Tallstar rose shakily to his feet, he let out a gasp and froze. After a moment he let his haunches hit the ground hard. His sides were heaving and Fireheart saw that there was fresh blood on his pelt. They needed to stop the bleeding; Fireheart should have done something before. He should not have let the WindClan leader walk alone. Fireheart turned away, towards the other side of camp, "I'm going to get cobwebs to stop the bleeding."

There was no response from the other cat as Fireheart hurried across the hollow to the small dip that made up the medicine den. He took a deep breath as he ducked beneath the brambles, quickly locating the white webbing. Picking it up in one forepaw, the ginger tom made his way out of the den and back to the injured cat.

Tallstar had not moved, remaining still as the blood dripped down his flank. The kit was staring, wide-eyed at the leader. Fireheart could smell fear scent from the young cat. He sat, pressing some of the cobwebs he had gotten against Tallstar's flank. The black and white tom let out a pained hiss at the pressure.

Fear filled Fireheart's mind, they should not have stopped here, they should have gone right to the barn. Thistlekit would have been fine for a bit longer. There was a possibility that Tallstar could lose another life, what would happen then? How many more lives did he have left? If this was his last, WindClan would be without a leader, and with Deadfoot already dead they did not have a deputy to succeed Tallstar.

Fireheart moved to the cats' other side with the leftover cobwebs, repeating the same action he had on the first. The WindClan leader's tail twitched, but he gave no other sign of pain this time. As the bleeding started to quell, Fireheart let out a breath he had not known he was holding. He could stop the bleeding and he could go get Barkface, Tallstar would be fine.

Tallstar suddenly turned his head to look at the other warrior, his yellow eyes were clouded as he rasped, "let's get going." He shifted his attention again, this time to the small black and white kit, "I'm going to need you to be brave. Fireheart is going to carry you; he will not hurt you. We will be going where the rest of the Clan went."

"What about Mama?" A mournful shine came to the WindClan leader's eyes at the small cats' question, he touched his nose to the top of Thistlekit's head.

"We will come back for her."

"I don't think you should move," Fireheart meowed carefully. There was a flash of something in the older cats' eyes at his words. His ear twitched as he looked to the ginger cat. Fireheart dipped his head to Tallstar, "I'll take Thistlekit to the farm and get Barkface. Your wounds are going to keep bleeding. You need to rest."

"You already know my answer." Tallstar narrowed his eyes, "What I need to do is check on the rest of my Clan." He slowly rose shakily to his paws. Fireheart felt admiration again for the older cat, despite everything he was determined to continue being strong. He moved towards the leader, starting to protest the movement. Tallstar gave him a warning hiss, "I'm not dead yet." There was still pain in the black and white cats' eyes as he took a step towards the gorse tunnel. He stopped on shaky legs before taking another one.

He can't walk by himself, Fireheart realized. He should not have let him the first time, he was not about to let Tallstar get hurt from making the same mistake. The outsider mewed reassuringly at the tom-kit, Thistlekit was tense as he stared back at the warrior. The terror present in his wide eyes, despite this he let Fireheart picked him up by his scruff. Fireheart felt the small cat tense in his grip. Thistlekit's fear was growing stronger as Fireheart moved next to the WindClan leader.

Fireheart nudged him gently with his shoulder, a silent offer to the other cat. He felt the black and white cat lash his tail and heard him let out an annoyed hiss. Fireheart could picture his ears going back, had he made a mistake and offended Tallstar by his offer? There was a moment that passed between them before Tallstar slowly leaned against the other cat. Fireheart moved forward, towards the gorse tunnel and back into the open moorlands. They headed towards the farm steadily as the sun rose. The frozen earth around them beginning to melt in the morning light.

While Fireheart could not see the WindClan leader, he could sense his pain. He would feel the other cat tense occasionally as they walked, but he made no sound outside of a pant that had formed after a while. Fireheart broke the silence that had engulfed them as Tallstar's panting had gotten worse. He mewed; voice muffled by the scruff in his mouth, "We can stop to rest for a bit if you'd like."

"No."

There was no other response from the injured cat, no sign of the pain he clearly felt. There was only determination in the leaders' gruff voice. The feeling of admiration he felt for Tallstar returned to Fireheart. He dipped his head as best he could to the other cat, looking out ahead of them. It wasn't too far now; they would be getting to the edge of WindClan territory soon and after that was just a strip of trees before they got to the land the farm was situated on. From there Tallstar would get the treatment he needed and then they could figure out what to do next.

WindClan would certainly need help for the time being, the warriors that had survived had injuries and the pack must have scared most of the prey away from their territory. What little prey there would have been, considering it was leaf-bare would be even less now.

As the three cats made their way through the trees, Fireheart spotted a cat pacing outside of one of the Twoleg dens located further from the main area of the farm. It was the abandoned Twoleg nest WindClan had sheltered in last time. The cat spotted him turning quickly away and entering the Twoleg nest. The cat reemerged a few heartbeats later with another cat, heading towards the small group of cats. As they got closer, the ginger warrior recognized the warrior as Tornear, Barkface was following quickly behind him.

Fireheart stopped in his step, setting the kit down as the two WindClan cats made their way to them. Barkface disappeared from his vision as he made his way to Tallstar's other side, sniffing at the wounds there. Fireheart meowed, "I did what I could do back at camp, I tried to stop the bleeding."

"And you did." The brown tom's voice sounded approving as he moved around the back of the two cats, "Tornear, let Tallstar lean against you on that side. Fireheart, I'm going to need you to move."

The wiry WindClan warrior moved to Tallstar's side, after a moment the WindClan leader shifted his weight off of Fireheart and on to the other cat. As Fireheart moved away and Barkface moved to check Tallstar's wounds, he put his muzzle to the medicine cats' ear. He quickly whispered, "He lost a life."

"I know," Barkface responded grimly as the cat in question let out a hiss.

"I could have told him that myself." Fireheart's ears went back at the leader's response, he had thought the other cat would not have heard him. He turned so he could see the WindClan cats, Barkface was inspecting the side Fireheart had just been on. Tallstar's ears were flattened and his claws dug into the soil beneath his paws. Barkface's ear twitched.

"But would you?" The brown tom gave Tallstar's flank a good sniff. The black and white tom did not respond. After a few heartbeats, Barkface let out a satisfied grunt. "That's what I thought." He meowed, "let's get you into the den. I can get a better look at you there, Tornear could you help him please?" As the warrior began to lead Tallstar to the den, the medicine cat turned his attention to Thistlekit.

The young tom was crouching, his fear scent was still strong as he stayed still, frozen to the ground. He stared after Tornear and Tallstar as they moved, green eyes round. Barkface sniffed the small cat before giving him a soothing lick on his white head. Fireheart meowed, "he's all we could find."

Barkface nodded, murmuring softly to the kit: "Let's see if Whitetail will nurse you, little one." He cast a glance at Fireheart, "Am I correct in assuming the blood on your pelt is Tallstar's?" The ginger warrior spoke his confirmation, Barkface continued. "Clean yourself off before you come inside. I don't know how the others will react to seeing you like this. When you come in, there are cats who are going to want to talk to you. After, I want to have a look at the wound on your leg again, that mud would do it no good."

Fireheart mewed his thanks as Barkface picked up Thistlekit and headed towards the Twoleg den after Tallstar and Tornear. He was puzzled by the medicine cat's statement as he sat down and turned to clean his coat. Who wanted to talk to him? He knew he had some explaining to do for the other cats at the barn, they certainly would not be happy that he had disappeared but what else was there? Or was that what Barkface was referring to?

Once Fireheart finished his grooming, he rose to his paws. His muscled ached, what had happened today was beginning to catch up with him. Combined with the lack of sleep the night prior and the restless dream he had had, Fireheart would have loved to have gone back to the barn and curled up in his nest. Hopefully, get a good bout of sleep that wasn't filled with more restless dreams. There were things that needed to be done, however, sleep could wait until later. He needed to talk to whoever it was that Barkface had been referring to as well as the cats at the barn. At least a few of them had to have been here now, Fireheart figured.

Fireheart trotted towards the Twoleg nest, ducking into the entrance the other cats had gone into. Inside, what was left of WindClan was situated around the space. Most of the cats had moved over to where Tallstar had laid down. He was speaking, a strange look on his face. It was then that Fireheart realized it wasn't just WindClan cats that were with the WindClan leader. Ravenpaw and Graystripe were with them. As well as Bramblepaw.

Oh.

He should probably start warning cats about the apprentice before they came to the farm.

That must have been what this was about. The Clans believed that Bramblepaw had died, and here he was now. The WindClan cats must have all been shocked to have seen him. The striped apprentice looked uncomfortable being under every cat's attention. His tail was lashing back and forth and his ears were back as Tallstar looked to him. The WindClan leader meowed something to him and Bramblepaw responded, Ravenpaw spoke after.

Fireheart padded over to the group gathered around Tallstar, he began to hear what they were saying as he did. The WindClan leader murmured, "This whole time you have been here and no one has known." Bramblepaw shrugged, shifting on his paws as he turned his attention to his approaching mentor. Fireheart moved past Smokefang as he made his way to the tabby's side. The cats present shifted their attention on to Fireheart. Tallstar meowed, "I was not aware that," he paused in his speech for a heartbeat. "Bramblepaw would be here."

The cat in question was tense, looking back at the black and white tom in awe. This was the first time he had seen a Clan leader since he was a kit, Fireheart realized. Bramblepaw had never met WindClan cats before today, this all must have been exciting for him. Fireheart replied, "it slipped my mind to mention anything."

"This is a big thing to have slipped your mind." Fireheart murmured his agreement; he should have said something. The black and white tom glanced to Ravenpaw and Graystripe, "You can explain this to me more later. I think they want you first."

Both cats were looking pointedly at him, he recognized anger in Graystripe's amber gaze. What reason did he have to be angry? Fireheart knew they would be upset about his disappearing but he did not think any of them would be angry. Ravenpaw nodded his head away from the WindClan cats and towards a different part of the den where there were no other cats.

Fireheart followed the black toms' lead away from the rest of the cats, Graystripe stuck by Ravenpaw's side while Bramblepaw followed Fireheart, close behind him. Once they were where the loner had indicated, the flame-colored cat asked, "Where are the others?"

"Brightheart's with another injured cat, the others went to get prey from the barn." Ravenpaw explained. There was a strange look in his eyes and tone to his voice. Why were they both looking at him weird? Fireheart knew he would have to answer for what he did, but it wasn't that bad.

He glanced to Bramblepaw, "Why are you here if the others are hunting?"

"They were… interested by him." Ravenpaw explained, "he helped us out here, but they wanted to know why he was here."

"They thought I was dead." Bramblepaw's mew was soft, surprise filled his voice. He looked up to his mentor, "I didn't know that they thought that." Had no cat ever told him? Fireheart and the others knew the Clan cats thought he was dead, was it never mentioned to the apprentice before? He hadn't realized it.

"You disappeared during a fire. You were a kit and ThunderClan made assumptions," Fireheart explained.

"You knew?" Fireheart nodded.

"Mistyfoot mentioned it." Fireheart twitched his ear, "Head back to the barn and help them out." After a heartbeat Bramblepaw nodded, turning away from the three older cats and heading quickly towards the entrance. Fireheart looked back to Ravenpaw and Graystripe, "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Sandstorm?" It was Graystripe who spoke, his meow was cold and his tail lashed behind him. Fireheart closed his eyes a moment, Cloudtail and Brightheart had told them then. It made sense; the young warriors must have thought he was caught. "You've been seeing Sandstorm and you've been lying to us about it? Are you kidding me?"

"This was only the second time." Fireheart kept his voice steady, "What was I supposed to do? If I had told you, you would have stopped me." He twitched his ear towards the WindClan cats, "She's the reason I figured out what was going on and now the dogs are gone from WindClan territory. Once they're able, WindClan can return home."

"Fireheart, we thought he had you," Ravenpaw meowed. His voice shook, "We thought you were gone. We didn't know if you were still alive." He took a step towards Fireheart, "You're being reckless. You can't scare us like that."

Tigerstar had almost had him, if the dogs hadn't come when they had come or if he had not been resisting so much it was possible the dogs would have come when the patrol was giving him over. The idea made Fireheart's head spin, the TigerClan leader would have gotten both of what he wanted in that situation. It had been so close. Fireheart took a deep breath, "I wasn't trying to scare you. When I left, I expected to be back well before dawn. I'm sorry."

"And you would have kept lying to us?" Graystripe hissed, moving a step closer to his friend. The anger grew in his eyes, "for how long? Until you got caught and were taken prisoner by TigerClan again?" Fireheart flinched at the other cats' words, feeling his head go light. Graystripe continued, "Then we would have had the discussion we already had with Cloudtail and Brightheart? Only that time it would have been real?"

Like you're one to talk! Fireheart lashed his tail, Graystripe was being ridiculous, he was fine. There was no reason to be riled up about this. Fireheart replied, "I'm fine. It doesn't matter, I won't get caught."

"You're going to continue?" The fur along the gray tom's spine rose, Fireheart took another step back. He could feel the end of his tail hitting the wall behind him, he was cornered by the other cat. Fireheart felt as though his mind was clogged, as though he could not get a thought out.

"Of course, I am!" His voice was getting muffled, "How's it any different than you and Silverstream?"

"The difference is that Crookedstar did not want my tail! He was not asking other Clans for my tail!" Graystripe spat at him, continuing his approach: "I can't believe you lied to me! You can't lie about this!"

Ravenpaw pressed his shoulder against Graystripe's chest, pushing the gray tom back. "Graystripe, stop. All you're doing is scaring him, he's going to freeze."

Fireheart felt a flash of annoyance. What was Ravenpaw going on about? He didn't need to be protected like a kit. What did he mean by 'freeze', anyway? he had heard Ravenpaw and Bramblepaw say it before but he had no idea what it meant. His moments could not be that visible, it was visible to him but not to the others. They normally lasted less than a heartbeat.

"He should be," Graystripe's voice sounded distant as if he was talking across the den. Fireheart's vision began to blur and his heart raced as the gray tom's fur continued to bristle. All he could see was Graystripe's fury filled amber eyes. The gray tom pushed by Ravenpaw, who continued his protesting. "How could you do this? I want you to tell me what really happened the first time! How'd you really get hurt?"

Fireheart opened his mouth but he couldn't get anything to come out, the words were stuck in his throat. He could smell some cats fear scent, he could hear the barely recognizable muffled voice of Ravenpaw, and he could see Graystripe's eyes.

He blinked, trying to clear his vision. When he opened his eyes the world around him seemed to have disappeared, replaced by ThunderClan camp. Ravenpaw and Graystripe were gone. Where the gray tom had once stood was Tigerstar. Fireheart felt his head go light as he stared at the other cat. His heart felt as though it had stopped. Why was he here? What was he going to do? Memories clogged the orange warriors' mind. Please no, no more. I'll obey. Please, Tigerstar.

Fireheart heard a voice say his name before something hit his flank. Fireheart blinked again. ThunderClan camp vanished and he was back in the Twoleg den. He was against the wall, on his side with his belly exposed to the rest of the den. Ravenpaw was crouched by his head, a worried look in his green eyes. Barkface was there too, he was speaking. When had he gotten there? That was quick. Fireheart could barely hear the medicine cat; it was as if his ears were filled with water. "Fireheart, you need to listen at me. Take deep breaths."

He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. His throat felt closed. Past them both, Fireheart saw Graystripe. The anger that had been fueling him was gone, it was replaced by shock. His yellow eyes were round and his ears pressed back against his head as he stared back at the other cat. Fireheart felt as though his mind was filled with fog, what had happened?