Line of Fire [CLOSED]

His fur who was usually of a dark ginger colour looked even redder under the light of the strange eclipse. There was no breeze, no birds chirping. The forest had been quiet since the start of the strange events that scared the five clans. A battle was coming... he could sense it in the air, in the tension of his clanmates and leader's faces and words. However, unlike most of his clanmates, he wasn't shaken by Littlestar's death. No. The thing that truly troubled him was his recently formed family... his kit on her way of growing. If bloodshed was about to come, there was a risk of losing Redkit and Violetshine. Firestone could not let that happen...

That was why he was here. If he was to protect his new family, he had to settle his feelings or he would just fall into desperation and madness, especially because he was short-tempered and impulsive most of the time. His green eyes looked up at the big trees with nostalgia. He had not been here alone in a long time... but every time he remembered the day his father brought him here, the day he knew about his rogue blood.

Firestone laid down in a soft spot of grass and watched the trees tainted with red quietly. Thanks to the cursed sky, it wasn't such a pleasant view but it still brought him some peace, even with the bad memories of his father... The tom didn't hate Flamestrike. How could he hate the cat who raised him? His father and mentor? No. He didn't hate him but he resented him. The old, dead warrior betrayed his trust just like Littlestar, Honeydrop and Gingerstripe did. He was the first one to do it. Thanks to him, his brother was exiled and his mother killed. The simple thought of that made Firestone clench his teeth with anger and frustration. His past was a sad one... but that he had just earned a happy family... he had to protect it. He wasn't going to lose any family member again... he was not going to be like his father was. Unlike him, the senior warrior had promised to himself to be honest all the time, even the truth could hurt. Because lies had only brought sorrow and loss into his life...

The large warrior sighed, exhausted. What a mess. What were the clans going to do? This is a danger that no cat had seen before. No one could say for sure what Lichenmask was capable to do... but no matter what, he had to protect his daughter... Since Gingerstripe was a rogue, she and Tansyheart were the only biological kin he had left in the clans, weren't they?

Firepaw had way too much energy. He'd come back to Fourtrees again, snuck out of camp when Flurryshine wasn't looking. The grandeur was the same the second time. It looked almost ominous in the deep red light. But the young tom didn't care. He went racing around the Great Rock, nearly slamming into an older cat. He screeched to a stop and studied him. The Shadowclan cat's face seemed so familiar! "Hi there- You look sad." He said, then paused and stated thoughtfully, "You look a lot like my dad, Gingerstripe. Hey, wait a minute, he was from Shadowclan! Did you know him?" His face brightened from concentrated to excited.

The senior warrior was surprised by the young cat's appearance and he immediately jumped into a defensive position when he suddenly came rushing to him. Firestone quickly analyzed him, noticing he was rather young to be considered a warrior and he smelled like fish. A Riverclan cat.

He suddenly relaxed after the realization. Riverclan and Shadowclan were in an alliance and there was no reason for them to fight here. And even if he wanted to fight, it was clear that the ShadowClanner had more battle experience than this calico tom.

At first, he thought this was going to be a casual meeting between an adventurous apprentice and an older warrior who just came here searching for peace. However, when the tom started talking, the saddened, worried expression of Firestone disappeared in a blink, being replaced by a stunned one. Gingerstripe... Was he his son!? "Wait, are you my brother's son?! How is he? Where is Gingerstripe!? He left the barn without telling me and I never told me where he went. Is he okay? Is he... alive?" The questions came rushing like a flood out of his mouth. This had to be a dream... how in Starclan name this coincidence happened in such a moment?

Firepaw grinned. "Wow! You're my uncle! Yeah, Gingerstripe lives with us, in Riverclan. Unless he died within the past few minutes, yeah, he's well and alive. Right now he's... I think he's with Dewshine. That's my mum." The tom seemed excited. Gingerstripe really had a caring brother who must have been devestated, not knowing if his brother was alive or dead. Firepaw could only imagine what it'd feel like.

His brother was... a Riverclan cat now? He should be angry, betrayed but instead... he was truly happy for him! Gingerstripe was no longer an exiled cat but a cat who belonged to a clan, who now had the chance to have a family and kits again. Shadowclan was no longer the place for him and he would never force him to return to the place where his "mother" exiled him but he could cheer by knowing that he got a safe place to be under the Warrior Code one more time.

He looked at the tom by his side with new eyes. This cat... was his kin! His nephew! Most cats would be ashamed to have family in other clans but that was not Firestone. Little did he care for mixed blood and all that fox-dung. The older warrior smiled, sincerely. He wanted to scream of joy but instead, he approached the Riverclan apprentice and embraced him with one big foreleg. "Come here, little rascal!" He purred messing up with his head with one paw in an affectionate way. He got the chance to meet his nephew in such weird conditions! What a delightful turn of events! Firestone couldn't be happier. Despite all his worries, all that he had gone through... he could still find that usual happiness and warm personality that was always so proper of him. "How could I not see it before? You're just like your father. Always looking for adventures alone without the eyes of the adults on him! Your father and I always went together in great adventures on our own when we were young warriors!" His brother was alive! He could see him again... the last remnants of his former family... they were now in Riverclan. And the best part was that their clans were allies!

Firepaw was surprised to have such a display of affection from a cat in a different clan. Not all cats understood that they were all the same. He grinned at the reminiscing. "Both of my littermates are shecats. I've only got my best friend Berrypaw to adventure with. Although if I had a brother I'd do that!"

Firestone's eyes got even wider when he heard that he had more than one nephew! Gingerstripe had to be so happy! The tom finally sat down, ready to stay here for a little longer to speak with this apprentice. "That's great! Is always good to have a best friend by your side. But I think I've not caught up your name yet... what's your name? What are your sister's names? And your mom? I can't wait to meet the whole family now that I've found you... please... tell me all about them." He wasn't alone... the family he believed it was lost forever had now grown more and it didn't matter if they weren't from Shadowclan. Riverclan was a good place too and it had been known for being the strongest and largest clan in the forest right now. They were safe and had a home to return to.

Firepaw nodded. It was pretty good. Whoa, that was a lot of questions! "Well, my name is Firepaw. Because of the red splotches, I guess. My sisters are named Foxpaw and Blossompaw. Blossompaw looks kinda like me but not quite, her patches are different and they're more golden and dark gray then red and light grey but also tabby striped like me. Foxpaw is an orange tabby, a bit lighter than Gingerstripe. And then mom is a cat named Dewshine. She's just grey, just a bit darker on her back and stuff." He explained, trying to get a good picture into his uncle's head.

Firepaw? Was this a coincidence or something his brother did... in honour to him? He couldn't be entirely sure by just asking the apprentice. It seemed like he didn't know the reason behind his name. Maybe he could ask him later, in the next Gathering (whenever it had to happen). "Blossompaw and Foxpaw... I hope I can meet them too one day." He mewed with dreamy eyes. "It means that my little daughter has cousins too! You should meet her one day. She's younger than all of you but one day she will be Redpaw, a Shadowclan apprentice. Maybe you can get along as well." He purred, his large tail flicking from one side to another.

"Oh, excuse me. I think I haven't introduced myself properly because of my excitement. You can call me Firestone or uncle!" He said chuckling.

Firepaw took on an excited face. "Well then I definitely want to meet her!" He blinked, surprised. "Wait. We have the same name? That's super cool! I wonder if that was on purpose!"