Lionblaze padded back the forest, tasting the air for any signs of prey. It had been 5 sunrises since his meeting with Heathertail and he hadn't seen her since. He tried to keep away from the WindClan border in case they met but today it was unavoidable. Thornclaw had brought him on a patrol by the border and Lionblaze was anxious. He tried to focus his mind on hunting but it was hard when Heathertail clouded his thoughts. He caught the faint scent of mouse. Instinctively he dropped into the hunters crouch and tracked the scent through the undergrowth. He spotted the small creature and slowly crept towards it. He was close enough to taste it when he grabbed the mouse and flipped it over before ending its life with a quick bite to the back of the neck. He lifted his head and panted. He kicked dirt over it and looked for more prey.
After a successful hunt, Lionblaze returned with 3 mice and a squirrel. He dropped them onto the fresh kill pile. He needed to ask Firestar if he could go to the Gathering. He desperately wanted to see Heathertail again. He looked around the camp, Rosekit and Toadkit were playing with a ball of moss outside the nursery. He longed for the days when he, Jayfeather and Hollyleaf had been kits. He remembered the day that their mother, no Squirrelflight, had discovered Jaykit was blind. And the day that they had decided to go fox hunting. His whiskers twitched in amusement at the memory. Lionblaze padded towards Firestar's den and trotted inside. Firestar and his mate Sandstorm were sharing tongues. Firestar looked up.
"Hello Lionblaze, what can I do for you?" He asked.
"I'd like to go to the gathering tonight," Lionblaze said, "Can I?"
"Sure," Firestar said. Lionblaze nodded in thanks and made for the warriors den. He needed his strength for tonight. He was the only one in the den. Lionblaze curled up in his nest and gradually fell into a light sleep.
Lionblaze's dreams lead him astray. This wasn't ThunderClan territory. It was WindClan territory as he had never seen it before. The grass was well groomed and a brilliant green. There were flowers swaying in the warm breeze and the stream that separated their territories was a deep blue, teeming with fish. Lionblaze walked through this beautiful field, his eyes greedily drinking up all the sights. Suddenly, he saw a flash of fur out of the corner of his eye, light brown and familiar. Lionblaze parted his jaws to taste the air. Heathertail's scent. He tracked the WindClan she-cat until he found her. Heathertail bounded up to him and rubbed her head against his throat. Lionblaze pressed his head on her back and purred. He sat down and rubbed his head up and down. She turned to face him, her eyes even brighter than in the real world. He didn't want it to end, the feel of her, and the smell of her soft sweet fur as it caressed his body. The gentle rhythm of their tails flickering as they slowly twined together. He brushed his tongue against her muzzle and fluffed out his fur into hers. Lionblaze couldn't remember the last time he had been so happy. He closed his eyes and savored each second in the comfort of his sweet Heathertail. Suddenly, he caught a glint of green eyes from behind a bush. He turned around to look. Suddenly the earth gave way beneath him, the green grass wilting and dying around him. He turned to look at Heathertail. She was fading, like leaves blown away on the wind, her figure was vanishing, moving away. Lionblaze ran towards her but his steps seemed to have no impact. He ran faster and faster but still there was nothing, suddenly, Lionblaze was falling, the image of his sister filled his mind, images of Tigerstar and Ashfur. Ashfur. Suddenly, he stopped falling. He was back in ThunderClan territory! Ashfur was stalking a mouse by the lake. This must be an image of the past. Lionblaze tried to move but his paws were stuck to the ground. He heard rustling beside him. His sister stalked past him, like he wasn't even there.
"Hollyleaf!" He called. She didn't seem to hear him. Neither did Ashfur. Lionblaze watched his sister creep up on Ashfur. Hollyleaf treaded lightly on the ground. Suddenly, she pounced. Ashfur turned around exposing his neck. Lionblaze watched in horror as his sister sank her fangs into Ashfur's exposed throat. He watched as his body went limp and crumpled. Lionblaze yowled out for Hollyleaf to stop but it was fruitless. He heard Tigerstar's cruel laugh echo through his ears. He wanted it to end. All of it.
"Lionblaze?"
Lionblaze slowly opened his eyes. Jayfeather was standing over him.
"Cinderheart said you were twitching horribly in your sleep," He explained. Lionblaze sat up and looked around. He was in the medicine cat den! A sharp stab of pain rippled through his chest and he crumpled back to the floor. Lionblaze looked at his chest, there was a fresh wound slowly leaking blood. Jayfeather rolled him onto his back and began licking the wound. It stung horribly but Lionblaze knew that if he complained, Jayfeather'd claw his ears. Suddenly, he noticed Cinderheart, her blue eyes wide with worry.
"Cinderheart fetch-" Jayfeather started.
"Cobwebs," Cinderheart said, "And poppy seeds to help with the pain."
Jayfeather looked like he was going to tell Cinderheart to stop being a medicine cat but he just nodded. Cinderheart licked her paw then carefully dabbed it into a little pocket in the wall, she walked on 3 legs over to Lionblaze and rubbed the poppy seeds onto his lips. She wasted no time in collecting cobwebs from another pocket; she expertly laid them on Lionblaze's wound. Lionblaze licked his lips, the seeds tasted bitter and left a harsh aftertaste but he gradually felt the pain ease.
"Can I go to the Gathering?" Lionblaze asked.
"Yes, you can bleed all over the island and make ThunderClan look like we attack our own warriors," Jayfeather said sarcastically. Lionblaze's heart sank. Heathertail.
Lionblaze woke the next morning. He looked down at his chest; the wound from the previous day was gone. Jayfeather was still asleep and Lionblaze knew better than to disturb him. He crept out of the medicine cat den and looked for Cinderheart. She would tell him what happened at the Gathering. Spotting her familiar gray pelt, he trotted towards her.
"Hey Cinderheart," Lionblaze said.
"Hi Lionblaze," She replied.
"So er what happened at the Gathering last night?" Lionblaze enquired.
"Nothing much, ShadowClan has a new litter of kits, a new warrior was made in RiverClan," She said.
"And in WindClan….?" He asked, hoping he disguised the wonder in his voice. Cinderheart tilted her head.
"Erm….Sunpaw became a warrior and that's all I think," She said.
"OK thanks," Lionblaze said gratefully. Cinderheart nodded her head.
"Lionblaze!" Cloudtail shouted from across the clearing, "Patrol, now!"
Lionblaze licked Cinderheart's ear in farewell and scampered over to Cloudtail, Mousewhisker and Brackenfur were waiting too.
Lionblaze followed the other cats through the forest, his jaws were slightly parted to taste the air for prey. He soon found a small vole and dropped into the hunters crouch. He slowly moved towards it, haunted by the similarity between his and his sister's stalking method. This is where she killed Ashfur, he realized. Trying to push thoughts of Hollyleaf and Ashfur aside, he focused on this mouse. He could feel its rapid heartbeat in his ears and suddenly he couldn't take it any longer. Lionblaze pounced with a leap worthy of SkyClan and swiftly bit the back of the mouse's neck. He quietly thanked StarClan for the food and carefully buried it beside a tree. He suddenly became aware of another cat watching him. He tasted the air. Dovekit? He looked around for the little nursery she-cat but couldn't see gray fur anywhere. He tasted the air again. Sandstorm maybe? Or Thornclaw? The scent smelt ThunderClan, but had an edge that he almost recognized. Suddenly, Lionblaze felt himself hurtling forwards, squashed by the weight of another cat, almost knocking the wind out of him. The cat was laughing, an all too familiar laugh.
"Heathertail?" He asked.
"Yes mouse brain," She laughed. He felt the weight lift and he staggered to his paws.
"Great StarClan what are you doing here?" He hissed quietly.
"I wanted to see you," She explained, "You weren't at the Gathering."
"Yeah…..I got a last minute injury," He said, ruffling his fur. Heathertail looked shocked.
"Are you OK?" She asked; her voice full of concern.
"I'm fine," He insisted, "You have to go, I'm with other cats."
She nodded then licked his ear and darted off into the trees towards her own territory. Lionblaze sighed in relief that they hadn't been caught. He collected his mouse and went to find the others.