As Bluestar waited in Cinderpelt's den for the medicine cat to return, she found her gaze wandering periodically to Darkstripe's unmoving, rapidly cooling body. The dark tabby's face still held the same expression of horror, and she was finding it rather amusing, which she supposed was odd considering the circumstances. After all, murdering a Clanmate could hardly be considered funny, even if it was justified.

It occurred to Bluestar, not for the first time, that she might have lost her mind a little.

When she had entered the medicine den, the last thing she had expected was to find two of her warriors–well, one warrior and one apprentice–fighting to the death inside, surrounded by a small pile of deathberries. She had been so shocked that it had taken her a few heartbeats to comprehend what was going on. As soon as she figured it out though, she had felt her veins fill with such potent rage that she almost had to marvel at how her glare hadn't incinerated Darkstripe on the spot. Part of Bluestar wondered if she should have seen it coming; after all, Darkstripe despised Fireheart, yet lacked the same strength and courage that Tigerstar had displayed so many times before. If it came down to it, Bluestar did not doubt that Fireheart could have easily beaten Darkstripe in an honest fight. However, since the dark tabby warrior was a coward, he had chosen to strike when Fireheart was alone, vulnerable, and utterly unable to even think about defending himself. Even though Bluestar hadn't trusted Darkstripe since Tigerstar's treachery was revealed, she hadn't expected him to use such dishonorable tactics. Tigerstar, at the very least, had given her a fighting chance, however minuscule.

However, what had driven Bluestar into attacking the treacherous warrior wasn't just the fury she felt at seeing him attempting to murder a helpless cat. It was the fact that she'd seen Cloudpaw fighting Darkstripe before, protecting his mentor even though the tabby was a seasoned battler and most likely would have killed him if Bluestar hadn't arrived on time. She knew that Fireheart and Cloudpaw were kin, but they hadn't seemed to be especially close–if anything, at times it seemed as if the white cat was closer to his foster mother, Brindleface. They got along, of course, but their relationship hardly resembled anything other than a typical bond between a mentor and his apprentice. Moreover, Bluestar's trust in the flame-colored deputy hadn't transcended completely onto Cloudpaw–she had wanted to make him a warrior before, granted, but it was just because he was Fireheart's apprentice. She trusted him because she believed in his mentor, not because of anything the young apprentice had or hadn't done.

But when she saw Cloudpaw battling Darkstripe, fiercely defending his mentor, something had clicked inside Bluestar. If Cloudpaw was a traitor, would he have risked his life to protect Fireheart? A rogue, as she had referred to her Clan so many times over the past moon, wouldn't show any concern for anyone else, regardless of whether they were kin or not. Besides that, why was only Darkstripe attempting to kill Fireheart, even though Longtail had also been an ally of Tigerstar? The only reasonable explanation was that they hadn't been as close as before–because Darkstripe was still loyal to Tigerstar, while Longtail must have turned against his old companions in favor of his Clan. And why was the rest of the Clan so worried about Fireheart, if all they were was a bunch of ragtag loners and rogues?

Suddenly, at that moment, everything was clear–everything that Fireheart had desperately tried to drill into her head for the past moon, but that she had stubbornly refused to believe. Her Clan was not full of traitors. Maybe StarClan had forsaken them–Bluestar still wasn't pleased with their refusal to save Fireheart–but that didn't matter because her warriors were loyal. They were faithful to her, yet frightened because Fireheart, the cat who had been acting as the leader for several moons now, was suddenly unable to perform his duties, and she had done nothing to take up her responsibilities again.

She was a terrible excuse for a Clan leader. Even when her deputy was dying, and her Clan needed her, she had refused to take responsibility and instead chose to sit around feeling sorry for herself.

But she would be damned if she didn't start trying to make up for her behavior now.

Yes, it was her fault that Fireheart was so close to death, and yes, she had treated her warriors poorly over the past few moons–truthfully, ever since Tigerstar's exile. But who was she helping by hiding away in her den all the time? The Clan needed a leader, and StarClan had appointed her to fill that position. She had just needed a sign of some sort, one more reminder that her warriors were still loyal.

Now she had that. Cloudpaw's defense of Fireheart had proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there was still courage and loyalty in ThunderClan.

A soft groan interrupted Bluestar's thoughts, and the ThunderClan leader tensed, wondering if she was hearing things. Not even two heartbeats later, however, the sound came again, this time louder than before. She eyed Darkstripe's body warily, wondering if a vengeful spirit was attempting to speak to her through the tabby's corpse.

"Ugh...my head...what in the name of StarClan–Bluestar, is that you?"

At her name, Bluestar's head snapped up, her entire body freezing in shock when she saw a very familiar pair of green eyes staring back at her. Fireheart looked dazed and confused, which she supposed was understandable considering he had just woken up after being asleep for nearly a quarter moon, but as soon as their eyes met, an expression of relief filled his emerald orbs. Not that Bluestar noticed since she was too busy fighting the urge to rush over to Fireheart and start fussing over him. She refrained, however, if only because she didn't want to risk aggravating his injuries.

Perhaps attempting to lighten the mood, Fireheart then chose to meow, "I hope you haven't been sitting like that this whole time. No offense Bluestar, you're my friend and all, but I don't particularly enjoy being stared at while I sleep."

But Bluestar barely heard anything her deputy was saying. Her mind was repeating, over and over, He's alive. Fireheart's alive. StarClan didn't take him.

Slowly, she padded over to Fireheart and sat down beside him. The deputy gave a purr as she approached, the relief and happiness she felt reflected in his eyes.

"I'm glad you're alright," they murmured at the same time, causing Bluestar's head to jerk up in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled. "You're the one who..."

"I was worried that Mudclaw was going to kill you," Fireheart explained, still looking immensely relieved to see that his Clan leader was alive and well. "Or anyone in WindClan. I mean, they're not exactly fond of you right now, no offense or anything, and Mudclaw hates ThunderClan because we sheltered Brokentail. And a battle would have been the perfect opportunity to...you know. But it looks like everything turned out fine."

Bluestar couldn't resist rolling her eyes and chuckling a little at that. Trust Fireheart to worry about her when he was the one who had nearly died and spent the last several days unconscious in the medicine den. Fireheart's eyebrows shot up in confusion at the sound of the old she-cat's laughter.

"You look a lot better now," he noted. Glancing around, he added, "And why is Darkstripe here too? Where's Cinderpelt? Why is there blood all over the den? How's the rest of the Clan doing? And are those deathberries?"

Bluestar silenced the young warrior by placing the tip of her tail over his mouth, then gently running it down his back to soothe him. Slowly, she felt Fireheart's muscles relax, although his eyes still gleamed with curiosity and some slight worry as well. There was a lot that needed to be said, but for now, she was content to revel in the knowledge that he was alive–maybe not healthy enough to be considered well, but wonderfully alive and not being forced to join StarClan's hunting grounds because of an error in judgment.

At the same time, however, she knew Fireheart wouldn't be completely satisfied unless she gave him the answers he wanted. Curling her tail over her paws, she began to recount what had happened during the past few days.

"Right," Bluestar meowed, searching for a good starting point. "Where to begin..."