Chapter 8

Bramblestar cleared his throat. "I'll start. I'm Bramblestar, leader of Thunderclan. Our previous leader, Firestar, saved the clans from the Dark Forest, who would have destroyed us if he hadn't been there. So facing another crisis so soon after that battle… the clans have had time for rest, but not enough.

"And … we all believe in Starclan, our ancestors. When we die, we go to Starclan. If we are evil villains like Tigerstar, we end up in the Dark Forest. We have a warrior code that we live by, and it makes us loyal and honorable. You'll learn more when you've been here longer."

He turned to Lionblaze. "Your turn."

"Okay." Lionblaze shifted his paws nervously. "My name's Lionblaze, as you all know. I'm a warrior, which is what we all become when we grow up, except for the medicine cats. I was part of a prophecy a few moons ago. I was blessed to be undefeatable in battle."

Bramblestar noticed Toklo's eyes gleam with interest. The big bear leaned in. "What do you mean, can't be defeated?"

Lionblaze turned to Toklo. "I can't get hurt… unless I want to."

Bramblestar could still see the scars on Lionblaze's muzzle. After he had heard about the prophecy, Bramblestar could understand why Lionblaze let Rowanclaw shred him, but it was still a mouse-brained thing to do.

Jayfeather stepped up. "I'm Thunderclan's medicine cat. I was part of the same prophecy with Lionblaze. He's my brother."

The bears started with surprise. Bramblestar supposed they were used to the same coloring between siblings.

Jayfeather continued. "I can read thoughts and feelings, too. That's how I knew Lusa liked plants and berries. But you'd better be careful." He turned his sightless eyes to Lusa. "You might eat a deathberry by mistake. I show you some edible berries later."

Lusa nodded her thanks. Then, the large brown bear, Toklo, spoke in his low growl. "I'm Toklo. My mother, Oka, drove me out after my brother Tobi died. A while later, I met this flat-face cub—"

"Flat-faces?" Bramblestar interrupted, narrowing his eyes. "What are 'flat-faces'?"

"Those creatures who walk on their hind legs and have no fur," Yakone explained. "The ones with the fire-sticks."

Lionblaze's ears pricked. "You mean, like Twolegs?"

Kallik shrugged. "If that's what you call them."

Toklo cleared her throat pointedly. Bramblestar gave him an apologetic look. "Go on."

Toklo glared at the sky. "That cub turned out to be Ujurak. He was convinced he was on a journey to somewhere, and I couldn't just let him go alone. I went with him, when Lusa showed up."

Lusa nodded. "I used to live in the Bear Bowl, a place where flat-faces took care of us." She added, seeing the confused expressions on Bramblestar's face. "One day, Toklo's mother was brought in. She told me about the wild, and about Toklo and Tobi. So I escaped and the spirits guided me to Toklo. At first he hated me—"

"I did not!" Toklo growled indignantly. "You were annoying."

Lusa rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we traveled to this place called Great Bear Lake. Bears gather there every year on the Longest Day to celebrate."

Kallik shivered, like it was a bad memory. "My mother had been killed by an orca—"

"What's that?" Lionblaze interrupted.

"Shut up!" Jayfeather hissed. "Tell you later."

Kallik continued. "My brother Taqqiq and I had been separated. We had been traveling to land, and when I finally got there, I found him… with a pack of young males that were stealing prey from the defenseless. His friend pushed me into a whirlpool for annoying them, and Lusa saved me." She blinked gratefully at the smaller bear.

Lusa blushed. "It was nothing."

"Yeah, it was." Kallik told the cats. "I would have drowned."

"So did I." Toklo butted in. "I was busy swimming to Pawprint Island. But Oka and Tobi helped me. But the reason I was doing that was because of Shoteka."

He growled. "I was chosen by Shoteka, the leader of the bears here. And when I finally settled down for a bit, that sorry excuse for a bear had to come and attack me. But I saw him off, that big brute."

"Whoah." Lionblaze looked impressed. "You defeated a full-grown bear?"

Toklo scraped the ground. Bramblestar could tell he was pleased, though. "I guess so."

"Anyway," Kallik took up the story. "Together, we stopped Taqqiq and his group. Taqqiq came with us, and we headed for the Everlasting Ice, where the spirits dance in the sky. Taqqiq—" Her voice faltered a bit. "He left, and I'm not sure where he is now. But we finally reached it, and the bears there were poisoned by flat-face stuff in the seal. Ujurak turned into a flat-face—"

"Hold on." Bramblestar frowned. "First Toklo says he saw a Twoleg that turned out to be Ujurak. Then you say he turned into a flat-face. Was he a bear or a Twoleg?"

Lusa looked grief-stricken. "He said he was a bear. He could turn into any animal, but felt most at home as a bear."

Toklo's breathing grew shallow. "He-he died saving us from an avalanche. He turned into a caribou and stopped a huge boulder."

Kallik nodded sadly. "After that, Yakone decided to stay with me." She pressed against the huge white bear. "Four came to the ice. Four left. We went south, Yakone and I were trying to find the Melting Sea. And we crossed this mountain and ended up here."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Bramblestar spoke up. "Well, now that we all know each other a bit more, let's discuss the threat of the brown bears."

Sorry, nothing interesting going on, but next chapter will be better, I promise!