Chapter 8
The scent of Shadowclan was soon fresh within the Thunderclan camp. Cats either came out of their dens and got into battle stances or perked up in alarm. Everyone was tense and for good reason, Shadowclan has a reputation for being fierce, battle-hungry warriors. The fact that their medicine cat is missing would cause any kind of fight, so everyone was on edge. Thankfully, Crickethop jumped over the camp entrance and wasn't scared or injured. Everyone started to calm down, a little bit. Whitestorm entered the camp with a dark brown tom with darker stripes, bent tail, and orange eyes, a light silver tom with darker stripes, and light aqua eyes, a large white tom with black ears, paws, and amber eyes, and a dark brown tom with scars on his face, and orange eyes. Bluestar came out of den and approached the dark brown tom with the bent tail. The warriors sat by the entrance and everyone kept an eye on the warriors. Suspicious glances blazed both sides and cats were ready to attack if any of the Shadowclan warriors slipped up. The apprentices looked at the Shadowclan warriors and Sandpaw, Dustpaw, Chestnutpaw, and Greypaw shared the same suspicious glances everyone else had and Ravenpaw and Firepaw looked intimidated. Bluestar and the dark brown tom with a bent tail went into her den and everyone was casually whispering to each other. Chestnutpaw leaned into Firepaw's ear.
"Do you see those cats over there? That's Boulder, Blackfoot, and Clawface." He whispered.
"And the cat with the bent tail?" Firepaw meowed confused.
"That's Brokentail. I'm surprised he's here with a patrol, I figure he'd come here alone." Greypaw meowed surprised.
"Maybe he thought that Thunderclan had taken his mother on purpose and he didn't want to take any chances." Sandpaw guessed.
"Perhaps, but why isn't Raggedstar here himself?" Dustpaw asked confused.
"I've heard that Windclan and Shadowclan were at it again. Maybe Raggedstar was too injured to come." Ravenpaw meowed.
"Maybe. I wonder what Brokentail's going to say." Sandpaw meowed.
Suddenly, Bluestar and Brokentail left the den and climbed down the highrock. They looked at Firepaw and Firepaw thought he felt a shiver down his spine when he saw Brokentail's icy stare. Brokentail approached him and everyone was alarmed; they wondered if Brokentail was going to do anything stupid. The other apprentices backed up as Brokentail approached them and he was furious.
"So, you're the apprentice that burned my mother, eh?" he growled.
"I…I…" Firepaw stammered.
"HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW THAT WAS THE SHADOWCLAN MEDICIENE CAT?! DID YOU EVEN ASK WHO SHE WAS?!" Brokentail asked enraged.
"Brokentail, it's not Firepaw's fault. He's only been an apprentice for a few days, plus, he's never been to a gathering. You can't expect him to know everything in just a few days." Bluestar pointed out.
"HE SHOULD'VE ASKED WHO SHE WAS BEFORE HE ATTACKED HER! You above all cats should know that!" Brokentail yowled.
"Now, Now Brokentail, there's no need to yell." A rasp voice spoke.
Everyone looked and saw Yellowfang leaving Spottedleaf's den. Yellowfang still had the burns on her body, but there were herbs on her and she had a weak smile. Brokentail approached her and they touched noses.
"I was worried about you, mom. Me, Wishsong, Hopewing, Runningnose, dad, and the whole clan was worried about you." He meowed.
"I know, sweetie, but everything is fine. There's no need for you to be here, what happened was an accident, I promise." Yellowfang assured.
"I…I guess that's true." Brokentail murmured.
Both cats looked at Firepaw, than at Spottedleaf.
"Spottedleaf, can you if give us a few minutes alone in your den?" Yellowfang asked.
"Yes, of course Yellowfang." She nodded.
Yellowfang nodded a thank you, then she and Brokentail went into Spottedleaf's den. Spottedleaf went to Bluestar while everyone was keeping an eye on Spottedleaf's den. No one could hear about what the conversation was about, so cats whispered on what they might be saying to each other. The other apprentices approached Firepaw.
"Are you okay?" Sandpaw asked concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Firepaw meowed.
"You're lucky he didn't kill you, Brokentail has a history of breaking necks with his tail." Dustpaw scoffed.
"That's just a story, Dustpaw. No one really knows what Brokentail's power is." Chestnutpaw meowed.
"No one?" Firepaw meowed confused.
"No, not really. No cat really knows what Brokentail's power is, not even Brokentail knows." Chestnutpaw explained.
"And besides, Bluestar wouldn't let Brokentail kill Firepaw, Dustpaw." Ravenpaw retorted.
Suddenly, Brokentail left Spottedleaf's den, walked past the apprentices, and approached Bluestar and Spottedleaf.
"We've decided that mom should stay here and be treated for her injuries. Tell me, how long will it for the burns to heal?" Brokentail asked.
"It should take about a moon or two, it usually depends though." Spottedleaf explained.
"Alright, I'll go tell dad about what happened and I'm sure he'll understand." Brokentail meowed.
"Thank you, Brokentail. I promise your mother will well taken care of here." Bluestar promised.
"And what about Firepaw? Will he be punished?" Brokentail asked.
"I have a punishment in mind." Bluestar meowed.
Brokentail didn't respond, he walked past Bluestar and headed to the camp entrance.
"Make sure your apprentice knows about the other clans, Bluestar." Brokentail meowed.
He motioned for Boulder, Clawface, and Blackfoot to follow him and all four cats left the camp. Runningwind and Crickethop followed them to escort them to the border. Yellowfang poked her head out of Spottedleaf's den and watched on. Bluestar climbed the highrock and silently called for a meeting. Everyone gathered around and waited to see what Bluestar would say about this and Firepaw's punishment. Firepaw was nervous, as he hoped that his punishment wasn't too severe. Once Runningwind and Crickethop returned safely, everyone looked back at Bluestar.
"Bluestar, should we be worried about Shadowclan?" Smallear asked concerned.
"Before I get to that, Frostfur, Goldenflower, Speckletail, and Brindleface, a few days ago, me and Firepaw spotted a fox near the owl tree, but now Dustpaw and Sandpaw say they have seen it near the camp. I want all of you to guard the nursery carefully and patrols will keep an eye out." Bluestar meowed.
"Of course, thank you Bluestar." Frostfur meowed.
"Now, as for Shadowclan, I'm afraid our suspicions on Shadowclan and Windclan being at it again is true. Before we found Firepaw and Yellowfang, we scented blood on the other side of the Windclan border, but the border itself was recently marked, but it was clear there was a battle." Bluestar announced.
Cats whispered and murmured to one another; some were concerned, others were worried, and some were not surprised. Firepaw looked at Smallear and he was looking down, his ears flattened, and his eyes were narrow.
"So, the rumors are true." He meowed.
"Is Thunderclan going to be caught in the crossfire?" Dappletail asked concerned.
"Especially after what Firepaw did to Yellowfang?" Halftail added.
"Are you suggesting that my son won't keep his word?" Yellowfang growled.
"You tell us? Can we even trust Shadowclan?!" Darkstripe hissed.
"Enough, both of you! I know Raggedstar and Brokentail and I know that they won't attack the clan if Yellowfang is being cared for here." Bluestar meowed.
"So what about Firepaw, is he going to be punished?" Tigerclaw asked.
"Firepaw is my apprentice, I will let that be my problem." Bluestar meowed.
Firepaw wasn't sure if he should feel hurt by that or not. He looked around and saw cats were looking at him and whispering about him; some were impressed with his fighting ability, others were angry that he almost started a war with Shadowclan.
"Meeting dismissed!" Bluestar yowled.
Cats started splitting up and heading back to their dens or whatever they were doing. Firepaw watched Bluestar climb down the highrock and approach Lionheart. The other apprentices approached Firepaw.
"Hey, is everything alright?" Sandpaw asked gently.
"Yeah…why is Shadowclan and Windclan fighting each other, exactly?" Firepaw asked.
"Shadowclan has a history of having hunger for more territory. They've started quarrels with Thunderclan, Riverclan, and Windclan in the past, but now they've been fighting Windclan for moons." Ravenpaw explained.
"But why Windclan, their territory is nothing but a open moor. Why would Shadowclan want Windclan's territory?" Firepaw asked confused.
"I don't know, but Shadowclan claims that Windclan hunts on their territory and Windclan claims that Shadowclan hunts on their territory. Either way, they're two quarreling clans." Chestnutpaw explained.
Before Firepaw could say something, he saw Bluestar and Lionheart approach him and the other apprentices backed up a bit.
"Firepaw, while your attentions were good, you should know that if you see an intruder, it's important to confront them before you attack them first, so to make up for your mistake, you will tend to Yellowfang. You will provide prey for her, fetch fresh bedding, clear away her dirt, and treat her wounds if they get infected. You'll feel no shame from looking after her, she's an elder and a healer, so you'll be taking care of her the same way you taken care of the elders. Do you understand, Firepaw?" Bluestar meowed.
"Yes Bluestar" he nodded.
"Good." She nodded.
Bluestar and Lionheart walked away, leaving Firepaw alone to accept his punishment. The other apprentices looked at him, wondering about his reaction to the punishment. Suddenly, Firepaw heard snickering and looked behind him. Longtail looked at Firepaw with a smirk.
"Way to go Firepaw, not bad for a kittypet." He grunted.
Longtail then walked away, leaving Firepaw alone once again, with his thoughts.
