Forest of Secrets/Chapter 8

==Chapter description==
:Fireheart crouches in the nursery, and watches a mother suckling her kits. He is very excited to see them until he realizes ThunderClan doesn't have kits as young as these at the moment. Just as he wonders where they had come from, the queen starts fading away, and the kits start mewling in fright. Fireheart is afraid and confused too, but the wind takes the kits' scent away with it, and he tries to figure out where they had gone when Spottedleaf appears with the kits. The ginger warrior opens his mouth to speak to her, and she gives him a look filled with kindness before vanishing along with the kits.
:Fireheart wakes up in his mossy nest in the warriors' den, and Dustpelt asks if the ginger warrior has to make so much noise. He adds that nobody could get a wink of sleep, and Fireheart apologizes to him. The ginger warrior glances over to Tigerclaw's nest, remembering that the deputy had complained about Fireheart's dreams before. To his relief, Tigerclaw isn't there, and he gives himself a quick wash. Fireheart tries to hide his anxiety concerning the dream, and expresses his fear for the kits in thought. He wonders if it was a prophecy, or if it was the former ThunderClan kits, Mistyfoot, and Stonefur, whose mother must've disappeared somehow.
:Dustpelt gives him a glare when he pads out the den, leaving Fireheart alone with Longtail, and Runningwind. He notices that Graystripe is missing; the bedding in his friend's nest cold, as if he had been out since dawn. Fireheart tries to understand his friend's feelings and thinks wistfully of their apprentice days. He looks out his den to the glittering snow that covers camp, and ponders when the thaw will come.
:Beside the nettle patch, Sandstorm eats some fresh-kill. She greets him, and advises him to eat some prey before it runs out. With that, Fireheart realizes how hungry he really is, so he takes a starling from the pile and settles down beside the ginger she-cat. He meows that they would have to go hunt today, and Sandstorm tells him that Whitestorm and Mousefur had gone out with their eager apprentices, Brightpaw, and Thornpaw to catch prey for the elders.
:This gets the ginger warrior wondering if Graystripe had taken his apprentice out yet, but a moment later, Brackenpaw pads out the apprentice's den. He looks around before padding over to Fireheart, and asks if he's seen Graystripe. Fireheart apologizes and replies he doesn't know, stating that the gray warrior was gone when he woke up. Brackenpaw is crestfallen and complains that his mentor is always gone and at this rate Swiftpaw will be a warrior before him. Fireheart consoles him that would not happen, and is suddenly angry at Graystripe and his obsession with Silverstream, thinking that no warrior had the right to abandon his apprentice like this.
:He tells Brackenpaw that he will mentor him today, and the ginger apprentice's spirits lift. Sandstorm offers to come along too, so once they finish eating they pad out of the gorse tunnel. Once they reach the training hollow, Fireheart asks Brackenpaw where a good place to hunt would be. The apprentice points to under the tree, and explains that mice, and squirrels, would come to scavenge nuts. Fireheart compliments the apprentice, and they pad over to see if he was correct.
:They notice Brindleface watching her kits fondly. She explains that they are restless due to the snow, and need to release some energy. Cloudkit is sitting by the yew berry bush with his littermates, explaining how dangerous deathberries are. Fireheart is amused by the young kit's serious tone, and meows a greeting as he passes by.
:The ginger warrior notices a mouse beneath the trees, and catches it quickly. Sandstorm compliments the catch, and Fireheart tells Brackenpaw to catch the next one. The ginger warrior spots a blackbird pecking at the berries in a holly bush, and Brackenpaw stalks the winged prey carefully. Once the blackbird notices him, the apprentice runs fast and catches it before it flies away. He asks if he'd waited too long and got the timing messed up, and Fireheart says he might have but he still did well. Sandstorm tells him to take his catch to the elders, and Brackenpaw starts to respond, when a shrill wail interrupts him.
:Fireheart exclaims that it sounded like a kit, so they all run to the edge of the hollow and look down. Sandstorm exclaims great StarClan, and below them is a large, bulky black and white animal. It is a badger, and it's claws are hooked dangerously above Cloudkit. The kit wails to Fireheart to help him, and the warrior runs down and rakes his claws down the badger's flank. In response, it roars with it's jaws snapping. It is about to catch Fireheart, when Brackenpaw starts clawing it's eyes. Sandstorm sinks her teeth into the badger's hind leg, but it throws her off, and she lands in the snow.
:Fireheart reaches to claw the badger's flank, but it is backing away now. Sandstorm gets up and walks over to the ravine, and the ginger warrior asks Cloudkit if he is hurt. The kit trembles and replies no so he asks what happened. The white kit says he was playing with the others and Brindleface, and then all of a sudden he was all alone, so he tried to find Fireheart when the badger came. Sandstorm calls Fireheart to look at Brackenpaw. The young apprentice has fallen down, and is bleeding heavily. He assures it is nothing but Fireheart rushes over and examines Brackenpaw's wound. Luckily, it is not deep but long and the bleeding has nearly stopped. Fireheart and Sandstorm praise Brackenpaw, and the she-cat wonders what a badger was doing hunting in the day-time. Fireheart responds it must've been hungry else it would not have gone for something big like Cloudkit.
:When they reach the ravine, Brindleface is anxiously wailing for Cloudkit, along with Runningwind, Dustpelt, and Tigerclaw. She springs on Cloudkit when she sees him and covers him with licks, and frantically asking where he's been, and that he should not have run away. Cloudkit crossly says he did not, as Tigerclaw questions what's going on. Fireheart explains what happened, and adds that Brackenpaw was very brave. Tigerclaw glares at him while he speaks, but the ginger warrior doesn't care as he has done nothing wrong. Tigerclaw tells Brackenpaw to go to the medicine cat den and see Yellowfang. The deputy scolds Cloudkit fiercely for wandering out on his own. Cloudkit says he didn't mean to, but Tigerclaw continues. Brindleface defends her adopted son, meowing that he's only a kit. The dark tabby pays no heed to her, and orders Cloudkit to check the elders for ticks and clean out their bedding. Cloudkit is disgusted and does not want to check the elders for ticks, but Tigerclaw says he has to because they are elders and he should respect them. He tells him to go on now, and stop only when he tells him to. Cloudkit glares at Tigerclaw, the rushes off to camp with Brindleface following. The deputy mutters to Dustpelt that he always knew bringing kittypets to the Clan was a bad idea, and he stares at Fireheart with a challenge in his eye. The ginger warrior looks away, avoiding his anger, and tells Brackenpaw to come to the medicine cat den with him. Sandstorm goes to look for more prey, and Fireheart leads Brackenpaw to the den.
:They see Brokentail stumbling out of camp with Yellowfang at his side. Longtail and Darkstripe guard them. Longtail grumbles that they must be mad, taking Brokentail out like this, and he adds that Brokentail might run off. Yellowfang snaps that he wouldn't be running off anywhere, because he's blind. Fireheart hears her murmuring comforting words to Brokentail as he rests. The ginger warrior recalls that Yellowfang is Brokentail's mother, and that no other cat knew. He thinks Brokentail probably doesn't hear her soft words, and painfully remembers how Yellowfang broke the medicine cat code by giving birth to Brokentail. Fireheart recalls how she had to give him up, and then how she had to blind him to stop him from destroying ThunderClan. He realizes that she still loves him as a son, and he feels sympathy for her.
:Darkstripe mutters that he will tell Tigerclaw about this because he never said anything about taking their prisoner out of camp. Fireheart furiously stomps up to him and pushes his muzzle to his face, snapping that Bluestar is the current ThunderClan leader and asks him who he thinks she will listen to -- him or the medicine cat. Darkstripe rears up, and shows his fangs, and Brackenpaw becomes alarmed. Fireheart tenses, waiting for the dark warrior to attack him when Yellowfang yowls for them to stop their nonsense and asks them to tell her what's happened to Brackenpaw. The ginger warrior glares at Darkstripe but responds that the apprentice was clawed by a badger. Yellowfang examines Brackenpaw and tells him that he will live, and he should go to Cinderpaw for some herbs. The apprentice thanks the medicine cat, and limps away.
:Fireheart follows Brackenpaw, but turns to see Yellowfang licking Brokentail like a queen would groom her kit, but Brokentail is unresponsive and will not share tongues back with his mother. The warrior sadly turns away, knowing there were bonds stronger than Yellowfang and Brokentail's. He thinks that Yellowfang must have felt that bond even after when she saw Brokentail kill his father, destroy his whole Clan with his horrible leadership, and attack ThunderClan with a band of rogues. Fireheart knows that in Yellowfang's mind, Brokentail will always be her kit.
:This leads him to wonder about Mistyfoot and Stonefur's relationship with their mother. He wonders why Oakheart brought them to RiverClan, and why no ThunderClan cats tried to find them.
==Characters==
===Major===
* Fireheart
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Notes and references==
de:Geheimnis des Waldes/Kapitel 8es:‎El bosque de los secretos/Capítulo 8fr:Les mystères de la forêt/Chapitre 8
Category:Forest of Secrets
Category:The Prophecies Begin arc
Category:Chapter subpages