Okay, it's times like these that I need the help of you all. I'm going to do my best to not give any hints away at the plot, but I need your help with a name for the clan of dead cats featured in the last chapter. I've been pondering it for days, and I just can't think of anything. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. It needs a name that is.. darker, for lack of a better word.

Please review. Or I might have to do another filler chapter like I did with Chapter two. -maniacal laughter-

"I mean, she got mad at me just because I accidently put some Catmint in the Chervil pile!"

Ah, life stuck in the Medicine cat den with only oneself and a hyperactive little apprentice for company. Cinderpaw continued to nag about her mentor behind her back, all the while chewing leaves into a pulp.

"It wassh her fault for rushing me." The apprentice went on, her voice muffled by another large herb. Fireheart lay on his back, defeated, staring up at the roof of the den. When would this stop? This torture was far worse than the dull pain in the back of his head ever was or ever could be.

"Cinderpaw, I-"

"But no, she has the nerve to get mad at me!" Cinderpaw went on, completely oblivious to his attempts at sleeping. When Cinderpaw was asleep it always seemed that Yellowfang was awake, and they would end up in a conversation. There was absolutely no time for him to sleep, while Yellowfang and Cinderpaw seemed to rotate keeping him awake.

"That must be terrible, but-"

Cinderpaw chewed another leaf, this time wrinkling her nose with distaste. "I tried to tell her all this, but she refushed to listen. She said something about having a headache and needing a break from my 'endless chattering.'" Cinderpaw rolled her eyes, spitting out the leaf. "You don't think I talk to much, do you?"

"Well-"

"No, no. I'm sure you don't. You know, you're a really great listener." She flicked her tail at his face and purred. "Am I really?" Fireheart replied sarcastically, but to his dismay she didn't seem to catch his tone.

"But then there was this one time Yellowfang misplaced the Poppy Seeds. But did I confront her about it? You can bet your tail I didn't..."

"Oh, Starclan help me." Fireheart murmured, rolling his eyes toward the sky outside. It was dark, and clouds lingered over the forest. A cold chill was in the air that promised snow, and lots of it by the looks of it. The camp was buzzing with activity with everyone preparing for the cold.

"What I wouldn't do to be able to hunt or go on a patrol." Fireheart thought out loud, obviously louder than he intended because Cinderpaw spoke up. "Oh! I forgot. Yellowfang told me to tell you that you could go whenever you feel like it." Cinderpaw nudged him roughly with a forepaw, making Fireheart roll over in surprise. "You're all better now."

"W-what?!" The Thunderclan deputy stared at her in shock, stuttering and tripping over his own tongue. "When did she tell you this?" And why hadn't she told him sooner?

"Oh, a couple of days ago." Cinderpaw replied, shrugging her shoulders as if it were nothing.

"Cinderpaw!" Fireheart scolded, leaping to his paws and making Cinderpaw take a few hasty steps back. He advanced on her, raising a paw and giving her a light bonk on the head. "Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was not all angry. In fact there was a slight hint of amusement in there. It was just like Cinderpaw to hide this from him on purpose.

"Well, you are such a good listener. And Yellowfang appears to be avoiding me. I just wanted to spend some time with my favorite deputy!" Cinderpaws eyes were so pleading and her tail hung low in mock sadness.

Fireheart raised his paw again, only to bring it down over thin air. Cinderpaw had squeezed away beside him and was now by the entrance. "Hey! Don't take it out on me. You should go catch a border patrol or something. Don't you miss Graystripe and Sandstorm?" She said the pale ginger she-cats name with such emphasis that it made Fireheart feel hot in his fur.

But the little mischief maker could not leave it be after seeing Firehearts embarrassed reaction. "I'm sure she missed you." Cinderpaw gave him a small wink, but Fireheart only pushed past her out of the den, her mrowws of laughter the last thing he heard from her den.

I'll get her later for that. Fireheart promised himself, rolling his eyes before gazing around the clearing. Graystripe was poking around the fresh kill pile, so Fireheart decided to join him. He made sure his pawsteps were quick and light so he didn't alert his clanmate that he was there. When he was close enough he mewed loudly in the gray toms ear, "Found what you are looking for yet?"

Graystripe spun around, his whiskers twitching happily. "Glad to see that you're not in the Medicine cats den anymore." He purred. "But sadly I might have to take your place. I've got this bellyache-"

"Don't!" Fireheart mewed in such an alarmed tone that it made Graystripe jump and stare at him uneasily. Fireheart didn't want Graystripe to endure the torture of Cinderpaws never tiring chatter. "What I mean is... Just trust me on this one." The fiery colored warrior advised. Graystripe gave him a questioning glance, but he dropped the subject.

Fireheart scanned the clearing. There was Bluestar beside the Highrock nibbling on a mouse. Beside her Whitestorm was plucking the feathers from a bird, all the while whispering something in a hushed tone to the leader. He made a mental note to talk to her about his dream later. Dustpelt had just entered the camp with only a small squirrel and a bird to show for a long day of hunting. It was just then that Fireheart realized how quickly leaf bare was approaching.

But the clearing was lacking the one cat he had wanted to see the most. The pale ginger fur, and her sweet scent-

"Sandstorm is out hunting." Graystripe meowed. He had an amused look, and Fireheart let out a sigh. "Am I that easy to read?" First Willowpelt, then Cinderpaw, and now Graystripe had all guessed at his thoughts in the past few days.

"You make it so obvious." Graystripe purred, flicking his tail at Fireheart. "You get this really far off look, and then you stare her down from across the clearing." The gray warrior prodded Fireheart with his paw. "You really need to learn how to hide your emotions better."

"Take that back." Fireheart growled playfully, He raised up on his hind legs, ready to bring his weight down on Graystripe. Obviously he was holding back his full strength though, but he made sure he was using enough to flatten the warrior without completely crushing him.

"I swear to Starclan, Fireheart," Yellowfang padded into the clearing past the two toms, her voice non-chalant and mild. "If you get into a mock fight right after your recovery I will send you back to my den for a moon, with your only company being that." She flicked her tail toward the warriors den where Cinderpaw was eagerly chatting away at Dustpelt who looked less than thrilled to be the center of her attention

Fireheart just purred at her threat, but he lowered himself down onto four paws again. "Fine." Graystripe had risen to his paws, completely forgetting about getting himself something to eat. "You want to go hunting? Maybe we can meet up with Sandstorm." Fireheart just nodded eagerly, ready to finally be out of camp after days in the medicine cats den. He could tell Bluestar about the dream when they got back, preferably when there were no other cats around.

The two set off into the forest, all the while scenting the air for prey. Sandstorms stale scent was heading deeper into the forest toward the Shadowclan border. Fireheart also picked up Brackenfurs scent mingled with hers and guessed that the two had gone off hunting. Luckily it made them easier to track because as soon as they lost one scent they could pick up the other.

Graystripes ears twitched and Fireheart listened carefully to what his clanmate was so interested in. Fireheart heard a scuffled noise and a tiny squeak and Fireheart saw Graystripe drop into a hunters crouch. The gray warrior stalked forward, his pawsteps light as if he were gliding over the ground. Fireheart spotted the creature Graystripe was stalking. It was a plump mouse who was searching the leaves for any delicacies.

Graystripe wasted no time in taking advantage of the distracted mouse. He leaped forward and pinned it underneath his paws. But before he could deliver the killing blow it let out a loud shriek which made a bird that was perched on a tree above take flight. Graystripe killed it with a frustrated hiss. "Sorry." The screech had surely warned all the other prey in the area to stay clear. There would be no more hunting in this section of the forest, that was for sure.

"It's fine." Fireheart replied. Graystripe brought his kill with him. Which was a good idea, because Fireheart didn't want to make the trip back to gather only one piece of prey.

Fireheart let the scents around him flow into his slightly parted jaws. He scented Graystripe, for one, then the smell of Brackenfur and Sandstorms trail, then the mouse that hung from his friends jaws. As soon as he was about to declare that there was no prey he caught the scent of a vole in the distance. He flicked his tail, a sign for Graystripe to keep silent.

The fiery warrior hurried toward the smell, his mouth watering at the sight of the averaged sized prey. It too was scuffling around the dirt and leaves. Even they must be preparing for Leaf-bare. The thought crossed his mind. But he would have no pity clouding his thoughts. It was a vicious life in the forest, and if he didn't take the life of this creature then hunger might take the life of one of his clanmates.

Fireheart dropped into his hunting crouch. The fur on his belly brushing the ground he carefully put one paw in front of the other, his eyes never leaving his target. He fought to keep his stomach from rumbling as the scent of the vole lingered in his lungs. This was the thrill he had missed ever since he had been stuck in the Medicine cats den.

But a furious yowl in the distance made him and the vole start. The small rodent darted off into the undergrowth. Fireheart leaped a second late, missing the creature by less than a tails length. He felt his pelt prickle and he glared through the trees, determined to find what had made him lose his kill.

Graystripe came hurrying into the clearing, still carrying the mouse. But the same scent that had reached Fireheart must have reached him too, because his friend dropped the mouse in shock.

Blood.

Fireheart nodded at his friend, a signal for him to follow. The two raced off toward the sound of cats snarling and yowling in the distance. The trail was leading them to the Shadowclan border, and despite his lack of breath he could tell that this was where Sandstorm and Brackenfur had come.

They reached the Thunderpath and Fireheart burst into the clearing. Monsters roared on the Thunderpath, but the six cats who were caught in the heat of battle hardly paid it any attention.

Fireheart instantly recognized four Shadowclan cats who were formed in a tight circle around two Thunderclan cats. To the Thunderclan Deputys horror he saw Sandstorm and Brackenfur fighting back to back as the four Shadowclanners closed in on them.

Fireheart and Graystripe wasted no time. The two acted at the exact same time. Fireheart ran to the right while Graystripe took the left. The gray warrior ran full speed at the first cat he saw, ducking his head and ramming into the smaller cat with full strength, sending the Shadowclanner flying.

Fireheart took a different approach. Being a smaller and more lithe cat he targeted the biggest enemy he could see - which still wasn't much bigger than himself - and jumped on his back. He dug his claws in and his teeth met the black toms scruff. The older warrior screeched in pain and anger, desperately trying to throw Fireheart off.

"Hold still!" He heard another Shadowclanner hiss. A mere second after Fireheart felt claws raking along his flank and the shock made his grip loosen on the big black tom. The warrior used this opportunity and threw Fireheart from his back.

The Thunderclan deputy landed awkwardly on his feet, stumbling once or twice before completely regaining his balance. The dizziness from being thrown was setting in, and before he could do anything he saw a small black and white cat pelting toward him. The cat hardly looked more than an apprentice but in Firehearts shape he doubted he could dodge the oncoming blows. Just when the cat was a couple of tail lengths away a flash of ginger fur tackled the young cat and bowled him over into the dust.

Fireheart caught Sandstorms eye and nodded his thanks. She gave a quick nod back and then turned her attention to the Shadowclan cat who had now gotten to his paws and was preparing another attack. Fireheart knew Sandstorm would be able to handle this cat, so he turned his attention to the rest of the battle.

Brackenfur was battling a she-cat about his size. They were evenly matched and Fireheart could see no serious injuries on Brackenfur that would keep him from overcoming this fight. He scanned the clearing and saw Graystripe in a fight with the larger tom and an average sized cat. The big warrior was delivering powerful blows while the smaller more lithe cat was scoring his claws down Graystripes flank every time the bigger tom stopped attacking.

Fireheart let out a yowl of fury and charged at the smaller cat. He knocked the unsuspecting warrior over and raked his claws down the gray cats exposed belly. Blood welled from the wounds and the cat let out a shriek before rolling away from Firehearts onslaught. As fast as his new wounds would allow he pelted across the Thunderpath without even looking for oncoming monsters.

The Thunderclan deputy now focused all his strength on the cat that Graystripe battled. The tom was slightly larger than his friend and had the fell in beside his clanmate and helped repel the dangerous warrior.

Fireheart and Graystripes combined blows managed to land on the experienced warrior, sending him fleeing over the Thunderpath. Fireheart caught sight of the she-cat Brackenfur had been battling hurtling after him. The small black and white apprentice trailed after them, limping slightly due to a wound on his back leg.

Gazing around the clearing Fireheart was relieved to see that the worst looking injury was a scratch on Sandstorms flank. Blood was dripping from the wound and she gave it a few brisk licks to stop the bleeding for the time being.

"Good thing you two came when you did. Shadowclan don't fight fair." Brackenfur spoke up, his voice breathless. He had a scratch above his eye, but only a small trace of blood was visible and it didn't look very deep.

"What happened?" Graystripe inquired. His gaze flitted from Sandstorm to Brackenfur, seeming to inspect their injuries like Fireheart had done only moments before.

This time Sandstorm answered. "We caught Shadowclan hunting on our territory. They didn't catch anything though, being the lousy hunters they are." She spat. Graystripe purred with amusement and Brackenfur cast her a grateful look for letting him catch his breath before having to answer any more questions.

"I'm sure Bluestar would like to hear about this." Fireheart murmured. The other cats in the clearing nodded and they slowly began to make their way back to the camp. The cold air along with the blood that stained his paws and pelt made him shudder. How much more blood would be spilled before Shadowclan would rest?