Fire and Shadow
is a Warriors fanfic that revolves around Rusty ending up in ShadowClan, not ThunderClan.
Rusty is a young housecat who is enamored with the local forest. While looking around one day, Rusty is attacked by a wild cat named Ravenpaw. Ravenpaw's mentor, Tigerclaw, dislikes a pet on their territory and attacks Rusty. Rusty is saved when he ends up in ShadowClan territory. Unable to go back through ThunderClan and get back home, Rusty is forced to join ShadowClan as an apprentice named Firepaw.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Firepaw misses his owners and initially doubts whether he should be in ShadowClan or not. In the source books, he barely thinks twice about running off to ThunderClan.
- Adaptation Name Change: Firepaw is named "Firefang", not "Fireheart".
- Alternate Universe Fic: Firestar becomes a ShadowClan warrior, not a ThunderClan one.
- Automobiles Are Alien: Discussed. Firefang explains that cars (or "monsters" as cats call them) aren't monstrous like the others think and that he's actually been inside one a few times. To this, Gorsepaw wonders if they should use a new term for cars. He comes up with "hrududu" and gets mocked.
- Babies Ever After: The fanfic ends with Firestar and Nightwing having two toms named Talonkit and Smokekit. It also turns out that Mistystar had a kit with Firefang named Bluepaw.
- Betty and Veronica: There's Nightpaw and Mistyfoot. Nightpaw is a sweet but young cat who likes Firefang, while Mistyfoot is an alluring, older cat from RiverClan who is "dangerous" because she's from a rival Clan. Eventually, Mistyfoot and Firefang both realize they can't continue their forbidden romance.
- Child of Forbidden Love: On top of the canon examples, there's the cross-Clan son of Firestar and Mistyfoot.
- Child Soldiers: Gorsepaw isn't even six moons when he's made an apprentice. Several kits also die because they were apprenticed too young.
- Conflicting Loyalty: During the revolt against Brokenstar, Boulder found himself torn between his loyalty to Brokenstar, who had taken him in and given him a better life than he'd ever dreamed of as a rogue, and to his surrogate son Firefang and the warrior code that he idolized.
- Dawn Attack: Inverted. ShadowClan attacks WindClan at night. Firefang considers attacking while most of the Clan is sleeping to be immoral and the incident makes him doubt being a warrior.
- Dead Guy Junior: Mistystar named one of her kits "Bluekit", after her deceased mother Bluestar.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Yellowfang has the line "You two share tongues or compare your claw lengths or whatever it is young toms do".
- Dramatic Necklace Removal: Rusty's collar gets torn off while fighting Ashfur. Seeing it, Brokenstar announces that it's a sign from StarClan that Rusty is permitted to join ShadowClan.
- Embarrassing First Name: Firefang hates how aggressive that name sounds.
- For Want Of A Nail: The nail is either that Bluestar doesn't ask Rusty to join her Clan or ShadowClan received the prophecy instead of ThunderClan.
- Happily Adopted: Gorsekit doesn't mind the revelation that he's adopted and was originally from WindClan.
- I Am the Noun: In response to Yellowfang telling him not to kill Firefang since he's the fire from the prophecy that will save ShadowClan, Brokenstar insists that he is ShadowClan and that anyone who opposes him is a traitor.
- Oblivious Adoption: Gorsekit is too young to remember being WindClan born but he always knew something was off about him. He didn't think it was that he was born in another Clan.
- Malicious Misnaming: Ashfur dislikes Firefang and calls him "Firepaw" the night of his vigil.
- Mature Animal Story: The content is aimed at older fans than the original books. It has some more risque content, such as clearer allusions to sex.
- Mythology Gag: Chapter 11 has a scene where Bluestar mentions Firefang would make a good ThunderClan warrior. Graypaw is shocked by the idea of her letting a kittypet into the Clan.
- Parental Substitute: Yellowfang is the closest Firefang has to a mother in ShadowClan. She gives him a life at the end of the fic.
- The Prophecy: The "fire will save the Clan" prophecy was given to ShadowClan instead of ThunderClan.
- Rescue Romance: Firefang saving Nightpaw from a poisonous snake is what first spurred her feelings for him.
- She Is All Grown Up: Firefang finds Nightpaw's Precocious Crush embarrassing until she begins maturing.
- Shout-Out: Gorsepaw makes a Watership Down reference when he says they should rename monsters (cars) into "Hrududu". Onewhisker even calls it "rabbit-brained" sounding.
- Would Hurt a Child:
- Tigerclaw has no issue beating up kittypet kittens like Rusty for accidentally going onto ThunderClan territory.
- Brokenstar killed several kits.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Rusty mentions his owners will be worried about him, but Brokenstar points out that Rusty will be attacked or worse if he tries to go back home through ThunderClan territory. Rusty has no option than to stay with ShadowClan.
