Chapter 5

It was a few minutes after Firepaw dozed off when she smelled a familiar scent and opened up her eyes and lifted her head slightly to see Tinypaw trotting through the fern tunnel. She slowly got to her feet and yawned before hopping out of her nest and walking over to her brother, who was talking to Featherwhisker, there was no telling where Goosefeather had ran off too.

"The medicine store's got most of those," the medicine cat apprentice was saying. "I'll fetch some marigold leaves too. If she dresses her wound with that, it will keep off any infection. Wait here."

"Thanks," Tinypaw mewed, as the young pale silvery tom slid past Firepaw with a greeting and disappeared into Goosefeather's den.

"Hi, Tinypaw," she murmured quietly and he looked up.

"Hi, Firepaw," he meowed then hesitantly asked, "what happened to you?"

She couldn't help but let out a huff. "I messed with the wrong bramble thicket while hunting for a mouse. That's what happened," Firepaw muttered good naturedly and Featherwhisker emerged once again from the gloom and dropped a bundle folded in leaves by Tinypaw's feet.

"Tell Ruby to go easy on the poppy seeds. I don't want her to deaden the pain entirely. A little pain can be useful, as it will help us judge how well she is healing."

Tinypaw nodded and picked up the herbs with his teeth. "Thanks, Featherwhisker!" he mewed through the mouthful of leaves, then headed back out the fern tunnel and into the main clearing.

The sun had risen three times since Ruby had entered the camp and that Firepaw had gotten stuck in that bramble thicket. She herself had been in a very bad mood ever since and was still sore. The young apprentice had woken quite early today and was grooming her now patchy coat. She couldn't help but wince every time her tongue rasped over a particularly patchy tender spot. Firepaw, now satisfied that her pelt was as neatly groomed as she could get it, stood up and slid out of the fern tunnel.

The morning was warm as she looked up at the deep blue sky. Today, however, there was heavy dew on the fern fronds and it sparkled on the grass like stars. Firepaw knew that Greenleaf was drawing to a close, and soon the air would start to become cooler and the days would become shorter.

She turned her head then and saw her brother, Tinypaw, pad out of the apprentice den and sniff the air before lying down and rolling in the earth beside the tree stump. She watched as he stretched out his legs and tipped his head back to rub it on the cool ground. After a moment, he flipped over and looked in the direction of where Ruby was sleeping, no doubt looking to see if their sister was awake.

Firepaw shook her head and winced as a stab of pain rushed through her. She turned her head then and caught sight of the other apprentices trotting out of the apprentice den with Brindlepaw emerging last, giving the morning air a sniff before walking out into the open completely.

She and her sister, Frostpaw, had been named apprentices a half moon ago. The duo were definitely welcomed into the den with open paws along with Whitepaw, formerly Whitekit, who became an apprentice about a moon and a half after she and Tinypaw had arrived. The white tom was as cheery as ever and seemed to always be filled with energy, where he ever got his energy Firepaw would never know.

Suddenly Thistleclaw emerged from the warriors' den and began his usual taunts and insults towards the small black-furred apprentice. All she did was sigh and sat a few tail-lengths away from them as the spiky-furred warrior mewed rudely, "Perhaps she thinks a kittypet is better off staying in camp, tending to the sick." Tossing his sleek gray head and throwing Tinypaw a scornful look.

"And what's wrong with a kittypet staying in camp tending to the sick, Thistleclaw, pray tell," Firepaw meowed catching the tom's attention, who sneered and stalked away without another word.

"What are you all doing today?" Frostpaw asked, breaking the tension from Thistleclaw's taunts.

"Smallear's taking me for battle training," Tigerpaw meowed quickly, popping his head out of the apprentices' den before shouldering the rest of the way out. The early morning light outlining his big, broad frame.

"Stormtail's taking me to the Great Sycamore," mewed Brindlepaw, "to practice my climbing. I best go. He'll be waiting."

"I'll come with you to the top of the ravine," Tinypaw decided. "I have to catch breakfast for Ruby. Coming Whitepaw? Patchpelt must have something planned for you."

Then her brother turned to her, "What about you Firepaw? Can you come?"

She couldn't help but purr at her brother's hopefulness. "Of course I'm coming you crazy furball. Besides, Bluefur always has me hunt for the Clan before we do other training," she meowed.

Firepaw happily followed the other apprentices out of camp. The only thing she hoped for is that she didn't run into any bramble thickets. She didn't think her pelt could take any more abuse.

...

Unfortunately for Firepaw, she spoke too soon.

She was, at the moment, hissing in fury as she tried to claw herself out of yet another bramble thicket. She couldn't believe how she quite literally walked straight into it without noticing it in the first place. Firepaw was started to wonder if Sunstar should have called her Bramblepelt. As she struggled the thorns started to dig deeper into what was left of her pelt from the last time and ended up letting out a screech of complete agony.

Suddenly she heard the loud crashing and thumping of something coming closer, and fast. Firepaw immediately started to whip from side to side trying to struggle her way out. Then out of nowhere she heard a loud battle cry and just as a dog appeared, Lionheart came flying out of the undergrowth and flung himself on the dog.

She watched with wide, shocked green eyes as the golden tabby warrior slashed at the dog's muzzle. Blood splattered onto the grass and yelping, the dog turned and fled into the undergrowth from the direction it came from.

Firepaw couldn't help but try to haul herself out of the brambles, but they just simply dug in even deeper. Lionheart now turned towards her then and his yellow eyes widened in disbelief.

"Before you say anything, yes I got caught in another bramble thicket. Only this time, I actually stumbled into it by accident," she muttered and felt her pelt heat up with embarrassment.

Lionheart purred with amusement and walked forward, "You really need to be more careful of where you're going, Firepaw," he replied before grabbing her neck fur and giving her a sharp tug before they ended up flying backwards.

Firepaw landed right on top Lionheart who let out a muffled, "Oomph!" and she quickly scrambled off him. The golden tabby sat up and looked at her, worry shining in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he demanded and stood up to sniff her pelt.

"I'm fine, Lionheart," she rasped and looked at her pelt to find it not only covered in mud but also in thorns. "Not again!" Firepaw groaned, before sitting down and starting to pull out thorns along with clumps of fur.

"Here let me do it," Lionheart replied gently before sitting beside her and gently tugging out thorns with his teeth.

Firepaw sat there quietly as the warrior tugged out the thorns tangled in her pelt. She still couldn't believe how mouse-brained she was for walking into another bramble thicket. Finally, Lionheart managed to tug out the last of the thorns.

"There that's all I could see," he meowed looking over her pelt carefully.

"Thanks," she muttered before standing up and gasped out in pain.

"What is it?" Lionheart demanded immediately looking at her worriedly.

"I'm fine," Firepaw insisted, panting, "just sore."

"Let me carry you back to camp," he meowed gently and carefully picked her up by her scruff, again.

After some time they finally came to the top of the ravine before she told him to put her down and said she could walk the rest of the way. The golden warrior had nodded and meowed a farewell and said something about returning to his patrol and disappeared. Slowly she started to climb down the ravine and finally came to the bottom and walked through the gorse tunnel into the camp.

As Firepaw entered, she looked over at Sparrowpelt, Patchpelt, Dappletail and Whitepaw for they were waiting at the camp entrance. Their eyes had been fixed on the gorse tunnel but when she appeared they were staring at her in amazement.

"Firepaw what happened," Patchpelt meowed and looked at her in alarm.

"Don't worry, Patchpelt, I'm not hurt physically," she murmured before adding, "except my pride…or what's left of it from last time."

"You got stuck in a bramble thicket again, Firepaw?" Sparrowpelt asked in amazement and she nodded sheepishly.

"Yeah. I wasn't looking where I was going and ended up walking into it," she muttered and looked at her paws in shame.

"Try looking up every once in a while, Firepaw," Whitepaw replied his eyes glinting in amusement.

She couldn't help but glare at him and before starting to limp heavily over to the medicine den, muttering under her breath. It was then Firepaw heard a meow of amusement and looked up and turned in the direction it came from. She now found herself looking at Ruby whose eyes were glowing with the old humor she used to show her.

"If it helps, Firepaw, Dad did the same thing too," her sister reminded her.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Thanks, Ruby," she replied and gave the light gray she-cat a grateful look before pushing her way into the medicine den to see Tinypaw walking out with a thin strip of bark clamped between his teeth with a piece of moss stinking of mouse bile at the end of it. He nodded towards Firepaw before brushing past her.

She now looked up at Goosefeather who was staring at her even more patchy mud-stained fur. "Let me guess," the old medicine cat began, "you got stuck in a bramble patch again."

Firepaw nodded glumly, "Yeah, but Lionheart was there again and got the thorns out this time," she meowed.

The elderly tom nodded and disappeared into his den before reappearing with some sort of leaves, that he later told her were called dock leaves, clamped in his jaws and started to chew the leaves and lap the juice into her fresh scratches. Firepaw couldn't help but wince as it stung, but also managed to soothe the scratches. Finally after tending to her wounds, Goosefeather gave her some poppy seeds for the pain. Now she was curled up in her nest in the apprentices' den and managed to fall asleep.

A/N: Aah, poor Firepaw. Those big bad brambles :P

If anyone has any other funny adventures that you'd think Firepaw should have please fill out the form below.

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Plot:

Featured Cats:

Outcome:

Other: (optional)

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Example = Plot: Firepaw gets stuck in brambles through her own stupidity.

Featured Cats: Firepaw, Lionheart, Poppydawn, Featherwhisker, Goosefeather

Outcome: Firepaw is found by Lionheart and gets carried back to camp where they meet a frantic Poppydawn before both medicine cats intervene and bring her to their den for treatment.