Fireheart gazed sullenly at the entrance to the camp. It wasn't the same after Sprite had been banished from FeatherClan by his father, Graystripe. Mistyfoot padded up to him, a squirrel in her jaws. "Do you want to go hunting?" ,she mewed. Fireheart nodded and got to his paws. His mate was eating for three, now, and he would make sure she and the kits in her belly were full fed. Passing his best friend, he meowed, "Graystripe, do want to come hunting with us?" ,the dark gray tom nodded. "Let me get Silverstream first." ,he replied. The four cats walked into the forest. The pretty silver tabby looked weak, as if she couldn't believe her son was gone. Of course, it was necessary that Sprite had been exiled. He was a weight on the clan, running off with Rose Flight all the time, never bringing home any prey, and worst of all, he had gotten into an argument with his mother and ended up attacking her. Graystripe had stopped him, declared his was no longer his son, and banished him. Sprite had left FeatherClan with RoseFlight, of course, and after that none of them had heard anything from the wiry tom. Fireheart steered the patrol towards the stream gently, knowing that Mistyfoot would want to catch fish, being a former RiverClan cat. The gray she-cat suddenly ran ahead of the group, paws thudding the ground. "Wait!" ,Fireheart called out. Mistyfoot ignored him, leaping the stream and plunging into the brambles. Meowing erupted from the bush, some harsh and others friendly Fireheart, Graystripe, and Silverstream caught up quickly to the cats. A ginger face poked out from the brambles, locking gazes with Fireheart. It was Sandstorm! Heart beating faster, he took a step closer. Another face emerged. "Ravenpaw?" ,he meowed hesitantly. His old friend from the forest! Rushing forward, he nuzzled the black tom affectionately. Graystripe nipped at Ravenpaw's ears playfully. Two more faces appeared. Stonefur and Barley! Mistyfoot rubbed her cheek against her brother's. Happy purring rose up through the trees as the cats shared tongues with their former clanmates. Suddenly Sandstorm yowled, "Fireheart! I found you! Quick, come with me and we'll save ThunderClan, from Tigerstar, and RiverClan and WindClan were merged into SprayClan, and ShadowClan is under ThunderClan's control..." ,Sandstorm looked hopefully into Fireheart's green eyes. He shook his head. "No. Sandstorm, my place is here, among friends. The other clans are none of my concern. I left that life." Sandstorm gasped, and determination filled her eyes. "Fireheart, If you don't come with me, everyone back in the forest, your friends, family-" Fireheart stopped her. "I don't have any family there, I was born kittypet, you were so determined to not let me forget that. I also have no friends there, all of my friends are here in front of me." ,he mewed coldly. Sandstorm dropped her gaze. "I am sorry for making fun of where you came from as an apprentice." ,she mewed quietly. "But do not take out your anger on the forest clans. They deserve your help, even if I don't deserve anything from you." Her eyes reflected the dying light of the sunset, lighting up the dark green depths with splashes of amber. Fireheart sighed. "I cannot go back there, the clans are not my responsibility anymore." Hurt sparked in Sandstorm's gaze. "I promised Bluestar..." ,her voice died in her throat. She hung her head. "I can not force you. I know that now. Sorry for wasting your time." The ginger she-cat backed away, ears flattened. "Sandstorm. We came all this way. Why don't we stay here?" ,mewed Stonefur gently. She looked away, uncertainly twitching her whiskers. Ravenpaw nudged her playfully. "Come on!" ,he mewed. "What will it hurt to stay?" Barley stepped up to Sandstorm. "Sandy," he began uncertainly, "Wouldn't it be better to forget that life? Settle down here, make a permanent camp, raise a family, even?" Hope blazed in his dark blue eyes. Sandstorm nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll stay. Alright!" ,she purred, raising her tail. Stonefur looked relieved. "If you had said no," he mewed, "I don't know if I would have gone back to the forest with you, or stay with Mistyfoot." Sandstorm looked surprised. "But the only reason you left RiverClan was because you missed her." ,she meowed, confused. Hastily Stonefur laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know." ,he mumbled, looking at his paws. Sandstorm tenderly lapped at his cheek, her expression warm. "I know exactly how you feel." ,she breathed into his ear. Stonefur tilted his head, goofily smiling for a moment. "Oh." ,he finally mewed. They twined tails hesitantly before turning to the rest of the cats. "I'll have to tell Ravenpaw." ,Sandstorm mewed to Stonefur. "Tell me what?" They whipped their heads around to see Ravenpaw standing behind them. "Oh!" Sandstorm meowed loudly. Mistyfoot and Barley turned their heads, mildly interested. "What." ,said Graystripe. Fireheart nudged him in warning. "Don't bring attention to them."
he growled quietly. The two toms turned their backs purposely against the others. Barley and Mistyfoot continued to chat quietly together, glancing at Sandstorm curiously. Guiltily Sandstorm turned her attention back to Ravenpaw. "I'm sorry, Ravenpaw, but, I and Stonefur, aren't mates? Don't get me wrong, we could totally become mates, but...." she trailed off, sheepishly looking at Ravenpaw. The black tom meowed coolly, "Ah. I get it. You're friendzoning me. Well, you sure think highly of yourself, Sandstorm. I'm gay, actually. That means I'm attracted to toms. If anything, you should be worried I'll start to fancy Stonefur." With that, he turned to speak with Barley. "Oh." ,Sandstorm repeated, quieter this time. "That's good, though, right?" ,she mewed to Stonefur. He grinned. "You think we could become mates? I might take you up on that sometime, to be warned." ,he joked. Sandstorm felt her face heating up. "I wasn't kidding." ,she meowed, leaning forward to nuzzle Stonefur's neck gently. They were interrupted by horrible screeching. Sandstorm jerked her head up, alarmed. "Who is that!" ,she exclaimed. Fireheart's face darkened. "It's Roseflight's." ,he growled. Graystripe lashed his tail nervously. "Should we help her?" ,the gray tom meowed doubtfully. Silverstream went rigid beside her mate. "She's giving birth." ,she mewed, voice shaking. Stonefur leaped to his paws. "Of course we help her! Kits are involved, and the warrior code says we have to help kits." His yellow eyes narrowed in determination. "No matter the clan they belong to." Sandstorm nodded. "Then it's settled. We help this cat. Now!" With that, she raced toward the direction where the shrieks were coming form. She heard the pounding of paws behind her, meaning the others were in agreement and following her. Fireheart raced beside Mistyfoot, stride for stride. Being pregnant did not slow down his mate. If anything, it made her faster. They skidded to a halt at the verge of a ravine and carefully trotted downhill, Silverstream and Graystripe in front of them. Another screech made the fur on Fireheart's back rise. Below them was Sprite, lashing his wiry tail nervously. His eyes seemed to brighten as Silverstream approached him. "Where is she?" ,the she-cat meowed calmly. He nodded towards a big bush. Sandstorm hovered in front of the large holly bush, tail quivering. She knew nothing about kits, much less kits being born. Stonefur slowed to a halt beside her, panting. Barley shouldered his way through the sharp leaves, wincing as they scraped his flanks. Silverstream followed him, a wad of herbs in her mouth. Fireheart, Mistyfoot, and Ravenpaw sat down beside the bush, eyes wary.
