If Tigerclaw won in the Forest of Secrets

Chapter 2

"This way to the twolegplace." Stonefur guided Fireheart and Cloudpaw as they followed the river. Shadepelt and Mistyfoot followed. Cloudpaw had his head down as he constantly looking towards ThunderClan territory. As they made there way forward, Fireheart could just see the fence of a twoleg den in ThunderClan territory. Stonefur stopped, along with the others.

"This is where you cross." Stonefur said. Fireheart bowed his head and said, "thank you for all of your help, truly." Cloudpaw already put one paw in the water. As Stonefur and his patrol turned to leave, Fireheart urgently warned "be careful of Tigerclaw. He can be very unpredictable." The RiverClan warrior nodded and said, "thank you for the warning. I will be sure to let my cats know. And good luck to you, and may StarClan be with you." Fireheart nodded in thanks before following his apprentice.

Cloudpaw already swam to the other side of the river when Fireheart started to swim. Once Fireheart made it across, he signaled his apprentice to stay low, since they were in ThunderClan territory. The two cats stayed low as they found the wooden fences of the twoleg place. "This way." Fireheart said. They followed the fenceline until they made it to Princess' den.

Fireheart immediately jumped over the fence and said, "Princess." She perked under her tree. "Fireheart. You look awful. What happened? And is that Cloudpaw? Oh, my kit. You have gotten bigger. Are you a warrior yet?"

Cloudpaw sighed in disappointment "I'm afraid I can't." Princess looked at Fireheart confused and asked, "what does he mean?" Fireheart confessed, "we had to leave. Our leader, Bluestar, was killed in a camp raid. The new leader has a hatred for kittypets. We would never be safe if we stayed because sooner or later we would be chased out."

Princess looked frightened as she said, "oh, Fireheart, that's awful!" She gave brother and son a loving lick before saying, "so what are you planning?" Cloudpaw looked at his mother and said, "I want to live as a kittypet with you." Fireheart looked at his apprentice with surprise. Cloudpaw looked at Fireheart and said, "last night, I was thinking about things. We can't go back to ThunderClan, and you may have friends in other clans, but I think I should stay with Princess. I want to know my daily routine and know what I am going to eat the next day. S-So-"

Fireheart stopped Cloudpaw. "You don't have to explain. It seemed you already made up your mind." Cloudpaw sighed in relief, as if he suspected his mentor to yell at him. Princess licked her son and said, "of course you can stay with me." She turned to Fireheart and said, "what about you?"

Fireheart thought for a moment before saying, "I have lived and hunted in the forest for a while now. I cannot go back to being a kittypet." Princess nodded and said, "I understand. You have seen and done so much. Go well Fireheart." She and Cloudpaw turned to go into the twoleg den but Fireheart said, "wait. I have to do something first." The two cats turned. "Cloudpaw, come forward." the white tom stepped forward a bit confusingly. "I, Fireheart, former warrior of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Cloudpaw seemed bewildered that his mentor was doing his warrior ceremony.

"Cloudpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your kin, even at the cost of your life?" Fireheart continued. Cloudpaw excitedly said, "I do." Princess looked excited. Even though she never lived in a Clan, she knew this was important to Clan life

Fireheart remembered his own warrior ceremony as he continued, "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Cloudpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Cloudtail. StarClan honors your energy and enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a full warrior."

"Cloudtail!" Princess said aloud. "Cloudtail!" Fireheart said. Fireheart touched Cloudtail's head and said, "goodbye, Cloudtail. Protect your mother." Cloudtail replied sullenly, "you don't have to leave."

Fireheart sighed and turned away, knowing the longer he stayed, the harder it would be to leave. The ginger tom jumped on to the fence and turned to Cloudtail and Princess to say, "I will come visit if I can." Princess nodded and said, "please do. I don't want to worry about you too much. Goodbye Fireheart."

"Goodbye Princess. Goodbye Cloudtail. I hope to see you soon." Fireheart said, trying not to sound wretched. Princess lead Cloudtail into the twoleg den, ultimately disappearing in the doorway. Fireheart felt a sudden pain of loss and confoundment. What is he going to do next?