Fireheart

She cats are a pain in the tail. Or, that's what Fireheart honestly believed on that hot sunhigh. It had been a moon since his meeting with the Codeless cats. And now he believed a certain warrior was in love with him. It was extremely annoying.

"Hi, Fireheart," Sandstorm mewed, "Anybody sitting here?" She gestured to the ground in front of him.

"No, not that I know of," Fireheart replied. He instantly regretted it as the she cat sat down, her eyes alight with happiness. Then she just stared at him.

Creepy.

He was almost relieved when Longtail approached with a question. The young warrior was only about seven moons older than Fireheart, but he seemed like an entirely different form of warrior. Tigerclaw's supposed betrayal had hit him hard, and now he was one of the most feared warriors in camp, if only for his temper. That would fade in time. Longtail would have been a great bodyguard if he hadn't been so close to Darkstripe. Fireheart was puzzled to see that Cinderpaw trailed in the warrior's pawsteps.

"Fireheart," Longtail mewed in a tone as hard as the faraway stars, "May I speak to you for a moment."

Sandstorm glared at Longtail, "I think Fireheart's busy."

"Uh, no it's actually fine-"

Her green eyes turned to him, in a look that was probably meant to break his heart, "Must you go?" Good grief.

But Fireheart found himself meowing, "I'm sorry, Sandstorm, but I have work to do."

The she cat shrugged, disappointed, "Alright. I'll see you at sundown!" Fireheart padded towards Longtail, trying not to look too eager to get away from Sandstorm.

As he stopped before the warrior, he glanced down at Cinderpaw. She cringed and looked away.

Fireheart looked up at Longtail, "What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened," Longtail growled, "Two traitors were discovered in ThunderClan today."

"Who?"

The warrior shoved Cinderpaw roughly forward, "This apprentice. And Graystripe." So they had discovered Silverstream. How inconvenient.

Fireheart responded almost instantly, "Say no more. Go and gather Yellowfang and Whitestorm then meet me and Cinderpaw in Bluestar's den."

Longtail looked doubtful, "But isn't Bluestar sick?"

"She is our leader. She at least deserves to be present if not conscious." Great StarClan, I'm good at imitating these mousebrains! Now it was time to play the part of a furious yet resigned deputy. Okay, Fireheart, time to act like Tigerclaw.

Cinderpaw didn't speak to Fireheart at all as they sat waiting in Bluestar's den. The hoarse breathing of the leader was all that distinguished her from a dead cat. That's where blind trust and a conscience get you. Finally, Whitestorm stepped into the den, followed closely by Yellowfang and Longtail. Yellowfang glanced down at Bluestar briefly before glaring at Fireheart. That was Yellowfang, always mad.

Whitestorm was the first cat to break the silence, "So why have you gathered us here, deputy?"

"I think Longtail has something to tell us," The deputy of ThunderClan mewed, "Please inform us, Longtail."

The young warrior glanced at Yellowfang out of the corner of his eye as he spoke, "I discovered that Cinderpaw and Graystripe were both traitors. This morning, the RiverClan she cat Silverstream gave birth to a litter of kits. The RiverClan deputy, Stonefur, then showed up on our beach and declared that the father of the kits was none other than Graystripe."

Whitestorm's tail lashed angrily, "What proof does he have?!"

Longtail nodded in agreement, "That's what Darkstripe said… Until Graystripe admitted that he was the father. Then he, at Stonefur's invitation, defected to RiverClan."

This surprised even Fireheart, "What?!"

"I'll rip that traitor to pieces!" Whitestorm growled.

Yellowfang scratchily purred, "Ha, at least he's honest."

Whitestorm was a picture of outrage, "HONEST?! How is deceiving his Clan for so many moons anything remotely HONEST?!"

This yowling didn't seem to faze Yellowfang, but Fireheart interrupted before the verbal warfare could continue.

"What did Cinderpaw have to do with it?"

"When we accused Graystripe of lying, Cinderpaw confirmed it. She said she had seen them together once when she was out gathering herbs. So she's been just as dishonest as Graystripe."

Yellowfang glared at her apprentice, "I never thought you would betray us. I thought you were worth trusting. Goes to show how often an old cat can be wrong."

"I was trying to keep Graystripe safe," Cinderpaw whimpered, "I didn't think it would go this far."

Yellowfang's eyes softened, "Well, think next time."

Whitestorm was dumbfounded, as usual, "W-What? You're letting her off so easy?"

If Whitestorm was an icy river, Yellowfang's gaze would have melted him, "Last time I checked you weren't a medicine cat. How would you know anything about how a medicine cat would deal with things?"

The senior warrior backed down, "Fine, you're right. I spoke rashly," Rashly? Who says rashly anymore? "And you can deal with your apprentice in whatever way you see fit."

"Why thank you for your permission."

Longtail lashed his long tail, "But you're missing the point! What about Graystripe?"

Fireheart mewed this time, "If he is now in RiverClan, then we can do nothing. Is it worth risking the lives of our warriors to punish a traitor?"

Longtail shrugged, "I guess not."

"Exactly. I will inform the Clan, and we will show no mercy when we next meet RiverClan in battle."

Whitestorm's ears perked up, "That's more like it!"

"Ugh. Warriors." Yellowfang groaned, leading Cinderpaw out of Bluestar's den. Longtail followed her, but Whitestorm stayed behind.

"What is it, Whitestorm?" He asked.

"I just wanted to tell you that I admire how well you dealt with this situation. This is certainly a dark time for ThunderClan. There are traitors everywhere."

Fireheart heaved a mock sigh, "I know, Whitestorm. But we can't give up."

Whitestorm nodded reassuringly, "You'll be a great leader, Fireheart." Then he walked out of the den. Well, Whitestorm was right about one thing. I will be great.