The night was clear, perfect for a gathering. A brightly shining full moon was just overhead where a large group of cats were sitting.
"Come on," a young tom growled, clawing at the peaty ground with his ginger and white paws. "Get a move on!"
"Don't rush Onestar," a dark gray she-cat murmured from the tom's side, narrowing her blue eyes. "What are you so eager about, anyway?"
A dusky brown tom at the front of the group flicked his tail at the group a heartbeat later, signaling for the others to follow him.
"Finally!" muttered the white and ginger tom.
Not long later, the group arrived at four large pine trees, darting under the branches where other cats sat.
"I wonder if Hawkwing's here," the gray cat thought aloud, looking around the clearing beneath the trees.
"Rainshadow!" a voice called, and a moment later the gray she-cat could see her friend's dark tabby pelt flying towards her.
"Hawkwing!" she cried back, rushing forward to touch noses with the other cat.
Rainshadow's companion, the white and ginger tom, twitched his whiskers at being left alone, but shook it off irritably. He would have to find some other cat to sit with. He wandered further into the clearing, gazing around as if looking for some cat.
His eyes fell on a tom, black as midnight, about four fox-lengths away. Webwhisker, the tom thought. But before he could think anything else, he heard someone call his name.
"Swiftstalker! Over here!" Swiftstalker swerved around and headed in the direction of the voice.
"Hey, Rainshadow, move over! Make room for your mate," a dark brown cat was meowing at Rainshadow.
"He's not my mate," she grumbled back, but inched closer to the brown cat to make room for Swiftstalker.
"Thought you could get away from us, did you?" Hawkwing asked as Swiftstalker settled himself between Rainshadow and a ginger she-cat nearby.
"Yeah, like that could happen," the brown she-cat next to Rainshadow meowed. "You're certainly a she-cat's tom!"
"Funny, Mudface." Swiftstalker flicked her with his long tail.
"Shh," the ginger she-cat hissed. "The gathering's about to start."
"Shh, yourself," Rainshadow whispered back. "When have you ever actually cared what's said during a gathering, Ivyclaw?"
"Shut up, Rainshadow," she answered.
Eventually the noise died down and the Clan leaders began to speak. Even though he was the only tom in the middle of a large group of she-cats, Swiftstalker had never felt less alone.
THE END!
Why did I write this story? Who the muffin knows.