Cinderpelt groggily woke up in her den. She was still getting used to waking up at the right time without her mentor Yellowfang there to jostle her awake.
Yellowfang had died in the fire that tore through ThunderClan camp some sunrises ago, and Cinderpelt still felt a pang of sorrow whenever she looked at the big empty space in their den where her mentor's nest used to be.
Cinderpelt let out a sigh as she dragged herself to her paws. She slowly padded over to her herb stores and began the tedious task of sorting all of her supplies, in case of a need for herbs. ThunderClan had already moved back to camp since the fire, but they were still vulnerable, especially with Tigerstar now the leader of ShadowClan.
As she continued on with her chore, Cinderpelt glanced outside of her den into the camp. Out by the fresh kill pile, she saw Fireheart and Sandstorm sharing tongues, a happy glimmer visible in both their eyes.
Cinderpelt let out another heavy sigh as she turned back to her work. Her mentor's death wasn't the only part of the last few moons that was getting her down.
When Fireheart had been talking to her about Spottedleaf, she had told him to live in the now, and to stop worrying about the past, because there was another cat that needed his attention.
Cinderpelt had so desperately wanted to name herself. Ever since she was a kit, she had had a crush on the brave warrior, and when she was made his apprentice, she was the happiest cat in the world.
In all of the moons since her accident, her feelings for the ginger tom had only grown. Seeing how much he wanted her to be happy after her injury, and how much he worried, as if he believed the weight of the whole Clan was on his shoulders. She would proudly, and without hesitation, say that she loved him.
She had wanted to confess that to him and bury her head deep in his fur, but her duties as a medicine cat weighed too heavily down on her.
She wanted him so much, but her medicine cat duties won out in the end and she named Sandstorm, who had been showing signs of affection towards him as well.
But although she knew she had made the right choice, Cinderpelt still felt a pain in her chest when she looked out at Fireheart happily sharing tongues with Sandstorm.
Seeing how Fireheart had warmed up to ginger she-cat only deepened her sorrow. Cinderpelt had completely lost her focus on her task as she wished herself into Sandstorm's place.
Feeling like she had a stone in her belly, Cinderpelt padded over to her nest and plunked down, hoping maybe some more sleep could get her mind back on track.
Lying on the soft moss, Cinderpelt closed her eyes, trying to get all of her thoughts of Fireheart out of her mind as she slipped into a foggy sleep.
Almost as soon as her eyes closed, Cinderpelt heard a voice calling her name. Great StarClan, what is it now?
Opening her eyes, Cinderpelt quickly rose to her paws as she realised that it was Spottedleaf calling for her.
The beautiful tortoiseshell stood in front of her, stars shining in her smooth pelt. Cinderpelt was having a dream from StarClan!
"Spottedleaf! What is it? Do you have an important message from StarClan?" Cinderpelt asked urgently. If StarClan needed her, her own problems could wait.
"No, no, it's not business," Spottedleaf mewed, "It's… personal."
"Personal?" Cinderpelt asked, confused.
"It's about… Fireheart." Spottedleaf meowed.
Cinderpelt drew back. Does she know about how I feel about him? Cinderpelt began to feel guilty; it wasn't just Sandstorm who wanted Fireheart to herself. Was Spottedleaf upset about both Sandstorm and Cinderpelt's affections for the ginger tom?
"W-what about Fireheart?" Cinderpelt mewed, trying to hide the discomfort in her voice.
Spottedleaf let out a short mrrow of laughter before answering. "Don't worry Cinderpelt, I already know how you feel about him, and I have no problem with it."
"O-oh, you do?" Cinderpelt responded awkwardly, secretly feeling relieved.
"In fact, that's why I'm here," Spottedleaf continued, "I want to help you fulfill your wish of being Fireheart's mate."
"What?" Cinderpelt asked, shocked, "Why me?"
"It's better you than Sandstorm," the tortoiseshell she-cat growled, her glowing fur starting to bristle.
"What's wrong with Sandstorm?" Cinderpelt asked, shocked at the tortoiseshell's sudden aggression. This dream was getting weirder by the second.
"Oh, I'm fine with her, but she started it," Spottedleaf meowed, trying to remove all trace of a snarl from her voice, "Always being so defensive around Fireheart, sneering my name. Think I'm a threat, do you? Well I'll give you what you want!"
Cinderpelt just stood back, feeling more awkward by the minute. She wasn't sure if she wanted to get between Spottedleaf and Sandstorm.
Spottedleaf began to regain her composure, becoming her regular calm self as she continued. "I love Fireheart very much, and I can tell that you do to. I really think he can be happy with you, and as a fellow medicine cat, I feel I should help you in this endeavour."
"B-but I can't become Fireheart's mate!" Cinderpelt sputtered, trying to fight back the impulse to spill all of her pent up affection into Spottedleaf's sympathetic ear. "I'm a medicine cat! It's forbidden!"
"And who will care?" Spottedleaf mewed, "Bluestar doesn't seem too up to basking in the glory of StarClan, does she?"
Cinderpelt reflected on the mental state of her Clan leader since Tigerstar's betrayal, and heard a ring of truth to what Spottedleaf said.
"And besides, why would that matter?" Spottedleaf continued, "If you really do love Fireheart, you'll at least want him to know how you feel."
Cinderpelt looked down at her paws, her heart fluttering at what Spottedleaf was proposing. She couldn't hide that she loved Fireheart, and the depression that had fogged her mind before had been lifted at the possibility of being able to be with the tom that she loved so much.
"Okay, Spottedleaf," Cinderpelt sighed, "I'll accept your help, but I really don't know what to do."
Spottedleaf tilted her head as Cinderpelt continued. "I spend so much time around him, and I'm one of his closest friends. I've tried everything but he just ignores me."
As Cinderpelt spilled out her grief, Spottedleaf simply let out a small mrrow of laughter.
"Well of course," she interrupted, "We both love Fireheart, but even we can see that he's incredibly thick-headed when it comes to she-cats."
"Tell me about it," Cinderpelt mewed, rolling her eyes. She was glad that she and the former medicine cat were starting to warm up to each other.
"Casual romantic gestures aren't going to catch his eye," Spottedleaf mewed, "If you want to win his heart, you're going to have to go all out.
"What? What will I have to do?" Cinderpelt asked, eyes wide.
Spottedleaf narrowed her eyes, not answering. Suddenly, she started slowly walking towards Cinderpelt, a purr rising in her throat.
Spottedleaf kept stepping closer until Cinderpelt could feel her nose brushing against her whiskers.
Just as Cinderpelt was feeling uncomfortable, Spottedleaf suddenly turned around, tail held high. Cinderpelt felt embarrassment flush in her pelt as accidentally caught a glance between Spottedleaf's legs when the she-cat's hindquarters swished past her face.
Spottedleaf started strutting away from Cinderpelt, her hips swaying suggestively and her tail teasingly sweeping around her rump.
Cinderpelt felt incredibly confused and very uncomfortable from the way Spottedleaf was behaving, but at the same time she couldn't look away from this hypnotic display.
With another quick turn, Spottedleaf began marching back towards Cinderpelt, who was frozen to the ground. But this time, she didn't stop.
The she-cat brushed slowly against Cinderpelt's pelt, sending shivers down her spine. Spottedleaf's tail wrapped itself around Cinderpelt's neck, leaving her paralysed as she drank in Spottedleaf's scent.
The tortoiseshell medicine cat had wrapped her body around the frozen Cinderpelt, gently brushing around her until she brought her muzzle to Cinderpelt's ear and whispered one word:
"Seduction,"
"What?" Cinderpelt squeaked as she awkwardly broke away from the former medicine cat. "What?"
"Seduction," Spottedleaf repeated, returning back to normal, "If you want Fireheart, you will need to seduce him."
Cinderpelt still couldn't get her head around what Spottedleaf was proposing. "What?"
"Look," Spottedleaf continued, "We've established that being a big romantic isn't going to get Fireheart's attention, so we're going to need something that will. Give him an eyeful, and he's all yours."
"B-but," sputtered Cinderpelt, "How can you be so sure."
Spottedleaf giggled again. "He's a tom. They're brains are pretty much wired to respond to stuff like that. They act like they're in heat literally all the time."
Cinderpelt just stared on as Spottedleaf continued explaining. "Why do you think male apprentices and young warriors like going on hunting patrols with she-cats? To see them do the hunter's crouch.
"I myself had to put up with apprentices pretending to have bellyache so they could watch me bend over to get the juniper berries. I'm telling you, if a tom sees an opportunity to mount a she-cat, he will take it." Cinderpelt just stared on as Spottedleaf concluded her ramble.
"B-but I don't want me and Fireheart to be about lust…" Cinderpelt managed to meow.
"This will be just the beginning," Spottedleaf meowed reassuringly, "Sure, my looks are what got Fireheart after me in the first place, but once I got him in my grasp, we started talking. The reason I'm still on his mind now is because of that bond we shared then."
"So I can do the same with Fireheart?" Cinderpelt mewed excitedly.
"Of course," Spottedleaf mewed reassuringly, "I can tell that he's still a virgin. Seduce him, and he won't even think about another she-cat for days, not even Sandstorm. He'll be all yours to ask him to be with you forever."
Cinderpelt's head was swimming with all of this information. What was she getting herself in to? Part of her was repulsed by Spottedleaf's heavy-handed and frank talk about mating habits between toms and she-cats, but a spark within her wanted to accept Spottedleaf's help.
"It's the only way," Spottedleaf added.
Cinderpelt still couldn't ignore that little spark of emotion wandering through her head. All the love she felt for Fireheart wanted to do anything she could to be his mate and share a long life with him by her side, and her secret pent up lust desperately wanted to mate with him. She had made up her mind.
"So, have you changed your mind?" Spottedleaf asked finally, "Do you still accept my help?"
Cinderpelt didn't hesitate, meeting Spottedleaf's eyes with a determined stare. "I accept."
Spottedleaf purred happily, "Good. Now for your first lesson in the Art of Seduction…"
