MWAHAHAHA Firestar is deliciously evil…. Who doesn't love a good villain, especially when you loved him as a hero?

Icecloud felt her breath quicken in her chest. The space was so big yet she felt impossibly claustrophobic. She didn't even notice she was stumbling backward until she tripped over a crevice and bowled over into a pool of water. She looked down and saw it wasn't water at all. Her paws were soaked in Toadstep's blood.

"Toadstep!" she cried, "Oh Toadstep please wake up!" She resisted the urge to shake him.

His breathe came out in hisses of pain and the blood had made his fur sticky. He coughed suddenly and that seemed bring him about. He didn't move, only cracked open one eye, the rest of his body kept tortuously stiff.

"Ouch… ahh, what happened?" He croaked, "I feel awful."

Icecloud felt tears come to her eyes but she shoved her feelings away for Toadstep's sake. He is not gonna die, she thought, not on my watch. She gathered herself and practiced the words in her head. He cannot see me panic. He cannot see me panic.

"Don't move, you're hurt," She started slowly, as though talking to an obstinate kit; "We fell through some weak dirt and into tunnels of some sort. I'm going to try to find my way back and get help." Her serene tone was spot on.

Toadstep's eyes got big and he struggled to rise. With a cry of pain he sank to the floor, visibly tolled by his attempt to stand.

"Don't leave me here! Please Icecloud! Who knows what else is down here with us? There could be badgers, or foxes! I-I-I d-d-don't w-w-wanna die…"

"Toadstep you're going to have to be brave. I'll come right back, I promise-" Icecloud's own panic roiled in her stomach.

"No! Icecloud, you can't! Please don't, no no no No NO!" Toadstep squirmed on the ground, his gasps of pain echoing around the cavern.

"STOP!" Icelcloud shrieked; her fear that he would hurt himself combined with her terror of going off alone in these dark, dank tunnels was enough to make her calm mask fall away. Toadstep broke off his attempts and stared at her, her own dread mirrored in his face. She ground her teeth and regained control over herself.

"Anyone who comes looking for us is in danger," Tremors still shook her voice, "If they follow the route we did, there's a chance they may not see the pitfall. So even if a search party comes, we might just get them stuck down here with us, which is very bad." She said each word deliberately, willing him to understand.

Very bad is an understatement. We're likely to get them all killed.

"I'll go as fast as I can, but it may take hours for me to figure out which path is right. For all we know, there could be hundreds."

Toadstep gulped, and nodded. She peered at his frightened expression, anxious to find words that might soothe him. Icecloud felt horrible at the idea of deserting him all by himself, especially with the state he was in. She quickly eyed his wounds. Her hopes sunk even lower at the sight, it was almost as if someone had injected ice into her veins. She had seen injuries like that before. Russetfur's still body flashed before her, and she flinched unexpectedly.

She turned away from the petrified Toadstep, and raced into the first tunnel she saw.

Juniper berries. Where were the juniper berries? Jayfeather pawed around his stores noting abundant supplies of yarrow, mint, and burdock root. The multicolored leaves began to pile up around the den as he started to search in earnest. Why did he not have juniper berries? Of all the things to not have, it had to be the most common herb he used. Maybe it was time to get an apprentice; then he wouldn't be wasting his time with menial tasks like this.

The memory of a moaning cat came back to him as he puzzled the conundrum.

"Ahhh, I remember," Jayfeather muttered, "That furball Toadstep took them all up! He wouldn't shut up about his stomach ache so I had to keep on increasing his dosage."

Jayfeather recalled the incident caustically; how he had run out of berries and had to feed him a harmless variety of wild berry claiming it was juniper. Eventually he had even run out of those.

"I suppose you'll just have to eat these." He shook his head, feigning sorrow.

Toadstep opened his eyes and stopped his moaning to gawk at the berries. He reached out and sniffed them.

"AHH!" He recoiled with a look of horror, "What are you trying to pull? Those are deathberries!"

Jayfeather persisted, shoving them at his face. "Oh, Toadstep, you sound as though you're in a great deal of pain. Best not to prolong it, wouldn't you agree?"

Toadstep shot up from the bed hastily. Almost as fast as a hare, or a Windclan warrior for that matter.

"Oh, I'm sure everything is fine. You know what? I feel better already! Those juniper berries really work; You are an amazing medicinecat Jayfeather, you really can work wonders." He laughed uncomfortably and zoomed around the corner of the den.

Jayfeather couldn't help the amusement that he had gotten from that particular case. It wasn't often he had to pull stunts like that with warriors. But then, Toadstep wasn't exactly the run-of-the-mill warrior.

"Jayfeather!" Graystripe called from outside the den.

Jayfeather immediately went into alert mode. He bounded outside and faced Graystripe, "whose hurt? What happened?"

Graystipe chuckled nervously, "Nothing, no one. No one is hurt. Firestar just wants to see you."

Jayfeather didn't feel any more relaxed by his words. And he didn't seem to be the only one. Graystripe was barely holding it together. Jayfeather could see the signs of extreme anxiety; he almost offered him some poppy seeds out of habit. He kept his uneasiness to himself, but he couldn't help but notice the whole camp seemed to be on edge. Again, he recalled the incident with Toadstep. His stomach ache hadn't been the only thing on his mind. He had talked to Jayfeather about concerns for Firestar, wondering if he was the only one to see the unsettling changes in their leader. Jayfeather certainly wasn't going to bad-mouth Firestar, but there was not ignoring that he seemed odd. He knew some of what had happened the gathering before last, but only because Leafpool had informed him of it. She had been one of the cats staying in camp, in case Firestar had come back. He went missing for around a quarter-moon before the gathering and while everyone was in a panic, Brambleclaw took the place of temporary leader. He led them to the gathering where tensions began to rise and the other clans figured out the inevitable. That something was very wrong in Thunderclan.

When they returned to camp, they found Leafpool standing over Firestar, treating him for what seemed to be a severe headache. She had informed him after they moved Firestar into the medicine den that he had lurched into camp and fell down unconscious. Jafeather took over, and nursed him back to health within two days. But he wasn't the same. If anyone dared question him about what happened, he just snapped at them and cuttingly told them to speak respectfully to their leader.

"Firestar wants to see me. Do you know why?" Jayfeather managed to keep the apprehension from his query.

Graystripe coughed meaningfully and began strolling beside Jayfeather. The two headed out of earshot of any other clan members.

"I'm sure it's just Leader-Medicinecat business. Unless you know something I don't?"

Jayfeather noted that his voice was only a little above a whisper. "No, I have no clue what he wants." He answered honestly.

"Jayfeather, if Starclan has told you something, anything, then don't tell him." Graystripe's statement dropped to murmur.

Jayfeather halted his stride; shocked at the blatant flippancy he was encouraging. "I hope you don't mean what I think you do, Graystipe. Because it sounds like insubordination to me." He said sharply. Jayfeather inwardly said it was no harm, because Starclan hadn't spoken to him at all. Although he knew this should indicate that all was well, he couldn't keep that slimy feeling from prowling around in the corner of his mind. It was fear. And he didn't know why.

Graystripe hissed, and tapped him on his back with his tail, motioning him to keep moving. After a few tense seconds, he continued walking beside him.

"You can't tell me you don't sense there's something wrong here?" He pleaded, "Firestar isn't himself. Some of the senior warriors have been talking. We think he's been…doing things against the warrior code." The plain distress in Graystripe's plea was what caused him to pause. Firestar and Graystripe were best friends, and it was obviously paining him to speak against him.

"What kind of things?" Jayfeather said.

"It's not important right now," He waved it off, clearly agitated by the question, "What you need to know is that something isn't right. Firestar is dangerous. You have to be careful around him. Whatever you do, don't antagonize him. While you're around him, keep on your toes. Every moment you spend with him, the more risky it becomes. When you see an opening, get out."

Graystripe stopped suddenly. Jayfeather hesitated, and took in the scents. They were here. Jayfeather didn't respond to Graystripe and continued up the rock to Firestar's den. He could feel Graystripe's eyes burning into his back. Jayfeather wished he would quit it; his weird conduct was already attracting attention. But as he staggered up to the stone, Graystripe's words chased each other behind his eyes. He could feel himself growing more and more nervous the closer he got.

Graystripe's panic latched on to his fear and drove it forward. Firestar is dangerous. Kept appearing in the tumble of phrases. He reached the archway, the space covered by a screen of leaves. Moss clung to the nearby rock; it was thick near the top of the arch and grew spidery and scrawny by the time it reached the floor. Firestar is dangerous. Jayfeather registered the abundance for future reference. He slowed his breathing, determined to appear perfectly unconcerned when he entered. With his dread accumulating, and those three little menacing words ringing around his brain, he stepped into the den.

Yeahhhhhh I lied…. No romance. I couldn't fit it in! It's not my fault! I had two other scenes I was trying to fit in this chapter and couldn't find room for those, how am I supposed to find room for some 'aww moments'? Anyway please review, and follow or whatever. Or don't, but just be aware that if I don't get encouragement, I don't feel the need to spend hours writing this stuff. I'm hoping to fit a Firestar murders more people scene in the next chapter but I still have to wrap up that thing with Icecloud and Toadstep. Honestly you guys were supposed to meet an important character in this one, but as I said before, no room.

"If Cloudkit carries Firestar's blood, it'll make a good Clan cat."

-Graystripe