Summary: The clans celebrate the Longest Night, and Thunderclan is thankful to have a source of warmth during the coldest season of the year.
Merry Christmas and Happy "insert whatever holiday you celebrate here"! Hope everyone is having a nice Christmas day! Now if you're like me, and have never experienced running excitedly to the tree to unwrap presents, then here's my Christmas gift to you!
Bet you all thought this would never update again, did you?
To be fair, it's been like almost four months since I updated UTSOW since I've been so focused on Ignite. And school. Lots of focus on school. I'm already dreading the next semester. ;-;
So yeah, Happy Holidays and stuff, and I'll probably update in time for New Year's Day as well!
Reviews are appreciated!
Firestar hovered over the Highrock, carefully placing pinecones and holly leaves along its edges. It wasn't as easy as it seemed, since he needed absolute control over his wings so he wouldn't accidentally blow himself away from the Highrock. It took all his concentration to hover there, and then he needed to place all these decorations onto it. He sighed as the last pinecone was placed, and carefully maneuvered himself away from the Highrock, landing down onto the snow-covered floor below. He blinked up at the Highrock, satisfied with how he decorated it.
He turned around to gaze upon his clan, every cat pitching in to help decorate the clan in preparation of the Longest Day. Willowpelt's kits squealed and shrieked as they played within the snow piles around the nursery, the queen standing on her hind legs and reaching up to place pinecones above the nursery entrance. All around him, cats were purring and chatting happily, excited for the upcoming festivities.
"Looking good there!" Graystripe commented as he passed by. He circled around the Highrock once, taking in the carefully placed decorations before wriggling under Firestar's wings, pressing his pelt into the ginger leader.
"I thought you might want some warmth," he said cheekily.
"I think you're the one who wants warmth, wanting to huddle under my wings so bad. That leaf-bare pelt not enough for you?" Firestar joked, but nevertheless tightening his wing of flame over the gray deputy.
"Of course it's enough," he drawled. "But the cold is easier to ignore under these," he grinned. Firestar shook his head amused, before withdrawing his wing and padded off, his paws crunching the snow below him. "Hey I wasn't done with those!" Graystripe whined, racing up behind him.
"Learn to share," Firestar purred. "I'll be warming up the entire clan later I assume. You'll be warm then. Until then, didn't you say that leaf-bare coat was enough?" Graystripe groaned beside him in disappointment.
"Remember our first Longest Night?" Graystripe suddenly asked.
"Oh yes, I remember sneaking out to leave treats for the queens and elders," Firestar sighed fondly. "They all enjoyed that surprise."
"But you know what the best part about this Longest Night will be?"
Firestar hummed, trying to think of what could be better in this Longest Night than in the previous one. "What would that be?" he asked.
Graystripe shook in laughter. "It's the first Longest Night without Tigerstar of course!" They both purred in mirth, before a particularly cold wind blew through camp. Their pelts fluffed up against the cold, and an involuntary shiver racked their bodies.
"Could do without the cold wind though," Firestar muttered, Graystripe nodding in agreement beside him. Fun or not, the Longest Night was still within the worst season for hunting.
"We still doing it though?"
"You mean sneaking out again like last time?" Firestar purred. Graystripe grinned, and Firestar gave a subtle nod. He enjoyed hunting for extra treats to give to the elders and queens during his first Longest Night, and he wouldn't mind doing it again. The two stopped near the apprentices' den, watching the apprentices play-fight together. He didn't mind them playing around; it was the Longest Night after all. Except...
Firestar frowned lightly as he watched Bramblepaw continue to decorate the den, ignoring his denmate's calls for him to join in on the fun. He could have swore that he saw all the apprentices decorate together, so why was Bramblepaw still decorating?
"I don't think that den can hold any more pinecones on it," he joked, his apprentice whirling around to face him in surprise. Bramblepaw's fur was ruffled, his posture slightly slouched, and his eyes held dull shock and exhaustion within their depths. Surely he couldn't have gotten into this state by decorating too much?
"Are you okay? Don't you want to take a break from training and play with your denmates for today?" Firestar asked gently.
"I'm- I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be fine?" Bramblepaw rushed. "I just thought the den could use a little more holly and pinecones!"
"I think you've overdone it," Graystripe tried joking, before Firestar hit him lightly with a wing.
"Are you sure you don't want to take a break?" Firestar meowed.
"I'm sure," Bramblepaw replied. Firestar only nodded and herded Graystripe away from the apprentices' den, glancing back at his apprentice's frazzled appearance.
"He looked tired," Graystripe commented. "Maybe he hasn't been sleeping well?"
Firestar frowned; if Bramblepaw wasn't feeling well, he should have gone to Cinderpelt for her to check him over.
'Oh, maybe he's...' It hadn't been that long since the battle of Bloodclan. Maybe Bramblepaw was having nightmares in regards to the bloody battle that took so many lives. Or... perhaps he was still having nightmares in regards to Tigerstar's bloody death. He remembered the night after Tigerstar's demise, Bramblepaw wandering aimlessly around camp until he wound up near the leaders' den, close enough for Firestar to smell him. The tom had broken down in front of Firestar, silent tears running down his muzzle. Firestar did the only thing he could think of, and guided his apprentice into his nest and blanketed him in Firestar's wings. The young tom had slept soundly that night.
But if the nightmares were coming back...
"I think I need to talk to Cinderpelt," he murmured to his deputy.
"But we're still on for tonight, right?"
"Definitely."
.
.
.
.
After everyone was asleep, Firestar and Graystripe sneaked out of camp, and got to work on hunting down a good load of prey for the elders and queens. As they placed all the treats that the elders and queens were going to receive come sunrise, he noticed Graystripe shaking from cold and overexertion. He draped a wing over his deputy, and the gray tom gratefully leaned into it.
"Go get some rest," he murmured. The tom nodded, padding over to the warriors' den, before he noticed that Firestar wasn't heading towards his own den.
"Aren't you tired too?"
"I am, but I have something I want to do first," the leader replied.
"Alright then, night."
"Night," he whispered, watching Graystripe's tail disappear into the warriors' den. He trudged himself over to the medicine den, and pulled out a small ball of moss that he hid there after seeing Cinderpelt. He breathed in a whiff of it, lavender and rosemary gently caressing his senses. He picked it up in his jaws, and padded over to the apprentices' den as quietly as he could. The sound of the snow crunching beneath his paws made the task slightly harder.
He slipped into the apprentices' den, and he could make out his apprentice's shivering form in one of the nests. The tom's claws were out, paws grappling with something only he could see, tiny whimpers leaving his muzzle every so often.
'Graystripe was right, he is having nightmares.' He silently made his way over to the young tom, and placed the moss ball next to him. He rolled it over to the cat's nose, hoping that Bramblepaw would relax with the scent of the calming herbs that Cinderpelt had managed to spare for him to make the moss ball with.
Almost immediately, Bramblepaw relaxed, and Firestar rolled the moss ball into Bramblepaw's paws, where the tom latched onto the ball, snuggling into it. He gave the apprentice a soft lick on the forehead, before making his way out.
'Mission complete.'
The next morning, the sounds of cheer and happiness woke him from his slumber, and he got up to exit the leaders' den to see his clanmates feasting on the treats he and Graystripe hunted for them. He caught the deputy's eye and the tom grinned at him. Firestar smiled back, his clanmate's happiness making him feel warm inside.
He unfurled his wings, and a gentle heat washed through the camp, and cats turned their heads and blinked at him gratefully. He padded forth until he was in the middle of the celebration and laid down in the snow, willing his wings to heat up enough to melt the snow under him. Sandstorm quickly rushed over to him, laying down next to one of his sides. Graystripe followed her example and laid down on his other side, smiling at him cheekily.
Cats flocked to him, wanting to celebrate the Longest Night where it was the warmest. He lifted his head up to gaze at the apprentices as they all laughed and squealed in play, and he was very happy to see Bramblepaw join in, the young tom looking like he actually got some decent sleep this time.
.
.
.
.
Firestar yawned as the day came to an end. It had been a long day of fun and festivities, but when he woke up in the morning it would be back to regular patrols, as well as cleaning up the camp. There was a lot of work to be done. He was just about to doze off when a meow sounded at the entrance of his den, asking for entrance. Bramblepaw's scent hit him, and he meowed his affirmative back.
The tabby walked into the den, the moss ball in his jaws. Firestar beckoned him over, understanding what he wanted. Bramblepaw trotted over to his nest and wriggled underneath one of his wings, which he tightened over the tabby.
"Thanks," Bramblepaw mumbled to him.
"For what? Letting you sleep here? You know I let anyone do that, right?"
"No, for the moss ball I mean."
"How do you know I gave it to you? It could have been someone else."
"It had your scent on it." Drat, he had been hoping that the snow would have washed away his scent. "Also you bring warmth with you wherever you go." Perhaps Bramblepaw hadn't been sleeping at all these past few days, and was aware enough to feel the heat of Firestar's wings when he gifted the tom the moss ball.
"Do you like it?" he asked the sleepy apprentice. The tabby nodded, bringing the moss ball closer to his face.
"I'm glad." They were silent for a few heartbeats. "You know if you're having trouble with nightmares or sleeping, or just want someone to talk to, I'm always here for you, okay?"
"...Okay," he yawned.
"Alright, get some rest. We have work to do when the sun rises." His apprentice nodded and laid his head down, snuggling closer to Firestar. The leader started drawing his tongue over Bramblepaw's pelt, lulling the apprentice to sleep.
"Your dreams can't hurt you here, little one," he murmured to the sleeping apprentice. He laid his own head down, and drifted off to sleep, thankful for the heat of his wings and the body heat of the apprentice next to him warding off the cold of leaf-bare.
So what is the Longest Night? Basically one of the Erin Hunters (Kate Cary) wrote a fanfic of all things of Thunderclan celebrating Christmas, though they were really more celebrating the Winter Solstice. A big blizzard comes rushing in and doesn't stop, and Starclan gives Jayfeather a sign that it will only stop when they find the lost star.
That lost star happens to be Firestar, who is found by Graystripe when he's trying to hunt to find some prey for Lilyheart's kits. They have a super gay moment and Firestar returns to Starclan, and the blizzard finally stops.
Kate just really wanted to write some FireGray. You all need to go read it if you haven't already.
There's a line within Fire and Gray's conversation that outright says that Fire and Gray used to sneak out at night when they were young warriors to catch prey and leave treats for the elders to enjoy.
Hope you all have a nice Christmas. As for me, I'll be eating Chinese food and watching a movie, which is pretty much a tradition for my family at this point.
Tell me how I did.