▪️ FLAMEPAW ▪️

The spotted tom stared at Burnpelt with terrified eyes. The toms grin was twisted and he dug his claws deeper into Flamepaw's chest and the apprentice let out a sharp yowl of anguish. He couldn't defend himself yet, he had no training. He tried to claw at the legs that held him down and drew some blood. Burnpelt narrowed his eyes.

"Wanna fight me kittypet?" He let Flamepaw to his paws, before bashing him in the side of his head with the flat of his paw. Flamepaw let out a yelp as he flew about a tail length and his head hit the ground. He gritted his teeth as he struggled to his paws, but stopped when he felt a tail tip on his shoulder. He stiffened and glanced behind him to see Flintfur.

The grey tabby narrowed his eyes at Burnpelt. "Let's go back to camp Flamepaw. Your sister must be worried." Flamepaw didn't know if he should listen to him, as he used to be one of Burnpelt's friends, but after a moment decided he had a better chance with Flintfur. As he turned to follow the tom, a black streak rammed into Flintfur, sending him tumbling as Hookjaw stared him down.

He pinned the dark grey tabby warrior down and looked back at Burnpelt. The dark brown tom dipped his head to his friend and slowly began to step towards Flamepaw. Flintfur watched him with wide eyes.

"Flamepaw run!" He screeched frantically before clawing at Hookjaw's muzzle and bolting back towards the camp. Hookjaw snarled in outrage and shook his head, small droplets of blood flying.

Flamepaw stood frozen for a moment as Burnpelt moved closer. Only when the tom was a fox length away, did the spotted apprentice bolt. He streaked past Burnpelt and the tom stumbled in surprise.

"What in StarClan's na-" Burnpelt let out a yelp as Hookjaw raced past him after Flamepaw, knocking the smaller warrior over.

Flamepaw continued running and without realizing, ran past the camp. He could feel Hookjaw's humid breath on his tail and pushed himself to run faster.

He reached the trees and after a moment scrambled up a tree. He couldn't scent Hookjaw, or anything from the moor really. All he could smell was the scent of trees and a strange cat scent. He stiffened as he heard pawsteps below the tree and he began to tremble.

'It's Burnpelt and Hookjaw! They found me! What do I do?!' He looked up the tree, and saw that the branches above him were thin enough that they might be able to hold his weight, but not the weight of either warrior. He began to claw his way up the trunk again until he heard an unfamiliar yowl.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He glanced down to see a large black tom standing below him, but he wasn't Hookjaw. He dug his claws farther into the bark as a grey tabby she-cat padded over the the black tom. After a moment Flamepaw realized what was going on. 'I'm on ThunderClan territory!' He thought quickly and frantically tried to climb higher. He felt teeth dig into his scruff and let out a startled yowl. He tried to shake the cat off, but it was difficult since the cat was bigger and he was hanging onto a tree.

"Stop struggling!" The cat hissed. "I'm trying to help you get down!" Flamepaw stopped struggling, but remained tense as he unsheathed his claws. He closed his eyes tight as the cat skillfully maneuvered his way down. As his paws hit the ground, he dropped Flamepaw and he let out a small yelp.

When he finally opened his eyes, he saw three cats crowding over him. The large black tom from before looked over at a tall skinny tom. "Nice work Pantherpaw." The black apprentice dipped his head and his eyes flashed with pride. The grey tabby gave Flamepaw a small lick on the top of his head and he shrunk away.

"What's your name kit?" She asked kindly, her strange violet eyes sparkling. After a moment Flamepaw opened his mouth to speak.

"F-Flamepaw." He squeaked, still scared that these cats would suddenly attack him.

The two ThunderClan warriors exchanged glances and the black apprentice narrowed his eyes slightly in interest.

"You're an apprentice? What clan are you from? I don't recognize you from Gatherings." Flamepaw's eyes widened as he was bombarded with questions. The grey tabby's ear twitched in annoyance.

"Pantherpaw stop asking him questions." She snapped, before looking back at Flamepaw with a soft, motherly gaze. "My name is Lavenderstone, and that's Juniperclaw." She pointed with her tail at the black tom and he dipped his head. She didn't take her eyes off him as she sat back.

"Is it alright if we ask you what you are doing here, and why you aren't on WindClan territory?" Juniperclaw asked him.

"Don't make me go back!" He blurred out frantically. All three cats exchanged confused glances before Lavenderstone spoke.

"Why?"