Sorry it's been a while.

Anyway - thank you to everyone who's reviewed, and/or suggested a switch. But because I didn't intead for so many people to suggest ideas, I'm going to put the ideas on hold for a little while as I finish writing some more of these.

This was requested by Stonetail's Loyalty - the first review and idea I received. I hope you like it, even though it's shorter than my last story.

"Me next! Me next!"

Fireheart swirled around. The sudden yowling had scared away his prey.

"Cinderpaw," he growled under his breath, stalking towards where the shout had come from.

Cinderpaw glanced up at Fireheart as he stepped into the clearing. Her bright blue eyes shone with undisguised excitement and her tail twitched dizzily. "Fireheart!"

The ginger tom had been fully ready to scold her, but seeing his apprentice filled with such enthusiasm… He sighed, shaking his head. "What were you yowling about?"

"Brackenpaw caught a vole," Cinderpaw mewed, swaying to and fro. "I've never caught a vole."

Fireheart shook his head in disbelief. "Well, could you be quieter next time? I think you scared away all the prey from here to Fourtrees."

Cinderpaw's shoulders drooped and she rested her tail on the ground with a soft thud. "Sorry."

Fireheart licked her ear. "Just don't let it happen again, okay?" He turned to where Cinderpaw's brother and fellow apprentice, Brackenpaw, was standing. "Congratulations to you too," he added.

Brackenpaw dipped his head. "Thanks, Fireheart," the golden brown tabby meowed.

Fireheart nodded back and began to pad back to where he'd been hunting, flicking Cinderpaw's flank as he walked past. "I'll leave you to yourselves now."

Cinderpaw's eyes widened. "With no mentor to watch us?"

"There's got to be a first time," Fireheart replied, smiling as he remembered his first solo hunting trip. That had been the day he met Yellowfang…

"Just remember what I told you," Fireheart meowed. "And you'll be fine." The flame-coloured cat pushed through the ferns, leaving the two young cats in the clearing. He heard Cinderpaw as she called out.

"I'm going to catch a vole now!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The navy-blue sky was growing patchy as dawn tore its way over the forest. The whole of ThunderClan territory seemed to be holding its breath, Fireheart thought to himself as he padded through the dew-stained grass. Ahead of him, Runningwind and Mousefur matched each others' pace, while Cinderpaw bounced along beside Fireheart - pausing only to sniff at an old badger hole, or spring after a lazy dragonfly.

"What a nice morning," she mewed happily; suddenly her head swirled around. "Squirrel!"

Fireheart let out a barely audible groan as Cinderpaw sprang up the nearest tree in pursuit of the fluffy-tailed prey. "Cinderpaw!"

Cinderpaw stopped and glanced down at her mentor. "What?"

Fireheart felt the stares of Mousefur and Runningwind burn into his pelt. "You don't catch squirrels like that," he reminded Cinderpaw, his tail swishing in frustration.

His apprentice tilted her gray-furred head onto one side. "Don't you?"

Fireheart shook his head. "No."

After a moment's hesitation, Cinderpaw turned and started to climb down. "Okay then."

Fireheart gave his chest a few self-conscious licks, wishing that Runningwind and Mousefur hadn't watched the exchange between mentor and apprentice.

"Fireheart!"

Fireheart's head shot up just in time to see Cinderpaw slip off the branch and tumble towards the ground. Without thinking, he dashed under her and stood up on his hind legs for a second, hoping to catch the falling she-cat.

There was a loud thump as Cinderpaw landed on top of Fireheart; her weight pushing him to the ground.

"Cinderpaw, what were you thinking?" Fireheart growled softly, his eyes shut.

"Sorry!" He heard someone apologise in a slightly muffled voice, but it didn't sound like anyone he knew - yet it was oddly familiar…

Cinderpaw must have gotten off him; he could no longer feel her weight holding him down. But underneath him, the ground was warm and furry, and it was moving.

"Get off me!" The unusual voice said, and Fireheart jumped.

"Sorry," he meowed, quickly rolling off the cat he was sitting on. He gave his head a quick shake, getting his gray fur out of his eyes…

Grayfur?

In front of Fireheart, a flame-coloured cat was scrambling to his paws. "You were heavy," the cat complained, then stopped and stared at Fireheart. "What the…?"

Fireheart stared back at the other cat, as alike himself as his reflection in a pool. His eyes widened in shock as he realised what he was seeing.

Fireheart was looking at himself.

Slowly, Fireheart stood up and took a few steps forwards, tilting his head to one side as he tried to figure out what was going on.

His mirror image was examining himself, twirling round and round. "This is so weird!" He exclaimed in a tone Fireheart knew very well.

Fireheart froze in shock. "Cinderpaw?" he whispered under his breath.

"Are you two okay?" another voice said, and Fireheart turned around to see that Mousefur and Runningwind were still there. They seemed larger than usual, and both had worried expressions. "You took a nasty fall," Mopusefur meowed, flicking her tail.

"I'm fine," Fireheart's double image replied before Fireheart could. The cat narrowed his eyes at Fireheart. "You're fine too, aren't you, Cinderpaw?"

The last word had been stressed out, and suddenly Fireheart realised what had happened.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," he meowed. His voice had changed - it was higher, more energetic. To confirm his theory, Fireheart glanced at his paws and noticed that his flame-coloured fur was now more the colour of dark ash.

"Are you sure?" Mousefur persisted, glancing from one to the other.

"Umm.. I might need to go see Yellowfang," Firehart said before Cinderpaw could. He smiled, hoping that the sweet, innocent look Cinderpaw used so often would work.

"I'll take you," the real Cinderpaw meowed, padding over to stand beside him. "So that he…er, she - doesn't get into trouble."

Runningwind nodded. "We'll see you back at camp," he meowed, holding his tail high. "Come on, Mousefur."

Mousefur dipped her head briefly to her mixed-up Clanmates before following Runningwind through some tall bracken. After the two older cats had been gone for a while, Fireheart turned to his body.

"So you're Cinderpaw?" he asked slowly, his brain working more sluggishly than usual.

His body… Cinderpaw… nodded, widening her new green eyes and flicking her tail. "This is weird," she meowed, tilting her head to one side. "I mean, I'm you? You're me? Real weird, this is." She turned to look at the body she was in. "Really, really weird!" She glanced at Fireheart, grinning. "Maybe I can catch my tail as you. I never could when I was Cinderpaw."

With that, the once-gray cat began to chase Fireheart's ginger tail; twirling around and around.

"Stop it!" Fireheart meowed sharply. Cinderpaw stopped, turned to face him and did her cute trick. The expression on Fireheart's face was made him want to laugh, but he continued to look stern.

"Now, what was this caused by?" he wondered.

"Gee, I dunno… Oh, wait!" Fireheart's face brightened. "It was after I fell out of the tree - just after I landed on you." Cinderpaw leapt up, catching the branch of the tree she'd fallen out of and pulling herself onto it. "Let's see…" She climbed higher, at a speedier rate then she had done before.

"Cinderpaw!" Fireheart called out again. "How exactly will this -"

All the breath was knocked out of him as Cinderpaw jumped on top of him.

"Did it work?" she meowed anxiously, lifting her head.

"Ow…" Fireheart groaned. His eyes flickered to stare at his paws. They were still small and gray. "No, I'm still you."

Cinderpaw lashed her tail. "Fox-dung!" she exclaimed.

"Get off me, please," Fireheart meowed, pressed to the ground even harder than before.

Cinderpaw jumped off - apparently she hadn't been affected. Yeah, because she had me to land on! Fireheart thought bitterly.

"Maybe you should be the one who falls down," Cinderpaw suggested, her green eyes barely a mouse tail away from Fireheart's blue. "You know, because you're me."

Fireheart sat up, rubbing his neck with one of Cinderpaw's forelegs. "I don't think that'll work."

"Why not?" Cinderpaw demanded. "C'mon, Fireheart! Please?"

Fireheart groaned again as Cinderpaw did her cute expression once more. "Okay, fine. Which tree was it?"

"This one here," Cinderpaw meowed, rearing up on her hind legs and touching the tree with her forepaws. "I'll tell you when to stop climbing."

Sighing heavily, Fireheart padded over to the tree. He glanced up at the nearest branch. It seemed easy enough.

He crouched, and then leapt up, forepaws extended.

Unfortunately, he'd forgotten that Cinderpaw's body was smaller than his own and he missed the branch completely, his claws only just scraping the bark.

"Try again," Cinderpaw encouraged.

Fireheart got to his feet, gave a quick shake to flatten Cinderpaw's ruffled fur and leapt again. This time he managed to grab hold of the branch and pull himself up onto it.

"Good!" Cinderpaw meowed, smiling happily. "Now for the next branch…"

As Fireheart followed Cinderpaw's instructions, he couldn't help feeling like this was going to be a failure. They'd probably stay in each others' bodies for a lot longer…

"Now!"

Cinderpaw's sudden yowl made Fireheart jump, his fur bristling… of course, the branch was too fragile for even that movement.

Crack!

Fireheart felt the branch collapse under his paws, and suddenly he was falling - claws digging heavily into the wood he'd dragged down. He let out a yowl.

And then he landed on something soft.

"Oh, my head…" Fireheart heard Cinderpaw mew in a small voice. And the voice… it was one he knew very well.

"Cinderpaw!" Fireheart meowed, his voice muffled as Cinderpaw lay on top of him. "It worked!" He managed to slither out from under her and glanced at his paws. They were a flaming ginger again. "Yes!"

Cinderpaw slowly lifted her head, her usual blue eyes widening. "It worked?" She sat up and began to groom herself, wincing. "I think I've got a splinter in my paw."

Fireheart padded over to her and nosed the paw she held up for him. Sure enough, a sharp piece of wood protruded from her pad.

"I'll have that out in a second," Fireheart promised, then slowly took hold of it in his teeth and pulled.

Cinderpaw gave a small squeal as the splinter came out. "That hurt!"

Fireheart tilted his head onto one side. "Shall we go and see Yellowfang about it?"

Cinderpaw gave her paw a few licks, then stood up. "Yep."

"And, ah… let's not tell anyone about what happened," Fireheart added, touching his apprentice's flank with his tail. The ginger showed up brightly against her dark gray fur.

Cinderpaw widened her eyes and grinned. "You can count on me, Fireheart," she promised before leaping off towards the camp.

Fireheart gave a small sigh and followed her.