Fireheart balanced the bone he had between his forepaws, sniffing the end of it for a moment. The remainder of the finch it had come from was just next to him, nothing was left but feathers and bones. Every bit of meat that had ever been on the creature had been licked clean. His pelt twitched and the warrior took a deep breath.

This was not what Clan cats did, they were better than this. He knew this. Doing this was nothing more than tales kittypets told each other about the Clans. Stories filled with ignorant fear of what wildcats were capable of. But it had been a few days since his last meal and it was not like he had not done this before.

Fireheart tilted his head to the side, opening his maw before sticking the bone between his teeth. He dug them in, the top of the bone sticking to his tongue as he chewed on it, trying to break through and get to the soft marrow that he knew was inside.

When he heard the bone crack, Fireheart pulled away from it. He stuck his nose into where he had broken the bone, curling his lip at its putrid smell as he pushed apart the shattered fragments. He could feel his mouth begin to water as he reached what he was searching for. He pulled his nose away again, readjusting the bone before sticking it back into his mouth. He began to chew at the soft substance hungrily. He let out a sigh as his stomach groaned.

Perhaps it was because Fireheart was too distracted, too focused on his prize, that he did not even hear the pawsteps of an approaching cat. That he did not hear the words exchanged outside his den nor the pawsteps as one of the warriors entered. He did, however, hear the stifled gasp.

Fireheart stopped what he was doing, shame washing over him as he pulled the bone out of his mouth and pushed it away. His belly groaned in protest as the tom turned his head to face his seeing eye towards the cat that had entered.

Runningwind was standing just inside the den, a look of shock on his face at what he had caught the other cat was doing. Fireheart could recognize disgust in the other warrior's eyes as they held each other's surprised stares. Words were stuck in the back of Fireheart's throat; he hadn't done that in front of any of ThunderClan. None of them knew he had resorted to this.

Even if Fireheart tried to defend himself, it was not like any of them would listen to him. He wouldn't be surprised if this began to spread by sunset. All it would be was one more strike against Fireheart. Runningwind shook his head, speaking a moment later. "Get up, Tigerstar wants you."

An anxious pressure formed on Fireheart's chest, for what reason did Tigerstar want him now? He'd usually come to the den himself but there had been a few times now when the tabby tom had had him come out. The warrior forced himself to his paws, wincing as it hurt to put pressure on one of them. He blinked as he saw a flash of white.

Once he had stabled himself and he was certain he would not fall down, Fireheart stumbled forward. He moved past Runningwind, pushing his way out of the small entrance with the other cat at his haunches. Fireheart blinked; the clearing was so much brighter than the underside of the bush he was used to. It took him a moment to adjust to the brightness.

Sandstorm was just outside the den; she was looking past Fireheart at Runningwind. His chest tightened. She still won't look at me.

Runningwind's shoulder hit Fireheart's side, encouraging him toward his apparent other guard for this escapade. He padded towards Sandstorm, lifting a hind paw as it hurt to put pressure on it. The pale warrior turned quickly around as he moved towards her, ordering him to stop as he came to her shoulder.

He cast a glance at the warrior. Sandstorm was looking ahead of them, pointedly avoiding the chance to look at Fireheart. Had he been a real danger, this might have been dangerous. He could catch her off guard like this easily enough, but he was not one. He was not one and there was no reason to start a fight with either warrior.

He felt Runningwind come to his other side, a shoulder hitting his own a moment later. A silent order. Fireheart obeyed, moving forward as the two warrior's shoulders were pressed against his. He did his best to keep up with the pace Runningwind and Sandstorm had made, but he was weak and his paws hurt. They jostled their stumbling prisoner towards whatever destination it was this time.

Fireheart saw the destination before they reached it. Tigerstar was standing at the base of the Highrock. With him, much to Fireheart's surprise, was Nightstar and a few ShadowClan warriors which stood further back.

He knew that the ThunderClan leader had become friendly with ShadowClan, he had sent Cinderpelt over there to assist them for one thing, but to see Nightstar here. To be, as Fireheart assumed, presented to the ShadowClan leader was a surprise. What motivation did Tigerstar have in this?

Tigerstar turned his attention to the approaching cats; he raised his tail as they drew close. Fireheart was shouldered to a stop. Both leaders were looking at him, he could see a glimmer of surprise in Nightstar's yellow eyes. Had he expected this as much as Fireheart had? He knew that the other Clans were aware of what Tigerstar framed him for, but he was not quite sure as to what the other Clans were told.

The ThunderClan leader's eyes were glowing as he regarded his prisoner. The look Fireheart was receiving from Tigerstar reminded him once again of how a kit would look at a silly plaything. Is that what this is? Fireheart thought, is he showing off his prize?

Fireheart lingered on that thought as Tigerstar twitched the black tip of his tail at him, a silent order. As Sandstorm and Runningwind each took a step to the side, Fireheart stepped forward. Was that why he was still alive? Why he was still here? As a reminder of how Tigerstar had won? A way for the dark tabby to gloat?

Fireheart moved to Tigerstar's side, doing his best not to limp. He kept his head lowered; it was easier to appease the other cat than resist. Once he got out, he would resist all he wanted but right now submission was what Fireheart needed to feign. He needed to wait until there was the perfect opportunity to escape until then obedience was his best bet.

Fireheart looked at Nightstar, the black tom was looking back at Fireheart curiously. He let out a cough before rasping: "When you said you had taken care of the traitor; I would have assumed you had killed him." His eyes narrowed, "Although, it might just be that ThunderClan is too merciful."

There was a tension in Nightstar's voice as he spoke, Fireheart knew he was not just talking about him but also Brokentail. ThunderClan had sheltered the former ShadowClan leader, had kept him in the same den Fireheart spent each day, much to ShadowClan and WindClan's displeasure.

Tigerstar snorted, "Why kill him? I assure you; this is more of a punishment than death would have been." The black tom made a noise of disbelief which emitting from the back of his throat.

The two leaders continued conversing as Fireheart silently looked over Nightstar and the other ShadowClan cats. Despite his apparent curiosity regarding Fireheart, the old warrior still seemed tense toward Tigerstar. As though in spite of the friendly paw ThunderClan had extended to ShadowClan, Nightstar still wanted to hold his own. As if there was still a bit of distrust that Nightstar held for the other leader.

That was a good thing, Fireheart thought. This way, at least Tigerstar's words and actions hadn't gotten completely through to Nightstar. He was being generous, more generous, and merciful than Fireheart would have expected of the ferocious cat he had come to know. If he did not know better, he might have thought that Tigerstar had changed in some way, or perhaps it was that he had finally gotten what he wanted. He was certainly not being merciful to Fireheart.

There was also the concern that there was something off about the ShadowClan cats. They were all rather skinny, Fireheart could see Nightstar's bony shoulders sticking through his short pelt easily enough. Nightstar had been an elder prior to the overthrowing of Brokenstar and when Fireheart had seen him in the past, he had always seemed somewhat sickly but not to this extent. He was surprised the old tom had made it across the Thunderpath as he was. There were also only three of them in total in the patrol, smaller than most patrols visiting another Clan, and all of them seemed somewhat unwell in one way or another.

Although, Fireheart was certainly not the one to judge how the ShadowClan warriors looked. He was certain he did not look much better, especially right next to Tigerstar.

Fireheart had always been small for a ThunderClan cat, that combined with his loss in weight in the past moons and how massive the cat next to him was, must have made him look pitiful. He had not seen himself throughout this time, he had no idea what his face looked like but he could look at the rest of his body. It must be hard for these cats now to believe he would be capable of murder.

Of course, he never did what Tigerstar accused him of. Tigerstar's rumble brought Fireheart back to the conversation that was occurring, "There is no reason to do away with him. The traitor is getting what he deserves and I highly doubt he would dare resist." Amber eyes shifted to Fireheart, "After all, a kittypet apprentice managed to beat him. I do not think he is presently capable of repeating what he has already done." As if to prove a point, Tigerstar raised a forepaw, pressing it against Fireheart's side, causing him to stumble forward on his paws before falling over. He let out a groan as his head hit the ground, hard. He could taste a bit of blood in his mouth where a tooth had hit his tongue. He curled his lip back, showing his fangs to the other cats as he let out a hiss.

A flicker of anger came to Tigerstar's amber gaze, Fireheart felt a twinge of fear in his chest before the look the other cat gave him changed to annoyance. The forepaw that had knocked him over rose again. Fireheart's eyes widened; he resisted the urge to scramble away. It was better to accept this than what would happen if he tried to escape. The paw came down fast, striking Fireheart on top of the head harshly.

Fireheart felt stunned by the hard blow, he blinked a few times as he tried to focus himself. As he tried to adjust to the pounding in his head, Tigerstar put more pressure on the paw in Fireheart's head. The prisoner resisted the urge to hiss at the pain it was causing as the larger tom shifted more of his weight onto it. Tigerstar shook his head, letting out a sigh. "He won't even fight back, he's too weak to."

Fireheart heard Nightstar let out a grunt as the weight on his head eased, the paw disappearing. A paw was prodding at his side now, encouraging him to his feet as Tigerstar ordered, "Take it back to its den, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

Fireheart forced himself shakily to his paws as he heard Sandstorm and Runningwind approach him. The tom appeared on his seeing side a moment later, directing Fireheart away from the Highrock and Nightstar and Tigerstar's discussion. He bumped into another cat, who he assumed to be Sandstorm.

Fireheart's assumption was confirmed as the ginger warrior let out an annoyed hiss. As the two warriors forced Fireheart forward, the events that had just happened ran through his head. What was the purpose of what had just happened? Why had Tigerstar brought him out? Just to humiliate him in front of Nightstar? In front of the Clan that had to have been watching on? Was it because he truly viewed Fireheart as a sign of his victory?

It had been a quick interaction and there seemed to be nothing that came of it, except a headache on Fireheart's part. Why had it happened? Fireheart stumbled forward as he was pushed back into his prison. He turned around in the small space, settling on the soiled scraps of moss as he faced the front of the den. He rested his chin on one paw, what would Tigerstar and Nightstar be discussing now?

Fireheart stared at the entrance of his prison, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he listened to the early buzz of the Clan begin its day just outside. The dim light of dawn was beginning to make its way into the den. His belly groaned, he hoped that there would be some prey brought to him today. After his run-in with Runningwind, the tom hadn't dared touched the bones again. There was no reason to further any idea they already had of him being no better than a lowly rogue.

The guard for this day had not changed either, it was usually during the morning change when he was fed so hopefully there would be something. He let his eyes narrow into slits as he waited.

It did not take long for the sound of pawsteps to approach, Fireheart's ears pricked as he realized there was more than one set of pawsteps. His tail twitched nervously, was he going to be brought out? Why so early? What was Tigerstar going to do with him now?

He heard meows exchange outside, recognizing the other voice as Mousefur's as she and Brackenfur exchanged a few words. He watched the young golden-brown tom stand up, disappearing from Fireheart's view a moment later.

Rather than seeing the small dusky brown she-cat take his place, Fireheart was surprised to see a large dark brown shape push its way into the den. He lifted his head as he locked eyes with Tigerstar, a tension forming in his chest. Why was he here?

Fireheart began to push himself to his paws as the other cat moved towards him. He froze as the dark tom spoke, muffled by something in his mouth. "Did I say you could stand? Down."

Fireheart followed the order, laying back down. He kept his muscles tense as he eyed the other cat. He realized Tigerstar had a vole in his jaws. He watched, mouth beginning to water at the idea of digging his teeth into it, as the ThunderClan leader set it down. A massive brown paw was placed on top of it, keeping Fireheart away from it.

Why was Tigerstar here and why had he brought the vole? Fireheart stared at the small brown creature, it looked like it was caught earlier this morning. It was plump, too, made so from the riches of Greenleaf. He felt his mouth water further.

There was a moment of stillness between the two cats before the vole was rolled towards Fireheart. His eyes widened, excitement filling him at the prospect of sinking his teeth into it.

He felt a wave of frustration as the paw was kept over the prey, Fireheart looked up at the other cat. What was he playing at? The leader's eyes narrowed as he regarded his prisoner. "That was unacceptable."

Fireheart felt a twinge in his chest at the other cat's growl. Thoughts raced through his head. What was he talking about? What had he done now that was so bad in the other cat's eyes? "Don't you dare disrespect me in such a way again, do you understand?" He carefully nodded, everything that he had done recently racing through his mind. Was this over hissing at him in front of Nightstar?

"Speak, kittypet. You have your tongue."

Fireheart nodded again, "Y-yes, I do."

The larger tom let out a snort as he lifted the paw away from the vole. "Absolutely pathetic." The vole was nudged towards him. Fireheart ignored his words as he stuck his muzzle toward the piece of prey, gripping it in his jaws. Its taste filled his mouth and nose as he pulled it closer to himself, resisting the urge to groan.

He felt his heart stop as a paw were placed above his eye, just below his ear. He froze. Fireheart looked up at the paw directly above his sighted eye as he felt claws dug in. His throat closed as he felt blood begin to draw from the pricks the other cats' long claws made. His mind raced. Was this it? Was he finally going to lose his sight completely?

"Disrespect me in front of my Clan again – in front of any guest I have – and I'll have your eye, cur. Do you understand?" Fireheart carefully nodded, squinting as to keep the blood out of it. After a long moment, the paw was pulled away. "Eat and mind your manners."

"Thank you." Fireheart set the vole down, blinking as he continued to tried to keep the blood out of his eye. He sank his teeth into the creature, its warm taste filling his mouth again. Suppressing a groan, he pulled away a chunk, ignoring the strange earthy bitter taste that the vole had to it as he chewed. He heard the other cat move around him. Fireheart paused in his meal as he heard the sound of some bones being kicked.

"Even a rogue has more dignity than to eat these!" Fireheart could picture the other cats lip curling back in disgust. "Although, I imagine that you would eat anything after accepting those rabbit droppings for so long, kittypet." He remained silent. He heard Tigerstar move to his side, "Some would think I wasn't feeding you from doing something like this."

He felt a sharp pain as a kick was delivered to his belly, Fireheart groaned. "Ungrateful vermin, I am the reason you are alive!" Fireheart held his breath as the voice came right to his ear, "Have I not been more than generous? Making sure you stay alive? Is that not enough?" He shook his head. "Speak."

"N-no, it is. I – thank you, Tigerstar." Suddenly another pain came to his belly, this one was not a kick. Tigerstar grunted.

"Know your place." Fireheart heard the sound of the leader's pawsteps as he turned away quickly, heading towards the entrance. As he did, the tom curled in on himself, another pain hitting his belly.