Dawnstar's Decision

chapter 17

For the past moon, Dawnsky had no dreams from Star Clan or the dark forest, which surprised her and worried her. She woke up with a start when she heard something rush by her den. She rose sleepily, and looked around.

The awful stench had finally gone away, and the small hollow tree had started to feel like home a little bit. As she walked out of her den, she noticed signs that leafbare was just around the corner. She was used to the beautiful evergreen pine trees that kept their leaves all year, but she was not in IceClan territory anymore, and she was surrounded by bare trees that looked almost dull and lifeless. She sighed, and focused on the noise that had woke her up. She sniffed around, but could smell nothing out of the ordinary. She searched the clearing, but couldn't see anything, I hope I'm not going crazy, she thought, I still can't help feeling that I'm being followed......

Suddenly, the bushes behind her rustled and something small leaped out and tackled her. Dawnsky yelped in surprise and flailed her arms around as she tried to get back up. The small figure hopped off of her and she could hear it start to laugh, "Got ya!"

She got up and whipped her head around, the fur on her neck rising. But when she saw it was only Blossom, she forced it to lie flat again, "What in the name of Star Clan-"

"I was practicing my stalking skills!" She boasted.

"How long have you been following me?" She questioned her suspiciously.

She looked up at her, "Er, I actually just started this morning..."

"So you haven't been stalking me yesterday or the day before?"

"No," She mewed, "I'm not a creep! I was only seeing if you would notice me, I'm not some crazy weirdo!"

She chuckled, "Well I'm glad you're not a weirdo." If she hasn't been stalking me, then who has?

"Well anyways, I am going to go try this on Storm. See ya later, Dawnsky!" She squeaked, bouncing off.

She shook her head, her eyes filled with amusement. I guess I'll go find Bear, she decided, padding towards his cave. She poked her head inside and saw that he was still sleeping. She could hear a light snoring and she smiled a little.

She sat by him and started to lightly poke him with her paw, "Bear," she mewed softly, "Bear wake up!"

Bear immediately stood up, unsheathing his claws and growling as if he was being attacked, "Who's there?!"

Dawnsky stepped back, surprised at his sudden burst of anger, "Uh, it's just me.....Dawnsky...." she managed to stutter.

Bear immediately went back to normal, "Oh..sorry Dawnsky, I... I wasn't expecting anyone, that's all. Sorry if I scared you."

Dawnsky flicked her ears, "You didn't scare me!" She lied.

"Why are you up so early anyways?" He asked.

"Blossom was practicing her stalking techniques...." she sighed.

"Kits! They never know when to stop..." he chuckled.

She smiled a little, finally feeling that it was safe to move up from the back of the cave.

"I was actually planning on waking you up this morning." He admitted to her.

"Oh really? And why is that?" She perked up her ears.

He shuffled his paws around awkwardly, "Well, I wanted to show you something...."

"You can still show me," she mewed.

"Yeah.. I know, "he looked in her eyes and then back down at his paws, "do you want to see it?"

She smiled in amusement and curiosity at his sudden shyness, "If you think I will like it then of course I want to see it."

He sighed in relief and stood up, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"Well apparently I'm waiting for you," she joked, smiling. I wonder what he wants to show me.....

She followed him out of the cave and into the forest. They were moving away from IceClan territory, so she knew it was nothing she had ever seen before. Everything looked unfamiliar, so she stayed close to Bear.

"We're almost there," he told her.

She nodded, shivering a little because of the cold wind that had started to blow. She moved even closer to him, "Come on, please tell me!" She begged.

"Nope! Now close your eyes...." he mewed.

"Are you sure I can trust you?" She teased him and then closed her eyes.

She could feel his tail on her back, guiding her foward. She sensed that they were moving through dense undergrowth, so she walked slowly to avoid tripping on anything. Suddenly, there was no more undergrowth, just the ground beneath her.

"Now you can open them!" He purred.

She slowly opened her eyes, and she gasped in awe. They were on top of some sort of cliff, and the view of the sun rising over the land was breathtaking. She could see all four territories and the sun's rays were sparkling on the lake, "Bear... this is.... beautiful!" She breathed.

He smiled, "I'm glad you like it. This place..... it's kind of a secret. Nobody knows about it except me, and now you. This is where I go to clear my head, and I thought of you often when I was here."

"It... it's amazing! Thank you for showing me your secret place."

"Now it's our secret place," he purred.

"Really?"

"Yes... you can come here whenever you want." He mewed to her.

"Thank you so much," she purred, licking his cheek.

He wrapped his tail around her and looked at her in the eyes, not looking down at the ground this time, "Dawnsky, I love you. Will you be my mate?"

Dawnsky was shocked for a second, "Y-your mate?"

He looked away, "Yeah... you don't have to say yes, though."

She thought for a little while, not saying anything. Should I do this? I love Bear, but would I be punished for it? Does Shadowstripe still care what decision I make? She looked at Bear who was patiently awaiting her answer. You know what, I don't care what Shadowstripe or anyone thinks! This is my life.

"Yes!" She purred.

Bear looked at her, surprised, "Really?! That... this is.... I-"

"I love you, Bear."