Before Firepaw was a flower. It was absolutely beautiful. It had bright, shiny golden petals and a vibrant green stem. Its leaves were dappled with dark reds and yellows and oranges. He sat, his tail curled around his paws. He admired his flower for a very long time. It felt like seasons had passed, and yet he hadn't gotten tired of it. He looked up at it again after pausing to bite a flea off of his rear. Had it always been towering over him? He'd seen it as insignificant at first, but he'd recognized its beauty and had now come to appreciate its shelter from the rain that had started pouring down.

Firepaw frowned and jumped to his paws. The leaves had begun to wilt. He stared in confusion as brown spread through them, showing their slow death. It felt like torture, watching them die a little more as each moon passed. And finally, when he was old and had a pelt that no longer fit him, when he had tired eyes and battle scars from many moons before, the final leaf wilted completely and dropped from the stem. Suddenly, he was young again. There was the flower, at eye-level. It wilted again, but extremely quickly this time. The leaves were off before he could even process what had happened.

Redtail stepped out from the shadows. "Firepaw."

"What?" Firepaw asked, then realized: this was a dream. He'd just witnessed a sign from StarClan. He motioned to the flower with his muzzle. "What does this mean?"

Redtail frowned. "I won't be alone for much longer," he murmured sadly. "Leaves wilt faster than you may think. The first vision was what should've been. The second is what will be."

Staring at the tiny former deputy, his head lowered, his fur messy, strength so clearly taken from his body… it was shocking. Was this just an act, or did something that StarClan foresaw truly break Redtail enough to make him this way? Firepaw opened his mouth to speak, but he found that he had nothing to say. Redtail shook his head, laughing, although everything in the situation was far from funny. He got to his paws again and tilted his head up towards the black, empty sky.

"Say your goodbyes while you still can," he advised quietly. "Farewell, Firepaw."

Firepaw sat up in his nest, his fur prickling. He looked sideways at Stormpaw, who had the nest next to his in the warm center of the den. "Wake up, you mouse," he meowed quietly, shaking his friend awake.

Stormpaw lifted his head, his dark eyes opening. He stretched. "What?"

"It's probably morning," Firepaw replied. "Let's go see if we can train together."

Stormpaw shrugged. "Alright." He got to his paws alongside him and padded out, stepping over Lynxpaw and Swiftpaw.

When they left the den, the sun was still rising. The sky was pink, and purple, and orange with a bit of dark blue at the top. The warriors of StarClan in Silverpelt were fading away, slowly giving their goodbyes to their descendents. Firepaw almost spoke, but he heard something: a deep voice near the back of the nursery. The den was still damaged from the ShadowClan invasion, so there was an open space back there.

"Come along," the voice whispered.

Stormpaw and Firepaw exchanged a glance. "It's probably nothing," Stormpaw meowed. "It sounds like Dustpelt! There's nothing wrong with him checking up on the kits."

"I'm not sure," Firepaw murmured. "Maybe we should check?"

"You do whatever," Stormpaw mewed. "I'm getting more sleep, even if it's only a little."

Firepaw looked at his friend, watching as he went back into the den. He wanted to check out the voice, but his fear of doing so alone prevented him. He followed Stormpaw and lay back in his nest, yet he couldn't fall back asleep for a while. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something seriously wrong.

Firepaw awoke to yowling. When he and Stormpaw stepped out of the apprentices' den, they were greeted with practically every ThunderClan cat crowded around something. Willowpelt was the cat who had been yowling. She sat there, her Clanmates staring at her, her pale gray pelt bristled so that she looked twice her size. Her mouth was open wide, screaming awful wails of despair. He shoved himself closer out of curiosity, but he wished that he hadn't.

"Spottedleaf!" Willowpelt cried.

Whitestorm rushed into camp with a patrol, dropping prey on the ground before dashing over to his mate. He slowly and quietly brought her away, seeming to think that removing the sight could destroy the memories. Yet Firepaw knew that he would never forget this for as long as he lived. His mother-like figure was sprawled across the ground, blood soaking her chest and forelegs. The only wound she had was a slice across her throat, as if a cat had snuck in and silently eliminated her. The emotion her face wore was one of pure shock.

Firepaw's mind couldn't process this. His body refused to react, instead choosing to stiffen and deny any attempt at moving. He urged himself to find out who had done this and deliver his vengeance, but he couldn't. He felt like a kit who had just lost his mother before he'd even left the nursery: helpless, weak. Afraid. Most of all, he was afraid. What would he do without Spottedleaf? He'd thought losing Lionheart was bad - and it definitely, definitely was horrible - but losing the gentle and innocent medicine cat was worse.

Spottedleaf had been one of the first to truly accept him before he'd even become a member. She'd treated a tiny, worthless kittypet without hesitation. She saw past who he was and decided that he deserved treatment for his wounds, no matter who he was or what had caused them. She stayed loyal to her duty to the very end, and she stayed true to her values. She valued life and kindness above all. She took him in as practically a son when he knew no one except for Stormpaw and perhaps, slightly Ravencloud. She didn't have to. She could've treated him as a normal Clanmate, and she didn't have to share the precious secret. Yet she shared it, and she shared the love she gave no one else.

The secret. At this thought, Firepaw's body allowed movement. His mind was focused; all of the grief was packed away and put aside for a later moment. He made his way to Cherrysong, who sat comforting a scared and confused Lynxpaw. He decided to wait until they were finished, although it hurt incredibly so.

"What if the cat kills one of us?!" Lynxpaw cried.

"It'll be okay," Cherrysong soothed her apprentice. She almost spoke again, but her eye caught Firepaw's. "Do you need something, Firepaw?"

"Yes, but Lynxpaw shouldn't be around to hear," Firepaw replied seriously, desperately trying to keep his voice steady.

Cherrysong hesitated before sending Lynxpaw away to train with Longtail and Swiftpaw. By this point, the crowd had mostly dissipated. "What do you need?" she asked.

"I need to tell you something," Firepaw meowed. "It was something that only the older cats know, and that anyone your age and younger is oblivious of."

"Yes?" Cherrysong mewed, looking incredibly intrigued now.

"You have been lied to. Patchpelt and Robinwing weren't your parents. Thistleclaw and Spottedleaf were."

Cherrysong's eyes widened. "What?"

Bluestar, nearby, came over. She nodded slowly. "It's true. I'm surprised Spottedleaf trusted young Firepaw with her secret, especially since it was never to be told again. The entire Clan agreed that the secret would die with them."

"How did this happen?" Cherrysong breathed. "Did Longtail know?"

Bluestar shook her head. "Your parents were forbidden mates. The only reason that Spottedleaf wasn't exempt from her position permanently was because there was no other medicine cat to take over. Therefore, her punishment was giving you up. Since Longtail was born the same day you were, Robinwing decided to take you in. She always treated you like her own. She was a wonderful foster mother to you.

"Spottedleaf was allowed to give you your name, but she and Thistleclaw both had to swear that they would never tell you and that they would never grow close to you. The rest of the Clan had to swear secrecy as well. It was the only way to ensure a normal life for you and Longtail, and for your parents. They were both watched closely after, but they never seemed to act like mates again. Around the time your foster mother's new kits were born, Thistleclaw died and Spottedleaf no longer had to be watched.

"So you see, Cherrysong," Bluestar concluded, "I and everyone else wanted what was best for you and your parents. Everyone was incredibly upset with them both, but they still had to act as if nothing was wrong so that none of your generation or younger could know. Please understand that everyone views you with respect and kindness, and no one blames you for your parents' mistakes."

Cherrysong nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Thank you for telling me," she meowed quietly, then turned to Firepaw. "You too. Especially you. Thank you so much. Now I know why everyone's acted so weird about me my whole life. Everyone thinks I haven't noticed, but it's so obvious that I can't imagine being oblivious to it."

"Will you be okay?" Firepaw asked. "Won't this complicate your relationship with your brothe- er, Longtail?"

"Don't correct yourself," she requested. "He's still very much my brother. He's probably the cat I'm closest to out of everyone in ThunderClan. And yes, we'll be fine. I want to tell him, of course. I doubt he'll think any different of me. At least, I hope not." She turned to Bluestar. "Can I?"

"It's your secret now," Bluestar told her. "Do with it as you wish. Both of your parents are dead, and so it's only your fate that will change."

Cherrysong nodded. "Thank you. Now I must tend to my mentoring duties, but I will be sure to inform him."

Bluestar and Firepaw watched her go. "Have you heard about Frostfur's kits?" Bluestar asked her apprentice.

Firepaw shook his head. "What happened?"

"All four are gone," Bluestar replied. "There's ShadowClan scent on Spottedleaf's body and around the nursery, so it must've been them. Tigerclaw insisted on taking out a patrol, but…" Bluestar shrugged. "I'm sure you can tell why I refused his request."

Indeed he could: it had begun to rain, just like in his dream. "Will it turn into a storm?" Firepaw asked.

Bluestar nodded. "I've sent cats to retrieve those out of camp. It might be dangerous weather. However, we need our kits back. There's one reason why I'm asking you this: Yellowfang has disappeared, and the cats think that she killed Spottedleaf and helped a ShadowClan cat escape with the kits. I don't know why, but there's somehow a rumor of Ravencloud being involved as well." She shook her head.

"Ravencloud?" Firepaw mewed. "He'd never turn traitor!"

"I believe that," Bluestar meowed. "I thought that if you went after Yellowfang and confronted her, she'd tell you the truth. You've been her caretaker, so I'm sure she trusts you."

Firepaw nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll do it. I don't want her falsely accused. She's a good cat, Bluestar."

"You must hurry," his mentor told him. "The storm might not last for long. Take Ravencloud with you as well. It will hopefully prove his innocence if he helps uncover the truth."

Firepaw nodded and ran to where Ravencloud sat in the rain, staring up at the gray sky. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Ravencloud shook his head. "Frostfur… my own older sister… she attacked me!" He motioned to a few scratches on his flank. "I just wanted to check to make sure she was alright, with the kidnapping and all. Yet she got out her claws, thinking I had something to do with it!" Despite the rain, it was clear that tears were starting to come. "A-and I couldn't imagine betraying ThunderClan in such a way. I…" He fell silent, trying to hold his emotions back.

Firepaw rubbed along his friend's unscratched side. "It'll be okay," he comforted the young warrior. "Bluestar's asked me to go after the truth, and she wants you to come with me. If you help, you'll be proven innocent to everyone. What do you say?"

Ravencloud nodded. "Yeah, I'll help. Can Stormpaw come? It wouldn't be right to go without him. He's part of our group."

Firepaw smiled a little. "Of course. I'll go get him." He ran to the apprentices' den and poked his head in, only to see Graypaw sheltering. "Have you seen Stormpaw?"

Graypaw shook his head. "Why?"

"Just… wanted to know," Firepaw responded slowly, unsure if he should keep the mission a secret or not.

Graypaw narrowed his eyes. "You're hiding something. What is it?"

"I can't say. Bluestar's orders."

"You can trust me," Graypaw assured him, although with his tough persona it seemed more like a demand.

Firepaw shuffled his paws for a moment, silently deciding. "Well… Bluestar wants me to go after Yellowfang for the truth on who took the kits, and she told me to take Ravencloud. I want to bring Stormpaw too. You won't tell anyone, right?"

"Of course not!" Graypaw offered a mischievous grin. "I can't tattle on myself."

"You aren't coming along!" Firepaw told him.

"I'll tell everyone if I can't come," Graypaw threatened. "So take me with you. I can help get some information out of an old furball."

Firepaw bristled. "Fine, but you're not making any decisions. Me and Stormpaw and Ravencloud will."

Graypaw smiled widely, triumphant. He pushed his way past Firepaw, back out in the rain. "Well, let's find little Stormy then!"

Firepaw huffed before following. This is going to be a long mission…