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Disclaimer: Warriors is owned by Erin Hunter/HarperCollins Publishers LLC

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Two Kin of ShadowClan

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Fireheart grunted as he was shoved through the clearing. His clanmates parted for him and Longtail, with a few of them spitting or cursing as they passed by.

"Move it, kittypet!" Longtail ordered, pushing him along. "I'm going to miss the vigil at this rate!"

Fireheart stumbled slightly, also wincing at the word vigil.

"You have… all day," Fireheart muttered as he walked, but the warrior pushing him along didn't seem to hear him.

It was just a moment ago that Tigerclaw had ordered Longtail to take him to see Yellowfang, and the warrior made it clear he did not want them to dawdle. "Traitors should stick together" was how he worded it, but Fireheart knew that Tigerclaw just wanted to make sure he would live another day, for however much that was worth. In the meantime, Bluestar's body had finally been taken out of the leader's den and placed at the center of the clearing.

Fireheart had been eyeing it as he walked, and it was then that realized he was not ready in any way to say goodbye to his leader. After all, she'd been his mentor and the one who took him in. She was like the mother he'd been missing since he came to the forest, and he owed her everything.

Though Tigerclaw never stated it, it was obvious that Fireheart wouldn't be allowed to sit vigil for her, which cut deeper into him than even his battle wounds. Though his weariness from said wounds and Longtail's constant nudging kept him from thinking about it, he knew he would get the chance to grieve soon enough. He had an extremely long night ahead of him.

Fireheart's ears perked suddenly at the sound of footsteps in front of him. He could tell Longtail had heard them as well when the warrior too came to a halt. Knowing him, he was probably staring at whoever it was with an annoyed scowl.

Fireheart lifted his head and, much to his surprise, found Cinderpaw staring back at him. The medicine cat apprentice looked exhausted as she observed Fireheart for a few seconds, before turning her head to face Longtail. The striped warrior released a soft sigh of irritation that Cinderpaw didn't acknowledge.

"Longtail, where are you taking him?" she asked.

Fireheart could tell she was trying not to give away just how worn out she really was. He felt bad for her, having to deal with everyone's injuries on top of having Tigerclaw's flurry of lies shoved in her face. Yellowfang hadn't even been around since the battle ended, which Fireheart couldn't help feeling somewhat concerned about seeing as nearly half of the clan emerged from the fight bloody and scratched.

Longtail unfortunately didn't seem to share Fireheart's concern, giving her a snort. "Don't ask questions, Cinderpaw. Go check others for wounds."

Cinderpaw narrowed her eyes before flicking her tail at Fireheart. "I have a patient right in front of me."

"Not this traitor you mousebrain! He doesn't deserve it!" Longtail whined.

"Then why are you herding him towards our den?" she asked, tilting her head.

"That's none of your business!"

"Well, clearly it is, dirtbreath! You're denying I treat his wounds because of it!" Cinderpaw retorted, her ears pinning against her head. Now it was Longtail's turn to groan.

"Whatever. Will you just move already?"

He signaled with his paw for her to move, but Cinderpaw wouldn't budge. That was the moment Fireheart knew the she-cat would stay put. Now, if her moving out of the way meant having to obey a stubborn warrior like Longtail - assuming Fireheart knew his former apprentice well - then she probably would rather get hit by a monster again.

"Don't… waste your time, Cinderpaw," Fireheart softly mewled in a hopeful effort to convince her to leave.

She might not want to listen to Longtail, but maybe he could try and convince her; After all, his wounds still needed to be examined.

Cinderpaw shot him a look, causing Fireheart to second guess his attempt, fearing some kind of retort from her sharp tongue. Longtail made for him first, however, quickly swiping at Fireheart's ear and catching it with his claw.

"Quiet, you!" He barked. Fireheart hissed in surprise before reeling his head back. "Here I thought you couldn't speak!"

Cinderpaw squinted at Longtail, before looking back at Fireheart. The ginger tom had gone to immediately wash the cut by licking and rubbing his paw over it. Cinderpaw watched him for a moment, looking at his bloodstained pelt. She turned away, only to meet Longtail's glare, before finally sighing.

"You know, I just remembered something, Longtail. I was going back to get more herbs from Yellowfang before I ran into you. I can take Fireheart off your paws," she said, never taking her gaze off of him. Fireheart paused for a moment and perked his tail, clearly interested.

"I told you already that I'm taking him there!" Longtail harshly replied.

"Nrgh- Why does it matter that you're the one who escorts him? He would be there already if you weren't so stubborn!" Cinderpaw said, lashing her tail. "Just please let me take him, Longtail! He's not going to run off or attack me. Also, didn't you have a vigil you so eagerly wanted to get to?"

Longtail growled loudly. It looked like he was going to snap back at her, but after a moment the warrior simply huffed.

"Fine. Don't come mewling to me when he destroys your other leg," he stated coldly. Fireheart noticed Cinderpaw flinch at his remark. He glared at the tom as they slinked away, but Longtail met him with a piercing gaze of his own before whispering in his ear.

"That was payback from before, kittypet. You will never be a warrior now."

Fireheart snarled at him, but the tabby tom just snickered, padding off to join the rest of his clanmates. At this point, most of the clan had already gathered around Bluestar's body. The sight made Fireheart snap back to reality, realizing once again the atmosphere of his clan's situation.

He sighed before turning back to Cinderpaw. Fireheart wanted to thank her for seemingly ending his streak of bad luck by getting rid of Longtail, but he hesitated for a moment after noticing that she was giving him an almost disappointed look.

Fireheart turned away. "Sorry."

Cinderpaw just kept her stare at first, but soon enough, that she-cat was drooping her ears.

"Don't. Just… come on."

Beckoning him with a flick of her tail, she turned to limp towards the medicine cat den. Fireheart released a grunt as he stood up to follow her, his uncleaned wounds sending a small pain throughout his body and reminding him of the reason he was up walking in the first place.

He strode to meet her flank as they neared the medicine cat den, his injuries and her limp made their strides identical. He glanced at her for a moment, trying to gauge if she was angry at him or not.

I want to talk to her, but she's stressed out as it is. He thought, noting the tired look that was very much present in her eyes.

After Tigerclaw dismissed her earlier for speaking up in Yellowfang's defense, the little apprentice seemed to lose all of the motivation she had to speak up against anyone, simply returning to her task of caring for the wounded and occasionally watching in disbelief at whatever event had been unfolding.

I'll get a chance eventually.

Fireheart slumped his head towards the ground as they continued walking. He let his mind go blank, now simply trying to keep pace with her. As each paw was planted into the dirt below, Fireheart couldn't shake the strange feeling that it was taking much longer than it should have to reach the medicine den. He was probably just tired - his paws were aching badly too.

Suddenly, with a yelp of surprise, Fireheart came to a halt. He hadn't even realized Cinderpaw had stopped walking until he nearly crashed into her. Fireheart quickly looked up with embarrassment, seeing the small gray she-cat had now turned to face him.

She stood there for a moment, seeming uneager to acknowledge how the tom had almost just run into her, and instead simply scanned his face with a blank expression.

"We're close enough to the den. Go inside; Yellowfang is there with Brokentail."

Before Fireheart could respond she was already limping in the direction of her gathered clanmates. Fireheart stood there stunned for a second, before turning to look at the medicine cat den. He was about to make for it, before hearing Cinderpaw's voice over his shoulder one last time.

"And don't run away, please."

Fireheart kept himself from rolling his eyes, signaling that he heard with his tail.

Like running will help me anyway… as if I can even run at all.

He started to walk away, before pausing, quickly remembering something after tracing his memories back to when Cinderpaw and Longtail had been arguing a few moments ago. Fireheart turned around to catch Cinderpaw's retreating figure.

Ignoring the stinging pain in his neck, he called out to her. "Didn't you need herbs?"

A moment passed, and he swore he could've heard the she-cat snicker.

"Nope."

Fireheart smirked. Such a quick response and she didn't even turn around to acknowledge him. His apprentice's wits truly never ceased to amuse.

Soon Fireheart had turned to look back at the healer's den. He marched onwards, trying his best to ignore the pain his injuries were generating.

The wounds Tigerclaw had inflicted on him were feeling much worse ever since he was forced to climb down the Highrock and trudge across the clearing towards the medicine cat den. Longtail's near-constant shoving didn't make his situation any better either.

As he approached the den, the muffled sounds of a conversation could be heard. Fireheart perked his ears as he listened.

"-cast me out and I came here."

It sounded like Yellowfang's voice.

She must have been talking with Brokentail, who Fireheart noted was last seen being ushered into her den. Fireheart quietly padded next to the entrance, sitting down to listen as their conversation continued.

"I was a prisoner, just like you, but ThunderClan treated me well. At last, they trusted me enough to be their medicine cat. You could have earned their trust too. But now - will any cat trust you ever again?" her voice was cold.

"Do you think I care?" Brokentail could be heard rasping. Fireheart couldn't mistake his tone - he sounded completely void of the will to live, much less argue.

"I know you care for nothing, Brokentail. You never did - never for your clan, nor your honor, nor your kin," Yellowfang hissed.

Brokentail merely responded with an uninterested huff. "I have no kin."

Yellowfang sighed. "Wrong. Your kin has been closer to you than you ever dreamed, Brokentail… I-" she paused. "I am your mother."

The words barely registered with Fireheart. Yellowfang's a medicine cat - how could she have kits? And with that, one also happens to be the most horrific leader Fireheart had ever known? He faltered for a moment, before quickly pushing those thoughts away to listen.

"-webs in your brain, old one. Medicine cats never have kits," Brokentail coughed, sounding as if he was holding back a laugh.

"That's why I had to give you up. My duty was to serve my clan - not my kin," Yellowfang continued, before pausing for a moment.

She sighed. "But I never stopped caring… never. When you were a young warrior, I was so proud of you. But then - you changed. You murdered Raggedstar. Your own father. You killed kits of our Clan and made me take the blame. You would drive your own clanmates into exile… "

Brokentail cut her off with a snort. "And since when have you ever cared what happens to our clan? Siding with ThunderClan of all cats, and yet you say I have no honor?" he growled. "Everything I've done - was to make ShadowClan unstoppable!"

"And look where that has led," Yellowfang retorted. "Cast out from your clan, and rotting in another's prison at the mercy of apprentices."

Brokentail said nothing for a moment, before pouting again. "ShadowClan just was too weak to handle me as their leader. They didn't deserve me-"

"You would have destroyed our Clan completely. I believe now it is time to put an end to all this treachery," Yellowfang declared.

"An end? What do you mean you lying old…" Brokentail grunted. Fireheart listened closely as the sounds of shuffling could be heard. It seemed like Brokentail was trying to stand, but was having incredible difficulty.

His voice was soon heard, having devolved into an angry whine. "What have you done? I can't… can't feel my paws. Can't breathe... "

"I fed you deathberries," Yellowfang said. Fireheart shivered, sensing the coldness of her voice. "I know this is your last life, Brokentail. Medicine cats always know. Now no cat will ever be hurt again because of you."

Brokentail's cries of pain and fear suddenly grew more intense. Fireheart could hear the older cat thrashing around inside the den. His body must have been writhing with spasms, and cries were soon replaced by chokes of pain.

Fireheart held his breath as he heard the last of the cat's struggles die away, leaving nothing but silence.

He hesitated for a moment, almost forgetting why he had come to the den in the first place, before exhaling as he pushed his way through the bracken.

He walked into the clearing to see Brokentail lying motionless at its center. Yellowfang sat next to him with her nose buried into his pelt. As Fireheart came closer, she drew her head up to meet his gaze. The clouded look in her eyes stabbed at Fireheart, and he had to force himself not to look away.

"Yellowfang?" he whispered, coming to stop beside her. The old medicine cat groaned in response, before sitting up. Her gaze had shifted back towards the lifeless body next to her.

"I… tried everything I could, but he died," she said without emotion.

Yellowfang kept staring at the dead tom. She sat there unmoving for a moment, making Fireheart feel even more uneasy. Though Yellowfang must have sensed it, letting out a huff before turning towards him.

"He won't hurt any cat ever again, so don't miss him too much," she grumbled. "Have you come to get your wounds checked?"

"Yes, but I'm not allowed to leave your den once you've finished," Fireheart mumbled in a rugged voice. He cursed his throat yet again for making his painful condition seem so blatant, but Yellowfang didn't seem to pay it any mind.

"What for?" she said harshly. The old she-cat, Fireheart recalled, never liked anyone to stick around longer than they needed to.

He looked at her sadly. "You didn't hear Tigerclaw's announcement… did you?"

Yellowfang narrowed her eyes at him. "I heard quite clearly the foxdung that spewed from his mouth, Fireheart. I am well aware of the situation ThunderClan is in."

"So you do know?" Fireheart's head perked up. Yellowfang grumbled as she stood up, nosing around the side of his body to check his injuries.

"I heard Graystripe was banished - not like he didn't have it coming," she said, sniffing at his chest. "That nephew-apprentice of yours was yelling a lot, but I wasn't paying much attention."

"Oh, so you must have missed the end of it," Fireheart realized. Yellowfang perked her ears, telling him she was curious. She backed off of him before motioning towards Brokentail.

"I was busy with this one," she said, before returning her gaze with a faint hint of worry. "What? Is there something wrong?"

Fireheart sighed, looking away. "Yellowfang, it's just-"

"Great StarClan!"

Fireheart winced at her yowl. Yellowfang shoved her nose into his side, causing him to stifle a hiss of pain.

"Fireheart! What happened to your flank?" She looked full of surprise as she parted his fur to get a better look.

He gulped. "Uhm, Tigerclaw did that to me."

Yellowfang shot her head up.

"He was the one that gave you this?" she said, gesturing towards the bloody scratch. "Not some rogue?"

"Y-yes. I was in Bluestar's den, uh… fighting him," Fireheart explained. He winced as the she-cat's pupils slit with fury.

"Have you gone mad, Fireheart?" she ranted. "And what's wrong with your voice?!"

Oh, so she did notice it.

Fireheart stuttered. "I-I can explain everything, Yellowfang, just-"

"Hey, you didn't sneak off! Good."

Fireheart whipped his head around to see Cinderpaw enter the clearing, before clenching his teeth.

"Of course, I didn't sneak off Cinderpaw," Fireheart grumbled, rolling his eyes. The she-cat simply shrugged.

"I wouldn't have blamed you if you did."

Fireheart watched her limp beside him, looking tired. Suddenly he felt bad for complaining as his former apprentice sounded exhausted. Yellowfang watched their exchange, looking totally lost.

"Both of you…" she said, before shaking her head. "Nevermind. Cinderpaw, what are you looking for?"

She waited for a response from her apprentice before realizing Cinderpaw had turned her attention towards Brokentail, looking concerned.

"He's dead," Yellowfang stated. "No amount of herbs could've saved him."

That seemed to be good enough for Cinderpaw, as she nodded slowly before turning away from the corpse to look at her mentor.

"Tigerclaw wrenched his shoulder, so I wanted to get some comfrey for him," she said.

Fireheart couldn't help but snicker. So I did get him!

Yellowfang shot him a harsh side glance before looking back to her apprentice. "We're running low on that, so use elder leaves instead. Newleaf has brought plenty for us."

Cinderpaw nodded, before suddenly perking her ears "Oh! Graystripe scratched his tongue as well, and I didn't know what to do about that, so I was gonna ask you to help after I checked up on everyone, but…" she trailed off. "Graystripe's… gone now."

"So I've heard," replied Yellowfang. "You did the right thing checking everyone first, Cinderpaw. I should be out there helping you anyway."

She suddenly turned towards Fireheart. "As for you…"

Fireheart looked at her, worried about what she would say. Yellowfang nosed her way through his pelt again, only this time on the side of his body where his large scratch was. She said nothing during her inspection, however, a sharp look had been given after sniffing around a certain part of his neck.

Fireheart evaded her gaze as she stood back, finished with her examination.

"You should recover just fine despite both of these injuries. Tigerclaw do that to your neck as well?" she questioned. Fireheart nodded sheepishly.

"Yes... " he replied before dipping his head. "Thank you, Yellowfang."

"Don't feel the need to talk anytime soon. It must have hurt a lot to simply hold that conversation with me, didn't it?" she questioned. Fireheart begrudgingly nodded.

"Hmph," she said, before trotting over to a pile of cobwebs with a scowl. "Cinderpaw, where do we store our dried oak leaves again?"

"With the horsetail and marigold near my nest," she answered before dipping her head sheepishly. "Sorry, but I used the last of them earlier."

Yellowfang grimaced. "Well, Fireheart, you better pray to StarClan that the wound doesn't get infected. Those blasted leaves were the last thing we had to help with that."

Fireheart nodded disappointedly, knowing his wound had been left untreated for a decent amount of time. He hoped nothing bad would become of it.

Yellowfang frustratingly took some cobwebs in her mouth before returning to Fireheart's side. She motioned for him to lie down, and despite the slight discomfort it had caused, he knew better than to refuse. She began packing the cobwebs against his wounds before speaking again.

"Anyway, I figured it hurt for you to speak by the way your voice sounds. Hoarse and gurgled isn't exactly how I would describe your normal voice, so I recommend you try to avoid talking whenever you can. A low whisper should be fine, but I don't want your throat to heal any slower than it needs to," she explained. Fireheart simply nodded without saying a word, heeding her advice almost immediately.

Yellowfang finished her treatment rather quickly. She gave Fireheart a few small leaves, which he figured were to stow away the pain, and she watched as he eagerly chewed them up.

Looking away from Fireheart, Yellowfang could see Cinderpaw going through a pile of herbs on the ground. She stepped over to her apprentice as they continued sifting through their heap, before gazing over to a much larger and more organized-looking stash. Fireheart could only presume that was their supply of herbs and other plants.

"Cinderpaw, you should take some extra cobwebs too. I can show you how to treat a scratched tongue in case there are others, so just go on out and wait for me," Yellowfang said, picking through the pile. Cinderpaw stopped what she was doing and looked up.

"Okay, but what would you have used for Graystripe?"

Yellowfang glanced at her, looking thoughtful for a moment.

"For a scratched tongue, I prefer dock. Tongue injuries heal the fastest, so they don't need much. You could use marigold as well, but you have to chew that first of course," she said as she plucked a few small dark leaves from their pile. "And I assume most cats wouldn't appreciate a wet poultice in their mouth even if it made them feel better!"

"I know I wouldn't! Sounds gross... " Cinderpaw remarked, bestowing her angst by sticking her tongue out in disgust.

Yellowfang purred in amusement. "Go on, then. I'll be right there."

Cinderpaw nodded, before taking her pile of herbs in her mouth and heading out towards the clearing. She gave Fireheart one final glance before limping off and out of the den.

Fireheart watched her go with a bit of sorrow, knowing it might take them a while to check the rest of the clan's injuries. Not to mention how Tigerclaw will probably keep them busy in some other way just to separate them.

Yellowfang by now had gathered her own collection of herbs. Fireheart couldn't tell the contents - he was no medicine cat - but he noticed the rather large cluster of poppy seeds being taken with her. Though he wasn't skilled in the knowledge of herbs, he figured she gave him those leaves instead of poppy seeds because of his throat injury.

Fireheart rested his head on his paws as the old medicine cat finished assorting her pile of herbs. Yellowfang's eyes glinted with satisfaction before she suddenly turned to him.

"We shall talk later, Fireheart," she said, before picking up her herbs. "I've got a job to do."

Fireheart grunted in agreement.

I have a job to do as well. He thought. The ginger tom certainly hoped they would talk later like she said. Everything he knew of Tigerclaw would soon come out, and who better to tell than a medicine cat?

But it was just then he remembered something-

Oh, right. We can't "talk later"... I'm not supposed to even talk at all…

He grumbled in annoyance. And here he thought he was getting somewhere.

Then, as if sensing his thoughts, Yellowfang turned around with the herbs still in her mouth.

"In a low whisper - we'll talk."

Hurrying out of the den, Yellowfang now left Fireheart alone. He had watched her go and couldn't help but sigh to himself as he lay there, listening to the incredibly faint sounds of talk beyond the bracken. Yellowfang's entrance into the clearing must have caused some stir, he assumed.

Sitting there for a little longer, Fireheart had begun to notice that the pain from his wounds was fading. That was good, certainly… but it didn't matter very much to him anymore. His wounds were nothing compared to the pain from losing as much as he did today.

The thought alone was enough to break him - in such a short time, he almost lost everything.

His leader… mentor.. the one who let him join the clan… the one cat he looked up to the most, more than his own family… was gone.

His best friend… the first friend he made in the clans… the one he trusted the most, no matter how unsteady their relationship got at times... gone.

His nephew… the only kin he had in the clans… the kit his sister, Princess, had gifted him in the hopes he would make him a warrior… gone as well.

The fact that Cloudpaw had been dismissed before he even had a chance to prove himself as an apprentice was the worst part. He was only an apprentice for like… what? A couple of days?

Fireheart couldn't stand to think about it any longer as he buried his face into his paws.

It isn't fair.

He felt his mind drifting as he lay there next to the many piles of herbs and flowers. He was simply exhausted after what had occurred today, so much so that all he wanted more than anything was to just go to sleep and forget.

It's just that so many things have happened in such little time… he wanted a break from it all. Surely StarClan wouldn't be so cruel as to deny him that as well?

…

A/N - Shoutout to Forest of Secrets, page 154! COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT... YAY! (Even though I changed the dialogue to hopefully be better)