Chapter Twenty

I was sitting inside the ShadowClan medicine den, off to the side while Clanmates were reunited. Whiteclaw and Snowtail were the names of the two cats inside the medicine den, and they were the only warriors. With them was one elder, Frosty-eyes, the medicine cat, Scarfang, two queens named Splashpelt and Sorrelflight, and two other warriors that were not in the best condition. These two were named Freezebreath and Wildheart. Wildheart had a scratch along his flank and a torn ear, both of which were wrapped heavily in cobwebs. Freezebreath was worse off, for he couldn't even stand. His left hind leg appeared broken, and he was covered from nose to tail in scratches.

These eight cats were all crammed into one den, and now four more cats were piled in with them. It was hard to even breathe, and I considered leaving to wait outside. I figured, though, that I should hear Eaglestrike's plan, for apparently it was news to all of us except him.

"Why'd you bring a ThunderClan cat, Eaglestrike?" meowed Freezebreath grouchily.

Runningshadow answered. "StarClan sent her to us. She said her mother led her to where we were hiding, and Eaglestrike said he knew her."

"We met at the Gathering," added Eaglestrike.

Scarfang turned to look at me. I shrank against his stare. He was a complete opposite to Flameflower. His fur was dark, rusty red, and his yellow eyes were glowing in eerie way. His pelt was covered in scars, and he didn't look like a medicine cat, he looked like an elder that should have joined StarClan long ago.

"Ah, yes. Amberpaw, is it?"

I looked away in discomfort. "Uh, no, Lightningpaw," I said nervously. Had StarClan been telling him about me too? Did all the medicine cats know my secrets?

"Liar!" Scarfang's sharp yowl made us all jump. All eyes turned to me. My pelt burned in nervousness, I didn't know what to say.

"Uh… well, it used to be Amberpaw. Now it's Lightningpaw, okay?"

Scarfang's eyes narrowed at me. He stared me down for a long while before finally muttering, "Fine." Then, he turned to Eaglestrike. "So, tell us about this plan of yours."

"First, I'll need you to tell me everything you know about the current camp situation," Eaglestrike said.

Snowtail helped us out here. She explained that after Twoclaw had been found dead beside the Thunderpath, and Bonestar's cats had returned in horrible condition, Bonestar had announced to the entire Clan his plans. Snowtail didn't say his exact words, but he essentialy said that he wanted to take over all the Clans, starting with ThunderClan, and create one giant empire to rule the forest. He made it sound reasonable, like it would get rid of pointless battles and skirmishes, but his plans for combining the Clans were violent and ambitious. He planned to kill any cat that didn't agree. He asked the warriors that had not joined him to do so. A couple of them did, and those that didn't were imprisoned immediately, along with those he considered useless, like elders. Splashpelt and Sorrelflight's kits had been taken from them, to be apprenticed way too early. Freezebreath and Wildheart had resisted being imprisoned, and that's how they had been injured.

In addition, Bonestar was getting warriors any way he could, taking in ruthless rogues with no respect for the warrior code. He was planning an invasion of ThunderClan very soon, and that's what the investigations on our territory had been about. He wasn't sending them anymore, he was only preparing. Warriors were expected to hunt for themselves and only themselves. A ruthless fighter with no skill in strategy or thinking was named deputy, his name Tanglesnake. Two sets of guards were constantly outside the medicine den, one for daytime and one for night. Each guard consisted of four strong warriors. They brought prey once a day, but not nearly enough, and Scarfang was out of herbs to treat Freezebreath and Wildheart.

"I have an idea," meowed Eaglestrike when Snowtail was done. "But for it to work, you will all have to stay in here and not make a sound until I come back to get you. In the meantime, you all need to rest and prepare to leave. Tonight."

Eaglestrike left the den after explaining his plan, and receiving what supplies he would need from Scarfang. While he was gone, I figured I might as well get some sleep, since I felt like I hadn't slept in ages.

Runningshadow nudged me awake when darkness fell. We were about to see whether or not Eaglestrike would succeed at his mission. At sunset, the guard changed, and at moonhigh, we heard Eaglestrike's voice outside the den, coming from inside the camp.

"Hey, guys," he said to the guards, talking to them like old friends.

"What's up, Eaglestrike?" meowed one of the toms. "Glad you finally decided to come back and join us today."

"Me too," smiled Eaglestrike. "I hated being on my own without my Clan."

We all waited in tense silence.

"What'ya got there, handsome?" A she-cat's voice. Snowtail stiffened when she called Eaglestrike "handsome".

"I caught some mice for you guys," said Eaglestrike. "Thought you'd get hungry."

"Thanks."

I heard the faint sounds of voices as the cats dug in. Eventually, though, the voices died away, and there was only a soft thud as each one fell to the ground, dead asleep.

Eaglestrike stepped into the den through the entrance, grinning broadly. "Poppy seeds," he laughed. "They worked! Let's get out of here!"

We all grinned and left the den, looking down at the fallen warriors as we did. One poppy seed was perfect for dulling pain and causing drowsiness. Eaglestrike had added two to each warrior's mouse. They would be in a heavy sleep for a while.

Freezebreath had to lean on Duskclaw to walk, but everyone else could walk by themselves. Our group made our way hastily out of camp. A collective breath of relief was let out when we finally left.

We headed back to the makeshift camp, where the loyal ShadowClan warriors waited. The return of their friends was well celebrated, but Eaglestrike interrupted the happy reunion by raising his head and calling, "Let all cats still loyal to the warriors code join me here beneath StarClan for a Clan meeting!"

A few cats laughed at this makeshift call, and Eaglestrike smiled, but many took it completely seriously.

"We cannot remain this close to Bonestar. He is plotting to take over the Clans, one at a time, starting with ThunderClan. I have decided," he said, pausing, "that we must warn ThunderClan. Sunhigh tomorrow, we will head straight to their camp. If they choose to trust us, I will propose that we join forces against Bonestar in exchange for letting us stay at their camp."

Freezebreath chuckled halfheartedly. "Come on, who died and made you leader, mouse-brain?" He said it jokingly, but half the cats there turned to glare at him, not giving a piece of dirt about the fact that he was injured.

"If you think there is a cat better suited to lead us, so be it. Does anyone think someone else should lead?" Eaglestrike waited for someone to speak up.

After a few heartbeats of silence, Snowtail meowed, "Eaglestrike is the bravest and most loyal among us. We all trust him to lead, correct?"

Meows of agreement rose from every cat, and Freezebreath nodded too. "I was only joking. Sorry."

Eaglestrike nodded. "So, do we all agree with this plan?"

Another chorus of agreeing mews came from the cats gathered.

"Very well, we will depart tomorrow. Take the last bit of nighttime to rest, everyone. We must be ready to leave at sunhigh."

I tried to make a comfortable spot to sleep, but with difficulty. Runningshadow invited Snowtail and I to a sort of makeshift den she shared with Nightbreeze and a she-cat called Heatherberry. I gratefully agreed and joined them.

All four of the ShadowClan she-cats were very friendly towards me. They asked about my life in ThunderClan – my friends, my training. Eventually the conversation turned to toms, as I knew it would. Nightbreeze had previously had a mate, Owltalon, but he had joined Bonestar and she no longer cared for him. Heatherberry had a crush on Duskclaw. Runningshadow was Whiteclaw's mate, and Snowtail was Eaglestrike's. Once I learned this about each of them, they all wanted to know if I had a special tom back in ThunderClan.

"Well… sort of," I said. I knew I'd have to explain more after saying that, so I don't know what made me say it. I guess I just liked spending time with these she-cats, just like I liked spending time with Mistyfur.

"Oh oh oh!" purred Heatherberry. "Tell us more, now please!"

I laughed. "Well… his name is Forestpaw. He… well, I think he likes me, but I'm not sure if I like him or not."

"Tell us about him," said Runningshadow.

"He's a grey tabby, about my age. He has these really bright green eyes…" I trailed off a moment, then caught myself. "He's still learning to hunt and fight, but he's super intelligent, and kind. He comforts me when I have nightmares or bad days…"

"It sounds like you do like him," purred Snowtail. We all giggled. I wondered if I really did like Forestpaw. If I did, what did that mean? Would we become mates? Have kits, after all this is over?

I didn't want to think about it. The subject was changed, and eventually we all drifted off to sleep.

Of course, though, Forestpaw just had to appear in my dreams. It was bits and fragments of moments that hadn't happened, but they were happy, perfect moments. Us laughing and playing in the sandy hollow. Sitting together in the branches of a tree watching the sun set. Me staring into his eyes, not seeing anything else expect that bright green…

I vaguely heard Rainstep's voice, from when she was telling me about Thorn. She had said that he hadn't needed anybody, until he fell in love with her.

I don't need anybody.

Except maybe Forestpaw.