#quickflash

He stepped out of the nursery, stretching as the sunlight warmed his fur. Early greenleaf was the best possible season, he imagined. It hadn’t yet gotten so hot that every cat was looking for shade to cool off in, but it was still warm enough that all one’s aches and pains seemed to disappear. He shook out his pelt and looked to the entrance, where Quickflash was waiting for him with Ravenspirit. Yes, this was going to be an enjoyable patrol-

“FIREHEART!” 

Princess? Fireheart turned and bolted back into the nursery, his heart pounding in his ears. “Princess! What’s wrong?” He called out as his eyes got used to the dim light inside.

She didn’t answer.

He watched in horror as a long adder emerged from behind her, rising higher and higher until it was nearly as tall as the nursery ceiling. Beneath it was his sister, her green eyes glassy and her tongue lolling out as she stared emptily into the sky. “Princess!” He howled in anguish, looking back up at the adder that stared at him with glittering amber eyes.  

“I see tasty little morsels waiting here for me.” The snake leaned over his sister’s body as Fireheart stood there, frozen to the spot. Why couldn’t he move? His niblings were in danger! “So difficult to choose, eh, Fireheart?”

His heart hammered against his ribs as he stared at the adder, his shock giving way to numb confusion. “Please, leave them alone.” He begged, swallowing hard. “They’re just little kits. They don’t deserve this.”

The snake only stared at him with those same sinister amber eyes. “Fireheart.”

He didn’t know what to do - he was frozen to the spot. “Please, anything, I’ll do anything.” He mewed softly. And he would - he would do anything to protect his niblings. He’d do anything to protect his family, his Clan-

“FIREHEART.”

The ginger tom jolted awake, smacking into someone hovering over him as he did so. The two reeled away from each other, Fireheart reaching up to nurse his head as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. In front of him was Dewpaw, who was favoring her chin as she watched him with her shining mismatched eyes. “Dewpaw?” He whispered in confusion.

At his soft question, the silver healer stood and left, only flicking her tail for him to follow as she did so. He looked around himself in confusion. He was in the warriors’ den, in his comfortable nest. Dappleshine shifted slightly next to him, before turning over and finding herself a newer, comfier position. Around him were the softly slumbering forms of about a dozen warriors - everyone except Graystripe, who was out on guard duty.

Slowly, he rose to his feet and stumbled out after Dewpaw, everything starting to come back to him. It had just been a dream - a terrible dream, but still a dream. After all, it wasn’t like there was such a thing as talking snakes, right? He did his best to shake away the last remnants of sleep as he exited the warriors’ den, looking around to see where Dewpaw had gone off to.

She was waiting for him outside the healer’s den. As soon as she caught sight of him, she once again motioned for him to follow her before slipping inside. He did so, even as his tail twitched irritably. It wasn’t as if he refused to be woken up, but couldn’t she at least mew hello or something?

Still, he followed after her, squeezing through the crack in the ravine wall to enter the moonlit cave. Dewpaw was pacing back and forth in the small interior, while Yellowfang was sitting off to the side, cleaning herself. Both of their gazes turned to him as he arrived. “There you are.” The old healer mewed grumpily as she abandoned her washing.

“Here I am.” Fireheart growled back irritably. “What’s so important that you had to wake me up for it? I don’t see any patients in here, so it can’t be that someone’s gotten sick.” Even as he said it, his heart leaped into his throat. What if his dream had been a sign? Maybe Princess was in danger - maybe his niblings were in danger -

“We went to the Moonstone tonight.” Dewpaw explained, her voice hushed to keep it from echoing in the small cave. He glanced up to see the moon just peeking through the hole in the ceiling - a half moon, of course, signaling the meeting of the healers’ circle. “Yellowfang decided that I’ve earned my full name - Dewshine.”

“That’s wonderful, Dewshine!” Even though he was annoyed by getting woken up, Fireheart still managed a delighted purr at her announcement. It had been a long time coming, especially now that she had been an apprentice for an entire season-cycle. “That… that is good news, right?” He wondered out loud, noticing that neither of the healers matched his mood.

“It is.” The newly named Dewshine confirmed, to his relief. “A new healer is a big deal in the Clans, since they’re very rare. When a healer gets their name, the whole Clan celebrates. They’re decorated with whatever herbs they choose, so every cat knows they’ve gotten their name, and it’s expected that cats will bring them a present to honor them.”

“A present?” Fireheart stared at her, anxiety suddenly rising in his throat. He hadn’t known any of this. What sort of present was a Clan cat supposed to bring a healer?

The silver tabby purred, her whiskers twitching in amusement at his voice. “Usually something simple, like their favorite prey or a herb they know that’s useful. Cats that are closer to the new healer try to give more meaningful gifts, though…” She giggled at the look of outright panic that crossed his face. “Personally, I wouldn’t mind if you brought me some catmint stalks. It should be blooming by now, and while the stuff we got from your sister should still be useful, fresh catmint is always best. Yellowfang and I have searched, but we just haven’t been able to find any growing in the forest.”

Fireheart took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll bring you a whole bundle of catmint - enough to make an entire nest out of.” He vowed readily, thinking of the catmint bush in his old garden. Smudge and Hattie owed him a favor, after all - surely they wouldn’t mind if he stopped by to collect some. 

Dewshine blinked in wordless appreciation, but the purr faded from her as she did so. “That… that’s not why we called you in, though.” She sighed after a few heartbeats. “I… I spoke with Starclan afterwards. They were proud of me, all of them, Nightwish and Quickflash and… and Spottedleaf…”

Grief flashed across the new healer’s face. Though Quickflash and Spottedleaf had died seasons ago now, and she surely met them often in Starclan, Fireheart could tell she still wished that they were in Thunderclan. It wasn’t fair that they had been senselessly slaughtered, taken from life too soon. “This still doesn’t sound like bad news, though.” He pointed out softly. It also didn’t sound like a reason to wake him from his slumber, though he didn’t say that part out loud.

“No, it’s not.” Dewshine seemed to steady herself at the sound of his voice. “But when I was there, Spottedleaf told me she’d received a prophecy from Starclan while she was still alive. She told me it was mine to safeguard, now that I was a healer.” She took a deep breath and glanced up at the darkening sky. “‘Fire alone can save our Clan.’”

Fireheart’s ears perked curiously as she spoke, before he blinked in confusion at the words of the prophecy. “The one about Brokentail?” He mewed, baffled at the thought. “I don’t understand. Why would she get that prophecy in Thunderclan? I mean, I guess I’m a Thunderclan cat, but it didn’t really have anything to do with Thunderclan until-”

“The one we thought was about Brokentail.” Yellowfang interrupted him gruffly, her face scrunched up in her usual scowl. “I thought it was a Shadowclan prophecy, until Dewshine told me that. Then we asked the other healers, and it turns out Mudwish and Mosspatch got the same prophecy, too. So did Birchbark, and of course Wetnose and I. Best as we can tell, we all received it at the same time - one night last newleaf, early in the season. Back when Brokentail had just become leader, and Riverclan had just won Sunningrocks.”

Fireheart’s paws began to tingle as if they were going numb. “That doesn’t make sense.” His heart felt as though it had leaped into his throat as he stared at the other two healers. “I mean, I’m just a Thunderclan warrior. At the time I was-” nothing, he stopped himself from saying. “I was just a kittypet. Why would Starclan care about me? Why would they give every Clan a prophecy about me?”

He stood now, trying to shake off the numbness in his paws as he began to pace like Dewshine had. “I mean, I guess I helped drive off Brokentail, sure. And I was one of the cats Bluestar sent to bring Windclan back, so I could see them considering that as saving Windclan. Redtail seemed to think I was destined to drive off Tigerclaw, and I did feed Riverclan to keep them from starving. I wasn’t the only cat that did all that - Peppermask was there for it all too - but I guess I could see Starclan considering all that as saving the Clans.” He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm. The thought of Starclan being so interested in him unnerved him to his core, though he didn’t dare say that to the two healers. He was just another cat - why were they taking such an interest in him? “But I wasn’t really responsible for saving them. Things would’ve happened whether I was there or not.”

“You fed Riverclan?” Dewshine stared at him in disbelief, before shaking her head. “No, nevermind. That’s not important right now.” Still, she seemed equally anxious as she stared at the ginger deputy. “Fireheart, those are all things that already happened.”

“So?” Fireheart countered, not seeing her point. Of course they’d already happened - how else was he supposed to know about them?

“So,” she answered slowly, staring at him as though she expected him to answer on his own, “Spottedleaf gave me the prophecy because it hadn’t yet been fulfilled. Whatever it’s referring to hasn’t happened yet.”

Fireheart had to stop as the world suddenly seemed to swirl around him. What did she mean, the prophecy hadn’t happened yet? How couldn’t it have happened yet? “What could possibly be worse for Thunderclan than Tigerclaw?” He choked out, his throat seizing up with horror at the mere thought of something - anything - worse than Tigerclaw.

Yellowfang and Dewshine shared a look - a knowing look, he would have thought, as if they could possibly know anything about something that hadn’t happened yet. “All of the healers received the prophecy that night. That means-” Dewshine caught herself, considering her words. “We think that means whatever it is, it will affect all the Clans. Brokentail was the closest to affecting all the Clans, but he was stopped before he could drive out Riverclan or Thunderclan.”

“What could possibly affect all the Clans?” Fireheart asked, his voice small and petulant despite himself. “If something that big comes, how can I possibly stop it? I’m just one cat!”

The two healers didn’t meet his eye. Fireheart shook his head, unable to calm himself down now. “This is ridiculous! Why does Starclan expect me to be the one to fix all their problems? It’s bad enough I have the entire Clan depending on me as deputy! Why can’t I just be a normal warrior?” He didn’t look at Dewshine and Yellowfang - he didn’t care to see what they thought about his words. “Why can’t some other cat step up for a change? Like Lionheart, or Whitestorm? Why does it always have to be me taking care of other cats’ problems?”

A throaty chuckle came from Yellowfang’s direction. “You’re the one that always gets yourself involved.”

“I don’t want to anymore!” He snapped, turning his green glare upon the old healer with a snarl. “Tigerclaw’s gone, and the Clan is safe. All the Clans are safe! Haven’t I done enough already? Can’t I just take care of my sister and her kits and rest for once?”

Silence stretched between them as Fireheart turned away, closing his eyes against the world bitterly. It wasn’t fair! He just wanted to be a normal warrior, as normal as Lionheart or Tinyfrost or Peppermask. He could be just that, if Starclan didn’t insist on dragging him into everything!

But Starclan hadn’t been the ones to involve him with Tigerclaw - that had been Ravenspirit and Redtail. Starclan hadn’t asked him to get involved with Windclan - that had been Bluestar. Starclan certainly weren’t the ones that made him feed Riverclan - that was all on him.

“Do you know when this is supposed to happen?” Fireheart asked at last, turning back to Yellowfang and Dewshine with a bitter sigh. “Or what it’s supposed to be? Surely Starclan has to have some idea, given how much they can see.”

Dewshine hesitated before shaking her head slowly. “I’m sorry, Fireheart. Starclan signs are often vague. It could happen a moon from now, or fifty. It’s only a warning that something is coming.”

Fireheart scoffed at her words. “Of course. How do we even know the prophecy is about me? For all we know, it’s referring to actual fire!”

“Because-” Dewshine looked away guiltily, cutting herself off before she could say more. He was slightly apologetic for upsetting her - but even so, his lip curled into a sneer as he imagined what she’d been about to say.

Because he’d saved the Clans all those other times, after all.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to reorient himself. Dewshine and Yellowfang were only the messengers - and though Starclan could surely see his anger, it did him little good to take it out on them. “I don’t see the point in worrying about it now.” He mewed at last. “It’s already been a season-cycle, after all. Maybe it won’t show up until I’m already an elder, and it won’t involve me to begin with.” He wasn’t sure whether he believed that, but he’d rather pretend that it wasn’t his problem than worry about yet another thing. “Is that all?”

“Well…” He paused to stare at Dewshine with narrowed eyes. “I- Normally, when a healer receives a prophecy, they’ll share it with the leader and the other healers in their Clan, if there are any. I’ve already told Yellowfang, of course, but Bluestar…”

Bluestar had been doing so much better lately - did she really need to know some imminent danger was looming over Thunderclan? “Don’t tell Bluestar.” He decided swiftly. “There’s no point in worrying her now.”

Dewshine looked back at Yellowfang anxiously. “She probably already knows.” Yellowfang grunted at her former apprentice’s signal. “Spottedleaf would have received this prophecy when she was still alive, and Bluestar’s healer. She would have shared it with Bluestar then.”

“And as far as Bluestar knows, I have saved the Clan.” Fireheart replied, lashing his tail once for emphasis. “Tigerclaw was driven out because of me. Thunderclan will be safe from his malevolence. Until we have reason to believe the prophecy is relevant, there’s no reason to tell her besides upsetting her.”

The two healers shared a glance once more. “She’s going to be extremely upset with us if she finds out we hid a prophecy from her.” Dewshine worried softly. “She talks to Starclan often too, after all. Who’s to say they won’t tell her?”

“If she finds out.” Fireheart pointed out, trying to keep his voice calm and confident. “How do you know that Starclan will tell her? Even if they do, it can be just as much a surprise to us as it is to her.”

Dewshine still looked concerned, but Yellowfang shrugged in response. “You’re not wrong. It’s not the first time I’ve hidden a prophecy from a leader.” She growled, going back to cleaning her paw. Fireheart tilted his head quizzically. Part of him wanted to ask what she was referring to, but he’d promised not to stick his nose into matters that didn’t involve him - and this definitely didn’t involve him.

“If that’s all.” He repeated, looking at Dewshine expectantly. The silver healer slowly dipped her head. “I’ll see you all in the morning, then.” He mewed, turning and exiting the healers’ den. 

He longed to cast what he had just heard out of his mind, but he knew it wouldn’t be so easy. How could any cat just ignore learning that a threat was out there that could destroy the four Clans? Not to mention that he was still deputy, and if this mysterious danger killed Bluestar, then-