Bearheart's Shame

Chapter 4

Bearpaw tucked her paws tighter under her chest.

Only a couple hours before, she had been confessing all her thoughts over a fish with Riverscar.

Bearpaw was astonished when he had asked her if he would meet her on the border in two sunrises.

She had stuttered, but agreed.

"Thornclan! Gather here!" Sparrowstar yowled.

Cats all around sprinted to the clearing, standing like a swarm of bees under the Shadow Stone.

Sparrowstar hadn't used the proper summoning words, and most cats seemed to realize that something must be terribly wrong.

"Listen Thornclan! Shadeclan has been stealing our prey! At the gathering tonight I will mention it! If Deadstar denies it, we will attack their camp at sundown tomorrow." Sparrowstar's voice rang with fury.

"Who will go with you?" Sunstripe yowled.

"Any cats who go with me will be excused from duties tomorrow, for I will take anyone who goes to the gathering, into battle. 

I will have Sunstripe and Lionpaw. Snowleaf. Irisfall. Minnie. Pineclaw. Dawnpool and Bearpaw. Sandtooth and Doepaw. Brackenflame. Pouncefire, and Stormfall.

After the gathering, I will claim more to take into battle. Meeting dismissed." Sparrowstar finished the meeting and leapt down from the rock, into his den at the foot of the stone.

"We're going to the battle!" Doepaw screeched as she raced past with Sandtooth.

"Hey! Bearpaw! Over here!" Dawnpool called from across the clearing.

Bearpaw turned and ran toward her mentor, eyes glowing excitedly.

"Are we-" Dawnpool cut her off.

"Yes, Bearpaw. We are going battle training. We need to move quickly though. We're leaving for the gathering soon."

Bearpaw nodded. Dawnpool started running out of camp. Bearpaw followed him, but came grudgingly to a halt when she felt her gashes start bleeding again.

"Bearpaw! What happened?" Dawnpool turned, his eyes wide with fear.

"Oh! Ha! I got attacked by a fox earlier. I came back, and Antwhisker dressed my wounds. But... he was short on supplies, so he couldn't finish."

"Did he get more?"

"Yeah. He left right after patching me up."

"We need to go back. We still have time before the gathering." Dawnpool whisked around back toward the camp.

Bearpaw sighed. She was gonna miss out on training because of Irisfall.

When Bearpaw got back to camp, Dawnpool was pacing outside the medicine den.

"You're here! Finally!" Dawnpool said something into the den, and Antwhisker stumbled out, tripping over his leaf wrap.

"Oh, Bearpaw! The poultices are gone! Did you lick them off?" Antwhisker asked.

"No! I did no such thing!" Bearpaw responded indignantly.

But she had. When she had met Riverscar earlier, they had shared tongues for a while.

He must have licked off the poultices.

"Okay. Let those dry, then you can go back to training." Antwhisker dismissed her, and she padded stiffly across the camp to sit in the shade of Shadow Rock.

Soon the sun began to set, and Dawnpool led Bearpaw out of camp.

When they got to the training hollow, Doepaw was tackling Lionpaw with vicious fury, claws sheathed.

"Hey! You guys, take a break. Bearpaw's here." Sunstripe called over the grappling.

Lionpaw and Doepaw broke apart and raced over.

"You're here!" Lionpaw exclaimed, his voice lower than she remembered.

"Yeah. Antwhisker had to put new poultices on." Bearpaw replied.

"Well, enough talk. Let's get started."

Bearpaw stood in the clearing, waiting for Sparrowstar to lead the cats to the gathering.

After her training session, Bearpaw could feel energy pulsing through her.

Sparrowstar flicked his tail at the head of the group, and they were off.

As Bearpaw raced along, Pineclaw pulled up next to her. "You excited?" He asked her.

"Sure." She answered. " It's not my first gathering, you know?"

"I know. It's just, we might have a battle tomorrow!" Pineclaw's neck fur rose, and he drew his lips back in a snarl, as if facing down a Shadeclan warrior.

"Hold it there, Prickly face! I'm your clanmate!" Bearpaw joked.

Pineclaw let his fur settle and relaxed his lips. "Yes, Bearstar." 

Bearpaw shoved him gently as they ran along.

"I'm just an apprentice!" She exclaimed. "I can't be leader!"

"Alright." Pineclaw answered.

Suddenly, the group drew to a stop.

Bearpaw scrambled to the front, behind Sparrowstar.

Shadeclan was the only clan in the clearing, their beady eyes glaring up at the Thornclan leader.