Fireheart curled himself tighter. He knew he should be asleep, but he couldn't sleep. His cold, damp fur pressed against his skin, and the sound of rain sloshing around dirt roared in his ears. He was only lucky that he had found the empty badger den when he did. Despite having cleaned himself, he was still caught in the jaws of the wet cold. And his shelter wasn't that good either. Droplets of water seeped in from the ceiling and walls, and Fireheart had to lie still to prevent himself from getting any wetter. It wouldn't have been any better if he had bedded in the few trees that dotted the land.

Surprisingly, this hadn't been the only shelter he had found. Not too far down the river, he had found an empty two leg nest that he could have stayed in. He knew it was empty because it was unkept, and despite a rain storm, the walls were kept wide open. He knew that he could have stayed there just fine, free from the rain. But it reminded him of his own twoleg's nest too much. Having come to the forest by choice, he could never be comfortable in a twoleg nest again. More than that, though, it made him feel homesick. For Thunderclan, yes, but a very small part of him was homesick for his twolegs. They had been good to him, and Fireheart felt bad for running away from them. The feeling unnerved him, and he couldn't bring himself to sleep in the nest.

His thoughts wouldn't leave him alone, either. He kept thinking back to two days ago, when he was reaccepted into the clan. To be among his old clanmates once more, as well as some new ones that had bundled up to meet him with excited mews. Sorralkit had eagerly run up and congratulated him as though he had just become a warrior again. She was quickly herded away by Willowpelt, but the gesture had set Fireheart at ease. He got to talk with Greystripe and Cinderpelt, and the whole clan seemed to be in good spirits. Fireheart couldn't have been happier.

Sandstar, though, hadn't talked to him since she had asked him to return to the clan. Despite her warm welcome, he didn't get a chance to talk to her. He knew she must've had a lot on her mind as leader of Thunderclan, but it still stung a little. Fireheart didn't want to think much of it, but it kept bothering him. He finally quieted it by promising to speak with her once he returned.

The loneliness was staring to get to him. Back when he was hiding in the trees, he at least had the comfort of being in a familiar land. Out here, he was truly on his own with nothing but a direction. He didn't know if Starclan could see him out here, and he didn't have sight of Silverpelt either. It was just a solid swath of clouds. Fireheart started purring low to himself, trying to scare off the lonely feeling of the den. His throaty purr barely filled the edges of the dirt cave, and was almost washed away by the rain. But he kept on purring.

Quietly at first, a second purr begain to rise up to match his. He could bearly smell it, but he caught a trace of an old familer scent. The sound grew more genuine as Fireheart recognized Spottedleaf. He couldn't see her, but he knew she was there. His purr grew some, then waned, as Spottedleafs comfort help lull him towards sleep. Starclan must be able to see him for Spottedleaf to be here. The thought helped sooth him

There was a splashing sound. Fireheart hadn't relized it, but it had started to flow over in the cloud burst. A cold dread swept over him as Spottedleafs purring suddenly cut silent. "Fireheart!" She called. In that moment, a large wave of water splashed over the river's bank. Suddenly. The den was filled with water, shocking Fireheart to his feet. He scrambled to keep his footing in the mud filled den, but he lost traction and was dragged from the den by the wave of water by the furs on his pelt. The cold rush aggravated his wounds, making him clench his jaw in pain. The water subsided, and he washed up along the side of the river, coated in mud. He tried to stand , but had difficulty doing so on the soft mud. He struggled to his feet, and faced up river.

Another wave was already here. The tide splashed over Fireheart, throwing him off balance once more. The current carried him down stream, and threw him against the base of a tree. His vision went blurry as his senses left him. He began vainly thrashing about, trying to get a pawhold. His claws found the tree bark, and he began to scramble up it as fast as his water logged legs would carry him. He reached a low branch and perched on in, shaking madly with the cold, shock, and pain that wrapped him now.

As his sudden energy burst left him, he felt himself tire. His vision left him, and he blacked out.*

Sandstar shivered when she looked at the sky. Clouds had quickly formed as the day went on. A light drizzle had began once the sun had presumable set, so Sandstar retired early to her den. She was layed down in her nests, repeating simple remedies she had learned from Cinderpelt that day. It was dangerous to be traveling so far away without a medicine cat. The least Sandstar could do was learn some basic remedies in case she or Fireheart got hurt.

She had planned on following him tonight, but with the sudden rain storm, she opted to leave tomorrow morning. She knew his scent trail would be gone, but all he was doing was following the river. It shouldn't be too hard to track him down.

Sandstar felt a little bad leaving the clan without a leader or a deputy. She had planned on making Fireheart deputy, but with all that had happened, she hadn't taken the time to appoint him as such. She had just told the clan that when Fireheart returned, he was to be deputy. For now, though, Greystripe, Longtail, and Dustpelt could keep things together.

Sandstar stretched, trying to get herself to sleep. She wasn't that tired, though. She had only gone on one hunting patrol, and had spent the rest of the day with Cinderpelt, learning basic herbs. Brindleface had been suspicious to find her leader learning herbs, but she hadn't questioned it. Rumors had began to spread in the clan, though. Sandstar could almost feel the questioning glances from her clan mates. When Dustpelt finally asked her about it, she simply told him that she would tell the whole clan tomorrow.

Sandstar finally curled up in her nest, letting herself relax into sleep. Tomorrow would be a big day.

Post note

5 brownie points to whoever can see where this is going. Yeah, it's no secret at this point.

Anyhow, thanks for reading this story. I know it's not quality work, but hey, it's something to read in the off times, right?

Thanks once more for reading.

*Cold hard facts.

Fireheart's unconscious body is swept up in a third wave. Unable to swim or do anything for himself, he drowns in the river. A few days later, his body is found washed up on Riverclan land. His body is returned to Thunderclan, where he is buried by his friends that he got to see just one last time before he died. Sandstar's resolve to lead failes her, and she holes up in her den for several days. Longtail steps up as the self elected deputy, which is later made official. Sandstar nearly gave up on Starclan, having let Fireheart die so pitifully. Soon, a new prophecy is given to the clans…