"So... Cougarstrike, is it?" Willow's voice was pleasant and friendly. "That's an... intimidating name!"
The big scarred tom just gave a curt nod in response.
"Oh, don't be rude, Cougar. She's just being friendly!" Robinfrost was her old self again, giving her clanmate a jovial shove. "Why don't you tell her how you got your name?"
He gave her an irritated glance, but obliged.
"Fought a mountain lion."
"Really?" Willow said, awestruck. "When? How? By yourself?"
A smile tugged at the corner of Cougarstrike's mouth.
"Not quite by myself," he admitted. "It was about five seasons ago, just before I became a warrior."
"You weren't even a warrior yet?" exclaimed Willow. "What happened?"
Sage smiled, watching the tough warrior melt in her sister's adept paws. She had a way of charming just about anyone.
"Well, it was just a few days before my final assessment. I was out hunting with my mentor, but we were kind of working separately, so I was alone. Then I smelled something I didn't recognize."
Willow gasped. "A mountain lion?"
Cougarstrike nodded solemnly. "Yes. But I was young and foolish, and wanted to prove myself. I went to investigate instead of fetching my mentor."
Robinfrost fell behind them, stifling a laugh. "He loves telling this story," she whispered to Sage.
"...a huge animal, like a cat, but the size of a twoleg monster!"
Willow gasped.
"It was more like the size of that log over there," Robinfrost whispered, gesturing to a log about two or three fox-lengths long. It was nowhere near the size of a twoleg monster, but Sage had to admit that she was impressed nonetheless.
Robinfrost continued her whispered commentary to Sage while Cougarstrike gave his exaggerated blow-by-blow account of his fight with the mountain lion.
"Luckily, my mentor, Shadowfoot, heard the racket and arrived just in time. With him there, I finally chased off the mountain lion, before collapsing. I was badly wounded, but had hardly noticed it during the fight. That's where I got all these scars," he added.
"Wow," breathed Willow. "That was so brave of you!"
"He was barely able to stand anymore when Shadowfoot got there," whispered Robinfrost. "But to be fair, he was still fighting, and the mountain lion had a few wounds of its own. Probably kept some scars as souvenirs, courtesy of Palepaw."
"Palepaw?" Sage asked.
"Yeah, that was Cougarstrike's name before... I'll let him tell this part." Robinfrost smiled.
"So then, after it was gone, Shadowfoot carried me back to camp. The medicine cat patched me up and wanted me to stay in the medicine den, but Eaglestar wanted everyone out for a clan meeting."
"A meeting? He didn't even let you rest?"
"He said he had important clan business to attend to. So everyone gathered in the clearing, and Eaglestar did my warrior ceremony right then and there. Gave me the name Cougarstrike to honor my bravery."
"And as a reminder to exercise caution because the cougar can strike back," added Robinfrost, this time loud enough for Cougarstrike and Willow to hear.
Cougarstrike grimaced. "I was going to say that," he muttered.
Willow laughed. "I'm sure you were, Cougarstrike. I still think you were very brave."
Cougarstrike shrugged. "I've learned a lot since then. I was reckless- I'm lucky to be alive."
"Speaking of which," Robinfrost interjected, "How did you and everyone get away from the fire? What happened?"
The tom's mood suddenly changed. A shadow seemed to fall over his face.
"It was horrible. The smoke came first. It stung my eyes, and soon it was nearly impossible to see anything. Cats were panicking, running in every direction. It was chaos.
"I tried to find Eaglestar, to get directions on what to do, but I couldn't find him. The smoke was getting thicker. So I started telling every cat I saw to run towards the treebridge in the aspen grove. It got bad enough that I couldn't stay there any longer, and I ran with them. Some of the elders and younger apprentices had a hard time crossing the river, so Quietstorm and I helped them.
"I stayed in the back of the group, to watch for anyone who we might have left behind. We found our little temporary camp, and have been there since then. We were waiting for the rest of the clan to find us... but nobody came. So I sent Emberglow back to camp to look for signs of anyone. Chickadeepaw and Elkpaw insisted on going, too. Everyone else was too wounded to go, and I felt like I had to stay with the group to help how I could. You know the rest."
"Are many badly wounded?" asked Sage.
Cougarstrike seemed to have forgotten she was there. "JuniperClan is strong! We'll recover."
"I'm sure you'll be glad to have your medicine cat back, though," said Willow kindly, brushing her tail along his back.
He shrugged her off. "There's no way that old cat made it out of there alone."
"Don't say that!" said Sage. "There's still hope. We don't know that he died. The clan needs a medicine cat now more than ever! We just have to find him."
The big tom glared at her. "What do you even know, kittypet?"
Sage's fur prickled. "I'm not a kittypet!" she spat.
"You stink of twoleg filth," he snarled.
"You-"
"That's enough, Sage," snapped Willow. "Sage, you're being bossy. Cougarstrike knows what he's doing."
Her eyes were glistening and she avoided looking at Cougarstrike. "We're just trying to help," she said softly. "We can leave as soon as we find your medicine cat."
Robinfrost looked taken aback by her change of mood. "Leave? What about your kits? You need somewhere safe to have them, and you'll need help!"
"We won't overstay our welcome," Willow said simply. "We'll find somewhere else. We'll get by."
"No... I didn't mean... you don't have to go," stammered Cougarstrike. "I was just... your sister..."
"My sister is all I have left," she said firmly. "If she's not welcome, neither am I."
Sage felt a rush of gratitude for Willow. She and her sister may have their differences, but she could always depend on her to be there.
"We don't have to make any decisions now," interrupted Robinfrost. "We just need to find Thistletail and get back to the group."
Sage nodded. "Let's go." Tail high, she continued down the path.
Cougarstrike pushed past her. "You don't know where you're going. Follow me."
"As if you know where he is," Sage muttered. "You don't even believe he's alive."
"Well, if he's alive, this is where he'll be," he snapped back. "The Ancestor Grove is just ahead. It's where we bury our dead."
"He'll be at a grave site?" Willow asked.
"Either there, or just beyond it at the StarFalls."
"What are the StarFalls?" Sage asked, her curiosity overcoming her irritation.
"It's where the medicine cat goes," Robinfrost explained, "to talk to StarClan... or whatever. I'm not really sure what he does there. Thistletail won't let any cat go with him, except sometimes Eaglestar... but he didn't ever really go. He was busy with leader stuff."
Sagestar was about to ask more questions, but Cougarstrike suddenly stopped the group. "We're at the Ancestor Grove," he said. "You two, wait here. Robinfrost and I will go see if Thistletail is out there." He jerked his head towards the clearing just ahead.
"Why can't we come?" demanded Sage.
Cougarstrike scowled. "Because this place is where we bury the dead of JuniperClan," he growled. "No outsiders allowed."
"So... our father is buried there?" asked Sage.
"Your father? Why would a barn cat be here?" Cougarstrike scoffed.
"Our father was a JuniperClan warrior," Willow explained gently, before Sage could snap back at the arrogant tom. "His name was Smokewhisker."
Cougarstrike blinked in surprise, but held firm. "Just wait here."
Robinfrost gave the sisters an apologetic smile before following him into the small clearing, leaving them alone.
