Ravenpaw leans against her, relishing in the older cat's comfort. Graypaw tells Firepaw the molly is Mosscloud, Ravenpaw's mentor and Bluestar's daughter. After, he recommends they give Spottedleaf and her patients some space, and decides to give the tom a tour of camp. Firepaw meets Sandpaw and Dustpaw during this time

The next day, Graypaw recommends he and Firepaw check on Ravenpaw before their mentors give them a tour of the territory. Tigerclaw is in the medicine den when they arrive, pestering Ravenpaw. He tells the little tom to get over himself, that the wound on his shoulder was barely a scratch and that he needed to suck it up so he could go back to training. Spottedleaf scolds Tigerclaw harshly, telling him Ravenpaw can return to his apprenticeship when she says he's ready. Tigerclaw is stunned silent and leaves the den without looking at anyone in the den

After, Graypaw and Firepaw tour the territory with their mentors. When Longtail takes his turn to speak, he addresses Graypaw or Lionheart moreso than his own apprentice, barely making eye contact with Firepaw. And when he does, his blue gaze is filled with disgust. Firepaw is concerned about this. He doesn't like his mentor much so far and can see the feeling is mutual. But he knows eventually they have to get used to each other.

The next day Lionheart, Mosscloud, and Lontail take their apprentices out to have a hunting lesson. Firepaw and Graypaw hunt for the first time, each eager to give it a try. Firepaw proves to be a natural hunter, catching a plump mouse on his first try. Longtail seems impressed by his apprentice's natural abilities, and praises them justly. Firepaw hopes this will serve to bring them both closer, now that his mentor sees he's not so soft after all

Two moons pass, Firepaw has adapted well to life in the forest. Today he's off on his first solo hunt. A cat burts from the undergrowth while he's distracted, attacking him. It's Yellowfang. Firepaw pins her, and Yellowfang tries to goad him into killing her, as she is old and weak. Firepaw refuses, forcing Yellowfang to stand. He takes her home to Thunderclan, ignoring the old cat's request to be fed for the time being

Yellowfang's immediately taken prisoner. Redtail and Bluestar recognize her as Smokefang-Shadowclan's senior medicine cat. They question why she's come here, but Yellowfang refuses to answer. Bluestar decides to keep the old cat prisoner, while Redtail suggests they show a bit of leniency, giving her free range of camp. Firepaw is assigned to keep watch of her and to assist Spottedleaf in tending to the old cat. Longtail is made to help his apprentice, if only to aid him in keeping Yellowfang from running away. Yellowfang is moved to the medicine den where Spottedleaf greets her happily. Firepaw briefly explains what's happened. Spottedleaf admits secretly she's glad that Yellowfang has come. She could use an extra set of paws in the den, even during this relatively peaceful time in greenleaf

Bluestar calls a meeting at sunhigh. She announces the news from the dawn patrol. Windclan has been driven out, seemingly by Shadowclan. Yellowfang refuses to give away Shadowclan secrets when Longtail goes to question about this occurrence. Bluestar commands the cinnamon tabby back down and Yellowfang is left unbothered. Redtail decides it should be best to beef up patrols and to keep stricter watch on camp now that Shadowclan poses such a huge threat. Bluestar agrees; she also thinks the clan has more desperate need for warriors now than ever. She decides to speed up the training of the apprentices. She announces Sandpaw and Dustpaw will be traveling with her and their mentors the next night to the moonstone. Then she names Cinderkit and Mistlekit as apprentices. Cinderpaw is assigned to Mousefur, and Mistlepaw is given to Runningwind. Willowpelt returns to warrior duties, and the meeting is dismissed.

A few days later Firepaw has an assessment. As he's hunting, he runs into Smudge. Tigerclaw spies them together and tells Bluestar when they get home. Bluestar questions Firepaw about his loyalty but he assures he has no desire to leave. Smudge is just an old friend he hadn't wanted to get hurt. Bluestar understands and dismisses him, leaving to get ready for her trip to the moonstone.

Bluestar, Redtail, Sandpaw, and Dustpaw leave. Lionheart is left in charge, much to Tigerclaw's displeasure. Next day they return, and Bluestar announces they will have their final assessments tomorrow. As a result they're not picked to go to the gathering that night, so they can rest. Instead, Firepaw, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw are chosen, as well as Cinderpaw and Mistlepaw. Cinderpaw is a little nervous and asks the older apprentices if she can follow them tonight. Firepaw is happy to invite her into their group. Graypaw teases his little sister playfully.

At the Great Rock, the apprentices split up. Graypaw follows Lionheart around, Ravenpaw meets with other clan apprentices to share stories, and Firepaw walks around with Cinderpaw. The two talk awhile as they look around at enemy warriors, making jokes and about them quietly to have fun.

They pass by Tigerclaw who's telling the story of what happened at the battle of Sunningrocks. Redtail is with him, filling in gaps of the story. Tigerclaw does not look pleased by the deputy's interjections.

Soon the apprentices move on to find Ravenpaw. Ravenpaw is also telling the same story, but it sounds different. Cinderpaw points out how odd this is, and Firepaw agrees. Before they can question it the gathering starts. Goes pretty much the same as it does in canon

Firepaw and Cinderpaw rush home to warn Yellowfang about Brokenstar calling her a kit killer. The clan comes home, Darkstripe and the queens want to attack and throw Yellowfang out. Bluestar objects and orders no cat touch her. She wasn't called out by name and they have no proof she's ever hurt a kit.

Next day, Sandstorm and Dustpelt are named warriors. The clan rejoices, especially since Shadowclan threatens the border

A moon passes. Shadowclan keeps trying to pressure Thunderclan into giving up land. Bluestar wants guidance and decides to visit the moonstone again. This time she takes Ravenpaw, Graypaw, and Firepaw. Longtail comes with them, Mosscloud is left behind so the camp has more warriors to defend it while they're away

The patrol arrives at mothermouth, and Bluestar dreams with Starclan. Longtail guards the cave outside while the apprentices watch over their leader. However, Ravenpaw starts to feel claustrophobic and steps out for some air. When Bluestar wakes, she rushes out of the cave, insisting the patrol head home immediately

On the journey back to camp, the patrol is attacked by rats. Firepaw is almost mauled by a particularly large one but Longtail snatches it up and snaps its neck. Firepaw's extremely grateful to his mentor. Longtail insists its no big deal, seeming a bit flustered. Bluestar loses a life to the rats

Ravenpaw is nervous about what they'll see when they get home. He's mostly worried about Redtail and Firepaw asks why. Ravenpaw confesses Tigerclaw's story isn't the whole truth of what happened at Sunningrocks. Tigerclaw, Oakheart, and Redtail were in a scuffle at once. While Oakheart was pummeling Redtail, Tigerclaw bit into the Thunderclan deputy's throat, trying to kill him. Redtail kicked Oakheart away believing it was he who was trying to kill him. Oakheart slammed into a pile of stones and was crushed to death in the rock fall. Tigerclaw backed down, and Redtail slipped away as Ravenpaw turned to go back to camp. Firepaw becomes more eager to get home

When they return home, the clan's under attack. The patrol joins in the fight and their forces are enough to help drive Shadowclan away. Casualties were made in the wake of the attack. Mistlepaw was killed by Clawface as she tried to defend the nursery. Speckletail was killed by Blackfoot who'd managed to get into the den. Halftail is also killed by a Shadowclan warrior. The final cat found dead in the clearing is Redtail. Tigerclaw says Brokenstar is the one who took his life. The clan grieves greatly for the cats who were taken from them. Before Bluestar joins in the vigil she names Lionheart the new deputy. Tigerclaw looks angry. Firepaw worries for Lionheart

Bluestar invites Yellowfang to stay as a second medicine cat to Thunderclan, as she proved herself worthy by helping to defend Spottedleaf and the elders in the battle. She also offers to have the clan call her by her real name, Smokefang. Yellowfang agrees to be the clan's medicine cat, but requests to keep the name she's been going by during her detainment. Having a new name in her new clan is like having a completely fresh start. Bluestar agrees and respects her wishes.

Two days later Longtail and Firepaw have intense battle training. Tigerclaw, being one of the best fighters in the clan and Longtail's friend, observes.

After, Tigerclaw and Longtail walk ahead and chat as they return home. Tigerclaw expresses suspicions of there being a spy in Thunderclan. He thinks it may be Ravenpaw due to claims from Darkstripe who said he saw the little black cat in Shadowclan territory the day before. Longtail agrees with the suspicion, telling Tigerclaw about how Ravenpaw came out of mothermouth before the others, and that he'd gone off for a while to hunt and clear his head. "It could have been long enough to reach Shadowclan" Lontail claims. Tigerclaw proposes they do something about Ravenpaw before he endangers the clan again. Worried for Ravenpaw, Firepaw rushes home ahead of the older warriors

Back at camp, Firepaw questions his friend about what happened the day before. Ravenpaw tells him that Tigerclaw ordered him to hunt in Shadowclan territory as part of a secret misson. Firepaw then tells him that this has made cats believe Ravenpaw to be a traitor, and that he could be in danger now. This serves to make Ravenpaw very nervous, but he doesn't know what to do. Firepaw promises to protect Ravenpaw, and that he'd ask Graypaw and Cinderpaw to help look out for him too

The next day, Firepaw goes to the nursery with Graypaw and Cinderpaw to see Brindleface who just had kits (Ashkit and Fernkit). When they all come back out, Firepaw pulls his friends aside to tell them about what's going on with Ravenpaw. He also tells them the true story of what happened at Sunningrocks. Cinderpaw exclaims that she knew the story had seemed off before. Graypaw worries for Lionheart, fearing that if Tigerclaw had attempted to kill Redtail before, he could try to do the same with Lionheart too, now that he was deputy. The apprentices agree that from now on, Ravenpaw won't be left alone and that they'll all defend him against the clan if need be.

A couple moments later, Firepaw is called into Bluestar's den to have a meeting. When he comes out, Frostfur is mewling about kits missing from the nursery. Snowkit, Brightkit, and Thornkit are nowhere to be found in camp. Frostfur is worried about them, especially for her son Snowkit who is deaf. Across camp, Darkstripe exclaims that Spottedleaf and Yellowfang are also missing from their dens. The only evidence of them was the mollies' fearscents. Firepaw, while looking for the kits, spots Yellowfang's pelt as she disappears through a hole in the camp barrier

Bluestar sends Firepaw to go after her. The clan is starting to blame Yellowfang for the kitnapping and Bluestar only trusts Firepaw to investigate, since he is closest with the old cat.

Before he leaves, Firepaw meets with his friends. He decides Ravenpaw should stay behind so no cat believes he's trying to betray the clan. Graypaw decides to stay with him to act as protection. Cinderpaw insists Firepaw should not go alone, and that she will go with him. Firepaw's grateful for the company and the two head out

Cinderpaw picks up Yellowfang's scent as they travel. The pair follow it towards Shadowclan territory. They end up running into Yellowfang who's accompanied by Spottedleaf. Yellowfang knew she'd be blamed for the missing kits and went to find them. Spottedleaf insisted on coming so that Yellowfang would have a witness, and someone to help carry the kits home. The four cats team up, deciding to sneak into Shadowclan together. On the way, Yellowfang tells the patrol about Brokenstar's kit-warriors

By Shadowclan's borders, the rescue patrol meets with the exiled elders of the clan who help them sneak into camp. On the way they bump into a Thunderclan patrol. United, they plan to attack Shadowclan

A raid is carried out, Lionheart dies fighting Blackfoot during this rough battle. Spottedleaf is killed by Clawface as she tries to help wrangle the kits. Yellowfang and Cinderpaw take the little ones to safety. Thunderclan successfully drive out Brokenstar and his goons. Bluestar mentions to Longtail how his apprentice is very much like him; keen, driven, loyal; ready to step up and prove the honor of himself and other cats if need be. Longtail is proud and praises Firepaw justly. It seems now the two are getting along

Yellowfang and the kits are brought home, Spottedleaf and Lionheart are mourned. Tigerclaw is named deputy. Ravenpaw steps up during this time, offering to train under Yellowfang as a medicine cat apprentice. He loves Mosscloud, he enjoys her teachings, but he realizes he's not cut out to be a warrior. The thought of the Shadowclan battle had terrified him, and seeing more cats dead has convinced him he needs to follow a different path. Mosscloud is a little sad but still very proud of Ravenpaw, promising to be his biggest supporter. Yellowfang is grateful to have a young cat around. Firepaw is secretly relieved by Ravenpaw's choice. Tigerclaw wouldn't dare harm a medicine cat, which means the black apprentice is safe.

Three moon time skip. It's Firepaw and Graypaw's final assessment. They pass with flying colors. As they come home, Swiftpaw, Brackenpaw, and Snowpaw eagerly ask how the test went, admiring the older apprentices. As if in answer, Bluestar calls a meeting. Firepaw and Graypaw are given their warrior names: Graystripe and Fireheart. Longtail watches with approval and Fireheart swears he can see the sparkling silhouette of Lionheart beside him, smiling. Fireheart glances up at Silverpelt that night during their vigil, wondering if all the cats they'd lost-or if all of Starclan-were smiling favor upon them in that moment. Fireheart hoped so. In fact, deep within his heart, he knew so.

#warrior cats #wcs #viti's rewrite #into the wild #warriors: into the wild

[stargleam-star]

Warriors Rewrite Pt 2: Fire and Ice

Quick notes: Snowpaw is Mosscloud's new apprentice and she is teaching him paw-speak (all clan cats know paw-speak in this au), Willowpelt trains Brackenpaw, and Whitestorm is Swiftpaw's mentor. Ashkit and Fernkit are nearly identical silver-gray spotted tabbies, though Ashkit has blue eyes and Fernkit has green.

 The prologue of the story is pretty much the same. Windclan is in exile hiding in some Twoleg tunnels

We cut to the main story. Fireheart and Graystripe have just finished their vigil and head to the warrior's den to sleep. In his dreams, Fireheart sees silhouettes of cats in a darkened background, moist scents filling his nostrils. In front of them suddenly a fire flares to life, leaving all but one cat shrouded in darkness. The lone cat is thin, and lifts his long skinny tail as if greeting the warrior. The cat's shape suddenly shifts a heartbeat later, becoming smaller, stockier. A voice rises from the quiet which had only been filled by the crackling of burning wood before. Its very familiar, perhaps from a deceased clanmate? Fire alone will save the clan.

The next evening is the gathering. Fireheart, Graystripe, and Sandstorm are chosen to go, as well as Cinderpaw and some others. Cinderpaw eagerly catches up with the two new warriors as they're heading to Fourtrees, asking them about what it's like to be a warrior now. Sandstorm butts in and teases them, claiming Cinderpaw's more interested in finding out how her "wuv" Fireheart is doing than finding out about warriorhood. Both cats become flustered and Cinderpaw tells Sandstorm to buzz off. Sandstorm laughs and trots ahead to catch up to Dustpelt. Cinderpaw decides to leave the warriors alone, falling back to walk beside Snowpaw.

At the gathering, Fireheart and Graystripe are introduced to the clans as warriors. Bluestar mentions the progress of Ravenpaw's medicine cat training, and tells the clan they will have more warriors and apprentices soon. Nightstar steps up next to talk about Shadowclan news. Frostfur speaks up, asking if there's been any news on Brokenstar. She's asked this for the past 3 gatherings, and still the answer is the same. There have been no signs of him or his followers, and so Nightstar assumes the former leader has left the forest for good. Crookedstar speaks next, asking Shadowclan if they have recovered enough to stop catching fish in the river. Nightstar says they have, since the clan now has the moors to hunt on. Bluestar speaks up, arguing it's not right for Shadowclan to hunt on that land. It's Windclan's, they should return home. After some arguing, all three leaders finally agree. Though Fireheart spots some alter intent in the other leaders' eyes as Crookedstar and Nightstar exchange glances.

The next day, Graystripe and Fireheart are assigned to fetch Windclan. Ravenpaw fixes them both some traveling herbs, wishing them luck on their mission. Fireheart calls over Cinderpaw and tells her to keep a close eye on Ravenpaw while they're away. He doesn't trust Ravenpaw being left in camp with Tigerclaw, as he could still be in danger. Cinderpaw promises to stay close, and decides she'll ask Snowpaw to help, though she won't tell him about what Tigerclaw has done. Fireheart briefly wonders if he should warn Bluestar about Tigerclaw when they come home, but he pushes the thought to the back of his mind for now. With that, the two warriors set off on their mission

On the way across the moor, the two spot some Riverclan cats trying to hunt. Fireheart tells himself to alert Bluestar of this when they return home. The pair makes it to Windclan's camp and follow their scent trail from there

Soon Fireheart and Graystripe find the tunnel Windclan has moved into. But when they enter they're pinned by some warriors. Tallstar approaches, gasping at the sight of Fireheart. "Jake?" He calls him, making the Windclan warriors step away from Thunderclan's. Fireheart corrects the leader and introduces himself and Graystripe. Tallstar apologizes, inviting them further into the tunnel. Fireheart talks with the leader for a short bit, convincing him it's safe to go home. Graystripe tells him he and Fireheart are happy to lead the way, and Tallstar gratefully thanks them. Tallstar rounds up his clanmates, allowing the Thunderclan warriors to guide their way back to the moor.

While journeying, Fireheart falls back to speak with Tallstar. He tells the leader Jake had been his father, and he wonders how Tallstar knows him. Tallstar briefly regales a tale of his youth and how for a while he'd hung around with the ginger kittypet. There's tenderness in his tone as he speaks, and Fireheart wonders if Tallstar had been in love with Jake. After this discussion, Fireheart goes to help Morningflower carry Gorsekit.

The clan rests a while in a barn, and are greeted happily by a cat there named Barley. The next day when set out, Windclan's medicine cat Barkface sees an omen. Blood is staining the clouds, an unnecessary death is to come. Tallstar tries to wave this omen off, prompting his clan to keep moving

At last, Windclan is delivered back to their territory, back to their camp. Tallstar is incredibly grateful to Fireheart and Graystripe, and tells them to thank Bluestar for sending the aid. Tallstar then tells Deadfoot and Onewhisker to escort the warriors back to their territory. The patrol heads to Fourtrees, following the gorge in Riverclan territory there. While traveling they are attacked by a Riverclan patrol.

While they're fighting a Thunderclan patrol arrives to help. Sandstorm helps fend a Riverclan cat off of Fireheart, but the cat nearly sends her over the gorge. Fireheart catches her before that happens. A ways over Graystripe is fighting a cat, and accidentally throws them off the edge. The battle is called off after this. Though Riverclan is pissed that their warrior died

The Thunderclan patrol returns home and Bluestar praises the young warriors for a job well done. As reward for their heroism, she plans on making both toms mentors. Tigerclaw tries to argue that other warriors would be better choices, but Bluestar's made up her mind

At moonhigh the naming ceremony is held. Thornpaw is given to Graystripe. And Brightpaw is given to Fireheart. Tigerclaw looks on at them, clearly unhappy that his stepkits are going to be taught by such inexperienced warriors.

The next day, Fireheart takes Brightpaw on a tour of the territory. Graystripe decided not to come along which leaves Fireheart feeling a little down. Still, he acts cheerful and happily guides his apprentice. Brightpaw is well behaved and mannerly, following his every pawstep. She's also very inquisitive, asking many questions.

Along the way, the pair stumble across a kittypet. Brightpaw asks if they should chase her, but by the time they make a move the cat is startled away. Foreheart decides to keep moving but tells himself he'll return here tomorrow. The cat seemed familiar and he'd like to speak with her. At sunhigh the next day, Fireheart returns to where he saw the kittypet. He sneaks into the nearby Twoleg garder and meets the cat face to face. The kittypet happens to be his sister, Princess. He and Princess talk a while, Fireheart explaining the clans a little bit, and Princess talks about her kittypet life and her soon to be born kits. Eventually they decide to part ways but Fireheart promises to visit again.

Another day passes. Fireheart and Graystripe finally train their apprentices together. Its on this day where Graystripe is rescued by Silverstream in the frozen river. Fireheart becomes jealous of the molly as he notices the way they look at each other already

As a result of getting soaked, Graystripe catches a cold which lasts even a quarter moon later. It doesn't seem to be getting better and that's because FIreheart's noticed his friend has been sneaking out a lot. He only noticed because he's gone to visit his sister a few times early in the morning. As a result of Graystripe's illness, Fireheart has started training both Brightpaw and Thornpaw. Fireheart has also started becoming closer with Ravenpaw and Cinderpaw. Often he'll share tongues with the medicine cat apprentice, and will have Cinderpaw join him with his apprentices for hunts and battle training.

Graystripe's cold spreads to others in the clan. Fireheart now not only worries about his friend's antics, but the physical wellness of the clan. Fireheart overhears Mosscloud expressing the same worry to Longtail. She tells him she's afraid of catching a cold and losing their unborn kits because of it. Fireheart feels a swell of excitement inside for his former mentor, excited to one day meet the tabby's kits. But he prays that the illness spreading around passes the soon to be mother.

Curiosity gets the better of Fireheart eventually and he decides to find out where Graystripe's been sneaking off to. He finds out that it's with Silverstream and he becomes furious. Not only is his best friend off flirting with an enemy warrior, but as a result he's been neglecting his apprentice and indirectly spreading illness to the clan. Fireheart argues with Silverstream to have her stay away from Graystripe but she refuses, accusing Fireheart of being jealous.

Fireheart returns home to find out Bluestar's sick with greencough. Dustpelt arrives, needing to tell Bluestar about Shadowclan cats on the territory. She can't take care of it, but Cinderpaw comes over and offers to tell Tigerclaw about what's wrong with Bluestar. Fireheart advises her not to, and leaves to fetch catmint in Twolegplace.

When he returns, Cinderpaw is gone. He frantically asks Ravenpaw about her whereabouts, and the apprentice tells him that Cinderpaw's gone to the burning ash to deliver the message about Bluestar. Fireheart races out of camp to find her. He arrives at the Shadowclan border in time to find his friend laying on the Thunderpath, hit by a monster

Cinderpaw is alive and brought back to camp. Only her back leg has been injured. Ravenpaw and Yellowfang examine her. Yellowfang tells Fireheart Cinderpaw will one day be able to become a warrior, whether she can walk on her leg or not. However, it'll take much longer now. Fireheart feels sadness for his friend. She was only a moon off at worse from being named a warrior. Now she'd have to wait a couple of extra moons

Fireheart goes to check on Bluestar. He enters her den just as she's coming back from losing her second to last life. After making sure that she's alright after waking, Fireheart goes to tell the medicine cats. Yellowfang thanks him for the news. Ravenpaw asks him if he can fetch more catmint tomorrow. Before leaving the den, Fireheart spies Snowpaw curled around Cinderpaw in her nest, helping clean her injured leg. He thinks its cute, finding some ease at the sight of something so sweet

Fireheart goes to get catmint the next day, taking Brightpaw with him. While collecting the herb he visits Princess who he finds out has just had her kits. Brightpaw introduces herself to Princess and asks curiously about the queen's kits. Princess is more than happy to talk about them. Then she talks to Fireheart about the clan. Fireheart shamelessly tells her about what's been going on with illness, Graystripe, Bluestar, and Cinderpaw's accident. Talking together, the three cats figure out maybe what'd happened to Cinderpaw had been a trap for Bluestar. Fireheart doesn't know if he believes it though, confessing he's been feeling off recently. He admits he is a little depressed having no kin in the clan, when most of the clan has family or love interests. Though he loves the company of his friends, its not the same as having something more intimate as family. Princess offers Fireheart a place to stay in her den if he's so lonely, but he respectfully declines. After a little more talking, Fireheart decides it's time to go back home.

A moon goes by. Graystripe is no longer sick but a good quarter of the clan is now. Ever since Fireheart saved Sanstorm's life a while back, she's started being nice to him, or at least not as sassy. Fireheart doesn't exactly understand why, but he appreciates it. Sandstorm has also been keeping him company more often which he's glad for. Somehow being around Sandstorm helps fill the void the lack of clan kin has left in his heart. When he isn't busy, Fireheart checks on Cinderpaw. She's progressing well in healing, having just fended off a nasty infection. Ravenpaw says she may be able to try walking soon, and Snowpaw seems eager to help her whenever he can

During a patrol, comprised of just Sandstorm and Fireheart, the pair check out the Riverclan border. They see the river's frozen and Sandstorm rushes home to tell the clan. Bluestar is pleased by the news and sends a patrol out the next day to raid enemy territory. The raid, however, has to be postponed due to the weather warming. When Fireheart gets home from the patrol, Graystripe attacks him for taking his place on the battle patrol. He thinks Fireheart doesn't trust him to fight Riverclan, and he's kind of right, though Fireheart did it for his protection. When the fight's broken up, Fireheart considers telling Bluestar about Graystripe's affair. But he decides against it, choosing to remain loyal to his friend

Fireheart decides to visit his sister the next day during a hunting patrol. He wants to check on her and tell her what's happened with Graystripe. When Fireheart gets there, Princess brings out her firstborn kit to meet him. She puts the kit in front of him, then tells Fireheart she wants him to take the kit back to his clan. She wants her (yes her, the kit is female) to grow up and be a hero like her uncle. Plus, having the kit in the clan might help Fireheart feel less lonely. Fireheart at first declines to take the kit. But after a little more persuasion, Fireheart decides to take her. Princess is thrilled. Firehert thinks the clan will be too. They need more warriors, kits were always a blessing

Fireheart brings Cloudkit to camp. Scorn greets him as he enters, leaving him feeling more alone than before. The whole clan's turned against him for bringing this kittypet kit here, even Ravenpaw and Cinderpaw seem to disagree with his choice (though they aren't mad, just concerned for the clan) Luckily though, the queens owe Fireheart a favor for helping rescue their kits. Brindleface accepts Cloudkit into her nest to suckle, having plenty of milk to spare. Cloudkit has been accepted into the clan

Another half moon passes. Thornpaw continues to be trained alongside his sister by Fireheart. Bluestar finally takes notice of Graystripe's negligence and holds a meeting. Graystripe is absent from it. Thornpaw is given to Sandstorm to train. Fireheart feels its unfair that Graystripe will be the last to find out his apprentice has been reassigned, but he knows it's his friend's own fault. Fireheart finds relief in knowing he has one less responsibility on his shoulders. And now Brightpaw can have his full attention. When Graystripe comes home later in the afternoon, Sandstorm purposely passes him by with Thornpaw, proclaiming out loud that she's excited to start battle training with her new apprentice. Graystripe is shocked, running to Tigerclaw to ask about Thornpaw. Tigerclaw looks utterly pissed at Graystripe, telling him if he'd been here he'd have heard the new of the apprentice's reassignment. Darkstripe passes by and sneers that if Graystripe had been around more his apprentice wouldn't be reassigned at all. Graystripe casts his gaze onto Fireheart, glaring at him, as if he was to blame for this. Fireheart feels his heart sink

That night at the gathering Bluestar argues with Crookedstar and Nightstar. Crookedstar counters her arguments accusing her of sending a spy into his territory. Fireheart knows its Graystripe Riverclan has been scenting. Nightstar chimes in saying the scent Thunderclan has caught on their shared border is from rouges, not Shadowclan. The leaders bicker some more, almost fight, and cause Starclan to cover the moon with clouds. The gathering is dismissed

The next day, Shadowclan scent it caught past the border again, and prey bones are found along with it. Tigerclaw leads a raid into enemy territory over it, leaving camp defenseless. Yellowfang recognizes the smell on the bones as Brokenstar's. No sooner she gets the words out the camp is raided

Brokenstar and his goons attack Fireheart, the apprentices, and queens. Fireheart faces off against Brokenstar himself. Clawface tries to intervene, but Graystripe arrives in time to snatch him off of Fireheart, killing the rouge.

Brokenstar sneaks into the medicine den to attack Yellowfang while the clan chases off the last couple of rouges. Yellowfang fights back, blinding him. When the ex-leader tries to slip away, Cinderpaw holds him down. Fireheart tells the medicine cats to finish Brokenstar off, but Yellowfang prevents this from happening, confessing Brokenstar is her son. Instead, Bluestar comes along and declares the rouge Thunderclan's prisoner. She changes his name back to Brokentail-his warrior name. Yellowfang gives the credit of Brokentail's blinding and capture to Cinderpaw. Bluestar is impressed, giving Cinderpaw her warrior name as reward. She is named Cinderpath.

A few days go by of relative peace. Though Cloudkit's started to cause some trouble. Tigerclaw vaugely threatens Fireheart about his niece. After Cloudkit and his adopted siblings are brought back to camp after wandering off one day, Bluestar commands Fireheart control his kin. Fireheart promises to keep a closer eye on her

That night as Fireheart sleeps, Redtail appears in his dreams. Cloudkit hunts in the background. The tom stands tall, head raised and starry eyes gleaming with determination. He speaks to Fireheart, giving him a message from Starclan. "A battle is coming. Beware a warrior you cannot trust." The warning comes as Cloudkit makes a grizzly kill on her prey, the mouse she'd been hunting letting out a cat-like screech of agony. Fireheart quickly wakes, looking over at the form of his sleeping friend Graystripe. Then he glances over at Tigerclaw from across the den. Which of these cats was the one Redtail was warning about?

In the morning, Onewhisker bursts into camp. He begs Bluestar to help his clan, they're being attacked by Riverclan and Shadowclan. Thunderclan is sent to help fight them off. During the battle Fireheart is attacked by Leopardfur. She wants revenge against Thunderclan for that one Riverclan warrior's death. Fireheart calls to Tigerclaw for help, but he just watches the fight instead. Fireheart realizes Tigerclaw is the warrior mentioned in Redtail's warning. Now Fireheart sees the true darkness of Tigerclaw's heart. After breaking away from the Riverclan deputy, Fireheart gets caught by Silverstream. Silverstream seems to have no issue with tearing into her mate's best friend. Though Graystripe calls out in an attempt to stop her. Silverstream snaps out of her battle rage, realizes who she's fighting, and backs down. But Fireheart attacks her before he realizes who it is. But Graystripe is quicker to call out this time, stopping Fireheart before he can lay a claw on Silverstream. Darkstripe sees this, and Fireheart spots him scurrying off to find Tigerclaw

After the battle is won, Graystripe thanks Fireheart for not hurting Silverstream. Fireheart promises that no matter what choices Graystripe makes, he'll always be his friend and look out for him. For the first time in a long while the two cats get along. Fireheart is relieved, and thinks that from now on things were going to be be alright

#warrior cats #viti's rewrite #wcs #warriors: fire and ice

[stargleam-star]

Warriors Rewrite Pt 0: Allegiances

So! Some of you may know Ive started rereading the first arc of warriors. As a result, I've been inspired to come up with my own version of a rewrite. I'm gonna make about 7+ posts of notes about things I'd change throughout the entirety of The Prophecies Begin.

To start off, let's talk about our cast

Leader: Bluestar (Apprentice: Sandpaw)

Blue-gray she-cat with a darker face, tail, and legs, and blue eyes. Basically she's a blue Burmese

She teaches Sandpaw instead of Firepaw because then it'd make sense when Graypaw says Bluestar only trains the deputy's kits. Not to mention I think Bluestar would be good at taming Sandpaw's attitude

Like in canon she gave up her kits. The way it happened was a bit different though. To look more convincing, Bluefur had Oakheart scratch her shoulder to make it look like she'd gone to fight the fox for her kits. Bringing home one of her kits half frozen made her story more believable

Deputy: Redtail (Apprentice: Dustpaw)

Small, mostly black tortoishell tom with a plumy dark ginger tail and green eyes

He lives! Or at least longer than he's supposed to. Probably til up about the time Lionheart dies in canon

He's mates with Runningwind. Sandpaw is their adopted daughter (we need more adoption positivity, plus her having no relation to the clan makes for a cleaner bloodline)

Medicine cat: Spottedleaf

Beautiful spotted torbie she-cat with a white chest, underbelly, and paws and amber eyes

She's not having a love affair with Firepaw/Fireheart in this. Also she's going to live slightly longer cause even tho Im not a fan of hers I want to change that

Warriors:

Lionheart (Apprentice: Graypaw)

Large longhaired golden tabby tom with a broad head, broad shoulders and amber eyes

Instead of dying during the raid Shadowclan leads on Thunderclan camp, he dies when the clan goes to chase out Brokenstar

Tigerclaw

Broad shouldered dark brown tabby tom with a scar across his muzzle and amber eyes

Whitestorm

White tom with a plumy blue-gray tail and yellow eyes

Bluestar raised him alongside Mosskit. So he sees her as his mom figure. He even calls her mom. He still loves Snowfur and sees her as his mother, but Bluestar was there for more of his life so he sees her as a mother too

Following that point, he sees Mosscloud as his sister. He also kind of sees Tigerclaw as a brother but doesn't have as strong of a bond with him as he does with Mosscloud

Mosscloud (Apprentice: Ravenpaw)

White she-cat with lilac patches and blue eyes

It's Mosskit!! She survived

Let me explain how: Bluefur snuck her kits out to bring to Riverclan (as she did in canon). But when she noticed Mosskit was falling behind and growing weak she panicked. She realized her daughter wasn't strong enough to make the journey, not like her littermates. So Bluefur tucked them away under a warm tree root and fetched Oakheart. Oakheart took Mistykit and Stonekit with him, and Bluefur carried Mosskit back to camp. It made her fox kitnapping story more believeable

Mosscloud doesn't really remember what happened that night anyways. If asked she'll say she remembers being cold and out of camp in the snow, and then next thing she knew Bluefur had carried her home. She believes Bluestar's story and believes her littermates are dead

She's really close with her dad, Thrushpelt. During free time she can often be found sharing tongues or having a meal with him

When she is busy, however, she's putting her focus on Ravenpaw. Mosscloud is an incredibly patient cat and wants to draw Ravenpaw out of his shell. She knows he has the potential to be a great warrior

Darkstripe

Black smoke classic tabby tom with a broad face and amber eyes. Like mama Willowpelt he looks like a British Shorthair

Longtail (Apprentice: Firepaw)

Lithe cinnamon silver classic tabby tom with a long tail and blue eyes

He was named a warrior 2 moons before Rusty came to Thunderclan

He was assigned to train Firepaw since he was so keen on testing the tom as soon as he stepped paw in camp (I'll go more in dept on this later)

Runningwind

What does "swift tabby tom" mean @ The Erins???

Here he's a fawn classic tabby tom with yellow-green eyes

He found Sandpaw at the edge of the territory when she was about a halfmoon-moon old kit and immediately brought her home to Thunderclan. She smelled of Windclan and he guessed a queen in the clan had abandoned her

Mousefur

Chocolate ticked tabby she-cat with amber eyes

She's pretty popular among the clan

She's around Longtail's age. They'd been named warriors together

Apprentices:

Sandpaw

Lithe dilute ginger classic tabby she-cat with green eyes

She doesn't know she was adopted from outside of Thunderclan. Nobody wants to tell her and frankly nobody really cares. She has clan blood, that's what's important. Plus she's strong, both physically and in wills

She's the oldest apprentice at approximately 9 and a half-10 moons

Dustpaw

Chocolate smoke tabby tom with amber eyes

He's kinda lean, like his brother. By the way Ravenpaw is his brother

He is 9 moons old at the beginning of Into the Wild

Ravenpaw

Small lithe black tom with a white chest locket, white tail-tip, and purple eyes ((this is my rewrite and I say purple-eyed ravenpaw rights.))

Like his brother he is 9 moons old

Ravenpaw is very grateful for his mentor. At first he feared he'd be given to a cat like Tigerclaw. But when he was given to Mosscloud, he calmed down, if only slightly. He appreciates her kind words and encouragement, and he responds well when she pushes him to do better. He wants to make Mosscloud proud

Graypaw

Longhaired gray tom with yellow eyes, a broad head, and a darker gray stripe from his forehead to his tail-tip. He looks like a British Longhair

He is 6 moons old at the start of Into the Wild, just like in canon. In fact, he'd been named an apprentice the sunhigh before he met Rusty.

He is still Willowpelt's son, despite having siblings who are two moons younger than him. Willowpelt became pregnant again not long after Graykit had been born.

Firepaw

Tom, handsome sorrel Abyssinian mix with green eyes. He's just...really orange

He's plump when he first comes to Thunderclan. Actually he remains kinda chubby

He's 6 moons at the start of Into the Wild

Queens:

Frostfur

Dilute tortoishell point siamese she-cat with a plumy tail and blue eyes

Obviously, her mate is Lionheart. They're the kinda couple who's really mushy and lovey

Her kits are Brackenkit, Swiftkit, and Snowkit

Willowpelt

Silver shaded white she-cat with a broad head and rich blue eyes ("rich" as in super blue. Like deep ocean blue). She looks like a British Shorthair

I decided to make her a queen early. I really like Willowpelt and I think she'd be good as a queen longer

Her mate is Whitestorm

Her kits are Cinderkit and Mistlekit

Before her current kits, Willowpelt had had 2 seperate litters before. Her first born is Darkstripe, who had siblings who had died young. He has an unknown father, but its suspected that he's half Shadowclan. Willowpelt's next litter consisted of one kit: Graypaw, who is also suspected to be half Shadowclan, but by a different tom.

Cinderkit and Mistlekit were born two moons after Graypaw was. This is because Willowpelt had had an out of clan affair, and while expecting a litter, fell in love with Whitestorm. When she was able to, she and Whitestorm mated and it resulted in kits a little sooner than either had expected. Yes this is a real thing that can happen, female cats can get pregnant again anywhere from 1-8 weeks after kitting.

Brindleface

Silver-gray spotted tabby she-cat with yellow-green eyes (I know what Brindle means but I've always headcanoned her to look like this)

She's expecting kits. Nobody knows who the father is though

Goldenflower

Pretty longhaired golden she-cat with broad shoulders, a broad head, and green eyes

She's incredibly fluffy. Even moreso than her brother

Her kits are Brightkit and Thornkit

Nobody knows who the father of her kits are, and she's going to keep it that way

Speckletail

Chocolate tortoishell she-cat

She doesn't have any kits as she is too old. She's just a permanent queen who likes helping newer mothers and kitsitting. She probably won't ever retire.

Kits:

Cinderkit

Blue-gray she-cat with a broad face and blue eyes

She's almost old enough to become an apprentice

Brackenkit

Golden-brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Brackenkit and his littermates are about a moon younger than Willowpelt's kits

Brightkit

Long haired white and ginger patched she-cat with green eyes

She's about a moon old

Thornkit

Longhaired golden tabby tom with orange eyes

Like his sister, he's a moon old

Swiftkit

White and black patched tom with heterochromatic eyes (one yellow and one blue)

Snowkit

Mostly pure white tom with blue eyes and a small patch of gray on the bridge of his nose. He is 100% deaf

I'm keeping this precious baby alive, you'll have to pry him out of my cold dead hands

Mistlekit

Silver shaded white she-cat with a plumy tail and yellow eyes

In canon she's Snowkit's littermate (who the Erins completely forgot about) soo I've revamped her and turned her into Cinderkit's littermate.

Like her sister she's about ready to become an apprentice

Elders:

Halftail

Dark brown tabby tom with a nubby torn off tail

Smallear

Gray tom with small folded ears

Patchpelt

Small black and white patched tom

One-eye

Pale gray she-cat, oldest cat in Thunderclan

Dappletail

Once pretty tortoishell she-cat

Thrushpelt

Lilac classic tabby tom with yellow eyes

He's still in love woth Bluefur but as always it's pretty one sided.

He adores Mosscloud with all his heart as if she were his own kit. As far as he and the clan's concerned, she is his kit. He's so happy he got to be involved in raising at least one of Bluestar's litter

Rosetail

Dilute mostly gray tortoishell with a pale ginger tail, and a white underbelly and paws

She retired early when Thistleclaw died

One day Bluestar explained to her how terrible her brother was, and even though she knows and understands, she still misses him

Cats outside the clan:

Smudge

Tom, Harliquine purebred Japanese Bobtail. Aka he's white and black patched and has a cute nubby tail

He has a little red bowtie collar

Yellowfang

Longhaired, flat faced, dark gray she-cat with a ragged scarred pelt, a yellow snaggle tooth, and orange eyes

Her name is actually Smokefang, but when she's exiled from Shadowclan she changes it.

Cats used to call her yellow-fang as an insult to her hygiene, so she took it on as her identity cause she's that bitch

Jake

Tom, purebred sorrel Abyssinian with amber eyes and a rainbow collar

Why do his owners let him roam around??? They probably don't know he's a pedigree purebred tbh

Nutmeg

Ginger and white tabby she-cat with green eyes

Princess

She-cat, ruddy and white Abyssinian mix with amber eyes and a pink collar

Barley

Black and white tom with yellow eyes and a red bandanna around his neck

Probably has a southern accent

Scourge

Tom, small all black Abyssinian mix with one white paw, ice blue eyes, a tooth studded collar, and dog teeth reinforced claws

Gotta talk about my boi if we're talking about a rewrite. He's probably got a genetic condition through Quince that makes him so damn small. Not to mention he's a runt

His collar is purple cause I make the rules here. And the very front has a bird skull because that's edgy and its a nod to flightfootwarrior/aka @ corvidkatana's old scourge design which I'm incredibly fond of

Also he has a hard time talking and walking. His collar's kinda tight on him now and it hurts to talk. His usual silence comes out more intimidating anyways. As for the difficulty walking thats due to his claws.

#viti's rewrite #warrior cats #wcs #warrior cats rewrite #long post #Im on mobile rn I'll put it under a readmore tonight

[stargleam-star]

Warriors Rewrite Pt 3: Forest of Secrets

Quick notes: Cinderpath is still healing from her injury, though she’s recognized as a full warrior. Cloudkit/paw is pure white with blue eyes and is probably the fluffiest cat in the clan. Pebblekit is a white mollykit with blue-gray patches (Bluestar’s color), Finchkit is a chocolate tabby tomkit (looks kinda like Oakheart), Cloverkit is a lilac tabby mollykit, and Pigeonkit is a cinnamon and white tabby tomkit

Prologue goes almost the same. Except Oakheart confesses Mistykit and Stonekit are his children with Bluefur to Graypool. But Graypool is understanding and caring, she promises to care for these kittens and keep Oakheart’s secret safe.

In main story, it’s been a while since the battle in Windclan camp. A bad snowstorm has kicked up, making prey scarce. Tonight is the night of the gathering and Fireheart and Graystripe have been chosen to go. Though Tigerclaw, Darkstripe, and Dustpelt are giving them some troubles. It seems Tigerclaw’s been spreading rumors about the two young toms being disloyal to Thunderclan for letting Silverstream escape unharmed during battle. Fireheart is angry at this, and finally thinks about exposing Tigerclaw’s evilness to Bluestar. He decides to gather evidence after the gathering

During the gathering, Graystripe wanders off to be with Silverstream and Fireheart joins a group of elders. They talk about a leafbare worse than the one they’re experiencing now. Rosetail mentions that was the season Bluestar lost two of her kits. Fireheart is intrigued by this information, only having heard vague mention of other kits by Bluestar in random conversations from Mosscloud or Thrushpelt. Before more info can be learned the meeting starts. Its a little tense but otherwise goes on without a hitch

Fireheart finds Graystripe and Ravenpaw after the gathering ends, rushing them home so they can discuss Tigerclaw. They’re the first warriors to make it back to camp. As soon as they get there they fetch Cinderpath and help bring her with them to a secluded area. Brightpaw follows after them a heartbeat later. Brightpaw had heard a bit about what was going on with Tigerclaw when Fireheart had taken her along to meet Princess. So now he doesn’t mind having his apprentice sit in and learn the whole story

Ravenpaw retells the story about the battle at Sunningrocks. He makes mention of some new details. Redtail had been fighting against the Riverclan warrior Stonefur when Oakheart jumped in. He sent Stonefur away and then told Redtail “No Thunderclan cat will ever harm that warrior. Its a very weird detail that stands out to Fireheart. None of the four cats can understand what’s so special about Stonefur though, so for now they set that information aside.

Ravenpaw continues with the story. He says after Oakheart started fighting with Redtail, Tigerclaw jumped in. The three toms were tussling along the floor in a pile. Ravenpaw swears he saw Tigerclaw sink his teeth into Redtail. Cinderpath comments that he’d mentioned seeing Oakheart biting the deputy at the same time. Was Ravenpaw was so sure it was Tigerclaw trying to land the killing blow? Ravenpaw insists he saw right. He says he’d seen Oakheart biting Redtail’s right shoulder, close to his neck but not on it. Graystripe recalls seeing the scars left on the former deputy when he’d healed. There was a nasty bite wound on his right shoulder, and another on his throat on his left side. But that didn’t prove Tigerclaw was trying to kill Redtail, only that at the very least he’d made a mistake and bit him instead of Oakheart.

Fireheart then brings up that he, Graystripe, and Ravenpaw had been away at Mothermouth when the battle Redtail died in had started. So they don’t know who’d finished him off, and it could’ve possibly been Tigerclaw. Cinderpath had been there though. She says she remembers seeing Tigerclaw near Redtail during the fight, but there was so much going on that she didn’t actually see him do anything. Although she distinctively recalls Tigerclaw hovering above Redtail’s body when she’d finally noticed the deputy was down. Graystripe pipes it still doesn’t prove Tigerclaw is a murderer.

Fireheart decides that if they can prove Oakheart was killed in a rockslide instead of by Tigerclaw, it’ll put a hole in the deputy’s story and at least make Bluestar question and be suspicious of his actions. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. The others agree. The five cats decide to part ways, finding it too chilly to keep talking the way they have right now. When Fireheart and Graystripe head towards the warrior’s den, Fireheart asks his friend if he can get a favor from Silverstream. They need to speak with Stonefur about what happened to Oakheart at Sunningrocks. And maybe Stonefur will be able to explain what Oakheart meant when he said “no Thunderclan cat will ever harm him”. Graystripe believes he’ll be able to get his mate to help

The two cats settle into the den to sleep. Sandstorm comes over, sensing the coldness of Fireheart’s fur and curls up in his nest with him to warm him up. Feeling cozy, Fireheart drifts off into a dreamworld full of warmth and soft grass. A hunting trail leads him to a small clearing where a tortoishell waits for him. Redtail stands with head and tail raised, motioning for Fireheart to follow him. He leads him a good few foxlengths away to a pond which seems to reflect back flickers of light like fireflies. The two toms bend down, their noses close to the water’s surface. “Remember, Fireheart. Water can quench fire.” Redtail warns. Fireheart glances at the deputy just as he dissipates into a cloud of smoke which wakes him up.

Fireheart and Graystripe head down to the river. They’re determined to start their investigation. They cross, sneaking close to Riverclan’s camp. After waiting a while they catch Silverstream as she’s leaving. Graystripe brings her over so Fireheart can question her. Silverstream tells him she hadn’t been at the battle for Sunningrocks. But she can fetch a cat who might know something. She leaves a short while, returning with another she-cat. She introduces her as Mistyfoot. Mistyfoot is a lilac color with darker points and blue eyes; her main fur color reminds Fireheart of Mosscloud’s patches. In fact for some odd reason Mistyfoot seems familiar to him, despite them never meeting before, but he figures he’s probably spotted her at a gathering once.

Graystripe and Silverstream leave Fireheart to talk with Mistyfoot. She says she’d been at the fight for Sunningrocks. Fireheart asks what she knows about Oakheart and his death. Mistyfoot confesses Oakheart was her father and that the deputy’s death was a tragic accident. Fireheart asks if she’s sure, and Mistyfoot tells him she’d helped dig him out from the rock rubble herself. Plus the medicine cat had confirmed the rockfall had been what killed Oakheart. Fireheart then questions what relation Oakheart had with Stonefur, and Mistyfoot tells him the tom is her brother. But Oakheart wasn’t overprotective of them, he’d let them fight. Fireheart wonders aloud why Oakheart would proclaim no Thunderclan cat would harm Stonefur. Mistyfoot suggests Fireheart speak with her mother Graypool at a later time. Fireheart thanks Mistyfoot for the information and returns to Thunderclan territory

When Fireheart gets into camp he notices cats gathering near the nursery. He goes to investigate, finding Longtail standing guard outside. Mosscloud has just had her kits. After waiting patiently for his turn, Fireheart is let inside to meet them. Mosscloud purrs fondly as she tells Fireheart her kittens names: Pebblekit, Pigeonkit, Cloverkit, and Finchkit. Fireheart can’t help but think about how much each of them already reminds him of his former mentor

Graystripe greets Fireheart when he comes out, whispering to him that Silverstream and Mistyfoot have arranged for him to meet Graypool tomorrow

Fireheart goes to speak with the elder, asking her about what Oakheart had said. When the two of them are left alone she tells him a secret. Graypool had raised Mistyfoot and Stonefur as her own, but they had originally been born into Thunderclan. But she warns Fireheart not to breathe a word of this information, no cat but the two of them could know. Not even Mistyfoot and Stonefur. Fireheart leaves this meeting satisfied, ready to start finalizing a case to present to Bluestar

When he gets home, Fireheart requests a meeting with the leader. They go into the den, and he presents all that he knows to her. Bluestar warns these are serious charges he’s accusing Tigerclaw of. Fireheart knows but asks if she can believe the deputy could possibly be dangerous. But she gives no reply. Fireheart takes this opportunity to mention Mistyfoot and Stonefur’s heritage to Bluestar and this makes her snap at him. She yells at him to never bring up any of this information again and demands he go do something useful like train his apprentice. Fireheart slinks away, off to find Brightpaw to train her

Along the way he bumps into Ravenpaw who’s off to fetch herbs for Yellowfang. Fireheart offers his assistance to her as soon as he fetches his apprentice first. Ravenpaw is glad for the company and goes to wait for him by the camp’s entrance. As Fireheart goes to the apprentice’s den, he passes Brokentail who’s being taunted by kits. Fireheart scoops the leader of them up, carrying her a few tail-lengths away. Cloudkit is mad at him and Darkstripe tries to jump in for the kit’s defense. He’d been watching and claims her playing was all in good fun. Fireheart tells him to butt out and Darkstripe calls him a kittypet. Cloudkit asks what that means. Fireheart tells her, and confess she is one too, and her biological mother. But Cloudkit proclaims she doesn’t care. She turns, shouting to Darkstripe calling him “Dirtstripe” as a response to his earlier remark. Fireheart chuckles and sends her off towards the nursery. He finally calls for Brightpaw, having her come with him to meet with Ravenpaw at last

Later that night when Fireheart sleeps he dreams of kitten Mistyfoot and Stonefur beside a Thunderclan queen with no face. It unnerves him so much that he when he wakes the nightmare sticks out in his mind. But he pushes it back trying to think of better things. Like hunting with Sandstorm and their apprentices. The four of them head out together. But as they’re busy catching prey a kit cry grabs their attention. They race over to the noise to see Cloudkit facing a badger. The four older cats leap to action, Brightpaw dragging Cloudkit to safety. When the creature is gone, Fireheart questions his niece. She says she got seperated from Brindleface when she’d taken her and her adopted littermates out for a walk, and then the badger stumbled upon her. Glad that Cloudkit is safe, the patrol calls off their hunt and bring their prey and the kit back home. When they get home Tigerclaw punished Cloudkit with elder duty for causing so much trouble recently.

The next day, Fireheart decides to visit Princess. As he’s on his way, he catches Tigerclaw’s scent heading in the same direction and its fresh. Scared for his sister, Fireheart follows the scent trail, running into Tigerclaw. Tigerclaw, however, doesn’t see the young warrior. He passes by him in the direction from home. When he disappears, Fireheart continues following his scent curious as to where he’d been. The trail ends near a pile of carrion where many pawprints have been pressed into the snow. Fireheart is suspicious of what had gone on here but decides to leave it be, going to Twolegplace.

A quarter moon passes. Fireheart has a small chat with a heavily pregnant Goldenflower and the happy new mom, Mosscloud. Tigerclaw approaches them telling Fireheart to lead a border patrol to Riverclan. He brings Runningwind, Sandstorm, and Longtail. As they approach the river they see that it’s flooded. Fireheart worries for Silverstream and Mistyfoot. The patrol returns home to report to Bluestar

Bluestar calls a meeting, warning the cats of the flood. She orders a prey stockpile to be made. Fireheart and Graystripe leave to hunt as close to the river as possible. In reality, Graystripe is trying to get to Silverstream. As they head to Sunningrocks the two hear some kits cry and go to rescue them.

When they are saved, Fireheart and Graystripe head to Riverclan camp. Leopardfur meets them as they try to enter, accusing them of trespassing. But she shuts up when she sees the two kits. They’re Mistyfoot’s missing kits, Reedkit and Primrosekit. Mistyfoot is grateful for her kit’s return, as is Crookedstar

Fireheart and Graystripe then offer to help the clan more knowing the river’s fish are being poisoned. Crookedstar is reluctant to accept outside help but eventually caves. The pair hunt for Riverclan the next day. When they leave from their visit, Graystripe tells Fireheart a powerful secret: Silverstream is expecting kits

Fireheart is frantic at the news arguing about it with Graystripe on the way home. As he speaks of his friend’s unborn kits he thinks of Mistyfoot and Stonefur. How had their parents handled having halfclan kits?

As the pair make it to Thunderclan territory, Cloudkit comes up to them. She’d spied on them, tracking them from camp all the way to stepping stones. And following her is Tigerclaw. Tigerclaw looks incredibly mad and suspicious, eyeing both toms questioning what they were doing n Riverclan. Then he accuses them both of disloyalty, especially casting his glare onto Graystripe. He leads the way home, eager to tell Bluestar of the treachery

Cloudkit is put back on elders duty for not staying in camp like she was told. Fireheart manages to get a private meeting with Bluestar so he and Graystripe could properly explain what happened. They tell her everything: about the washed away kits, about Riverclan’s camp, and about helping them with getting food. Bluestar sees the good intentions and commends them fir it, but she still punishes them. They are put on apprentice duty, with warrior supervision, and they are no longer allowed to help Riverclan. Graystripe looks devastated and Bluestar questions why. Graystripe refuses to tell. Bluestar then asks why he seems to feel so strongly for other clans these days be absent for his own. But Graystripe doesn’t respond. Bluestar simply grunts in annoyance and sends the warriors away

Bluestar dismisses them, but asks Fireheart to stay an extra moment. She asks him if any Riverclan cats have drowned, seeming oddly worried. Fireheart says no. Bluestar then asks who the mother of the kits he rescued are. Fireheart replies they are Mistyfoot’s. This makes Bluestar meet his gaze, which she hadn’t before. Her blue eyes are sparkling in a similar way that he’d noticed they had when Mosscloud had given birth to her kits. Before he can question it, Bluestar sends him away to eat and start his new duties

Dustpelt is the cat assigned to watch Fireheart and Graystripe work. He pesters Fireheart more, calling him “Firepaw” and “kittypet”, interuppting him as he’s trying to hunt. He tells Fireheart he’s a lousy hunter and Fireheart asks him to demonstrate better stalking. But Dustpelt makes an excuse, which Fireheart is all to happy to point out. Dustpelt gets offended and turns to leave

Back at camp, Fireheart visits the medicine cats. He gives some prey to Ravenpaw and Yellowfang and Yellowfang tells him some excellent news. Ravenpaw will be receiving his true medicine cat name in a half-moon, and Cinderpath’s leg has healed enough for her to move to the warrior’s den. Fireheart congratulates his friends then leaves to feed some other cats. He gives prey to the elders next, watching his niece eagerly listen to stories as she lays out fresh moss. When he emerges from the den he sees Tigerclaw by the prisoner’s tree, sharing tongues with Brokentail like they’ve been clanmates for seasons. Fireheart thinks of this as a sweet merciful gesture, and for a heartbeat he starts to doubt the accusations he’d brought up against the deputy

A few days pass. Fireheart is relieved from apprentice duty and taken with Tigerclaw and Longtail on a patrol to Fourtrees. They need to see if the floodwater will stop them from going to the gathering. On the way they stumble upon the stream they usually have to cross, seeing it now swollen. They travel upstream a while, searching for a safe place to cross. Tigerclaw makes them wade into the water where it seems shallowest, finding a fallen branch the clan may be able to use to cross over. He makes Fireheart test it to see it its safe. Fireheart gets onto the branch, feeling unbalanced. The current is rough beneath it, and eventually pushes the branch free, sending Fireheart into the water. Longtail jumps in after him, saving his apprentice from drowning. Fireheart thanks him when they’re safely ashore, though Longtail insists it was nothing.

On the way home, Fireheart thinks about what just happened. Tigerclaw had sent him onto the branch despite seeing how dangerous it was. Though Longtail had saved him, Fireheart doubts Tigerclaw expected him to survive. Meeting the tabby’s gaze, Fireheart can see the hatred in his eyes. He watches Tigerclaw’s eyes narrow with an unspoken threat, and he knows for sure that this had been a murder attempt. Fireheart’s doubt in Tigerclaw’s evilness from a few days ago is gone; he knows for sure now the deputy is dangerous and willing to kill those who get in his way.

The next evening is the gathering. Bluestar has Fireheart, Graystripe, Sandstorm and a few others attend. But Sandstorm is concerned, there isnt a way to get to the gathering with the flood. But Bluestar is insistent they at least try to get there, or else Starclan will be mad. So they go, at first trying to follow the Thunderpath. Then they go onto Shadowclan territory. They’re caught by the enemy clan’s gathering patrol, but Bluestar explains their situation before any fighting can break out. The two clans travel together to Fourtrees.

When they get there the meeting is called. Nightstar speaks first declaring he’s learned the whereabouts of Brokenstar. He knows Thunderclan is harboring the ex-leader as a prisoner. His warriors heard it from a talkative apprentice, and Fireheart sees Swiftpaw crouch down in shame a few fox-lengths ahead of him. Bluestar explains why she’s chosen to keep Brokentail instead of killing him. But Shadowclan and Windclan are pissed regardless of her motives. The meeting is called off on account of hostilities. Riverclan offers to aid Thunderclan back home, owing a debt to Fireheart and Graystripe for their aid.

On the way home, Fireheart catches Graystripe trying to walk with Silverstream, and he sees Bluestar chatting with Mosscloud and Mistyfoot. The leader seems so happy talking with the two queens, a warmness glowing in her eyes. Fireheart thinks its though he’s also curious about Bluestar’s behavior

A few more days go by. Fireheart is out hunting with Brightpaw. He’s sent her away after a mouse’s scent trail but she comes running back pretty quickly. She looks frantic, and she hurriedly tells her mentor Shadowclan and Windclan are coming to attack Thunderclan. Fireheart sends her home to warn Bluestar and have her bring some warriors to help fight.

The clan fights hard against the enemy warriors, winning the battle. But it feels like a hollow victory. They’d only had to fight because they were harboring Brokentail. Graystripe comes home after all is said and done. Tigerclaw sees him return and questions his whereabouts. He questions Graystripe’s loyalty too, as he’s getting sick of the warrior never being around. Graystripe dismisses him, going to deposit some prey he’s caught on the fresh-kill pile

Fireheart visits the medicine den. Ravenpaw is healing him, and while Bluestar is being tended to by Yellowfang. Yellowfang thanks her for protecting Brokentail and she’s sorry for all the trouble that’s come to the clan. Bluestar comforts her in a motherly way and Fireheart watches. Pieces start falling to place in his mind and he realizes Bluestar has to be the mother of Mistyfoot and Stonefur. Her concern for Riverclan, her avoidance of the question of their heritage, Mistyfoot’s darker color points and Stonefur’s identical blue-gray colored pelt, and the loving look in Bluestar’s eyes when talking to the queens, it all made perfect sense now. Fireheart decides to ask about this later.

Bluestar calls a meeting after giving the medicine cats some time to tend to wounds. She decides to make the older apprentices into warriors. Brackenpaw is named Brackenfur, and Snowpaw is named Snowear (Fireheart thinks the second warrior’s name is kind of ironic and cruel, given that Snowear is deaf). Unlike his brothers though, Swiftpaw is not named. He’s held back as punishment for revealing the secret of Brokentail to the other clans. Rightfully he is mad and Whitestorm is disappointed in him. Frostfur is also displeased, trying to argue against the decision. But Bluestar reminds her the danger the clan was put in as a result of the secret getting out. Frostfur backs down though she’s still cranky

A few days pass. Fireheart looks for Graystripe in the forest. His friend has snuck off again and Fireheart is afraid Tigerclaw might do something to him if he catches him alone-or worse, with Silverstream. Graystripe ends up running into Fireheart during his search however, begging him desperately for help. Silverstream is kitting. Fireheart runs home and fetches Ravenpaw, since Yellowfang is out herb collecting. The two cats run to Graystripe and Silverstream’s aid. The kitting seems to be going wrong, as there’s a lot of blood surrounding the queen. Tigerclaw is also there. He found Silverstream when she was left alone, and Graystripe regrettably had to tell him what’d happened while Fireheart was away. Tigerclaw is furious and tries to have the warriors leave Silverstream alone to handle her kitting, but Ravenpaw stands up to him, telling him kits are in danger, and that Tigerclaw is being a ridiculous, stupid furball. Fireheart is proud of his friend, thinking about how he was once a skinny nervous apprentice, and now he’s standing here a confident full grown medicine cat. Ravenpaw pushes Tigerclaw away so he can tend to Silverstream.

The kitting is rough, but Ravenpaw manages to help her and two out of three kits survive. But Silverstream and the kits are weak; they need to be watched over. Ravenpaw has the warriors bring Silverstream to Thunderclan’s medicine den where she will be kept until she is strong enough to go home. The kits are given to Goldenflower-who’d just had her litter the day before-to suckle until Silverstream is strong enough to do it herself

Tigerclaw gets Bluestar, bringing her to the medicine den to show her what Graystripe’s been up to. Bluestar is shocked at the sight of the weak queen, but is not suprised by this news. Fireheart expects Bluestar to be furious, but she’s not. She congratulates Silverstream on her kits and goes to see them, promising to interrogate her and Graystripe later when things have settled a bit. Tigerclaw is angered that Bluestar would not take immediate action, but leaves as Yellowfang returns and yells at him to leave her patient alone

Fireheart leaves to check on the kits for Graystripe. He finds Bluestar there, looking down at the kittens with longing. Was she missing her other kits, he wonders. Fireheart watches Bluestar stand and go to curl up beside Mosscloud, her only truly known daughter, rubbing her cheek against hers. She looks down at Mosscloud’s sleeping kits, purring at the sight. Fireheart decides to leave the family alone to report to Graystripe

Graystripe is practically glued to Silverstream’s side. Ravenpaw is feeding her herbs to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, Yellowfang studies the dead it. It’s shaped abnormally, like its spine had twisted inside the queen and got stuck. It could have been the reason for Silverstream’s complications, she explains. She praises Ravenpaw for being able to dislodge it, or else that alone would have killed Silverstream is bloodloss hadn’t. Graystripe thanks Ravenpaw over and over again for his aid. Fireheart decides to go train Brightpaw a while so the happy couple could enjoy each other’s company in peace

While out hunting by the river, Brightpaw calls out to Fireheart alerting him of a patrol heading to Riverclan. They must be going to tell the clan about Silverstream, he figures. When Fireheart and Brightpaw return home, he decides to speak with Bluestar. He catches her alone in her den, and asks what will happen to Graystripe now. Bluestar says she isn’t sure yet, that she must discuss it with her senior warriors. Fireheart suddenly insists his best friend couldn’t help himself, being with Silverstream. Bluestar understands. Fireheart knows, and asks if it’s because of her affair with Oakheart. At first Bluestar seems mad, then she admits defeat. She confesses she had once been mates with the Riverclan cat Oakheart, and had kits with him. Fireheart asks why she gave Mistyfoot and Stonefur up, yet kept Mosscloud in Thunderclan. Bluestar explains what happened.

She had an affair with Oakheart and had his kits, but the spot for deputy was about to open due to the current deputy retiring. However, the clan wouldn’t want a queen with three needy kits as deputy. And another cat with vicious intents was competing for the position as well. So Bluestar went to give her kits to Oakheart. But one, Mosskit, was too weak to make it to the river, muchless to Riverclan itself. So Oakheart took the stronger kits with him, and Bluestar took Mosskit home. With only one, less needy kit to look after, Bluestar was able to make deputy, and her other kits were able to have successful lives with plenty of food and care that were scarcer to find in Thunderclan during the time.

Bluestar says she’s telling Fireheart all of this only due to his discoveries, and because she feels at least some cat should know the truth. Not even Mosscloud knows her littermates are alive, and that her father is not Thrushpelt. Fireheart promises not to tell anyone. After this, Bluestar dismisses him so she can speak with Tigerclaw. Fireheart joins Graystripe back in the medicine den. The kits have been moved to be with Silverstream. Fireheart sits beside his best friend, admiring them. The little tom is gray like his father, with tabby stripes which look almost like lightning bolts-Fireheart can’t help but be reminded of Crookedstar’s tabby markings when looking at them. The mollykit is silver like her mother, with a darker colored stripe starting from her forehead to her tail. On her tail the stripe brances off into many stripes, looking like veins on a feather. Graystripe proudly announces the kits’ names: Stormkit and Featherkit

Day turns to night, an almost half moon showing ahead. A meeting has been called, with a Riverclan patrol in attendance. Leopardfur and Mistyfoot are among them. In the crowd, Fireheart can hear chatting, some of which being from Willowpelt who announces to Mousefur that she’s expecting another litter. Every cat’s attention is drawn towards Highrock after a few more moments. Bluestar says there are two things to announce tonight: an apprentice ceremony and Graystripe’s trial. Bluestar gets the ceremony out of the way first. Bluestar gives Cloudpaw to Frostfur, since she is patient and can teach the young cat to hunt even with a snowy white coat. Ashpaw is given to Dustpelt. And Fernpaw is given to Darkstripe.

After that’s done, Bluestar calls Graystripe forward. She accuses him of being disloyal for many moons, neglecting his apprentice, and ignoring warrior duties. Tigerclaw has also informed her that he’d refused to fight Riverclan. Bluestar asks where Graystripe’s loyalties lie, what side does he choose? Graystripe admits he just wants to be with Silverstream and his kits. And if Thunderclan will not keep him and let him have his family, then he’d be happier moving to Riverclan. Leopardfur says her clan will take him, but he will be held on probation for a while to make sure he’ll make a good Riverclan cat. Fireheart is flabbergasted. After the meeting ends, he pulls Graystripe aside. He begs him not to go, not to leave him in the clan alone. But Graystripe tells him no Thunderclan cat will want him here now. Plus Silverstream needs him, the kits need him. And Fireheart isn’t alone, he has Ravenpaw, Sandstorm, Cinderpath, Brightpaw, and Cloudpaw. Fireheart cries it isn’t the same thing, none of them are him. His relationship with the other cats isn’t the same. But Graystripe won’t hear it. Fireheart offers to at least let him walk with him to stepping stones. Graystripe agrees

The Riverclan patrol leaves Thunderclan camp. Silverstream is carrying Stormkit, and Graystripe has Featherkit. The patrol crosses the river without hesitation, but Graystripe stops. Silverstream waits for him on the opposite bank. Graystripe puts Featherkit down at his paws so he can nuzzle his face into Fireheart’s fur. He promises to see him at gatherings, and to tell him how the kits are doing whenever he gets a chance. Fireheart tells Graystripe how much he’ll miss him, and that even if Thunderclan thinks he’s terrible, Fireheart still thinks he’s the best. Graystripe thanks him and finally mews his last goodbye. He picks up his daughter and carries her with him across stepping stones. Fireheart yowls Graystripe’s name one last time in sorrow as the gray tom disappears behind some reeds with Silverstream and the kits

A half moon passes. Fireheart managed to convince Frostfur to let him take Cloudpaw hunting with him and Brightpaw. In reality they’re going to see Princess. As they make their way there, Cloudpaw smells other cats, rouges and kittypets, and Fireheart swears he can smell Tigerclaw’s scent too. He doesn’t say anything, however, and leads the apprentices to Twolegplace. Princess is sitting on the fence as they approach and she happily greets the Thunderclan cats. She’s surprised to see a new cat with them, and is thrilled to realize that this cat is her daughter. Mother and daughter reunite while Fireheart speaks with his sister. He asks her if she’s seen any strange cats. She says she’s heard some outside at night but has never seen any. Seeing that Princess is getting upset at the thought of nasty strangers, Fireheart has Cloudpaw and Brightpaw change the subject. After sunhigh, he calls the apprentices home. Before they leave, Cloudpaw asks her mother to come with them. But Princess says no, but maybe someday she will. With that, the Thunderclan cats return home

Fireheart returns near Twolegplace with Brightpaw the next day to hunt. Brightpaw comes back from up ahead to tell Fireheart she’s spotted Tigerclaw near Twolegplace. Both cats are concerned and decide to sneak over and see if they can find out what the deputy’s up to. Tigerclaw is with a group of rouges, rallying them amd riling them up. They’re all so distracted they don’t notice the Thunderclan spies. But Fireheart realizes what’s going on. Tigerclaw is leading a raid on Thunderclan camp. Fireheart and Brightpaw make it home in time to join the battle. Fireheart follows Tigerclaw right into Bluestar’s den. The deputy has her cornered, and tells her to say her prayers. Bluestar is confused and Tigerclaw says he’s going to kill her over and over as many times as it takes for her lives to be spent.

Fireheart attacks Tigerclaw, clawing him and sending him running into the clearing. Tigerclaw turns to fight him. Cinderpath is out there when Fireheart emerges, wondering what’s going on. He shouts that Tigerclaw’s tried to kill Bluestar, that he’s the one who’s led this raid. Cinderpath becomes enraged, attacking the tabby tom. She holds him down, and Fireheart helps with the battle

Riverclan arrives to Thunderclan camp with Sandstorm’s patrol, helping them drive out the rouges. Fireheart thanks them as they leave, scanning the crowd as they go, looking for the familiar pelt of Graystripe. But he isn’t there and Fireheart is disappointed. But right now there’s more pressing matters to worry about. Fireheart goes to check on Bluestar who’s emerged from her den now to hold a meeting. She shaken up and bleeding from a head wound but overall she seems ok enough. Bluestar declares Tigerclaw is a prisoner now for trying to kill her. Dustpelt and Darkstripe pipe that they don’t believe its true. Longtail shrinks back, looking to his mate for comfort at the revelation that one of his best friends is a traitor and an almost murderer. Cats wonder what’s going on. Bluestar commands Fireheart to tell the clan all that he knows. Fireheart calls to Cinderpath and the newly named Ravensong for help explaining Tigerclaw’s deviousness. Mosscloud wonders aloud how Tigerclaw would ever think they’d accept him as leader for killing Bluestar. Fireheart explains its probably why Tigerclaw brought this raid upon the camp. So he could blame the rouges for Bluestar’s murder and become clan leader in her place. He may have even tried to make himself out to be a hero for it. The clan breaks into an outcry, demanding justice be served.

Bluestar sentences Tigerclaw to exile. Tigerclaw declares he’ll be a leader someday somehow, and any cat who follows him now will be well looked after. He looks towards Darkstripe who avoids his gaze. He says he’s upset Tigerclaw didn’t tell him what he was planning, so he won’t go with him. Then Tigerclaw looks to Dustpelt who bristles, snarling at him. Finally he looks at Longtail and Fireheart stiffens. Longtail stands tall, baring his icy blue gaze into his friend’s. He stares for a good heartbeat. Then he growls menacingly at Tigerclaw saying “no, I will never join you. I am loyal only to Thunderclan, not treacherous murderers,” then turns with Mosscloud to go check on their kits in the nursery. Fireheart feels unimaginable relief that his mentor has turned his back on Tigerclaw at last.

Bluestar demands Tigerclaw leave now at once. Tigerclaw hesitates a moment long enough to threaten the clan, and especially Fireheart, before the clan’s senior warriors chase him from the camp. When he’s gone, the clan turns to ask Bluestar who’ll be the new deputy. Cloudpaw elects her uncle Fireheart for the job. Darkstripe sneers in disgust at the idea and Cloudpaw snaps at him about being prejudice. Fireheart says he doesn’t want to be deputy anyways, or even think Bluestar would choose him. He turns to talk to Ravensong about how some cats ate handling their wounds. Ravensong says he nerds more herbs. Fireheart volunteers to get some. In the den he spies Yellowfang with Brokentail, tending to his wounds. Fireheart watches as she pushes a few red berries towards the blind old cat, realizing what they are. Yellowfang speaks with Brokentail as he consumes them, reminding him how he and Shadowclan had driven her out. That Thunderclan with time could have learned to trust and care for him, as they’ve done with her. Brokentail says he doesn’t care and Yellowfang says she knows he cares for nothing, not even kin. Not even for her, his own mother. Brokentail is in disbelief learning this. Yellowfang then says as the one who created him, created this monster, she is the one who will end him. Brokentail is confused for a moment before he starts choking. He asks what he’s been fed and Yellowfang tells him: deathberries. After a few moments of struggle Brokentail lays still, and Yellowfang hangs her head. The ex-Shadowclan leader is dead

That night, Fireheart dreams of Redtail. The stars in his pelt seem to glow brighter than usual, as if the tom had regained part of himself. Had it been because FIreheart had revealed the truth? After a few quiet moments, Redtail spoke up. “Starclan is calling you.” Fireheart wakes up after this, for fear of the former deputy warning him about his possible upcoming demise. To rid himself of the thought, Fireheart goes out into the clearing. Surprisingly the whole clan is there. They’re all worried since it is past moonhigh and no cat has been chosen for the next deputy. Now they’re all waiting to see what Bluestar will do. Bluestar finally comes from her den. She slowly and in a rather emotionless way announces the new deputy will be Fireheart. Fireheart feels uneasy at this decision knowing that he’d hardly a warrior yet, that there were so many better choices. But he’s the one who’s Bluestar picked. Sandstorm nuzzles Fireheart affectionately, Cinderpath hobbles over to cover his face with licks. Ravensong softly congratulates his friend while Cloudpaw cheers loudly with pride for her kin. But none of this encouragement calms Firehear’s nerves. He glances at the sky towards Silverpelt, wondering if this was what Redtail meant.

#warrior cats #wcs #warriors:forest of secrets #viti's rewrite

[stargleam-star]

I recently reread thru my posts about what I'd do for a warriors rewrite and I've gotta say. I don't like it. There's lots of things I do enjoy (Brightheqrt having more screentime yes please <3) but there's still stiff I dislike that I'm trying to figure out why I kept it in (like Graystripe being a dick still)

Should I redo my rewrite?

#warrior cats #viti's rewrite #viti shoosh

[stargleam-star]

Can someone suggest a few kit names please? The reson why will be revealed later

#warrior cats #it may or may not have to do with my rewrite #wcs #viti shoosh