Chapter 3
Briarheart gave a little bounce on her paws. She was nervous about inviting Lilypetal to live in the clan, but she knew there was no other way. They couldn't let a great deputy and a loyal clan cat such as Lilypetal turn to life as a rogue or loner. It would be a waste. She turned her attention to the Highoak, where her leader was standing. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the Highoak for a clan meeting." He yowled the familiar summons. Cats started pouring out of their dens to hear what their leader had to say. "I called this meeting, to announce a new arrival to the clan. Lilypetal, would you please step forward?" Several yowls of protest erupted from the gathered cats.
"What's she doing here?" Thrushpaw yowled.
"Yeah, didn't we drive her out once today? Or has she come back for more?" Blackfur snarled.
"Silence." Quickstar meowed. But the cats below continued. Suddenly an ear-splitting screech erupted from the back of the group.
"What's wrong with you all?" The voice was Grayflower's. "Your leader said SILENCE!" The cats quickly fell quiet.
"Thank you, Grayflower." Grayflower nodded. "Lilypetal has been wrongfully accused of treachery and banished from her clan." There were several horrified gasps from the cats gathered, but Quickstar swept on. "She came back to apologize for the attack this morning. She did not ask for a home here, but we offered her one. It would have been a shame to let such loyalty, hard-work, and talent go to waste as a rogue." He echoed her thoughts. "You will treat her as you would any denmate. She will be included in patrols, she will go to gatherings, and she will do all the things a regular Littleclan warrior would do." His words were met by silence. He leaped down from the rock. "This meeting is at an end." The cats broke up into small groups, muttering amongst themselves. She heard Yellowheart, heavy with her kits, speaking to Quailheart.
"I'm worried about the kits!" Yellowheart exclaimed. "How do we know this cat is trustworthy? For Starclan's sakes she attacked our camp this morning!"
"I agree, Yellowheart. This is something only a weak cat like Quickstar would pull." Quailheart growled. Briarheart quickly stepped in.
"Oh really, Quickstar is a weak cat?" Brairheart meowed, bristling. "He wasn't so weak last leaf-bare, when you were Quailpaw, and he saved you from that Nightclan warrior! He lost a life for you, and here you are complaining like an elder!" She hissed. Quailheart started to protest, but Briarheart continued. "Well, if you like the life of an elder so much, why don't you go spend some time with them, clear out their bedding, put mouse-bile on their ticks, things like that." She meowed.
"But that's an apprentice job!" Quailheart wailed.
"That's just too bad!" She hissed, and spun around, ignoring the frightened look from Yellowheart. Quailheart deserved her punishment, no matter what Yellowheart thought. Still fuming, Briarheart padded toward Quickstar, but stopped when she saw him talking to Reedfur.
"Will you help me Reedfur?" She heard him ask. "I need you to show Lilypetal around. The best places to hunt, and HOW to hunt, in such dense undergrowth." Reedfur nodded.
"Sure, Quickstar."
"Thank you, Reedfur." He meowed, and padded away. Smart choice. She thought. I never once heard her protest.
"Lilypetal!" Briarheart called. She waited until Lilypetal had padded up to her, then meowed "Come on, I'll show you to the warrior's den, and we can get you settled." Lilypetal nodded her thanks. Briarheart padded beside her, protecting her from the threatening, hostile glares from the other cats. Suddenly Flameclaw appeared on Lilypetal's other side. "Right here." Briarheart meowed, pointing towards an empty nest. "Between Reedfur and I."
"Thanks!" Lilypetal purred.
The next morning, Briarheart awoke and padded into the clearing. She noticed a small group of her cats clustered together near the Elders' Den. Gingertail, Grayflower, Yellowheart, and Frostpaw. She moved closer to listen.
"We can't trust her!" She heard a cat hiss. The voice was Gingertail's. "She must be here to spy! She led an attack on our camp yesterday, for Starclan's sake!" Briarheart growled, but restrained, so she could hear the assembled cats' response.
"Why else would she be here?" A cat, Grayflower, asked. "That story she told yesterday was a load of fox dung! Surely she's hear to spy!" The cats all meowed their agreement. Briarheart stepped forward and hissed, scaring the cats. Frostpaw's green eyes were wide with fear and anger of what she'd just heard, stirred into her by her mentor.
"Just what do you all think you're doing?" Briarheart hissed. "A clan leader's word is law, Quickstar is our leader, and Lilypetal is staying. Now, go find yourselves something useful to do, instead of standing here gossiping." She hissed, spinning around and stalking across the clearing, the eyes of the assembled cats following her the whole way.