Faces

So here's the longest chapter yet, I hope you like it. This covers the fire, but not Yellowfang's death. A warning to those who like Sandstorm, you might not want to read this chapter, if you don't want to read about her dying. This chapter contains FireSand, one-sided FireCinder, and one-sided DustCinder. Please review!

Oh, and a note to the reviewer Skyfire of ThunderClan: Thank you for reviewing so faithfully! Every time I post a chapter, I'm anticipating you review. If I do a oneshot based on the song you suggested, I'll probably post it as a separate story, since I doubt it would fit in with this story's current continuity. Watch my profile though, I'll have something based on the song that you suggested soon. And don't worry, a chapter in Dustpelt's point of view is coming sooner or later. And yes, I don't understand what the Erins were thinking with FireSand! She hates him, oh wait now she loves him, what?

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

"Fire!"

Fireheart's yowl rang through the camp. As the smoky gray she-cat began to stir from her nest, Yellowfang prodded her in the side with an unsheathed claw. The pain made Cinderpelt jump to her feet instantly.

"Come on," the old she-cat growled. "Hurry, we need to get to the river."

With that, the medicine cat padded quickly out of the den. I'm going to die, the blue-eyed she-cat thought. I can't move fast enough to get out of the forest, I'm going to die.

Suddenly, a dark tabby tom appeared beside her. "Cinderpelt, come on," the amber-eyed warrior meowed. "You can lean on me. We need to get out of here."

"Where is Fireheart?" she asked anxiously.

Dustpelt hissed, "He'll be fine, come on."

The world became a blur to Cinderpelt, as she ran as well as she could with her injured leg. The older warrior was beside her the whole way to the edge of the ravine, making sure she didn't fall behind. Before long, the Clan was at the ravine's edge. Fireheart was busy making sure every cat had made it, while his former apprentice panted and gasped for breath.

"It's okay, Cinderpelt," the broad-shouldered tom meowed.

Suddenly, the crippled she-cat heard Fireheart announce that he would go back to rescue the lost cats. Sandstorm argued with him to let her go, until Whitestorm interfered. She hurried to her feet before Dustpelt could protest, limping forward.

Fireheart stared in horror at her as she called out, "Then I'll come!"

"I'm no warrior," she mewed. "I'd be no use anyway if we met an enemy patrol."

"No way!" the ginger tom spat.

Yellowfang roughly shoved her apprentice back. "I may be old, but I'm steadier on my paws than you," the old medicine cat told her. "The Clan will need your healing skills. I'll go with Fireheart, you stay with the Clan."

Cinderpelt opened her mouth to argue, but Fireheart snapped, "There's no time to argue. Yellowfang, come with me. The rest of you, head for the river."

Dustpelt padded forward quietly and draped his tail over the medicine apprentice's shoulders, leading her towards the river along with the rest of the Clan. When they reached the edge of the forest, the smoky gray she-cat sank to the ground.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" the she-cat meowed worriedly.

The warrior wanted to tell her that they would, but he knew he couldn't lie to her. "I pray to StarClan that they will," he replied hoarsely, as he sat silently next to her.

A short while later, Fireheart came back with Patchpelt and Bramblekit in tow. Cinderpelt leapt up from her spot next to Dustpelt and hobbled as quickly as she could to the ginger tom's side. She stooped to try to save Patchpelt, but his breath stopped before she could even try.

She looked up sadly at Fireheart. "He's dead," she murmured.

Her eyes clouded as she remembered being in this same place. This was the exact spot where Silverstream had died, because she hadn't been able to save her…

"We've lost another cat," she whispered with disbelief. "But my grief won't help the Clan."

Fireheart blinked. "You're beginning to sound as strong as Yellowfang."

Cinderpelt's eyes widened. "Yellowfang! Where is she?"

The ginger tom looked at her guiltily. "I don't know," he admitted. "I lost her in the smoke while she was rescuing Halftail. I was going to go back, but the kit…" he trailed off hopelessly..

The medicine cat stood paralyzed with shock for a moment. When Bramblekit began coughing, she shook herself and began licking the kit, stimulating his breathing until he stopped coughing.

Suddenly, the roaring sound of fire began growing louder. "It's coming this way!" Fireheart yowled hoarsely. "We must keep going to the river. We'll only be safe if we cross to the other side. The fire won't reach us there."

As the remains of ThunderClan looked up, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a clap of thunder. "Rain is coming!" the ginger tom yowled. "It will put out the fire! But we must go now, or we won't outrun the flames!"

With that, the cats began to race towards the safety of the river. An unidentifiable cat treaded on Cinderpelt's injured leg as they passed, and she wavered unsteadily. She took an uneasy step, then collapsed to the ground.

A pair of strong jaws grasped her by the scruff. "Cinderpelt, come on," the tom's anxious meow was muffled by the medicine cat's own fur, and at first she wondered hopefully if it was Fireheart. When the warrior began to move, she saw that he had dark brown tabby fur, instead of the bright ginger fur she had been expecting.

When they reached the river, Dustpelt set the smoky gray she-cat down on the ground as she began to get to her feet.

"It's shallow enough to wade most of the way," Fireheart yowled. "Much shallower than usual. There's a place in the middle where you'll have to swim, but you'll make it. You have to trust me!"

The cats stared at him with horror, until Whitestorm nodded to the young deputy and waded into the river with Speckletail's kit in tow. Cinderpelt watched, crestfallen, as Sandstorm padded up to her mate. The two exchanged whispered words of comfort, before the ginger she-cat plunged into the water.

Suddenly, another bolt of lightning lit the sky. The Clan heard a yowl muffled by water, and looked to the river only to see a ginger body bobbing in the dark water, farther down the bank.

"Sandstorm, no!" Fireheart wailed, charging down the bank to where the green-eyed she-cat's body was last. A wet ginger paw scrabbled at the shore farther away, but the current was too strong. The Clan watched in alarm as the warrior's head struck a large rock jutting out of the river. Sandstorm went limp, and her body slowly sank to the bottom of the stream.

Cinderpelt stared in horror. If something like that could happen to such a strong warrior as Sandstorm, what would happen to her? As if reading her mind, Dustpelt padded up beside her and whispered, "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

Whitestorm coughed loudly to get the Clan's attention. "We still need to cross the river," he meowed urgently, "or we'll all burn to death here."

"Whitestorm is right," a smooth, female voice called from across the river. The ThunderClan cats turned to see Leopardfur, the RiverClan deputy, standing on the other side of the shore. A patrol was behind her, including Graystripe. "Come on, we'll help you. Just keep moving your paws and you'll be fine." She sat down calmly as her warriors padded forward to stand in a shallow part of the river.

Whitestorm paddled the rest of the way across the river, smiling encouragingly as his Clanmates began to cautiously step forward into the water. Dustpelt padded into the swift-running stream, flicking his tail as he watched Cinderpelt expectantly.

"I-I can't…" she mewed, terror filling her eyes as a particularly large wave made the warrior waver slightly.

Brackenfur padded over to her. "Cinderpelt, let's go. I'll help you, and so will Dustpelt," he meowed, looking cautiously at the amber-eyed tom. The dark brown tabby simply nodded, beckoning with his tail.

With much urging from her brother and Dustpelt, the blue-eyed medicine cat stepped gingerly into the water. When a wave made her sway, the older warrior was at her side in an instant, allowing her to lean on him until she regained her balance. Eventually, the three cats made it to the RiverClan side of the river. Brackenfur padded away once his sister was safe, to help Willowpelt with her kits.

Once the whole Clan was safely across the river, Fireheart began to numbly lead the ThunderClan cats, behind Leopardfur and her patrol, into the RiverClan camp. When they got there, the young deputy explained hollowly why they were there. Cinderpelt and Dustpelt were separated, as Mudfur whisked her away to get herbs and treat the cats.

That night, the young medicine cat flopped unceremoniously down near the other ThunderClan cats. As she closed her eyes, she felt warm fur brushing hers. "What are you doing?" she asked the tabby tom.

"You were shivering," the amber-eyed warrior meowed quietly, concern evident in his voice. "We can't have you catching whitecough."

Cinderpelt was too exhausted to argue. "Okay," she yawned, closing her eyes and snuggling closer to Dustpelt. The warrior purred contentedly, drifting off to sleep.

There's nothing familiar here anymore;
Is anyone or anything
Enough to feel alive…?