Hello! This is Book 3 out of 6 in the After the Fire series. But no fear! If you haven't read the two books before this, When the Sun Goes Down & A New Destiny, it's perfectly fine! I will give you a brief summary of each book below, and it should get you completely caught up on what's going on. (Still feel free to read those stories if you'd like. I'm not stopping you!)
Note: This entire series is an AU to Dovewing's Silence & Bramblestar's Storm as well as any books taking place after them.
Book 1: When the Sun Goes Down: The lake flooded, and the four Clans had to scramble to the mountains for safety. They sought refuge with the Tribe, though that group was having a problem with cats disappearing at random. POVs are Lilypaw/fern, Seedpaw/speck, Cinderheart, & Poppyfrost.
Book 2: A New Destiny: New POVs: Beekit/paw, Lakekit/paw, Morningkit/paw, & Fogkit/paw. Bee and Morning, sisters, are daughters of Dovewing & Bumblestripe. Lake and Fog, brothers, are the sons of Ivypool & an unknown tom. Deals with the early "growing up" stuff of the foursome.
Allegiances
ThunderClan
Leader, Bramblestar- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Deputy, Squirrelflight- dark ginger she-cat with one white paw and green eyes
Medicine Cats, Jayfeather- gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes (Apprentice: Briarlight)
Leafpool- light brown tabby she-cat with white chest and paws; amber eyes
Warriors, Birchfall- light brown tabby tom with amber eyes (Apprentice: Puddlepaw)
Berrynose- cream-colored tom with blue eyes and a stubby tail
Poppyfrost- tortoiseshell and white she-cat with yellow eyes (Apprentice: Oakpaw)
Mousewhisker- gray-and-white tom with green eyes
Lionblaze- golden tabby tom with amber eyes
Cinderheart- gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Toadstep- black-and-white tom with yellow eyes
Rosepetal- dark cream she-cat with blue eyes
Bumblestripe- very pale gray tom with black stripes and blue eyes
Molefoot- brown-and-cream tom with amber eyes
Tigerheart- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes (Apprentice: Honeypaw)
Icecloud- white she-cat with blue eyes (Apprentice: Flintpaw)
Hazeltail- small gray-and-white she-cat with green eyes
Dovewing- pale gray she-cat with blue eyes (Apprentice: Bloodpaw)
Ivypool- silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes (Apprentice: Stonepaw)
Lilyfern- dark tabby she-cat with white patches and amber eyes (Apprentice: Beepaw)
Seedspeck- very pale ginger she-cat with green eyes (Apprentice: Morningpaw)
Amberear- pale gray she-cat with white paws, muzzle, right ear, and amber eyes (Apprentice: Lakepaw)
Snowtail- white tom with amber eyes (Apprentice: Fogpaw)
Dewclaw- gray tom with amber eyes
Smokyfur- gray tom with blue eyes
Larchfeather- ginger-and-white tom with green eyes
Apprentices, Briarlight- dark brown she-cat with blue eyes, paralyzed in the hindquarters; medicine cat apprentice
Puddlepaw- brown tabby-and- white tom with blue eyes
Oakpaw- dark brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Bloodpaw- white tom with pink-red eyes
Honeypaw- creamy golden she-cat with amber eyes
Flintpaw- gray tom with blue eyes
Stonepaw- gray tabby tom with blue eyes
Beepaw- pale gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Morningpaw- silver she-cat with yellow eyes
Lakepaw- black-and-white tom with amber eyes
Fogpaw- silver tabby tom with dark blue eyes
Queens, Blossomfall- tortoiseshell-and-white queen with blue eyes (Mother to Mousewhisker's kits: Buzzardkit, a pale ginger tom with green eyes; and Shrewkit, a gray she-kit with white paws and blue eyes)
Whitewing- white she-cat with green eyes (Expecting Birchfall's kits)
Elders, Millie- striped silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Brackenfur- golden-brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Cloudtail- long-haired white tom with blue eyes
Brightheart- white she-cat with ginger patches, one scarred eye, one blue eye, and shredded ears
ShadowClan
Leader, Rowanstar- ginger tom with green eyes
Deputy, Tawnypelt- pale tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes
Medicine Cat, Mistcloud- spiky-furred pale gray she-cat with blue eyes
Warriors, Smokefoot- black tom with a ragged pelt and green eyes
Olivenose- tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes
Crowfrost- black and white tom with green eyes
Dawnpelt- cream-furred she-cat with amber eyes
Owlclaw- light brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Scorchfur- dark gray tom with a torn ear and dark amber eyes
Pinenose- black she-cat with green eyes
Ferretclaw- cream-and-gray tom with green eyes (Apprentice: Twigpaw)
Starlingwing- ginger tom with green eyes (Apprentice: Comfreypaw)
Kinkfur- tabby she-cat with fur that sticks out at all angles and blue eyes
Sparrowflight- large tabby tom with amber eyes
Ivytail- long-furred black, white, and tortoiseshell queen with green eyes
Redpatch- huge black and reddish-brown tom with blue eyes
Flamedapple- mostly ginger tortoiseshell tom with green eyes
Wetfur- dark gray tom with blue eyes
Russetshine- dark ginger she-cat with green eyes
Sleekpelt- cream-and-white she-cat with green eyes
Spikeclaw- black tom with amber eyes
Apprentices, Twigpaw- brown tom with amber eyes
Comfreypaw- light gray she-cat with green eyes
Queens, Dewfall- gray queen with blue eyes (Expecting Ferretclaw's kits)
Shrewfoot- gray queen with black paws and amber eyes (Expecting Scorchfur's kits)
Elders, Applefur- mottled brown she-cat with green eyes
Ratscar- brown tom with a long scar across his back, yellow teeth, and green eyes
Snowbird- sleek, pure-white she-cat with green eyes
WindClan
Leader, Ashstar- thin gray she-cat with blue eyes
Deputy, Whiskernose- light brown tom with amber eyes
Medicine Cat, Kestrelflight- brownish-gray tom with white splotches and green eyes (Apprentice: Moorfur)
Warriors, Harespring- brown and white tom with green eyes
Sunstrike- tortoiseshell she-cat with a large white mark on her forehead and blue eyes
Sedgewhisker- pale, light brown tabby she- cat with blue eyes
Leaftail- dark tabby tom with amber eyes
Emberfoot- gray tom with two darker gray paws and yellow eyes
Heathertail- light brown tabby she-cat with smoky, heather-blue eyes
Furzepelt- gray and white she-cat with blue eyes (Apprentice: Moonpaw)
Boulderfur- large, pale gray tom with blue eyes (Apprentice: Barkpaw)
Breezepelt- black tom with amber eyes
Ticklefeather- white she-cat with yellow eyes
Quickdash- dark ginger tom with green eyes
Antleg- brown tom with amber eyes
Thistlethorn- dark brown tom with amber eyes
Willowbranch- gray she-cat with blue eyes
Apprentices, Moorfur- wiry pale brown tom with amber eyes
Moonpaw- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with blue eyes
Barkpaw- brown tom with green eyes
Queens, Swallowtail- dark gray she-cat with amber eyes (Mother to Leaftail's kits: Magpiekit, a gray tom with amber eyes; Tuftkit, a mottled dark tabby tom with yellow eyes; and Twitchkit, a gray-brown tom with an odd foot and green eyes)
Elders, Owlwhisker- pale light brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Weaselfur- ginger tom with white paws and green eyes
Crowfeather- very dark gray, almost black, tom with blue eyes
Gorsetail- very pale gray and white she-cat with blue eyes
RiverClan
Leader, Reedstar- sleek black tom with dark gray eyes
Deputy, Graymist- pale gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Medicine Cat, Willowshine- small dark gray tabby she- cat with bright green eyes (Apprentice: Pouncepaw)
Warriors, Mintfur- light gray tabby tom with amber eyes
Troutstream- pale gray tabby she-cat with yellow eyes
Icewing- pure-white she-cat with blue eyes
Mallownose- light brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Rushtail- light brown tabby she-cat with short legs and green eyes
Robinwing- tortoiseshell-and-white tom with blue eyes
Grasspelt- light brown tom with blue eyes (Apprentice: Jumppaw)
Hollowflight- dark brown tabby tom with a pale-furred belly and amber eyes (Apprentice: Leappaw)
Duskfur- brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Floodwater- bluish-gray tom with blue eyes
Streamheart- brown and white she-cat with blue eyes
Creektail- brown tom with amber eyes
Waterdrop- blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes
Beetleflight- light gray tabby tom with blue eyes
Apprentices, Pouncepaw- tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Jumppaw- gray tabby tom with blue eyes
Leappaw- brown tom with green eyes
Queens, Petalfur- gray-and-white queen with amber eyes (Mother to Reedstar's kits: Slugkit, a brown tom with green eyes; Horsekit, a golden-brown tom with amber eyes; Toadstoolkit, a brown tom with a white- spotted underbelly and amber eyes; and Brookkit, a silver-gray she-kit with blue eyes)
Mossyfoot- brown-and-white queen with green eyes (Expecting Floodwater's kits)
Elders, Minnowtail- dark gray she-cat with fluffy fur and amber eyes
Pebblefoot- mottled gray tom with green eyes
Prologue
"It's cold," a brown tabby murmured, her creamy fur fluffed up as another shudder rippled down her spine. "When can we go back to camp?"
"It's cold?" demanded a second cat, his raven-black coat smooth, every hair in its rightful place. "You have got to be kidding me, Heathertail. We are WindClan cats, for the Dark Forest's sake. We live for the chilly winds whipping through our pelts."
Heathertail briefly flashed her fangs at the lean tom, her unusual blue eyes glittering with hostility. "Until we die from frostbite, that is." She hesitated, pummeling her paws against the tough moor grasses. "And don't mention that cursed place again."
The dark-furred tomcat whirled away from her, angry heat radiating off his pelt. As he spun, yet another biting gust scampered across the moor. Yet the breeze didn't even disturb his short, coarse pelt.
Meanwhile, the she-cat twisted so that her left shoulder was hunched, keeping her face, distorted from pain, out of his view. "Why do you always have to be so difficult?" she whispered.
He chuckled, not even glancing in her direction as he answered. "I'm not always difficult, sweetheart. You see, I'm only difficult when I choose to be."
"And right now you're choosing to be," Heathertail retorted, hunching her other shoulder and hanging her head between her bony shoulder blades.
There was no reply. She sighed, refusing to look in his direction when she finally lifted her head again. Bitter air grazed her numb nose, and she groaned. "There's snow coming, Breezepelt. I can smell it in the air."
Once more, no sound came from the panther-like warrior. Heathertail forced herself to sneak a glance where she had last seen him, but the silhouette that was forever burned into her memory was nowhere to be seen.
She rose to her full, slightly above-average height. The tabby coughed. It felt like claws were being dragged down her throat as she swallowed. "Breezepelt?" she rasped, her voice suddenly weak.
Her call was immediately overpowered by the howling wind. She puffed air through her berry-pink nose and padded forward a few steps. Her fur was prickling like crazy, like she had the creeping feeling that tom was playing a prank on her.
"Breezepelt?" she tried again. Pain seared like fire in her sore throat, but it was worth it, for faintly Heathertail could catch the grunt of, "Down here."
She threw herself down the petite slope, and gritted her teeth. Breaking into an abrupt run like that made her limbs feel like twigs breaking out of frost. Fortunately, the short-lived jog warmed her up, and in no time she spotted his black pelt, sharply contrasting with the off-white of the frostbitten moor grass.
His gaze, as orange as smoldering embers, met hers, and seemed to warm her up even more from within. She froze for a long moment, her breath clouding around her muzzle. It was only when he spoke that she snapped out of her trance.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get down here." He patted a smooth spot next to him on the pebbly shore of the lake. Her gaze flitted to his paw, and her heart skipped a beat. The fur bunches around his claws… just like his.
She was shoved into an underground cave she hadn't glimpsed in seasons. A snapshot of her foolish life from many moons ago.
Two young cats, not much over seven or eight moons old, circled each other, their tails waving in anticipation. She could recall every detail of him; the extra-thick fur around his neck, the suggestive gleam in his amber eyes, the little spot— a birthmark— of darker skin on his right ear. The fur that bunched around his claws. He was so different from her, yet he'd understood her. He was the stag to her doe, the mud that held her together.
But he was from ThunderClan.
"Let's call it 'DarkClan…'" he said.
However, like her meetings with him, her memories could never last. The image of the golden tabby faded, replaced by a livid Breezepelt. He had pounced from his spot by the lakeshore and bowled her over. Now his sleek pelt was standing up a little, while his ears were flat against his square head.
"You're thinking about him again," the black tom guessed effortlessly. Fury made him stumble over his words, and he shook himself violently as he jumped off of her and turned away yet again.
"I can't help it," she moaned. "I know he's moved on… but he's always lurking around in my thoughts. I- it's just too much to resist sometimes."
Breezepelt spat at the frozen ground. "You've moved on too, you know. You're with me now."
Heathertail lashed her tail. "I still haven't accepted your proposal yet," she argued. "I'm not about to be with you just because the elders think I'm getting too old to bear kits."
"Well, you're not getting any younger. And neither am I." He hesitated, then poured on. "A- and you know what? He's my half-brother. It's so difficult for me when he is always the preferred one. Even you, of all cats, prefer him. Crowfeather preferred him. Every cat in his Clan loves him. Makes sense— the grandson of Firestar. Perfect mate, perfect kits." Breezepelt was facing her once again, and he leaned close so that his rank breath stirred her whiskers. "Why can't I have that too?"
"Because you have been absolutely wicked," she told him. "Plotting with that… that awful Place of No Stars, going rogue on your Clan—"
"The only cat who ever loved me and supported me was Nightcloud," Breezepelt mewed, going right along as if she hadn't spoken. "But she had to get slung three fox-lengths down the Thunderpath by a monster just as we were heading home."
Heathertail wrinkled her muzzle. "Don't talk about your mother's death so gruesomely like that. I'm sure it wasn't her intention to die."
"Oh, yes it was. She didn't want to return to WindClan," Breezepelt mewed, his voice very low all of a sudden. Heathertail tilted her ragged body closer so as to hear him better. "Returning was my idea. Choosing to kill herself on the Thunderpath was the only time she ever went against me. Against my wishes." He shook his head bitterly. "And now look where I am. Barely have a place in the Clan anymore. Crowfeather won't even look at me still. At least he retired from being deputy, now I don't have to respect him as much."
Heathertail's pelt itched. "I hate it when you talk like that. Like you're relieved you don't have to even pretend to look up to your father anymore."
"He's not my father," said Breezepelt. "He's just an elder sitting around camp getting gray until he dies."
The brown she-cat didn't respond. Disgusted, she simply scowled at her paws, which had lost all feeling to the cold long ago.
"But forget about death— let's talk about birth," Breezepelt went on. She could feel his eyes burning holes in her, so she glanced upward and met his gaze. "Be my mate, Heathertail. The Clan has noticed you've been withdrawn lately. Nobody wants to see the daughter of Onestar acting so mysterious."
She took a long breath. "You're doing exactly what Crowfeather did. Taking a WindClan mate just to prove you're loyal."
Breezepelt met her glare for glare. "I don't have anything to prove."
"Right," Heathertail laughed. "Don't act like I didn't see what you were doing with her."
Notable Deaths: Graystripe (drowned in When the Sun Goes Down), Foxleap (killed by foxes in A New Destiny), Sorreltail (died from greencough in A New Destiny), Onestar (drowned in When the Sun Goes Down), Mistystar (died from old age before When the Sun Goes Down), Littlecloud (died from old age before When the Sun Goes Down), Cherrystem [a.k.a. Cherryfall] (carried off by a hawk in When the Sun Goes Down)
Who is Who? Lilyfern and Seedspeck are my version of Lilyheart and Seedpaw. Amberear, Snowtail, and Dewclaw are my version of Ambermoon, Snowbush, and Dewnose. Seedspeck and Amberear also go by their initial descriptions.
Foxleap + Hazeltail = Smokyfur, Larchfeather
Tigerheart + Icecloud = Puddlepaw, Oakpaw, Bloodpaw (Note: Yes, Bloodpaw is albino. And Tigerheart joined ThunderClan to be with his mate and kits.)
Lionblaze + Cinderheart = Honeypaw, Flintpaw, Stonepaw
Bumblestripe + Dovewing = Beepaw, Morningpaw (Note: Bumblestripe and Dovewing have since broken up. Dovewing has unresolved feelings for Tigerheart, even though he doesn't love her anymore.)
Unknown + Ivypool = Lakepaw, Fogpaw