Wow hey everyone it has been a while.

Sorry that this story got left alone for so long – life is busy, especially now that I'm at university. I can't promise that this story is going to return to any kind of semi-regular schedule, since I've got other priorities and responsibilities that I have to manage. However, being stuck on a plane with several hours with nothing to do has revitalized my determination to get this fic finished; I like where it's going, and I am excited to reveal certain plot points and twists as the story progresses. There's some overhauling of plot and info going on in the background right now, so you may end up seeing minor revisions to earlier chapters. For the most part, however, I'm reworking stuff that will be relevant to later installations of the series, not necessarily this story in particular.

Anyhow, before we get started on this chapter, let's reply to some comments:

Guest: Lol thanks! And here's the next part~

Ran: Aw, thanks! I'm glad you like Firepaw – I'm just trying to do him justice in this rendition of the story, so it's nice to know people like it :)

Hal-senpai: Thanks! :)

VinejayVinewings: Aw, thanks! I rewrote the bit with Onewhisker and Whitepaw a couple times to get it just right, so I'm glad it turned out well! And I'm not going to comment on your speculation on Runningpaw, but I will say that I have a plan in terms of Firepaw's love life throughout this series ;)

N H J H: Thanks for the support!

WyldClaw: Thanks very much for all your feedback! I got the idea for observation being part of the warrior assessments in WindClan both from Tallstar's Revenge and from a DeviantArtist who I follow who does Warriors art, with some original characters in WindClan – one of her art pieces mentioned something about a similar test task, so I decided to include it. And yeah, I remember in the original Warriors series, Onewhisker is described as being a young warrior, close to Fireheart's age, but he had Whitepaw as an apprentice early-on, so I decided to include a little something about that~

TacticianLyra: Lol that's why I decided to write one! Figured it would be interesting after reading Tallstar's Revenge. Hope you continue to follow the story!

JimmyHall24: Lol reading all your comments on each chapter was very entertaining! XD Out of curiosity, what story were you reading with Firepaw in ShadowClan? I know of a couple, but I am always on the look out for more~ And I know of a Firepaw in RiverClan story, but that's part of a larger AU where other stuff was changed, not simply that Firepaw went to a different Clan.

And here's the chapter!

It was dark.

Firepaw could barely see the horizon line; it was hard to tell where the earth ended and the sky began. There were no clouds, and where numerous bright stars usually shone overhead, there was nothing but an endless expanse of black. Even the moon seemed to be absent, though there was some sort of faint, milky light that faintly illuminated the surrounding area, revealing the familiar sandy earth of WindClan's camp. Yet, though the setting was familiar, the oppressive darkness of Firepaw's surroundings made everything seem not quite right: no stars overhead, the scents of the moors outside muted, even the usual faint rustle of the heather bushes surrounding the camp silenced, not a breeze stirring the dead air surrounding him.

Everything was so, so dark.

A cold pit formed in Firepaw's stomach. He felt as though he couldn't breathe – air frozen in his lungs, breath held in anticipation, though of what, he did not know. His fur stood on end, and he soon found that the wild slamming of his heart all that he could hear.

Suddenly, something shifted. Firepaw could not explain how he detected the change in the overpowering gloom, but he found his eyes drawn from the sky towards the barely-there outline of the heather barrier. For a moment, there was nothing but the creaky ache of Firepaw's chest as he continued to hold his breath and the dull throb of his pulse in his ears – then, everything exploded into chaos.

Firepaw gasped, air dragging painfully into his lungs, stinging his throat. Yowls split the air, piercing Firepaw's ears with their volume and ferocity. Shadowed shapes flew across the clearing, claws and teeth glinting and shining brighter than any of the innumerable, muted stars in the sky. Even with the minimal light washing over the clearing, the cats tearing through the space in vicious spats – slashing and biting at one another, flashes of their eyes revealing wild savagery – remained dark and nearly formless, specters and apparitions that sent a chill down the ginger tom's spine. He remained rooted to the spot, unable to move a whisker, as a pungent, coppery scent filled the air, so strong that it took several moments for the apprentice to recognize it: blood.

What's going on?

Firepaw felt as though he couldn't catch his breath, even though he could feel himself pulling in ragged gasps, his throat stinging with the harsh rasp of air through his windpipe. Everything was moving too quickly, disorienting and overwhelming. Amongst the cacophony of snarls and shrieks permeating the air, one voice seemed to be steadily rising above the others, a repetitive call that swelled and pierced through the oppressive darkness, syllables distorted and unclear, but becoming clearer with every repetition, until the ginger apprentice could finally hear clearly.

"Firepaw!"

Green eyes flew open, and Firepaw sat bolt upright, panting and digging his claws into the sandy earth beneath him. It took him several seconds to get his bearings, his heartbeat slowing and the incessant pounding leaving his ears, letting the sounds of chatter and rustling heather to filter into his awareness. A moment later, he realized that the annoyed face of Runningpaw was hovering over him, the tabby she-cat's tail flicking impatiently from side to side, and her fur bristling slightly along her shoulders.

"Are you a kit?" Webpaw asked snidely, his muzzle scrunched up derisively when Firepaw turned his head to look at the other tom. "Always mewling and crying in your sleep?"

"Are you okay?" Whitepaw asked much more kindly from beside her brother, shuffling her paws slightly.

"I'm fine," Firepaw sighed in response to Whitepaw, ignoring Webpaw's remark, though he felt his ears burn slightly at having apparently been crying out in his sleep. Pushing himself into an upright position, he began to try to groom his disheveled fur into a neater order, glancing towards Runningpaw. "Did you need something?"

Runningpaw pulled back a step, wrinkling her nose distastefully at him, green eyes flat. "Doespring called you about a thousand times for training," she mewed back dryly. "Best get on your way before she claws your ears off."

Firepaw looked up, eyes wide, and whipped his head towards the camp's entrance. His mentor was indeed sitting beside it, tail-tip twitching intermittently. The ginger tom winced and hurriedly finished his grooming, hopping to his paws and turning to bustle towards his mentor, flattening his ears and wincing internally as her green eyes switched sharply to him as he approached.

Doespring offered him a frown. "You're late," she noted, rising smoothly to her paws, her eyes trailing over his no doubt still-ruffled form. "What's going on with you? This is the third time in the past several days."

"Sorry," Firepaw mumbled, ducking his head slightly, though he did not attempt to explain himself – he had no idea what the dreams meant, how could he explain them to someone else?

The brown she-cat heaved a sigh and shook her head, turning away to trot ahead, leading the way towards the heather tunnel and out of camp to the territory beyond. "Just try to keep up," his mentor called over her shoulder to him. "We're doing a rabbit run today, and we may join Tornear and Runningpaw for battle training later on."

Firepaw stifled the urge to groan, instead nodding obediently as he trailed after his mentor, even though he could still feel exhaustion pull at his bones and faint, unsettled anxiety buzz beneath his fur. "Yes, Doespring…"

Firepaw was nearly panting by the time he trotted back into camp, muscles sore and giving protesting pangs every time he moved. He nearly sighed with relief when he finally reached the interior of WindClan's camp again, but perked his ears and tried to straighten himself up to listen when Doespring set down the rabbit they'd caught and turned back to him.

"I am going to speak with Tallstar – he will be choosing which of the apprentices to go to the Gathering," she mewed, twitching one ear. "Rest for now. We'll continue training later on."

Firepaw winced quietly as his mentor turned away to trot towards the Tallrock. She hadn't said it outright, but the ginger tom could hear the implications in Doespring's voice; he'd been off, as Whitepaw and Doespring had politely taken to calling it, for the past half-moon – waking up late, getting lost on trails through the moors that he had already learned, fumbling or entirely missing catches while hunting, and getting bested embarrassingly quickly in spars with Runningpaw, and even occasionally with Webpaw and Whitepaw, too. Considering his recent behavior, it was unlikely that Tallstar and his mentor would deem his performance good enough to warrant taking him along with the Gathering party tonight. At least she isn't making me train past sunset…

Giving a muffled groan regardless, Firepaw picked up a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and dragged himself over to the worn sand where he usually slept, flopping down and sprawling out to give his sore muscles a rest. He began to eat the rodent, perking his ears slightly as he heard pawsteps approaching him, and internally sighing, hoping that it wouldn't be yet another cat giving him something to do – all he wanted at this point was to take a nap.

"Hey, Firepaw."

The ginger tom jerked his head up at the voice, blinking. "Onewhisker," he greeted back, surprised. He hadn't gotten to speak with the older tom too much after the newest WindClan apprentices' ceremony – since then, Onewhisker was usually either training with Whitepaw, or doing his utmost to avoid his apprentice while they were both in camp. Considering Whitepaw and Firepaw tended to be in the same places, both as fellow apprentices and as friends, meant that Onewhisker was generally not wherever Firepaw happened to be at any given time.

"Hey," Onewhisker mewed back with a small smile, carefully sitting down beside the apprentice and curling his striped tail around his paws. "How're you?" Before Firepaw could answer, the tabby let out a small snort. "I'm assuming not too well – you look like a monster ran you over. No offense."

Firepaw sputtered a laugh after a heartbeat (monster meant car, he reminded himself), swatting lightly (weakly) at the older tom's flank. "Right, sure, none taken," he chuckled back, shaking his head. "I'm exhausted. I just got back from training with Doespring; we were chasing rabbits all morning, then I had to spar with Runningpaw."

Onewhisker winced sympathetically, offering Firepaw a slight, encouraging smile. "Well, it's not as bad as when you first got here, right?" he prompted, nudging Firepaw's side with one paw. "Your training's making your stronger and faster by the day!"

The ginger tom really did let out a lamenting moan at that, dropping his head down between his paws dramatically. "Now you just sound like Doespring," he complained, peering up from his paws to flash his friend a small, crooked grin when Onewhisker threw his head back with a laugh at the remark.

"Don't let her hear you say that," he teased back, whiskers twitching with amusement. "She might be a patient cat, but I think she'd still box your ears if she heard you badmouthing her."

"I'm not badmouthing her!" Firepaw yelped in indignant protest, swatting at his friend's flank again. "Doespring is great! She's a very good warrior! And she teaches me lots of important stuff!"

"Uh-huh, sure."

Firepaw huffed and wrinkled his nose, gathering his strength to give Onewhisker a more solid shove on the side, sending the older tom swaying off to the side. "You know what I meant," he asserted with a sniff, flicking his tail and tilting his chin up pointedly. "Besides, if I was going to badmouth anyone, it would be you."

Onewhisker barked out a laugh at that, shaking his head in mock hurt. "You wound me, Firepaw," he remarked, amusement lurking under the faux sadness layered in his voice. However, a moment later, his expression sobered a bit, teasing replaced by concern. "Seriously, though, are you alright? You really don't look well… and Whitepaw's mentioned you've been sleeping fitfully, almost missing training a few times…"

Firepaw's ears warmed slightly at the information – Whitepaw was clearly more worried about him than she'd let on to him, if she'd been talking with Onewhisker about it. "I'm fine," he meowed with a slight, uncomfortable shrug. "Just… like she said, I'm not sleeping very well."

Onewhisker did not appear convinced.

The green-eyed tom heaved a sigh, flattening his ears a bit. "I just have weird dreams, sometimes," he elaborated. "They wake me up, or make it hard to get any good rest. I'm fine, otherwise, just… tired."

Onewhisker gave a sigh of his own after a moment, but nodded his head to the younger in acquiescence. "If you say so," he meowed, though his tone was distinctly doubtful. "But if it keeps up for too long… go see Barkface about it, okay? I'm sure he could do… something. Give you herbs to help you sleep, or something."

Firepaw quirked a small smile, nodding his head to Onewhisker. "I will," he promised. "Thanks for worrying. Sorry you had to hear about it from Whitepaw."

The brown tabby swiftly shook his head. "It's alright," he assured. "Doespring is probably running you ragged, you shouldn't have to go out of your way to seek me out to tell me stuff if something's going on." He seemed to cringe to himself, adding regretfully, "I know I've been sort of… unavailable, lately."

Firepaw shook his head at his friend, opening his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by the interruption of a loud yowl from the center of camp.

Tallstar stood atop the Tallrock, long tail waving high over his back. "Cats of WindClan, it is time for the Gathering!" the black-and-white tom announced, voice ringing out loud and clear. "The cats attending this moon will be Doespring, Ryestalk, Bristlepelt, Tornear, Runningpaw, and Firepaw."

The apprentice's eyes widened with shock at the pronouncement of his name. Me? Onewhisker wore a dumbfounded expression as well when Firepaw turned towards him. Even without that, the ginger tom knew that this couldn't be normal – going to a Gathering was an honor, as he'd learned since coming to WindClan, and he had consistently been late and distracted from training for the past several days. There was no way that he had earned this… was there?

Firepaw scrambled to his paws when Tallstar leapt down from the Tallrock, signaling the Gathering party to follow him as he made his way towards the gorse tunnel. He nearly stumbled and fell back onto his haunches when Runningpaw roughly shoved his shoulder as she passed by, casting a glare at him as she passed. "I don't know what Tallstar is thinking," she hissed lowly, green eyes blazing chips of fury, "But don't get used to it, kittypet."

The ginger tom frowned after her as she stalked off, more confused than stung. The fact that he was invited at all seemed baffling – there was no way that Doespring had vouched for bringing him along, she had been clearly displeased with his recent performances. His attendance made no sense. And, as frustrating as it was to concede anything to Runningpaw, she was probably right, to some degree; he probably shouldn't get used to it. If these dreams persisted, and continued to disrupt his training, he most likely wouldn't get to go again, no matter what fluke had brought him along this time. Runningpaw's reaction still seemed a bit over-the-top, though.

Onewhisker seemed to agree, because the tabby tom flinched beside him at the tone of Runningpaw's voice, amber eyes slightly rounded when he turned back towards Firepaw. "Congratulations on going to your first Gathering," he meowed, casting a glance towards the cats slipping one by one through the gorse tunnel. "And, uh, good luck."

"Thanks," Firepaw muttered in return. "See you later, Onewhisker."

He hurried off, absently noting his friend waving his striped tail in farewell as he went, bringing up the rear of the patrol as they departed from camp and doing his best to ignore another glower from Runningpaw, walking just in front of him. Instead, the ginger tom sank back into his own thoughts, mind swimming in endless questions as he followed the group out of camp and onto the moors, heading towards Fourtrees in the distance as the sun died below the horizon.

Originally I was going to have this chapter include the Gathering as well, but I've decided to leave that off for next time~ If I've got the time and my writing mood persists, it might not even take literal months to update next time. I'm still sort of getting back into the swing of writing, so any and all comments that anyone has on the chapter would be greatly appreciated!

I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!