Fireheart & Cinderpelt/Sandstorm

17

  Fireheart felt teeth piercing through his soft flesh, and he hissed in pain as he tried not to move when he was lifted off of the ground to reduce the possibility of the beast's teeth tearing into his vital organs. The beast's hot breath ruffled his pelt as it raised its paw, claws glinting in the sunlight, about to lash into his throat.

"Fireheart!"

His head spun, claws swiping uselessly through the air. Momentarily, his gaze collided with Cinderpaw's crystal blue eyes - ones that sparkled with fear. "Cinderpaw, no-"

The young apprentice tried leaping; pain flitted across her features as she landed clumsily on the beast's pelt, the height of her leap hindered by her leg. The beast barked furiously, dropping Fireheart like dead weight. Wincing, Fireheart spun around to attack the beast again - Cinderpaw had been thrown off by the bucking dog and in a swipe was flung into the undergrowth nearby. Heart thudding with terror, Fireheart gave a loud caterwaul and flung himself at the beast. A blur of pelts nearby told him others had come to support him, and quickly the beast was driven out of the camp.

Head whirring now, exhaustion tugging in Fireheart's limbs, he limped towards Cinderpaw. "Cinderpaw?" He whispered, terror dripping in his voice. The gray pelt lay limp on the side of the clearing. "Cinderpaw," he repeated again, a little louder. The body stayed motionless.

"Fireheart!" Bluestar's commanding yowl broke through Fireheart's cloud of horror, just as he reached Cinderpaw's side. Her flank rose slightly. Relief crashed over him.

Fireheart's head whipped up to meet Bluestar's striking gaze. "We need to get these dogs out of here," she hissed. His mind caught on, and in a panic he tried coming up with ways to drive them out. In a wave, yowls and hisses crashed his senses. Sandstorm bounded up, her flanks heaving and dripping with blood.

"Let's lead them to the cliff." Sandstorm suggested, her green eyes flickering with panic.

Fireheart looked at Bluestar for confirmation. She nodded.

***

The aftermath was a mess. Bodies of cats were strewn around the camp, but to Fireheart's relief after a quick glance around, all were breathing - except Brindleface. Dustpelt still crouched over his sister's body, too sorrowful to fix his wounds. Too much has happened.

Bluestar's own limp body lay nearby, still wet from being washed ashore. Fireheart's heart wrenched a little as he gazed at her familiar pelt. Sandstorm brushed against him, her eyes imploring as she searched his gaze. "Fireheart?" She whispered, tail curling around his.

Fireheart drew his gaze away, exhaustion and sadness pressing down on him. "Give me a moment, Sandstorm. I-I need to check on Cinderpaw," he moved away, and her warmth disappeared - leaving him feeling a chilly cold.

Brushing past the fern covering leading to the medicine den, Fireheart's heart thumped with worry when he saw Yellowfang crouched over Cinderpaw, eyes laced with an emotion he didn't recognise. "Yellowfang?" Fireheart whispered. "How is she?"

It was as though Yellowfang couldn't hear him. Her paw moved sluggishly, pressing a bunch of herbs against Cinderpaw's flank. Blocking the blood. Blocking the worst of it.

Fireheart's heart twisted. It was as though a giant fist had wrapped around it- squeezing, twisting, making it hard to breathe. "Cinderpaw?" He croaked. The own sting of his wounds faded in the background as he stumbled over to the limp gray body. "Cinderpaw," he whispered again, sorrow flooding his body at the unnatural silence enveloping the tiny apprentice.

He stood that way for a while, head bent over the apprentice's body. Other cats littered the floor of the medicine den, chests heaving, blood stemmed by leaves forcefully pressed against their flanks. But all Fireheart could see was Cinderpaw's body. Her eyes, closed in blissful sleep. Her paws, soft and delicate - valiant in battle just hours before.

Fireheart moved to lie down beside her, keep her warm even as the night's chill crept into the den. But Yellowfang moved then- her claws glinted in the pale moonlight filtering into the medicine cat's den, a warning as she swiped at his leg. "You caused this, Fireheart," she hissed in a low, dangerous tone.

Fireheart's head swam. He couldn't comprehend her words. "What?" He heard himself meow, dumbly.

"If she hadn't loved you so much, do you think she would have gotten this hurt?" Yellowfang's tail brushed against the herbs she had stuffed so desperately against Cinderpaw's flank, revealing the deep gashes raked across the cat. Crimson red still welled up where the herbs had just been seconds before.

Each word stung like a bee. Fireheart's head suddenly stopped swimming. She loved me?

Yellowfang's eyes burned into him like lasers, accusation laced in her voice, "Well?"

Fireheart's tongue caught. Words didn't form.

Yellowfang snarled a blood curdling yowl before pushing him away, recognising the look in Fireheart's eyes. The look of disbelief - not wanting to accept it, because he didn't know how to deal with it. "Coward."

Cinderpaw stirred. Coward.

A weak gasp. "Fireheart," she whispered.

Coward.

Fireheart couldn't get past the knot in his throat. He tried swallowing, but it didn't work. The lump persistently stayed there.

Yellowfang bent protectively over Cinderpaw's body, pressing a wad of moss dripping with water to the apprentice's mouth. Without looking up, Yellowfang delivered a simple but piercing statement that drove Fireheart out of the den, head hanging shamefully: "Get away from her, Fireheart, before you hurt her again."

Sandstorm met him outside, worried eyes belying her calm exterior.

Fireheart shook her off. He needed air. He needed...

Memories of the night he'd met Tigerclaw and Darkstripe flashed through his mind. Darkstripe's snicker rang in his mind;"Why do you think Cinderpaw went to the thunderpath that day? To please you, of course. It's your fault she ended up this way." And he'd done it again.

Hatred built up in Fireheart. It coiled like a black snake in his stomach, filling his body and climbing its way up to his heart - the throne of emotions.

He needed to see Tigerclaw.

Author's Note:

Hi guys!

Wew, it's 2022. Firstly, happy new year! I hope you're staying safe & are at peace and happiness. Even if you aren't quite where you want to be at the moment, I'm grateful you're here and I hope you don't give up on your dreams. They're worth it, and so are you.

I never thought I would take this long to update this story; if you're still here it means the world to me :). I haven't had the chance to reply to comments as I used to- I haven't logged in a while, I admit. Wattpad has always been a source of happiness for me - but life got in the way the past two years. Responsibilities stepped in. I'll be uploading the chapters consecutively in the next few days and finish this story once and for all. My apologies for this long wait, guys.

Btw, I know the story doesn't really line up with the original series - Tigerclaw is meant to be leader of ShadowClan at this moment in time, however I wanted to make it more of an inside twist.

Have a brilliant day, and I'm wishing everyone a blessed new year! May you accomplish all that you wish to in 2022~ <3