Firestar's Quest/Chapter 1

"It stared straight at him, its eyes dark and earnest, as if it was trying to tell him something."

— Narrator on Firestar and the mysterious cat in Firestar's Quest, page 13

Firestar's Quest
Chapter number:	1 (of 36)
Page numbers:	8-13
Point of View:	Firestar
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for chapter one of Firestar's Quest. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: 1 (of 36)

Page Numbers: 8-13

Chapter description

Firestar walks through bushes close to the border with ShadowClan; all is peaceful and quiet, he can hear the tweeting of birds and the gurgle of the stream. Firestar lets out a purr of satisfaction; he is proud of ThunderClan, the Clan he has been leading for the past two seasons. The Clans have been at peace, after the defeat of BloodClan and their leader, Scourge, and the prey has been plentiful, so no bellies are left unfilled.

But he knows that something will happen to cause conflict between the Clans again, but for now, he tries to concentrate on the peacefulness of the forest. Firestar can scent the Thunderpath, the calming scents of trees and green leaves and something he can't name. As he looks around for what it might be, a clump of brambles starts violently waving, and as Firestar creeps toward it, a cat jumps out and pins Firestar down. As Firestar tries to shake off his attacker, he recognizes who it is: his apprentice, Bramblepaw, though at first thinks it is Tigerstar. As the apprentice gets off of Firestar, he asks if Firestar noticed he was there, to admit that he was surprised. When Firestar says that Bramblepaw has squashed him, comparing himself to a leaf, Bramblepaw responds by says that if he was really a ShadowClan cat, Firestar would've been crow-food.

Firestar is impressed with how Bramblepaw managed to hide his scent, and Bramblepaw says that he'd rolled in damp ferns before he went out of camp. Firestar is trying to shake off the memories of Bramblepaw's father, Tigerstar, because Bramblepaw inherited his father's look, noting to resemble him to the exact. Bramblepaw suddenly asks about his assessment, and Firestar congratulates Bramblepaw on a successful assessment. Bramblepaw wonders aloud if his sister, Tawnypaw, would be close to the end of her apprenticeship, and Firestar says possibly because they became apprentices at the same time.

Firestar and Bramblepaw then walk back to camp, and Firestar begins to feel that every bush could be hiding Tigerstar and his gleaming amber eyes. But he knows that no matter what Tigerstar did, he would be proud of his children and Firestar recounts Tigerstar's death, all nine lives torn away in a single swipe from Scourge's dog's teeth claws. He wonders if Tigerstar is watching him now, not from StarClan, as neither he nor Cinderpelt have seen him in dreams. He hopes that wherever Tigerstar went, he and Bramblepaw would never have to go there.

Bramblepaw asks if his assessment was okay and if he's ready to be a warrior, to which Firestar responds yes. He suddenly pelts full speed to the ravine, and Firestar watches, amused. He warns the apprentice to sleep before his vigil. He notes that Bramblepaw probably wouldn't be able to notice if a fox ate him. Bramblepaw enters the camp, but Firestar stays by the entrance, settling down on a flat rock.

He begins to think about the battle with BloodClan, and how for a while after the battle every Clan had been on edge, but in the present ThunderClan is thriving. He remembers Whitestorm, who died fighting Bone, while thinking about Whitestorm's kits. His thoughts are interrupted by quiet pawsteps nearby. He whips his head around and sees a cat standing farther up the ravine. He wonders if he's dreaming or if Whitestorm has come to visit him from StarClan. He notes that it can't be him, as this cat is small with gray and white fur. As the cat stares at him, Firestar wonders if it's a BloodClan cat or a rogue. He races toward the cat, but it vanishes without a trace. Firestar sits back down on the rock, but doesn't see the gray cat again.

Characters

Major

• Firestar

Minor

• Bramblepaw
• Cloudstar (Unnamed)

Mentioned

• Scourge
• Whitestorm
• Tigerstar
• Tawnypaw
• Cinderpelt
• Rainpaw
• Sootpaw
• Sorrelpaw
• Bone