A silver-grey mist hung heavily over the FireClan camp, obscuring the moon from view. Faint light filtered through the roof of the apprentice's den, bathing the sleeping forms in a fuzzy glow.
An orange and white tabby rolled over in his nest of moss, then sat up and began to stretch his paws. Suddenly, he started at noise off in the distance. He raised his head, trying to peer out of the den. Slowly, he padded over to a white she-cat curled up demurely in her nest.
"Frostpaw!" he whispered, prodding her gently.
Frostpaw rolled over and looked up at him, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.
"What is it, Flamepaw?" Noticing his worried expression, she quickly added, "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing to worry about" he assured her. "It's just…. I thought I heard a noise out there."
"Really?" Her blue eyes widened as she gazed out into the night. "What do you think it was?"
Flamepaw shrugged, trying to keep calm for Frostpaw's sake.
"It was probably just Oakrise guarding the camp."
Frostpaw nodded slowly, looking a little less nervous.
"I hope you're right. I'd hate to think of what would happen if something bad came into camp!"
Flamepaw pressed against her side.
"So would I. Especially with Smalltail's kits running carelessly about. I wouldn't be surprised if they left the nursery on a night like this."
He stopped and looked at Frostpaw, his grey eyes wide.
"You don't think they did, do you?"
Frostpaw said nothing, but stared worriedly at him. Then she shook herself as if trying to brush away her bad thoughts.
"I think you're jumping to conclusions." She reasoned. "It was probably just Oakrise, like you said."
"You never know."
Together, they stared out into the cold, misty night.
"Do you think we should go check?" Frostpaw mewed warily after a while. Flamepaw heard a quiver in her voice.
"I will. You don't have to if you don't want to." He offered politely, moving past her to stick his nose out of the den.
He sniffed at the chilly night air, and the scents of his home washed over him. Then he smelled it.
"Hollowkit and Wildkit!" he exclaimed.
Frostpaw's eyes widened. She started to speak, then fell silent as a dark shape staggered into the clearing. Slowly, it's made its way to the apprentice den, weaving left and right in a funny pattern, as if its legs couldn't support it.
"Who is that?" Flamepaw wondered aloud, narrowing his eyes and feeling his fur bristle. He couldn't scent anything but fear coming from the approaching figure.
"I don't know" Frostpaw breathed nervously, stepping back farther into the safety of the den.
The figure reached the entrance, dipping its head as it entered. It flopped onto the nearest pile of moss, exhausted.
"Shadowpaw?"
It was Frostpaw who spoke first, brushing past Flamepaw to stand near her brother. "Are you all right?"
"Do I look all right?" he retorted scathingly, wincing as fresh blood welled from a wound on his back leg. "I've been chasing Hollowkit and Wildkit all night long!"
"Do you know where they are?" Flamepaw asked him urgently. Shadowpaw's eyes darkened with dislike as he turned to look at the ginger and white apprentice.
"Well, obviously I've seen them!" he mewed nastily. "I was just returning from the evening patrol with Thornwhisker and Waterfall when Smalltail told us that Hollowkit and Wildkit were missing. Leafkit told her that they had gone out looking for a badger!"
"Where did they go?" Frostpaw asked quietly, horrorstruck. "Did you find them?"
"We followed their scent to the BirdClan border, and then Waterfall sent me back to get you."
He inclined his head to Flamepaw. Flamepaw was alert at once. His mentor needed him!
He dashed out of the den with a quick good bye to Frostpaw. As he pelted her way, he heard her saying, "Come on, Shadowpaw. Let's get you to Vinetail and Luckypaw."
His pelt was warmed by her kindness towards her prickly brother, but he didn't have time for feelings right now. His ran as fast as his paws could carry him, and reached the BirdClan in what seemed like only a few heartbeats.
"Waterfall?" he called out into the foggy night.
A large grey tabby stepped out from the shadows, a worried look in his good-natured blue eyes.
"Hello, Flamepaw." Waterfall said, addressing his young apprentice. "Did Shadowpaw tell you? Hollowkit and Wildkit are-"
"Running amuck?" Flamepaw interrupted. "Yeah, Frostpaw and I found that out."
He stopped and put his head down.
"I'm sorry. I should've waited for you to finish."
"It's quite all right." Waterfall muttered distractedly, scanning the trees beyond the border.
Flamepaw twitched his tail towards the forest.
"Are we going in after them?"
Waterfall narrowed his eyes and nodded.
"We don't have a choice. The kits have been gone a while now, and Smalltail's hysterical. If we meet a BirdClan patrol, we'll just have to explain the situation to them."
Flamepaw nodded.
"Well, I don't blame her for being hysterical" he meowed. "Those kits are a real handful."
Waterfall sighed.
"Yes they are." His whiskers twitched. "I knew a certain orange kit who was a bit of a rebel himself. Always breaking out of the nursery to go hunting. I think he believed he was a warrior already!"
Flamepaw glanced sheepishly at his mentor.
"Are you talking about me?" he asked.
Waterfall looked slightly surprised.
"No. Actually, I was talking about your father. He never cared much for the warrior code when he was younger. In fact, I think he only got serious when he was made deputy."
Flamepaw let out a purr of amusement.
"I never knew that! Well, if unruly kits become greater leaders, maybe Hollowkit and Wildkit will rule the Clan someday."
Waterfall nodded seriously, all traces of jesting gone except for the ever-present twinkle of good humor in his eyes.
"I would hope so. Our Clan needs great leaders like your father. Sunstar is everything that a warrior should strive to be, but he won't be with us forever. What will we do when he joins StarClan?"
Flamepaw shivered, not even daring the think of it. He couldn't imagine his father not being with him.
"Waterfall, don't say that." He pleaded, and his mentor pressed his nose against his side comfortingly.
"I'm sorry Flamepaw. I didn't mean to upset you. But that day will come someday, and you'll need to be able to face it when it does."
Flamepaw nodded, unable to speak. A lump had formed in his throat and he had to cough a few times to avoid choking with emotion.
Waterfall gazed down at him, his blue eyes clear.
"Flamepaw, you know of your destiny as well as I do. You will lead FireClan one day."
Flamepaw shook his head, unable to comprehend his feelings.
"Can we please not talk about this now? Let's just find your kits." He muttered, starting ahead without giving Waterfall a chance to say anything else. The old deputy sighed, then followed, pricking his ears.
Together, they crossed the border into BirdClan territory, stepping lightly across the forest floor, their pawsteps muffled. Almost instantly, a rank scent filled Flamepaw's nostrils and he turned, his fur bristling. Badger!
He pelted into the bushes with Waterfall right behind him. Skidding to a halt, he crouched beneath the low hanging leaves, quivering with fear and anticipation.
Waterfall pressed comfortingly against his side, and they both watched as a huge badger came lumbering out from behind a tree. It sniffed the air, reaching out with its huge claws. Flamepaw stiffened as it made its way towards the bush where he and Waterfall were hiding.
"Waterfall, we should-" he began urgently, but was cut off by a loud yowl.
"Get away, you smelly beast!"
A light brown cat burst out of the trees, ramming into the badger at full speed and knocking it of its paws. It pinned the badger under it and bent to speak into its ear.
"I warned you last time, foul thing! Stay off BirdClan territory!"
Giving it a vicious claw to the shoulder, the cat then hopped off of the badger and watched it with narrowed eyes as it hobbled away.
Flamepaw recognized that the strange cat was a tom, as he watched, the cat twitched his whiskers in satisfaction and started to leave in the direction he had come. Flamepaw breathed a sigh of relief.
The cat stopped suddenly and sat still, sniffing the air.
"Who's there?" he called, his fur starting to fluff up. "Show yourself, intruder!"
Flamepaw glanced warily at Waterfall.
"What should we do?" he whispered, but Waterfall was already shouldering his way out of the bush.
The brown cat leaped into the air, hissing.
"FireClan! I thought so! Come to steal prey?" he challenged, glaring at Waterfall.
"No" Waterfall replied calmly. "My two kits chased that badger into the forest. I was just trying to find them and bring them home. I meant no harm."
The strange cat stared at the old deputy suspiciously, twitching his tail.
"What if you're lying?" he pressed aggressively.
Waterfall twitched whiskers slightly with impatient. Flamepaw could tell how badly he wanted to leap away from the odd cat and search for his kits.
"On my honor, as FireClan deputy, I give you my word that I am not lying."
The light brown cat studied Waterfall closely, narrowing his brown eyes.
"Well….. maybe I don't believe you…." He murmured weakly, trying and failing to sound tough.
Slowly Flamepaw emerged from the bushes, standing a little ways behind Waterfall.
The cat took one look at him and shot up a tree, seemingly terrified.
"Sunstar!" he screeched.
Flamepaw cocked his head to the side, trying to hide his amusement. This strange warrior thinks that I'm Sunstar!
"What are you doing here?" the cat asked, his voice trembling. "Are you coming to take over BirdClan?"
Flamepaw shook his head.
"No, definitely not. I'm not Sunstar, by the way. My name is Flamepaw and I'm a FireClan apprentice. Sunstar is my father."
The brown cat visibly relaxed and came down from the tree slowly.
"I'm Cuckoofur" he mewed proudly. "I'm a BirdClan warrior."
"It's nice to meet you." Waterfall's tone was courteous but his tail twitched irritably. "May we please continue looking for the kits? I promise we won't be long. We'll leave as soon as we find them."
Cuckoofur studied them carefully, and finally the suspicion faded from his eyes.
"All right, I suppose" he mewed resignedly. "But don't let any other cats catch you on our territory or Sparrowstar'll have my fur."
Waterfall nodded.
"Thank you very much, Cuckoofur."
"Yes, thank you!" Flamepaw added.
The brown cat dipped his head.
"My pleasure….. unless Sparrowstar finds out. That wouldn't be pleasurable."
Flamepaw flicked his ear in amusement. He thought that he rather liked this strange cat.
"Well, I'll be off now." The cat walked away in the direction he had come from, and Flamepaw heard him mutter, "I could have sworn that was Sunstar."