Chapter 4: Elder Stories... From an apprentice...

Surprisingly, Toastpaw had felt okay these last two moons since his apprenticeship. Everyone mostly went along their own business and the tom was glad he didn't have to talk to Brightlight every day. He ignored the fact that Breadpaw was praised at everything he did while Toastpaw merely was given a nod of approval by anyone other than the medicine cats and Heartburn.

Today was a rather boring day, just some training and hunting done early. The dark brown tom sighed was about to join a patrol when Normalpaw ran up to him, she seemed to get better by the day by the looks of it. "Yo, Toaster, can you help me gather herbs? Monkeytail is busy dealing with Budlight's strange sickness, he was throwing up all night." She seemed casual with it, like it happened often. Toastpaw wasn't going to question it. "Um... Okay." He nodded, ears twitching. "Cool, let's go before Breadpaw makes us let him come and show off."

Toastpaw was glad to have Normalpaw as a friend. She actually saw the flaws in Breadpaw, and didn't think he was some perfect angel sent from Starclan themselves. The apprentice sniffed around and dug up some marigold. He gently picked it up and set it down in a leaf pouch to carry it and not have herb taste in his mouth. "Norma, do you wonder why I'm like this to the clan? An outcast even to the outcast?"
His friend stopped digging in the dirt. She looked like she was frozen stiff. She turned and looked him in his blood red eyes. "Toaster, it's best that you don't ask questions like that."
"No! I want to know, I've been traumatized my whole childhood, I think I can handle something like that."
The medicine cat lowered her ears, "Kid-"
"Don't call me kid."
"Okay, sorry... Okay, but it'll be a long story so you should sit down."

"You see... When I was a kit hanging out with Monkeytail because I had no life, she was given a sign. Honestly, it was horrifying to watch. She was shaking on the floor, looking like she was going to die, eyes somewhat glowing. When it finally stopped, she was amazed. She had said that I was meant to be her apprentice-"
"What does this have to do with me?"
"Shush, idiot. A moon later, about the time before you were born, she had an actual prophecy. She had mentioned that fire and tiger shall be reborn, which she told the clan. Everyone assumed that it had to do with the ancient tales of Firestar and Tigerstar and with Brightlight and Stevehawk's children, since there were two of them. You just happened to look like Tigerstar, and Breadpaw more of Firestar. That's most probably the reason the clan treats you like this."

Silence.

"Then why do you hang around me..?" Toastpaw said after a minute of complete silence. "Because if you really are Tigerstar, I want to lead you on the right path, same with Monkeytail. Your mentor, I guess she's on the same page as well..." The brown tom shivered at the thought of Heartburn's training, she set her standards for his training high, and trained almost every day. One time she even allowed claws to see if he could actually use them. Naturally he had gotten in trouble with Goodstar. But all of that aside, she treated him like an actual person and not some thing to be tossed aside and forgotten.

"Should we get back to camp..? It's getting sorta dark..."
"Right behind ya, Toaster."