Jaystar stared at Berrystar in shock. "Wha-, how did you-..." he meowed, startled. All of ThunderClan seemed to be holding their breaths.
Snowberry dealt guilt pulsing through her body, but she pretended to look to look as shocked as everyone else. Her sister beside her, Icepetal, eyes were wide, and her whole body seemed to be rigid with shock.
"That is ThunderClan business, Berrystar," answered the ThunderClan leader, "We will be leaving now." Eyes still wide with shock, the ThunderClan warriors dumbly followed their leader to their camp.
Snowberry turned her head away from her sister as ThunderClan returned home. "I wonder who told?" Mused Icepetal. Snowberry's pelt pricked with guilt and shame, but she forced her fur to lie flat, answering with merely with a flick of her tail.
As soon as ThunderClan arrived at camp, the cats who had stayed behind came out of their dens, worried by the looks of shock on their returning clanmates. Jaystar bounded into the High Ledge, and didn't even bother with calling the clan together, all of the Clan was already out of their dens anyway. "Tonight," he yowled, "Berrystar revealed to the other Clans my secret. Our secret."
Soon, all the cats who hasn't attended the gathering looked shocked as well.
"One of us must have told WindClan." Jaystar gazed down at his warriors, and Snowberry forced herself to meet his gaze, as if she wasn't guilty. "Who was it?"
Snowberry sighed, and raised her long, white tail, "It was I, Jaystar, who told a WindClan warrior."
The whole Clan seemed to freeze, shock widening there eyes even more. Beside her, Icepetal drew away from her, disbelief and sadness clear on her face.
Snowberry hung her head, the events if when she told re-playing in her head.
~FLASHBACK START~
Snowberry lifted her nose to scent the air. WindClan scent hit her nose, but Snowberry brushed that off, she was, after all, at the WindClan border. Scenting a small shrew in front of her, Snowberry sunk into the ever familiar hunting crouch. Carefully placing one paw in front in the other, she stalked up to the little shrew, wriggled her haunches, and...
With a yowl, Snowberry was flattened to the ground. She could scent cat scent, and WindClan scent at that. Peering around, she could see large brown tabby tom pinning her tithe ground.
"Ge-off me!" She protested, wriggling trying to escape the toms grasp.
"ThunderClan scum, tell me, now why would I do that?"
Snowberry started to panic, "What do you want?!" She yowled, frantically clawing at the ground.
"Anything you can give," he replied with a sneer.
"And what's that?!"
"Has ThunderClan got any secrets they want to keep to themselves? I've heard a rumour if a very special secret - your leaders secret - that ThunderClan guards"
Snowberry wriggled more. "Well?" The tom growled, his claws digging in even deeper.
"Ye-yes," she replied, choking.
"Pardon? Didn't quite catch your squeaks, little mouse."
"Yes! Yes we do. ThunderClan has secrets, just like I'm sure WindClan does."
"Can you tell me it?" He dug his claws in harder.
"No! I'm loyal to ThunderClan!"
"We'll, well, well. You'll tell me this secret, or I'll drown you and your little friends in the lake."
Snowberry thought for a moment, of all her friends families, one of her friends littermate had just died, and her parents would be completely heart broken if another of their kits died. Another of her friend, was a soon to be father, and his mate was in the nursery, expected to kit in the next few days. Another one of her friends was nursing three one moon old kits. If she and her friends were drowned, then that would tear apart all those families. She couldn't do that to anyone.
"I'll-I'll tell you."
~END FLASHBACK~
Snowberry looked around the camp at all the cats staring at her. Jaystar's amber gaze was fixed in her, and his long, gray tail hung behind him. Her friend, whom by now was a father, was staring at her in disgust from the nursery entrance; and her other friend was pulling her playing kits away from her.
Icepetal beside her had backed away, and her mate, Toadtail, was comforting her as she stared at Snowberry in disbelief.
Snowberry opened her mouth the explain, to explain how he pinned her down, and how he threatened her with the life of her and all her friends. But no words came out.
Turning away from her shocked Clan, Snowberry ran out it out he forest, twigs snagging on her coat.
She ran on, until she found a small clearing. There, she lay down, her head hung in sadness. 'I had to!' She wanted to yowl, 'I had no choice!'
Then, a striped body stuck its head out of the bushes. Sparrowleap. "Mind if I join you?" The pale brown tabby asked.
Snowberry nodded her head, and Sparrowleap clambered out of the bush, snagging his fur on the twigs. "Get it off!" He cried, hopping around the bush, trying to untangle his fur.
Snowberry purred in amusement as the tom hopped around the bush, before finally succeeding, and coming to lay down beside her, with one last "I hate you," directed towards the bush.
Sparrowleap lay down beside her, pressing his pelt against hers, and lay his head over hers. "What's wrong?" He murmured, licking the top of her head.
Snowberry purred under her mates gentle touch, before sighing again."They hate me. I had no choice! He pinned me down and-"
"Wait, who's 'he' and when was this?"
Snowberry explained to him, about the walk on the WindClan border, and the tom that had pinned her down. Of the threats he had made, and the secret she had been forced to tell.
Sparrowleap lifted his head, and growled in the direction of the WindClan border. "I hate that tom! How dare he do that to you?" His words were full of a fierceness that Snowberry hadn't heard for a long time.
Snowberry laid her tail tip on Sparrowleap's shoulder, and sensing her fear, the tom settled back down, resting his head on her head.
"You have to tell them." He whispered, stroking his tongue on her fur rhythmically.
Snowberry twisted around, her pale yellow eyes staring into Sparrowleap's green. "They wouldn't believe me."
"They would if I was beside you. They would have to. I'd say that I've heard your story, and believed you."
Snowberry sighed, now that she thought of it, that sounded like it would work. "Okay, but..." She flicked Sparrowleap's ears gently with her tail tip "But not right now."
Sparrowleap purred, twining his tail with hers, "No. Not right now."
. . .
Snowberry padded into camp nervously. She twisted her head to check behind her, to make sure that Sparrowleap was still behind her. "I'm here. Don't worry. Now, just tell them you need to speak to them."
Snowberry glanced around the clearing, it was early morning and the Clan was just waking up. The dawn patrol had just returned, and was adding a couple of mice onto the fresh-kill pile. Her friend who was nursing the litter was purring with her mate as their kits tumbled across the clearing. Her new father friend was taking a couple of shrews into the nursery, and she could see the apprentices play fighting outside the apprentices den. Icepetal was on the other side of camp, and had been sharing a squirrel with Toadtail, but had stopped, staring up at Snowberry with disbelief still clear in her eyes.
Jaystar stored out of his den, and seeing Snowberry at the camp entrance, beckoned her in with his tail. Snowberry checked behind her one last time, and Sparrowleap swiped his tongue across her ear encouragingly. Seeing that her mate was still behind her, Snowberry padded into camp. By now, all eyes were fixed on the white she-cat. She bounded up onto the HighLedge, and turned towards Jaystar. "May I say something to the Clan?"
"Go ahead." Jaystar backed out of her way, padding down the HighLedge and joining his Clan below it.
Sparrowleap was still behind the she-cat, and flicked her shoulder encouragingly.
"I know you all think I'm a traitor," Snowberry yowled, "But I'm not. I had no choice but to tell WindClan the secret..."
And she explained. She explained about how the tom had pinned her, about the walk on the WindClan border. About the threats he had snarled at her, and families she had thought of. Of the secret she been forced to tell.
When she was finished, the Clan stared up at her, uncertainly clear on their faces. Sparrowleap stepped forward, and his eyes glowed with protectiveness and love. "She is telling the truth, she told me last night, and I believe her."
All eyes turned to Jaystar. "I - I believe what you say is true, Snowberry. I like how you thought if all those families, instead of one cat, even if it is your leader."
Snowberry dipped her head towards her leader, and bounded down of the HighLedge. She padded over to Iceptal, who was watching on the other side of the clearing, Toadtail had gone to talk to one of his friends.
"D-Do you forgive me?" Snowberry asked, nervously.
Iceptal turned around to stare at her for a moment, and Snowberry could understand why. Jaystar, as a deputy, had been Icepetal's mentor, and the two were quite close. It must of been a huge shock for her sister to have her former mentors secret revealed to all the Clans, and then to find out that your sister did would have only worsened it.
"I had no choice, I-"
"Snowberry," Icepetal meowed, lifting up her slender, long white tail up towards Snowberry to touch her cheek. "I know, I heard you."
Snowberry held her breath as her sister said the next words. "And I forgive you."
How did you like it? I think Snowberry and Sparrowleap were cute together! Please tell me in a review!
Bye
-Rain
