Fireheart

Fireheart stepped forward on the Highledge, his pelt soaking in the rays of sunlight that trickled down into the ThunderClan camp. It was a perfect spot. The bushes that rimmed the rocky pit deflected just enough heat to cool down any hot day. His green gaze settled on the milling cats below him. They all turned their eyes up to him, eager for whatever news he would bring.

"Cat's of ThunderClan!" He began. "There has been a traitor among us!"

Startled mews filled the camp as doubt swept through ThunderClan. Fireheart allowed them to go on for a second longer before silencing them with a wave of his tale.

"You may want to know who this traitor is," Fireheart continued, "And that is what I am here to tell you. Graystripe betrayed ThunderClan. He fathered a litter of kits with a RiverClan she cat by the name of Silverstream. He then abandoned our Clan and joined their ranks!"

Yowls of outrage echoed of the rock around them.

"That traitor!"

"What 'till I get my paws on him!"

"I always knew he was sour!"

"He broke the Code!" They cats were stirring themselves into a rage. It's almost too easy.

"What are we going to do about it?!" Mousefur yowled, "Are you letting him walk free?"

Fireheart raised his tail for silence before meowing, "Yes we are letting him go. Why chase the traitor? He's not worth it."

Mousefur didn't seem happy with this answer, "So you'll let any cat just walk off and join any Clan they want?"

Fireheart shook his head, "No. If we ever meet Graystripe again on the battlefield we will show him the strength of ThunderClan! We will show the deserter no mercy!" The Clan roared in approval. Out of the corner of his eye, Fireheart spotted Darkstripe hang his head. Like he was ashamed to be a part of this Clan.

Fireheart almost felt sorry for him.

That night, it took Fireheart a long while to drift off to sleep in the warrior's den. You're not as tough as you were. He kept thinking to himself, They're softening you. You're losing ambition. Fireheart shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. He was tough. He had ambition. These were just nagging doubts. Nothing to pay any attention to.

Maybe it was those thoughts that gave him such strange dreams.

Fireheart suddenly found himself next to a muddy lake. The sky was dark and lacked any trace of starlight. The trees looked barren and cold, like in the winter except without the snow. This didn't faze Fireheart. He thought it even looked a little nice.

"So, you're the little cat with the big plans." Fireheart's ears twitched at the sound of the strange mew.

"I guess you could put it that way. Who are you?"

A she cat padded into view, "That is of no importance. We're here to talk about you." She stared into his eyes. She had a good stare. Fireheart met her gaze. It was a pleasure to have a cat challenge him every once in a while.

She took a seat in front of him, blinking slowly, "You're getting soft, Firestar."

Fireheart licked a paw and smoothed it back over his ear, "The name's Fireheart. You can call me Firestar when Bluestar finally… succumbs to her grief."

"That was clever," she continued, "What you did with the poppy seeds. Cruel but clever."

Fireheart liked this cat. She wasn't easy prey.

He cocked his head slightly to the side, "I have a feeling that you're no stranger to cruel."

"You have no idea."

"I'm sure."

"But that's the problem, Fireheart. You have no idea. You don't know what Tigerclaw's going to do when he comes back. He's not going to stay gone, and you know it."

"I'll deal with him when the time comes."

The she cat shrugged, "Will you be able to? That's my question. You need to act. First you must expel all rebellion from your camp. Get rid of the cats who aren't buying into your lies."

"They're all buying it," Fireheart sneered, "Mousebrained forest cats."

The she cat didn't regard the insult, "You know of whom I speak. There are those that knew Tigerclaw too well. After you take care of them, you must expand. WindClan is weak. Their leader is old. Easy to sway. Take advantage of that."

"You make it sound so easy. These things take time," Fireheart retorted.

Suddenly the she cat was furious, "Don't you understand?!" she hissed, "You have no time! Blood is coming Fireheart, and you are not ready to face it! The Clans will be torn apart! You must act NOW!"

Fireheart found himself panting in his nest. It had been a dream. Just a dream. His heart hammered against his chest. Maybe his dream cat had been right. Maybe he could no longer afford to wait. Maybe it was time to act.

Thank you all for reading! As you can see, I will now be posting only on Thursdays. I am doing this to enable me to post in my writing blog as well. I just started it, and you can check it out with the link on my profile page!