Fireheart's eyes widened; his mind was beginning to race. What was this cat going on about? How could there be a fifth Clan? While Fireheart had not grown up in the Clans, he knew that there had always been four Clans. He had never heard of anything different throughout all of his time with Clan cats.
He had heard the story of the creations of the Clans as an apprentice. All those moons ago when he had been a fresh apprentice in ThunderClan, the elders had told him the Clans histories, everything there was to tell about the Clans and not once was there mention of a fifth Clan.
"I –" Fireheart blinked, incoherent thoughts racing through his head. What was Sky talking about? He took a moment to collect his thoughts. "Excuse me? W-what do you mean?"
"Ah," Sky's eyes narrowed. "The whole of WindClan did not know either." He pushed himself stiffly up on aching forelegs. There was a coldness in his gaze as he glared at the WindClan deputy. "Your Clan, as well as the others, chased my Clan out of the forest."
Fireheart felt himself tense as the other cat's piercing glare dug into him. A shiver ran down his spine. The old gray tom continued, "SkyClan came here. They had no home, they had nothing. They thought that they would be safe here but that was proven wrong." What did the old tom mean by proven wrong? Clearly, SkyClan was not here presently but what had happened to it? Sky turned his head towards the rest of the gorge, "Now it seems the other Clans did the same thing to you."
He raised his head again, "I am what is left of my Clan, I came here every full moon to honor my ancestors – to honor the Clan my mother named me after. I follow the warrior code and have lived my life as a warrior of SkyClan. That is until this Clan came along."
Fireheart was silent for a moment, processing what the other cat was telling him. He glanced at Graystripe. His friend seemed calm, as though he had already heard this tale from the old warrior. He had to have been told. The whole of WindClan had been told this story already by Sky. They all had to have known.
Why hadn't Tallstar or Barkface told him this earlier? A feeling of anger filled the warrior. Why were things always kept from him? He thought back on what Bluestar had told him the night he walked out on her. The night he refused StarClan's will. The night he said he was going with WindClan.
Fireheart rose to his paws, turning away from Sky. He moved quickly towards the pathway up the gorge and to the forest. He ignored Graystripe's call after him. A burning rage was beginning to form in his belly, lighting his pelt up as he lashed his tail, letting his fur bristle. He could feel the old tom's blue gaze still on him as he made his way to the path.
StarClan had not wanted him to come here. They had not wanted Fireheart to know that a Clan had been chased out before. That a Clan had been destroyed before.
Fireheart sped up as he raced up the steep ledge. He heard another cat call for him, but he ignored it. He needed to be alone. He needed to figure this out.
He ignored the feeling of small sharp rocks digging into his paw pads as he went up the cliff, he rushed by a few startled warriors at the top of the cliff. One of them let out a yowl of alarm, he ignored it.
The forest floor was softer on his paws as Fireheart made his way further into the forest. Incoherent thoughts raced through the warrior's head. StarClan had wanted him to stay with TigerClan, to defeat Tigerstar, all with this overhanging secret kept hidden.
The brush not far from him rustled as a squirrel he had startled bolted in the opposite direction, towards a tree. Fireheart ignored it, continuing on his way further into the forest. Eventually, Fireheart slowed in his pace. He stopped in a small clearing; his muscles hurt from the sudden excretion. He was panting and his chest was tight, the warrior's vision was beginning to blur as he stared at a tree in front of him.
Fireheart jerked his head to the sky; he could see blue past the blurry shades of brown and green. He yowled, "You lied to me! You lied to all of us!"
The warrior dug his claws into the soft ground beneath him, tearing the grass away. He needed to speak with StarClan, they could not just do this. He needed to go to sleep and talk to his ancestors, they had to have known this was wrong.
"Fireheart." The deputy turned at the muffled sound of his name, he let his lip curl back into a snarl as he hissed at whoever it was that had followed him. There were two shapes standing where he had just come from, he took a step away from them. He felt his back arch as his fur bristled. His chest was still tight and his pant seemed to be getting heavier.
"Fireheart, it's just Graystripe and Barkface." Another voice spoke, "You're safe, you need to breathe deeply." Barkface? A thought came to Fireheart's head. He could ask the medicine cat about this, about why he or Tallstar had not told him about this. He began to force his breathing to slow down. As he did, his chest slowly began to clear. "That's it." Fireheart felt a flash of anger at the words, why did they treat him like this when this stuff happened? Like he was a kit like he did not know better? As the tightness returned, Fireheart forced himself to breathe deeply again. He blinked a few times; his vision was slowly getting better.
Graystripe and Barkface were standing not far from him. He recognized concern in the warrior's gaze as he took a step towards his friend. Fireheart bristled, taking a step back. "Stay away from me!" He could barely feel himself respond. Graystripe nodded, mewing an apology. Fireheart let his fur begin to fall flat as he kept breathing deeply. He turned his attention to the brown tom, "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't Tallstar tell me?"
"We wanted to give you a day to recollect before we told you," Barkface replied, his voice was steady. "A day to settle in." He glanced at Graystripe, "We did not think that another cat would tell you." The warrior's ears went back.
The fur on Fireheart's back rose again, cats kept keeping things from him – dead and alive alike. He snarled, "StarClan lied to me. Do not start doing the same!"
"We were not going to lie to you," Barkface replied slowly. His gaze was unwavering, it almost made the ginger warrior shiver. "StarClan has not lied to any of us, they sent us here." Fireheart shook his head.
"They did not!" The warrior's lip curled back into a snarl again, "Bluestar told me that they did not send that message!" Who had sent that message instead? Was it the SkyClan ancestors? Did they count as StarClan? "She told me not to come with you!"
Both cats looked puzzled by his words. Graystripe asked, "What do you mean she told you?"
"I-I –" He shook his head, "I had a dream! Back at Highstones, she told me not to go with you. That StarClan forbid it." Fireheart's voice cracked, "I-I was supposed to stop all of this! I am supposed to stop Tigerstar! I was supposed to prevent all of this from happening! It is the reason she let me join ThunderClan." He stared at the ground in front of him, "I was supposed to be the fire that saved the Clans."
That is not possible without all the Clans being there in the first place, Fireheart sank his claws into the ground beneath him at the thought. Did SkyClan not matter in the eyes of their ancestors? How would any of the other Clans matter if SkyClan did not? What made WindClan or RiverClan or ShadowClan any different? ThunderClan? What had any one of these Clans different than SkyClan? Any one of them could have been driven out. All but WindClan had been destroyed.
Graystripe and Barkface were staring at him, shocked looks on both tom's faces. Fireheart's breathing was getting difficult again. He needed to confront StarClan on this, how was this right by any means?
"Fireheart –" He cut Graystripe off with a hiss, there was nothing the other cat had to say. Fireheart stared at the other two cats blearily, his chest was growing tighter. His legs felt numb and he was certain they were shaking.
"I failed," Fireheart heard himself growl. "I-I failed and they expect me to correct that mistake but I can't." He felt his ears go back as he slowly lowered himself to the forest floor. Sandstorm's words to Graystripe that day after the fight came back to Fireheart. "He broke me and they did nothing to stop it."
"Fireheart, he did not break you." He jerked his head towards Graystripe as the gray warrior spoke. There was a slight tension in the warrior's voice which Fireheart recognized as anger. A twinge of fear filled him, was he angry at Fireheart? Why? Because he had never told Graystripe these things before? What if he was? What would he do? The warrior's tail moved between his legs and his chest tightened.
"Fireheart, you need to breathe." That was Barkface's voice, "You're getting worked up again." Fireheart forced himself to breathe deeply again, fear filling him. He needed to listen to them and he should stay safe.
"You're not broken," Graystripe's meow came again. "That is a lot of responsibly to put on one cat." He sighed, "I don't know how StarClan could expect that of you. How dare they put this on you. It does not make you broken," The anger was still in his tone but his voice was softer this time. "I wish you had told me this sooner."
Another wave of fear filled Fireheart, was the other cat still mad at him? He had to be. Why had he talked? Why had he said what he had said? If Graystripe was angry with him, how was he supposed to get anything right?
"Fireheart, you need to focus on your breathing." Barkface's mew was soft. "There's no reason to be scared, no cat is going to hurt you. No one is angry at you. You need to collect yourself." The warrior forced himself to breathe deeply at the medicine cats command. As his vision got clearer, he stared at the ground in front of him. Claws torn away the soft warm dirt beneath him. The other two cats were silent, all there was was the sound of birds chirping in the trees above them and the rustle of leaves in a gentle breeze. Their silence unnerved Fireheart.
Finally, Barkface spoke. "Why don't we head back to camp?" Fireheart nodded, rising to his paws at the command. He could feel his legs trembling as he did. He kept his gaze to the ground as he padded a few steps towards the other two toms. He let his tail drag in the dirt behind him as he did.
Both of them rose to his paws, Barkface mewing his approval before turning in the direction of the gorge. Graystripe stayed where he stood.
Was he expecting Fireheart to walk next to him? In front of him? A sense of anxiety filled the warrior at the thought. He padded a few steps forward, casting a glance at the gray tom. He had been angry before, was he still? What if he was? Words were stuck in Fireheart's throat, he lowered his head and moved after the medicine cat, casting another glance at Graystripe. Please don't hurt me.
"Fireheart." Fireheart froze, a tension forming in his chest at the other cat speaking. His mind raced, why did Graystripe want to speak? Had he done something wrong? His voice was heavy. "I will never hurt you. Do not think otherwise."
Had he said that out loud? Fireheart knew he sometimes said things out loud that he had not intended to, was that what this was? He continued slowly after Barkface, Graystripe following behind him. Fireheart kept his gaze on the ground in front of his paws as they continued on in silence.
They made it to the gorge and down the path to its floor. Fireheart's paws were beginning to feel raw against the hot stone. He glanced up at the sound of approaching paw steps.
Both Sandstorm and Tallstar were approaching him, a tension formed in his chest again. Why had Tallstar chosen to wait? Why hadn't Sandstorm told him after they left the medicine den?
Sandstorm moved closer to Fireheart; lightheadedness overcame the warrior as he realized she was going to try to touch him. Fireheart let out a hiss, recoiling from his mate.
Almost immediately, Fireheart realized what he had done. Guilt filled him. He had hissed at Sandstorm. He had flinched away from her. He didn't let himself look back up at her. The tom took a deep breath before he forced out, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine, it's not your fault." Fireheart's ears went back at her response. Words were stuck in his throat again. Only It is my fault. It all is.
"Fireheart, come here." He turned at the sound of Barkface's voice, following it back to where he recognized as the medicine cat den. He glanced up at the medicine cat. "Why don't you rest." He flicked the end of his short tail towards a patch of shade not far from the den, "You'll feel better after."
Fireheart slowly nodded, heading over to where the brown tom had indicated. He felt tired, truly exhausted. However, this was not going to be a restful sleep if he had any choice in the matter.
A rage had lit in the warrior, he needed to speak with StarClan. He needed them to see what they had done. As Barkface padded away from where Fireheart was settling down, the ginger tom raised his muzzle to the sky. Let me talk to you, he prayed. I need to talk to you!
Barkface returned shortly, setting a poppy seed and a few leaves down in front of the warrior. The medicine cat meowed, "This is dock, it's for your paws. They're raw, is it alright if I put them on?" After a moment, the warrior nodded.
As Barkface finished with his paws, he pushed the poppy seed towards the warrior. Fireheart shook his head, it would only hinder his dreams. He needed to be present for them to happen.
There was the risk that StarClan would not come to him, that he would instead have to deal with nightmares, but it was worth the risk. He needed to talk to them.
Fireheart recognized surprise on the medicine cats face, he had never refused them before. Barkface meowed, "Are you certain?" Fireheart nodded; words stuck in his throat that he could not push out even if he wanted to. "Do you want thyme instead?"
A tense feeling came to the warrior's belly at the idea, he shook his head setting his head down before he closed his eyes. He did not want to be calm. He heard the other cat rise to his paws and pad away from Fireheart. It did not take too long for him to fall asleep.
When Fireheart next opened his eyes, he was laying in a patch of grass. He pushed himself to his paws quickly, looking around as he did. He recognized the rock not far from him, it was the Great Rock and this was Fourtrees. The warrior looked up to the Great Oaks which surrounded him, his mind going to the nights he spent with Sandstorm over those moons. His chest grew tight, guilt filling him. Those were some of his most cherished memories and the last interaction he had had with the ginger warrior was hissing at her.
Was this just a dream of a place that held so many memories – a retelling of one of those nights perhaps? – or had he gotten what he asked for? Fireheart turned, searching for any sign of another cat. He met eyes with one a few fox lengths away from him. The warrior's eyes narrowed and the rage that he had experienced earlier returned. He took a step towards the other cat, his lip curling back as he snarled, "SkyClan?"
"You were not supposed to find out about this," Bluestar's response was even, unbiased and neutral. Diplomatic. Almost as though she was the leader of ThunderClan again and she was addressing an enemy leader's accusation at the Gathering. "No one was ever supposed to find out about this."
"Well, it is done." Fireheart felt the rumble of a growl beginning in his chest. This was the cat that had mentored him, the cat who had welcomed him into ThunderClan. The cat that he had admired for so long – that he had so much respect for. The cat Fireheart had failed to save and now all he could feel was anger and betrayal towards her. Towards all of StarClan.
"StarClan covered up the existence of a fifth Clan and you expect me to go back to the forest and save the remaining four?" Fireheart paused, "There is not even four left! There is only WindClan and TigerClan!" he took another step towards his former leader, "What makes SkyClan any different than WindClan or ShadowClan? What makes them different and why did StarClan do nothing for this Clan?"
"SkyClan was never supposed to last," Bluestar replied. She raised her tail, waving it around as she spoke. "Look around us now, there are four oaks. One for each of the Clans. Had it been meant to be, some have argued that there would have been five. Four oaks for the four Clans. SkyClan was never meant to last as ThunderClan or WindClan have. That is the difference."
Fireheart felt his hackles rose at the StarClan warrior's response. He stared at her, speechless for a few moments before he snarled, "SkyClan was not supposed to last because there were not enough trees?"
A look of dismay came across the blue-gray warrior's face at Fireheart's response. Fury lit up his pelt at this, had she expected him to buy this? To drop the topic as soon as she had said that?
"That is the reasoning we got, too." Fireheart and Bluestar both turned at the sound of another cat's voice. A gray and white tabby approached them from where ThunderClan territory would have been. Fireheart saw Bluestar's eyes narrow. This cat's pelt was as starry as the former ThunderClan leader's and he stopped not far from them. "That is the same excuse the four Clans gave me before I had to lead my Clan away from the forest – when we were betrayed by our fellow Clans and our ancestors."
The tabby's blue eyes focused on Fireheart, "My name is Cloudstar, and I was the leader of SkyClan when we were chased out."