Bright half moon shone above behind the clouds. It was at its highest point in the sky, illuminating the swift-moving cats below. They yowled between themselves, interrupting whatever silence the forest enjoyed prior.

Half of the group was soaked, however they didn't seem to mind the extra weight in their pelts; they fought as fiercely as their dry opponents. They were RiverClan, expert swimmers among the Clans; a feat other warriors could only dream of.

A shriek rose above all others, coming from a brown female cat as she was pinned to the ground. A fire red tom rushed to her side, knocking the enemy down and freeing her.

"Mousefur, run!" he ordered, turning around to hiss at the enemy cat and blocking his path as his friend escaped. When he saw she had disappeared behind the bushes, the red tom sprung forward, pinning the RiverClan cat in a way they were face-to-face. "Oakheart!" he spat. "How much more blood is RiverClan willing to spill over Sunningrocks!?"

"As much as it's necessary until ThunderClan realizes they belong to us!" Oakheart replied, not at all intimidated by the tom's huge size. "And after tonight, Fireheart, we will prove it!"

Fireheart fluffed out his pelt, making him look twice his size. Oakheart was unfazed at this; he didn't react, not even when the ThunderClan warrior rose his paw with unsheathed claws to swipe at him, nor when his muzzle opened showing a pair of sharp, white fangs.

"ThunderClan, retreat!" That distraction was enough for Fireheart to loosen his grip on the RiverClan warrior, who shook him off and ran away atop one of the Sunningrocks, staring back at Fireheart with a smug shine in his eyes.

"Redtail, no!" Fireheart turned around to face a tortoiseshell. "This is ThunderClan territory! We can't afford to lose more hunting places, not at a time like this!"

"ThunderClan will honor your loyalty and bravery, Fireheart," Redtail meowed calmly. "But ThunderClan cannot afford to lose any more warriors. We will avenge this defeat another time."

Fireheart was shocked. He had lived for so many moons, and had never seen ThunderClan warriors losing a battle before, much less retreating like scared mice. He had to admit the deputy had a point; he had taken a glance at Mousefur's wounds and RiverClan warriors wanted to leave a huge scar in ThunderClan pride with whatever dirty tricks needed.

Redtail led the Clan into the darkness. The RiverClan cats stared after them, tails high in the air. Oakheart, still atop the rock, let out a triumphant yowl. Fireheart was the last to leave the battlefield and, taking a final glance at the older warrior, leaped into the darkness of the forest.

ThunderClan returned to camp, heads hanging low and tails dragging to the floor. A few warriors were limping, helped along by their Clanmates.

A she-cat stared at the arriving warriors, tail flicking back and fort. She had no expression in her face, and none of the warrior even glanced at her direction; they simply returned to the dens, or were taken to the medicine den. A few of them, however, stuck around and rested in the clearing, bathed in the moonlight. The female cat stared at the sky, surrounded by wounded Clanmates resting and licking each other's scars in dejected fashion. She sighed, closing her deep blue eyes; a rare trait for a gray-blue feline as herself. She opened her eyes again as the sound of quick pawsteps alerted her.

"Spottedleaf," she meowed at the newcomer, dipping her head. "How is Mousefur?" There was genuine worry and guilt in her voice.

"She was badly hurt, Bluestar," Spottedleaf replied. "Fortunately she is young, but will take some time to recover."

Bluestar sighed, unsure of how to feel about it. "What about the others?"

"Everyone else will recover quickly."

"That's good to hear."

The two females felt silent. Spottedleaf sat beside the leader, staring up at the moon with her. She was a petite but beautiful calico, not fit for the brute warrior duties but perfect to be the Clan's healer. Bluestar was grateful for her talents; if anyone was capable of healing Mousefur's wounds, it would be Spottedleaf. But she couldn't help but worry, how could Oakheart, of all things, fight so viciously with a ThunderClan cat?

"I'm glad to have you here, Spottedleaf," Bluestar meowed after a moment's silence, making the medicine cat's ear rigid with surprise. "In this trying times, a talent like yours is imperial. Has StarClan shared any messages with you?"

"Not for many moons," the healer replied, hanging her head. "We just have to be patient. Our ancestors would never abandon us."

As if on cue, a shooting star flashed for a second on the sky. Spottedleaf looked up at it, as if she was expecting it to appear. Her pelt rose and she shivered, her dark pupils widening. Bluestar said no word, she just waited until Spottedleaf gasped and looked at her.

"It was a message from StarClan!" she gasped, her expression softening. "Only the flaming tiger can save our Clan."

Bluestar's eyes widened. The flaming tiger? she thought, confused. She had no idea what could it mean, and hoping for answers, she stared at Spottedleaf.

But the healer just shook her head.

"If StarClan say so, then it must be." She made a pause and looked up at Starpelt. "The flaming tiger will save our Clan."

AN: So yeah, this story is "what if Firepaw and Tigerclaw" switched places. It will be fun to see how much the story can diverge from this switch, as I'm going to try to keep many elements of their original personalities but also seeing how they would change based on their circumstances. It isn't going to be Into the Wild with switched names, obviously, but I don't have much planned so let's see how it goes. This story is intended for Warriors fans, assuming they have an understanding of the Clan system, Clan cat words, and know all of the characters in the first book, which means a lot of the exposition and world building details will be skimmed over.