Coqui's Song: I know, Spottedleaf is a huge Sue. She's also pretty flat. Not too many dimensions. I am very good at giving characters dimensions – I once made Bill Hawks seem almost human, and if you've ever played Professor Layton and The Unwound Future, you would agree that it's a significant accomplishment. But then again, I've never tried this with Spottedleaf, so this is probably not going to end too well. The Ravenpaw/Fireheart switch thing randomly occurred to me in the middle of the chapter, so I wrote that up and was like "... Okay, something good. Now where the hell do I put it?" I felt like it was a random tack-on and was worried it wouldn't go over that well, but clearly it did. :D And I am glad that you picked up on the prophecy... or is it a prophecy? –raises eyebrow–

warriorfan: Ah, fast pacing, the bane of my existence. –sigh– Don't feel bad about pointing this out, this is something I've been struggling with for my entire writing career... which is nine years. I have no patience. Let's see if I can slow it down a bit without making people want to kill themselves from boredom.

Nightkill: Yeah, most Warriors fics are cliché ideas that have been done before/aren't even allowed according to the site's guidelines. I've never been in the Percy Jackson fandom so I can't say what it's like there, but the Phoenix Wright one is starting to go downhill and it makes me depressed. Luckily, I have another idea that I'll probably write after this one.

Azurri: -gives virtual cookie- I can't answer your Scourge question, due to the fact that it would entail spoilers, and I do so hate spoilers. –smiles innocently–

Choreographed Chaos: I lovelovelove getting into the heads of villains and minor characters, and am always glad when people appreciate those efforts. Thank you. Also, your username is awesome. :)

Rainstar of ShadowClan: I agree, I was using the phrase "eyes as round as moons" way too often. (Stupid writing tics. -_-) Thanks for pointing out those typos. :)

Sorry for the delay, everyone! My life became super crazy in the past few months, but I'm back to writing now... hopefully. Thank you kindly for your patience.

CHAPTER 5

After he finished eating, Fireheart tracked Graystripe's scent. When he found his friend, Graystripe was sitting just outside the barn entrance. His tail was curled over his paws, his eyes turned toward the Clans.

"Hey," Fireheart said softly.

"Hey," Graystripe said. His voice was empty. He was empty.

They sat there in silence for the longest time, both thinking, both trying to grapple with the knowledge that they were outcasts, that they would never again meet with the Clans beneath Fourtrees, never gather by the Highrock for a ceremony, never share tongues during lazy afternoons in the camp. A grief more acute than any he had ever felt stabbed Fireheart. What he wouldn't give to go back in time to that raid on his camp and save Bluestar from her fate.

"When I was a kit," Graystripe said, startling Fireheart from his thoughts, "I had so many dreams for the future. I wanted more than anything to become a warrior, a brave fighter, a staunch upholder of the warrior code. I dreamed of becoming leader some day, that I would lead my Clan into great battles and come out victorious. I wanted my name to be spoken with awe by all, no matter their Clan. I wanted a beautiful mate who loved me, and kits who would boast that I was their father. I wanted to watch them become apprentices, and then warriors."

Fireheart turned to him. "Graystripe..."

"I wonder what my kit-self would think if he could see me now," Graystripe continued. "Exiled from the Clan I loved, no longer a warrior, but a traitor. No hopes of ever becoming leader, forever living in infamy as the traitor who took a RiverClan cat as a mate and killed his own leader. A coward who left his kits to die at the paws of a tyrant."

"None of that is true," Fireheart said.

"Yes, it is, Fireheart," Graystripe replied. "I left Featherkit and Stormkit behind. Tigerstar's probably killed them by now."

"Sandstorm promised that she would look after them," said Fireheart. "She might return them to RiverClan."

He turned his gaze to Fireheart, his eyes full of grief. "It's not just that. They're all I have left of Silverstream. She died for them, and I left them behind. How could I do that to her, Fireheart?"

Fireheart leaned over and licked his friend's ears. It was a small show of comfort in the face of Graystripe's guilt, but it was all Fireheart could offer him.

"I just wish that I could talk to her again," Graystripe whispered. "Just once more."

Fireheart thought of his own experiences with talking to dead cats and shuddered. The memory of his dream from earlier returned in full force.

"Talking to dead cats is not as great as you would think," Fireheart said without thinking.

Graystripe blinked. "Um, what?"

Fireheart, realizing what he said, tried to backtrack. "That's not what I meant. I meant... I meant..." But nothing occurred to him. "Actually, that was kind of what I meant."

Graystripe edged ever so slightly away from Fireheart. "What are you talking about?"

Fireheart hesitated. "Sometimes, I have dreams."

"What kind of dreams?"

"The kind that involve cats from StarClan," Fireheart said, knowing that Graystripe probably thought he had had a bit too much catnip or something. "Do you remember Spottedleaf? She's in most of them. Normally she tells me something vague, kind of a mini-prophecy, and then it happens in real life. Last night though, I had a dream about Bluestar."

"Bluestar?" Graystripe repeated incredulously.

"Well, it wasn't about Bluestar, but I heard her voice," Fireheart said.

"Did you, like, see her?" asked Graystripe.

Fireheart shook his head. "I couldn't see anything. I was in this small, dark place. I was surrounded by rock, and I couldn't go back the way I had come. I could only go forward. And then Bluestar told me that the dark shouldn't be what scared me. It was the fire that I should be most afraid of."

Graystripe looked at him long and hard for a moment. Then he said, "I know the last couple of days have been rough on you, Fireheart, but this is ridiculous."

Fireheart ignored him. "She wanted me to keep going, but where? I wish StarClan cats would stop being so annoyingly vague. They really..."

His voice trailed off as something clicked in his mind. A dark, rocky place. A tunnel. StarClan.

"She wants me to go to Mothermouth," he whispered.

"Fireheart, I think you need to go back in the barn and sleep some more," Graystripe said.

"No. I have to go to Mothermouth, Graystripe. Don't you see? In the dream, I was in the tunnel leading to the Moonstone," Fireheart said, getting to his paws. "I have to go right now."

Graystripe blocked his path, his tail flicking back and forth. "Listen, Fireheart, I think you're just a bit cracked with grief and stress," he said, which seemed rather hypocritical to Fireheart. "If you want to go to Mothermouth so badly, wait for the cover of night. I'll go with you. But you are not leaving this place right now, when Tigerstar might still be searching for us."

Fireheart glared at Graystripe, but he had to concede that his friend had a point. "Okay," he said. "At moonhigh. We'll go at moonhigh."

Graystripe nodded. "Yes. Moonhigh."

Fireheart knew that Graystripe was just humouring him, but it didn't mattered. All that mattered was that he went to Mothermouth to share tongues with StarClan.

Maybe, just maybe, they could help him.

-X-X-X-

"Goldenflower, they're half-Clans."

"They're just kits. They've done nothing wrong. They deserve to live every bit as much as Tawnykit and Bramblekit."

"The fact of the matter is that they violate the warrior code, just by existing. I do not want them in my Clan."

"Tigerstar, no matter what you say, I won't let you kill these kits."

Tigerstar clawed the ground in frustration. Goldenflower glared up at him, her tail wrapped protectively around the four kits she was nursing. Only two of the kits were hers and Tigerstar's. Two of them were the traitor's.

"You're nursing the leader's kits alongside half-Clans. What kind of message does this send to ThunderClan?" he asked.

"That you are a compassionate and forgiving leader," Goldenflower said, her eyes narrowing.

Tigerstar glared down at her, his fury building. "You will give me the traitor's kits right now, Goldenflower."

"And which kits would those be?" asked Goldenflower.

Tigerstar blinked, startled. "What did you say?" he said shakily.

Before Goldenflower could say anything, Darkstripe poked his head into the nursery. "Tigerstar, one of our patrols picked up a ShadowClan exile. He's in our camp. He wants to talk to you about something."

Tigerstar turned to his deputy. One of the exiles? "Do you happen to know his name?"

"Blackfoot," Darkstripe replied. "Do you want me to deal with him, or–?"

"No. I should be able to deal with him," Tigerstar said, turning from Goldenflower. He was still shaken by what Goldenflower had said – did she suspect? – and the fact that Blackfoot had arrived in his camp didn't help matters.

"Are you sure?" Darkstripe said. "He was part of the band who raided our camp, Tigerstar."

Tigerstar gave him a cutting look. Darkstripe stopped talking.

"I will speak with you later about the kits," he said to Goldenflower, then pushed past Darkstripe and entered the camp. Night had fallen, and the moon hung high overhead, a mere sliver of light that did not do much to alleviate the darkness. Blackfoot stood in the middle of the camp, surrounded by the patrol who had found him. His amber eyes were fixed unwaveringly on Tigerstar.

"Stand aside," Tigerstar ordered the patrol. "Blackfoot, follow me."

Blackfoot, as if to make a point, turned and walked straight to Tigerstar's den. Tigerstar glared after him.

"Are you sure you don't want a warrior with you?" Darkstripe asked softly.

"I am positive, Darkstripe," he responded. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Tigerstar caught up with Blackfoot at the entrance to his den. He allowed Blackfoot to enter first, then sat before the lichen curtain, blocking Blackfoot's exit.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed.

Blackfoot's eyes were cold. "I am here as a representative of the band," he said. "We have yet to receive the reward you promised us. We are concerned that you may have, uh, forgotten us."

"I thought that we agreed I would contact you," Tigerstar said.

"We were forced to move our camp," Blackfoot said tersely.

"Move?"

Blackfoot nodded. "There were some problems with a group of cats in Twolegplace."

"Kittypets?" Tigerstar asked disdainfully. "You were driven out of your camp by kittypets?"

"Not kittypets," Blackfoot corrected him. "A large, powerful group of rogues. But that isn't important. The band is waiting for our reward. You promised you would induct us into ThunderClan. You promised me I would be your deputy. Who fills the post now?"

"Darkstripe," Tigerstar said, "but only temporarily. I have every intention of fulfilling my promises." He didn't, really, but Blackfoot wasn't going to take no for an answer. "I need time to work on ThunderClan. In the meanwhile, I want you and some cats you trust to do something for me."

Blackfoot's tail twitched. "Something else? You seem to be demanding quite a bit from us without paying up."

"Oh, Blackfoot, you are in no position to reject my demands," Tigerstar reminded him. "Do you want to spend the rest of your miserable life scavenging for crowfood in Twolegplace? If not, I suggest you listen carefully."

Blackfoot didn't say another word.

Tigerstar nodded, satisfied. "Two traitors, Fireheart and Graystripe, are on the loose," he said. "We're not sure where they've gone, but I believe they aren't far from Clan territory."

"If you'll excuse me for asking, why exactly are they considered traitors? Blackfoot asked.

"They killed Bluestar."

Blackfoot's lip curled. "Ah," he said.

"I want you to track them down. Especially the kittypet. Do whatever you must do to find them, and then rip out their throats," Tigerstar said. "Do you think you could do that?"

Blackfoot nodded and stood up. "As long as you fulfill your promises, I don't see why not."

With that, Blackfoot brushed past Tigerstar and left the den, swallowed up by the darkness of the night.

-X-X-X-

"Are you sure RiverClan will take them?" Goldenflower asked.

Sandstorm nodded as she picked up the dark gray kit by the scruff of his neck. "Positive," she said through a mouthful of fur.

Goldenflower didn't look particularly convinced.

"They'll be fine," Yellowfang said gruffly. "We've made the arrangements to meet with several RiverClan warriors."

"But what about you two? What if you're caught?" Goldenflower asked.

"We'll just tell Tigerstar we were doing what he wished," Yellowfang said. "Getting rid of the kits."

"We should go," Sandstorm said, her voice muffled by the kit's fur.

Yellowfang nodded and grabbed the light gray she-kit.

"Good luck," Goldenflower whispered as they snuck out though the back of the nursery.

Sandstorm and Yellowfang trotted along in silence toward Sunningrocks, carrying the kits by the scruffs of their necks. Sandstorm's began to mewl shortly after they left the camp, as if it sensed that something was wrong.

StarClan, please make him stop, she prayed. Or please let no one hear us.

The kit continued to puncture the silence with its pathetic cries.

Fireheart, I am smuggling two half-Clan kits out of ThunderClan camp to Sunningrocks where I am going to be handing them over to RiverClan, all against my leader's wishes. I hope you're happy, she thought, and for the first time since his exile, Sandstorm allowed herself to think about Fireheart.

She hadn't wanted to dwell on the memory of their last encounter, on the things said and unsaid. Ever since, she had been plagued by an underlying sense of doubt, the feeling that she should have gone with him. That she should have left ThunderClan behind and followed Fireheart to wherever he was now. He and Graystripe were probably gone for good, over the mountains to whatever lay beyond.

Sandstorm closed her eyes for a moment. She should have left with him. At the very least, she should have told him her feelings for him... but it was too late now. She had decided to stay with ThunderClan and help her Clanmates in little ways, like smuggling Graystripe's kits out of their camp and telling cats she could trust (like Goldenflower) that Tigerstar had framed both Fireheart and Graystripe.

She glanced up at Silverpelt again. StarClan, keep him safe, she thought. Please.

Sandstorm POV for the win?

The major viewpoint characters here are, obviously, Fireheart and Tigerstar, but occasionally I will do something like this and look at an event through the eyes of a different character.

This chapter wasn't very long. I'm sorry about that. The next chapter will probably be much longer, and better too.