Leaf-Fall

This chapter is pretty light-hearted, like the previous one, and if it were a separate story I would probably rate it 'K'. It contains mentions of FireSand, one-sided FireCinder, and one-sided DustCinder. Here, we learn more about Cinderpelt's accident. Please review!

Disclaimer: I do not and have never owned the series Warriors by Erin Hunter.

Cinderpelt sighed as she watched Fireheart and Sandstorm sharing tongues. Why couldn't that be me, sharing tongues with Fireheart?

"What's wrong, Cinderpelt?"

The amber-eyed tom's voice snapped the medicine cat out of her reverie. "Oh, nothing," she sighed, "I'm just thinking about Fireheart…"

Dustpelt shuffled his paws awkwardly. "Maybe it's just not meant to be…" he meowed quietly.

The smoky gray she-cat's eyes flew wide. "No!" she growled. "It has to be… I love him…"

"Okay," the tabby warrior meowed defensively, "I'm sorry I said anything."

The medicine cat sighed. "No, I'm sorry for being so snippy. It's just… when I was his apprentice, I really thought I had a chance with him, you know? And then I had my accident, and now I can never be with him, no matter how badly I want to..."

The dark tabby tom looked at her, eyes filled with worry. "Does what happened with your accident still bother you that badly…?" he meowed softly.

Cinderpelt closed her eyes, as if replaying the moment in her head. "Every day, I wish it had never happened. I wish I could have become a warrior with Brackenfur, taken a mate, fought for my Clan until the day I died."

"I'm sorry… it was my fault," the amber-eyed warrior meowed sadly.

The smoky gray she-cat's eyes snapped open again. "What? No! How was it your fault?" she meowed, confused.

"I told you how to find Tigerclaw, remember? If I had never gone along with Tigerclaw's plan, you would have never gotten hurt…" Dustpelt shook his head, looking down at his paws.

The blue-eyed she-cat laughed, "You're mousebrained, Dustpelt. I never once blamed you for my accident. You were only doing what you thought was right… and besides, we were only apprentices."

The dark brown tabby looked at her with relief. "Really? You don't think it was my fault?" he asked anxiously.

Cinderpelt snorted. "No, of course not, mousebrain. You know, I was more mad at you for snapping at me during the battle afterwards… I felt so useless, not being able to fight with my Clan, and all I wanted to do was die in battle so at least I could have died like a true warrior."

"I'm sorry…"the broad-shouldered warrior meowed, "I didn't want you to die… I felt guilty that it was my fault you had your accident, I felt like I had to protect you somehow."

The smoky gray medicine cat nodded. "I honestly just thought you believed I was a helpless little kit… I thought you were standing in the way of me proving myself to Fireheart."

Dustpelt shook his head. "That wasn't my intention… did you really want to die in that battle?"

Cinderpelt smiled wryly. "Yes, I really did. I thought dying in battle would prove to the Clan that I could be a warrior, and maybe Bluestar would give me my warrior name on my way to StarClan. And then, I also thought Fireheart could never love me because of my accident…"

"You wanted to die, just because you thought Fireheart would never love you?" the older tom asked incredulously.

The blue-eyed medicine cat nodded. "I still remember that battle sometimes, and I still wish I had died then, sometimes…" she mewed sadly.

The dark tabby tom looked worriedly at her. "Why? You're ThunderClan's medicine cat now, I don't know what we would do without you. StarClan knows Yellowfang is getting too old to train another apprentice… I'm glad you didn't die then, myself."

She smiled up at the warrior. "I am too. I'm glad I got to be friends with you… I think you just might be one of my only real friends in the Clan."

Dustpelt looked at her, disappointment shining in his eyes. "Right," he meowed, "Friends." He smiled bitterly a little as he said the word.

"I think things are going almost too well right now," the small she-cat sighed. "It's like everything is going so well that sooner or later, something bad has to happen."

The amber-eyed tom smirked at her. "You're too negative. Don't worry about what might happen, if you're happy now…"

Cinderpelt nodded slowly. "I never thought I could be this happy, if I didn't have Fireheart," she meowed. "It's weird, not being depressed because he's with Sandstorm."

The brown warrior looked hopeful. "Maybe you're getting over him?" he suggested quietly.

"No," the she-cat meowed stubbornly, "I don't think I'll ever stop loving Fireheart. But I can be content, even without him for a mate, and I suppose that will have to be enough."

Dustpelt sighed. "Yes," he echoed, so quietly the medicine cat couldn't hear him, "I suppose that will have to be enough."

September, won't you bring me some rain again;
This sun is melting my skin and I would give you anything
To feel something else...
September falls away 'til I'm broken,
And I just hate the sound, cause I can feel the water changing me;
It's changing me for good...