Sorry for the late chapter again! I took a sort of unofficial break and started reading fanfics instead of writing this one… so, I hope my readers are still here! Anyways, on to the review replies!

Lightningstar-of-NightClan: Yeah, I'll admit, Firepaw's lie was a bit weird… xD But yeah, I've almost got swept off by wind as well. And yeah, Spiderleg was acting like a jerk, but Snowpaw… yeah, he was a jerk too xD Anyways, here's the chapter!

Birdcry (Guest): Thanks for following! And here's your update :)

Leafy: Firepaw will get to tell the truth sometime around the middle of this story, but I'm not sure. I'm still kind of planning this story xD Thank you and here's your update!

Okay, now to the chapter! :D

Chapter Eleven

Firepaw watched as the steady activity of the camp slowed as the sun set, casting an orange glow on the ground. Berrynose and Poppyfrost chatted eagerly near the warriors den, but Firepaw noticed the weariness in their talk and the slowness of their reactions. Spiderleg and Snowpaw emerged from the elders den, their paws covered in mouse bile. Their noses were wrinkled, but that was all Firepaw could see before they left the camp together, probably to wash their paws in the stream.

Hazeltail was sitting in front of the nursery, Whitewing and Cinderheart flanking her. Earlier, she had announced that she was pregnant with Thornclaw's kits, and was moved to the nursery to become a queen. Her belly was a little swollen, but Firepaw thought she could go on with being a warrior for at least another moon. Maybe Thornclaw was just nervous.

Sighing, Firepaw shifted in her nest in the medicine den. She sneezed again and her insides chilled slightly before the feeling went away. She still hadn't recovered from her near-drowning experience, so she was still stuck in a den full of herbs. Lilypool had assumed she had white-cough, but Jayfeather just replied that she had a cold since she was sneezing.

Just thinking about white-cough made her paws shake slightly in fear. Firepaw had never been sick before, and getting used to it would be weird. But she knew that whitecough could turn into greencough, and then into blackcough. Firepaw shivered, sneezing again.

While she sat there, she was reminded unsteadily of her dreams. One in particular.

"The fire will blaze through the Clans, leaving a trail of secrets behind. The darkness will rise, and only the light of the crackling fire can stop it…"

But what did that mean? It seemed like the answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't reach it. Firepaw growled in irritation, accidentally flicking a misplaced clump of moss out of her nest with her tail.

She couldn't just sit here brooding about this. Firepaw glared at the ground. She had to figure out what this meant, before it drove her off the edge.

As she sat there, a sudden realization struck her.

I'll just talk to Bramblestar about it! He'll know, won't he?

As if answering her prayers, Firepaw heard the pitter-patter of pawsteps coming her way. She turned excitedly, expecting to see her father, but then frowned when she realized it was just Jayfeather coming back from gathering herbs. He held four small, black oval-shaped seeds in his jaws.

Firepaw watched as the gray tabby medicine cat stopped in front of her and dropped one of the seeds. Carefully lowering the other seeds to the ground near his paws, he pushed the single seed forward. "Eat it," Jayfeather instructed. "It's a poppy seed. It will help you sleep."

"I don't need help sleeping," Firepaw retorted, glaring at the medicine cat. But then to contradict her, she sneezed.

"Oh, I'm sure," Jayfeather replied sarcastically. He then picked up the other poppy seeds and padded deeper into his den.

Firepaw stared at where he had disappeared to before huffing in annoyance. She struggled to her paws, ignoring the poppy seed, and stepped outside, the sunset's rays bathing her fur in a bright light. She had to talk to Bramblestar, whether Jayfeather liked it or not.

But before she could even move, Jayfeather's voice echoed through the medicine den. "Firepaw, don't even think about leaving. If you sneeze on a cat, then they'll be sick. Just go to your nest, eat the poppy seed, and go to sleep."

Annoyance prickled in her paw pads, but Firepaw begrudgingly returned back to the medicine den and settled down in her nest again. She leaned towards the poppy seed and picked it up in her jaws. She chewed it, frowning at the taste, before swallowing.

Feeling heavier, Firepaw shifted in the moss before finally getting into a comfortable position. Her eyelids slowly drooped, and before she drifted off into a black abyss, she thought one last thing:

I'll talk to Bramblestar later…

"...Firepaw was lying…"

"...you sure? She could've been…"

"...lied to me right on the spot! She…"

Firepaw silently flicked her ears in annoyance. It's too early for cats to already be awake! She slowly opened one golden eye, her whiskers twitching slightly. With a jolt of surprise, she realized that the cats talking were Bramblestar and Squirrelflight. They seemed as if they were arguing.

"Can you stop shouting? You'll wake up Firepaw!" Bramblestar growled, his fur bristling.

"Says the one who is shouting!" Squirrelflight retorted angrily.

Firepaw immediately closed her eye. She couldn't have her parents arguing without knowing the reason why. And if she wanted to know the reason, she'd have to eavesdrop.

"I can't have you accusing Firepaw of lying!" Bramblestar fired back, but his voice had notably dropped to a softer tone. "If she says the wind picked her up, I believe her!"

"But she sounded so unsure of herself when she was talking to me!" Squirrelflight meowed, her voice softer too. "I don't know… but Bramblestar, I don't want to make you angry."

Firepaw's breath caught in her throat. They were talking about her! She immediately perked her ears, although slow so that her parents wouldn't notice.

"She did seem a bit nervous," Bramblestar meowed finally, and a sound that sounded suspiciously like his tail lashing vibrated in Firepaw's ears. "Maybe she was lying…"

Firepaw unconsciously unsheathed her claws. They found out! She had been lying, but it was for the sake of her life, and perhaps the Clan too. If they tell the Clan, Blossomfall will rip me to shreds!

There was a small shifting noise in the air, and Firepaw could only assume that Squirrelflight and Bramblestar were now pressed together. "Maybe she'll tell us," Squirrelflight murmured, and with a slight flinch, Firepaw felt her mother's gaze bore into her pelt.

"And maybe she's awake, listening to our conversation," Bramblestar meowed in a knowing tone. He flicked Firepaw's shoulder with his tail. "Come on, open your eyes. I know you're awake."

She could've pretended she wasn't and ignored him, right then and there. But with a sigh, Firepaw opened her eyes. Bramblestar was looking at her in slight amusement and shock, while Squirrelflight looked irritated.

"If you were listening, tell us why you lied!" her mother spat, her ginger fur bristling slightly.

Firepaw flinched, but before she could respond, Jayfeather's annoyed voice rang through the air. "What's going on here?"

The three cats turned their heads to see Jayfeather and Briarlight. The gray tabby medicine cat looked irritated, his sightless blue eyes glaring at them as if he could see them. The crippled dark brown she-cat looked confused, glancing at Bramblestar and Squirrelflight.

Bramblestar stepped forward, his amber gaze steady. "We were just leaving," he meowed, throwing a quick glance at Squirrelflight.

Squirrelflight nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly, stealing a glance at Firepaw before turning around and padding out of the den. Bramblestar reluctantly followed.

Briarlight stared after them for a moment, and then dragged herself away, skidding the ground along the way. But Jayfeather still lingered, his blind blue eyes staring at Firepaw. Silently, he padded deeper into his den and then returned a few moments later with another poppy seed.

"It's too early for you to be awake," the tabby medicine cat mumbled around the seed, and then placed it onto the ground, pushing it towards Firepaw. "Eat this and you'll go back to sleep again."

"But I'm hungry," the apprentice meowed, staring at the seed disdainfully, "and a poppy seed tastes terrible!"

"Well, suck it up then," Jayfeather snapped. "You don't always get everything you want, you know."

Firepaw growled. She moved to push the poppy seed away, but suddenly, Jayfeather's paw stopped her. In a flash, the black seed was in her mouth.

The ginger apprentice struggled to spit the seed out, but Jayfeather's hold was firm. Finally, her teeth chewed the poppy seed and she swallowed reluctantly.

Immediately, the crashing darkness approached her again. Firepaw just barely noticed Jayfeather leave before she fell asleep once again.

"About Snowpaw…"

"Yes, we'll talk about him later. Firepaw might be listening in again."

"...Okay. Can we talk at moonhigh?"

"Sure, sounds good."

Firepaw's ears twitched, slightly waking up before the lulling darkness gently pulled her back into sleeping.

Okay, this was more of a filler chapter than anything, so sorry about it being short! Next chapter, the real action starts ;D A bit of Dewpaw x Seedcloud next chapter as well, but it's mostly one-sided… oh well! Anyways, did you like it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!