"T-T-Tigerstar? I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you!" Bearpaw stuttered.
"Oh, you don't offend me, tiny kit."
Bearpaw was too afraid of the massive warrior to correct him.
"We have sensed a fierceness in you, Bearpaw. An anger, that with the correct training, can be controlled and turned into power."
Bearpaw shivered at the ominous words, and Tigerstar examined the small apprentice with one eye. "You have ambition. You want to become leader someday. I, and Poisonmist, will teach you how to become a warrior to be feared by all the Clans of the lake."
"B-but I don't want to be feared. I want to be respected." Bearpaw managed to reply.
"Young Bearpaw, to gain respect you must first gain fear." Tigerstar suddenly swiped at Bearpaw with a large, hefty paw, claws unsheathed. Bearpaw took one look at the huge, curved claws and ran.
"Bearpaw!" Poisonmist snapped. "You must come back here and fight if you ever want to become a warrior!"
"I don't need training from you to become a warrior! I can do it on my own!" Bearpaw called over his shoulder. Tigerstar leaped at him, jumping higher than any living cat could. Tigerstar landed right on Bearpaw's shoulders, and pinned him to the ground, his claws tearing into his back. "You can't run from me, little kit!" Tigerstar hissed into Bearpaw's ear. Tigerstar then let go, and stepped back. The searing pain in Bearpaw's back told him that this was more than a dream. If this were a dream, I would have woken up by now! Bearpaw stepped away from Tigerstar and Poisonmist, to begin licking his wounds.
"You need practice, so you can avoid me attacking you like that." Tigerstar mewed, as if nothing had happened. "With our training, you will know when a warrior is coming at you from three fox-lengths away."
"Bearpaw… Bearpaw!" A voice came from above the trees, and he was shaken awake.
"Bearpaw, you're going to miss your first day of training if you sleep in like this!" Rainheart was looming over him, a look of annoyance in his blue and amber eyes.
"Sorry, Rainheart. I had a bad d-" Bearpaw cut himself off, remembering the promise he had made to Poisonmist. Bearpaw noticed that there was a sharp pain in his shoulders and his back. Tigerstar must be more real than I thought. He quickly swept away the blood with his tongue before Rainheart could notice.
"Well, It's time I took you around the territory. Shiningpaw, Mantisflame, Plumepaw, and Rockwhisker are waiting for us outside camp."
Outside camp! Bearpaw scrambled to his feet, and gave himself a few quick licks to his shoulders.
"Let's go!" Bearpaw bounced out of the apprentice' den, and into the chilly leaf-fall air. He shivered, and took off toward the entrance of the hollow.
The six cats steadily made their way around the territory, checking borders as they went.
"It never hurts to check a border one extra time." Mantisflame mewed in a monotone. Shiningpaw shuttered, and kept looking around at the few barren trees and bracken scattered around the territory.
"Why do leaves fall in leafbare and leaf-fall?" Plumepaw asked halfway into the journey.
"Probably to give birds and ground prey somewhere warm to sleep." Rockwhisker replied.
"Or to roll around in!" Bearpaw joked.
Once they reached the ShadowClan border after crossing the Twoleg place, they stopped.
"I can smell ShadowClan cats on this side of the border!" Rainheart hissed at the apprentices. "Keep quiet until I sort this out." Rainheart slowly approached the ShadowClan warriors, and bushed up his fur to make himself look larger.
Voices sounded from the bushes a tail-length from the ShadowClan border.
"I think a patrol has found us!"
"Thank StarClan!"
The voices sounded husky and sore, like the cats that were speaking had been coughing a lot.
"Come out from hiding!" Rainheart called to the ShadowClan cats. Two apprentices limped from the bushes, about the same size as the RiverClan apprentices. Immediately after the two cats came from the bushes, Bearpaw smelled the rancid scent of sickness clinging to their thin pelts. One of the cats was a black tom, and the other was a skinny brown tom. Their fur was raggedy, and their eyes bloodshot- like they hadn't slept for moons.
"I-" The black apprentice began to speak, but he broke off in a bout of coughing.
"I," He repeated. "Am Darkpaw. This is my brother, Beetlepaw. We have come to-" Darkpaw began to cough again, so Beetlepaw finished his sentence.
"We're here for herbs!"
"Herbs, eh?" Rockwhisker muttered. "More like here to spy!"
Beetlepaw seemed to hear her, and spoke. "We really are here for herbs. Can't you smell how sick we are?"
"They do seem pretty sick." Plumepaw conceded.
"I told you to be quiet!" Rainheart scolded the apprentice.
"Sorry." Plumepaw looked down at his paws.
"Please- take us to your camp!" Darkpaw pleaded with the patrol.
"We'll do anything! We need help!" Beetlepaw joined in.
"Why doesn't your medicine cat have the herbs?" Rockwhisker mewed skeptically.
"Mossflower says we spent all of it treating Marshstar and Littlescar. We came here because we want to save our Clan by bringing them the herbs we need." Right after Beetlepaw made the speech, he began to cough hard, collapsing.
"Let's talk where the apprentices can't hear us." Rainheart whispered to the group. "We will be right back." He mewed to the sick ShadowClan apprentices. He led the RiverClan cats behind an alder bush and spoke softly.
"Do you think we should help ShadowClan?"
"I think we should." Mantisflame mewed for the first time.
"They're faking it." Rockwhisker mewed plainly.
"How did they fake the smell of sickness, then?" Rainheart pointed out.
"They probably rolled in fox dung, or something that smells like sickness." Rockwhisker shot a suspicious glance at the ShadowClan apprentices.
"We need to consult with Mothstar." Rainheart looked at Bearpaw. "Bearpaw, could you run back to camp and fetch Mothstar and maybe a few other warriors?"
Bearpaw didn't dare argue, so he nodded briskly and started to run in the direction they came from.
When he arrived at camp, Bearpaw found Mothstar looking over the Clan next to the elder's den.
"Mothstar." He panted, out of breath.
"What is it?" Mothstar asked him.
"ShadowClan apprentices are by the ShadowClan border, and they are asking to come to the camp! Rainheart wants you to come and make the decision about if they can come to camp or not."
Mothstar looked at him questioningly. "Can't Rainheart sort this out himself? Since you're here, tell him that the ShadowClan apprentices cannot come into the camp, but he can give them the herbs they need and leave."
"But Mothstar, these cats have the sickness. They are very weak, and I'm worried that they are too weak to get back to their camp."
"Hm. That is a dilemma. I'll bring a few warriors and you can take me to where the ShadowClan cats are." Mothstar trotted away, calling out "Mintbreeze! Ivypebble! Sandfang! We have to go sort out some things with ShadowClan."
Bearpaw watched as Ivypebble looked longingly at the fish that she was finishing, and walked up to Mothstar. Mintbreeze came out of the warrior's den, yawning, and Sandfang mewed goodbye to Littlerose and trotted up to the other two warriors.
When the patrol of cats approached the place where the ShadowClan cats were found, the stink of sickness filled the air. Bearpaw was proud of himself for finding Rainheart and the others so easily only on his second time going there.
"I'm back with Mothstar and a few others!" Bearpaw called to the patrol, which he saw standing guard over the ShadowClan cats.
"Mothstar, this is Darkpaw," he pointed his tail at the black apprentice. "And this is Beetlepaw. They say they've come for herbs." Rainheart introduced them. Mothstar padded up to the ShadowClan invaders, and sniffed them.
"I've smelled this before." She mewed after a long time. "It's blackcough." She stepped away from the apprentices, and meowed "Stay away from them as best you can. Blackcough is highly contagious, especially in leaf-fall and leafbare."
"So should we send them back to their camp with herbs?" Rainheart inquired.
"No. They must come back to camp. They are too weak to make the journey." Mothstar flicked her tail, indicating that they were to escort the ShadowClan apprentices back to camp.
"If you lay one paw out of the medicine den, we're sending you out into the cold." Rockwhisker hissed at Darkpaw and Beetlepaw when they had settled in a nest in the RiverClan medicine den.
"Don't worry." Beetlepaw assured her before he started coughing again. Bearpaw watched as Rockwhisker narrowed her eyes suspiciously, while she trotted out of the medicine den.
"Sorry, Rockwhisker is a bit touchy today. I don't know why." Bearpaw apologized before backing out of the den along with the grumpy she-cat.
"Bearpaw, wait outside the medicine den while I speak to the apprentices. I want to talk to you after." Mothstar told him as she walked up to the den. Bearpaw nodded, and sat down on a rock.
Mothstar trotted out of the medicine den, looking weary. "They are both very sick. It's a wonder they didn't die on the way here. Before I talk to you, I'm going to get Maplefern to give them some herbs." Mothstar bustled away, towards where Maplefern was sorting poppy seeds from nettles. Mothstar spoke hurriedly to Maplefern, then dashed back to Bearpaw. She led him to her den, and settled down.
"Bearpaw, I know that it's only the first day of your apprenticeship, but I have a special mission for you."
Bearpaw widened his eyes. "What kind of mission?"
"I need you to find a ShadowClan patrol, and ask them about the sickness. Don't mention that Darkpaw and Beetlepaw are here; just ask if there is any sickness in the camp right now. Be subtle. Take Willowtwig with you, as well."
"Should we just wait on our side of the border, or go right into ShadowClan land?" Bearpaw asked, excitedly.
"Wait at the border until sunhigh, and if you have seen no sign of a patrol come back here. We'll try again the next day, if that happens."
"Will we leave right away?"
"You will leave at dawn, tomorrow."
The next morning, Bearpaw was out of his nest well before dawn, the anticipation of the mission kept him awake most of the night. As the sun was peeking from behind the hills, Bearpaw waited impatiently outside the warriors den for Willowtwig to emerge. What seemed like moons later, Willowtwig poked his silver head out of the entrance, squinting. His head disappeared for a moment, and then the rest of him slid into the weak leaf-fall sunlight.
"C'mon, Willowtwig! It's time to go!" Bearpaw bounded over to Willowtwig, who was steadily washing his back.
"In a minute. I need to wash first."
"You should've woken up earlier so you could leave earlier!" Bearpaw mewed at Willowtwig.
"Not all cats like to get up as early as you do, Bearpaw."
"Fine- you can wash. But be quick!"
"Hey, Willowtwig." A voice called from behind Bearpaw. It was Rainheart, who was walking over to them from where he sat during Clan meetings.
"What is it, Rainheart?" Willowtwig asked.
"Can you teach Bearpaw to hunt fish while you're watching out for a ShadowClan patrol? There's a stream that runs through the border, and Bearpaw is already behind on training because of the ShadowClan apprentices."
"Sure." Willowtwig replied.
"Thanks." Rainheart trotted away again.