Chapter 6

Lionblaze stared at the huge creatures towering over them. Two of them had white, short fur and longer muzzles. They were the largest, but another "bear" beside them looked more menacing. He had shaggy, dark brown fur, glistening black eyes, large claws protruding from his paws, and a hump on his shoulders. The black one was a bit smaller, with large ears and a friendly smile on her face.

Jayfeather whispered in awe. "Spottedleaf said they were big. But I never imagined…"

Lionblaze nodded, awe-struck. "What are they called?"

Jayfeather frowned. "The white she-bear is called Kallik, and the other is Yakone. The brown bear is Toklo. The black one is Lusa."

"Oh."

Lusa barked something and held out her front paw in greeting. Lionblaze withdrew a tentative paw and touched it, aware how the bear could crush it with ease. But her eyes flashed in happiness and she spoke something to the other bears.

The brown one, Toklo, looked at Lionblaze with hard eyes and waved his paw beckoningly. Go on. Lionblaze swallowed a lump in his throat. "Bramblestar?"

His leader was quivering slightly, but his voice was steady. "Let's go."

He kinked his tail and they followed him into the forest, the bears trampling along behind them. Lionblaze winced at the sound. "They'll chase away all the prey in our territory with this noise."

Bramblestar's eyes narrowed. "Prey is hardly the important thing now."

Lionblaze silently agreed.

Soon, they were at the camp. Bramblestar slowed down and showed the bears the entrance to the camp. Lusa's ears were pricked up with excitement as she rumbled something to the others. Kallik started shaking with laughter until Toklo prodded her with a large paw. The meaning was clear. Shut up.

Cats parted way for the group as they entered the camp. Lionblaze couldn't help glancing back doubtfully. What if they eat us the moment we let down our guard? But they were the Clans' only hope. It was either that or being eaten by the raving brown bears in Shadowclan, who had evacuated to the island. From what Lionblaze had heard, Blackstar had lost a life, and Ratscar, Snowbird, and Pinenose were dead. He really hoped the rumors weren't true.

Bramblestar leaped up the rock. "Cats of Thunderclan, as you might have known, Jayfeather received a sign from Starclan. These four creatures are here to save us from the animals who drove out Shadowclan. They are 'bears'. Kallik and Yakone," Bramblestar broke off, looking pointedly at Seedpaw, who was sniggering at the names. He immediately straightened up in embarrassment. "are the white bears. Toklo is the brown, and Lusa is the black one. They will be welcomed in camp until we can find out a way to defeat the 'grizzlies' that have driven out Shadowclan."

The cats cheered half-heartedly, and the meeting broke up. Lionblaze padded up to Lusa carefully, since she looked like the friendliest. He turned to Jayfeather. "So, how do we talk to them?"

Jayfeather seemed to be lost in thought. Then, he started. "Lusa likes to eat plants. And the others all want fat juicy prey. They're really hungry from walking around the lake."

"How d'you know?" Lionblaze wondered.

Jayfeather shrugged. "Their thoughts."

"Cherrynose! Brackenfur! Take out a hunting patrol. These bears need food!" Squirrelflight called. "Try to get larger prey!"

"But there'll be no food left for us!" Bumblestripe complained. "And it's near leaf-fall now!"

"If we want to survive, we need them." Cloudtail hissed. "What would happen to us if they decided not to help? Get slaughtered, that's what."

Bumblestripe looked small as he cowered beneath Cloudtail's gaze. "Sorry."

Cloudtail snorted. "'Sorry' catches no prey. Go hunting with Cherrynose."

"Okay." Bumblestripe hurried off to join the patrol. Lionblaze purred, then padded into the nursery to check on the kits.

Cinderheart's blue eyes flashed up at him as he entered. "So, what are they like? The bears, I mean."

Lionblaze thought for a second. "Lusa seems like the friendliest. Kallik doesn't look too bad, either. But Toklo's sullen and hostile, or just being cautious. Yakone's probably Kallik's mate, they're really close."

Firekit looked up at him, his bright green gaze as piercing as his namesake's. "Wow! Bears? Can we see them?"

The other kits woke up at his sound and started clambering all over Lionblaze. "Please, oh please, Lionblaze? We really want to see them! Please please please?"

Lionblaze sighed. "No, you're too young. The bears would probably step on you."

"No, they won't!" Ashkit squeaked. "We'd shred them!" He unsheathed his tiny claws and swiped at the air. Cinderheart purred. "You'll have to wait a little while to do that! But seeif you can get a glimpse from the entrance."

Robinkit dashed to the hole, and gasped. "Whoah."

Firekit yelped and ran back to Cinderheart, followed closely by the two other kits. "They're so scary! Won't they eat us while we sleep?"

Ashkit hit him with a light paw. "No, Lionblaze will protect us. And I'd protect you too."

Lionblaze felt a surge of pride at his son, who was most like him in personality. Robinkit was more gentle and funny, like Cinderheart. Firekit was like a mixture of both.

Suddenly, he heard a roar from outside. Lionblaze leaped out of the nursery, teeth bared, preparing to protect his kits from the bears. But it turned out to be the bears fighting each other. The big white male, Yakone, was glaring at Toklo, fur bristling. Cats streamed back to their dens in fright. Bramblestar called out orders to calm the chaos. "Thunderclan! Stand your ground!"

The two males paced around like wolves. They were growling at each other, snapping with huge paws. Jayfeather's eyes were wide with fright. "Toklo doesn't want to stay here. He wants to leave."

Lionblaze turned to his brother in horror. "But he can't! We need him! The prophecy said so!"

"And that's what Yakone thinks." Jayfeather nodded toward the white bear. "Kallik and Lusa just want to keep the peace. They're not thinking about the prophecy now, so I can't tell."

Suddenly, the bears leaped at each other, claws out. Kallik cried out and pummeled Yakone away from Toklo's charge. Yakone got up, and glared at Kallik, and roared something at Toklo.

Toklo reared up on his hind paws, clawing at the air. Then Kallik firmly pressed him down and bellowed something. The two males backed off, panting hard. Ironically, Jayfeather looked like he was going to smile. Lionblaze looked at him worriedly. "What's so funny?"

Jayfeather snorted into his tail. "They have insults too."

"What?" Jayfeather was definitely crazy now.

"Fish-breath."

Lionblaze peered at his brother, who had whispered something into Dewpaw's ear. Both cats were shaking uncontrollably with laughter. Annoyed, Lionblaze flicked them with his tail. "What is it?"

"Th-they called each other names," Dewpaw choked out. "Cloud-brains. Seal-breath."

Lionblaze rolled his eyes and sighed. The fight had broken up and the cats were streaming cautiously out of their dens. The two bears were sitting away from each other, refusing to look at each other. Suddenly, Jayfeather halted. He seemed to be staring into some unknown. Lionblaze prodded him, which seemed to bring him back to reality. Jayfeather shook his head to clear it, and murmured to Lionblaze, "I just found out something! Why Toklo doesn't want to stay!"

Lionblaze stared at him. "Why?"

"When Toklo was just a cub, he was fishing with his mother at a river, when this big brown bear stole the fish Oka had just caught. Later on, after Toklo had teamed up with Lusa and another bear called Ujurak, they made it to a big lake. The same brown bear attacked Toklo there. And that brown bear is here now. He's the leader of the bears. From what I can tell, he's violent, ruthless, and blood-thirsty. He holds grudges deep. Like the bear equivalent of Tigerstar."

Lionblaze swallowed a lump in his throat. "His name?"

"Shoteka."