"Where is she?" Twyla impatiently hissed. "She should be back by now!"
Firegaze felt her fur bristling. It had been sunhigh when Violet had left for ThunderClan, and now it was sundown. Things were starting to become chaos. Even the mediators couldn't keep everyone calm.
Twyla sighed. "I don't get why anyone thought this was a good idea."
Firegaze heard pawsteps from behind them. She turned to see Tristan, the other leader of The Ten Flames. Twyla shifted uncomfortably.
"Twyla, I understand that you don't like Violet's decision, but we all need to cope with it." Tristan scolded her as if she was a kit. "And I certainly don't think it's very appropriate to complain about her in front of her own kit."
"Leave me alone." Twyla snapped at him.
Tristan looked down at his paws. "Well I'm sorry you feel that way." Tristan turned to face Firegaze. "Come with me, Firegaze."
She nodded, following Tristan while looking behind her back to see Twyla, with a melancholy expression. Firegaze looked around the camp to see members of her group with arched backs, spiking fur. Yowls of anger and scorn could be heard from across the camp. The young she-cat sighed as she saw her friends fighting even more. Tristan stopped over by the camp entrance, which caught Firegaze off guard.
"What are we doing here?" Firegaze asked, even more confused than before.
"Waiting for your mother." A familiar voice explained. Firegaze turned around to see her father, Silverfire. "She should be back by now..."
Tristan murmured in agreement. "Yes, she should. I wonder what's taking her so long."
"W-What if...those scary cats attacked mom?!" Firegaze fretted. "A-And s-she didn't-"
Firegaze noticed her father's tail touch her shoulder. She looked in his eyes with uncertainty. Silverfire gazed at her warmly. He leaned closer towards her.
"She'll be back. I just know it." Silverfire whispered in her ear.
Firegaze wasn't sure what to make of what Silverfire had said, but she nodded and looked over the the flowing river where their territory ended. She sniffed the air, trying to catch her mother's scent. She still couldn't find it. Angrily, she huffed and slumped onto the ground.
Tristan seemed to notice her little tantrum. "Getting upset will do you no good, Firegaze. You need to keep trying."
She got up and checked for her mother's scent once again. Nothing still? Firegaze closed her eyes for a second. Something felt...different. She opened them and saw her mother, Violet, walking towards their camp with three strange cats escorting her. What was this? Firegaze shivered a bit, and then blinked. Her father and Tristan were still waiting for Violet at the shore.
"Dad?" Firegaze whispered. "Did you see that?"
Silverfire looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"
"I just saw Violet coming to camp with three weird cats." Firegaze confessed, unsure of how to describe it.
Tristan narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure you aren't hallucinating?"
"Yes, I'm sure!" Firegaze insisted, her fur bristling with anger. "Stop treating me like I'm a kit!"
"Firegaze." Silverfire's stern tone startled her. "Don't speak to your leader like that." He then turned to face Tristan. "But I don't think she's making this up. She has some of my blood, after all. Our family has an uncanny knack for seeing visions."
"So I was right." Tristan muttered under his breath. "Your family is full of a bunch of creeps."
Firegaze definitely didn't get that. And she didn't even know what a vision was. She shook off the uneasiness tugging at her chest and wadded across the shallow river.
"Firegaze, what in the name of Silverpelt are you doing?!" Tristan yowled. His fur now looked like a giant matted fur ball.
"Going to see my mother!" Firegaze called back. "Don't worry, I know how to swim!"
Tristan glared at Firegaze for a moment, and then looked back at Silverfire with a hint of doubt.
"You are such a great father." Tristan mocked Silverfire, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "You know, just letting her go into the river without any older cat, just...wow."
Silverfire immediately swiped his forepaw at Tristan, his claws sheathed. Firegaze looked back at them with mixed look of horror and unease. Why are they fighting? I thought they were friends! Tristan dodged nimbly, now angrier than before.
"Take it back!" Silverfire spat, baring his sharp teeth.
Tristan curled his lip. "Take back what? The truth?"
"Stop it, this instant!"
Firegaze froze in shock. She knew that voice from anywhere. Violet. Firegaze looked back in front of herself, realizing that Violet was in front of her. Three cats stood behind her, muttering among themselves about her group mate's behavior.
"I come back with guests, and what do I see?" Violet was fuming. "My co-leader and my mate lashing out at each other! Tristan, I thought you were keeping everything in check!"
"I couldn't keep everyone in control! The mediators got caught up in the mess, and now it's a brawl in there!" He shot back bitterly.
Violet ignored him, her eyes flashing with pain. "And if front of my own kit…River is probably caught up in this too, isn't he?"
Silverfire had finally snapped. "River?! He's in this now, too?!" His eyes were brimming with anger. His eyes looked like burning wildfire.
Tristan nodded. He didn't utter a single word.
"Tristan, you're banned from leadership duties until I see fit. Silverfire, you're also on apprentice duties for a half moon, starting tomorrow." Violet sighed. She then turned to the three cats behind her. "I'm sorry, it's just that I wasn't expecting to find...this when I got back."
The large dark brown tabby tom nodded. "We understand."
"Maybe we could help sort out the mess?" the pale tabby offered.
Violet looked at them for a moment. "Yes, we could use the help. Firegaze, can you lead them to our camp so I can deal with these two idiots?"
"Yes Violet." Firegaze responded at once. Violet had already padded over to Tristan and Silverfire. "This way."
Firegaze bounded of towards the shore, only to realize that the cats were reluctant to get in. The small black tom looked scared of it, while the pale tabby pawed it like it was crowfood. The large tabby tom's whiskers twitched.
"It's not that bad. We only have to get across this part of water." Firegaze meowed.
The three cats looked at her with doubt, but they finally started to get in the water. Firegaze's pelt pricked with irritation, but she ignored it and continued on. Once she got out of the water, she shook the water off her pelt violently. The cats jumped back in surprise.
The pale tabby tilted his head. "I thought you liked water."
"Yeah, but not as much as I like being dry." Firegaze chuckled. She pointed to the cave entrance with her tail tip. "In there."
The three cats went ahead of her into the cave. Firegaze sighed and followed them. Once she came in total silence followed. Everyone was staring at the visitors. She then noticed that Holly was walking towards them.
"So are they ThunderClan cats?" she asked, looking directly at Firegaze.
The dark tabby began, "Yes, we are-"
Holly whipped her head to face him. "Was I talking to you?" Firegaze winced. Holly had an extremely bad temper around other cats, especially around outsiders.
To Firegaze's relief, the dark brown tabby did nothing to harm her. Quickly she realized that everyone was waiting for her to answer.
"Oh! Uh...yeah! Violet told me they were from ThunderClan, and that they're guests." Firegaze stammered. Holly's whiskers twitched. "And she also said to treat them with respect. Especially you, Holly." Firegaze added, attempting to get back at her.
"Whatever." Holly grunted, openly sharing her displeasure. "I'm going out hunting."
"No, you're not Holly." Firegaze heard a familiar meow. "Because I need to sort out this mess."