Firestar glared at Sandstorm with a fierce hatred. The sight of her protecting the cats that had tried to take the forest from the Clans made his blood boil. She watched BloodClan fleeing from the Fourtrees clearing, heading back to the Twolegplace.

"Leave," he growled. She whipped around to face him. "You're no longer a ThunderClan cat. You are no longer welcome in the Clans." He snarled, his words dripping with venom.

He held himself back from leaping at her as she looked around, seeing the cats around her glaring with the same hatred. They had all seen her protect Scourge. No cat stepped forward or tried to stop her as she pelted after the BloodClan cats. And stay gone. He thought to himself.

He turned to his Clanmates. They were all covered in some kind of wounds. The medicine cats were padding around, bandaging cats with cobwebs. Cinderpelt padded over to him, her fur was fluffed as she looked him over, patching his wounds in silence.

"Everyone needs to get back to their camps to recover," Cinderpelt said in a low voice. "Some warriors will need to be helped by those who were more fortunate in the battle."

He saw bushes rustle across the clearing and unsheathed his claws, ready for BloodClan to emerge. A lithe black-and-white tom stepped out, followed by five WindClan warriors. The warriors gathered close to their clanmates and licked their wounds while Tallstar padded over to Firestar.

"Every BloodClan cat was followed back to twolegplace," the leader told him quietly. "No rogue or kittypet remains in Clan territory."

"Thank you, Tallstar," Firestar dipped his head respectfully.

Tallstar dipped his head in return and returned to his clanmates. WindClan's deputy, Deadfoot, was going around with Barkface checking out their clanmates' wounds. For the first time, Firestar noticed how small WindClan was compared to the other three Clans. Not counting Tallstar, Barkface and Deadfoot, there were only six warriors present. Ashfoot and Whitetail were the only ones who had stayed in camp. Even Morningflower, who had recently lost her son to Tigerstar, had come to help in the battle.

RiverClan wasn't much better off with only five warriors and two apprentices, but at least they had a few warriors in the camp with Mosspelt, the only RiverClan queen. ShadowClan's group consisted of Blackfoot, Runningnose, five warriors and two apprentices. Barley and Ravenpaw sat alone at the edge of the clearing.

They all needed to return to their camps and lick their wounds. Graystripe wished his kits well before rejoining his clanmates and Ravenpaw said goodbye to Firestar and Graystripe before following Barley out of the clearing in the direction of the barn they called home.

Firestar called to the other leaders. They each padded over, anxious to hear what he had to say. "We're going to head back to camp. We need to hold a vigil for Whitestorm."

"I think I can speak for the other leaders when I say we're sorry for your loss, Firestar," Leopardstar said softly, her gaze sympathetic. "And grateful to you for showing us that we could come together to protect our home."

"Runningnose has told me he wants to travel to the Moonstone tomorrow night," Blackfoot told them. "ShadowClan will need time to recover, but life in the forest will go on as usual."

"I wish you safe travels, Blackfoot," Tallstar dipped his head slightly. "I trust StarClan will grant you nine lives worthy of a good leader."

"I doubt I will ever understand why StarClan granted Tigerstar nine lives, but let Nightstar die from sickness." Blackfoot said grudgingly. "We will see what happens." He dipped his head and padded back to the group of ShadowClan cats, leading them out of the clearing towards ShadowClan territory.

Firestar dipped his head to the other leaders and returned to his clanmates. He carefully took Whitestorm's scruff in his jaws and looked to Graystripe, who lifted the white tom by his tail. Firestar signaled with his tail and the ThunderClan cats headed into their territory.

When they finally made it back to camp, Firestar and Graystripe laid Whitestorm's body in the middle of the clearing so their clanmates could gather around and pay their respects.

Willowpelt cleaned Whitestorm's pelt, licking the blood staining his pure white fur, which looked an eerie blue in the fading moonlight. Fernpaw and Ashpaw sat close by, their grief seeming to weigh them down. Dustpelt padded over to Fernpaw, touching his nose to her shoulder and giving her ear a comforting lick. Bramblepaw sat next to Ashpaw, offering his condolences. Brightheart sat near her former mentor, Cloudtail sitting next to her and licking her shoulder to comfort her. The elders came out of their den to help Willowpelt clean Whitestorm's pelt.

Firestar touched his nose to Whitestorm's head. "May StarClan light your path." He padded back to his den without a word or glance to anyone else.

His nest sat in the back of the den, the moss still held the faint scent of Sandstorm. He sighed and laid down, his entire body aching. Whatever Sandstorm's reasons for betraying her Clan and himself were, he would just have to let her go. She chose the BloodClan cats, she chose Scourge over him. Whatever happened to her now was none of his concern. He had his Clan to take care of. They needed to take care of themselves and heal their wounds.

Firestar woke the next morning to cats gathering for the dawn patrol. He yawned and stretched, scratching an itch on his ear. He hadn't named a new deputy last night after Whitestorm's vigil. Everyone deserved the chance to mourn the last deputy properly before a new one was named.

Unfortunately, there was no easy choice for the new deputy. Goldenflower and Frostfur were no longer in the nursery, but they'd never shown any interest in being deputy. Cloudtail and Brackenfur were too inexperienced in his opinion. Longtail and Mousefur had much more experience than Graystripe and Dustpelt. Dustpelt and Mousefur were the only ones with apprentices since Tawnypelt left and Fernpaw would need a new mentor. He could make Longtail her mentor since he had lost his last apprentice, Swiftpaw, to the dog pack.

He sifted through his thoughts as he padded out into the clearing. Most of the Clan was already out and had apparently been waiting for Firestar to appear. Graystripe trotted over to him, his gaze a little nervous.

"We were just talking about who the new deputy might be," Graystripe said in a low voice. "They each have a different idea of who it should be."

"Well, they won't have to wait much longer," Firestar said loud enough for the others to hear him. He climbed to the top of the Highrock. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather below the Highrock for a Clan meeting." He announced, his voice echoing off the walls of the ravine.

The rest of the Clan gathered in the clearing. Willowpelt sat just outside the nursery, her three kits sat nearby, strangely calm for kits. Fernpaw and Ashpaw emerged from the apprentices' den and the elders slowly made their way out of their den.

"I know it's early, but I'm also aware that we need a deputy." Firestar spoke clearly. "I have given this a lot of thought, and there were several good options for the position. I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of ThunderClan is Graystripe."

He waited for the murmurs to die down before continuing. "You were a good mentor to Brackenfur and have proven your loyalty lies with ThunderClan. I trust you to perform your duties with good judgment."

A few cats spoke their approval. Firestar met the gaze of Fernpaw, who was waiting patiently. "Fernpaw, you will need a new mentor to carry on your training." He turned to face Longtail, who was a little surprised. "Longtail, you were a good mentor to Swiftpaw. You have shown yourself to be loyal and brave. I trust you to pass down your knowledge to Fernpaw." Longtail dipped his head and Fernpaw padded over to the warrior and touched noses with him.

Firestar climbed down the Highledge and padded over to Graystripe, who was organizing patrols. "Dustpelt, Ashpaw, Cloudtail and Brightheart, you can patrol the ShadowClan border and renew the scent markers. There shouldn't be much going on after last night's battle." The four cats nodded and headed for the bramble barrier. "Goldenflower, Mousefur and Thornpaw, can you do a hunting patrol? We need to restock the freshkill pile." They nodded and left the group. "Firestar, can you take Bramblepaw and patrol the RiverClan border?"

"Sure," he responded. "I'd rather not have him run into Tawnypaw again. He's still having trouble accepting that she chose to go to ShadowClan." Graystripe nodded sympathetically. "We'll stop to hunt on our way back."

Firestar padded to the apprentices where Bramblepaw was kneading the sand, looking deep in thought. "Bramblepaw," The apprentice's head snapped up at the sound of his mentor. "We're on border patrol, come on."

Bramblepaw padded over to him. "Which border are we going to?" He asked, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.

"The RiverClan border," Firestar said, hoping it would reassure him. Bramblepaw's head drooped a little at this response. Firestar flicked his apprentice's ear. "Don't worry, we can hunt on the way back."

He led Bramblepaw out of camp and into the cool forest. The first snow would be only days away at this rate. They made their way through the sparse undergrowth, the scents of prey were faint. The silence hung in the air like fog as the rushing of the river slowly grew louder.

When the border came into view, Firestar turned to Bramblepaw. "Do you miss her?" He asked softly.

Bramblepaw looked up at him, his amber eyes searching his gaze. "Tawnypaw? She's my littermate. Of course I miss her." He replied, his eyes lowered to the ground in front of him. "But, I can't blame her for leaving. Everyone in ThunderClan hates Tigerstar, and she felt like an outcast. ShadowClan accepted Tigerstar, so she went there to feel accepted."

"Do you wish you'd have gone with her?" Firestar tried to keep his tone gentle.

"No!" Bramblepaw snapped. His eyes met Firestar's, burning with rage. "She should've stayed. ThunderClan is our home. Our mother and friends are in ThunderClan. Tigerstar was no father. He's nothing but a traitor and a murderer! He only wanted us to follow in his pawsteps."

Bramblepaw stomped past Firestar and stopped at the border, marking a tree. "Tigerstar was evil. I may be his son, but I'm also Goldenflower's son. I just want to be a loyal warrior of ThunderClan." He looked back at Firestar, almost daring him to say otherwise.

"And you will be," Firestar said, walking over to another tree and marking it. "I believe who we are and who we become is a result of the choices we make. I used to be a kittypet after all. And some cats will never let me forget where I came from."

He padded over to Bramblepaw. "Maybe if I remember where I started, then I'll be more grateful for how far I've come from that. Point is, cats will see you for who you are, the decisions you've made, and how you treat others."

Bramblepaw pondered these words and met his mentor's gaze, a deep sadness in his eyes. "I don't want to be him. I just want to be me."

Firestar touched his nose to the top of Bramblepaw's head. "You aren't Tigerstar. You are Bramblepaw."