AN: Hey guys, sorry to take so long to update on a cliffhanger. That was a bit of a gap considering I updated this almost twice a week before. I keep my profile updated with the general day range I aim to update my stories, so check there if you're ever wondering when this will get new chapters.

"Redtail, what has happened?"

Tigerclaw blinked. This made no sense.

Redtail looked up, not moving from his spot between Yellowfang and Firepaw. "This cat attacked Firepaw from out of nowhere. He managed to fend her off before I showed up." Redtail paused, casting a serious glance at the old gray she-cat. "And this isn't just any rogue. I believe that she is ShadowClan's medicine cat, although when I questioned her she refused to respond."

Tigerclaw sniffed the air. No. This can't be! There was no prey scent here at all! The kittypet wasn't giving Yellowfang prey- he hadn't gotten the chance with Redtail right next to him!

Bluestar nodded, taking a step forward to take a closer look at Yellowfang. "You're right. You have done well to fight this cat, Firepaw; she is ShadowClan's medicine cat." Bluestar turned and addressed Yellowfang directly. "Why are you on ThunderClan territory?"

Yellowfang was silent.

"Speak," Bluestar ordered. "Does your Clan know you are here?"

Finally Yellowfang answered with a hiss. "I choose to hunt alone now."

As Bluestar continued to question the old rogue, Tigerclaw felt as though the ground was falling out from underneath him. He had waited two moons for this opportunity, and now it had slipped away. I should have known!

"Come; we'll take her back to camp," Bluestar meowed. "We'll see what she has to say for herself there." Bluestar turned and with a flick her tail, began to lead the way back to camp.

Lionheart and Willowpelt took up guarding positions on either side of Yellowfang. Tigerclaw sat, numb to his surroundings, as his Clanmates moved around him to follow Bluestar back. He had wasted moons! Not days, not weeks, but two full moons! Cursing to himself, Tigerclaw turned and followed his Clanmates toward the ThunderClan camp. His lack of action, which he had been convinced was a necessary component to his plan, had all been for naught.

He narrowed his eyes at Redtail as the tortoiseshell tom joined Bluestar at the head of the patrol. As they walked, Tigerclaw could hear them mewing quietly to each other. "I only saw a few moments of their fight," Redtail was meowing, "but Firepaw held his own. He fought well."

"That is good to hear," Bluestar meowed. "I am glad that he has progressed so much since he arrived."

There was a moment of silence before Redtail spoke. "Have you decided on his mentor yet?"

"Don't tell me that you want to mentor him?" Bluestar gave Redtail a friendly tail flick.

"I wouldn't be opposed to that arrangement."

"Redtail, must I remind you that you already have an apprentice?" Bluestar's mew was lighthearted. "Besides, I already have a cat in mind."

"Of course." Redtail gave her a knowing look that made Tigerclaw want to claw his own eyes out. Blatant favoritism!

Ears flat against his head, Tigerclaw's paws began to shake. How could this have gone so wrong? Firepaw was supposed to be punished, not praised!

Darkstripe trailed along behind him, apparently having enough sense to know that something had gone wrong. "Tigerclaw?"

He didn't acknowledge his former apprentice.

"What are we going to do about the-"

He pushed ahead before Darkstripe could finish.

When they returned to camp, the cats of ThunderClan ate their evening meal. Tigerclaw sat off to the side, avoiding his Clanmates and barely able to taste the mouse he chose to eat. Darkstripe kept trying to talk to him, but Tigerclaw ignored him; the dark tom was irritatingly persistent and eventually Tigerclaw had to scare him off with a sharp hiss. It had been stupid to inform Darkstripe of anything; he was going to have to endure his pestering for moons now.

After a little while, Bluestar bounded to the top of the Highrock and called a Clan meeting.

"As most of you know already, we have a prisoner. Firepaw caught Yellowfang, the former medicine cat of ShadowClan, on our territory today. Well done, Firepaw."

Tigerclaw zoned out. This could not be happening.

The Clan meeting went similarly to the first time he'd lived it, aside from the glaring fact that Firepaw had been congratulated for capturing a prisoner by the whole Clan.

This was not what was supposed to happen! The kittypet would have caught prey for Yellowfang and taken some for himself if Redtail hadn't been there.

Ugh. I should just kill them already.

He snapped back to the present when Yellowfang and Darkstripe nearly started clawing each other. "Stop!" Bluestar yowled. "That's enough. We cannot fight amongst ourselves. There is too much at stake."

Darkstripe was looking to him, but Tigerclaw avoided his glances. He reflected how strange it was that Darkstripe and Yellowfang had almost gotten in a fight both times. Tigerclaw jerked his head in anger- at Darkstripe for being a mousebrain, at Bluestar for praising the kittypet, at Redtail for still being alive, but mostly at the kittypet for simply existing.

Bluestar was still speaking when he was able to focus again. "To speed up the training of all our young cats, I shall take on Firepaw as my own apprentice."

"Wow, what an honor!" Graypaw meowed, nudging the kittypet.

Tigerclaw grumbled, tucking his paws underneath him. He half expected the Clan to start cheering for the kittypet again, and flattened his ears to block out the noise if that happened; he didn't think he'd be able to stop himself from murdering him right there in the ThunderClan camp.

When the meeting broke up, cats began to move forward to talk to the kittypet. Tigerclaw dug his claws into the ground as cats commended him for capturing the prisoner.

Bluestar began to pad across the camp, and Tigerclaw barely had the energy to twist an ear in acknowledgement when she sat down next to him. "I am surprised you scented Yellowfang from such a long distance away. That was some good tracking you showed today."

Tigerclaw grunted. Did she think he needed praise like a lowly apprentice?

Bluestar kept going, her eyes thoughtful. "Firepaw has found his place in our Clan." Tigerclaw blinked, confused. Was she trying to think aloud or something? No conversation of this sort had happened before. Had Tigerclaw been too obvious about his fury today? "Redtail tells me that Firepaw fought well today. He owes much of his skills to your training." In his old life Tigerclaw could have thought of something formal and calm to say, but this time it was all he could do to prevent himself from lashing out. Rage was growing like a fire in his chest, threatening to explode.

"It concerns me to have an enemy within our camp, but I think we will grow to live with it for the time being," Bluestar continued. "Yellowfang is not one of us, but if Firepaw has learned to live among us for so many moons, perhaps she will as well."

Birds of a feather, aren't they? Too late, Tigerclaw realized he had spoken out loud.

Bluestar's eyes suddenly grew cold. "What do you mean by that?"

Something broke within Tigerclaw, and he could feel his facade ripping away. "Firepaw is a kittypet!" Tigerclaw snarled, shifting sideways. "He shouldn't have a place in our Clan! He doesn't have warrior blood; he never should have been accepted as a ThunderClan cat!"

"Are you suggesting that I made the wrong decision in taking him into our Clan?" Bluestar's eyes glittered dangerously.

Cats were starting to stare. Against all his instincts, Tigerclaw flattened his fur. "No."

Bluestar watched him for a long moment. "There is more to loyalty than blood, Tigerclaw," she meowed, sounding less angry than Tigerclaw would have thought. "I would think you of all cats could understand that by now." With a flick of her tail, Bluestar padded away.

Tigerclaw groaned inwardly. How in the name of StarClan was he supposed to be made deputy now? Surely Bluestar would remember this for many moons. He had never questioned her in his first life like that, ever.

That single argument might have cost me seasons!

Lionheart was giving him one of his confused looks again. Tigerclaw snorted, making his way to the warriors' den. Cowards, all of them.

His whole plot had turned into a nightmare. He had tried to do things the right way, and that strategy had failed him miserably. Not only was the kittypet not disgraced, he was more respected than he had been the first time! The shadow cat was wrong, that was the only explanation.

In retrospect, it hadn't been that great of a plan. He should have anticipated that Redtail's presence would change things. The irritating tortoiseshell would probably muck up everything he did left and right without intervention.

Only one way to solve that.

It was still light out, although just barely. Tigerclaw quietly slipped out of the warriors' den, and scanned the camp for the familiar tortoiseshell pelt. Spotting him near the elders' den, he padded over to meet him. "Redtail, would you be interested in a bit of hunting?"

Redtail dipped his head in greeting. "Are you finally looking to train our apprentices together at this time of night?"

Snorting, Tigerclaw narrowed his eyes into slits, and then he opened them slightly to appear less hostile; he couldn't give any cat a reason to be suspicious when Redtail wasn't there to organize patrols in the morning. "It seems that training our apprentices is all you think about."

"Of course not," Redtail mewed, his eyes glinting with mischief. "I think about hunting sometimes as well."

For once, Tigerclaw found it easy to suppress an eye roll. In a short time, this obnoxious tom would be dead. "So are we hunting, or no?"

"Yes, I'll come with you," Redtail agreed. "Night prey will be out in droves."

This had to be done, Tigerclaw reasoned. A cat could only be pushed so much and if he didn't act soon, he knew he would kill Redtail on impulse anyway. Allowing Redtail to lead him into the woods, Tigerclaw trotted up behind him, squinting. There was something different about the forest tonight, but he couldn't quite put his paw on it.

It took him a few moments to realize what was wrong. The tortoiseshell deputy's shadow was flickering. At first he thought nothing of it, but then it began to move in unusual ways: growing and shrinking rapidly in size, tail flicks here and there that didn't match its caster's movements.

Tigerclaw scowled. Could this be some bizarre message from the shadow cat? Shaking himself, he went on. He had to do this; Redtail's presence had become too much of a nuisance to ignore.

They walked further. By now the sunlight had faded, leaving only the minuscule glow of stars. Even with good night vision, Tigerclaw navigated mostly by scent, opting to never let his eyes leave Redtail.

"Where shall we go?" Redtail mewed over his shoulder.

"Further," Tigerclaw replied. "Near Sunningrocks, perhaps?"

"Fine by me." Redtail quickened his pace. Weaving between low hanging branches and thick patches of undergrowth, Tigerclaw followed. He was careful to avoid brushing his fur against anything that would carry his scent for too long; if any cat tried to track Redtail, he wanted to be able to tell them that he'd last seen him somewhere other than the spot he killed him.

Further and further they went, Tigerclaw's heartbeat growing faster all the while. The darkness was growing more pronounced as the night went on. It made it easier to ignore the trees' shadows, which were twisting oddly.

"There it is," Redtail meowed, pointing with his muzzle at the looming shape of Sunningrocks.

Tigerclaw skidded to a halt. "You go on ahead. I'll start with some mice around here."

Redtail raised his head. "I don't smell any mice."

Tigerclaw narrowed his eyes, wishing for a moment that he had actually smelled the air before he said anything. "I think you underestimate my tracking skills."

"Possibly," Redtail admitted. "You did scent Yellowfang from halfway across the territory today, and she used to be ShadowClan. They probably learn how to sneak about from the moment they're born."

"Indeed." They watched each other for an awkward heartbeat. "Shall we get on with it then?" Tigerclaw mewed finally.

Redtail nodded. "We'll meet up later."

Yes, we will, Tigerclaw thought with a growl. He waited for Redtail to start moving away, and began to follow him from a distance.

He was so focused on Redtail that he didn't notice the darkness creeping up at the edge of his vision.