"Whiteclaw!"

Fireheart raced to Graystripe's side as the RiverClan deputy desperately searched the waters below. The battle had completely stopped, the RiverClan cats staring in shock and horror at the death of their own. His friend was trembling and his eyes were wide with horror.

"I-I tried to help him," Graystripe stammered. "I had him, I had him but I-I was bumped-"

Fireheart draped his tail over his friend's hips while the rest of the ThunderClan patrol surrounded them forming a defensive blockade between Graystripe and RiverClan.

"...RiverClan retreat," Leopardfur said finally. "This has gone beyond a border scuffle."

The RiverClan cats gathered behind her and slowly backed away, shocked by this turn of events.

"Border scuffle," Deadfoot scoffed. "This wouldn't've happened if RiverClan had stayed on their side of the border."

He dipped his head to Tigerclaw, "WindClan will always remember that it was ThunderClan that brought us home."

He and Onewhisker turned and began making the journey back to the WindClan camp. Fireheart felt a pang of worry- just because Leopardfur's patrol had retreated didn't mean there weren't other RiverClan patrols laying in wait. Or a ShadowClan patrol hoping to take advantage of the exhausted WindClan cats.

He refocused his attention on the trembling Graystripe, a bit of worry twinging in his heart. Sandpaw pulled away from where she was standing, slack faced with horror after Whiteclaw and joined him with Graystripe. While she helped him encourage Graystripe onward, she stuttered every few tail lengths as if startled. The patrol moved at a snail's pace- the camp had never seemed so far and the brush so thick.

Fireheart flicked his ear, getting Sandpaw's attention as they entered the camp.

"Go see Spottedleaf," he told her. "Ask for some poppy seeds."

It was a testament to her shock that she nodded blankly at him, not even attempting to claim she was alright and slunk over to the medic den.

Fireheart allowed Graystripe to lean more heavily on him as he followed Whitestorm and Tigerclaw to Bluestar's den. Fireheart felt a slight prickle of annoyance at Tigerclaw- why is he involved in this? He doubted that Tigerclaw was leading the patrol that Whitestorm was in. He swallowed his growl of annoyance and focused on Graystripe.

Bluestar sat up from where she was laying on her rock, scoring the ground in what Fireheart supposed were hunting areas or guard routines. Intrigue pricked at his pelt but this wasn't the time to ask.

"Fireheart?" Bluestar prompted, watching Graystripe flop down heavily with a twitch of her ear. "You returned. Is WindClan back in their hunting grounds?"

"Yes," Fireheart reported. "And Tallstar is very grateful for ThunderClan's assistance."

She purred, "Wonderful. Tigerclaw, do you have something to add?"

The tom shot Fireheart an agitated glare, "Fireheart and Graystripe provoked a battle with RiverClan returning home."

"RiverClan provoked themselves," Fireheart retorted. "They ambushed us on the moor."

"You shouldn't've fought for WindClan," he snapped. "RiverClan will think we have an alliance with them!"

"What would be the purpose of returning WindClan to their home just to let them get chased off by RiverClan immediately?" Fireheart said, narrowing his eyes.

"The battle was serious," Whitestorm broke in. He gave Fireheart and Tigerclaw a warning look making both of them huff but quiet down. "We heard them fighting all the way from the Owl Tree. Fireheart and Graystripe could've been badly injured."

Bluestar nodded to Whitestorm gratefully and Fireheart felt a flush of embarrassment, quickly thanking Whitestorm for his intervention.

"Whiteclaw of RiverClan was killed in the battle," Whitestorm reported. "He fell over the gorge and Leopardfur seemed to take it personally."

"It was an accident," Fireheart said. "Graystripe tried to pull him back up but Leopardfur bumped into him."

"How did you see that?"

"I'd just saved Sandpaw from falling too- I stopped trying to fight after that and tried to push cats away from the edge."

Whitestorm nodded slowly, "RiverClan will certainly take this as an alliance between us and WindClan. We should prepare for retaliation."

Bluestar hummed in agreement, "This will be trouble. Send Larkwing in when you leave."

She shook out her pelt, "Enough of that. Frostfur's kits are about six moons old and it's time for them to have mentors."

Before Fireheart could even feel excited, Tigerclaw- tail bristled- broke in.

"Why not give them more experienced warriors than Fireheart and Graystripe?" he prompted. "Like Darkstripe or Runningwind? They've only been warriors for a moon- half of which wasn't in camp."

Bluestar's left ear twitched, "Runningwind has expressed a desire to not be assigned an apprentice. He's willing to assist with others but would rather not take on one himself. Parents may not mentor their own kits and Frostfur has four of them."

Tigerclaw's eyes flashed but he dipped his head in acceptance of Bluestar's reasoning.

"Tigerclaw, let Mousefur know that she will be receiving an apprentice as well."

"As well?"

"You've proven to be more in control of your strength, Tigerclaw. You will receive an apprentice today."

For the first time since Fireheart had known the tabby warrior, joy poured off of Tigerclaw in suffocating waves. He raised his head, a barely audible pleased purr erupting from his chest that the warrior was clearly attempting to suppress.

Bluestar chuckled at her warrior's show of excitement, "Eat and rest. The ceremony will happen tonight."

Fireheart nudged the still silent Graystripe to his paws and escorted him from Bluestar's den with a nod. He led his friend directly to the medic's den where Spottedleaf sat outside.

Sandpaw must've told her about Graystripe, he mused to himself as Spottedleaf ushered him into the medic's clearing. Spottedleaf helped him settle his friend into one of the nests with a dried poppy head in her mouth.

"Make sure he eats these," Spottedleaf tells him softly. "Are you hurt?"

Fireheart flicked his ear dismissively, "Only a few scratches."

"Then rest."

Fireheart hummed his agreement and climbed into the nest with his friend. He licked Graystripe's head gently, resting his tail over his haunches. Fireheart only went to sleep himself Graystripe's eyes drifted shut.

Fireheart grumbled at the prodding feeling in his ribs, cracking open his eyes to stare up at an amused Spottedleaf.

"It's time for the apprentice ceremony," she purred. "Might want to take some time to groom yourselves before you're called up."

Fireheart felt alarm race through him like a bolt of lightning and shot up. He quickly began licking his pelt, flattening the parts of his fur sticking out in odd directions as Spottedleaf woke Graystripe. He refused to embarrass his potential apprentice by looking like he'd been dragged backwards through a bush. He finished straightening his whiskers and shook out his coat to ensure that it looked as if he'd been awake the whole time.

Graystripe joined him, subdued with his pelt sticking out in all directions. Fireheart quickly began licking down his fur for him. His excitement about getting an apprentice was quickly overshadowed by his concern for his friend. It seemed that the nap hadn't done anything for him- Graystripe looked just as tired as he had before. Maybe even more exhausted than before he'd gone to sleep.

"It wasn't your fault," Fireheart told him softly. "It was an accident. If anyone's to blame it's Leopardfur. RiverClan shouldn't've been on WindClan territory. And Bluestar doesn't blame you- you're getting an apprentice after all."

"Only because I've given RiverClan an excuse to hate us," Graystripe whispered, eyes locked on the ground.

Fireheart shook his head but didn't reply as Bluestar called the clan together. He couldn't imagine how Graystripe must feel having watched as Whiteclaw slipped from his paws. As much as he wanted to soothe him, he should probably leave it be. He led his friend to the base of Highrock where Tigerclaw and Mousefur sat, well groomed with their eyes gleaming with anticipation. Fireheart thinks this is the first time Tigerclaw had ever looked at him without malice or scorn.

"Cats of ThunderClan," Bluestar began. "Today is a wonderful day where we have four young cats emerging from the nursery to begin their path to warriorhood by becoming apprentices!"

She motioned to the first kit- a pale gray tabby tom with gleaming eyes and a long tail- strode forward.

"Thornkit you've now reached 6 moons of age and it's time for you to be apprenticed. Thornkit from this day on until you have earned your warrior name you shall be known as Thornpaw."

As she said this, Tigerclaw lumbered up the Highrock holding his head and tail high. Thornpaw stared up at him with awe and excitement, his tail waved excitedly as Bluestar continued the ceremony.

"Tigerclaw you've proven to be fearless and courageous and I believe that you are ready for an apprentice. You had a powerful mentor in Thistleclaw and I hope you can pass down your skills to Thornpaw."

Fireheart blinked as Tigerclaw touched noses with Thornpaw. A powerful mentor? Fireheart narrowed his eyes. Bluestar had been subtle and it almost went over his head but it was clear she either didn't approve of or had something against Tigerclaw's former mentor. He made a mental note to subtly ask around about a cat named 'Thistleclaw.' He refocused on Mousefur standing with a mostly pale orange tortie molly.

"Mousefur," Bluestar was saying. "You've proven yourself to be tenacious and clever and I think you're ready for an apprentice. You had an excellent mentor in Cedarwhisker and I hope you pass down his teachings to Brightpaw."

Mousefur and Brightpaw sat together at the base of the Highrock as Fireheart grinned, recognizing a familiar mostly gray kit racing up to Bluestar. She tripped, hitting the ground, squeaking, earning quiet laughter from the cats watching.

"Cinderkit," Bluestar said, stifling a chuckle. "You've now reached six moons of age and it's time for you to be apprenticed. Cinderkit from this day on until you've earned your warrior name, you shall be known as Cinderpaw."

She motioned and Fireheart climbed up the Highrock. As soon as Cinderpaw realized who her mentor was, she beamed a smile so wide Fireheart was worried she'd hurt herself. He sat calmly as Bluestar continued the ceremony.

"Fireheart you've proven to be determined and passionate and I believe you're ready for an apprentice. I was your mentor Fireheart and I expect you to pass on everything I've taught you to Cinderpaw."

Fireheart smiled and stepped forward pressing his nose to Cinderpaw's.

"I'm happy it's you," she whispered to him.

Fireheart felt pride flood his body as he walked back to the base of the Highrock with Cinderpaw practically squirming from her coat. He couldn't help himself and took a moment to lick between her ears and made no attempt to force her to sit down.

The final kit walked forward, far calmer than his siblings visibly trying to be proper.

"Brackenkit you've now reached six moons of age and it is time for you to be apprenticed. Brackenkit from this moment on until you've earned your warrior name, you shall be known as Brackenpaw."

Graystripe pulled himself to his paws and Fireheart noted him straightening up. A pang hit his heart as he watched his friend try to pull himself together for his apprentice's sake as he sat before Bluestar.

"Graystripe you've proven yourself to be brave and fierce and I believe you're ready for an apprentice. You had excellent mentors in Lionheart and Thrushpelt and I hope you pass down everything they've taught you to Brackenpaw."

With the final apprentice made, the clan began cheering even before Brackenpaw and Graystripe had reached the bottom of Highrock. As the clan sang praises for the new apprentices, Fireheart nudged Cinderpaw, getting her attention.

"I'm glad it's you too," he said.

The joy on her face warmed him all the way through the night.

Fireheart awoke in the warrior's den at dawn. It was the first time he'd gotten up before the bird without feeling the need to rip the pelt off of everyone within grasping distance. His stomach was filled with butterflies as he gathered his paws beneath himself and stretched. He extended his hind legs one at a time before shuffling forward and yawned.

Graystripe was already awake, he noted. Graystripe was still curled into a small ball, ears and whiskers drooping with exhaustion. Fireheart ducked his head and licked between his ears.

"Are you okay?" Fireheart asked him.

"...as alright as I can be."

Fireheart smiled a little- at least Graystripe was being honest with him. Shaking his head, he changed the subject.

"Where are you taking Brackenpaw?"

"A general territory patrol," he mumbled. "Maybe along the ShadowClan border."

Fireheart hummed, "Cinderpaw and I can go with you."

Graystripe tensed a little, seeming to curl in on himself.

"...maybe another day Fireheart," he said, not meeting his eyes.

Fireheart felt a slight sting at the rejection. He'd been really looking forward to walking with Graystripe- patrolling the territory and training their apprentices together. Still, he understood. Graystripe was still struggling with Whiteclaw and he probably didn't even want to bring Brackenpaw out.

"Alright," Fireheart murmured. "Maybe we can share a mouse and compare apprentices later then."

"Okay," said Graystripe.

Fireheart nuzzled his cheek one last time before padding from the den. He shook his head at the slightly chilly air nipping his ear and shook out his pelt. Hardly anyone was out and about while the sky was still dark and slightly blue.

Fireheart trotted over to the apprentice's den and gave a soft call for Cinderpaw. His suspicions about her being awake were proven right when she raced from the den and skid to a halt before him, bright eyes and trembling with excitement. Brackenpaw wandered out after her, yawning a bit as he sat beside her.

"You're a lot better about dawn patrol than I am," Fireheart chuckled at his apprentice and turned to Brackenpaw. "Graystripe will be out in a bit. Eat and stretch your muscles."

Brackenpaw nodded and trotted over to the fresh kill pile which was pretty low.

"Are you hungry?" Fireheart prompted Cinderpaw.

His apprentice shook her head, bouncing with excitement. Fireheart chuckled at her and motioned with his tail for her to follow him. She darted ahead, scampering through the tunnel entrance purring excitedly. Fireheart laughed and raced by her once he was through the tunnel, purring as he stopped at the top of the ravine.

Cinderpaw squealed and ran after him, clambering to the top of the ravine.

"Wow," she said with awe. "It looks like all the trees are made of Moonstone!"

Fireheart snorted, "Do you even know what the Moonstone looks like?"

"No," she admitted. "But I always dreamed that it looks sparkly and bright!"

Fireheart tilted his head, "You're not wrong. Save your energy though- you didn't eat and ThunderClan territory is vast."

Fireheart led her a short distance through the woods to the Sandy Hollow, climbing inside and letting her bound after him.

"This is the Sandy Hollow," he lectured. "Most of our training will happen here and when you have combat assessments, you'll be with your fellow apprentices here."

He took a pawful of the soft red sand and let it drizzle through his paws before her.

"A river used to run though here. Realizing that we needed a place to train, one of the Souls redirected the river. It left all of this sand here making it better to train in- and in greenleaf, the sand is warmer than the camp is. A stream runs through here but it's dry most of greenleaf.

"Which Soul?' Cinderpaw asked curiously.

Fireheart waved his tail, "Some say it was Sunsoul herself- that she dried up part of the river showing favor to ThunderClan. Other cats say it was Riversoul. They say that he directed the river to run along the RiverClan border to give them more defense against the other clans and give ThunderClan somewhere to train."

Cinderpaw was watching him raptly, her paws still moving, "What about the other Souls?"

Fireheart chuckled, "You'll hear more Soul tales from the Lecturers and the elders. I'll be teaching you to defend yourself and how to hunt. In fact, I even caught my first prey here."

"What was your first catch?" Cinderpaw asked excitedly. Before Fireheart could answer, she darted by him. "Do you think the stream is frozen?"

Fireheart sighed as trotted after his apprentice to the stream behind a rise. He was a little surprised to see that it was in fact frozen, his whiskers twitched in awe as the ice sparkled in the gentle light of dawn.

Fireheart flicks his tail across her back, drawing her attention.

"Come on, I'll show you the Owl Tree," he purred. Taking initiative from her tendency to bolt, he races off letting her follow him. He led her to a fallen tree and trotted across. His paws slipped a couple times but the stepping stones they could've used were farther down and risked Cinderpaw falling in. He wasn't confident about the strength of the ice and if she fell in, he'd have to take her straight back to camp to prevent her from getting sick.

He sniffed reflexively for any RiverClan cats around. All he could smell was the faint scent that signified the border and he led Cinderpaw into the neutral area.

"Now technically the Owl Tree isn't ThunderClan territory," Fireheart began. "We're on the first stretch to Fourtrees. But we're the closest to the tree alongside RiverClan so it's unofficially considered ThunderClan's."

"Does an owl really live up there?" Cinderpaw asked.

Fireheart nodded and tossed his head towards the trees, "See that hole up there?"

Cinderpaw tilted her head, "How do you know that's an owl hole and not a squirrel hole?"

Fireheart stifled his amusement.

"Use your nose," he suggested with a smile. When she sniffed the air, a confused expression on her face he added, "Try burrowing under the leaves."

She sniffed through the leaves, curiously and stuck her nose right at the base of the leaf litter. She made a strangled gagging noise and sat up with a small ball in her mouth. She spat it onto the ground, sputtering as Fireheart laughed.

"You knew that was there!" she accused.

Fireheart snickered, "Yeah. Bluestar played the same trick on me as an apprentice."

"What is that," she asked with disgust.

"An owl pellet," he infomed. "They eat all the same prey as us but they can't digest the bones and fur so their bellies make these pellets and they spit them out. If you find owl pellets, you'll know you've found an owl."

Cinderpaw looked up at him with wide horrified eyes, "Why would you want to find an owl?"

Fireheart shook his head, clearly she'd been told the stories of owls slipping into the camp in complete silence, snatching kits from their mother's side and carrying them off never to be seen again.

"On a windy day when it's hard to follow scents, you can find an owl and look for where it hunts," Fireheart told her. "In fact, once when ThunderClan was starving, before we'd been given the Sandy Hollow, Slysoul sent a ghost owl to lead one of ThunderClan's leaders to better hunting and saved the clan from the famine."

The fear left Cinderpaw's eyes replaced with awe as she stared up at the hole in the tree.

"Is this the same owl?" she asked.

"Probably not," said Fireheart. "But the elders say it's probably it's kin. If ThunderClan grows hungry once more, we're to find the owl tree and follow it again."

"...thank you Mr. Owl," Cinderpaw said finally. She dipped her head respectfully to the tree and turned back to Fireheart. "Where are we going next?"

Fireheart just flicked his tail and broke into a quick trot in the direction of Great Sycamore with Cinderpaw padding after him. He figures he could've taken her to Sunningrocks, it was far closer but he figured it was probably smarter to tire her out as much as possible before bringing her back to camp. So off they went, cutting through the center of the forest.

Fireheart slowed down as the massive tree came into sight. Cinderpaw's eager sprint faltered to an awed trot as she craned her neck trying to see the top of the tree.

"The Great Sycamore is said to have been here since ThunderClan was first founded," Fireheart remarked. "Climbing practice tends to happen here since it's so big, you could climb forever without reaching the top."

He paused.

"Although Smallear says that when he was an apprentice, he sat all the way on the highest branch."

Cinderpaw gasped, "But it's so tall!"

"Well mind you, this tree was probably still a sapling when Smallear was an apprentice."

Cinderpaw snickered and darted off. Fireheart's exasperation with her was taken over rapidly by alarm. She was running directly for Snakerocks. Fireheart thought he would have a heart attack when he saw just starting to climb the stones, about to stick her head right into one of the caverns.

"CInderpaw, stop!"

She must've heard the urgency in his voice because she skidded to a halt, looking over her shoulder to him curiously. FIreheart talked up to her, tail bristled and ears pinned against his head in frustration and worry.

"Adders live in there," he spat. "Just one bite could kill a cat as small as you! Don't run off like that!"

Cinderpaw shrank away from his voice and Fireheart took a deep breath to calm himself down. He forced his fur to flatten and licked the top of her head.

"Be more careful," he said gently. "This is ThunderClan territory but we share it with other creatures who will defend themselves from us."

"Yes Fireheart," she said, ducking her head. Fireheart licked her head one more time.

He sighed softly, "Come on- let's go see the Deer Trail."

Cinderpaw seemed to cheer up instantly though his words must've stuck because she stayed by his side instead of sprinting off. His tail flicked in relief- thank the sky kindlers that she does listen. They approached the deer trail very slowly. Fireheart did his best to hide his nerves from his apprentice as he let her sniff the scent around it,

"This scent should be familiar," he murmured to her. "This is the scent of ShadowClan."

She backed away from the deer trail, pressing against him. Fireheart rested his tail across her back.

"You're home now," he purred. "You're safe."

She pressed into his side, watching the bushes separated by the trampled grass of the deer trail. Cinderpaw took a deep breath, nuzzling into his shoulder before stepping back.

"...I remember being over there," she murmured. "Blackfoot had us. We saw Clawface get killed but there was something wrong- we couldn't say anything."

Fireheart licked her head and gently nudged her away from the deer trail.

"If I ever meet Blackfoot on the battlefield, I'm going to rip his ears off," she growled.

Fireheart left it at that. He guided her deeper into ThunderClan territory- intentionally leading them into brackens and bushes to remove the scent of ShadowClan. The farther they got from the border, the brighter eyed she became and the more energy she seemed to have.

"Where are we now?" Cinderpaw asked curiously, glancing around. She sniffed along a line of trees and reared up to sniff the scored bark.

"The Neutral Stretch," Fireheart purred. "This is Kingdom and Clan territory. Technically the Kingdom of the Shining Sun owns this territory but they offered hunting rights to ThunderClan."

"This is where you're from right?"

"Yes," Fireheart agreed.

"Can we go farther in?"

"Yes but don't start any fights."

"Why would I do that?"

"I met Bluestar by Dustpaw and Sandpaw attacking me and my sister," purred Fireheart with a smirk.

"What?!" squeaked Cinderpaw, her jaw falling open. "Why!?"

"They didn't know the Neutral Stretch didn't belong to ThunderClan," Fireheart purred. "They thought we were trespassing. So we kicked their tails."

Cinderpaw purred with amusement and Fireheart was delighted to discover that her ears twitched while she giggled. Fireheart turned to leave when he spotted a flash of brown out of the corner of his eye. He turned fully and spotted a familiar brown and while molly with sharp eyes. His tail went straight up and he purred even louder drawing Cinderpaw's attention.

"Isaria!" he called.

His sister glanced up and beamed at him. She came sprinting over and Fireheart blinked at her somewhat sluggish and stumbling gait before she crashed into him. She rubbed their cheeks together adoringly and pulled back smiling.

"Soryn! Ahasra said she's seen you around- you're so big now!" she purred.

"Even better, I'm a warrior now dun isina," Fireheart told her excitedly. "With my own apprentice even!"

He gestured to Cinderpaw who was staring at his sister, wide eyed.

"She's your Little Fang?" Isaria asked with wonder. "I'm so proud of you ilihira."

Fireheart felt his ears get hot and he ducked his head, averting his eyes at the cutesy nickname in front of Cinderpaw.

"Sari," he whined. "Not in front of Cinderpaw."

She licked his ear with a smirk, "Are you too grown up for nicknames now?"

He groaned as Cinderpaw giggled at him. Isaria sat on her haunches, licking her chest. Fireheart noted that her belly was large- almost distinct from her long furred coat. She gathered her paws beneath herself and she turned towards the Kingdom, obviously about to bid them goodbye. Fireheart's head snapped up and he met her eyes with shock as realization clicked in his head.

"You're pregnant!" he said with delight.

"And I've been restless ever since," she joked. "I have to head back home- I've been pacing the stretch all morning and my paws are sore."

"Alright," Fireheart purred. "We'll talk about these potential nephlings later then." He touched noses with his sister and watched her leave.

"Fireheart," prompted Cinderpaw as they turned back to the forest.

He flicked his tail, tilting his head.

"Do you ever miss your littermates?"

Fireheart sighed softly, "Every day and every night."

Walking back into camp, Fireheart was torn between being rejuvenated and feeling lonely as Cinderpaw instantly ran over to Brackenpaw, tackling him. The two siblings laughed and giggled before launching an attack on their sister, who'd made the mistake of poking her head out of the apprentice's den.

He spotted Graystripe eating by the warrior's den and quickly trotted over. He approached warily, checking his friend for the heavy sadness from this morning. To his surprise, Graystripe purrs in greeting to him and scoots over. His eyes are bright and he shoves Fireheart playfully when he sniffs him.

"I saved you mouse- as promised," he says, pushing one over.

Fireheart grinned, "Thanks I'm starving. Cinderpaw had me running everywhere today. She has more energy than a rabbit on catmint."

Graystripe sputtered and cackled at his description, "Brackenpaw was way calmer. He's eager to learn and so proper about it. Honestly I kept forgetting that I was the mentor."

"So did I," Fireheart purred. "She said the stream was frozen and I had to suppress the urge to go poke it."

"Which stream?" Graystripe asked instantly.

"The one in the hollow."

"Woah," said Graystripe. "I'm totally going to poke it at some point. Mark my words."

Fireheart purred at him as Graystripe started grooming his head.

"...how are you doing?" Fireheart asked gently.

Graystripe paused for a moment, "Better than yesterday. It keeps playing in my head but today was less… overwhelming than it was to begin with."

"Good," said Fireheart. "I'm always here for you Graystripe. If you need to talk or rant or be distracted."

Graystripe looked at him and an unreadable expression crossed his face. His eyes softened as he touched noses with Fireheart.

"I know- thank you little finch," Graystripe said.

Fireheart yawned and Graystripe nudged him to his paws and guided him into the warriors den. They leaned on each other, stumbling a little into their joint nest. Fireheart flopped down first letting Graystripe curl around him. Fireheart buried his face in Graystripe's fur, purring as Graystripe licked his head. He fell asleep quickly, loneliness soothed by the affection he felt for the gray warrior beside him.