I followed Tigerclaw as he led the patrol to the Shadowclan border. Mousefur and Brackenpaw walked beside me. "Honestly, I don't see why I'm on every single dawn patrol! Can't a cat sleep without someone interfering?" Mousefur muttered. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Mousefur will be Mousefur… Brackenpaw padded beside me.

"Cinderpaw's getting real cozy in the medicine den. She's even learned things from Yellowfang. You think Yellowfang might ask to take her as an apprentice?" Brackenpaw asked. I looked at him in thought.

"That would be great! Then Cinderpaw will feel like she has a place in the clan!" I exclaimed. Even though she wouldn't be in this situation if I just saved her. I shook out my fur and shoved that thought away.

"I heard Fireheart and Graystripe snuck away when we left the gathering last night." Tigerclaw meowed suddenly. I narrowed my eyes and shared a look with Brackenpaw.

"Good riddance." Mousefur muttered. I fluffed out my fur defensively.

"They didn't sneak away! They went hunting but they couldn't find any prey!" Brackenpaw protested. Tigerclaw scoffed.

"You don't really believe that pathetic lie?" he snickered. Brackenpaw lifted his head with pride even though his gaze wavered when Tigerclaw's scorching eyes caught his.

"It may be pathetic but it isn't a lie." Brackenpaw retorted. Tigerclaw growled and leaned into the apprentice's face. I gasped as he knocked Brackenpaw on the ground and pinned him.

"Tigerclaw!" I exclaimed. Tigerclaw ignored me and glared down at the ginger apprentice. Brackenpaw's eyes were wide with fear and he was frozen to the spot.

"How dare you question your deputy?" Tigerclaw snarled. "When we get back to camp, you will go straight to the elders den and you will clean and groom everyone's fur. I better not see a single hair left unattended or you will be spending the next three moons cleaning the whole clan's fur. Do you understand?" Brackenpaw nodded in fear and I gaped at Tigerclaw. "Good." Then he lowered down to Brackenpaw's ear and whispered viciously. I pricked my ears to listen. "When I'm leader, you'll regret you ever spoke up to me." I widened my eyes and felt everything freeze. Fireheart is right! I was right! Cinderpaw's accident wasn't supposed to be an accident! It wasn't even meant for her! Tigerclaw is trying to kill Bluestar so he can be leader. I have to stop him or Thunderclan will be destroyed. Tigerclaw padded to the front of the patrol and flicked his tail like nothing happened. I nuzzled Brackenpaw to his paws. Drops of blood dripped from his neck where Tigerclaw's paws were.

"Are you alright?" I whispered. Brackenpaw nodded, too shaken up to reply.

"Right. Well let's get going before the sun rises." Tigerclaw meowed. Then he led the way to Shadowclan's border. I looked around for Mousefur. Surely she saw the way Tigerclaw treated Brackenpaw! I looked around to see her padding through the bushes with a squirrel dangling from her jaws.

"Look what I found! This will feed the kits for moons!" Mousefur purred in satisfaction. I looked at her in disbelief. You gotta be kidding me! Something terrible just happened and she wasn't even here to see it! Mousefur looked at me in confusion. "What? Bad timing?" she asked. I gave an exaggerated sigh and followed Tigerclaw through the trees. Brackenpaw padded beside me and kept close. Mousefur walked beside us with her head held with pride at her catch. I rolled my eyes and placed the scent markers down.

"All done?" Tigerclaw asked. We all nodded. Tigerclaw gave a curt nod then padded back to camp. I nudged Brackenpaw and he looked at me. I nodded to the opposite direction and we ran away into the undergrowth.

"What's going on?" Brackenpaw asked. I looked straight ahead in determination.

"We're going to find Fireheart. He needs to know about this so he can tell Bluestar." I meowed. Brackenpaw pulled up beside me.

"Why can't you tell her yourself? You're the one who saw it!" he panted. I frowned.

"Because… he knows things about Tigerclaw that I don't." I said. And I can't bring myself to do that to my father. He cares about me and he's been there since I was a kit… I couldn't live with myself if he was sent into exile or something all because of me. I shook my head. "Come on!" I meowed. We ran faster until we heard a laugh.

"Fireheart, you lousy furball! How'd you get stuck in the tree?" the laughter was Sandstorm's. I ran to her voice with Brackenpaw. We burst out of the bushes to see Sandstorm and Graystripe standing behind Fireheart who had his upper body stuck in a squirrel hole. His hindpaws flailed behind him.

"Get me out! The squirrels are starting to get angry and they have sharp fangs!" Fireheart called. I rolled my eyes and ran to them. Graystripe looked at me and Brackenpaw.

"Thank Starclan, you're here. Fireheart here is stuck. He thought he could talk the squirrels out of their nest." Graystripe purred. Fireheart growled.

"I wasn't going to talk to them! I was going to claw them out!" he snapped. Then he yelped. "Nice squirrel- hey! That's my whisker you just ripped out! Leave my whiskers alone, you ruffians!" Brackenpaw snorted then burst out laughing. I rolled my eyes and grabbed onto Fireheart's tail before tugging hard. "OWW! What in the name of Starclan is wrong with you?!" he wailed. I grabbed his paws and pulled harder. Fireheart bucked around in my jaws and he wailed louder.

"Quit squirming!" I snapped around a mouthful of fur. I gave one last tug and he popped out of the tree. I spat out a mouthful of hair and sighed. A squirrel peeked out the nest and threw an acorn at Fireheart's head. It started squeaking angrily then crept back inside. I rolled my eyes and turned to Fireheart. Fireheart was nuzzling his tail which was now showing it's skin, thanks to me.

"You ripped my fur off." he mewed. Everyone laughed while I growled impatiently.

"I don't have time for this! Fireheart! You were right about Tigerclaw!" I said. Fireheart looked at me.

"What did he do?" he asked. I looked at Brackenpaw.

"We were out on patrol and he was talking about you two sneaking out last night. Brackenpaw defended you and Tigerclaw pinned him to the ground." I meowed. Graystripe ran over to Brackenpaw and checked him. "He was threatening him about cleaning the clan's fur and while he was doing that, he dug his claws into Brackenpaw's neck. I heard him threaten that when he's leader, no cat will stand up to him." Fireheart looked at me with wide eyes.

"Are you alright?" Graystripe asked his apprentice. Sandstorm looked at me.

"Tigerclaw wouldn't do that. He's loyal!" she mewed. I looked at my paws.

"I thought the same thing." I murmured. Then I turned my gaze to Fireheart. "You have to tell Bluestar! She trusts you and you know more about Tigerclaw than any of us!" Fireheart gaped at me.

"But-"

"If Tigerclaw becomes leader, the clans will die! We can't let that happen!" I snapped. Fireheart nodded and sighed.

"I'll try. This isn't the first time I tried to talk to her. She didn't believe me the first time. I needed more proof." Fireheart meowed. I looked at him.

"I'll help in any way I can." I mewed. Fireheart nodded and stood up. Then we padded back to camp. Fireheart padded beside me.

"There is one thing you can do." he murmured. I looked at him. "Riverclan knows more about Oakheart's death than any other clan. I was thinking since you have friends in Riverclan, you can come with me and help find out the truth." I widened my eyes.

"I… I can't!" I said. I can't go to Riverfang!

"Leopardstorm you offered to help and right now I'm taking up the offer. Come with me or we'll never find the truth." Fireheart snapped. I looked at my paws and sighed.

"Alright."