We are not the same. [c]

Her company seemed unbearable and often seemed to irritate oyhers, so a solo patrol was not uncommon for the hotheaded and sharp-tongued ThunderClan warrior. Skirting the boarders of her clans territory, Firefly silently re-marked the border between SkyClan and ThunderClan; ensuring that no one has entered or left recently.

Ears flattened against her russet and black head as ashe picked up an unfamiliar scent. She hadn't seen the intruder yet, but green eyes scanned each tree and bush meticulously. "You're awfully close, aren't you?"

It was one of those days where Beechfang had decided to cut through clan territory to shorten her wanderings, being very careful to stay precisely on the borders and not stray into clan territory proper. She had no desire to cause trouble, or speak with anyone really, but it seemed that today trouble was going to find her. A lot was weighing on her mind, and she was desperately trying to ignore it by keeping herself moving. The call of a she-cat who smelled of Thunderclan was an almost welcome distraction. Beechfang had noticed the scent draw closer, and it seemed that this one was on her own. Strange... Skyclan had stopped allowing warriors to go on solo patrols long ago for their own safety, perhaps Thunderclan didn't.

"Just passing through. I have no intention of straying onto Thunderclan territory." She replied, head turning to find the russet and black she-cat a short distance away.

"As you shouldn't." She retorted. Her eyes were clearly focused on the large scar on the she-cats face, one that made her conscious of her own. Though Firefly still had both her eyes, and this molly looked. Bad. She looked awful, actually. "What's wrong with you?" Her mouth moved on it's own, asking a question that sounded mean, but it was genuine. A lover of battles, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to hear this cats story. She was covered in them, after all.

She stood firm in her place on ThunderClan's side of the border, not a single muscle twitching. It was rude to stare, but in her head, it was fine as long as it wasn't out of pity. She got enough of that from Curlyfluff and Mottlestar.

Once, the staring might have bothered her. The big, brawny, battle-scarred medicine cat apprentice she had been wouldn't have taken kindly to it. Now, after years and more scars accompanying the claw marks Rainstrike had left on her chest, Beechfang was less sensitive and didn't really care. It wasn't necessarily that it wasn't offensive, but rather it was to be expected. She'd grown numb to it, in a way.

"It might be a shorter answer to ask what isn't." Beechfang replied, a hint of amusement in her eye. She could guess at what exactly the she-cat meant, however. "I'd say don't get struck by lightning in the middle of a gathering... But you seem to have figured some of that out the hard way." She wasn't sure it had been at a gathering, lightning tended to strike near trees anyways. But it left strangely-shaped scars, scars the Thunderclanner bore as well.

Was this cat there when it happened, or was this just a lucky guess? Either way, the mentioning of her scar made her break eye contact. "You, too?" Her voice was less harsh this time, curiosity starting to outweigh hostility. Not like this cat was trespassing. "Why were you punished? Did you fight a cat or something?" There couldn't be any other reason for TaraClan to punish, right? No matter, curiosity was starting to break through.

"That was well bore your time." The she-cat looked young, younger than Beechfang's own kits. A bit older than her grandkits maybe, if she was any judge... So a new warrior, or close enough. "I tried to de-escalate the brewing fight. Cloverheart decided to keep running her mouth, one of Skyclan's apprentices tapped her on the head. Lightly, hardly a life-threatening injury. A well-deserved smack, if you ask me, but it shouldn't have happened in the middle of a gathering. Lightning struck the branch of the great oak I was sitting in, and down we went. I wanted to go home early... Should've been careful what I wished for. It's one way to end a gathering and the two actually involved in the fight walked away with no injuries." Beechfang shook her head.

Immediately the young warriors ears began to ring as her temper flared. Another unfair punishment by StarClan, though this was even worse. "They hit you instead of the ones actually involved?" Oh, how infuriating! "I can't say it wasn't deserved. I also broke the rules. But Jaypaw was yelling at my sister, Rosepaw, and I stepped in. He was just upset that he couldn't get the last word in! He struck me, drew blood, and I retaliated. Yet I was left scarred and I heard he made it out fine. And left with a fear of what lurked in the stars above. Even now, Firefly ducked out of reflex even talking about StarClan.

In almost a whisper, "Aren't you mad at either of them for what happened to you? At... StarClan?"

"Oh, I was plenty angry. Still am... Less so, kinda... Not really." Beechfang acknowledged. That anger had gotten Cloverheart killed and she had never spoken again to Bearflower, as she'd only learned her half-sister's warrior name much later. "Cloverheart's dead-" At her paws, and the simmering bundle of righteous fury and bitter regret threatened to surface, "-And the other disappeared long ago. Couldn't stand looking at me in the medicine den or around camp, probably." Beechfang's anger hadn't subsided when she had finally earned her warrior name, she and Bearflower had avoided each other to the point where it had taken her some time to realize the younger she-cat had been gone. There was a strange sense of guilt over not even realizing, but it had been far too late for reconciliation or anything else.

"I suppose I don't have to tell you that Starclan cares little about why a gathering broke into chaos, only about ending it and sending everyone home with their tails between their legs as quickly as possible if things get out of paw." Beechfang mewed, "Though I understand what you've gone through far too well. That lesson took more time to learn than I care to admit." A sigh escaped her.

"Name's Beechfang," she added.

Firefly nodded as the older cat spoke. The more time she had to think on why StarClan had been so unfair, the more she came to realize that it was exactly that: they didn't care. Why would cats that held so much power over the living bother with the daily life of a breathing cat? Her anger had begun to ebb, but it would always be there. Waiting. As would the fear of StarClans wrath at any given time. "Medicine den... Where you a medicine cat?"

It only dawned on the dark orange she-cat that she hadn't even bothered sharing her own name once Beechfang and given hers. Hesitating for only a heartbeat, she mewed back, "My name is Firefly." She'd never shared her name with someone outside her clan before... But somehow, she didn't seem to mind as much.

"I was." The answer did not carry the same bitterness that it once might have. "Before you ask, no, Starclan makes even less sense in dreams than they do when they end gatherings." There was almost a hint of humor in Beechfang's eye as she spoke. Almost. The Thunderclanner's name was Firefly, and Beechfang thought that fit the she-cat's pelt. Perhaps it fit her personality too. The tabby inclined her head briefly in acknowledgement of the introduction.

She huffed, a dry smirk on her face at the mention of StarClan not making sense dreams, either. Figured. "What caused you to not be a medicine cat anymore? I didn't know you could just... Not be one once you were. Though you were just stuck like that forever."

Beechfang's whiskers twitched at the question. "Oh, it felt that way. All I'd ever wanted to be was a warrior. Sagelight, our medicine cat at the time, had a sign. His previous apprentice had disappeared, times were going to get tough, I was going to be his successor. Even my mentor laughed at the absurdity of it. Not because he hated me, mind you, he knew my feelings on it. I refused Sagelight, of course. A fire swept through the forest that night. Being driven into twolegplace, with injured clanmates and the only medicine cat we had struggling to care for everyone... I didn't have much of a choice." It had stung at the time, stung a great deal. Now it was simply stated as a matter of fact, in the same way someone would recount an old bit of history.

"My father eventually became deputy, and made a promise that when he became leader he would release me from being a medicine cat and allow me to finish the warrior training I had originally started. He made good on it. Lucky for me, my apprentice was a warrior who didn't want to fight and wanted to heal instead." Muddythorn had been her saving grace. All the compassion and dedication his mother had, with none of the aggressive tendencies that Beechfang and the rest of the family had. The clans would be better off if there were more of his kind around, she thought, but as long as there were things in the world that put the clans in danger and cats who were truly despicable, warriors would always be needed.

"You seem like the fighting type, too. Being a medicine cat was it's own battle. The clans need them, but they need medicine cats who want to be in the position, not medicine cats driven to frustration by the very thought of it. Though having their knowledge has been useful more times than I can count."

Another first for Firefly as she became enthralled with Beechfang's stories. From warrior to medicine cat to warrior again... She couldn't imagine being forced to put aside the life of a warrior, only to be stuck in the background as a healer. "I can only imagine how miserable you must have been. I love the thrill of battle. To have it taken away..." Her eyes scrunched, unable to even comprehend it. It would be hard to heal any cat when their medicine cat felt nothing but resentment for the job.

She shouldnt be asking this. Especially not when the other cat wasn't of her clan, but curiosity once again forced her tongue. "Your knowledge of medicine. Would you be willing to share it with me some time? Not that I want to be a medicine cat! But I spar a lot. It may prove useful." The wariness she felt with Beechfang had started to die out, the older she-cat giving her no reason to see her as a threat.

"Saving clanmates is a noble cause, but it didn't feel that way at the time. It's an often-thankless task and it's the ones you can't save that hurt the most." Beechfang mewed, "Being a medicine cat teaches you plenty about yourself, and the knowledge learned is something that's useful to anyone, medicine cat or not. Even just knowing the basics can go a long way." Beechfang had no qualms about sharing her knowledge of herbs. That medicine cats didn't freely share that knowledge with all of their clanmates was something beyond her understanding. "Cobwebs are the simplest way to stop bleeding, but alone they won't do a thing for preventing infection or easing pain. Oak leaves can be chewed and applied to wounds to prevent and slow infection. Alder bark or marigold can work too, but are mostly found by the river. Marigold is low-growing and the flowers are bright orange and yellow." That knowledge came naturally now, though it had taken Beechfang a while to fully memorize. Fighting came naturally to her, just as it seemed to for Firefly. Healing and mucking about with herbs... Not so much.

"I might be a little out of the loop but is Fawnshine still your medicine cat?" She asked, "She was a nice enough cat, though I didn't know her well."

Firefly nodded: cobwebs, marigold, alder bark, oak leaves. All things she'd seen and had applied to the now scarred scorch mark on her face. Cobwebs were probably her least favorite... They got everywhere and never stayed directly in the place they were meant to be. She could still feel the spindly, sticky webs on her tongue to this day. Barf. "I'll remember those well should they be needed again in the future." And they would.

She never questioned Fawnshines ability to do her job, but it was nice to hear another, although former, medicine cat praise ThunderClans own. "Fawnshine is still with ThunderClan as a medicine cat; She was the one who treated me after my last gathering... And also gave me my punishment alongside my mother, Mottlestar." Telling other cats that her own mom was ThunderClans leader was not information she usually gave out. No need for anyone to pretend they respect her because of some type of nepotism. Beechfang seemed like she wouldn't care much, though. "I've been meaning to ask you... Are you in allegiance to a clan at all?"