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Captain MeraSparrow: I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know. If I see one, I shall inform you immediately.
Chapter Seven: The Plan
The day seemed to progress slowly. There was only one bear-trap encounter that day, as luck had it, and things almost seemed back to normal. ...Besides the fact that a Twolegs was in the ThunderClan camp...
"Aren't you in any pain?" Hawkear had asked.
James snorted. "This is nothing. I've suffered worse injury than this." He winced as memories flooded his mind and hoped to high heaven that the girl was not seeing them. "Far, far worse."
Now they sat as before, silently watching the world go by. A ginger tom approached and spoke with Hawkear. "Sorry, James, I have to go train with Foxleap. Will you be all right until I get back?"
"I won't be able to understand anyone, but I don't suppose that is a problem. I daresay cats have never expressed any interest in talking to humans before, so I doubt I will be in any real need of your translations in your absence." She nodded and left him. Noon came and went. After some time, a young apprentice padded up to him. She looked up at him, mouth opening in a questioning meow. He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't understand you." She cocked her head, listening curiously to his voice, then trotted off, tail sticking straight up. She returned soon after, a mouse dangling from her teeth which she dropped at her paws, looking up at him and chirruping. "Er...thanks..." He tried not to wrinkle his nose; it was obvious the young cat was only trying to feed him.
"Cherrypaw, what are you doing?" an older apprentice cried, scampering to her friend and batting the mouse out of the Twolegs' reach. "You can't give our mice to a Twolegs!"
The tabby looked like she was about to disagree, when Firestar and his mate appeared. "Ivypaw is right," the she-cat meowed with amusement. The grey apprentice looked pleased with herself.
"Yes," Firestar agreed. "Give him one of the fish instead." Cherrypaw beamed and trotted back to the fresh-kill pile.
Ivypaw gaped at them. "What?" That was not what she had meant.
Firestar shrugged innocently. "Fish are the only things Twolegs can eat without setting fire to it." The amusement in his eyes proved he did not take the apprentice's concerns about sharing prey with one of their greatest enemies seriously. Before she could reply, he padded away. With a frustrated and confused sigh, she left to find her mentor.
Cherrypaw returned quickly, dropping one of the bear's half-eaten fish into the Twolegs' lap. "Oh... well... Thank you." It wasn't like he hadn't eaten raw fish before; and besides, he was hungry. He reached out in gratitude, but when the young cat recoiled, he withdrew with a sheepish smile. "Sorry," And he lifted the morsel and sank his teeth into the red fillet.
Pride swelled in the apprentice's little chest. She'd communicated food to a Twolegs. Just like Hawkear! If the stranger had been aware that she was being idolized by an apprentice, she would have laughed and acted as enigmatic as possible.
—
Hawkear returned late in the afternoon, after a successful and enlightening session of battle training. Brambleclaw trotted to meet her, meowing, "Firestar wants to see you." She nodded and approached him where he sat near James.
"I have an idea," he mewed when she asked him. "I want you to be the one to speak at the Gathering."
"I - what? Me? Why?"
"You have shown us nothing but loyalty, and vowed to help us even before you knew us. You have even brought us under the protection of one of our greatest enemies. And you know best what is going on around us."
"Firestar - I'm not even a Clan cat - who would listen?"
"We'll make them listen," Firestar growled. "This problem is bigger than one Clan. If they've lost something to the traps, or think they might lose something to the bear, they will listen to anyone who says they can help."
"But do I deserve it?"
"Consider it a way to honour you for what you've done."
"But I hate public speaking! Nowhere I've been has changed that, and certainly nowhere I will go." Firestar's ears twitched, as if in disappointment that she hadn't changed her mind about staying.
"You will know what to say. Brambleclaw and I will work with you on what you need to tell them. We'll be there with you. You don't have to do this alone." She nodded and bounded over to James, where he was chewing thoughtfully on a fish bone, springing into his lap and telling him excitedly about what would take place. Firestar watched her chattering away and turned to leave. It would help to have somecat who knew what she was talking about, after all. Having her would convince the others.
—
Firestar called the Clan together for a meeting. "I have an announcement. At the Gathering, Hawkear will present the dilemma to the other Clans." This was met with yowls of disapproval.
"How can you say that? She's not a part of ThunderClan! She's not even a warrior! It'll make us look weak in the eyes of the other Clans."
"It is because she is an outsider that I have chosen her," Firestar explained when the noise had quieted down. "She can present the problem in an unbiased way so that the other Clans do not simply think ThunderClan is too weak or too selfish to solve its own problems. And she is the one who knows the most about bears. Without her, we may not be able to give the others a clear view of the danger at paw." Cats were nodding in understanding. "If there is any cat here who thinks she will betray ThunderClan, speak now." No cat spoke. "Will you have her?" They meowed their approval, and it was settled.
James had watched all of this with an indifferent eye. Or rather, he very much wanted to jump to the defense of his aunt, but was painfully unable to interfere. Amy was not the only one who breathed a sigh of relief at the cats' acceptance.
Night fell.
The Twolegs lay with his back against a wall of the hollow, curled up on his good side, knees drawn up for warmth in the surprising coolth of this night. Hawkear stood guard in silent vigil nearby, tail wrapped around her paws as she listened to the forest for signs of danger. Cherrypaw joined them, and at length, so did other apprentices.
"Aw, Mom, we wanna help keep him warm," Hawkear heard a kit reasoning with his mother.
"No," she hissed softly. "Twolegs, however nice they may seem, are always dangerous."
"But he's different," a littermate protested, "Jayfeather said so."
Eventually, the little family curled up against the Twolegs. More and more warriors came to join them, until all but a few were surrounding them and keeping their visitor warm as he slept.
Observing him sleeping as she hadn't before, Hawkear noticed at length that he twitched as he dreamed, much like many of the cats around him. "Neh...neh... Muffins," she heard him saying as she listened to his thoughts. She had to bury her muzzle in her paws to suppress the uncontrollable laughter that followed. Once calmed, she settled into the peacefully noisy silence as it mingled with the equally noisy silence of the forest.
—
Hawkear stared at the translucent chrysalis with longing, saddened green eyes. It hung nestled in the branches of a massive thornbush, safe from most danger. "Jack," she whispered to it. "I'll come for you soon."
Two nights had passed since the incident with the bear. James, with Jayfeather's approval, had left on schedule. "Don't forget to call in to the circus," she had reminded him.
Now, Hawkear, Firestar, his deputy, and those he had chosen to join them (after having solemnly sworn not to mention James to any cat) had made their way to the Island for the Gathering. Cats of all Clans had trekked to this island to share news under the sacred truce of the full moon. They were busy chatting with friends of other Clans in the clearing at the centre of the Island. An enormous tree with several low, bare branches overlooked the clearing. It was from here that the leaders, perched on the thickest, lowest branch, their deputies sitting on the roots below, yowled for silence. The Clans quieted to pay attention, and the leaders began to share their news.
"ShadowClan has a few new additions; Kinkfur has had her kits," announced Blackstar. The cats in the clearing cheered "However, the Twolegs' traps have increased in number. None of our cats have been caught in any of them."
Oh, Blackstar, thought Hawkear with amused reproach, ever unwilling to make the Clan seem weak.
The ShadowClan leader stepped back, and Mistystar took her turn. "RiverClan has new apprentices this moon." The Clans cheered the apprentices' names, before Mistystar continued. "There are not as many traps on our territory as before. However, a quarter-moon ago our warriors found great pawprints and the remains of dead fish in our territory." Hawkear pricked her ears. "Whatever it was has moved off, but its tracks led into WindClan territory."
WindClan's leader took this as his cue to begin. "Yes, WindClan have seen these also, as well as scores of claw marks on a few trees." Many of the cats below looked at one another and shifted from paw to paw apprehensively.
Finally, Firestar's turn came. "ThunderClan, too, has seen these signs WindClan and RiverClan have seen, and more. The creature seems to have settled on our territory and came very close to discovering our camp." Hawkear breathed a sigh of relief that he had not mentioned James. Brambleclaw brushed his tail understandingly against her paws, an ear flicking momentarily toward her. Firestar, meanwhile, went on to describe the bear in much detail. The RiverClan and WindClan cats looked at one another with wide, frightened eyes, now knowing what had only very recently been on their territories. The ThunderClan cats were nodding in agreement (some with tails fluffed out in memory), however the ShadowClan cats looked a bit smugger than usual. Firestar turned to the other leaders. "I come to you now to ask for your help. Through carefully watching the bear in the way it reacted to our warriors," he said, "we have seen its movements as playful, though subject to change if it recognizes aggression. And through a small incident with a Twolegs," small?, "we have found out that it escaped from its own Twolegs. A rogue told us that its Twolegs are searching for it at the Greenleaf Twolegplace bordering ShadowClan and RiverClan. What we ask of you is that you help us to lead it to that place, where its Twolegs will find it and take it away."
"That would require crossing enemy territory," Mistystar pointed out.
"But it would benefit RiverClan as much as anyone else."
"WindClan will help you," Onestar announced.
"Thank you," Firestar said with relief, the warmth in his eyes showing their old friendship.
"This bear has only recently been on WindClan territory, and it may decide to return. It is better to face it now with the aid of other Clans than to face it alone."
Mistystar was nodding her head also. "We have fish to spare that might add to a trail it could follow. RiverClan will help you as well." Firestar mewed his gratitude.
"Well ShadowClan won't," Blackstar growled. "I'm not risking my warriors to save your Clan."
"We'll need everyone's help if we are going to succeed," Onestar entreated.
"This bear has not trod on ShadowClan territory. It is no problem of ours."
"That's not necessarily true," Jayfeather interjected. "Have you noticed the direction the bear is moving? RiverClan, WindClan, ThunderClan... If it continues around the lake, it's inevitable that it will enter your territory. And then it will continue moving around the Lake and harassing all the Clans and acting as a constant threat. Its Twolegs will scour every pawstep of every territory looking for it. No cat will be safe."
"But only if it decides to move, and that's a very big if," Blackstar protested. "Firestar said it himself that this bear has settled on his territory." Blackstar contemplated the ThunderClan leader wordlessly for long moments before raising his voice so that all could hear; "ShadowClan will lend whatever help it can to ensure that the bear has left the forest."
"Thank you, Blackstar," Firestar said with great relief.
"Don't think I'm doing it for you," the ShadowClan leader growled. "Besides... there should always be four Clans at the Lake."
Hawkear sensed Brambleclaw's amusement. "But this still does not answer what we will do," Mistystar pointed out.
"And that's where we tell you the second part of our news," meowed Brambleclaw as Hawkear appeared from behind him. There was a collective gasp, and several cats murmured apprehensively.
"Who is that?" Onestar demanded sharply.
"This is Hawkear," Firestar announced. "She is a rogue who has traveled all over, studying Twolegs and predators like bears for the benefit of other cats."
"And is she joining ThunderClan too?" one cat yowled, showing his disdain for the number of outcasts Firestar had allowed into the Clan.
Brambleclaw's pelt bristled beside Hawkear as the challenge to his leader's wisdom. "No," the ginger cat answered firmly. "She is only here so long as the bear is, and then she will be leaving." This seemed to quiet the discontent. "Hawkear has worked with me and many of our warriors to devise a plan."
"Well? Tell us then," encouraged Mistystar, shifting aside so that Hawkear could leap up onto the branch amid the other leaders.
Stage fright overcame the tabby for a moment, before she sought out her friends in ThunderClan and the familiar faces of others. "We all need to work together to lead the bear to the Greenleaf Twolegplace. My thinking: set a trail of food. RiverClan can catch fish for it to eat, and other Clans can gather berries and small animals."
"But we need that food to survive!"
"It's either give your food to the bear and eat the leftovers, or don't be there to eat at all."
"And if it doesn't follow that trail?" demanded Tornear of WindClan.
Hawkear rolled her eyes with a flick of her tail and a twitch of her ears. "I was getting to that. ShadowClan, being the best at hiding and stalking, can keep a close eye on the bear's actions. If it doesn't take the bait, some cat can alert WindClan. WindClan are the fastest cats, or so it is seen, and therefore would face the least danger in this next task: the bear is playful and interprets cats as others to play with, although his play is much too dangerous for we who are not bears. The idea is that WindClan can appear playful and lead it on a chase or a progressive game of tag."
"And what are RiverClan and ThunderClan doing?" Blackstar sneered disdainfully.
"RiverClan are supplying precious prey, and hosting the chase in their territory. ThunderClan is doing the same, as well as helping to lead the chase with those of us who may be quick enough. If any cat tires, he or she can jump into a tree or a thicket. Bears can climb trees, yes, but cats are much more agile, and if another cat can continue the chase where one leaves off, the bear should not follow up into the branches." She allowed time for her logic to sink in, muttering a little to herself with a sigh.
After such a long time, Blackstar swallowed and said, "Very well. When shall we put your plan into action?"
Hawkear was silent for another few moments, quickly asking James when the circus would be returning. "Three days," she announced.
"Preparations should begin immediately," Onestar pointed out. The other leaders agreed, and there followed a detailed discussion concerning territories and crossing the borders before the Gathering was finally pronounced over and all the Clans returned home.
Three days, Jack, Hawkear thought as she padded back toward ThunderClan territory, remembering the chrysalis in the bush. Three days.
