"Why—why did you take me along?" asked Flintpaw as they neared the ThunderClan border. "Sorry."
"You are my apprentice," Foxstar meowed slowly, his deep, quiet words slurred slightly. "and you are to see what punishments I do to… cats who are not worthy of their life. Cats who have committed crimes…"
Is escaping you really a crime? Flintpaw shivered.
"I…I am honored to see," he managed to choke out. Foxstar said nothing. Without hesitation, he stepped over the border and continued walking the same pace on ThunderClan territory.
Flintpaw, of course, had never been on ThunderClan territory, but all he had to do was follow Foxstar; the russet warrior walked confidently, twisting around the woods, avoiding the poison ivy, as if he walked around every day and this was his own territory.
They neared tangle of bushes. This is ThunderClan camp?
Foxstar ducked under a small lump of missing twigs and crawled through. Flintpaw followed, the sharp, broken twigs jabbing into his skin like Foxstar's claws. Used to this, Flintpaw didn't flinch.
When he crawled out, his eyes widened. He was standing on the edge of a gorge. Below them was a vast pit, a rocky canyon that stretched fathoms deep. Foxstar picked his way down the rocky slopes, Flintpaw following him carefully.
A blue gray tom Flintpaw recognized from Gatherings as Beetlestar, the leader of ThunderClan, padded over at once from his place at a conversation.
"I think I know what this is about," he meowed, narrowing his eyes, rather bravely, Flintpaw thought.
"The warriors," were all Foxstar said.
"I knew it," Beetlestar sighed in defeat. "They're on patrol right now."
"I can wait," Foxstar replied simply, waving his tail carelessly. "Why don't we talk for a while? Flintpaw…"
"He can explore the camp," sighed Beetlestar. "Why did you bring him here, though?"
"He is my apprentice," Foxstar said succinctly. Beetlestar didn't seem to understand, but he said nothing more.
Yeah, I don't know either.
"Grasspaw, go with Flintpaw and show him around, will you?" called Beetlestar. A gray tom hurried over.
"My apprentice is perfectly capable of taking care of himself," Foxstar murmured audibly. Flintpaw felt a surge of pride.
"Well, this is ThunderClan territory," retorted Beetlestar. "I set the rules."
Foxstar looked sideways at him, and the blue gray leader gulped. "Let us… talk," Foxstar repeated.
"Come on," Grasspaw murmured to Flintpaw. "Let them take care of leader business. I'll show you around."
Flintpaw followed Grasspaw around, meeting the ThunderClan warriors. He could see why Brackenheart and Minttooth wanted to come here; compared to ShadowClan, it was like StarClan; the clearing was full of talk, the latest gossip about the other Clans. Warriors slacked around, sharing tongues and eating prey together, talking. Everyone looked happy, content. In ShadowClan, warriors padded around fearfully every day, always glancing behind their backs. Even now, Flintpaw kept glancing back at Foxstar, who was talking to Beetlestar. They hadn't moved.
"It's safe," reassured Grasspaw, "you've got nothing to worry about here."
"You always have to worry when he's around," Flintpaw said.
"Is it really that bad?" frowned Grasspaw, stopping at a distance from the leaders.
"Yeah," sighed Flintpaw. Grasspaw reminded Flintpaw of Thistlestar the StarClan cat; he was a cat Flintpaw felt like he could trust, even if they were from different Clans.
Quietly, he briefly told Grasspaw about life under Foxstar. The gray apprentice's eyes widened. "But that's horrible! Why would he—"
"Shhh!" Flintpaw meowed frantically as Beetlestar glanced their way. Foxstar didn't seem to notice, but you never knew, really.
Flintpaw was talking with Grasspaw and his new friend Mallowfur when four cats, purring loudly and talking, strode in. Brackenheart and Minttooth were with them.
When the two former ShadowClan warriors spotted Foxstar, they froze, along with their new Clanmates. The entire ThunderClan seemed to suddenly stop breathing. Grasspaw and Mallowfur fell silent.
Run, thought Flintpaw frantically, run and never come back!
Foxstar saunted over to them, his expression unreadable. The camp was so quiet Flintpaw could hear every single one of Foxstar's pawsteps.
"So," Foxstar meowed slowly, "you left me. Us. ShadowClan."
The two warriors said nothing, but met Foxstar's gaze evenly.
"Alright," Foxstar continued stoically. "I accept your decision."
Brackenheart and Minttooth exchanged an surprised glance. Flintpaw pricked his ears. Did he just hear what the russet warrior just said? "I accept you decision?"