Another chapter for this AU one-shot-that-is-definitely-not-a-one-shot side story!!! I hope you all enjoy and keep patience with me for writing chapters for my other fanfics!!! It's hard when things just pop up sometimes or the words just don't come! I love you all!!!

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Soft dainty paws swiftly made their way across clumps of toadstools and spongy moss as the huntress connected to those paws was on the prowl for prey. Eager due to their first unaccompanied hunt.

Marigoldpaw sniffed deeply, although the air stank of the Thunderpath, so did the scent of squirrel. Her mouth watered at the thought of a juicey squirrel.

Stalking along through the trees, she lowered herself as she spotted a squirrel, a surprisingly plump one. Sitting idly on a moss covered root next to the Thunderpath, it seemed unaware of Marigoldpaw's presence and Marigoldpaw couldn't help feeling excited as this was her first hunt. Flintfang would be proud that she brought back a plump squirrel would he? Dropping into the hunter's crouch, Marigoldpaw stalked forward, her eyes trained on the squirrel and the squirrel solely.

With her ready to spring a slide of a snapped branch startled the squirrel, Marigoldpaw's eyes brimmed with shock as the squirrel began to flee, without hesitation Marigoldpaw lunged forward but the squirrel was already racing away. The flame-pelted apprentice dashed forward, her eyes narrowed on the squirrel as she refused to let it get away. The chase seemed to take on forever in Marigoldpaw's opinion, but it couldn't have been a few heartbeats before she had the squirrel between her paws and snapped its neck.

Standing up proudly to admire her catch she looked up to notice the scent of earthy, wooden scent of ThunderClan, startled the apprentice glanced around her. Dense oak trees were closely intertwined together and the foliage covered everything, and that clung to the squirrel, the scent hung heavily with one smell. ThunderClan.

Marigoldpaw's orange fur stood on end as she realized, in her haste to catch the squirrel, she must have crossed the Thunderpath without realizing it. She could hardly see the Thunderpath, although she could still smell it somewhere nearby. With a shudder of fear Marigoldpaw thought it best to leave, she stared down at the squirrel, wondering if she could bring it with her. It was originally on ShadowClan's territory but ran into ThunderClan where she killed it, did that make it ThunderClan's? But if she left it, it would surely rot which was against the warrior code not to waste fresh-kill. But if she left it and a ThunderClan patrol found it, it would give them a reason to attack ShadowClan! With her busy thoughts, Marigoldpaw didn't notice the paw steps of a heavy, bigger cat that was trying to walk softly, approaching until they were hardly a mouse-length away.

"You realize that you're on ThunderClan territory?" meowed a deep rumbling voice. One that made Marigoldpaw jump in fright. The flame-colored she-cat turned around quickly, an apology and an explanation on the tip of her tongue that quickly died away when she stared into the amused amber eyes of the most massive, broad chest and shoulders, dark brown tabby tom, that she has ever seen. Even bigger than Raggedstar. But what made him fierce was his unusually long, sharp front claws that could easily rip someone like Marigoldpaw apart with just a single slash.

Marigoldpaw openly gawked, mesmerized that such a beast of a cat could truly exist. TigerClan is composed entirely of tigers, and they were said to be flame-colored night hunters, large as horses with jet-black stripes and the darkness of night in their souls. Those stories that Lizardstripe used to both traumatize and entertain Marigoldpaw and the other apprentices as kits just to shut them up seemed to be true if a cat like this could be real.

Now this ancient creature stood before her, slowly circling her as his paws moved across the hard ground, his tail flickering back and forth and he looked pleased, as his eyes roamed over Marigoldpaw, assessing her and knowing she was no threat to him.

"And you caught a squirrel, I would usually discredit you for hunting in ThunderClan territory if I hadn't seen you wildly running across the Thunderpath after it like a mouse-brain with my own eyes." Although his voice was teasing, and his eyes were relaxed Marigoldpaw knew that was an insult.

"And who might you be?" Marigoldpaw retorted, acting as though she wasn't on enemy territory, with the most fiercest looking cat she had ever seen talking to her.

The cat of legend glanced away briefly, but kept up his circling, making Marigoldpaw turn her head like an owl to keep him in her sight. "If you must know, my name is Tigerclaw, new warrior of ThunderClan, my ceremony was just yesterday," he boasted, coming to stand directly in front of Marigoldpaw, only a mouse-tail away. But it was close enough for her to feel the hot breath run across the tips of her ears.

"Oh, congratulations," Marigoldpaw began, keeping her tone indifferent. "I'm Marigoldpaw, new apprentice of ShadowClan, it's been over a moon since my ceremony."

"Interesting," Tigerclaw meowed, conversation trailing off. They then stayed like that. Just watching each other, waiting for possibly the other to say something, to do something but both unsure of just what.

"I'm surprised you didn't get hit by a monster," Tigerclaw meowed, his whiskers twitching in slight amusement, although there was an undertone of distaste as well.

Me either, Marigoldpaw thought. "But I didn't!" she pointed out stubbornly, her eyes flashing in defense.

"No, you didn't." Tigerclaw agreed. "Is this your first hunting assessment?"

"More like my first time hunting solo." Marigoldpaw admitted, feeling self-conscious for telling an enemy warrior about her shortcomings. Brokenpaw and the other apprentices have all been solo hunting way before the first moon, it was only now that Flintfang deemed her ready to begin solo hunting.

"And is this the first thing you've caught while solo hunting?" Tigerclaw curiously questioned. Watching as Marigoldpaw shyly nodded. "Not a bad catch."

"Thank you." The flame-pelted apprentice was somewhat ashamed by the flood of pride that swelled up inside her chest at the enemy warriors' praise.

"Take the squirrel with you, you caught it after all." Tigerclaw suddenly mewed, gesturing with a nod of his massive head for her to pick up the prey she caught. "You could have it since it's your first time. And also I feel in a gracious mood today."

Marigoldpaw was shocked that an enemy warrior was letting her have it instead of taking it himself. As he began showing her the way to the Thunderpath, they fell into a quiet peaceful walk, it ended however at the sight of the Thunderpath.

"This is where I leave you," Tigerclaw meowed, gesturing for her to cross the Thunderpath after carefully checking for her that there weren't any monsters coming. Marigoldpaw flickered her tail in goodbye as she hurried across the Thunderpath without stopping. Putting the Thunderpath between them. As she headed back to the safety of the Tall pine trees. As she headed back to the marsh, she heard Tigerclaw call out to her. "I hope we can meet again!" but Marigoldpaw didn't turn back to show how much those words had confused her, because she knew she couldn't see him again and he couldn't be wanting to see her either. They were from rival Clans after all. They were enemies. They were supposed to be enemies.

Tigerclaw was someone that Marigoldpaw felt that she should be wary of and shouldn't be trusted. It was shocking how strong those emotions came to her when she thought about them. But she forced them away and chalked them up to them just being from enemy Clans. They were nearly as strong as the ones she used to feel for Brokenpaw.

But at least she caught a squirrel.

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Fun Facts

"Kits, this is how I met your mother. Watching her risk her life, nearly getting run over by a monster. All because she wanted a squirrel for dinner." -- Tigerclaw in another universe to his kits.

This is a remix of chapter 9 of Heart of Fire: Rising Storm

I hope you liked Marigoldpaw and her greatest enemy first meeting!!! Not how you thought it would go did you? Especially not with how it went in Heart of Water!

This is basically just a feel good chapter for my lack of Fire x Tiger in most of my other fics and basically want to do my favorite scene in my original all over again but in this type of setting! Pretty similar but also a bit different.

Marigoldpaw's first Gathering is going to be interesting!