The Elder's Den

Barrenfoot smiled. "Sure. What kind would you like?"

OOC: Remember, Roseflare's supposed to be adding moss to Barrenfoot's nest or something.

The old tabby tilted his head thoughtfully. "Well, there was the time that Brownbriar and Thicketnose accidentally found a bear's den," he mused.

"Well, it was many seasons ago, when I was a young warrior," Barrenfoot explained. "Brownbriar and Thicketnose were made warriors before me, and they were the cool cats in the Clan, always goofing off or doing something stupid to impress the older warriors. Now that I think about it, they were kind of idiots, but as a younger cat I thought they were the coolest cats ever.”

“Anyway, one day, they went hunting and found a scent they'd never smelled before. Instead of going back to report it to the leader at the time, or proceeding with caution, they decided to try and hunt the mystery animal. They followed the scent to a large den. The size of the burrow alone should have warned them off, but they still didn't take the hint. They decided to split up. Brownbriar would find the back entrance to the den and drive the inhabitant out the front, and Thicketnose would wait out front to catch it and kill it.”

“Brownbriar slunk around the outside of the den until he found a smaller entrance around the back. He crawled inside, into a dark, dank den. The strange scent flooded his senses, and he could see several eyes glowing in the darkness.” His voice dropped, becoming low and eerie. “With growing horror, Brownbriar realized that the scent didn't belong to any prey. It belonged to three grizzly bear cubs!”

"Well, they were only cubs," Barrenfoot said, "they just sat and looked at the warrior with big, curious eyes. But Brownbriar was so terrified, he almost forgot how to breathe.”

“It didn't take long for him to realize how young the cubs were, though, and that they weren't going to hurt him. So he made a very stupid decision. There were bits of caribou meat tossed around the cave, apparently from a recent hunt. Brownbriar could see a good-sized hunk of leg meat that he thought he could carry with Thicketnose's help. So he burried his jaws in the caribou leg and started dragging it away, ignoring the whining and yelping of the bear cubs as their food was taken away.”

“But Brownbriar wasn't the only one who heard the cubs' pitiful cries. Brownbriar had only just dragged the caribou leg out of the den and brought it to Thicketnose when both warriors heard a terrible roar. Pelts bristling with terror, they turned to see a huge monster of a grizzly bearing down on them. It was the cubs' mother, and she was furious.”

“Brownbriar and Thicketnose abandoned the caribou leg and pelted away as fast as their legs could carry them. They had never been so terrified in their lives. The grizzly was right behind them; they could feel her hot breath, and her the fury in her roar. The ground seemed to thunder as she ran behind them. The young toms thought they were dead meat for sure.”

“Luckily, Thicketnose had enough sense to climb up a nearby oak tree, Brownbriar quickly following his lead. The grizzly swiped at the air just below them, but they managed to scale the trunk quickly enough that they were far over her head before she could reach them. Oh, the bear was furious! She roared and stomped and rammed into the trunk of the tree again and again, but no matter how much the old oak tree shook, it stayed strong. And she couldn't climb. Eventually, the old she-bear got bored and sauntered off, back to her den and her cubs.”

"Brownbriar and Thicketnose stayed in that tree for hours, too terrified to climb down. It was nightfall by the time a patrol finally found them. I was with them, a young warrior and shocked to find my oh-so-cool denmates shaking like kits in the treetops. We managed to get the story out of them, and of course they got teased plenty about it over the next few moons, for being mouse-brained enough to try and hunt a scent they didn't recognize.”

Barrenfoot nodded. "Brownbriar and Thicketnose learned that the hard way. Suffice to say, they never tried anything like that again." There was a gleam of amusement in his eyes.

Barrenfoot let out a mrowrr of amusement. "Yeah, they eventually grew up and became two very wise, powerful warriors in their own right. Brownbriar died saving two apprentices from a bear, and Thicketnose starved during a particularly harsh winter because he gave so much of his prey to the elders and queens. It's a lot quieter without them around. Especially since Ravenshadow and Crowfoot died..." He trailed off, sudden sadness in his eyes.

"Well, Ravenshadow was my mate, so yes," Barrenfoot answered with a hint of amusement. "As for Crowfoot, he was my best friend, other than Ravenshadow. We did everything together. He died a season and a half before I joined the elder's den."