Fireheart waited patiently by the camp entrance as the sun warmed his pelt. Brackenpaw and Cinderpaw appeared at the same time, walking together mouths laden with their catches from their successful hunting assessment. He waited for them to put their prey down so he could give them their corrections and criticism but he made no attempts to hide the pride at their success- not even Tigerclaw and Darkstripe could say something negative about their hunting skills.

"You both did amazingly," Fireheart started focusing on Cinderpaw first. "You rushed a bit when you were trying for an extra mouse. Your steps were so hard it was like a minor earthshake- that's what scared them off."

He turned to Brackenpaw.

"You need to loosen up a bit- your stances were perfect but anytime the environment changed you seemed to panic. A good warrior is adaptable to his circumstances."

The two apprentices nodded, not looking all that put out with the advice- he wasn't surprised. Fireheart's pride from them flowed from his voice, taking the sting out of any of his corrections. They'd made little mistakes but overwhelmingly he was impressed with their work and they knew it.

"Go put your catches on the fresh kill pile then follow me to the sandy hollow."

They purred their agreement and strutted into camp, their haul dangling from their mouths with their heads held high.

By the time they got to the sandy hollow, the sparring matches had already started. Neither Whitestorm nor Darkstripe were there which didn't surprise Fireheart. He was fairly certain he'd seen Sandpaw and Dustpaw getting ready to leave camp together. It wouldn't be fair to put these fresh apprentices against a pair of cats who were bigger, stronger, faster and more thoroughly trained than they were.

At this point, Whitestorm was starting to teach Sandpaw and Dustpaw advanced hunting techniques for those who'd dedicated themselves to hunting branch.

Thornpaw and Swiftpaw were already sparring as Fireheart took his spot on the mentor's side of the hollow beside Willowpelt who sent him a smile. Brightpaw cheered on Swiftpaw as Lynxpaw rallied Thornpaw. Brackenpaw and Cinderpaw ran over to their friends and quickly picked sides themselves.

As he watched the two apprentices spar, Fireheart had to admit, even if Tigerclaw was a pain in the tail, he was a good mentor. Thornpaw was very clever, baiting Swiftpaw into various bad positions to defend himself in though Longtail too was a decent mentor because Swiftpaw lived up to his name easily leaping and twisting just out of grasp.

Finally Thornpaw baited Swiftpaw into another bad defense but this time, he feinted to the right. Swiftpaw twisted left and Thornpaw quickly changed directions, grasping him in his paws and slamming him to the ground. Swiftpaw released a gasp of pain and surprise and Tigerclaw called the match.

"Winner, Thornpaw!"

Thornpaw climbed off of Swiftpaw who clambered to his paws, panting.

"You're fast," complained Thornpaw. "I could barely keep up."

"We'll have to work on that," Tigerclaw agreed. "WindClan would run circles around you. You've mastered baiting opponents although you need to be careful- if your opponent is too powerful, baiting will cause you more trouble than it's worth."

Thornpaw nodded, accepting the advice as Longtail spoke to Swiftpaw.

"Overall you were very skilled but you have to control your temper and your impulsiveness," Longtail told him. "You let him keep baiting you instead of controlling the battle with your superior speed. If you were leading a patrol, you could've gotten yourself and your clanmates ambushed."

"You're right," Swiftpaw agreed, ducking his head sheepishly.

"Only takes being slammed into the ground to get it through your head then?" the pale warrior smirked at his apprentice.

Swiftpaw laughed boisterously, "I have to learn at some point right?"

Longtail shook his head fondly as Swiftpaw walked over to the sidelines with Thornpaw and laid down.

"Next," Tigerclaw began. "Brightpaw and Lynxpaw!"

As the two apprentices bounded to the center, Willowpelt and Mousefur straightened up and their gazes sharpened.

"Ready? Begin!"

Lynxpaw didn't hesitate to go on the offensive and Brightpaw visibly panicked, scrambling back as fast as her paws allowed her. Lynxpaw reminded him of Sandpaw he mused as she leveraged raw aggression against a much more passive and smaller opponent.

It didn't take long for Brightpaw to get over being startled and start pointedly dodging Lynxpaw with ulterior motives. Each leap out of the way became punctuated with a sharp swipe, a nip or headbutt against her flank. Lynxpaw seemed a tad flustered now that her aggressive tactics weren't working as flawlessly and faltered a bit. Brightpaw took the opportunity and lashed out at her paws. Lynxpaw stumbled and slammed into the ground, Brightpaw pouncing on her.

Before Tigerclaw could call the match however, Lynxpaw threw her off and rolled to her paws. Though she was somewhat shaky and she was wiggling her nose, she was on her paws and Brightpaw had been sent flying. It was like watching himself sparring against Sandpaw for the first time before he'd realized her greater size would always beat his cleverness if he wasn't careful. Lynxpaw took advantage of Brightpaw being stunned by the impact on the ground and pinned her down.

"Winner, Lynxpaw!" Tigerclaw called instantly.

"Yes!" Lynxpaw cheered hopping off. "Good one with the tripping. I'm going to have to ask Spottedleaf for something for my nose."

Brightpaw just groaned as she gathered her paws beneath herself.

"You need to work on your initiative," Mousefur told her, flicking her tail. "You were caught off guard for so long an enemy warrior could have clawed you and run off. Well done with your strategy for handling her charges- against a cat more your size, you would've won that."

Brightpaw straightened up with pride and Fireheart understood why. Mousefur wasn't sparse with praise but it was hard to earn and usually followed up with a sharp criticism. She was right to be proud of herself.

"Opposite problem Lynxpaw," said Willowpelt with a chuckle. "Well done for going in so aggressively and forcing your opponent to recover from your attack. But charging every time isn't a good idea- you're not always going to be bigger than your opponent and throwing them off won't be an option."

"Okay," agreed Lynxpaw chipperly and helped Brightpaw off to the side lines.

Fireheart straightened up as his two apprentices were called into the center. He felt nerves prickle under his pelt as he realized this wasn't just an assessment of apprentices but also an assessment of mentors. If Fireheart was teaching them badly, it would reflect in their skills and the criticism he offered.

"Begin!"

The battle started predictably- Cinderpaw explodes into action reminiscent of Lynxpaw advancing on her brother immediately. Unlike Brightpaw, Brackenpaw was used to his sister and expected this so he easily dodged her attacks seeking an opening. He lunged, performing a uniform front paw blow towards Cinderpaw's head. Cinderpaw ducked with the blow using her movement to lessen the strike and rolled off to the side.

Cinderpaw went back on the offensive lunging for Brackenpaw's tail only for her brother to quickly tuck it in and whirl around and echo her move. Cinderpaw merely lashed out a single hind paw into his face making Brackenpaw stumble back. The molly leapt on top of him and went for a belly rake only for Brackenpaw to send her flying. Cinderpaw crashed into the ground and laid on the ground panting.

"Winner Brackenpaw!" announced Tigerclaw.

"You did great Brackenpaw," Fireheart praised. "The stances for all of your moves were perfect. Same problem from hunting- your moves were too perfect. Instead of adapting to how Cinderpaw was attacking you, you tried to do the move as if you were practicing alone which is why she was able to overwhelm you so easily."

Brackenpaw dipped his head in acknowledgement. Fireheart had a feeling that though he'd accepted his criticism earlier when it came to hunting, having to spar with Cinderpaw made it clear to him what Fireheart was talking about.

"Cinderpaw, well done with your initiative and instinct for adapting your techniques for an active battle experience- kicking out like that would surprise a lot of enemies. Your biggest problem was your eyes."

"My eyes?" she asked.

"You were always looking exactly where you were attacking," Fireheart agreed. "You pointed your paws that way too- your body completely told on you with every attack you made."

"Oh," Cinderpaw said. "Like when you were teaching us to look at the way a mouse is looking to predict where it's going?"

"Exactly," Fireheart purred. "If you were a mouse, it'd be easy to catch you."

"Well," Fireheart turned to Tigerclaw who was looking at the red sky and shook out his coat. "That was the last spar and it's sunset. Back to camp everyone."

Fireheart yawned as they stepped into camp earning a sympathetic expression from Willowpelt.

"Me too," she said.

Fireheart started towards the warrior's den only for Tigerclaw to step in front of him. Fireheart grunted as he slammed into the tabby's leg and stared up at him with a bemused look on his face.

Tigerclaw flicked his right ear looking slightly amused, "Apprentices may go to their den and rest. Mentors will choose some prey and follow me to Bluestar's den to report to her about the assessment."

When Longtail groaned with exhaustion, it was the first time that he and Fireheart had been on the same branch. He sulked over to the fresh kill pile as the apprentices yawned and wandered over to the apprentice's den to have a blissful sleep. He grabs the first thing he sees- a robin- and walks after Tigerclaw and clambers into Bluestar's den.

His former mentor was sitting on the smooth stone she usually was- likely soaking in the sunlight- finishing off a plump pigeon. Her fur seemed a bit messy and she coughed quietly before shaking her head. Tigerclaw sank down on the left side of the den with a large vole followed quickly by Longtail on his left. Fireheart decided he didn't want to deal with that and moved to the right side of the den and slumped down slightly closer to Bluestar. He ignored the glower sent his way by Tigerclaw. If anyone asked, he was trying to sit closer to his mentor.

He took the time to pluck the feathers from his robin- he could leave them for Bluestar's nest and it would prevent him from coughing on one and embarrassing himself in front of his fellow mentors. He'd plucked most of the feathers by the time Mousefur and Willowpelt joined them. Willowpelt sat in the middle with a squirrel and Mousefur flopped down beside him.

"I can see you're exhausted," Bluestar said, whiskers twitching. "So let's get this over with. All of the apprentices seemed to be doing very well if the fresh-kill pile said anything of their skills. Mousefur, would you like to start?"

Mousefur nodded, "Brightpaw is a very smart cat. She's quick on her paws and eager to learn- she's very cautious though. She doesn't like being surprised and enjoys a certain level of predictability in her assignments."

She sighed, flicking her tail, "I asked her to get something that runs, something that flies and something that swims in that order. And so she hunted her prey. In that order. She ignored other closer and easier prey in favor of catching them in order of them being assigned."

Mousefur looked back up at Bluestar as she concluded, "Brightpaw is focused and determined. She'll get the job done exactly as you ask her to the extent of making things harder for herself. Brackenpaw appears to have a similar problem."

The focus shifted to him, Fireheart quickly finished chewing his robin swallowing.

"Yes, Brackenpaw is similar," he agreed. "He doesn't have the focus issue but he's anxious to do everything right. He has a lot of trouble acting on his own and if you don't tell him what to do, he'll just sit there too nervous to move. Brackenpaw has a lot of technical skill but no independent confidence."

"And Cinderpaw?" prompted Bluestar.

He flicked his ear, "Cinderpaw is his mirror. She's just as eager to learn but fiercely independent. She's almost completely fearless and determined. When something is very hard, she'll keep pushing until she gets it. She's impulsive though and doesn't always think things through."

"Doesn't that worry you?" Bluestar asked.

"Of course it does," Fireheart agreed. "It worries me a lot but ultimately she's intuitive and seems to understand that I'm not bossing her around just because I can."

"Lynxpaw is the same way," agreed Willowpelt. "Impulsive, reckless and holds less fear than a baby bear whose mother is right behind it."

Fireheart laughed with the other mentors as Willowpelt continued, "She's very silly and she's quick to make a joke of everything but it seems like that's just how she learns. When I stopped scolding her jokes and instead played along, it was like she was a completely different cat. She learned things faster and listened more. It's likely she and Cinderpaw will mellow out with age. She's very in touch with other cats' emotions too- I've seen her cheering up Cinderpaw's litter."

"Cheering them up?" Bluestar asked quickly.

"Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw have both admitted to being somewhat afraid of ShadowClan," Fireheart confessed. "The memory of being kidnapped is still clear in their heads. Brackenpaw shakes when I take him by the Deer Trail."

Bluestar was quiet for a long moment then sighed quietly, "Mousefur, Tigerclaw, have you noticed anything similar?"

"Brightpaw doesn't shake but she does get quiet when we train near the trail," Mousefur admitted.

"Thornpaw simply asked me to teach him how to make sure ShadowClan won't grab him that easily ever again," Tigerclaw informed.

Bluestar sniffed a little then flicked her ear, brows furrowing.

"Keep me updated on this. If it appears that they're unable to move past it, we may have a large problem on our paws. Tigerclaw, would you tell me about Thornpaw?"

"He's tough," Tigerclaw said. "Smart cat. He knows power isn't everything and he focuses on everything I tell him. He rarely complains about any task regardless of its difficulty- makes it hard to judge when he's hurt. He trod over a thorn and and spent the rest of the day pretending his pad didn't hurt- I only noticed when I sent him hunting and realized his crouch- which he'd perfected- was off balanced."

Bluestar released a quick snort, "Sound familiar Tigerclaw?"

The tabby warrior ducked his head, "I haven't done that since I was an apprentice."

"You'll handle it just fine then," Bluestar chuckled. "You can use what worked on you. And you Longtail?"

"Swiftpaw is a very hardworking cat," said Longtail with pride rolling off him in waves. "He listens well and practices hard to master all of the things I teach him. He'll be a great warrior someday. He's very headstrong though. Once he's got an idea in his head, only the Souls themselves can dissuade him."

"Be careful of that," Bluestar cautioned. "Swiftpaw sounds like he can become a model warrior but 'headstrong' also means 'reckless.' He could get himself and others hurt."

Longtail nodded, "I will Bluestar."

"In that case, get some rest, all of you. It's been a long day."

"Thank the Souls," Mousefur sighed with relief getting to her paws.

Fireheart scraped his feathers into a neat pile and stretched quickly escaping the den. He glanced up in time to see Graystripe coming from around the back of the nursery, grabbing a chaffinch and settling down by the warrior's den.

"Where's he been?" grumbled Tigerclaw as he came up behind Fireheart. "He should be concentrating on getting better. If he gets whitecough, the whole clan suffers."

Mousefur sneezed then hummed her agreement, "We lost three kits and Cedarwhisker to an aggressive whitecough outbreak before."

"He's just looking for somewhere quieter," Fireheart said. "He said that Longtail and Darkstripe chatter like starlings all day in the den."

Tigerclaw glared at him even though Mousefur laughed and nodded in agreement, "Those two gossip like they're still apprentices."

Fireheart purred and walked over to his friend, settling down beside him as Mousefur slipped by him and into the den. He was relieved when Tigerclaw strode off to greet Whitestorm who was just returning to camp.

"Hey," Fireheart said to Graystripe. "Brackenpaw did great in his assessment. Really stiff but Bluestar's impressed."

Graystripe purred around his meal, spitting the feathers from his mouth to say, "I'm not surprised. Brackenpaw is the best apprentice and he'll be the best warrior."

"Cinderpaw will be the best warrior but you can keep dreaming," Fireheart teased. He ignored Graystripe, swatting him with his tail. "Hey where were you? Did you leave camp?"

Graystripe shuffled, "I found a place to sleep. Why?"

"Tigerclaw noticed you weren't here," said Fireheart. "He's complaining that you're not better yet."

"Tigerclaw?" Graystripe said with alarm.

"I told him you were looking for somewhere quiet," Fireheart soothed him. "Without Darkstripe and Longtail."

Graystripe relaxed, sighing in relief, "Thanks for covering for me."

Fireheart felt his stomach twist with discomfort as Graystripe practically admitted to leaving the camp. He offered Fireheart no answers or reassurances, just finished his prey and slipped into the warrior's den. Fireheart watched him go, exhaustion tugging at his bones but he stayed outside stretching.

Graystripe had given himself a good wash recently. A very good wash. Graystripe's coat was long, thick and layered- giving himself such a thorough wash takes hours for Graystripe to do alone and it's something he'd quietly professed to hate. Any scent beyond Graystripe's own had been washed and cleaned from his pelt entirely. His friend was hiding something.

Fireheart would know. He didn't hide his visits to his siblings- he didn't tell Cinderpaw or Brackenpaw to keep quiet and he answered the questions of anyone who directly asked him but he knew cats like Darkstripe would spread rumors all day long if he came back with his sister's scent on him. On top of that, Fireheart had a reputation of wasting his days away, grooming his pelt to perfection so frequently that he rarely smelled of anything but himself and the forest.

So Graystripe was definitely hiding something. From him. He felt a slight pang of betrayal at the sensation.

Fireheart extended his claws, curling over to pull something he felt stuck between them. A piece of dried cat-kin fell from his mouth onto the ground before him. Fireheart tilted his head in confusion- how'd this get here? Cat-kin only grows by willow trees and ThunderClan has none- willow trees only grow on the RiverClan side of the river.

Fireheart blinked as a realization came over him- did this fall from Graystripe's coat?

Fireheart clambered to his paws and slipped into the warrior's den, veering straight for his shared nest with Graystripe. He clambered inside, observing his already snoring friend. Fireheart sniffed his coat cautiously and began grooming him. Quickly enough he found more, smaller bits of cat-kin. Quietly he collected it into a small pile beside the nest, ensuring that any piece that could passively fall from his fur had been removed. Fireheart shoved all of the cat-kin beneath the nest where it'll be removed from the den the next time he or the apprentices cleared it out- no one the wiser.

He snuggled into Graystripe's thick pelt and fell into an uneasy sleep, worried about the lack of trust from his best friend.

"Fireheart? Hey, Fireheart?"

Fireheart opened his eyes tiredly. It felt like his eyelids weighed more than both of his paws. He slowly rolled over to look at the cat calling him. Runningwind stood over him, a worried look on his face. Fireheart yawned, breathing in the air catching the scent of approaching rain. He sat up with a struggle, it was like he was being pulled back down. His next yawn was interrupted with a sneeze.

"Are you okay?" Runningwind asked cautiously. "Mousefur's caught your friend's chill. Longtail's pulling double duty with Brightpaw and Swiftpaw all of today."

"I'm fine," Fireheart said, sneezing again. "I'm just really tired from yesterday's assessment. I didn't know how much work it was to be a mentor."

Runningwind laughed uneasily, "Yeah that's why Bluestar asked me to help you yesterday. I'll meet you in the training hollow."

Fireheart murmured his assent, clambering from his nest and out into the clearing. He yawned again, his pelt felt like it weighed more than he did. He wasn't hungry so he bypassed the fresh-kill pile and trekked off to the sandy hollow. He sat down on the left ridge still thinking about Graystripe. He coughed a few times, rubbing his nose with his paw- it was hard to breathe. How could his friend be doing something as crazy as trespassing on RiverClan territory- why was he trespassing on RiverClan territory?

Admittedly, Fireheart had his suspicions- the look on Graystripe's face after Silverstream had saved him came to mind. What distressed him the most was that Graystripe hadn't told him.

It stung. Graystripe hadn't told him where he was going or why. Maybe he didn't have to tell him outright what he was doing but he could've told Fireheart that he'd be on RiverClan territory. That Graystripe would be risking his life. He was shaken from his thoughts from an aggressive bout of coughing. He heard the crunching of leaves on the edge of his hearing but the coughing fit was too intense for him to look up.

When he was finally done, he sat up winded to an alarmed Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw and a concerned Runningwind.

"I'm fine," Fireheart said. "I ate a robin last night- I must've swallowed a feather."

"Okay," said Runningwind but his tail was swishing near the ground and his ears were pulled back.

"...what are we learning today?" Cinderpaw asked hesitantly, her usual excitement gone.

"Hunting?" Brackenpaw suggested. "I'd like to hunt."

"Hunting techniques," Fireheart said.

"Ugh," groaned Cinderpaw, spirit back. "Not the old mouse feels you, rabbit hears you lesson."

"Well I was suggesting how to hunt porcupines but if you'd rather go hunt another sparrow-"

"Now look what you've done," Brackenpaw hissed at Cinderpaw.

"I mean hooray!" Cinderpaw said quickly. "Hunting techniques!"

"Do you want to demonstrate?" Runningwind asked.

Fireheart nodded and visualized a porcupine before him. He imagined it charging him backwards and sprung back, twisting so he'd land out of reach of its imaginary quills. He heard Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw 'ooh'ing at him and sprung again but landed oddly. His legs buckled and before he could recover, Fireheart started coughing again, trembling with every breath. He sat there, wheezing for a bit, shaking on tired legs.

Fireheart felt a tail rest itself on his haunches and he glanced up at a stern faced Runningwind.

"You're sick," Runningwind said. "Go see Spottedleaf. Rest. I've got these two for the day."

"I-" Fireheart sighed softly. "...you're right. I'm sorry guys."

"It's alright to be sick, Fireheart," Brackenpaw said quietly. "It makes sense honestly."

"Yeah, Longtail says you and Graystripe share a nest," Cinderpaw added. "It's a miracle you didn't catch it sooner."

"They're right," Runningwind said, nudging him away. "Go get some rest."

"Okay," agreed Fireheart. He clambered from the hollow and started for the camp. Despite being exhausted, he didn't go into the camp and he didn't go to Spottedleaf. He slips around the back of the camp towards the exit near the nursery. He sniffed among the bracken and thorns catching whiffs of Graystripe's scent. He strained his ears for the nursery sounds, noting that despite being right behind it, the sounds of playing kits and scolding sitters was muffled.

Maybe this is where he's been resting, Fireheart rationalized. Just out of sight, away from prying eyes and trampling paws but close enough to go straight to Spottedleaf if his sickness got worse.

Fireheart was so distracted by reassuring himself that'd discovered where Graystripe was resting that he almost didn't notice Graystripe poke his head in from the inside portion of the exit. The gray tom didn't settle down beside the bracken or start gathering grasses and leaves to make a temporary nest, he headed straight into the forest without stopping.

Fireheart's heart fell.

He stalked after his friend in silence, swallowing his coughs and suppressing his sneezes. He knew from experience when he was a kit that pushing himself to follow Graystripe instead of getting medicine and laying down would strain him, that he'd regret it soon and especially in the morning but he had to know. He had to be certain.

The closer they came to the RiverClan border, the grimmer Fireheart felt. Frustration filled his bones- why couldn't Graystripe have chosen to frolic with a cat from any other clan. Even finding love in ShadowClan might be more accepted than a RiverClan cat. Despite his agitation with his friend, Fireheart started coming up with excuses.

I can always tell Whitestorm that he was tired of being cooped up, he reasoned. Graystripe's known for not staying in one place. Maybe he overheard a patrol talking about RiverClan on Sunningrocks and he snuck off to investigate.

Then he realized that he'd have to explain why he was out there.

I can take the fall, Fireheart decided. I felt bad for not being able to teach Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw so I went to hunt so I can help the clan. Runningwind saw how stubborn I was earlier- I'll just have to put up with being baby sat until I'm better.

Fireheart waited in the bushes as Graystripe walked to the edge of the bank. Fireheart flicked his ear in exasperation in the realization that Silverstream was being made to come onto ThunderClan territory. Fireheart's thoughts went back to Tigerclaw noting that RiverClan had been scented on ThunderClan territory. It wasn't a patrol, it was Silverstream!

He watched the two of them touch their noses and then rub cheeks, shook his head and stopped out of the bushes. He coughed to get their attention, making them both jump to their paws, springing away from each other.

"F-fireheart!" Graystripe yelped. "You followed me."

"I did," Fireheart agreed. "Are you guys crazy?"

"ThunderClan doesn't care if I take a mate in another clan," said Graystripe defensively. "Not as long as I remain loyal to ThunderClan."

"No they don't," agreed Fireheart. "Does RiverClan? Did you even ask? What if she got exiled?"

Graystripe looked to Silverstream who ducked her head, looking away from him. Graystripe's eyes wide at his mate.

"RiverClan wouldn't exile me," said Silverstream. "Father would never do that."

"And besides that, why now?" Fireheart demanded. "River-Thunder relations are terrible!"

"That's not Silverstream's fault!"

"Of course not but that doesn't matter Graystripe- all the clan sees is you taking a mate from the clan who just ambushed and blamed you for Whiteclaw!"

"Silverstream doesn't blame me," Graystripe said, raising his head challengingly.

"For flame's sake Graystripe- Silverstream's my friend too!" Fireheart spat. "I know she doesn't blame you! I'm just asking why you're both being stupid about this!"

"Stupid about this?" said Graystripe bristling.

"By the flames ThunderClan knows she's here," Fireheart hissed. "Tigerclaw knows she's here!"

Silverstream bristled with fear, taking a step back towards the river as Graystripe shook his head.

"No they don't- I never come back without cleaning my coat."

"Graystripe, yesterday I had Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw hunting near the neutral stretch because the dawn patrol picked up the scent of a 'RiverClan patrol' on Sunningrocks- the only reason they didn't know it was one cat is because you're so close to the river the border scents covered hers."

"...I better go," said Silverstream, her tail lashing, betraying her worry.

"Climb through the reeds and roll in a scent marker instead of washing Graystripe off your coat," Fireheart told her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because unless you regularly deep wash your coat, it screams 'hiding something," Fireheart said bluntly. "That was my first sign that something was up with Graystripe. He smells too clean. No scent of his clanmates, of the trees, of the brush- just his own scent. And Graystripe hates grooming alone."

Graystripe looked alarmed as Fireheart listed all of the signs before slinking over to a tree and rubbing against it.

"Okay," agreed Silverstream. "I- Fireheart, please-"

"I'm not going to tell," Fireheart promised. "Graystripe is my friend and you're my friend. Unless you start being dangerous- like coming close to camp, I won't tell Bluestar or Stormstar."

Both cats sagged with relief at his promise. Silverstream gave them one last nod and darted to the river. She slipped in seamlessly and swam back across. Following Fireheart's recommendation, she immediately rolled in the scent marker on the other side of the bank and sniffed along the shore. She picked up a large fish she must've caught as her alibi and vanished into RiverClan territory.

Fireheart turned and led Graystripe deeper into ThunderClan territory.

"...you shouldn't have followed me," Graystripe told him.

Fireheart rolled his eyes, "I'm the only reason you haven't been caught yet."

"You said it yourself, we're too close to the RiverClan markers for the patrols to identify who it is," Graystripe snapped.

"Yeah but I groomed you all of last night, picking the dried cat-kin out of your fur and hid it before anyone else saw."

"Cat-kin?" Graystripe said with panic, twisting to look at his coat.

"Did you lay with Silverstream the day before?"

Graystripe ducked his head guiltily.

"That's how then," said Fireheart. "It's in her fur and when you laid with her, it got on yours. Since you only touched cheeks this time, you should be safe."

They walked in silence for a moment before Fireheart's ears pricked forward. He flashed his tail in front of Graystripe, halting him. He dropped into a rushed crouch and moved far less stealthily than he normally would. Now that the adrenaline had settled in his veins, his chest hurt and his nose tickled threatening to send him into a sneezing fit.

He pounced on the unsuspecting mouse, killing it sloppily and trotted back to Graystripe. His friend was looking at him with alarm.

"Are you okay?" Graystripe asked. "You've never been that unbalanced. Even as an apprentice."

"I caught your chill," Fireheart told him, allowing himself to cough a couple times before shaking his head. "Here's the story- you thought you were better so you went to investigate the RiverClan scent on Sunningrocks. You overheard it in our den from Longtail and Darkstripe gossiping. You were searching for a scent when you bumped into me, clearly sick trying to hunt. You gave up on your search to escort me back to camp."

Graystripe stared at him in awe then slowly lowered his head, "...I'm sorry I didn't tell you Fireheart. I should've known you wouldn't judge me."

"You should've," Fireheart agreed. "But now you know. Come on- I'm barely standing right now."

Fireheart picked up his mouse and leaned on Graystripe as they returned to the camp. By the time they were rounding the nursery, Fireheart was out of breath, panting around his mouse and his eyelids kept flickering. Before they could escape, a bristled and agitated Whitestorm came stomping over.

"What are you doing so close to the nursery Graystripe? We can't afford the kits catching your cold! And Fireheart you're meant to be training apprentices and-"

Fireheart interrupted him by coughing so hard he dropped his mouse. He sat down heavily, shaking with every cough. When he finished, he sat there panting in exhaustion while Whitestorm stared at him. His fury was replaced with alarm and concern as his fur stood on end.

"He's sick," concluded Graystripe. "I went to see if I could sniff out that RiverClan cat and I knew someone would stop me if I tried so I snuck out. I found Fireheart hacking his lungs out over his mouse."

"Why were you out there if you were sick?" Whitestorm demanded.

"I felt bad leaving Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw to Runningwind," Fireheart said. "I thought-"

"You were definitely not thinking," Whitestorm interrupted. "Graystripe, take Fireheart to Spottedleaf and tell her to not let him out until he's slept through the rest of the day and the night."

"Rude," said Fireheart, shooting Whitestorm a light glare.

Whitestorm's expression softened, "Fireheart, I know cats like Longtail and Tigerclaw question your dedication to this clan but you don't have to risk your life to prove that you're a loyal ThunderClan warrior. Bluestar knows that you're loyal, I know that you're loyal and you know that you're loyal- that's all that matters Fireheart."

Fireheart felt his breath catch in his throat and dropped Whitestorm's gaze. He stared at his paws, overwhelmed with emotion.

"...thank you Whitestorm," whispered Fireheart.

Whitestorm gave him a gentle nod and walked off leaving Graystripe to escort him to Spottedleaf. The medic fussed over him, sending Graystripe to a separate nest from him and Fireheart allowed himself to be guided to a mossy nest. He was too tired to identify the foul herbs she made him eat and swallowed them without complaint. He snuggled down into his nest, exhaustion weighing his eyelids down. He hummed pleasantly and drifted off into a blissful, dreamless sleep.