Swiftpaw was awoken by the sharp smell of smoke and the yowling of her panicking Clanmates. She quickly scrambled to her paws and went over to wake up the other apprentices. "Guys, come on wake up! There's a fire in the camp!" Swiftpaw screeched, her frantic mews had the desired effect and the seven other apprentice were all scrambling over there own paws as they all ran out of the apprentices den and out into the multicolored pelts of the Clanmates.

She gasped in horror when she saw that the glowing orange embers were getting closer and closer to BreezeClan's territory. She shook out her pelt and ran to find her mentor, on her way, she heard the panicked yowls of some of her Clanmates.

"What are we going to do? Are we going to die?" She heard Duskflame wail.

"We're all going to die! StarClan, please help us!" She heard Ashlily wail.

"We need to leave the camp and get to the river" Rosestar yowled, before leading her Clanmates out of the camp.

Swiftpaw followed after Rosestar, her heart racing in her chest. She could feel her Clanmates all around her, and she hoped that they would all be able to get to the river in time. She was thinking that they were all going to be safe when she heard Larkpaw saying something.

"Where are Blacksun and Ravenfur?" Larkpaw yowled, causing every cat to stop and look around in confusion.

"I don't know, maybe they're back in camp" Duskflame meowed, looking alarmed.

"That could be true, I can go back and look" Briardawn meowed.

"Dawnkit is missing too, she was with me when we left the camp but now she's gone" Ashlily wailed.

"Okay, I'll go back to camp and see if I can find her, Blacksun, and Ravenfur" Briardawn meowed.

"Okay, but be careful" Rosestar meowed, nodding to her deputy.

"Yeah, be careful, Briardawn" Snowcloud meowed, staring worriedly at the older cat who nodded her head, turned around and dashed back into the forest.


BRIARDAWN

Briardawn opened her mouth to tell Rosestar that she would be careful but before she could Snowcloud spoke and she smiled softly when she heard the concern for her in the medicine cat's voice. "Don't worry, I'll be fine" She promised her leader and medicine cat. Then without another word, she raced away back in the direction of camp.

She couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed that three of her Clanmates were missing but she was determined to find them and bring them back to the Clan where they belonged. She reached the camp and saw that the fire had already spread to the camp and she started to bristle as she the thought of the two elders and Dawnkit who might be stuck in camp. Taking a deep breath she ran into the camp entrance and looked around desperately. She could hear coughing coming from the elders den and she hurried to the elders den. She poked her head inside to see Blacksun and Ravenfur inside and she let out a relieved sigh, glad that she had found them before something bad had happened.

"We need to get out of here" She told them, walking over to them and helping them up. Then she led them out of the elders den and into the clearing. Her eyes burned from the smoke and she started coughing. She could hear them coughing behind her and she glanced over her shoulder to make sure they were okay. She heard a thin mewling coming from somewhere and she pricked her ears knowing it was Dawnkit and she began to look around for the kit but it was her who spotted her.

"Over there" Ravenfur meowed, gesturing towards a burning tree with his tail.

Briardawn followed his gaze and stiffened glancing between the elders and the kit. She could save Dawnkit but that would mean leaving the two elders and she was sure that the tree would fall blocking the path to freedom for the two elders. If she got the elders out of the camp and left Dawnkit up there then, then she would die.

"You have to save her" Blacksun meowed suddenly.

"But..." Briardawn started to say, but was cut off by Blacksun.

"Ravenfur is right you have to save her. I'll never forgive you if you let her die just to save us" Blacksun growled.

"And neither will I" Ravenfur meowed, agreeing with the other elder.

Briardawn looked between the two elders to stunned to really do anything.

"JUST GO! SAVE DAWNKIT!" Blacksun and Ravenfur both yelled, putting as much force in their words as they could.

Briardawn felt like she had been clawed but she still turned her back on the elders and ran towards the burning tree. She climbed the burning tree singing her fur a little but otherwise she climbed up the tree okay. She grabbed Dawnkit's scuff just as she felt the burning tree starting to fall. She sprung away from the tree as it started to fall and she landed neatly on her paws. She turned her head towards the burning tree that was now blocking the escape route towards the exit. 'Ravenfur, Blacksun I'm so sorry,.' She thought, before running out of the camp clutching Dawnkit.

Briardawn pelted through the burning forest, making sure to keep her grip on Dawnkit as she ran. She couldn't stop thinking of Ravenfur and Blacksun and how she had abandoned them to save Dawnkit, the daughter of Lionclaw. 'What will the Clan think if they find out I gave up an opportunity to save Blacksun and Ravenfur to save Dawnkit?' She asked herself. Then she thought of Ashlily, Dawnkit's mother, and she knew that she had done the right thing. She caught up with the others at the river and she saw everyone turn and give her a questioning look.

"What about Ravenfur and Blacksun?" Larkpaw asked his mentor, his gaze going to Dawnkit and he frowned, wondering why Ravenfur and Blacksun weren't with his mentor.

Cinderpelt put Dawnkit down and gave Larkpaw an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I couldn't save all of them" She told them.

"So you left them there to die?" Larkpaw asked incredulously, like he thought his mentor would tell him that she was only joking and that they were walking here as they spoke.

"I'm really sorry, I know how much you looked up to them, but I couldn't save them and Dawnkit" She meowed sadly, her green eyes fixed on her apprentice, trying to make him understand.

"You're telling me you choose to save Ashlily's daughter over them?" Larkpaw hissed, his fur bristling as his eyes went wide with shock.

"They told me to save her over them, but it was the right thing to do and you know that, Larkpaw." Briardawn said sternly to her apprentice, clearly disappointed in him for not seeing that saving Dawnkit had been the right thing to do.

"Fine, I believe you did this because you were following your heart," Larkpaw meowed, turning away from his mentor, his ears flat against his skull. "Shouldn't we try crossing the river?" He asked Rosestar, looking up at her.

Rosestar frowned as she heard Larkpaw's question, but before she could anwser she heard movement from the other side of the river. Turning her head, she saw Flurrytail coming out of the undergrowth with Thundertooth and Iceclaw.

"You do realize that there is a fire in your territory, don't you?" Flurrytail asked them, her eyes scanning over the group of BreezeClan cats.

"Of course we do! We're trying to get away from the fire. Will IceClan allow us to cross the river in order to get away from the fire?" Rosestar asked them, looking at Flurrytail for the anwser.

"If I do, I'll have to escort your clan to the camp. How could I trust you to not hunt on IceClan territory if I can't keep a close eye on you?" Flurrytail growled, narrowing her eyes.

"I understand, please escort us to your camp than" Rosestar meowed, dipping her head to the IceClan deputy.

"Very well, Iceclaw will help your young and old cats cross" Flurrytail meowed, flicking her tail towards her two Clanmates.

"Very well" Rosestar said, as she looked back at her Clan. "Elders will go first, then the kits and their mothers after them" She meowed, flicking her ears back and forth.