When Fireheart awoke, the warmth was gone. He opened his eyes slowly; it was not too long past sunrise and he could still smell Graystripe faintly over the reek of the Twolegplace. It did not smell as though the warrior had been gone long. Why had he gone?
Fireheart rose steadily to his feet, letting out a groan as his shoulder protested the movement. It had stiffened in the night and was difficult to move. He took a few steps away from where he had slept, testing his leg. He let out a relieved breath as he could put more pressure on it. It was definitely not broken, he probably just strained it in the fall. He was limping, but he could walk on it. That was what mattered. It would get better as he worked it.
Now, he needed to find Graystripe. Fireheart sniffed the air, picking the gray tom's scent through the reek. Why he had left him confused Fireheart. He should have woken the other up and they could have headed on their way. He padded slowly after the scent, letting his shoulder readjust to the movement of walking.
He padded along a smaller Thunderpath-like path off to the side of the real Thunderpath after the other cat's scent, monsters roaring by occasionally. He stopped as the scent led between two of the Twoleg dens, there was a wide opening between them. Fireheart limped along the hardened stone towards the other end of the opening. As he did, Graystripe's scent became stronger.
Alarm filled Fireheart as the scents of other cats became stronger as well. He quickened his pace when he heard a hiss coming from the other side of a large green Twoleg thing. He moved around it to see what was going on.
Graystripe was standing against a fence; this one was different than the ones along the ThunderClan border. It looked like large silver cobwebs, crisscrossing over one another. The gray tom had some Twoleg food at his paws, his fur was bristled as he glared ahead of himself. In front of him were three cats.
Fireheart's eyes rounded at the sight of them. These cats all wore collars, stuck in them were what appeared to be teeth sticking out away from the cat's necks. What creatures' teeth they were, the warrior was not quite sure, but they were big.
Considering the collars, Fireheart would have guessed these cats were kittypets but they were big. Not in the way that he would expect a kittypet to be, but in the way a warrior might be. Lean and well-muscled, they did not look like kittypets at all. They looked like they were battle-ready.
"You think you can steal our food?" A gray tabby hissed at Graystripe; she took a step closer to him. The warrior's fur further bristled.
"I did not know this was your territory, I'm just passing through and wanted some food. I apologize, I'll be on my way."
"No, you won't, you need to pay for this. No one comes on to BloodClan territory and gets away with it!" It was a light brown tom who spoke. BloodClan? What on earth was that? It wasn't like there were five Clans. Whatever BloodClan was was certainly was not a Clan like the ones Fireheart and Graystripe were used to, these cats looked bloodthirsty and not at all like warriors. The three BloodClan cats moved closer to Graystripe. The gray tom further pushed himself against the fence, letting out a warning hiss.
Fireheart needed to get these cats away from Graystripe, there was no way he could take on three cats on his own. The warrior's fur bristled and he let his claw unsheathe as he let out a snarl, racing towards the opposing cats and leaping on to the back of the brown tom.
The tom turned; eyes full of surprise as Fireheart dug his claws into his hide. The BloodClan cat snapped at his throat, filling the opposing warrior with a sense of fear. This fight had just begun and this cat was already willing to try and kill him. These certainly were not Clan cats.
Fireheart heard another screech as Graystripe launched himself at the gray tabby. The final cat launched herself at Fireheart. He felt the cat's claws dig into his haunches. Letting out a hiss, the ginger warrior tore the claws of one of his paws out of the cat beneath him and swung at the cat behind him. He bared his teeth, biting at the back of the cat below him.
The cat beneath him flipped himself over, slamming both Fireheart and the other cat against the stone ground. Fireheart felt as though the breath had been knocked out of him by the blow, this cat was strong. Stronger than he anticipated. His shoulder was pounding again as he let out a hiss.
A paw was placed on his muzzle, closing his mouth shut as another paw went to his neck. Fireheart's growl was cut short as claws pressed against his throat. He froze. He could feel the other cats' paws on his hindquarters, claws digging in. Fireheart was beginning to feel lightheaded. There was a pressure on his chest forming as his vision blurred, the silver fence blurred in his view.
Suppressed memories filling his mind. No. No, not here. I can't do this. Fireheart's vision was getting worse with every passing moment. A voice snarled above him, sounding as though it had been said through a waterfall. "We were just going to let your friend go with some injuries, but now he can watch you die."
Graystripe. Where was he? Was he alright? Fear for his friend filled Fireheart. Did the other cat have him pinned down? From the sound of it, Whatever these BloodClan cats were would let him go. Good, he could double back and make it to WindClan. He could get away. Or perhaps they would kill him after, that thought chilled Fireheart to the bone. He needed to get Graystripe out of here but how.
A screech sounded and the weight at Fireheart's throat disappeared. He felt stunned for a heartbeat. The pressure in his chest disappearing as the orange warrior unsheathed his hide claws and kicked at the cat on his hindquarters. He blinked rapidly, clearing his vision as the brown and white she-cat jumped on to him.
Fireheart snarled, digging his front paws' claws into her shoulders as he continued to kick at her stomach with unsheathed claws. After a few swipes, the enemy cat pulled away from him. There was blood covering his stomach from his scratches. He saw pain in her eyes as she turned and raced down the narrow tunnel towards the Thunderpath. The orange warrior pushed himself up into a sitting position, letting out a hiss at the pain in his shoulder. A heartbeat later the tom that had his paw on Fireheart's throat entered his vision as he raced after the other cat that had run.
"Fireheart!" Graystripe's voice came from his blind side. Fireheart jerked his head towards the sound of the other cat, the gray tom was moving towards him. There were no other cats, he must have chased off the last one. There was blood on the warriors' muzzle and a few bare patches covered his pelt, making him look ragged.
"Graystripe, you saved my life. Thank you." Fireheart was panting. Relief filled him to see that his friend was alright.
"Of course."
The orange tom asked, "Why weren't you there when I woke up? You should've woken me up and we could have left. What were you doing?"
"I went hunting." Graystripe explained, "I couldn't find any real prey so I ended up having to take that from one of those silver boulders things." Graystripe twitched his ear towards the Twoleg food. "I was on my way back to you when I ran into those cats." He stared down the passageway, "Did you hear what they called themselves?"
"BloodClan." Fireheart responded, "They're no Clan warriors I've ever seen. They went right into killing, no good warrior would do that." He paused. "Not like there'd be five Clans anyway."
"Their collars are what threw me." Graystripe meowed, "I thought they were kittypets."
Fireheart shook his head; he had never seen a kittypet with quite a collar before. He had never seen any cat like that. The idea made his fur stand on end. He rose steadily to his paws, wincing as he put pressure on his leg. "Never mind that. If they were a Clan, then there's bound to be more of them. We need to move now."
The gray warrior opened his mouth, ready to protest. Fireheart flicked his tail, "My shoulder is fine. I'm fine. We need to go."
"I'm no medicine cat but –" Fireheart hissed at the other cat, silencing him.
"I'm fine. Let's go."
Fireheart, please listen to me." Graystripe padded up to his side, touching his nose to his side. Fireheart felt as though he was going to faint from the sudden contact.
He jerked away from the other cat, his fur bristled and claws unsheathed as he snarled, "Don't touch me!"
There was a silence that followed. Neither warrior moved. Fireheart stared at his paws as he realized what he had done. He slowly retracted his claws and let his fur fall flat as waves of fury and shame hit him. He had lashed out at Graystripe. What was wrong with him? Why did he keep doing this? He whispered, "I'm sorry. I did not mean to do that; I don't know what came over me."
"It's my fault, I shouldn't have touched you." Fireheart shook his head, he used to be fine with this. Graystripe touching him should not have bothered him. Why did this keep happening? He knew the tom would not hurt him. What is wrong with me?
The ginger warrior raised his gaze hesitantly to the other warrior. Graystripe was watching Fireheart, a concerned look on his face. Fireheart felt the fur on the back of his neck rise at the look, he was being pitied again. That was the last thing he wanted from Graystripe. From any cat.
Fireheart forced his fur to lay flat, taking a deep breath. He raised his voice, "We need to go, those BloodClan cats might come back."
After a moment's hesitation, Graystripe turned away, picking up the Twoleg food before following the other tom. Fireheart gave him a questioning look as they made their way to the end of the passageway. The gray toms' mew was muffled by the mouthful, "We just won a fight over this. Plus, you need to eat."
"Have you eaten?" Graystripe nodded as they turned back the way they came. He offered his shoulder to the limping Fireheart who shook his head. That would slow them down, they needed to be quick.
The two toms continued down the path towards where they had left off the night prior, Fireheart forced his thoughts away from what had just occurred, keeping his ears pricked for any sign of those BloodClan cats. How strange they were, he had never heard of another Clan of any sort existing. They did not appear to be a true Clan, and yet they were calling themselves one. There was certainly no such thing as a Clan of kittypets. They had collars so that had to be what they were and yet they were tougher than most kittypets Fireheart had met. They were tougher and wilder than most cats he had met.
The pair moved as fast as they were able down the path, slipping away from Twolegs whenever they would cross paths. They may have gotten used to the Twolegs on the farm, but these ones were unpredictable. The farm always had the same Twolegs and the same interactions, ones that they were used to. These ones could do anything.
Fireheart and Graystripe made their way past where they had slept and to the wall Fireheart had fallen at. Suddenly, Graystripe hissed, "mouse dung – we got to go!" The orange tom turned in the direction the other cat was looking. His eyes widened as he saw more cats coming their way.
These cats were like the three that had cornered Graystripe, their collars had teeth sticking out of them and they were lean and well-muscled. The two Clan warriors had barely fought off the original three, there was no way they could risk a fight now. Fireheart lashed his tail.
"Get on the wall," Fireheart ordered. "We need to continue back towards Clan territory – quickly."
Graystripe asked, "Can you make it on to the wall? You fell last night and now your leg is hurt."
"I have to. Go first. If I fall back, keep going until you get back to Clan territory. I'll be fine."
Graystripe's eyes widened and Fireheart saw anger in them. He looked ready to reply as Fireheart turned to face the oncoming cats. He hissed, "Go!" Fireheart heard Graystripe get onto the wall and followed a moment later, his shoulder stung at the landing. He moved quickly after the other cat and away from the group following them. He lifted his leg as they changed to a run, there were yowls coming from behind him.
They needed to get somewhere these cats would not go. But where? Fireheart searched around them frantically as they jumped off the wall, on to some of the hard Thunderpath-like substance before continuing. They were headed in the direction of RiverClan territory, Fireheart had made sure of it as they traveled last night.
It might be possible to locate the river. With the river, they could get across to the other side. That would at least slow down these Twolegplace cats. Fireheart called ahead, "look out for the river!"
"The river?" He heard Graystripe's confused meow back.
"Just trust me." There were more yowls coming from behind Fireheart, fear filled him as they sounded as though they were getting closer. He didn't dare look back. His legs were growing tired, he felt as though his paws were being ripped raw by the stone beneath him.
Graystripe skidded to a halt at the side of a Thunderpath. Fireheart almost slammed into him as the sound of a monster approaching filled his ears. He felt his heart stop as its scent got closer, the monster entered his vision letting out a roar as it moved past the two cats. As it continued further down the road, the warrior could hear the pursuing cats getting closer. Graystripe hissed, "Let's go!"
The gray tom took the lead across the Thunderpath, moving quickly to the other side and to some grass which was a welcomed relief under their paws. Suddenly Graystripe veered off the path, "Over there!" Fireheart followed the other tom's lead, relief filled him as the river came into view. He forced his legs to move faster as they neared the water's edge. There was some ice near the edge, past which was open water.
"Into the water and to the other side!" Fireheart exclaimed as they drew closer. He heard the splash of water as the ice near the edge broke beneath Graystripe's paws and he fell the short distance into the water, sending a spray behind him. He broke through the thin ice and continued into the water. A few moments later, the icy liquid engulfed Fireheart's legs, rising quickly to his chest.
He forced himself forward, the rocks beneath his feet disappeared quickly as he swam against the river's current. There were furious yowls sounding behind him and the splashing of water. Fear filled Fireheart; would they follow them across the river? Could these cats swim?
Graystripe pulled himself out of the water on the other side, he turned to face the river as the other tom emerged after him. Fireheart shook himself as he got on to shore, the cold air around them making his wet pelt even colder. He turned to face the water, letting out a breath at the sight.
The BloodClan cats had stopped on the other side, glaring across the river at them. One of them was standing in the river, the cats' legs were submerged in the murky water. They were not able to swim. Thank StarClan.
Fireheart looked at the river. If this was the river that led back to Clan territory they would need to travel downstream. He prayed that this was the right river and they were not following a useless lead. The warrior flicked his tail, "let's get going." He turned in the direction he thought they were supposed to go when Graystripe moved in front of him. He set down the chunk of Twoleg food. Fireheart asked, "You still have that?"
"Never ask that of me again."
"Excuse me?" The food was forgotten. What was Graystripe talking about? The only thing Fireheart could think of was coming with him on this task. He had not asked the other warrior along; he had not wanted to put him into this danger.
"To leave you. Never ask me to do that again. I could not."
Fireheart moved his tail from side to side, he had told him to do that so Graystripe could get away. He needed to survive, to get back to WindClan and the others. Fireheart murmured, "I only said so in case it was necessary."
Graystripe's fur bristled, "And leave you to fight that many cats alone? Never. I would die for you."
"And I for you." A silence fell between the two toms.
After a few moments, Graystripe murmured, "Then you understand where I'm coming from. Never ask that of me again." Fireheart hesitated a few heartbeats before he agreed, padding a few steps towards the other cat.