Hello hello hello! Here be another rewrite, this one posted August 14th, 2020. Today's What If tackles the question of what might have happened if Cinderpelt hadn't been hit by the monster.

Once again, I'd like to quickly(ish) respond to reviews. If that's not your thing, feel thing to scroll down to the meat of the story!

Little Feathered Flame: Haha, I'll take that as a sign of a job well done.

Snowcrystal of ThunderClan: Interesting indeed...

"iDragonSpyro": Oh cool! I'd never really thought about it until I sat down to write the What If, but I have to agree. I'm definitely liking it better than Graystripe and Fireheart.

"Guest": Obviously :P

ChocolateAndWriting: Ahh thank you so much! That means a lot!

WyldClaw: Thank you! :)

LittleGhostCat: Thank you! And interesting suggestion..

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, whether in 2017 or 2020! Once again, I'll be responding to the reviews of the previous chapter and new ones for the chapters before, just so that there isn't an overload, but I do see every review and appreciate them all so much! I'll respond to each one in time.

Once again, just a quick note if you're reading through this for the first time: I would suggest waiting for each chapter to be rewritten and uploaded before reading if you want to get the best writing with the least spoilers, but that is by no means an obligation. I do think the new versions are significantly better (hence why I'm going to the effort of reuploading everything) but the main point is to enjoy!

And with that, onto the What If!

What If Cinderpelt Never Got Hit?

. . .

Tigerclaw's POV

"Roadrunner"

Honestly, if I hadn't been so shocked that it wasn't Bluestar running to greet me, I probably wouldn't have saved her. I shouldn't have saved her – she was Fireheart's apprentice, so letting her die would have been fun. Even now, it's hard to recall just why I did it. All I remember is her terrified squeal as the monster's glaring eyes swept over her pelt. I always hate it when I can't get my impulsiveness out of control…

I paced alongside the thunderpath, ignoring the monsters as they whipped past me. Their thunderous roar kept messing with my thoughts, but that was okay. My thinking and careful plotting had already occurred long ago in the quiet of the forest. All that truly mattered was Bluestar showing up, and I knew she would. The foolish old she-cat trusted me with her life, so why shouldn't she run as fast as possible to investigate my 'findings'?

Monsters always stormed up and down the thunderpath at this time of day, so I was certain that there would be one ready for Bluestar. It was simply a matter of waiting for her to turn up, and though I was normally patient, today was so important – as, after all, I would finally become leader of ThunderClan – that I wanted it over and done with before anything could go wrong.

Scanning the forest for motion, I tensed as I caught something running through the trees. But it wasn't the blue-furred coward I was expecting… a gray form, small – was that Cinderpaw?

I barely had time to think as she neared the thunderpath.

A vision flashed through my eyes, a memory of a ShadowClan patrol rescuing a younger, kit-version of myself from a fox in this very spot. The tale behind how I had even known this spot alongside the thunderpath existed.

So, just as those ShadowClan cats had raced to help innocent, young me, I found myself doing the same for innocent, young Cinderpaw. She wasn't my target, after all.

Like those warriors so long ago, I burst onto the thunderpath with paws flying over the harsh stone. I grabbed Cinderpaw's scruff and lugged her just out of the way of the incoming monster. Together, we collapsed onto the side of the thunderpath, panting.

"What did you think you were doing?" I hissed, getting to my paws.

The gray-furred apprentice looked up at me with wide, shaken eyes. "I-I-"

"That's right, you weren't thinking!" I growled menacingly, pushing away the memory of that ShadowClan patrol. Part of me was convinced that I having a heart attack considering that I had just risked my life for Fireheart's apprentice. Or maybe I was just going crazy? Or I was having a heart attack and going at crazy at the same time, because in what universe does it make sense to save Cinderpaw?

Anyways, Fireheart just had to burst out of the trees and careen toward us with wide, anxious green eyes.

"Cinderpaw!" he gasped, before seeing me and stiffening visibly. "Tigerclaw."

"I just had to save your apprentice from becoming roadkill," I grunted, glaring at the she-cat. "She should know better than to run onto the thunderpath by now."

Fireheart's eyes bugged out as he sniffed his apprentice over, nudging her to her feet. I held in a chuckle at his horror.

(See? If I hadn't saved Cinderpaw, I could have enjoyed it tenfold!)

"Th-thank you," Fireheart mewed breathlessly.

We both froze and stared at each other for a very long time. Had my nemesis seriously just said thank you to me? Was he having a heart attack too?

I was the first to regain my composure. "Yes, well, don't expect me to make a habit of saving reckless apprentices."

Cinderpaw, blissfully unaware of what had just gone on, bounced up to me. "Thank you so much for saving my life, Tigerclaw! I promise you won't have to do it again. I'm super sorry for not being more careful around the thunderpath and-"

"It's okay," I interrupted. "Save your rambles for when there's time. For now, let's just get away from the thunderpath and get to camp."

Cinderpaw nodded vigorously and started into the trees. Fireheart hesitated, waiting for me to start walking. I didn't, instead swinging my gaze to his head and letting it linger ponderously on his throat. Maybe I could just kill him here and now, take out my troubles while I had the chance? I didn't even have to do something so obvious as murder him – all I had to do was throw him into the path of a monster and tell the Clan something startled him onto it, and then-

"So?" Fireheart questioned.

I glared at him for ripping me out of my thoughts. But instead of killing him like I wanted to, I sucked in a deep breath. "You're welcome," I told him bluntly, then took off at my best speed into the trees, leaving a shocked Fireheart standing alone by the thunderpath.

Maybe he would just wander onto it and get killed by himself. Miracles do happen, after all.

. . .

Fireheart's POV

"Breakdown"

It took me ages to get over the shock that Tigerclaw, of all cats, had chosen to save Cinderpaw. I needed to know why in order to comprehend what had happened that day, but it wasn't like I could have gone up to Tigerclaw and asked. That one action had turned my entire world upside down. Maybe that was why? To shake me? Because why else would Tigerclaw do something as heroic and noble as jumping onto the thunderpath to save Cinderpaw when he normally would have jumped at the chance to wound me?

I needed Graystripe.

Like, seriously.

As Tigerclaw ran off into the trees after Cinderpaw, I could literally feel my brain blowing up. Had Tigerclaw seriously just risked his life to save my apprentice?

Dumbfounded and numb, I padded in the direction of the RiverClan border. I didn't even feel my normal pang of frustration and annoyance at the fact that at this point, whenever I wanted my best friend my paws instinctively took me to the river instead of to camp. They wouldn't be doing that if he didn't insist on breaking the warrior code every single day to meet Silverstream, but Graystripe just wouldn't see sense.

When I got to their meeting spot, sure enough Graystripe was weaving around Silverstream purring and laughing. It wasn't until I let out a feeble groan and collapsed, paws on my head, that he noticed me.

"Fireheart! What's going on?" he exclaimed, bounding over to me with Silverstream right behind him. "Are you hurt?"

I stared at him with wide eyes. How did I say it?

"Graystripe… Tigerclaw saved Cinderpaw from getting run over by a monster. There wasn't even anyone there at the time to witness him letting her die!" I managed at last.

His eyes stretched open further than I thought they could go. "What?"

"Tigerclaw saved Cinderpaw's life," I repeated.

We stared at each other for at least a solid minute, united in our attempts to comprehend the insanity of what had happened. For once, Silverstream was forgotten. I would have appreciated the moment if my mind wasn't busy turning to goo. Yes, it was official: Tigerclaw's actions had blown my mind. Was I just dreaming? Surely, I was dreaming. There was no way Tigerclaw could have saved Cinderpaw, so I was probably just hallucinating, right?

But… Tigerclaw said it had happened. Cinderpaw said it had happened. StarClan, she'd practically been worshipping the ground Tigerclaw walked on by the time I'd arrived. And even though I didn't know why, I knew it was true.

Tigerclaw really had saved Cinderpaw's life at the risk of his own.

I shook my head slightly, amazed. There really was a day for everything.

"Why is this such a surprise?" Silverstream asked curiously. "I mean, why wouldn't he save Cinderpaw? A-and why do you think he would have let her die?"

Looking at Graystripe, I realized he hadn't told her about Tigerclaw's… well, deeds.

Interesting, part of me thought offhandedly. So, Graystripe does have the sense to keep something from Silverstream. Although he'll probably spill everything if she asks him to.

"It's nothing," I said at last. "Tigerclaw just really doesn't like me. And when Tigerclaw hates someone, he really hates them, so by extension he doesn't like Graystripe or Cinderpaw either. Cinderpaw is no more than vermin as far as Tigerclaw is concerned, not if it hurts me."

There. It wasn't a lie, but it definitely wasn't the whole truth.

Graystripe narrowed his eyes at me, clearly unhappy that I had just lied to Silverstream, but after a few heartbeats he shrugged. I knew he was probably thinking that knowing about Tigerclaw's treachery would put Silverstream in danger – speaking of which, that was probably why Graystripe hadn't already told Silverstream, not a sense of loyalty to Clan secrets.

"Yeah," my best friend supplied, right on cue. "Fireheart's been really worked up about it. He's always been worried that Tigerclaw might let Cinderpaw or I get hurt because of his personal grudge for Fireheart."

"Oh," Silverstream said, frowning. "I'm sorry, Fireheart. I didn't know you two had such a heated relationship."

She fell silent, and Graystripe and I didn't bother to say anything else. I was back to freaking out about the situation and, without a doubt, I knew Graystripe was doing the same.

"Does this mean Ravenpaw was wrong about, you know, what he saw?" Graystripe asked absentmindedly after a few minutes had passed.

"Wait, what?" I exclaimed, bristling.

Graystripe glanced at Silverstream quickly. "Well, if he did what Ravenpaw said and he knows we know, then there's no way he would save Cinderpaw. So, then Tigerclaw is actually good and Ravenpaw just made up the whole story, but…"

"It just doesn't add up," I mewed confusedly, shaking my head.

"Exactly," Graystripe agreed. "There's no way!"

We looked at each other. "But…"

. . .

Cinderpaw's POV

"Idol"

Ugh. Now that I know the truth, I'm so disgusted with myself and how I acted. After Tigerclaw saved me, I admired him so much. I nearly even forgot about my apprentice crush on Fireheart, I was that infatuated with him! Luckily, Fireheart uncovered Tigerclaw's treachery no more than a season later and I was saved from further embarrassment. But it doesn't change the fact that I practically waited on his every demand. I just about glowed if he payed me attention. I was such a mousebrain.

As I walked into camp beside Fireheart after a long hunting expedition, I instantly searched for Tigerclaw so I could show him my catches. I had actually done really good today and had even caught a rabbit alongside my sparrow and two mice. For a second, I nearly thought that Tigerclaw was in his den or out of camp, but then I noticed him sitting in the shadows with Darkstripe.

Saying a goodbye to Fireheart that was heavily muffled by the prey in my mouth, I rushed over to the fresh-kill pile with my head held high. I dropped off all of my prey except for the rabbit, then turned and trotted over to Tigerclaw.

"Hi, Tigerclaw!" I exclaimed, dropping my rabbit his paws. "I brought this over in case you were hungry. I caught it myself!"

Tigerclaw turned away from Darkstripe and – yes, yes, yes – at me!

Humming, he examined my catch. "Not too bad. You were lucky to find a rabbit in leaf-bare."

"I know! I caught a sparrow and two mice, too," I mewed, eyes shining with delight that Tigerclaw was speaking to me.

"Well done," Tigerclaw praised, glancing at Darkstripe. "And thank you for the rabbit."

His tone was dismissing, but I didn't mind. I charged over to the safety of my den beaming like the sun to freak out – in a good way of course – over Tigerclaw and then think more about how awesomely brave and perfect he was. I couldn't feel better.

After all, the Tigerclaw had just complimented me on my catch! This was the best day ever!

I was so delighted that I completely missed Fireheart's irritated look following me all the way from Tigerclaw to the apprentices' den. He had definitely been more uptight lately, but I couldn't figure out why. Maybe he was just scared that I might get hurt again? But Tigerclaw would save me if I was in danger, I knew it.

Anyways, no one was inside to hear me blubbering so I simply collapsed in my nest and sighed happily. "He's so cool! Not only is he the best warrior in the whole entire forest, but he's so brave and he's deputy! And he noticed me!"

A lot of times it was hard to approach Tigerclaw because he was always busy whenever I was in camp, so this was a rare but well-cherished pleasure.

I continued freaking out for at the least the next ten minutes until Fireheart poked his head into my den.

Embarrassed that my crush – I mean, it would be weird to like Tigerclaw, he was too old compared to me so sadly it could never be – might have seen or heard me rambling about Tigerclaw. I clamped my jaws shut and tried to act like I had just woken up from a nap.

"Hey, Fireheart," I said, giving a fake yawn to try and uphold my ruse.

"Cinderpaw, we're going on the border patrol with Sandstorm," Fireheart informed me.

I groaned.

You know what was strange? Ever since Tigerclaw saved my life, it's like Fireheart has been trying to keep me out of camp as much as possible. Which doesn't make sense if Fireheart is scared for my safety, especially since it means he's keeping me away from Tigerclaw.

Wait a second… I hated to consider the possibility, but was Fireheart actively trying to keep me away from Tigerclaw?

"I already spent the whole day hunting," I complained. "Can't I stay in camp?"

Can't I stay where Tigerclaw is?

"No," Fireheart snapped. "ThunderClan doesn't have unlimited warriors, Cinderpaw."

And that's the other thing. Whenever I express wanting some extra free time or a day off, or even just mention going back to camp, Fireheart gets all tense and moody and pulls out some mouse-brained reason for me to be working harder. Apparently, in order to become a warrior, I need to spend at least, like, half the day pouring all my energy into running around and pleasing Fireheart. It's gotten super annoying, but I never rebuke him. I trust him, after all. Plus, if Fireheart gets annoyed and starts to dislike me, that would be really bad for our relationship… err, not that we have a relationship yet, but still!

So, kind of sighing internally, I rose to my paws.

. . .

Fernpaw's POV

"Change of Path"

I guess it really wasn't that bad. I mean, Yellowfang's death and the fire was terrible, but being forced to become a medicine cat to fill Yellowfang's place could have been worse. At first, I hated it – Dustpelt and I had been very close, and I, personally, loved him; I didn't want to live a life where having a mate was forbidden. But nowadays I know that the hustle and bustle of border patrols and hunting wasn't meant for me. I'd much rather stay in the nursery or be a medicine cat, and a medicine cat was exactly what ThunderClan needed. In the end, I'm proud to have been that cat, whether I wanted to be or not.

The whole Clan turned to face Fireheart as he emerged from Bluestar's den. He had been in there for hours to discuss with Bluestar. Rumors had been flying over just what the leader and deputy were discussing, and the entire Clan had agreed that it had to do with our lack of a medicine cat.

Fireheart, not bothering for anything else, swarmed straight up the highrock.

It used to be odd, Fireheart giving Clan meetings. We all wonder why Bluestar doesn't do them herself anymore, but Whitestorm and Fireheart are always telling us that she's simply tired or has a light cold or something like that, so I mean I guess it's okay.

"ThunderClan, as you all know, we lost Yellowfang in the fire. And while she was a friend to many, she was also a medicine cat to all. Bluestar and I have been talking about what to do, and in the end, we've decided upon a new medicine cat," Firestar announced. "Although there is no one here in ThunderClan to train her, we are certain that one of the other Clans will allow their medicine to teach her."

"Who is she?" Golderflower called from near the nursery. Bramblekit and Tawnykit were perched on either side of the queen.

Fireheart nodded to her. "That's a good question. Bluestar and I have chosen Fernpaw to be our next medicine cat."

Everything seemed to stop.

Me? I was supposed to be the next medicine cat?

But… I was going to be a warrior! I couldn't be a medicine cat, and what about Dustpelt? How were we supposed to be mates if I was medicine cat? I mean, we weren't mates yet, but hopefully when I became a warrior…

I gulped.

There was no becoming a warrior, not anymore. My leader and deputy had chosen me to be their new medicine cat; it wasn't like I had a choice in the matter. The warrior code said that a leader's word was law, after all. If I refused, I'd be breaking the warrior code.

"You can't make her be a medicine cat!"

I realized it was Dustpelt yowling, standing beside me with back arched and tail lashing.

My heart warmed at his defense of my rights, but what choice was there? I would always love Dustpelt, but the medicine cat code forbade relationships

"I'm sorry, Fernpaw," Fireheart mewed, ignoring Dustpelt and looking at me instead. "I understand if you're angry. Bluestar and I just thought that you were the best possible choice for the job. Trust me, I'd rather it be by choice, but we need a medicine cat as soon as possible."

I opened my mouth. I wanted to protest but for some reason I couldn't form the words. "I- okay," I said in a tiny voice.

Cinderflame, who was one of my friends, looked distressed. "That's not fair, Fireheart. She should get to choose! Although, I… I do get where you're coming from." Her voice trailed away, and she shot me an unhappy look.

"What if she doesn't want to be a medicine cat?" My brother, Ashpaw, challenged. "Why can't someone else do it?"

Fireheart twitched his whiskers. "I know this may seem unfair, and again, I don't like it anymore that the rest of you do. But not just anyone can be a medicine cat, and the health of the Clan is more important than the happiness of any one cat. Otherwise we'd never have dawn patrols or go hunting in leaf-bare when it's cold."

I glanced at Ashpaw. He had fallen silent, clearly torn between his loyalty to me and his loyalty to the leaders of his Clan.

Sighing, I turned to my beloved Dustpelt. He was still bristling, and I could tell he was about to spew out more protests.

"Stop, Dustpelt," I told him softly.

He looked at me, eyes full of pain. "What do you mean, stop? You can't just let him make you a medicine cat! What about you? What about… What about us?"

I lowered my gaze, staring at the ground. "I don't like it either. I want to be a warrior, I really do. I want to be with you. But the Clan needs me to do this. Can't you understand? We don't have a choice about this. I don't have a choice about this."

Dustpelt stiffened and looked away. I wondered if it was possible for my heart to physically break.

But Fireheart's gaze fell on my once more, proud and sympathetic. "Thank you."

. . .

Cinderflame's POV

"Family"

I never did become mates with Fireheart. He was Sandstorm's, and Sandstorm was his. But I still managed to find happiness in the end with Ashfur. He calmed my wild, carefree spirit and I lightened his calm, serious attitude. Together, we were one. When we had to move from the forest to the lake, I knew I hadn't lost my home because I had him. When my mother, Frostfur, chose to stay behind in the forest, I knew it wasn't the end of the world because I had him. Whenever life seemed bad, I knew it would always be okay, because I had him.

Purring loudly, I watched as my three beautiful, newly born kits suckled at my belly. Ashfur was curled around me, our tails entwined. If you had asked me if I planned to have kits when I was a young warrior, I would have said no way; but now, as I lay here with my mate and children, I couldn't be happier.

"What do you think we should name them?" Ashfur asked, brushing his tail over their pelts gently.

I rested my head on Ashfur's side, exhausted from the kitting. "I… I don't know."

That wasn't a surprise. I'd always been terrible at naming things. Instead of trying to come up with names that simply weren't in me, I studied our three bundles of fluff. They looked so tiny laying there. The firstborn, a smoky gray tom, looked much like me. But the more I watched him, the more I got the sense that he would be a calm, clear-headed leader like his father. My second kit, a she-kit, had long, feathery pale gray tabby fur. Thought she didn't look much like either Ashfur or I in coloring, I could see Ashfur's face in her own. And lastly, the third kit had gray-and-white fur like a combination of my sister, Brightheart, and myself.

"I actually have a name or two in mind for the tabby she-kit," Ashfur said after a moment of silence.

Glancing at him, I shrugged. "Go on."

"Well, I was thinking we could do Frostkit, after your mother, or Featherkit, after her fur," he explained.

My heart warmed. "Those are both beautiful," I purred. "Thank you." I didn't have to bother with telling him what I meant by that – he already knew.

Ashfur's eyes softened and he licked my ear affectionately. "Which one do you think is better?"

"Actually, since you mentioned mothers… I think she looks a lot like Brindleface, actually, just without the flecks," I mewed after a moment. "I think she should be Brindlekit, after your mother. And then, maybe Frostkit could be our other daughter; she does have white patches after all."

"I'd like that," Ashfur answered softly, purring.

I turned to the first but last kit, our only son. "And for him…"

We went back to the silence, contemplating names in our head.

"Smokekit," Ashkit said confidently.

I looked at the kit and rolled my eyes. "Of course! We missed the most obvious choice of name!"

Ashfur laughed. He drew his tail over the kits once more, mewing, "Welcome to ThunderClan, little kits."

So even if Tigerclaw was an evil fox-heart… I was glad that he had saved me, for without him I never would have gotten to find happiness with Ashfur and our kits. I would have died without living a full life, without ever moving past my crush on Firestar and seeing the tom who was truly mine, not another's.

I guess that even though there is so much that I hate Tigerclaw for, there is a part of me that will always be grateful.

Alrighty, well, time to defend my choices. For warrior name, Cinderpaw was a very fiery cat. She only calmed down once she had her accident and had to become a medicine cat; so, one could reason that if that hadn't happened that she never would have mellowed, hence -flame. Of course some people (aka the big Warriors name dictionary) does argue that -flame is more for a reserved/wise cat, but that's also what Cinderpelt became after her accident, so you could argue that it still fits.

As for Ashfur, he didn't turn evil until after he was rejected, and so, if he was never rejected, he never would have been evil. (Not saying that it was Squirrelflight's fault, Ashfur is the one who could not cope with being turned down.) Meanwhile, Cinderflame and Squirrelflight are both very fiery cats in this alternate What If, similarly spunky, but Cinderflame's older - Ashfur got to know her first, and thus fell in love with her first and never fell in love with Squirrelflight. And because Cinderflame's a warrior, she gets to fall in love in return.

Please consider dropping a review! Constructive criticism, What If suggestions, error pointers, and whatever else is all welcome. And with that, I'll see you next time - the next two What Ifs are some of my favorites so I'm pretty excited!

Syrup / Rain