Fatal mistake.
Alright, quick disclaimer: I do not condone (even former) student/teacher relationships irl no matter the age and context and you should not date your former mentor. And if you're a child/teen/young adult and someone older than you makes romantic advances, get help.
I'll just say that in fiction it is different. Some will say that, in canon, Cinderpelt and Fireheart are better off as friends or "found family", and they would be right. But, in not-canon...
So, Fireheart and Cinderpelt (or rather Cinderpaw) start off as mentor and apprentice. But something is immediately off.
Right at the ceremony something goes wrong. Fireheart forgets to touch noses with Cinderpaw, and when he tries to fix this Cinderpaw accidentally pushes her nose too quick, and she is described to be amused. This little scene sets the tone for their future interactions: Fireheart not being good at being her mentor and Cinderpaw being a little bit too comfortable around him, acting like he was her friend and not some sort of authority figure.
The first significant action Cinderpaw does is to lie to Tigerclaw to cover for Fireheart. She even makes him look better in her story too.
Here's a scene from later, this is Cinderpaw's hunting assignment. The assignment where Fireheart is supposed to watch her from the shadows. And here Cinderpaw breaks the rules to have a quick casual chat with Fireheart, and he just accepts it.
This is where I allow myself a break from canon. Fireheart is meant to be seen as young adult in "Fire and Ice". But in reality, he is somewhere around 9-11 moons old. He is younger than Cinderpaw's denmates! So of course she sees him as a friend. If it was not for Bluestar's favoritism, Fireheart would've been her denmate.
This is a really fun dynamic, even if it only exists for a short time. Then the accident happens, and that's where it ends. Except it's where their friendship actually starts.
Despite what older AMV want you to believe, Fireheart and Cinderpaw (soon Cinderpelt) still stay very close with each other. Fireheart helps her recover and after they still hang out a lot. Cinderpaw straight up names Fireheart her best friend, she is one of the first cats to congratulate him when he becomes deputy, and the one who shows the most enthusiasm at that.
Unfortunately Fireheart himself only recognizes Cinderpelt as his closest friend after Graystripe is gone for a time (Foreshadowing is a narrative technique that...). But that doesn't mean she's not important to him.
After Cinderpaw fails to save Silverstream's life, Fireheart tries his best to make her feel better. He tries to make her focus on the lives she saved, he comforts her by gently licking her. When Yellowfang appears, Fireheart starts praising Cinderpaw, and even tries to defend her from Yellowfang, even if there was no need for that.
Just a couple of scenes of Fireheart being protective over Cinderpelt. Probably a more unhealthy part of their relationship.
The is also... a pattern oh how Fireheart thinks about Cinderpelt in canon. Something people talk a lot actually: Fireheart feeling bad whenever he sees Cinderpelt limping and thinks how she could be a warrior if not for his mistake. The Doylist explanation is Hunters being ableist, which is true.
My Watsonian explanation that borders on being a headcanon (I think? It is sorta canon): Fireheart himself was traumatized by the accident. He thinks he ruined life of his closest friend and he cannot ever forgive himself, and it has a negative impact on the relationship between Fireheart and Cinderpelt. It makes him dwell on the past too much, and it's also what makes him so protective of her.
It would be really fun to explore this topic, especially in a romantic relationship. It would give a conflict in otherwise almost perfect relationship and it would allow for Fireheart to grow as a character. (Would be fun for Cinderpelt to find a way to grow as a character too, but unfortunately she is kind of perfect in canon).
The canon doesn't really address this part of their relationship though. It still makes Fireheart get over it later, but without actually showing us the growth he needed to get there.
Speaking of conflicts...
The scene where Fireheart finds out that Cinderpelt has been hiding sick ShadowClan cats on their territory. This is probably the closest they had to a fight, and it takes one line of dialog for Cinderpelt to get Fireheart back at her side. It really just goes like
"You would literally do the same!"
"Ok damn you got me here"
Fireheart in general listens to Cinderpelt and have a lot of respect for her (in the first arc at least). Arguably he puts more trust in her than in Sandstorm, his actual mate. Meanwhile Cinderpelt never acts like Fireheart is someone she "looks up to" (unlike Brackenfur, for example). She treats him like a friend she can trust and confide in.
Just a couple of more cute scenes with them. There is actually a lot of small scenes between them across the whole first arc (except for the first book) that no one ever talks about and even I can't remember. Whenever I skim through the book looking for a specific scene there would be another cute interaction between them that I forgot about. I like this one where Cinderpelt sits besides him in silence at night before Fireheart confronts the dog pack - maybe their last time together.
Then there's this one, this one is actually popular.
Cinderpelt is the only cat who Fireheart confesses about having prophetic dreams. He doesn't tell Yellowfang about it. He doesn't tell Graystripe about it. He doesn't tell Sandstorm, his mate, about it. He tells Cinderpelt. Cinderpelt is the cat he puts the most trust in. (Also they shared a nest together here. Just saying)
It would definitely be more fun if we saw Cinderpelt putting the same trust in him, and more of Fireheart being a good friend to her. But she never needs it? She is a support character, after all. And after the first half of the arc, the narrative starts pushing her to the background, to make the way for the actual intended end-game romance.
Sandstorm is Firestar's mate. Graystripe is Firestar's best friend, the one everyone ships him with, even authors probably. Spottedleaf is Firestar's first love, the love that could never be. And Cinderpelt... his former apprentice. She had a crush on him but could never be with him because of her broken paw.
No longer do they share a strong bond that matters more than what label you put on it. It doesn't matter that they went together from being forced to be mentor and apprentice when both of them were too young for it, and that they went from that to being a leader and a medicine cat, and that they never stopped supporting each other along this way.
Cinderpelt is Firestar's former apprentice. Firestar is Cinderpelt's former crush.
I don't like the second arc.
I like betting on losing dogs.
...then "Firestar's Quest" happens and look what's on the menu!
Remember Cinderpelt sending Fireheart to sleep after that scene in "Dangerous Path"? Looks like she's not the only one who makes sure their best friend doesn't overwork themself.
Cinderpelt is one of the three cats Fireheart thinks "meant more to him than any others in the Clan". (Other two being Sandstorm and Graystripe).
...I've seen people forget that Cinderpelt was actually in this scene.
Unfortunately that's where it ends. Hunters were more interesting in pushing Firestar's relationship with Spottedleaf, Sandstorm and especially Graystripe. The fandom decided that Cinderpelt is "Firestar's little sister", probably to get her out of the way of shipping Firestar with everyone else.
If that not convinces you that their ship is valid (even platonically), I do have a final argument:
Would you really tell her she can't have your stupid boyfrind?
tangentwithtanner
annaxmalina
theartofmadeline
blakekathryn
turnnoffyourmind
prguitarman
izzy806
