Flametail returns to camp feeling guilty. He was so tired after his journey to the Moonpool that he fell asleep. He reports to Littlecloud immediately, telling him what their warrior ancestors said about war coming and all of ShadowClan - even the medicine cats - standing alone. Upset, Littlecloud tells him they must see Blackstar right away. Sensing it is important Blackstar summons Rowanclaw and the four cats go to his den. Flametail tells them of his dream but Littlecloud feels it is wrong to completely turn their backs on the other clans and feels the dream needs to be interpreted carefully. Blackstar sides with Littlecloud and Flametail is dismissed. Annoyed, he leaves. His father tells him to get some rest then realizes something is wrong. Flametail tells him that his vision was very clear and he is upset that Blackstar and Littlecloud did not listen to him. Rowanclaw tries to reassure him that everything is fine but Flametail insists that things have changed and ShadowClan must stand alone.
Dovepaw listens for Tigerheart. She is listening so intently to everything around the lake that she doesn't hear him coming and he startles her. He teases her, since she has the best hearing of any cat he knows. He takes her to an abandoned Twoleg nest north of their territories. He shows off jumping from beam to beam. Dovepaw hears one of them crack and jumps to save him, knocking them both off. Tigerheart thanks her for saving his life and she playfully responds. But then he pushes her, asking her if she cares more for him then as a friend and she admits she does. Tigerheart purrs and as they sit close she feels happy. They head back to their homes, determined to make their relationship work. Tigerheart asks when they will meet again and she says tomorrow. He is worried someone will catch her sneaking out but she tells him it is just Ivypaw that she shares a den with now. Tigerheart stiffens at the mention of Ivypaw and Dovepaw remembers the look she saw the two cats share. She asks him if he knows Ivypaw and he tells her he has seen her at Gatherings. When she presses for more Tigerheart teases her and says he has never taken Ivypaw to an abandoned Twoleg nest and risked his own life with a breaking log. Believing him, Dovepaw goes home.
Lionblaze is listening to Firestar and Brambleclaw assign duties. He thinks back to last night when he and Cinderheart went for a walk together, and he realized that she felt the same for him as he felt for her. He tells Dovepaw that they are hunting with Cinderheart and Ivypaw. What he doesn't tell her is that he wants to watch Ivypaw. The cats split up and he and Dovepaw find themselves by the foxes den. As Dovepaw hunts a blackbird she suddenly stops. She tells Lionblaze that the fox is in the camp. They race back, Cinderheart and Ivypaw catching up. They arrive right after Brambleclaw's patrol returns and everyone fights the fox, chasing it out. Dovepaw feels guilty, telling Lionblaze that she should have heard it sooner. Lionblaze assures her it is fine but Ivypaw overhears and gets angry at Dovepaw, feeling like Dovepaw is acting like she is special. No one is seriously injured and everyone settles down with Brightheart and Leafpool leaving to collect more herbs. Lionblaze asks Firestar for permission to hunt the fox alone, arguing that he won't get hurt. He offers the excuse of telling his clanmates that he accidentally stumbled across the fox and got lucky. Firestar agrees but tells him he must take Dovepaw with him in case he needs help.
Early the next morning Lionblaze collects Dovepaw and leaves. He tells her that he is driving the fox away alone and Firestar only wants her to come along in case he needs help. Dovepaw is upset, feeling that this is cheating. Since ordinary warriors can deal with foxes together there is no reason for Lionblaze to deal with it alone. Their fight quickly turns into one about Ivypaw. Jayfeather wants Ivypaw to continue visiting the Dark Forest, feeling they might learn some information. Dovepaw wants them to stop Ivypaw before she gets seriously hurt. They reach the fox den but it won't come out so Lionblaze crawls in. The fox attacks him and it is a rough fight, with Lionblaze actually fearing for once that he might become seriously injured. He manages to win and Dovepaw helps him drive the fox out of their land. Seriously winded, Dovepaw helps him back to camp. As they return to camp Cinderheart sees them approaching with Lionblaze covered in blood. She freaks out and runs ahead. Lionblaze cleans himself up and they enter camp. He assures everyone he is fine and the fox is gone. Graystripe helps Lionblaze go to the medicine den, telling him that Cinderheart made it sound like he was on his last legs. Jayfeather kicks Cinderheart out of his den so he can treat Lionblaze without her learning the truth. He is angry with Lionblaze for going after the fox alone. He puts ointment onto Lionblaze to make it look like he has an injury. They discuss Ivypaw but Jayfeather stands by his belief that she is in no real danger and the longer they wait the more information they can gather. Lionblaze leaves the den and finds Cinderheart waiting for him. She is shocked to find him uninjured. She is also upset that Lionblaze seems to throw himself into every fight, uncaring that he might get injured. She starts to freak out, telling him they can't be together if it is going to be like this. He pulls her aside and tells her of the prophecy and how he cannot be hurt. He hopes that this will quiet her fears but instead it has the opposite effect. She tells him that he has a destiny greater then her and they can no longer be together. Upset, she leaves him.
At least Littlecloud is no ready to turn his back on the other clans completely - and neither is Blackstar since he chose Littlecloud's interpretation over Flametail's when it was Flametail's vision. And Tigerheart really does seem to like Dovepaw - but it is still a bad idea.
And things seem as bad as ever between Dovepaw and Ivypaw. And now Lionblaze finally gets to be with the cat he loves and she leaves him! I feel bad for Lionblaze even if it does feel odd reading about Cinderpelt falling in love with a cat. But, neither she or Lionblaze know she is Cinderpelt.
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