Tigerclaw strode through the forest, his muscled bulk pushing through the undergrowth with ease, making passage for the two mollies with him easier.
"I know Bluestar took him along when we went to Highstones the first time," Firepaw murmured to Spottedleaf. "Did we really need him with us for this?"
"It may not seem it at first glance, but Tigerclaw's a very loyal warrior, always ready, willing, and able to handle any task assigned to him, no matter how, repetitive or insignificant it may seem." Spottedleaf glanced at Firepaw, whiskers twitching as she smirked. "Plus, he makes a good windbreak."
"That's one way of putting it, I guess," Firepaw muttered under her breath. Spottedleaf tilted her head, but didn't press the issue.
Tigerclaw paused, sniffing the air as they approached FourTrees, and he looked around with a frown.
"Something wrong?" Spottedleaf asked, coming abreast.
"Just the usual mingling of clan scents at the corner of the territory," Tigerclaw meowed, before proceeding to mark the ThunderClan side.
"So I'm guessing if prey from one territory crosses over to another, it belongs to the other clan then?" Firepaw asked.
"Usually, yes," Tigerclaw replied, looking down at her, amber eyes glowing. "However, some cats tend to forget this in their mad dash for prey and will cross deep into other clan territory, where they run the risk of meeting…opposition." His claws flexed, scoring long gouges in the earth, and Firepaw suppressed a shudder. "Sometimes it's an honest mistake, and they're let off with a warning, but if they should know better, or are a repeat offender, then there's usually far less leniency."
Firepaw couldn't take her eyes off Tigerclaw's namesakes, which were far longer than hers, or any others she'd ever seen, and Tigerclaw abruptly sheathed them, shaking himself.
"But that's not our worry at the moment," he meowed, before pressing on.
Firepaw swallowed nervously and meekly followed after him, trying to keep her paws from shaking.
Rusty lapped from the trough, eyes closed, a soft purr rumbling in his throat. He turned at the sound of grass parting and nearly fell into the water as Tigerclaw emerged from the yellowed dried grass that marked the edge of the farm Rusty and Barley lived on.
Rusty watched as Tigerclaw's nostrils flared, and the large dark warrior looked around, eyes roaming over his surroundings.
"It's been some time since I've been here," he meowed, voice low, sounding almost wistful. His sharp amber eyes landed on Rusty, who couldn't help but flinch. "Is the prey still running?"
"No reason for it not to be," Rusty mewed, internally proud of himself for not squeaking. The sheer presence of the warrior was stifling and Rusty marveled at the cat in front of him. "Anything I can help you with?"
"Nothing in particular. I am simply waiting here while Spottedleaf takes her apprentice to the Moonstone," Tigerclaw rumbled. Rusty blinked in surprise.
"I suppose congratulations are in order?" he asked. "It's always nice to see more clan cats visiting, especially after the Blackcough outbreak."
A slightly haunted look passed over Tigerclaw's face – almost too fast for Rusty to see and part of him wondered if it had been a trick of the moonlight – and he sighed deeply, shoulders relaxing.
"We survived," he meowed, kneading the ground. "Although had it not been for both Goosefeather and Featherwhisker, the clan might very well have been wiped out."
Rusty nodded. "I was only here for the tail end of it, although seemingly well out of its way, but the stories still reached Barley and I, and we wished to help, but given the clan's laws on territory, we probably would've been turned away."
Tigerclaw's ears twitched. "It's a pride thing," he meowed. "It takes a lot for a clan cat to ask for help, and it makes the clan seem dependent on others for survival, which weakens the clan, and before you know it, you've lost parts of your territory that have been in their control for as long as anyone can remember."
"And you can't very well ask for it back after the fact, since you didn't fight to defend it then, so why waste blood fighting for what's no longer yours?"
Tigerclaw nodded thoughtfully, tail waving from side to side. "It's not much of a loss though, in the long run." His rumbling meow gained a low purr. "Eventually they'll hand it back once they overhunt it because they're not used to forest-based prey."
Rusty's eyes brightened a little. "Ah, so that's where the conflict over Sunningrocks comes from. ThunderClan uses it, hunts it dry, then lets RiverClan use it, flounder with it because they don't know how to use it properly, and then they give it back, thinking they're doing ThunderClan a favor by doing so, and the cycle repeats. Clever."
Tigerclaw preened slightly, brushing his long claws through his chest fur. "Such is the way of the clan."
Rusty felt his mouth go dry at the sight of the long curved claws and he simply nodded.
"I hear you've been giving training to some apprentices from the clans," Tigerclaw meowed, ears flicking at Rusty. "What do you teach them?"
Rusty licked his lips nervously. "Usually just some pointers on how to hunt, and then some reflex training and how to disengage from a fight."
"You teach them to run?" Tigerclaw's eyes flashed.
"Only if there's…no more reason to fight," Rusty mewed carefully. "If they're too hurt to be a threat, better to flee and heal to fight another day instead of throwing their life away."
Tigerclaw narrowed his eyes before his fur flattened and he nodded. "Very wise teachings," he meowed – not quite mockingly. "Show me this reflex training of yours."
Rusty gulped, and then approached the larger warrior in a low crouch. Tigerclaw watched him, then his eyes flicked up and Rusty used that moment to strike. Tigerclaw dodged backwards, then sent Rusty sprawling with a flick of a paw, shaking his head.
"I see what you were trying to do," the warrior meowed. "But you made it more obvious with your ears and tail. They give away a lot of what you're trying to do. You lack a warrior's discipline." He nodded thoughtfully. "Although to a less experienced warrior, and if you were using claws, I can see how that may work."
He crouched low. "I won't run this time. Let's see your speed." His eyes gleamed. "And please use your claws. If you get a hit on me, that just means I'm the one who needs training."
Rusty took a deep breath and flexed his paws, flicking his claws out. He looked down at them, closed his eyes, then dropped into a crouch. He opened his eyes, and Tigerclaw blinked at their intensity, before smirking and dropped into a crouch.
The two cats circled one another. Rusty made an effort to still his ears and tail and kept his eyes locked on Tigerclaw's. They stopped, dropping into pounces, then lunged at one another.
Firepaw pressed her nose to the Moonstone and slipped into dreams, Spottedleaf's warm pelt and sweet scent at her side.
Silvery star-touched cats melted out of the darkness, bringing starlight with them and illuminating the dreamscape she woke up in, and she got to her paws, fur spiking. She hadn't ever seen StarClan this clearly and everything about it made her want to curl up in a ball and hide.
"Peace, little one," mewed a voice.
Firepaw flicked her ears to and fro, trying to pinpoint it, but it seemed like it had come from all around her, and she felt herself shudder involuntarily. Several star-dappled cats materialized around her, of all shapes, sizes, clans, and genders. Most were gentle-eyed, although a few wore steely gazes that reminded her of Yellowfang. She idly wondered if some were warriors before taking up the mantle of healer, then stilled her thoughts as she focused on what was in front of her.
"So you seek the path of the healer, rather than of the warrior," the voice continued. "A noble goal, although one would likely say it's harder due to the demands placed on the role of caring for one's clanmates above themselves."
"Which is not to say that you don't come first," came another voice as a cat approached her.
Mothflight.
The name rolled around Firepaw, sinking into her ears and she instinctively lowered her head.
"Enough of that," the voice snapped. "Just because I founded the role of healer doesn't make me better or worse than anyone else to have the role."
Firepaw lifted her head to see Mothflight standing in front of her, slightly more corporeal than the other cats ghosting around. The molly inclined her head politely.
"Now then, there's the code to go over, but it's thankfully been summarized as "heal thyself, and then everyone else you can get your herbs on." Her gaze turned thoughtful. "Also, don't take a mate unless you have an apprentice to take over for you, because lugging kits around trying to keep your mouse-brained clanmates in one piece is almost impossible."
"Al…most?" Firepaw asked, slightly off-put by the cat in front of her. "You're saying someone did that at some point?"
Mothflight simply stared at her until it clicked for Firepaw, who blinked, then ducked her head sheepishly.
"Seriously," Mothflight mewed in exasperation. "A cat is likely to drive themselves mad, trying to put their family before themselves, and the clan, then think they're messing everything up and they snap trying to make it all work, when it's just easier to get another cat to take over while you handle the joys of motherhood for a few moons and then have them either follow in your pawsteps or become a warrior. Or die, as many, many, many mothers will tell you."
Mothflight gazed off for a moment before blinking, shaking herself, and turned to face Firepaw. "Sorry, got lost a bit there. Welcome, Firepaw, apprentice to Spottedleaf, daughter of…" Mothflight tilted her head from one side to the other, frowning. "Not a clan cat. Huh! Imagine that! A kittypet as a medicine cat! Will the wonders never cease with these cats?"
She padded around Firepaw thoughtfully, poking, prodding, jabbing, and examining her.
"Tricky kitty, you are," she mewed, eyes gleaming. "So I have just the name for you."
Mothflight stood in front of Firepaw, then gently pressed her nose to Firepaw's forehead.
"May you heal your clan and keep them safe in the trials to come, -"
Firepaw awoke with a sharp gasp, fur rising on end as her new name thundered in her head, echoing from hundreds of voices speaking in unison.
Fireleap! Fireleap! FIRELEAP!