Hey people! I always wanted to do this kind of story ... so here it is. Obviously, most of these one-shots are from the POV of the cat who experienced them, not Firestar and Co. However, there are the occasional places where their POV was not presented, so I have decided to be evil and do it myself ...

Disclaimer: Um ... if you think I'm really Erin Hunter, or that I own Warriors, get your head examined or something. (not really.)


Chapter 1

It was no Accident

I skidded onto the Thunderpath. Where was Tigerclaw? There was that ash tree ... but no sign of the ThunderClan deputy. I sniffed along the strip of grass beside the Thunderpath's hard stone, ears pricked, listening for any hint of Tigerclaw being nearby. Summoning all the tracking skills Fireheart had taught me, I could tell Tigerclaw was close, but his scent was oddly stale ...

Cautiously sniffing the ground, I padded along the side of the Thunderpath. I had an important message to deliver – well, Fireheart was supposed to be delivering it, but I wanted to prove myself to him. I don't know why; when I saw my mentor, my heart seemed to give a little skip. I don't think anybody suspected anything, as I was kind of acting normal, but it was still odd to see cats look at you, not see the feelings you hid from them, to keep a part of yourself hidden from everybody ... including yourself.

Where was Tigerclaw? He should be nearby ... his scent mark was at the very edge of the Thunderpath, and it was the strongest clue of his presence that I could find. I took two steps and put my nose to the ground again. The scent of rain, heavy on the air, would soon wash away the scent mark when it started to pour. I had to act quickly.

What a mouse-brained deputy, I thought, my mind completely focussed on a task for once, sending a message that he would be waiting in a place where his scent isn't even present ...

I don't know when I realized that monster coming toward me. I was so absorbed in tracking Tigerclaw, or trying to track him, that I never saw it until it was too late. I remember a flash of harsh, unnatural yellow light, a screech as the monster slid toward me, a spurt of scarlet shooting into the darkness. Pain shoot through one of my hind legs, and I felt the bones snap. I could hear nothing, see nothing, for there was nothing but darkness. But why, if I was dying, was there that excruciating pain?

Please StarClan, just end it, I prayed, darkness settling in, the pain building. I can't bear it; I beg you, just kill me now.

Fireheart's voice was choked with pain and fright. "C-Cinderpaw?" he whispered. That was the last thing I heard, before there was nothing.

000

"I'm never going to become a warrior, am I?"

Fireheart looked at me. I knew the truth, sitting there with my crooked leg, the one that was hit by the monster. My mentor couldn't keep it hidden from me, he couldn't just lie. Fireheart sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry, Cinderpaw. You can never become a warrior now."

There it was; told so plainly, with true regret in his voice. None of the fake reassurances Yellowfang gave me, or the empty words of comfort Frostfur spoke. Fireheart knew that I knew, and that I knew that he knew that I knew ... despite the situation, I found myself thinking; Whoa, that was complicated.

"I thought so," I murmured. But I thought there was more, more than what Fireheart was telling me. I didn't ask; why would I? If Fireheart didn't want to tell me, that must mean it wasn't meant for me to hear ... but even so, I felt my heart full of pain when he turned his eyes from mine.

I knew he blamed himself for my accident, because now I could never be a warrior. I blamed myself, because not only would I never be a warrior, but I had destroyed my one chance to have a mate ...

The day I left for my medicine cat apprentice ceremony, Fireheart and Cloudpaw accompanied Yellowfang and me as far as Fourtrees. Yellowfang was speaking with Runningnose, and I was about to join her, but I couldn't just leave Fireheart after taking some time off and escorting us to Fourtrees.

"Goodbye, Cinderpaw," Fireheart meowed sadly. I pressed my muzzle to his cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere!" I replied. "Don't worry Fireheart; I'll never forget you were my first mentor."

I turned away and padded over to the other two medicine cats. This was it; sealing my fate as a medicine cat, never being able to fall in love, have a mate, or have kits. I had no alternative, except to join the elders. Wasn't this better?

It isn't what I want, I realized as I followed Yellowfang and Runningnose toward WindClan territory. What I want, is Fireheart.

000

"But being deputy wasn't enough for him. I ... I think that he even laid a trap for Bluestar beside the Thunderpath, but Cinderpaw was caught in it instead."

My eyes widened, and I let out a gasp as Fireheart paused uncertainly at the top of Highrock. Tigerclaw had set a trap for ... for Bluestar? The deputy sat beneath Highrock, bleeding profusely from scratches that Fireheart had left upon him. I admired the warrior's skill, but I wish he had just told me about this trap. Why ... why had Fireheart hidden it from me? Didn't he care? I wasn't paying attention to the trial, my thoughts wrapped around the ginger tom's secrecy.

He doesn't care about me, I thought savagely. Or at least, not in the way I care about him. He likes Sandstorm more ... and I can't say I blame him.

If I hadn't crippled my leg ... would I have had a chance? If it hadn't been for Tigerclaw ... if Bluestar had just listened to Fireheart the first time he came to her ... I wouldn't be stuck in the medicine cat den. I could have had a chance with him. I might be deluding myself, but it was a happy delusion. And I was never going to forgive Tigerclaw of this, of robbing me of the chance to be with the one I loved. It was partly my fault, but mostly, it was Tigerclaw's. My leg was no accident. I was just another victim of Tigerclaw's.

I hoped Bluestar would execute him.


That was probably really bad. I'm just getting off writer's block, and I've only had about ten hours of sleep for the past four days. Please review and tell me what you think.