Warriors: Shadestar's Agony

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Shadepaw padded out of the apprentices den the next morning with Honeypaw following close behind. He stretched leisurely in the sun as he emerged into the clearing. Glancing around for his mentor, he spotted Poppystar leaping onto the Highledge. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" she yowled.

Shadepaw wandered over and sat down near the back of the crowd. Honeypaw settled down nearby and his friends Splashpaw and Lionpaw came over and sat at his left.

The light brown she-cat's gaze swept across the camp. "As you all know, tonight is the Gathering. I have chosen the cats who will accompany me. Starlingflight, Leafstorm, Cloudstorm, Frostpelt, Darkstorm, Ashtail, Thornwhisker, Sootsplash, Rainfoot, Lionpaw, Splashpaw, Honeypaw, Stormpaw, Mintpaw, and Shadepaw."

"What?!" Thornwhisker screeched, leaping to his paws from where he had settled in front of the elders den. "Not Shadepaw! He'd tell ShadowClan all of our secrets!"

Poppystar narrowed her eyes. "Shadepaw is a ThunderClan cat."

Frostpelt and Cloudstorm were sitting at the dark brown warrior's right side and Frostpelt rose to his paws as well. "Shadepaw was born a ShadowClan cat." The white-furred warrior's voice was as icy and cold as his blue eyes. "How can we be certain we can trust him?"

"What proof do you have that he is a traitor? He has never done anything to harm our Clan!" Poppystar snarled.

"We don't have any, but once we do it'll be too late." Frostpelt's voice changed from hostile to calm and persuasive, as smooth as honey. "Do you want to endanger your Clan, Poppystar? Trusting Shadepaw is as mouse-brained as when ShadowClan trusted Tigerstar! Imagine if he told all of our battle strategies and hunting techniques to his family or one of his old friends! Knowing how fox-hearted ShadowClan are, they would come and try to drive us out. CATS WOULD DIE! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT, POPPYSTAR? WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE THE RISK OF THAT HAPPENING?"

Poppystar opened her mouth to respond but yowls of agreement drowned out her words.

Frostpelt looked to his son, clearly expecting him to support him. Cloudstorm shifted awkwardly on his paws as all eyes turned his way. "I don't have an opinion really." He shrugged indifferently as his father glowered at him. "Although Shadepaw never was or will be a true ThunderClan cat."

Any gratitude Shadepaw felt towards Cloudstorm vanished at that last sentence. Poppystar raised her tail, signaling for silence. "Do you all really think that I shouldn't let Shadepaw come to the Gathering? He's trained as hard as any other apprentice."

"YES!" Frostpelt's voice pierced through the air.

"Don't let the mangy ShadowClan furball come and tell all of our secrets!" Thornwhisker added.

Foxtail lifted his head. "He might be loyal but we still can't take any chances."

At that moment, the stone walls of the hollow didn't seem comforting. They seemed as dark and frightening as they did the day he first stepped out into clearing. They seemed to be closing in on him. An agonizing pain stabbed through his heart, worse than any wound from a battle. Shadepaw suddenly found it hard to breathe and felt like he was suffocating.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE! WHAT DID HE EVER DO TO YOU?" Honeypaw had never looked so furious before.

Lionpaw stood. "He hasn't been in ShadowClan for five moons now." The golden tom sounded much more reasonable than Honeypaw. "He has lived in ThunderClan longer than ShadowClan."

Splashpaw gave Shadepaw a sympathetic look from his amber eyes before returning his gaze to the Highledge. "What Lionpaw says is true. Shadepaw more than likely hardly even remembers living in ShadowClan."

Mintpaw stayed silent. Worse than that, there was an accusatory gleam in his eyes. Shadepaw's stomach lurched. Does he not trust me? I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I THOUGHT HE WAS MY FRIEND!

Most of the Clan still seemed to support Frostpelt and Thornwhisker. Poppystar sighed discontentedly. "Very well. I will honor your wishes but I wish you would give Shadepaw a chance. Foxtail will go in Shadepaw's place."

As the meeting dispersed, Shadepaw whispered to Honeypaw, Lionpaw, and Splashpaw, "Meet me behind the nursery."

Shadepaw darted across the clearing and squeezed behind the large bramble thicket. His three friends followed shortly after. "It's so unfair, the way the Clan treats you!" Honeypaw wailed.

Shadepaw couldn't meet the gazes of his friends. These cats mean so much to me. Especially Honeypaw...they all defended me against the rest of the Clan. How can I leave behind such good friends? But how can I stay, when I'll be judged for the rest of my life if I do? Oh, why does my life have to be so difficult?

A/N: For those of you who are celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday, happy Thanksgiving! I'll probably write another chapter of this before the end of the week.

I'm going to possibly add a chapter with exclusive facts on important characters just because you all are such awesome fans! :) That's all! Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, and please comment with your thoughts!