Bluefur's Choice

A Fateful Gathering

Finally, the night of the Gathering arrived.

Bluefur had high hopes for the night. Perhaps Thistlestar would put aside his penchant for fighting, now that it was so clear that ThunderClan could not afford a battle.

In the days before the Gathering, ultimately only Speckletail had succumbed to illness. Rosetail's fever had subsided, but as grateful as Bluefur was that her friend was well, Rosetail's recovery seemed to reassure Thistlestar that ThunderClan would be fine without a medicine cat.

The moon was rising slowly as Bluefur made her way to the Gathering place at the back of the patrol. Most of the Clan's warriors were present, and as Bluefur looked around, she realized that the patrol was all warriors. There were no elders, queens, or apprentices. Granted, most of the elders were ill and there was only one nursing queen and apprentice in the entire Clan, but Bluefur still found it strange. In her youth, there would have been a gaggle of young cats weaving in and out of the crowd, mewing excitedly about the Gathering. Now though, she could only see the stoic gazes of warriors.

The cats slowed as Fourtrees came into view. Bluefur, who had been deep in thought most of the evening, weaved her way through the group and sat closer to the front. At the very head of the cats were Thistlestar and Tigerclaw; they stared down at the clearing, their tails twitching.

Tigerclaw leaned toward the Clan leader. "Thistlestar, what will you say about ShadowClan killing Spottedleaf?"

"I was hoping one of you would ask. Listen, all of you." Thistlestar turned and faced the patrol, and the cats stared up at him, their eyes narrowed in the dim moonlight. "There is a reason I chose only warriors for this patrol, not elders or queens," he declared, sweeping his gaze over the waiting ThunderClan cats. "Tonight, I plan to demand that ShadowClan give up the territory they stole." Murmurs spread through the group, some approving, others anxious.

"I don't doubt you will be able to convince them," Longtail spoke up, shuffling his paws awkwardly, "but ShadowClan cats have bees for brains. What if they refuse?"

"Then we will respond as expected." Thistlestar's gaze bored into the young warrior. "And that means all of you should be prepared if they say no. If ShadowClan wants a fight they'll get one." The meows redoubled in volume.

Bluefur leaped to her paws and shoved her way to the front of the group, unable to keep quiet any longer. "This is madness, Thistlestar! The full moon truce is sacred; we cannot break it for Clan rivalries."

"We cannot break it at a Gathering." Thistlestar's voice was a low hiss as he stared at Bluefur. "You fool, do you think I would order an attack on another Clan at Fourtrees?! No," he spat. "I will give the signal, and lead the takeover of the land by the Thunderpath once the Gathering is over. If ShadowClan insists on stealing from us, we will not back down. We will make them regret-"

"We have no need for that land," Bluefur meowed quietly. "We have no need for it, and we can't afford a battle without a medicine cat."

"You're thinking like a kittypet, Bluefur! ShadowClan would never give us the same respect. We've seen what they can do. They are the ones responsible for this! All these Clans, they put their own above others." Thistlestar swept his tail around, indicating the mass of gathered ShadowClan and RiverClan cats below. "Why should we be any different?"

Mumbled whispers sprang up, but when Bluefur raised her chin the cats went silent. "We cannot abandon the warrior code just because other Clans may not follow it."

Shocked mews hit her ears, and Bluefur knew why: she had just accused her Clan leader of breaking the warrior code.

"Silence!" Thistlestar's growl silenced the dissenting voices. "See, I thought you might have a problem with this, Bluefur. But you seem to have forgotten something: a Clan leader's word is law." He took a step forward, so that he and Bluefur stood nose to nose. "And because I am your leader, you will follow my orders. If I order you to stand down you will stand down. If I order you to attack you will attack. If I order you to catch me a pheasant and then line my nest with its feathers, you will do so. Is that understood?"