Ugh. This chapter was a headache. I finished the prologue, uploaded it, only to stop and think: "Wait... I have no idea where I'm going with this!" So I'm having to wing it and hope it turns out for the best.

For the record, I wrote half of this while I was running on no-sleep this Friday morning. I like to update at least one story every other Friday, so that might explain why this chapter is subpar.

Please give me reviews.

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Please.

The sunlight filtered into the warriors den with a particular beam of light falling over Firehearts eyes and waking him from his slumber. He cursed the sunlight that disturbed his sleep and got to his paws. He felt the ache of the day before still bothering him and he sighed inwardly. He never seemed to get as much sleep as he should.

But it's understandable. The reasonable side of his mind told him. He was the deputy of Thunderclan after all, he didn't have time for sleep. The tired and aching side of his mind, who was still sour at being woken, politely but firmly asked the reasonable side to shut it's trap.

The orange warrior gazed around the clearing. Most of the cats were awake. Two kits tumbled and play-fought outside the Nursery with their mother watching them. Fireheart recognized this cat as Willowpelt and the two kits were Bramblekit and Tawnykit. Both of who were Tigerstar's kits. The thought made a shiver roll down his spine.

Willowpelt seemed to notice him looking because she meowed a quiet greeting. "Hello, Fireheart. You're up early." She commented, before quickly adding, "I hope they didn't disturb you?"

Fireheart shook his head, his whiskers twitching with amusement. The two bundles rolled over each other, each of them trying to pin the other down. "No, no. I'm just going to get a head start on the day, is all."

"Good for you. Starclan knows I can't get a bit of sleep to save my life with these two." Though Fireheart knew she was serious her tone was good humored and she cast the two a warm glance. They didn't notice however, as they were still caught up in their game.

"Do you know if Graystripe is awake yet?" Fireheart asked, returning his gaze to the queen. Her whiskers twitched and amusement gathered in her eyes. As soon as Fireheart was about to ask what was so funny he felt a rough nudge from his side.

"Yes, I do believe he's awake!" Came a voice from behind him. Fireheart regained his balance and spun around, purring at the sight of his old friend. "I've always managed to gain the upper hand on you when it came to stealth." The gray tom boasted, puffing out his chest and holding his head high.

"I don't see how. When you walk the whole forest hears you coming." Fireheart jabbed at his friend lightheartedly. He returned the nudge by butting his head into Graystripe's side, hardly doing anything to knock the large tom off balance.

"Are you calling me fat?" Graystripe asked over dramatically, obtaining a devastated look. They both shared a laugh. It felt just like their apprentice days to Fireheart. It was nice to have his old friend back, considering the fact that he had gone to live with Riverclan for a while to be with his kits.

"What did you want to see me about?" Graystripe asked, sitting back on his haunches and giving his fur a few quick licks. His fur was ungroomed and looked as if he had just woken.

"I was wondering if you would lead a border patrol. Riverclan has been giving us the most trouble, but the Shadowclan border needs to be checked anyway." Fireheart remembered the sickness that had spread throughout Shadowclan and had nearly killed them all. He knew not how they were fairing now, but he doubted they had recovered yet.

"I would love to. Who should I take?" When Fireheart shrugged his shoulders Graystripe looked around the camp. It was fairly busy, with warriors and apprentices coming and going."I guess I'll see if Whitestorm and his apprentice want to come."

"Good idea." Fireheart replied. It would also work as training for Brightpaw. Graystripe hurried off to see if Whitestorm would agree. Willowpelt had gone back to watching her kits.

Suddenly a flash of orange fur caught his eye from the Warriors Den. Sandstorm emerged, blinking into the daylight. Fireheart watched her, letting a sense of joy wash over him. His thoughts were broken though when a voice whispered, "You've taken a fancy to her, haven't you?"

Willowpelt, who up until now seemed completely oblivious to what Fireheart was doing now must have followed his gaze to the light colored she-cat. Fireheart instantly felt hot under his fur, turning his head in another direction quickly. "Who're you talking about?" He lamely asked, though there was no fooling Willowpelt. She cast him a strange glance and he dipped his head. "Yes."

"It is nothing to be ashamed of." Willowpelt sounded amused, which only heightened Fireheart's embarrassment. "You do a bad job of hiding it, though. Oh well. Go on over. Graystripe is busy now, and I'm going to go take a nap while I can." The queen glanced at her kits who were still wrestling in the leaves. She flicked her tail in a silent good bye and disappeared into the Nursery.

Willowpelt is right. He told himself. He had no one else to talk to, so why not? The orange warrior stood and padded over to where she was now sitting, adjusting her eyes to the bright light. He took a deep breath before meowing a greeting.

"Hi, Sandstorm." Fireheart greeted her with dip of his head. She returned the gesture and he continued. "Would you like to go hunting? The rest of the warriors are asleep, and Brackenfur already knows that he leads the evening patrol, so I have nothing else to do."

Sandstorm's eyes seemed to get brighter at his request. "Sure. I'm ready whenever you are." She rose from her paws, stretching her limbs and flicking her tail to the entrance for him to lead. Fireheart obliged, pelting out of the camp with newfound energy. He didn't even glance over his shoulder to see if she was coming. He was to eager to release this pent up excitement.

He heard Sandstorm behind him. They kicked up dirt and leaves as they ran. The scents of the forest flooded his senses. A mouse, yesterdays Thunderclan patrol, the stench of the Thunderpath in the far distance. He focused on that one mouse scent above everything else.

Fireheart dropped into his hunting crouch. He stalked forward, eyes darting around the undergrowth. He could hear it scuffling in the leaves a few foxlengths away, and as soon as his eyes fell upon it's gray pelt he leaped. He trapped it and killed it with a swift bite before it could even emit so much as a squeak.

"Good kill." Sandstorm mewed enthusiastically. He picked it up in his jaws, but just as he was about to take a step a pain erupted in the back of his head and his vision flickered. He fell forward, the mouse dropping from his jaw and a startled hiss from Sandstorm the last things he remembered.

-----

Fireheart was aware of his heart throbbing painfully in his chest and the dim pain in the back of his head. Even with his eyes closed it looked like he was staring into something bright. The orange colored tom blinked his eyes open, only to find himself staring up at a large, silver warrior. His pelt wasn't simply gray like his friend Graystripe, though. It shone with all the light from the stars in the sky.

The Starclan warrior dipped his head in greeting. The cat smelled of Thunderclan, but Fireheart didn't recognize him. As far as he knew this cat could be ancient, so it wasn't that surprising.

Fireheart glanced at his own pelt. He half expected it to be starry silver like this cats, but it was still a brilliant orange. It shone like it did when the sun was at the peak of the sky, and as a breeze ruffled it the movements reminded him of flames.

But his attention was distracted by a sudden mrrow of laughter from the cat in front of him. Fireheart cast him a strange look, but it did nothing to diminish the cats amusement. "You are not dead, young warrior." His voice was deep and low, and his eyes clouded over quickly, as if in deep thought.

Fireheart tried to find his voice, but before he could speak the warrior continued. "I'm here to give you a message that needs to be delivered to your clan leader. It is of the utmost importance."

There were a number of things that confused Fireheart. First, why was the starry warrior telling him this? Shouldn't he be delivering this directly to Bluestar? But before he could voice these concerns the warrior seemed to sense them and flicked his tail to signal Fireheart to keep quiet.

"You're leader has turned her back on us. If we told her she would not believe a word of it. But she trusts you, Fireheart, you're her deputy. If she hears this from you we might have a chance at getting through to her." Fireheart understood this easily. Ever since Tigerstar betrayed Thunderclan Bluestar was not herself, and she even blamed Starclan for their misfortune. Yes, this warrior was right, she would not listen to Starclan.

"Twolegs have been pushing farther into Windclan territory." The large tom stated quite bluntly. "About a moon ago Tallstar led his clan away from the territory. It is up to the rest of the clans to find them and bring them home." His eyes shone with fiery determination.

"But how are we supposed to find them?" Fireheart asked, cocking his head to the side. Starclan must expect a lot of cooperation from the clans to be sending them on a mission this large. He half wondered if any of this would work. What if Shadowclan and Riverclan were less willing to bring a rival clan back into the territory? But they have to. Fireheart thought with dismay. There are supposed to be four clans in the forest. We can't fail.

The tom dipped his head, acknowledging the question as an important inquiry. "If you wish to find them, all you have to do is retrace your steps." He made it sound as if it were the most obvious thing to do in the world, and it left Fireheart with something like annoyance washing through him. "Just retrace your steps, Rusty." The tom twitched his whiskers in amusement and without giving Fireheart any time to ponder the situation he vanished into the chilly air.

Fireheart felt his eyelids grow heavy and he lay his head down on his felt as if the earth were giving away from under him and he fell into the dark state of unconsciousness.

-----

Fireheart heard the rustling of leaves and a cats footsteps around him. He didn't know how long he had lay there with his eyes shut but it was long enough for him to tell that he was in Thunderclan, obviously the Medicine cats den from the smell of the herbs. The orange warrior took in a large breath, savoring the sweet and sharp aromas coming from the plants. But there was another scent, one he had just noticed.

He was surprised he didn't notice it before. A warmth against his side that kept the chills of leaf bare out of his pelt. He knew who it was without opening his eyes. Her smell was enough, and the rasp of her tongue as it ran over his ear.

"Starclan will always be with you. I will be with you." She murmured, her breath tickling the tufts of fur in his ear. Fireheart inhaled her sweet scent again, letting it linger in his lungs. He didn't open his eyes for fear her presence might disappear. He just savored the moments that he could spend next to her. It was almost as if it were real, and that they were actually laying there, in her den. As if nothing had happened, and she were still alive-

"Fireheart, are you awake?" The rough voice of Yellowfang rang in his ears. The second his mind acknowledged her presence Spottedleaf vanished. The warmth at his side was gone and the rasping of her tongue over his ear suddenly evaporated. Her warm scent left in his nostrils was the only thing left, and he savored it as long as he could.

"I know you're awake. I can see your tail twitching." Yellowfang muttered. Fireheart opened his eyes, half angry at the old cat for rousing him from his time with Spottedleaf. But he didn't blame her. She didn't know.

Fireheart saw her go back to tending to the herbs that were lined around the wall of the den. They were stacked in neat piles and she was busy sorting a stack of herbs into their correct locations. Fireheart groaned as he felt a burning in the back of his head and he shut his eyes, a shiver running down his spine.

"Sandstorm said a tree limb fell from the sky and hit you. The poor cat was so scared when she dragged you back to camp, I had to ask Bluestar to keep her busy on patrols so she wouldn't be here all day." A glint of amusement shimmered in the old Medicine Cats eyes before she went back to sorting herbs. Without looking over her shoulder she added, "She's a nice cat, I didn't want to tell her to bug off. But by Starclan I can't work with her asking me if you're going to be okay or if I am giving you the right herbs or if your nest is comfy enough!"

Fireheart couldn't help but purr. "My nest is a tad on the damp side." He joked, only recieving a glare from Yellowfang. "Oh hush. If you have a problem with it you can go fix the den roof yourself." She flicked her tail toward the roof and Fireheart noticed several cracks and holes where drops of water were leaking through.

"I'll have to get to that later." Fireheart mewed, half to himself. "Not anytime soon, you're not." Yellowfang countered. "You still have a lot of healing to do." But Fireheart shrugged off her words. His eyes were gazing out the entrance now. His eyes caught sight of Cloudpaw, his nephew who his kittypet sister had given him to bring back to Thunderclan. He was his sisters first born, and she had decided to let him grow up in the clan. It was a huge honor for Fireheart, and an even bigger worry. He would let nothing happen to this cat.

The snowy white apprentice was sharing a piece of freshkill with Brightpaw, Whitestorms apprentice. The two seemed to be friends, and Fireheart was glad that his nephew wasn't completely an outcast. If it hadn't been for Graystripe and Ravenpaw befriending Fireheart when he joined he would have had to endure that kind of loneliness. Just the thought of it made him sick and he rolled onto his side. Sandstorm must have been out on a patrol now, and he had no idea where Graystripe might be. Either way, he hoped they would visit him in the days to come.