"Plumepaw, I hereby exile you from RiverClan. If you return, my warriors have permission to attack, but not kill." Rainstar called to the group of RiverClan cats. Littlerose and Sandfang sat closely together, their tails entwined. "Poor Plumepaw." Bearpaw heard Littlerose whisper to her mate. "He never intended to hurt Shiningpaw."
"That's not what I heard." Sandfang replied quietly. "I heard Shiningpaw was harmlessly teasing him, and he just-pow!- Slammed into her and started ripping her to shreds." They're both right. Bearpaw thought to himself. Plumepaw never meant to hurt Shiningpaw, but he did attack her out of the blue.
"Please! Don't exile me!" Plumepaw was wailing at Rainstar. The leader's gaze softened for a moment, then he looked away. "I'm sorry, Plumepaw. You have broken the warrior code. Therefore, you must be punished."
"Then, before you exile me, may I at least make one announcement?" Plumepaw called, his voice exasperated.
"Go on, then. But make it quick." Rainstar flicked his tail, urging Plumepaw to hurry up.
"I Plumepaw, former member of RiverClan, give myself my warrior name." Plumepaw began. Shouts of outrage came from the crowd of RiverClan cats.
"He can't give himself his warrior name!"
"He's breaking the warrior code even more by doing this!"
"Plumepaw should be killed!" The last cry came from Willowtwig, who was pinning his ears back and snarling.
"Quiet!" Rainstar shouted over the cacophony of voices. "Since Plumepaw is not part of our Clan any longer, he may give himself his warrior name. Go on, Plumepaw."
"I, Plumepaw, formerly of RiverClan, give myself my warrior name. From this moment forth, I shall be known as Plumeshine, in honor of Shiningpaw." Plumeshine dipped his head to his former leader. "I will get going now, if you wish me too." Plumeshine stalked out of his former home.
"Plumeshine! Wait!" Bearpaw called after his former Clanmate. Plumeshine looked back at him. He seems a lot bigger, with his new name.
"What? Have you come to give me one last bad saying?"
"No, I want to apologize. I know you didn't mean to harm Shiningpaw, let alone kill her. I realize that now. I am so sorry about all of this."
Plumeshine shook his head. "Apology unaccepted. I know you're just saying that to make me feel better. That's what you do. Lie to give false hope to others." Before Bearpaw could say another word, Plumeshine bounded out of camp, towards the mountains far off. Suddenly, Shiningpaw's final words came back to Bearpaw in a flash. "Go to the place of rocks and stones." Bearpaw stared at the looming mountain, certain the mountains were the place she was talking about. What did she know that we don't? Bearpaw couldn't help but think. What did she mean by 'to create new life'? 'Bearpaw shook his brown head, and slowly stalked his way back into camp.
"You're the only apprentice now, Bearpaw." A voice came from the warriors' den as he passed it. He peered into the darkness to see Mantisflame, sitting at the entrance. "Not for long, though. Littlerose is having Sandfang's kits. They'll be born any day, now."
Bearpaw rushed over to his sister's former mentor and pressed his muzzle into Mantisflame's shoulder.
"What will I do without them!" He cried. "I need them! I probably will never see Plumeshine again."
Mantisflame looked thoughtful, and said "You know, I've never told anyone this before, but I'll tell you now."
Bearpaw lifted his head from Mantisflame's shoulder. "What?"
"I'm a tom."
Bearpaw looked shocked for a second, then smiled. "Shiningpaw would've wanted you to tell her that. Thank you for telling me."
Mantisflame wrapped his tail over Bearpaw's shoulders. "Let's go for a fishing expedition, shall we?"
Bearpaw nodded, and the two set out.
When they got back, carrying three gleaming fish, Bearpaw and Mantisflame noticed a commotion in the clearing. Bearpaw's first instinct was to investigate, but Mantisflame held him back.
"I can hear them. They're arguing about Kestrelstar and the fish he stole."
"Kestrelstar managed to steal fish? I didn't know WindClan cats could even manage to get their paws wet." Bearpaw waited for Mantisflame to respond to the joke, but the older warrior only looked ahead in silence. It subtly implied that this was serious.
"Let's come back to camp later. We don't want to get mixed up in this. How about we split up, and come back here later; let's say around… sunset, and we try to catch all the prey we can. Alright?" Mantisflame suggested.
"Okay. I'll bring more prey than you, so don't get angry when you lose!" Mantisflame had said nothing about this being a competition, but Bearpaw had his mind somewhere else. What if I run into Plumeshine? What if He attacks me, or accuses me of following him? What if… what if… what if… Bearpaw's head was buzzing with questions starting with what if. Then, he realized Mantisflame had already gone. Bearpaw dashed away into the shadows of a bramble bush.
When he had gone nearly to the edge of the territory, He stopped. Bearpaw raised his muzzle to the air and sniffed. He could smell squirrel, mouse, and something else he couldn't quite put a claw on. Cat! He rapidly thought. Not from any of the Clans, either! Bearpaw crouched, and took a cautious step forward. Now, he was in a small grove of oak trees. Suddenly, a large weight landed on his back. Immediately, he thought it was Plumeshine. Bearpaw struggled with the stranger, noticing that the strange cat's fur was as red as fox fur. This must not be Plumeshine. Plumeshine's fur is gray. Bearpaw sniffed again. This is a she-cat, too. Bearpaw was thrust to the ground, wriggling wildly. He landed several blows to the stranger's muzzle and ears, while the opposing cat did nothing but sit on top of him.
After Bearpaw was too tired to attack the stranger, he noticed that this cat didn't even unsheathe her claws. Bearpaw was unharmed.
"Who are you? How dare you attack me on my territory!"
"My name is Scarlet. Why do you say this is your territory? You should know that this land belongs to me." Scarlet's green eyes glowed in the dim of the setting sun. "As long as you are in my domain, you don't ask the questions." Scarlet delicately stepped off Bearpaw, and sat down next to him. "You must be one of those Clan cats I've heard so much about. Let me guess your name; is it… Browncat? I know Clan cats have very strange names."
"My name is Bearpaw." Bearpaw said defensively. "And we don't have strange names! It's your name that's strange!" Bearpaw launched himself at Scarlet, despite his exhaustion. She easily batted him away with one, large red paw.
"Not so fast, Bearpaw." Scarlet said in a sly voice. "Think about who has the upper paw. You; the tired, tiny Clan cat, or me; the strong, big, smarter cat. Do you see the imbalance in this battle?"
"You never stop talking, do you!" Bearpaw retorted.
"Your sharp tongue might just get you killed." Scarlet purred. A rustling in the bushes alerted Bearpaw that another loner was coming from the side of them. A sleek, cream-colored tom slid from the bush.
"Nook, I caught a little Clan cat. Looks a bit scrawny, though." Scarlet waved the tom over to look at Bearpaw, who was ready to bolt into the trees.
"Well, if it's the best we can do, we can always catch a few to-you know." Nook replied.
"What do you mean?" Bearpaw asked, frightened.
"Oh, nothing. We shall take you to our camp, now." Scarlet took one paw and put it on top of Bearpaw's head, claws outstretched.
"If you even think about running, I'll claw your brains out." Scarlet hissed into one ear.
They lead him on the border of ShadowClan and RiverClan territory, until they branched off going towards a large thicket of trees. The two loners took him past the grove, and into a wide field. In the field, Bearpaw could see some branches propped up against one another, like a nest. When they stopped at the strange branches, Bearpaw could see that it was a lot bigger than it looked from afar. Nook shoved him inside, and he was face to face with Honeyripple, a RiverClan she-cat who had gone missing when Bearpaw was still a kit.
"Bearkit? They got you too?" Honeyripple asked, fear in her voice. The she-cat looked very well fed. She looked a bit fat, in fact. Bearpaw stared past the frightened RiverClan she-cat, at the other cats huddled in the corner.
"Why are you here, Honeyripple? We thought you had run away. And… is that Pigeonwing back there?" He spotted Pigeonwing, looking plump as ever, in the corner with some other cats.
"I'm afraid so. Amberdawn was here too, but he's gone now."
"Where did he go?" Bearpaw asked inquisitively.
"He's dead." Honeyripple replied curtly.
"How? I mean, how did he die?"
"Eaten by the ones who brought us here." Honeyripple stopped to take a breath. "They hunt us. Wait for us to get close to their territory, and attack. They mostly use the trees to hunt. They leap from the trees. I'll never trust a tree again, if I live to ever see another tree."
"Do you mean those cats that took me here; Scarlet and Nook?" Bearpaw asked, horrified. Honeyripple nodded.
"They fatten us up." Pigeonwing's dull voice came from the cluster of cats at the back. "They fatten us up by bringing us food to eat. If we don't eat, they cut a tip of our tails off, and force the food down our throats. These cats are sick; sick in the head."
Bearpaw was still stuck on the thought of Amberdawn being eaten. "You mean, they eat other cats? Like, they chew and swallow us?"
"They didn't even bother putting Amberdawn to sleep, or numbing the pain. They just- hold you down and bite into you." Honeyripple looked down in respect for the fallen warrior as she said this. Bearpaw shivered.
"Why don't you try to escape?" Bearpaw asked softly as he could while panicking.
"There is no way out." Pigeonwing replied solemnly.