Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, only Flamepaw (OC) and the minor plot differences.

~Chapter Two~

Shocked yowls rose from her clanmates and echoed through the forest. Flamepaw stood there, terror gripping her as she let out a wail, her entire body trembling.

Ravenpaw staggered slightly. His right foreleg glistened, wet with blood that flowed from the deep gash in his shoulder. "We m-met five RiverClan warriors beside the stream, not far from the Sunningrocks," he went on shakily. "Oakheart was among them."

"Oakheart!" gasped Graypaw who was beside Firepaw. "He is the deputy of RiverClan. He's one of the greatest warriors in the forest. Lucky Ravenpaw! Wish it would have been me. I'd have really—" Graypaw was silenced from Smallear who gave him a fierce glance.

"Redtail warned Oakheart to keep his hunting parties out of ThunderClan territory. He said the next RiverClan warrior to be caught in ThunderClan territory would be killed, but Oak…Oakheart would not back down. He said his Cl-Clan had to be fed, whatever we threatened." Ravenpaw paused to wheeze for breath. His wound was still bleeding heavily, and he stood awkwardly to keep the weight off his shoulder.

"That's when the Riverclan cats attacked. It was hard to see what was happening. The fighting was vicious. I saw Oakheart had Redtail pinned to the ground, but then Redtail…" Suddenly Ravenpaw's eyes rolled in his head and he lurched sideways. Half scrambling, half falling, he slithered off the Highrock and collapsed on the ground below.

Flamepaw watched then as if frozen, as Goldenflower bounded toward him and crouched at his side. She licked his cheek briefly and called out, "Spottedleaf! Flamepaw!"

At that moment she seemed to unfreeze and ran forward through her clanmates towards the fallen apprentice. Spottedleaf appeared from the medicine den and trotted over. She hurried over to Ravenpaw and Flamepaw managed to get there when she mewed for Goldenflower to stand back. The medicine cat then used her nose to roll the apprentice over so that they could get a good look at the wound. Spottedleaf then glanced up and meowed, "It's all right, Goldenflower, his wounds aren't fatal. But we'll need to fetch some cobwebs to stop the bleeding."

Flamepaw looked up and met her mentor's eyes for a moment, "Flamepaw I want you to press your paws onto the wound to try to slow the bleeding and make sure you use a lot of pressure," the medicine cat replied and sprinted back to the medicine den. She quickly pressed her paws onto the wound as gently as possible, but made sure she used a lot of pressure.

The hushed silence in the clearing was broken by a mournful howl. Flamepaw looked up from her task and looked in the direction it came from. The rest of her Clan did the same.

Tigerclaw staggered through the gorse tunnel. Between his sharp teeth he held not prey, but the lifeless body of another cat. It was Redtail. He dragged the tattered deputy into the center of the clearing.

Shock rippled through the Clan like a chill breeze. From the corner of her eye, Flamepaw saw Graypaw drop into a crouch of grief. "Redtail!"

"How did this happen, Tigerclaw?" demanded Bluestar from her position on the Highrock.

Tigerclaw let the scruff of Redtail's neck fall from his mouth. He looked steadily back at Bluestar. "He died with honor, struck down by Oakheart. I couldn't save him, but I managed to take Oakheart's life while he was still gloating over his victory." Tigerclaw's voice was strong and deep. "Redtail's death was not in vain, for I doubt we'll see Riverclan hunters in our territory again."

Flamepaw watched then as after a moment's pause, several of the cats walked forward to share tongues with Redtail one last time. She looked up then as Spottedleaf came forward with bundles of herbs and cobwebs in her jaws. She set them down and looked up at her then. "You may go. You are done for the night," she mewed and Flamepaw nodded.

She then turned and walked over to Redtail's body, grief weighing heavily in her heart. The deputy had been like a father to her and had always played with her and Sandpaw when they were kits. She now bent forward then and pressed her nose into his neck fur and whispered, "You will never be forgotten. Starclan should be proud to have such a noble and loyal warrior amongst their ranks. I will never forget you. Let Starclan light your way. Always."

Flamepaw now stood up then and walked a few paces away her shoulders slumped and her tail dragging in the dust. She heard someone call her name and looked up to find Tigerclaw approaching her. Before he could say anything she looked over at Redtail's body and found Bluestar was now crouched over his body to share tongues with him one last time.

When she was finished she raised her head and spoke. Her voice was low and thick with grief, and the Clan listened in grief. "Redtail was a brave warrior. His loyalty to Thunderclan could never be doubted. I always relied on his judgment, for it bore witness to the needs of the Clan, and was never swayed by self-interest or pride. He would have made a fine leader."

Then she lowered herself onto her belly, her head bowed, her paws stretched neatly before her, and silently she grieved for her lost deputy. Several others came and lay down beside her, their bowed heads and hunched backs echoing her mournful pose.

Flamepaw now turned back to Tigerclaw, her eyes dead and lifeless, and filled with grief. "What is it you want, Tigerclaw?" she rasped, her voice filled with grief.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he meowed looking down at his paws nervously, which surprised her since he never showed nervousness before.

"Thank you," she whispered quietly looking at the ground blankly.

"It was actually me," Tigerclaw replied quietly his eyes filled with guilt and self-loathing.

She looked up at him for a moment and nodded. "I know. Starclan sent me a dream of him being killed at your paws," she murmured softly.

He looked up at her in surprise. "Then do you hate me? Are you scared of me?" he hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Will you tell Bluestar?"

Flamepaw shook her head. "No, Tigerclaw. I won't," she meowed firmly and looked up at him. "The truth will come out eventually. It always does. It may be tomorrow or it may be many moons from now. But the truth will come out one way or another."

She now stood there and looked into the dark tabby's amber eyes fearlessly. She saw his eyes widen and fill with fear before it died away and became soft and gentle. "Then until then will you be my ally?" he asked.

Flamepaw nodded, "Until the end, Tigerclaw," she promised. "But if Bluestar finds out and exiles you I'm not coming with you. My duty is to ThunderClan. I just hope you don't hate me for it."

"I could never hate you for something like that, Flamepaw," he purred.

She nodded then and the two of them started to walk over to Spottedleaf. The young medicine cat was using her teeth and paws to press wads of cobweb onto Ravenpaw's shoulder wound.

"So Spottedleaf," Tigerclaw addressed the tortoiseshell with a confident meow. "How is he? Do you think you can save him? I've spent a lot of time training him up, and I don't want my efforts to be wasted at the first battle."

Spottedleaf didn't look up from the apprentice as she replied. "Yes, a pity if, after all your valuable training, he dies in his first fight, eh?" Flamepaw could hear a teasing purr in her soft mew.

"Will he live?" Tigerclaw demanded.

"Of course. He just needs to rest."

Tigerclaw snorted and looked down at the motionless black shape. He jabbed Ravenpaw with one of his front claws. "Come on, then! Get up!"

"Tigerclaw stop it," she mewed and brushed her flank against him.

"Not so fast, Tigerclaw!" Spottedleaf placed her paw over Tigerclaw's sharp talon and gently moved it away. "This apprentice needs to keep as still as possible until the cut has healed. We don't want him opening his wound by jumping around trying to please you. Leave him alone."

Flamepaw felt the big tabby stiffen, and was about to speak when Spottedleaf mewed teasingly. "Even you know better then to argue with a medicine cat, Tigerclaw." Tigerclaw turned then to look at her his eyes flashing at the tortoiseshell's words before turning back to the medicine cat.

"I wouldn't dare argue with you, dear Spottedleaf," he purred. He turned to leave then with her right beside him when he caught sight of Firepaw and Graypaw. "Who's this?" he asked Graypaw, towering above them.

"He's the new apprentice," Graypaw mewed.

"He smells like a kittypet!" snorted the warrior.

"Tigerclaw don't be rude," she chided gently and the warrior looked at her before turning his attention back to her brother.

"I was a house cat," Firepaw meowed boldly, "but I am going to train to be a warrior."

Tigerclaw looked at him with sudden interest. "Ah, yes. Now I remember. Bluestar mentioned that she stumbled across some stray kittypet. So she's actually going to try you out, is she?"

Firepaw sat up very straight. "That's right," he mewed respectively.

Tigerclaw eyes him thoughtfully. "Then I shall watch your progress with interest. I'm curious to see if you are as promising as your sister Flamepaw is."

Flamepaw looked up at him then and he jerked his head for her to follow him and the two started to walk away.

"So that was your brother?" he asked curiously turning his head to look at her.

She nodded. "Yes that was. I hope he does well," she replied and turned to see that Graypaw was showing the new apprentice around the camp. She and Tigerclaw ended up sitting down a few tail-lengths away from the elders' den.

Flamepaw soon settled down then and had her tail wrapped neatly around her paws and looked up at the sky with Tigerclaw sitting right beside her, their fur brushing slightly. Suddenly Bluestar's voice called from the Highrock. Redtail's body still lay in the clearing below, pale gray in the fading light. "A new deputy must be appointed," she meowed. "But first, let us give thanks to Starclan for the life of Redtail. Tonight he sits with his fellow warriors among the stars."

Silence fell as all of ThunderClan looked up into the sky, which was beginning to darken as evening crept over the forest.

"And now I shall name ThunderClan's new deputy," Bluestar continued. "I say these words before the body of Redtail, so that his spirit may hear and approve my choice."

Flamepaw now realized why Tigerclaw had murdered Redtail. It was so he could be named deputy. She looked up at the dark tabby and noticed the hunger in his eyes as he stared up at the Highrock.

"Lionheart," meowed Bluestar, "will be the new deputy of ThunderClan.

Flamepaw was still looking up at Tigerclaw and watched as he moved forward to congratulate Lionheart with a nudge so hearty that it almost pushed the golden tabby off balance.

Bluestar spoke again. "Redtail was also a mentor to young Dustpaw. Since there must be no delay in the training of our apprentices, I shall appoint Dustpaw's new mentor immediately. Darkstripe you are ready for your first apprentice, so you will continue Dustpaw's training. You had a fine mentor in Tigerclaw, and I expect you to pass on some of the excellent skills you were taught."

The tabby warrior swelled with pride as he showed his acceptance with a solemn nod. He strode over to Dustpaw, bent his head, and rather awkwardly touched noses with his new apprentice. Dustpaw flicked his tail respectfully, but his eyes were still dull with grief for his lost mentor.

Bluestar raised her voice. "I shall keep vigil with Redtail's body tonight, before we bury him at sunrise." She jumped down from the Highrock and walked over to lie right beside Redtail's body once more. Many others joined her, Dustpaw and Smallear among them.

Flamepaw then padded over and took her spot by Redtail's body and laid her head on his shoulder, once more feeling grief for the dead warrior. She was slightly startled when she felt someone press their fur against her flank and lifted her head and turned to see Tigerclaw. The dark tabby looked at her with his amber eyes and settled down beside her and carefully pressed his flank against her which she was grateful for.

She now laid her head once more on the former deputy's shoulder and felt some comfort that Tigerclaw had thought of staying with her. She now sat there and for once she didn't feel alone.