One-Shot: The Sad Story of Bearpaw
I am so glad I live in ThunderClan. I would never be able to live with myself if I was a RiverClanner or ShadowClanner. StarClan, why couldn't I be born a WindClan cat instead?
The thing is, I can't be around water. WindClan barely has any water right? They just drink from streams and stuff. I would hate to live by the river or in the marsh. There is just too much water there.
My brother thinks I'm overreacting. Well, I'm not! Cats naturally don't like getting our paws wet! RiverClan and ShadowClan are just weird. That's all. That's why WindClan is a better suited place for me.
"Bearpaw, this is the last time you say you wish to be a WindClanner!" My mentor hisses.
I guess Volepelt doesn't understand either. No cat really does. I understand what Volepelt means though. I can't have my loyalties put on the line when I know I'd never be a WindClanner anyway. I have a broad shoulders and large paws. I'm not very fast. I'd never be a good WindClan warrior.
The leader called our attention from up on the Highrock. She was announcing who was going to the Gathering later tonight. "The cats going to the Gathering tonight are," she listed off about a dozen of our Clanmates. "...and Bearpaw and Larkpaw."
Mouse-dung! She called our names. I bet Larkpaw is happy. He loves going to the Gatherings. I don't. I haven't actually been to one yet. I always find a way out of it. I just don't want to go. That's all.
What's the big deal about a Gathering anyway? All it is is the four leaders talking about what goes on in their own Clans. If I were leader, I would stop ThunderClan from going to the Gatherings. Our enemies don't need to know about what goes on during the rest of the season.
"Volepelt, do I have to go to the Gathering?" I ask my mentor politely.
He glares at me. "Bearpaw, you are almost a warrior! You have never been to a Gathering once! This could be your last chance to go to one as an apprentice."
"I know, but what's the point of talking with the other cats when I might just have to fight against them later?"
Volepelt lashes his tail and stalks away. "You're going and that's final!" He growls over his shoulder.
Sorry, Volepelt. There is no way I'm going to the Gathering! Not now, not ever! The only cat I know that can help me out is my brother, Larkpaw. No, actually Larkpaw tries to convince me to go every moon. The only cat that can help me in my time of need is Breezewhisker, the medicine cat's apprentice.
"Seriously, Bearpaw?" He laughs.
"If I can find a way out, I'll take it!" I told him.
Breezewhisker sifts through some leaves while he is talking to me. "I can give you poppy seeds. You'll fall asleep and they won't be able to wake you up till tomorrow morning."
"Naw, what else you got?" I look around the dark den, but I don't know much about herbs anyway.
"If you don't mind an upset stomach, then how about some juniper berries for a convincing belly ache?" He rolls out some of the shiny juniper berries.
"Tempting, very tempting," I nodded. "I'll take them!"
Breezewhisker prescribed me three juniper berries for a belly ache. Well, it's not a cure but rather the poison. StarClan, these are gross!
Maybe going to a Gathering wouldn't be so bad. But it's too late! Those nasty little things were already churning up in my belly.
"Breezewhisker, what is Bearpaw doing here?" Littlebranch, the medicine cat, asks.
"He's got an upset belly," he explains.
Littlebranch decided to give me a check-up. "Do you feel well enough to go to the Gathering?"
"No."
"Fine. It seems that you are not well enough to go anyway."
I think she knows what's up. I hate Gatherings more than I hate water.
"Breezewhisker, go inform Volepelt that Bearpaw can't go tonight," she meows to him. "You lucky little mouse-heart," she whispers to me after he left the den. "This is the last time the medicine cats help you weasel your way out of something. Next time Breezewhisker will be in big trouble."
"Okay," I say to her.
Yeah, the juniper berries definitely made me feel sicker than a dogpet with whitecough.
Okay, you must think I'm crazy, right? I'm a ThunderClan apprentice who hates water, has never been to a Gathering, and would rather be born to the enemy Clan. I'll just tell you why I hate water. It's because when I look into a puddle, I see myself.
I see a broad-shouldered tabby with bland yellow eyes and a huge nose. I hate it! My nose is just so big. The worst part is that I can't track for fox dung. In fact, I've the worst sense of smell in the whole Clan. The elders even have a better sense of smell than me.
When I was a kit, everyone made fun of me. They stopped after I was about three moons old. The thing is, my Clanmates try and avoid looking at me and my big nose. I'm ugly. I was born this way. I'm almost a warrior now. Luckily for my self-esteem, slowly this whole nose issue feels a little more numb with each passing moon.
It's taking awhile for all of my Clanmates to accept my face. Even I'm still trying to. The new kits gawk at me until their mothers cuff their ears. I don't blame them. But this is why I don't go to Gatherings. The other cats will make fun of me. Especially the RiverClanners. I hear that they're really vain. I think being deformed or ugly in that Clan would be the worst. I'm sure ShadowClan would make fun of me because they're mean, but Larkpaw says that a lot of them have kinked tails and flat faces, so it's not like I couldn't tease them too.
But because of this dang nose, I won't ever live a good life. Well, everyone tells me I can live a perfectly fine life once I accept this sniffer, but I can't imagine it.
I know I won't ever get a mate and have kits. Larkpaw is a handsome tom. He's strong and has a tiny berry-like nose. The young she-cats love him.
I know what you're thinking: Go to the Gathering, Bearpaw! You'll meet a she-cat who won't care. You'll meet up with her at night at the borders of your territories. You'll be happy and then she'll expect your kits someday.
Yeah right. I'm not that much of a fool. Besides, I'm in love already. They don't love me back though. But hey, at least we're both ThunderClanners. They'll never love me back. It wouldn't be against the Warrior Code if they did, but it would be against the Medicinal one.
Do you understand me? I am in love with Breezewhisker. The medicine cat's apprentice. The tabby tomcat.
Could it get any worse?