Warriors - A Small Spark

Chapter Five

*TW: TRANSPHOBIA *

There on the twisted root of a tree sat a mouse, nibbling on a seed, unaware of the dangers that lurked nearby, and by the time it was aware, teeth sank into its neck, a crunch signifying the death of the mouse. Fyre'Paw stood up properly with the limp woodland creature hanging in her jaws. A couple moons had passed since her first gathering, her and Dove'Paw had grown close over those few moons. As she turned to take her freshly killed mouse to the camp, she noticed something glowing red out of the corner of her eye pausing as she turned to it, a small flame was burning a dried leaf. Fyre'Paw set her mouse down and padded closer to the spark, licking her paw pad she pressed it firmly onto the flame, extinguishing it before it could become anything more. Before she could lift her paw she saw the flames engulf the bushes in front of her, they swarmed around her, swirling and consuming everything...but she didn't feel any of it. Just a s quickly as they appeared they disappeared. She blinked a few times "what..? What was that?'' In her confusion she felt a stabbing in her chest, and a cough was forced out. Shaking herself she turned and picked up the mouse once again, she was unable to stop herself from glancing back at the shriveled up leaf.

A few sunrises had passed, Fyre'Paw had been doing a lot of thinking, so much so that it was affecting her training, she was forgetting steps and scaring off prey so often that Half'Star had to take her on extra training patrols to make sure she was where she should be. One evening Fyre'Paw approached Half'Star's den, wondering if the she-cat was inside, she was about to turn away when she heard Half'Star speak. "I know you're there Fyre'Paw...Come in" she spoke Fyre'Paw took a deep breath and padded forward, now that she was bigger she found it easier to get paw holds on the pebbly ground under paw. Fyre'Paw had always been a big cat, in fact most were surprised she was a she-cat at all, but here recently Fyre'Paw had begun to realize that she didn't feel like a she-cat..and this was one of the things that was bothering her.

"Well, what is it Fyre'Paw?" Half'Star asked with a head tilt. Fyre'Paw shuffled her paws nervously "i- uhh- well.." Fyre'Paw hadn't realized how nervous this would make her feel "i- i don't Feel like i'm a she-cat anymore- i- i wanted to tell you first since.." she trailed off as Half'Star interrupted "Fyre'Paw...i'm flattered that you feel safe enough to tell me this.." the gray-brown mottled she-cat's gaze softened "What do you feel like you are?" She sat up her tail neatly wrapped around her paws.

Fyre'Paw's ears perked up, her green eyes shone brightly "I feel like a..... Tom'' He announced proudly, slightly puffing out his chest. Half'Star's gaze stayed on the young cat "I see" she spoke softly, rising to her paws "then we will have to let the rest of the clan know what you like to be called, a soft purr rumbled from her chest. "R-really?" Fyre'Paw looked surprised about this, i mean he didn't mind telling the clan, but he was genuinely just surprised that she accepted him so quickly.

"Yes, of course! How else would they know what to call you?" She took a few pawsteps forward, resting her tail tip on his shoulder, "it does not matter if you are a tomcat or a she-cat, you will always be a valued member of this clan. To me and all your friends, never forget that Fyre'Paw" Half'Star padded out of her den and made her way to the ShadedRock.

Fyre'Paw stood there, blinking back a few tears. What she said had meant a lot to him, and he was so incredibly happy that she had accepted him without question.after a few moments he turned and padded after Half'Star, noticing she was already sitting on ShadedRock and looking down at her cats, she beckoned Fyre'Paw over with a flick of her tail. Fyre'Paw took a deep breath and padded over, getting the message that Half'Star wanted him to sit next to her, so he climbed up, taking a seat next to his mentor and leader.

"Let all cats bold enough to blend with the shadows gather around ShadedRock for a clan meeting!" Half'Star's call rang out through the camp Fyre'Paw shifted his paws as the cats began to gather, he felt nervous at their questioning glances.

Half'Star cleared her throat before speaking "I know this a bit of an unusual meeting, however i believe this is something that should be announced" she paused glancing at Fyre'Paw for a moment "Do you want me to announce it or would you like to?" she asked him softly, her tail wrapped almost protectively around him. "uhh-" he had to think about this for a moment. "I'll say it '' he stood up slightly and took a few pawsteps forward on the rock "h-hello" he began clearly nervous. He surveyed the crowd of cats, his eyes locked onto Dove'Paw's and then he noticed his sister Birch'Paw padding up to sit next to the silvery gray tom. Fyre'Paw inhaled before speaking "I no longer feel like a she-cat.." he paused noticing questioning looks from the crowd of cats "I would like to be referred to as a tom from now on" he finished, stepping back a little and sitting back down in his previous spot.

Fyre'Paw surveyed the crowd once again, his pelt began to feel hot with embarrassment as a vast majority of the cats in the crowd seemed confused, however he noticed his mother's ears had gone back, and a look of anger in her eyes. He almost held his breath as she stood up "That won't change a thing. You will always be a she-cat. And I will refer to you as such." Dappled'Wind turned sharply and stalked away, cats began to whisper to each other, clearly talking about Fyre'Paw, a lot of them looked displeased. Fyre'Paw felt shaky, like he needed to get down now, and hide somewhere.

Half'Star seemed to sense that Fyre'Paw needed some space, and she gave a curt nod to the young tom. Fyre'Paw quickly jumped off the rock and trotted towards the camp entrance, his ears and pelt felt hot, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He felt the gazes of the entire clan on his back as he exited.