Chapter 1 – A Strange Sign

CHAPTER 1
A Strange Sign

It was a very peaceful morning in ThunderClan.

Birds glided across the sky while the apprentices hunted, eager to prove to their mentors that they would soon be ready to pass the upcoming test.

Spring was approaching, and all the warriors celebrated the abundance of prey. Some even seemed closer than before.

At midday, while resting on a warm rock, Fireheart saw Sandstorm approaching with a fat mouse, the biggest he had ever seen.

Graystripe, who was beside him, purred and gave him a playful nudge before walking off to leave them alone.

Sandstorm stopped in front of Fireheart and pushed the mouse toward him. He didn’t know what to say and merely complimented her catch. Sandstorm frowned.

Meanwhile, in the medicine den, Cloudpaw was being treated for his recent wounds. He had tried to catch a mouse hiding near a badger’s den, and several warriors had to chase the creature off. Unbeknownst to him, the only she-cat who didn’t seem to be having a good day stood behind him.

“So… Sandstorm is interested in Fireheart?” asked a voice behind him.

Cloudpaw perked his ears and turned his head. He saw Cinderpaw preparing an herb paste to apply to his side wound. The apprentice didn’t know what to say and only nodded, just as he caught sight, from the corner of his eye, of Sandstorm growling and throwing the mouse in Fireheart’s face, who didn’t seem to understand her gesture.

Cinderpaw sighed and walked toward the back of her den. She couldn’t get Fireheart’s image out of her head.

Her mentor no longer came by as often, especially since she had become a medicine cat apprentice. Now he focused more on hunting… and on whatever he was plotting with Graystripe.

She didn’t quite understand what it was, but she feared Fireheart might get into trouble.

Still, Cinderpaw believed that if she improved her skills, he would visit her more often again. That was why she had been practicing so much lately, even though it didn’t seem to be working.

A futile attempt, really, to get the attention of a tom who seemed more distracted than others… yet far more handsome than any who might ever notice her.

Cinderpaw approached Cloudpaw with the paste and applied it to his wound.

The apprentice let out a soft sigh and hissed when he felt the pressure.

Meanwhile, Cinderpaw watched Fireheart arguing with Sandstorm.

Every time he tried to give the mouse back, she would throw it at his face again, insisting that he eat it.

Cloudpaw chuckled at the sight and sighed without thinking.

“Those two… they’d make a good couple, honestly—Ow!”

Cloudpaw yelped as Cinderpaw pressed a little harder on his wound. He decided to stay quiet, though he noticed she was now rubbing the area with a bit more force.

Outside, Graystripe was walking through the camp clearing, chatting with other warriors who were planning a new hunting patrol.

At that moment, Cinderpaw remembered that Yellowfang had gone out to gather herbs with Goldenflower.

For a moment, she thought of asking her mentor for love advice, but then she remembered the laws of StarClan and her duty as a medicine cat.

She could only let out a deeper sigh.

Fireheart finally accepted the mouse from Sandstorm. She huffed, gave him a light headbutt on the forehead, and walked off, tail flicking.

Fireheart shrugged and began to eat peacefully.

Cinderpaw couldn’t hide the warm sigh that slipped from her muzzle.

A few minutes later, when Cloudpaw left the den, Cinderpaw began to think about what she could give Fireheart as a gift.

Seeing him so happy with Sandstorm’s mouse had left a small knot in her chest; perhaps something better than a mouse would be a nice gesture.

She looked down at herself.

Her hind leg was still a nuisance for any hunting activity, so that was out of the question.

But she knew more about plants and herbs than any other she-cat in the Clan, except Yellowfang, so she would come up with something.

Glancing both ways before leaving the den, she headed out of camp.

On her way, she saw Longtail talking with Darkstripe. Tigerheart had just left them after a brief exchange, leaving the two murmuring together.

Cinderpaw glanced at them out of the corner of her eye as she crossed the camp entrance.

Once outside, feeling the cool, damp earth beneath her paws, she searched for something that could serve as a gift.

She had to think of something.

She walked back and forth, following the scent of any easy prey she might find.

For a moment, she wondered where Sandstorm had found such a large, plump catch; even she licked her lips just thinking about it.

Her steps grew slower as she tried to keep pace; her hind leg still ached as she walked.

She sighed deeply and puffed out her chest. She couldn’t give up.

She lowered her head into a burrow, then moved to a small stream and nudged a few stones with her paw.

Without realizing it, one of them rolled onto her tail.

She yelped in pain, quickly pulled it away, and blew on it, grumbling under her breath.

Then she lifted her head.

The birds were flying too high for her. For a moment, a doubt crossed her mind, was she doing wrong by searching for something as a gift when she should be staying alert in case someone from the Clan got injured?

But she could hardly ever take moments like this for herself. She deserved it. She wanted to believe she did.

She knew it was a reckless thought, but she wanted Fireheart’s attention at all costs… even if she didn’t quite understand why.

“StarClan… please, guide me. I really want… I want you to help me fall in love… with a tom,” she whispered softly.

As she walked, she unknowingly stepped in mud. She growled in frustration and shook her front left paw to get it off. Then she sighed and headed toward the RiverClan border to clean her paw in the water.

That was when she caught a scent she had never smelled before.

“What the…? Is that…?”

Cinderpaw twitched her ears. Her chest began to tremble, and her nose started to tingle. Her shoulders stiffened, and a bit of drool escaped her muzzle as she took in the scent.

Without realizing it, she had fallen under the effect of the plant growing on RiverClan’s side of the border. She stepped forward, and for better or worse, fell straight into the river. It wasn’t a deep fall, but enough to soak her completely.

She shook her head and took a deep breath, trying to regain consciousness.

Cinderpaw froze in shock.

It was the herb Yellowfang had told her about before.

Her mentor had warned her not to get near it, and if she ever did, to be extremely careful.

She had also said that this plant didn’t grow in many places.

And now, it was right before her eyes. She had the chance to take it.

It was… catnip!

Cinderpaw lowered her head, glanced around, left, right, back, and forward again.

No one was nearby.

Could she take it? she wondered, just as a gust of wind from the west splashed water all over her face.

She shook her head and looked up at the sky, but saw no sign from StarClan.

“If I found it, and it grew in this season… it must be for a reason, right? StarClan, do you agree?”

But no sound answered from the forest.

She smiled… right before a fish leaped out of the water and splashed her face again.

She tried to claw at it, but it was already gone.

She needed to focus.

The herb she sought was right there; if she didn’t take it now, someone else might.

The herbs of each Clan are to be respected. If you ever take a healing herb from another Clan, you must ask their medicine cat for permission.

Yellowfang’s wise words echoed in her mind, and she let out a long sigh.

Then she remembered something, an intimate secret her mentor had once shared out of boredom.

Yellowfang had confessed she had once been a mother.

That meant she had also allowed herself to love.

And if she could… that means I can too!

With that determination, Cinderpaw hesitated no longer.

She leapt onto the first rock separating the two Clans, remembering just in time the problem with her injured hind leg.

She braced herself firmly with her other limbs to avoid falling into the river.

The wind was against her, and droplets of water splashed her face.

She sneezed, but refused to be discouraged.

Carefully, she jumped to the next rock, eyes narrowed, and then to the next, until she finally reached RiverClan’s shore safely, her heart pounding beneath her chest.

She quickly looked around, no one was watching.

Then she dipped her head under the water.

When she surfaced, she let out a muffled gasp and swiftly grabbed the catnip.

She remembered that the water had prevented her from falling under its effect before, so she figured she could handle it if it stayed wet enough.

Luckily, it was.

But the effect could fade soon, so she had to hurry back.

She looked at the rocks and jumped across them again, though this time with more difficulty, her nose was itching, eager to inhale more of the sweet herb.

Even so, she focused as much as possible to keep her balance.

After the final jumps, she landed back in her own territory and ran.

The ground was wet and slippery; she tripped over a few stones, then over a branch that sent her tumbling several meters downhill, deeper into ThunderClan territory.

When she opened her eyes, she looked around, panting.

Luckily, no one was there.

She let out a sigh of relief.

“Cinderpaw? What’s that you’ve got there?”

She spun around, startled, and saw the orange paws of a handsome tom approaching curiously.

Fireheart.

Cinderpaw jumped in fright, and when she saw the tom with bits of mouse still on his whiskers, she narrowed her eyes, stepped closer, and gave him a light swat on the cheek, wiping the mouse remains off in the process.

“Hey! Why is everyone hitting me today?” Fireheart protested, laughing nervously.

Cinderpaw held back from replying and dashed toward her den.

There, she let out a long breath of relief, tossed the herbs to the back of the den, and collapsed onto the ground, writhing in exhaustion from the stress and tension of the past few moments.

She rubbed herself against the earth and felt the deepest embarrassment in the world.

She had come back soaked, covered in mud, and the last cat she wanted to see her like that had just caught her red-pawed.

On top of that, she had hit him in the face without thinking… and she was still feeling a little dizzy from the effect of the catnip she had brought back.

She covered her face with her paws, realizing they were dirty and wet.

She let out a low growl and began to clean herself with her tongue, careful not to dirty the plants around her in the process.

She felt so embarrassed that she decided to do something about it.

She had a plan: she would use the herbs she had found, hoping not to cause any trouble with them.

If everything went well… Fireheart might start taking an interest in her again.

Cinderpaw looked down at her paws for a moment and slowly licked them.

But then a thought struck her like lightning:

if her plan failed… Fireheart might end up hating her.