"Mouse dung!"

Firestar's paws thudded against the cold empty ground just a heart-beat after the mouse scuttled away into the bushes. He sighed, his tail swishing left and right. I can't seem to focus today.

The ginger tom sat down and began grooming the cold snow and dirt off his paws. But you have to focus!

His emerald gaze traveled up the tree tops, the weak but determined sun spread its glowing light over the leaves, dappling them with colors of warm gold. Thank StarClan no one was here to see that.

The bushes rustled loudly, the ginger tom jerked his head up, placing his paws back on the ground, alert at the sound. Moments later Sandstorm appeared, a mouse dangling limply from her jaws. "Hey." She meowed, dropping it at his paws, her grass-green eyes glittered with barely concealed amusement, "I think this slipped your paws."

…spoke to soon.

"Thanks Sandstorm," he meowed, ducking his head to give his chest fur a couple embarrassed licks.

"Do you want to talk?" The pale ginger warrior asked as she took a seat next to him, her voice was soft and understanding. The tom said nothing as he twined his tail with hers, her warm fur brushed his own. He breathed in deeply, enjoying her company and sharp scent of earth and dandelions.

"I know everyone's on edge from ShadowClan right now," Firestar started as he dropped his gaze to the dead mouse sitting limply at his paws. If I don't bury this soon it's going to attract foxes. "But that's why I feel like we need more warriors."

In response Sandstorm gave him a nod to continue.

The ginger tom imagined Lion, he was broad-shouldered and large with glowing amber eyes. Stripes rippled down his golden pelt, if he became a genuine ThunderClan warrior, he would make a great addition to the Clan.

Jay, smaller but with sharp, piercing eyes that seemed to see right through his soul. The way he had sat so calmly while the Clan yowled at them to be thrown out unnerved him. He looked a bit too small and wiry to make a powerful warrior, but he felt a cat with his mindset would be great at unsettling the other Clan warriors.

Dove, small and young with a fluffy pelt and round eyes. She appeared to be inquisitive and willing to learn and listen from what he had gathered. The pale-gray she-cat looked as if she could have been born right into ThunderClan.

Come to think of it, they all look like they could have been ThunderClan.

Sandstorm nudged him gently with her muzzle, "Are you going to continue?"

"Huh?" Firestar blinked just realizing he had been lost in thought, "Oh right, sorry."

"I'm also a bit worried about how they would fit in," He meowed as he pushed snow and dirt over the mouse with one paw, burying it in the earth. "So I thought it would be better to see first how they would do."

"It's certainly not a bad idea," the she-cat offered as she leaned against him.

The tom felt a burst of affection for his mate, "thanks."

"If I go about this carefully," Firestar meowed quickly, adding more words to his thoughts "I feel like they would make a great addition to ThunderClan."

"Firestar!"

The sound of paws pounding the earth and panting greeted his sensitive ears. He raised them, trying to listen better. "That sounded like Cinderpelt." The pale-ginger she-cat meowed, confirming his own suspicions.

A second later a dark-gray she-cat burst out from the undergrowth, hobbling over to the leader while favoring a hind-leg far to injured for healing. "There you are!" She meowed breathlessly, "I've been looking for you!"

There was a spark of alarm in her eyes that frightened him, it ran deep in her gaze as if it was the core of her eyes.

"Do we need to talk?" he asked in a low murmur.

When his medicine cat nodded, he turned and touched his nose to Sandstorm's ear in a tender farewell. His mate nodded. Understanding and hesitation glowed from her eyes as she turned and dug back up the mouse she had caught, with a powerful leap, and a swish of her tail, she was gone.

"Jay came into my den earlier," Cinderpelt meowed, not wasting a moment, her voice was high pitched from intense emotion. "He was asking to be a medicine ca-"

"He what!?" Firestar felt shock pulsing through his whiskers to the tip of his bristling tail, "why did he do that?"

"If you let me finish talking maybe I'll tell you," an exasperated sigh escaped her mouth, and the ginger leader nodded hesitantly, allowing his hackles down slowly.

"He says he can't be a warrior," Cinderpelt paused for a moment, as if she wasn't allowed to say next the words on the tip of her tongue, "Because he's blind."

Firestar felt a bolt of powerful emotion thunder through his being, he couldn't name it, but it was similar to amazement as well as shock. He jaw opened, trying to make out words, but they were stuck in his throat like a stubborn piece of fresh-kill. Jay? Blind? It felt impossible to believe, he remembered all too clearly those cold penetrating eyes that seemed to see through everything, including his soul.

But he also remembered the hesitant wobble in the gray tabby's step as he made his way up to Highrock, and the way Dove and Lion walked so close to him, occasionally tapping the tip of their tails to his flank or nudging his side.

Eventually, he just settled with the words, "I couldn't have guessed…"

The dark gray she-cat nodded in reluctant agreement, her tail swishing from left to right, but Firestar still saw the spark of tightly wound alarm in her eyes, it hadn't faded away in the slightest. There was more.

"What else?" He meowed softly, a bit terrified to hear her answer.

His medicine cat and friend sucked in a deep breath as if preparing herself, and met his emerald eyes with a troubled gaze. "I saw Yellowfang," She meowed quietly, "She told me a prophecy."

Today can't possibly get any more interesting.

Firestar gave Cinderpelt an encouraging nod for her to continue, although his own flesh crawled at the thought of a prophecy hanging over his head with everything else that was going on. Then he felt a fierce flash of passion. Whatever happens, I will protect ThunderClan.

"She appeared as Jay and I were talking," Cinderpelt's voice grew steadier as she continued, and her deep blue gaze glimmered with something unreadable, "After the sharp-eyed jay and the roaring lion, peace will come on a dove's gentle wing."

Silence reigned for what felt like moons or a few heart-beats, Firestar felt a shiver pass through his spine. "What do you think it means?" The sharp-eyed jay is undeniably Jay, and the roaring-lion is very obviously Lion, and the dove is clearly Dove.

Cinderpelt's tail curled around her paws in a thoughtful way, "Starclan knows what it means exactly," She meowed carefully, like she had planned these words, "But if after Lion and Jay peace will come, then it could mean they aren't going to be doing much good to ThunderClan."

The ginger tom felt his fur beginning to bristle again, "Do you think Dove will do good to ThunderClan then?"

The dark gray she-cat met his gaze calmly, they were still and clear like pools of water, "Yes."

Firestar breathed in deeply, unsheathing his claws and kneading the earth and snow under his paws. Jay, he seems intelligent, and Lion seems like a powerful fighter. If they both really put their minds to it, I suppose they could really do serious harm to the Clan.

"What do you think I should do?" He meowed, letting his gaze travel to the cloudy sky.

"Allow Jay to act as a medicine cat," She meowed immediately, "Let me keep an eye on him."

Firestar felt a frown tugging at his lips, he didn't like the thought of a cat who could possibly ruin ThunderClan so close to his former apprentice, but as his mind circled through all of the possibilities, he realized that was probably the best thing he could do without arousing suspicion. "Okay" he meowed hesitantly.

I should talk to Graystripe about keeping a close eye on Dove and reporting to me. But what should I do about Lion?

"Oh, Cinderpelt!" He gasped, "I just remembered, when I met the three of them at Tallpines they all smelled like ThunderClan, do you think that's important?"

Cinderpelt crinkled her nose slightly, but she didn't seemed alarmed or startled in the slightest, "Either they're secretly Thunderclan or they've been rolling around in our border, but all reason more to be cautious."

Firestar waited, but when she said nothing more, he nodded in acceptance. "Alright, thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome Firestar."

A moment later she was gone, dark gray swallowed up by the snow-covered under-growth, with the sound of her paw-steps fading away.

StarClan help me…

I have never written Cinderpelt before, I hope I did okay. Please review!