Hello From The Other Side:

Lilypaw yawned, stretching. The pale cream tabby she-cat was curled up in her mossy nest, eyes shut tight and her white-tipped tail curled over her nose. Through slightly darker-shaded ears she heard the sounds of everyday life going on, but somehow the apprentice couldn't bring herself to wake up to meet it.

Dawn light filtered softly into ThunderClan's apprentice den, dappling her pale cream tabby pelt with patches of golden light. One paw was stretched out, barely brushing the moss of a gray tabby tom's nest.

The tom's name was Ripplepaw. Ripplepaw was Lilypaw's littermate, and he just happened to be the best fighter, and the best hunter, and fastest climber out of all the apprentices. To be honest, there were only five of them, but it still made every day go by with the knowledge that they would never be the best. They could only be second best, besides Ripplepaw.

Ripplepaw blinked open his frosty blue eyes, scanning the apprentice den calmly before licking a scrap of moss off of his forepaw. His blue gaze rested on the pelt of a white she-cat; Snowpaw.

Was it really any secret that Ripplepaw liked Snowpaw? Not to Lilypaw, it wasn't. Every day she would see her brother and Snowpaw, and she would internally flinch and recoil. They were 11 moon old apprentices, almost warriors, but it felt too young to go moon over some cat. Didn't Ripplepaw have any sense?

No one spoke out against it, though. Ripplepaw would merely trail after Snowpaw, and call her over to share a rabbit that he caught, or maybe a squirrel, or a pheasant.

Rising to his paws, Ripplepaw padded out of the den. His thoughts were clouded with darkness; Lilypaw could sense all this without moving a muscle.

Now it was Lionpaw and Palepaw's turns to wake. The two apprentices had joined them in the den only a few days ago, but they were already battered and tired each day from training. Some said that Lionpaw had the strictest mentor in the clan, but Lilypaw herself didn't mind Robinfall's presence.

The darker speckled ginger she-cat poked her head in; Robinfall's eyes were narrowed as her gaze locked on her apprentice. "Get up," she ordered.

Lionpaw raised his golden-and-ginger head, blinking sleep-crusted amber eyes. "What?" he yawned. "Oh, okay. I'm coming, Robinfall."

With an approving nod, Robinfall disappeared.

Lilypaw could sense all of that, and more. Why, you might ask? Because she paid attention to every little detail. Even with closed eyes, she watched. A nod gave a quick downward or upward whoosh of motion, and a shake of a head sent some air to either side. Every little breeze she felt; every breath she heard. Her whiskers, even without trying, paid attention to everything in the air. When someone was speaking close to her, the air would be warmer from their breath.

Attentive? Yes.

Strong? Not so much. Lilypaw had always been a small, lithe shape, her fur defining her appearance instead of her muscles.

"Palepaw? Are you going to come and join us?" The polite call of the ginger tabby she-cat's mentor, Wrenflight, rang into the air.

Palepaw raised her head, woozy. "Huh? Training? Uh... Cool!"

Waking up at last, Palepaw bounced to her paws and sprang out of the den, Lionpaw following her with only a tad less energy. As Snowpaw followed them as they left the apprentice den, Lilypaw felt solitude weigh over her.

Enough to make it seem like she was alone, but not quite enough to deceive the pale cream tabby she-cat. Wrenflight was still there, watching her silently. At last, Lilypaw forced herself to raise her head, opening her golden eyes to the steadily brightening den.

"Do you want something from me?" Lilypaw asked, voice solid instead of soft from sleep.

Wrenflight hesitated, then shook her head, sighing. "No. But Thornstorm will be along soon, so there's no point in going back to sleep."

Lilypaw sighed and heaved herself into a sitting position and Wrenflight left. Thornstorm was her mentor. The large golden-brown tabby tom was a fierce fighter, and a good friend to her, as well. Though he was a young warrior, he had been chosen to mentor her by Silverstar.

She gazed her pale cream tabby fur, letting out a yawn now that Wrenflight was gone. Leaning forwards, she started giving her pelt a few rough licks. Twitching her whiskers, Lilypaw paused momentarily, sensing a warmer current in the air. Why was that?

Twisting her head to the left to follow the warm air current, Lilypaw rose to her feet, ignoring her ruffled fur. She placed one small pale cream tabby paw on the ground, and then another, soon finding herself trotting outside the apprentice den and towards the back of it. A new scent, harsh and fierce, was blasted at her, along with a crude stinging in her eyes.

A thin, gray, wispy substance was swirling slowly from beneath a bracken frond. Curious, Lilypaw leaned forwards, nudging it. Immediately, warmth coursed over her as the bracken fell away, revealing a small but fierce blaze.

"Fire!" Lilypaw shrieked, fur bushing out.

Without the slightly damp bracken to stop it, the fire blazed onto the dry, sandy bottom of the hollow, spreading rapidly. Freezing, Lilypaw stared at the wildfire, eyes wide with terror.

Horrified shouts rang from the main clearing, Silverstar's voice barely heard over other's frantic calls as the ThunderClan leader tried to give orders. She didn't listen to her leader, instead caught up in panic as she watched flickers begin, followed by fire spurts, and then becoming blazing towers of ginger flame. It was itching towards her, Lilypaw's forepaws warm and her fur prickling.

Teeth clamped around her tail and dragged her back. Stumbling, Lilypaw stared at her savior for a few moments before registering who it was. Ripplepaw. Of course. Her brother nudged her, worry flashing in his eyes only for a moment before they hardened again and he became the boastful brother he had always been.

"Go on," he urged. "Run! I shouldn't have to save an apprentice twice!"

Biting back resentment, Lilypaw started rushing towards the camp entrance when a pitiful wail stopped her in her tracks. Her gaze swept over the blazing follow, resting on Brambleflower. The brown-and-white tabby queen was trying desperately to heard her five kits towards the entrance. She carried the smallest of her litter, Graykit, in her mouth, but the other four were darting around wildly, tails streaming behind them in terror.

Bounding over to the kits, Lilypaw grabbed Flamekit just as the ginger she-kit would have ran into a patch of fire. The kit fell limp in her jaws, staring at the blaze that could have killed her. Spinning around, she reached out a paw to pull a black tom kit towards her; Nightkit froze, watching her with wide, scared eyes.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lilypaw could see Brambleflower nudging Hazelkit towards her. Summoning all of her courage, Lilypaw forced herself to walk calmly to Nightkit and lead him over to his mother. She adjusted her grip on Flamekit for a moment so she could speak. "We're going to be okay."

Flamekit let out a tiny squeak in reply, mewling, "But father didn't! Sootember died!"

It was true. Lilypaw shuddered. Moons ago, when had only been a few moons old, the young warrior Sootember strayed too far into the twoleg greenleaf meadow, and he had been spotted. Running for his life, Sootember accidently skidded into one of the twoleg fires. Screeching, the young tom had raced toward the lake to cease the fire.

"Your father died of fire," Lilypaw agreed softly. "But that doesn't mean you will, too."

Soon enough Snowpaw bounded over and grabbed Hazelkit, swiftly followed by Silverstar, who snatched up Nightkit and pounded for the entrance. The rest of them followed frantically, the fire at their heels.

"Here, let me take Flamekit." It was Thornheart.

Lilypaw nodded, shifting so that Thornheart would be able to take hold of the kit. For a moment he leaned towards her; the next, he was pulling away with Flamekit swinging from his jaws. Thornheart lengthened his stride, starting to pull ahead.

The pale cream tabby apprentice didn't worry too much that she was falling behind; the one thing she had been worrying about was gone now, thanks to Thornheart, and all she had to do was run. Lilypaw merely had to run like the wind.

Brambleflower's tail tip disappeared from sight, and Lilypaw quivered mid-stride. Even though she wasn't trying particularly hard, she shouldn't be lagging behind like this. The apprentice skidded to a halt and sighed, glancing back in the direction of camp.

What she saw through her golden eyes was like a nightmare to the young cat. The air, not too far away, was already thick with smoke. She could ginger blazes smothering the trees, the bushes, the leaves. Lilypaw shuddered violently, taking a step back as a spark flicked towards her. She flinched away from it and turned, breaking back into a run. The pale cream tabby she-cat stretched her legs with each bound, moving as fast as she could without running into anything.

She weaved through the trees, golden eyes narrowed, until finally she erupted onto the lake shore. Her clan mates were huddled on the sand in a circle, all facing inwards towards each other expect a few cats who were most likely on guard in case the fire came any closer.

"Why aren't we across the WindClan stream?" Lilypaw called to them.

Thornheart's eyes widened and he spun to face her, many other cats doing the same. "You're alive!" her mentor gasped. "We were afraid the fire got you!"

Ripplepaw took a few steps forwards. "Looks like the runt's back," he muttered. Lilypaw glanced away from him, her gaze resting on silver tabby shape; Duskflower, her mother.

Duskflower darted over to her, nuzzling Lilypaw happily. "I was so scared for you," her mother murmured. "What happened?"

"I was the cat who saw the fire," Lilypaw explained in a whisper so that only her mother could hear. "Ripplepaw saved my life when I froze. I was about to leave camp with the others when I saw Brambleflower's kits going wild. I saved Flamekit from getting herself burnt into a crisp, and got Nightkit under control, as well. Finally, we left, and Thornheart took Nightkit from me. But I slowly began to fell behind, and at one point I stopped and looked back..."

"You need to grow more!" Duskflower urged her, eyes gleaming.

Lilypaw rolled her eyes. "Ma, you know I can't control how much I grow!"

"Eat more healthy prey! Younger prey, too!" The silver tabby responded instantly, drawing away from the pale cream tabby. "And Ripplepaw shouldn't have to save you! My sweetie is brave and strong and smart, but we can't risk losing him saving the life of a lesser apprentice."

Flinching, Lilypaw hurried over towards the lake shore. "What's going to happen?" she whispered, staring at her reflection in the water.

Glancing over her shoulder, Lilypaw sighed. So much had happened... The clan was gathering farther down the shore, and she heaved herself into a walking position and pranced over. She found herself sitting next to Palepaw, leaning slightly against the younger apprentice. Silverstar was sitting in the middle of the circle, her fur smooth even in the terror of the situation.

"Let all cats of ThunderClan gather for my words!" Silverstar called quietly. The cats who had been chatting quietly silenced themselves, and all cats' were gazing at their leader.

Silverstar's eyes were full of some unknown emotion as she met the each and every gaze with a look that seemed to sweep through the whole forest and all the way across the lake. "ThunderClan, a tragedy has happened today. Yet we are still alive; we are still strong, too."

A few yowls of agreement met her words.

"Though today has had quite a tragic start, we won't let it end this way. We will shelter here by the lake for a few, and if we have to, we will send out hunting patrols. These patrols will have two priorities; to catch food and to keep themselves safe," Silverstar explained. "Though before I list who is on the patrol, I would like to make sure you all know exactly who called out the alarm and saved us all from burning or worse."

Cats glanced at one another, uncertain. Lilypaw held her breath and shut her eyes, anticipation weighing heavily inside of her.

"Ripplepaw."

Outrage blazed through Lilypaw, and she shot to her feet, glaring at her brother. Reluctantly, Ripplepaw stood up as the eyes of the clan fell upon him. "It wasn't me," he declared, shooting an apologetic glance in Lilypaw's direction. "It was Snowpaw."

The white she-cat bristled, shocked. "It was Lilypaw!" she blurted, adding, "And that's the truth! She saved us all!"

Palepaw nodded, calling out, "I saw her, and heard her, too! I'd recognize her voice anywhere!"

"She's our savior," Lionpaw added, eyes glinting.

Slowly, the cats of ThunderClan began to cheer her name. Lilypaw beamed proudly, tail twitching happily.

"I, Silverstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to learn the warrior code, and today she proved herself by saving us all from a raging fire that would have killed many of us without her." Lilypaw stared at her leader as Silverstar spoke, speaking the words of a warrior ceremony. "For that, I commend her a warrior in her turn. Lilypaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Lilyflame."

Lilyflame closed her eyes, listening as her clan mates cheered her name.

The ThunderClan deputy, Stagflight, stepped forwards. "We will send out the hunting patrols now!" he announced. "Ivystone, take Owltail and Oakstorm towards the ShadowClan border. Larkfeather, you'll lead Briarface and Lilyflame towards WindClan. Remember, be careful!"

Larkfeather nodded, beckoning with her tail towards Briarface and Lilyflame. Hurrying over, Lilyflame attempted to train her thoughts on the task ahead of her, but the shock from her warrior ceremony still clouded her focus.

Soon, they broke up into three solo patrols, each of them heading in a different direction. After a moment of hesitation, Lilyflame had claimed going inwards towards the heart of the territory; Larkfeather had shrugged and decided she would keep going onwards, and then Briarface had dropped into a crouch and gazed around, signaling that she would stay and hunt there.

The pale cream tabby warrior hurried inwards, ignoring the smoke that made her cough. But the gray haze grew steadily thicker, and eventually she heaved a sigh and broke into a run.

Her paw steps had a deeper, more echoing sound to them then normal, but Lilyflame didn't pay attention to that little detail like normal. Her mind was too far away to care to care about the little things; from her perspective, it felt like a whole different world was surrounding her.

If she had been paying attention, she would have felt the ground tremble beneath her feet.

If she had been paying attention, she would have heard the rumble of the ground.

If she had been paying attention, she would have realized the connection between what she heard and felt with collapsing tunnels.

If she had been paying attention, she would have seen the ground in front of her caving in.

But she hadn't been paying attention.

Lilyflame let out a screech as she was sucked into the earth, dirt spilling into her mouth. Suddenly, the sensation that she had been falling was gone, and her head slammed down onto cold stone. Everything went black.


She was lying in darkness, shadows looming over her. Her back half was covered with mounds of dirt, firm around her slim body. Blood streaked down her sides, drying rapidly and crusting her ruffled fur with rusty scarlet. One ear was torn, and a few paw steps away lay a glistening claw that was tinted red with blood. Injured, she was. Injured, crushed, and dying.

If this cat had been a normal cat, she would have been dead.

Yet this cat wasn't normal. This cat was special, with a special destiny to face if she could follow the right paw steps.


Lilyflame blinked. Her body was sore, and it ached all over. She was lying on her left on top of a ruffled heap of bracken, a moss ball lying close to her. Even in the very dim light, she could just make out the dark outline of a creature only a fox-length away, with glowing amber eyes and a shorter tail then what most cats would have, if it even was a cat.

Tensing her injured body, Lilyflame was about to scramble to her feet and growl she realized something was missing. Something that was very, very important. Something that was a part of her.

Slowly, the warrior dragged her gaze from the thing and let it rest on where her right hind leg would have been. Instead, there was bloody mess of fur where the top of her hind leg had been, and nothing where the lower part had once lay.

"I'm sorry. I had to cut off your leg; it was the only was to stop the infection from spreading," mewed a tom.

Her gaze jerked back around. The cat had risen to his feet and was padding in a patch of slightly brighter light; he was a gray tabby tom, like Ripplepaw. "I'm Shade. I found you half-buried in dirt and dragged you out and all. Here," the tom flicked his tail. "I caught you something to eat."

Next to her lay a minnow. Too tired and shocked to complain, Lilyflame twisted her head and ate the tiny fish, the harsh flavor almost making her retch.

"I'm Li-" She cut herself off. "You can call me... Flame.'

'Flame, eh?" Shade asked, sounding amused. "Okay then, 'Li-''

Embarrassed, Flame glanced away. "So where are we?"

"I guess I forgot," Shade rumbled. He waved his tail at the stone that surrounded them. "Welcome to the tunnels."


Flame yawned, pulling herself into a sitting position. It had been almost a moon since she had entered the tunnels, and today Shade said she could finally try to walk. Ever since she had first met him, he had continued to bring her fish and talk to her and bring herbs for her wounds. He had explained to her that a twig in the cave-in had ripped a wound in her leg, and the dirt had then infected it seriously. Shade had admitted that he had been very worried that she might die.

"If you need help, I'm right here," the gray tabby tom mewed softly.

Nodding, Flame started to stand.

Immediately she toppled over, sprawled onto her side. Shade darted over, his blue eyes full of worry as he gazed at her. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Flame grumbled, struggling to roll over her belly. She tried again, this time lasting a heart-beat longer.

A third try proved to be just the same as attempt number two, but on the fourth try she managed to stand all the way up. Once there, Flame froze, but a sharp intake of breath caused her to lose her balance and all again. This time, when Flame hit the stone floor, she didn't rise again.

"Flame?"

"What...?"

"Do you want help? You can lean on my shoulder. There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Yes there is!" Flame snarled suddenly, temper flaring. She reached out with her forepaws and dragged herself back into her nest, wrapping her tail over her nose. "Good night and go away."

Shade nodded and left.


Another moon had passed, the days ticking away rapidly. It had been hard, and she was still learning, but Flame was starting to be able to walk despite the loss of her right hind leg. Shade had continued to fetch her prey and everything else she needed, and though Flame tried not to show on the outside she appreciated his actions more then she could put into words.

But even though life underground was strangely perfect as it was, every morning Flame would wake up expecting to see her clan mates, even through the full two moons that had passed since she had first ended up in the tunnels.

Flame staggered to her feet and limped forwards, letting her unsteady gait bring her to the edge of the cave. This was the tunnel where Shade always came from. She didn't know where it led, nor the others, though she was dying to find out once she could travel all around the tunnels.

But she knew that Shade's curiosity as to why she had said 'Lil' that first time was probably stronger, along with the wonder of where she came from. Or was it possible he knew of the clans and had put it all together?

Flame frowned. "Shade?" she called, slightly distracted. Normally he would be here by now.

No response.

"Shade?" she repeated, louder.

Still she could hear nothing but the sound of her voice echoing down the tunnel.

Panic started to gnaw at Flame and she stiffened. "Shade!" she yowled. "Shade, where are you?"

"Flame!" his calm voice came from behind her and so she spun around to see him standing there, a squirrel in his jaws. "I took a different route today since I wanted to catch some of the food you're used to." He nudged the squirrel towards her.

She shuddered violently, nearly toppling off her feet. "I thought you were dead!" she exclaimed. "I was worried, Shade! Really worried! I don't like the stress, please, or-"

She clamped her jaws shut, inched forwards, and set off to eating the squirrel. But two moons had been a long time, and the taste of forest food was strange and unnatural. It was slightly scary, but she dismissed it with a flick of her tail and continued eating.

When she was done, she sat up slightly. "Shade, can you teach me how to fish today?"

"Sure," he responded, shrugging. "Looks like you're done. Shall we get going?"


Three more moons and Flame was completely healed. Tonight she would be departing from the tunnels to find her clan again, or maybe continue to live the solitary life she was used to now. She wasn't sure.

She hadn't told Shade of her planned leave yet, as she feared he would convince her to stay. Yet Flame was certain her destiny didn't lie underground- she had to go.

The three-legged cat followed the paths through the tunnels until the faintest rays of moonlight could be seen. There she sped up, feeling herself grow more excited every second.

And then?

Then she was bursting into cool night air.

Then she was surrounded by a peaceful tranquility.

Then she was feeling the ferns brush her pelt and the wind brush past her fur.

Then she was free.


Her departure hadn't been as solid as Flame had hoped. The next day had brought her back to the tunnels, the daylight so unusually bright that she had no choice but to return. She had bumped into Shade and the two had talked briefly.

The next day was the same. The light was a little better, but nowhere near tolerable. Again, she had spoken with Shade.

The next half moon was the same process, but the quarter moon after that was a little more straggled. Then, at last, came the day where Flame saw Shade outside of the tunnels. He had been slipping through the bracken when she had tackled him to the ground, as stable on her paws now as a four-legged cat.

"Shade!" she mewed softly in his ear. "What are you doing here?"

"Had to find you," he panted. "It's been too long. I miss you. Will you meet me at the tunnels tonight? I-I don't want to stay out in the sunlight for too long."

"Understood," Flame mewed rapidly, ushering him to his paws and back towards the tunnels. "Go on, tunnel cat. Stay in the shade, Shade."

Shade disappeared into the bushes in a flash.


After that, they had met up every night, and Flame had finally admitted to herself that she loved him. Shade.

Right now the she-cat was on her way back to the tunnels to meet with him. She padded quickly, her three paws prancing across the ground. At last, she dove into the tunnel entrance, slipping through the familiar darkness as if she had been doing so all her life.

When she came to their meeting spot, his scent was stale. He hadn't been here since yesterday.

Flame frowned. He lived here, so he was always there before she was. But maybe she had arrived early?

She waited for a while only to find he hadn't arrived. There wasn't a chance he had forgot, was there?

Standing, she darted down one of the tunnels. She knew where he slept- maybe he had taken a nap and overslept?

Flame started to panic when the scent in his nest was stale, from yesterday's night instead of anytime today. Something had happened to Shade, but she didn't know what. Still, she had to find him! She had to save Shade, just he had saved her.

Oh, where is he? Flame scurried through tunnel after tunnel, trying desperately to catch a whiff of their scent yet finding nothing. Eventually she burst outside, hearing the voices of a group of cats.

She was face to face with some awfully familiar cats.

Duskflower, Ripplepaw, Snowpaw, and Flamekit.

She remembered the names in an instant, yet they only hissed at her and surrounded her.

"What are you doing on ThunderClan territory?" Ripplepaw growled.

Flame shuffled backwards. "Duskflower? Ripplepaw? Snowpaw? Flamekit? Don't you remember me? I save you from the fire!"

Snowpaw narrowed her eyes, pressing against Ripplepaw. "My name is Snowsong and this is my mate, Rippleheart. And this is his apprentice, Flamepaw."

Flame stared. "No. Way. Don't tell me you actually became mates with my brother?"

"What do you mean, his brother?" Duskflower snarled. "I have two kits, Rippleheart and Lilyflame. And Lilyflame's dead. Burnt in a fire."

"But that's me!" she protested.

"Nonsense," he mother hissed. "My daughter has all four legs."

She took a nervous step back. "But I lost the other!"

The four ThunderClan cats shared a long glance.

"Why don't we give her the same welcome we gave the gray tabby tom from earlier?" Duskflower mewed icily, her eyes glinting.

Gray tabby tom? "Shade!" Flame shrieked.

Surging forwards, the patrol soon made quick work of the three-legged cat. And there she lay, limp and barely breathing, sure to die if Shade didn't find her soon.

If he had somehow survived his welcome, that was.