Warning: Near the beginning is a reference to what one might call a 'wet dream'. Nothing too explicit but viewer discretion is advised. Don't like, don't read. This is more of a filler chapter and doesn't have immediate life threatening plot. You have been warned.


Nestled back in the confinements of their makeshift camp, the hollow was once again home to the six adventuring apprentices. Since Anemonepaw's rescue mission, the small group had decided to return to base- one of the few places they knew would be safe for another day until they trekked out in the morning. Due to a light drizzle that had occurred during the night, all felines present hunkered down in the root dugout until morning's light to prevent wet pelts and foul moods. Pressed up against one another much to one's disdain- guess which one- they were able to retain warmth and comfort through the dark night.

They had all huddled somewhat awkwardly inside their hollow, with Mistpaw and Floodpaw somehow managing to get the warmest by clumping in the middle surrounded by the remaining cats. Flarepaw tried to avoid any contact and had originally refused to sleep next to anyone. But once sleep settled in on the cramped cavern, Flarepaw's cold body sought heat and eventually snuggled up to Fallenpaw. Not that he minded of course. And currently, that same hot-headed MagmaClanner twitched and writhed in her dreams.

Mist clouded around her charcoal black appendages, coiling in wisps above the muted green flooring. Large and vacant at first glance, it appeared to be a foggy field with a faint slope to it, a clustering of gray-white tufts drifting at a slightly higher elevation. Nostrils flared as she took in the damp and open scents of the scenery around her. It was serene and peaceful. A quiet break from the chaos that belonged to the real world.

A low growl resonated into the ghostly tendrils that surrounded her in a vulnerable state, unable to clearly identify who had invaded her thoughts. As a pair of green orbs glowed through the mist, Flarepaw was ready to snap in retaliation, refusing to give up her moment of relaxation for a moment of listening to pick-up lines courtesy of everyone's favorite player.

However, once the figure made itself known, it was clear it wasn't Wildpaw. The silhouette was too slender and long legged to belong to the fuzzy furred tom. With a near hidden white base and bold orange patches, it wasn't difficult to find the connection.

"Fallenpaw," she purred, met with a calm nod as the mentioned sauntered closer into view, the wisps parting as he bounced through.

"Flarepaw," he returned the greeting, uncharacteristically nuzzling her cheek as he circled around her petite frame. With a purr in her throat, the reddish apprentice nipped his feathery tail. In response, he flicked her muzzle playfully. Circling back around, Fallenpaw nibbled the other's ear, earning an amused giggle and a shy recoil. Flarepaw retaliated with a ram to his shoulder, knocking him back a step.

"Ooh, feisty," an unusual glint flashed within his leafy green optics, somewhat predatory as he stared back at the reddish 'paw. Smirking, Flarepaw swished her tail, a small wag in her hips. "You asked for it," the orange and white tom growled, lunging. The attack caught her by surprise, suddenly unable to register anything going on around her. She felt her back thud against the ground and when her eyes opened, amber met green in a haze of lust.

"Fallenpaw..." she whispered, barely able to speak much more, lost in the sea of green.

"Yes?" the tom smirked, tapping his nose to her's.

"...Take me..." Flarepaw murmured through half-lidded eyes which in turn got a chuckle.

"You're such a dirty girl," Fallenpaw sneered, slowly running his tongue along the crown of her head. "But for you, I'm willing to accept..."

Words blurred, actions fuzzy, the world around them a total misty blanket.

Suddenly aware of reality with a sharp jolt, startled amber optics opened, quickly taking in the surroundings. Breathing short and almost a wheeze, Flarepaw's chest tightened, attempting to make sense of the previous events. As her fantasized thoughts came dashing back to her mind, her sense of fear took over, prompting her to move away as quickly as possible. She shrunk away from Fallenpaw, mind still loosely muddled.

"Did I...?" she muttered to herself, fear lacing her hushed tone. "Did I really have a..." She shuddered before her vocal chords had a chance to finish. Her tail subconsciously found itself tucked under her legs, where it was met with unpleasant moisture. Disgusted with herself, she cringed with forming tears in her eyes. While stifling a wail of despair, the reddish feline slipped from the hollow as fast as her little burnt black paws could move.

Gray clouds loomed overhead, but based on the time that the group had arrived at the hollow, adding the hours passed for sleep- Flarepaw could safely say it was sometime past midday. Dull streams of light flickered in through holes in the stormy colored clouds, a small dapple of hope pattering against the torn and frayed foliage. The wet earth pressed in between her pads, the ground itself slick beneath her feet. Too warped in her own thoughts, the shuddering feline failed to notice where her paws were leading her. Within another few bounds of her warp speed pursuit away from the hollow, the muck slid against her pink pads where she slipped to the side into a hidden ditch.

"Gak!" the awkward cry escaped her parted jaws, tumbling face first into the dip of wet leaves. As the rest of her body flopped amongst the brown slime and sodden foliage, only weakened murmurs slithered into the moist air.

Upset wasn't even close to the feelings she was now experiencing.

Disgusted was a closer word choice.

Yes, disgusted with her thoughts and desires. It made her stomach churn in a most unpleasant way. Unlike nervous butterflies, it felt as if slimy worms were writhing and coiling in the food pit.

Betrayed was another unique emotion. Yes, her body had betrayed her to mere lustful wants. Great StarClan, she was turning into Wildpaw!

"No...I can't be turning into that flea pelt...I could never sink that low..." her murmurs went unheard to anyone other than herself. "I...I have..." she cried with reluctance, accepting her status. "I've sunk to his bottom feeder level...I'm nothing more than an unworthy pile of crowfood that deserves to be torn apart by foxes...Oh Blackshadow, if only you were here with me. Then I wouldn't be alone."


Flarepaw wasn't sure how long she had been laying alone in her little pit, or how long she had been rambling to a stick as if it understood her problems. She imagined it had been a good few hours, but there was no real way to check without moving and she wasn't really up to moving anyways.

Well, not until she heard an all too familiar timbre break through her incoherent mutterings to the inanimate twig.

"Flarepaw? What in StarClan's name are you doing holed up in a ditch?"

"Go crawl back to the others, Wildpaw," Flarepaw grumbled, though secretly relieved it hadn't been Fallenpaw. She didn't think she had the best sanity to face him. "Just forget about me. Forget about my role in this journey. Forget I even existed. Forget the fact that I once belonged to MagmaClan. Forget about my sorrows, my achievements, my faults, my mind, my soul, and forget about my body. I mean nothing to anyone anymore."

She heard the sound of pattering pawsteps and quickly assumed the tom had left without an argument.

That was easy, she thought triumphantly.

A heavy thud landed beside Flarepaw, shaking the ground beside her. Wincing, she didn't even have to look up. She knew who it was.

"Listen here you stubborn she-cat," Wildpaw growled out, his voice escalating to the tone he used back in the alleyways when he figured out he wasn't Alpha. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, but it isn't funny. If you're trying to make me forget about the things you've done, it's not going to work. And I'm certainly not going to forget you even existed."

"Why won't you? My life means nothing anymore. Move on with your life. Tell the others I won't be journeying with them anymore. I've become useless. I'm a disgrace."

Wildpaw groaned in exasperation. "You're such a kit! Do you really think the world revolves around you? I don't know why you weren't named Bratkit or Whinekit, cause that's what you are right now. A brat and a whiner. Need proof? Just look at yourself. Tell me you aren't whining."

Flarepaw's muddy pelt bristled, her head actually having the energy to lift and direct a glare at the fuzzy tom looming in front of her. "I'm not whining. Nor am I a brat. I'm simply stating the facts. If anything, I'm becoming angry."

"Oh like that isn't anything new," Wildpaw scoffed, turning for the side of the dip in the earth. "Again, you're making this all about you, you selfish kitten. Now come on, everyone's waiting back in the hollow. I won't argue anymore, you thick headed stick in the mud."

"I'm not going back." To prove her point, Flarepaw's dirtied crown slumped back into the nest of tarnished leaves with no intent to move.

"You really are a kit, you know that?" Wildpaw sighed, faintly annoyed. "And if you're going to act like one, might as well be treated like one." Without warning, his teeth found a tight grip around her scruff. He grunted, pulling her stained pelt up onto his back. "Geeze Flarekit, for someone so small, how do you weigh so much?"

A growl rumbled in the back of the she-cat's throat, but she opted not to speak, somehow managing to show self restraint.

I must be going soft on the mouse-heart, she inwardly berated herself. She remained silent for the moment as Wildpaw pulled them both out of the slick walled dugout and up onto flat ground. She waited for him to stop and allow her to get down but it never happened. He continued to walk.

"I can walk, you know," she muttered, irritated.

"I do know," Wildpaw responded cockily, continuing to pad ahead.

Flarepaw was about to retort but a question came to mind. "Hey, why'd you come out here anyways? I mean, obviously to look for me, but why you specifically? You don't have some hidden agenda in mind?"

"Oh come now, Flarekit. I'm not that devious. I'm simply returning you to the hollow safely by order of Fallenpaw. Besides, I know you have eyes for someone else. Who am I to get in the way?"

As his words registered in her mind, Flarepaw felt her ear tips grow warm, a flush creeping up onto her cheeks. "Is it really that obvious?" her typically loud speaking voice had dropped a few decibels, now residing as a timid murmur.

"Nope, but your response confirms it." Flarepaw could only imagine the sly grin on the tom's muzzle, making her want to claw it off in a matter of seconds. Her face formerly flushed with embarrassment had now been replaced with a flush of anger.

"You dirty trickster!" she hissed, purely aggravated as her claws began to poke against Wildpaw's back.

"That's us BlizzardClanners," the scruffy tomcat replied easily, unfazed as he emerged through a set of ferns where thunder rumbled, followed by a bout of raindrops spattering against their fur. He paused. "Look like it's raining again."

"Well don't just stand here, you daft cave mouse! Get us back to the hollow! In case you hadn't noticed, MagmaClan cat plus the rain doesn't equal sunshine and rainbows." Flarepaw snapped, already feeling the effects of the rainfall.

"Right, right." The tom said nothing further, moving his paws quicker against the moist dirt through another bundle of overlapping foliage. Flarepaw said nothing as leaves swatted along her pelt, simply accepting it until she was dry and warm back in the hollow. The falling drops increased and she couldn't help but wonder how much longer their trip was going to take. She hadn't run this far away from their makeshift camp, had she?

"Fallenpaw! Anemonepaw! I found our missing kit!" Wildpaw suddenly called out over a roar of thunder. Lifting her head up, her amber orbs were able to distinguish the tall oak and its twisted roots. From within them emerged frantic shapes of white and orange, and brown. Flarepaw slid off Wildpaw's back, instantly met with the very leaf green gaze she feared. Unable to get a hold over her emotions, she visibly flinched, shying back out of terror.

"What's wrong, Flarepaw? Are you OK?"

"Step back Fallenpaw." Thankfully, Anemonepaw butted the orange and white shape aside. "She's been out in the cold for hours and I'm sure she doesn't need a muzzle in her face. Come on, let's get her inside where it's warmer. Fallenpaw, warn Floodpaw and Mistpaw."

Without arguing, the self proclaimed leader of the six darted back inside the dark hole, leaving Flarepaw with the two toms. With one on either side, she was wordlessly led towards the cavern Fallenpaw disappeared into. As she passed the root barrier, her paws suddenly decided to tell how tired she was. Once sheltered in the warmer shade, her legs went limp and she collapsed, darkness clouding her vision.


An amused laugh.

"Your turn!"

"Hmm, how about Wonderful Wildpaw? I think it fits, don't you?"

A giggle. "More like Wacky Wildpaw!"

"And I'll be Fabulous Floodpaw!"

"Then I guess that leaves Fantastic Fallenpaw for me."

"Mighty Mistpaw?"

"The mightiest of us all! What about Anemonepaw?"

"Awe-inspiring Anemonepaw." A confirming meow broke the thoughtful silence.

Eyelids cracking open, Flarepaw could identify the five shapes of her companions as they spoke what appeared to be nonsense. Shifting slightly, she felt the soft moss wrapped around her, giving her a content sense of security. Something twitched on her back and a jolt of panic shot through her veins. Turning her head ever so slightly, she managed to catch sight of a feathery tail cast loosely over her spine. With one guess, Flarepaw figured out who it belonged to. Surprisingly, it didn't freak her out. It only added to her safe feeling.

"Fearless Flarepaw," she murmured aloud with a smile as she closed her eyes.

"Flarepaw! You're awake!" Mistpaw's squeak was easily identified.

"Back to the living world I see," Anemonepaw spoke neutrally, though his voice held the tone of what sounded like a somewhat amused smile.

"Fearless?" Wildpaw caught on to her entrance to their game. "More like Fat Flarepaw."

"What was that, worm gut?"

"Hey it's the truth and I should know. StarClan only knows how you weigh a hundred pounds."

"Do you have a death wish?"

"Wildpaw please, my patient needs her rest."

"Wildpaw, stop antagonizing Flarepaw. Flarepaw, just- Flarepaw! Put that stick down! You look like you're going to club someone!"

"Oh Flarepaw, please listen to Anemonepaw and Fallenpaw. You're going to hurt yourself."

"Yeah by failing to hit me and tumble to the floor. Then she'll have to stay there because she's too fat to stand up."

"Ooooo! Major burn!"

"You're digging an early grave, dungface!"

"Flarepaw, get back here! Stop chasing my clanmate!"

"But he called me fat!"


And as much as I'd love to continue, I think Flarepaw deserves some justice after what she's going through. Poor adolescent hormones XD Nice to see her back to her old self though, don't you think? And for Kira who wanted them to catch a break, I suppose this is as close as it's going to get XD Most anime I've seen typically involve a trip to the beach to unwind and relax, but I think they've seen enough water, sand, and heat.

Questions? Concerns? Ideas? Rants? I'd suggest referring to the review box. Much appreciated. :) Out of curiosity, what do you think about everyone? Favorite? Least favorite? Until next time my lovely readers, (and hopefully reviewers),

- Snarky