The moon shone high in the sky, staring down on the forest like a giant, unblinking eye that turned everything in its sight to a brilliant, glistening silver. A cool, gentle breeze stirred the loose leaves of Leaf-fall overhead, carrying with it the acrid scents of Carrionplace. A small, brown tabby poked his head out of his den to glance at the sky, whiskers twitching. Not a cloud was within sight, which was a good sign; tonight would hold the first Gathering since the battle with BloodClan, and Littlecloud could smell the fear scent clinging to his clanmates' pelts however hard they tried to appear undeterred. He let out a small, relieved sigh and slipped out into the clearing, stretching one leg at a time nervously. It would fall to him as the medicine cat of ShadowClan to appear calm in front of the other Clans, but, at the moment, his stomach was clenching uncomfortably and he had to fight to keep his ears from flattening themselves against his head.
His clanmates turned to murmur greetings to him, though it was painfully obvious their smiles were forced. Littlecloud dipped his head and padded over to stand beside Blackstar, who was clawing the ground absently as he surveyed his cats. The medicine cat meowed a greeting to his leader, who seemed a little startled to see him standing at his side.
"Littlecloud," he meowed in a low voice, and the tabby could sense he, too, feared what would greet them at Four Trees, though he stood tall, jaw set in defiance. Neither Blackstar nor Littlecloud had been back to Four Trees since the great battle, and it was apparent both were reluctant to go; this made Littlecloud's pelt prickle with unease: it had been chosen by StarClan as a place of peace, no cat should fear it!
The bodies of fallen warriors had been buried by their Clan's elders, but then it had come down to the corpses of the BloodClan cats and Tigerstar. The four leaders had appointed one cat of each Clan to help bury them, as no cat was sure which Clan Tigerstar had belonged to in the end, and no Clan alone had wanted to accept the responsibility of burying Scourge. In the end, each enemies' body had been buried beside the Thunderpath.
Blackstar straightened and turned his head to face his Clan, announcing in a loud, clear voice, "Everyone's here. Let's go."
The cats raced from the camp, tails streaming out behind them as the air whipped their faces. But Littlecloud was thankful for it; it gave him a distraction from the troubling thoughts that clouded his mind. At that moment, something occurred to him, almost making him trip as each cat leapt over a fallen tree trunk, which was already made hard for him by his small size. Cinderpelt would be at the Gathering! But, almost as soon as the thought popped into his mind, he scolded himself and shoved it roughly away. He couldn't let his feelings for the ThunderClan medicine cat interfere with him; if anyone discovered how he felt, not only would he lose his position as medicine cat, which the grey she-cat herself had inspired in him, but he may very well be banished from the Clan. But that didn't stop the lightning that crackled through his veins, much to his irritation. It was a pleasant feeling, but one he knew he shouldn't, couldn't, allow himself. But it wasn't just something he could simply shake off like snow from his pelt. It was real, and scary.
Before he realised it, he was standing at the edge of the Thunderpath, the fumes writhing around him and making his nose twitch. As medicine cat, he had to be one of the first cats to cross, something that always haunted him ever since Whitethroat's gruesome death. The thought made a pang appear in his heart. Trying not to dwell on the memories of his dead friend, he crouched in the bushes beside his mother, Dawncloud, thankful for the warmth her pelt provided him and her familiar scent that flooded through him, taking him briefly back to the nursery. Only when a monster rumbled past, ruffling his fur and making his claws unsheathe instinctively, did he remember where he was. Creeping forward to glance from side to side for any of the monsters' glowing yellow eyes, he darted across to the other side of the great path, the hard, black surface under his paws warm and stinking, making him instantly nauseous. Just as he reached the other side, where a few of his clanmates were waiting expectantly, ready to run out and help him across if a monster came into view, Littlecloud's back paw hit a small rock that jutted out from the grass and stumbled, crashing to his side amongst the undergrowth. He spluttered as dirt entered his mouth and lay dazed for a moment before a cat rushed over and nuzzled his shoulder.
"Littlecloud," The tom prodded him with a paw worriedly, "Are you okay?"
Embarrassed, Littlecloud gave a curt nod and scrambled to his paws, spitting out the dirt and lapping at his chest, noticing irritably that his coat was now completely covered in dust and birrs. Cinderpelt couldn't see him like this! He was a little surprised that his mind instantly went to Cinderpelt, but forced himself to block the beautiful she-cat from his mind as he sat back and quickly cleaned his pelt, annoyed when his fur stuck up at all angles. Risking a glance to his side, he saw that the rest of his Clan had joined him and were watching him with barely suppressed smirks. At least I've taken their mind off the Gathering, he thought bitterly, a little uncomfortable when he realised he was practically sitting on Scourge's grave. He edged over slightly, skin crawling at the thought of the black cat.
Blackstar padded over, and Littlecloud noticed with a start that the large tom was purring a little, eyes glittering, "Are you fine to go on?" he asked, looking him up and down pointedly.
Littlecloud flicked his tail-tip and nodded hurriedly, sighing. "If you don't mind your medicine cat looking like he just had a battle with some dust."
As quickly as his more gentle side had appeared, it disappeared, and Blackstar began to look more like the leader Littlecloud knew. He flashed Littlecloud a small, tight-lipped smile before turning and gesturing with his tail for his Clan to follow him. Littlecloud was swept up by the swarm of cats until he was running at full speed in the centre of his clanmates, careful not to have a repeat accident. For a moment, he could almost believe everything was back to normal, when he took in the warrior's gleaming pelts and lean muscles under their fur, eyes shining in the moonlight, and he felt a warm glow of happiness. Sooner or later, everything would be good, and the battle with BloodClan would be a thing of the past.