This took forever to write, so don't expect frequent or even consistent updates. Cross-posted on Warriors Amino.
A light gray tabby tom lay strewn across his nest, his flank rising and falling in a restless sleep. His paws twitched subtly as if racing after an imaginary piece of prey, and his ears swiveled from side-to-side. A couple warriors to his side muttered irritatedly as he shifted in his nest, robbed of sleep by the restless warrior.
A light brown tabby pushed her way into the den, and nudged the sleeping warrior with one of her white paws. "Creekwind!" She hissed quietly, and, upon receiving no answer, repeated her call. "Creekwind!"
The tom shifted again in his sleep, his soft brown eyes two small slits across his face. He blearily mumbled something incomprehensible to the tabby she-cat, who purred amusedly. "Get up," She whispered into his ear, "You have dawn patrol."
Creekwind glanced at her, still half-dazed with sleep. "Make Cinderbreeze do it," He muttered, curling his thick tail across his nose as if to end the conversation.
The she-cat's whiskers twitched again in amusement. "I'm not making your sister do your work for you." Before Creekwind could respond, she flicked her ears, "Or your other sister, or either of your brothers."
Grumbling, Creekwind staggered to his paws. "It's too bright," He whined, covering his eyes with his paws.
The she-cat snickered, "Well it's only gonna get brighter from here. Come on you lazy lump!" She grabbed him by the scruff and slung him out of the den into the early-morning half-light.
Creekwind hissed at the sudden color invading his vision. The other two cats in the clearing laughed with amusement. The smaller of the two, a brown tabby, grinned up at him, "C'mon Creekwind! It's only dawn patrol!"
Creekwind glared back at her, "Well Lynxpaw, once you become a warrior, you'll lose that insufferable enthusiasm for the morning."
Lynxpaw rolled her eyes, "Stop acting like you're high-and-mighty. You've only been a warrior for what, a quarter-moon? And I'll be one in about a moon, too!" Creekwind stuck his tongue out at her; and the small apprentice returned his gesture in kind.
"Cut it out you two," The light brown tabby she-cat scolded, padding in-between them with a commanding flick of her tail.
"Yes, mom," Lynxpaw mumbled.
Creekwind seconded her sentiment with a reluctant, "Fine, Reedstrike." Reedstrike smirked and twitched her whiskers at their obedience.
The other cat in the clearing, a ginger tabby, cleared his throat. "Shall we get going then?" He purred, amusement lacing his tone. Lynxpaw, her discussion immediately forgotten, beamed and bounced after him. Reedstrike followed close behind with a purposeful step, and Creekwind trailed after, tiredness fogging his brain.
"Not much of a morning cat, are you?" Reedstrike half-asked, half-teased when he caught up with her. Creekwind did not answer her; instead the gray tabby settled for a look that probably communicated something like what do you think?
"Creekwind has never been a morning cat!" Lynxpaw laughed from her position at the front of the patrol. "Even when he was a kit it took me and Rushpaw and Cloudedsky combined to wake him up!"
"That is entirely untrue!" Creekwind yelped, "I- just… require lots of rest?"
"Ah yes," Lynxpaw teased, weaving around stray trees in her path, "Run all night, sleep all day." Creekwind turned away with a kit-like pout, and Reedstrike shook with amusement.
The ginger tom cast an amused glance at Creekwind. "I've never seen such a restless warrior!" He proclaimed, "It's like you're intentionally keeping the whole den up."
Before the gray tabby could respond, Reedstrike interrupted him. "Morningpelt has got a point," She tipped her head to the side, "No ThunderClan warrior has gotten a decent night's rest since you've become a warrior!"
"What do you expect me to do?" Creekwind asked, hopping over a fallen branch that had almost tripped him. "It's not like I can magically change how I sleep!"
Before any cat could respond, they had reached the border. An elegant, winding brook sliced its way through the forest, and on the other side of the stream rested thin trees that eventually faded into thick grasslands.
Reedstrike narrowed her eyes. "We've got company," She mouthed. Creekwind opened his muzzle and tasted the harsh tang of rabbit on his tongue. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Lynxpaw wrinkling her nose, which was promptly corrected by a sharp tail-slap by Morningpelt. Creekwind had to fight hard to keep down the bubble of amusement in his throat.
Pushing through the grasses came a trio of lithe, lean cats. The lead cat was a grayish-brown tabby tom that Creekwind recognized as one of WindClan's senior warriors, Slatestripe. The other two cats - an almost pure-white she-cat and a soft brown tom with a darker tail - were unfamiliar to him, although he was pretty sure that he had seen the she-cat at a Gathering somewhere.
"Greetings, Reedstrike," Slatestripe started, dipping his head respectfully. The tom by his side ducked his head and whispered something to the she-cat, who attempted to subtly answer him without seeming rude to the ThunderClan patrol.
"Good morning Slatestripe!" Reedwhisker replied, cheerfully raising her tail and earning an amused huff from the WindClan tom. "How's the prey running in WindClan?"
"We're doing well, although I assume that's something that you could have gleaned from tonight's gathering." Slatestripe answered, which caused a flash of realization to run through Creekwind. Right, the Gathering was tonight! He couldn't say for sure whether he was going, but regardless, he was interested to hear what was going on with the other Clans - through personal observation or from the word of one of his siblings, he didn't care.
Reedstrike lowered her tail. "Ah, the Gathering." Her tone was more formal, and less happy-go-lucky as it had been before. "This one falls on the 15-moon-mark. How unfortunate." Slatestripe stiffened slightly. Lynxpaw and Creekwind shot each other a confused glance.
Stiffly and quickly, Reedstrike and Morningpelt marked the border. Reedstrike motioned for the patrol to leave. As he left, Creekwind noticed that the other tomcat's piercing blue eyes followed him far after he had left. Shivering lightly, Creekwind jumped forwards, landing beside Reedstrike.
"What was that?" Creekwind asked curiously, noting the she-cat's odd demeanor. "As soon as he mentioned the Gathering you got all tense!"
"It's never good when the 15-moon Gathering comes around," Reedstrike snapped, her pelt bristling. "You'll see tonight I suppose. It's awful," The light brown tabby punctuated this with a shiver that ripped down to her tail-tip.
"But what is it?" Lynxpaw insisted, after Creekwind had decided that he did not want to tangle with an irritable Reedstrike. "If it's something terrible and awful, don't you think you should tell us so that we're at least prepared?"
Reedstrike glared back at her daughter, "I'm hoping that none of it will happen to you. Either of you," She added, glancing back at Creekwind. "Of course, you're both going to be affected either way, but…" She trailed off, and Morningpelt pressed his muzzle comfortingly against her side.
Lynxpaw narrowed her eyes, about to open her muzzle to say something, but before she could, the camp entrance came into view. Reedstrike sprinted for it like her life depended on it; and Creekwind assumed she had important duties to fulfill.
Creekwind ambled his way towards the fresh-kill pile. Most of the prey was stale and old from being left out overnight, as the morning hunting patrol wasn't back yet, but he was fine with it. The gray tabby tom snatched the freshest-looking piece of prey, which happened to be a robin. Creekwind licked his lips; bird was his favorite kind of prey.
He brought the prey over to a corner of camp that was shielded from the sun by a twisted, old tree with glossy dark green leaves. There, he plopped down and sank his teeth into the bird, resting his sore paws from his walk across the territory. Across camp, he spotted Lynxpaw eating a squirrel and doing something similar.
When Creekwind was about halfway finished with his prey, a black she-cat with a white patch on her chest pushed out of the entrance of the warrior's den, her thick tail brushing away the trailing strands of bramble that lurked behind her. When Creekwind spotted her, a grin slowly grew on his muzzle.
"Cricketflight!" He called out, said she-cat noticing him with an amiable flick of her tail and a twitch of her ears. She strode across the clearing to him and sat down next to him when she got there.
"What's up?" She asked, titling her head to the side. Her raven-black fur was oddly ruffled from sleep, and Creekwind had to fight back a choking bubble of laughter at the sight.
"I just wanted to say good morning~!" Creekwind cheerfully proclaimed, the barest hint of sarcasm tinting his tone. Cricketflight narrowed her eyes, playful mockery dancing in her piercing brown orbs.
"Oh my Stars!" She gasped exaggeratedly, cupping her face in her paws for added affect, "My own brother! Wishing me a good morning! How amazing! How stunning! How wildly-"
"Okay, okay, I get it," Creekwind muttered, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "Anyways, I just went on Dawn Patrol with Reedstrike, an-"
"Oh," Cricketflight interrupted, eyes alight with mischief. "So that's why all the patrols were in a funk this morning!"
However much he would like to decipher the mystery of Reedstrike's actions, Creekwind couldn't decline hearing about the failures of the senior warriors. "In a funk?" He asked, soft brown eyes glittering.
Cricketflight nodded eagerly, "Yeah. Even though Reedstrike told them their patrols for today last night, they still started arguing about who was on the morning hunting patrol! They can't survive two seconds without a reliable deputy," She purred.
Creekwind laughed at this, and when his snickering subsided he tipped his head, "Who were the poor cats that ended up getting roped into it then?"
"Well, Larkstripe said Rushpaw needed the practice, so they went," Cricketflight grinned, watching as Creekwind's whiskers twitched with amusement as he imagined the insulted look on the fiesty tom's face. "And then Cloudedrain volunteered like the saint that he is, so Cinderbreeze went with him."
"Awww no," Creekwind whined, his ears drooping. "They won't be back till midday, and by that point I'll probably be on another patrol!"
Cricketflight laughed, "Yeah, well, what can you do? I'm hiding out here in the corner so that Reedstrike hopefully doesn't notice me." Said deputy decided to glance at them at that exact moment, and Cricketflight attempted to melt into the shadows. "Key word being hopefully."
Creekwind snickered at that, finishing up his robin and moving to bury his prey. However, he was stopped by Cricketflight. Raising an eyebrow at her, Creekwind managed a muffled mew around the remains of his prey, "What?"
"What were you trying to say earlier?" She asked, "About Reedstrike?"
Creekwind blinked, "Oh, uh, right! Well, we were on border patrol, and we ran into WindClan. And Slatestripe - you know that kinda old senior warrior? - Yeah, well Slatestripe was on that patrol and they were talking about the Gathering tonight. And then Reedstrike said something about a '15-moon mark' or whatever and they got all quiet."
"Huh," Cricketflight pondered curiously. "I think I've heard that term passed around a bit among the older warriors. I'm not sure what it means though."
Creekwind narrowed his eyes. Okay, so this wasn't just a weird Reedstrike thing. This was everyone, the whole Clan. And probably all of the other Clans, too, as Slatestripe had seemed to know what they were talking about.
The gray tabby hesitated, and then purred a soft, "Thanks Cricketflight." The black she-cat nodded, and he slipped out from under the tree. As he moved, Reedstrike seemed to have noticed his sister.
"Cricketflight!" She called, and Creekwind smirked with amusement as his sister flinched. "Can you do the midday patrol with Briarpelt and Gorsewing?" Reedstrike seemed to think for a minute, and then added, "And maybe Mistheart."
Creekwind winced in sympathy. Briarpelt and Gorsewing were fine - if not a little boring - but Mistheart, well. The gray tabby tom was a bit stuck up, conceited, and arrogant. These qualities were minute enough that Creekwind could stand them, however Cricketflight despised the tom with a burning passion, and he returned her hatred in kind. They would most likely argue through the whole patrol.
As Creekwind most likely wouldn't have to patrol for a while, he decided to go visit the Nursery. Fallowfoot had just given birth to a new litter of kittens, and Thistlepad's kits, while energetic, were always fun to be around.
Before he entered the Nursery, he snagged a couple of mice from the fresh-kill pile. As Lynxpaw was on the Dawn Patrol with him and her brother Rushpaw was apparently on the morning hunting patrol, that meant that the queens probably hadn't been fed today.
As soon as he ducked into the den, he was besieged by tiny kittens whose little pinpricks of claws fastened into his pelt. With a muffled yelp - as the mice were still hanging from his jaws - Creekwind was swept off his feet, almost dropping the prey.
"Batkit and Willowkit," A voice from the back of the den snapped, "Get off of Creekwind right now." The claws in his pelt subsided, and as Creekwind's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out Thistlepad's mottled gray pelt in the shadows. By her side rested her other kitten, a shy little gray kitten that she had named Owlkit.
"Thanks," Creekwind purred to Thistlepad gratefully. "They're certainly energetic!"
"Yeah, well," The queen huffed, "That's not how I raised them." Creekwind noticed that Batkit and Willowkit both wilted slightly, but he tried not to pay attention to that.
"I brought you these mice," Creekwind mewed, dropping said mice at her paws, "Er- both of you, I mean," He added, noticing Fallowfoot at the back of the den. The fluffy ginger she-cat smiled gratefully, whisking her tail softly around her two newborns.
Thistlepad smiled, "Thank you."
Creekwind nodded kindly at the snappish queen, and then turned to Batkit and Willowkit. "Do you guys wanna play moss-ball?" Creekwind questioned, to great excitement from both of the kits. Turning to the small kit at Thistlepad's side, he received a small shake of the head.
"Alright!" Creekwind purred, and pushed through the den entrance with Batkit and Willowkit in tow. The clearing was now lively and active, cats going about their daily business with great gusto.
Absorbed as he was in watching the Clan work, Creekwind was caught by surprise when something soft bounced off his face. Blinking down at his paws, Creekwind noticed that Batkit and Willowkit were fighting over a scrap of moss that had been fastened into a ball. Amusedly, Creekwind picked said ball up from in between the quarreling siblings.
"Hey!" Willowkit whined, his striped gray tail lashing behind him with frustration, "Give that back! It's mine!"
Batkit turned to him with fire in her eyes, "Is not! I found it first!" Both kittens seemed on the verge of jumping eachother, tiny claws unsheathed, but Creekwind stopped them.
"Hey now," The tom meowed agreeably, "I've got an idea." Both kittens stopped their argument and turned to face him.
"I'm going to throw this moss-ball in any given direction as hard as I can," Creekwind explained, miming the motion of batting the ball across camp. "And then whoever can grab the ball and bring it back to me first gets a point. Whoever gets five points wins."
Willowkit's eyes were huge, "Win what?" He squeaked curiously.
Creekwind grinned, "It's a secret," He grinned slyly, soft brown eyes sparkling.
Both kits bounced on their paws, excitement rippling through their pelts, at this revelation. "I'm gonna catch it first!" Batkit squealed, her eyes locked onto the moss-ball as if it were an appetizing piece of prey in the depths of leaf-bare.
"Alright then," Creekflight purred, launching the ball across the clearing with a purposeful strike, "Go get it!"
Batkit was the first to race after it; however her brother was hot on her heels. The black she-kit grasped the ball in her jaws, only to be tackled by Willowkit and for the ball to go flying. Wasting no time, Willowkit abandoned the pin he had been keeping Batkit in and leapt after the ball, scooping it up in his jaws and sprinting over to Creekwind before Batkit could catch up.
"Very good," Creekwind purred to the proudly preening tomcat.
"That's unfair!" Batkit squeaked, striding up to them with a righteous look in her eye and a bristle in her tail. "He jumped me!" She accused.
"All's fair in moss-ball," Creekwind grinned as an answer, although he quickly amended, "Well, everything except unsheathed claws and going out of camp boundaries." Both kits rolled their eyes with annoyance, having heard said rules a million times. Their annoyance wouldn't last for long, however, because Creekwind decided to throw the ball at that very moment. "Go!"
Batkit did reach the moss-ball first again this time. However, she was also prepared to dodge Willowkit's tackle, maneuvering swiftly around him and a few other cats in camp to drop the ball proudly at Creekwind's feet. Willowkit huffed and trailed after her, licking forlornly at his now-dirty pelt, which had been sullied from his dive straight onto the ground.
"Good job!" Creekwind complimented Batkit, who smiled up at him, pleased. Willowkit stuck his tongue out at her but said nothing; both kits were far too excited about the next throw to really get in a scuffle right now.
Without any warning at all, Creekwind again threw the moss-ball. However, he aimed it purposefully this time so that it would roll right next to the feet of an oblivious Reedstrike, who was attempting to organize a patrol.
"I'm gonna be faster again this time!" Batkit bragged, sprinting full-tilt towards the moss-ball.
"Psssh. In your dreams!" Willowkit retorted, picking up his pace so that he was matching his sister stride by stride. Both kits were glaringly unaware of Reedstrike in their path.
The brown tabby was shaken from her conversation with Thrushstar by two small kittens hurtling into her at breakneck speed. Reedstrike's tail bristled in surprise, but otherwise there was no indication that they had caught her off-guard.
"Why hello Willowkit and Batkit," She greeted them, Thrushstar attempting to hide his amusement behind her. "What are you doing?"
"Playing moss-ball!" Willowkit exclaimed self-importantly. Thrushstar smiled gently, amusement tinging his amber gaze, and retreated to his den, much to Reedstrike's chargin.
"Willowkit, shut up!" Batkit hissed softly, her eyes trained on Thrushstar's retreating figure. "That's Reedstrike and Thrushstar. They're the deputy and leader!"
Willowkit did seem a bit put-off, but he puffed out his chest regardless. "Yeah, well she still asked!" He argued back.
Creekwind chuckled softly. Although Reedstrike has two kits of her own, and had mostly raised him and his siblings, she was never very good with kittens. Noticing his amusement, Reedstrike shot him a glare, now well-aware of his involvement in her predicament. Creekwind smirked back, thereby most likely dooming him to a moon's worth of dawn patrols... but it was worth the satisfaction.
"Well kits, uh, that's lovely. I've got to go do deputy stuff okay?" Reedstrike informed them awkwardly, taking the opportunity to retreat with Thrushstar to his den.
Willowkit frowned, his whiskers drooping. "She acted like she didn't even care!" The tom muttered sadly, scuffing his paws in the dust.
Batkit arched one of her eyebrows, "Well duh! She's deputy, you mouse-brain. Obviously she has better and more important things to do!"
Willowkit opened his mouth to retort, but Creekwind beat him to it. "Hey now," The relaxed tom interjected, "Reedstrike does have things to do. It's not that she doesn't feel like you're important," He added, seeing Willowkit's crushed expression, "But she has essential things to be attending to. Such as running the Clan."
"I guess," Willowkit conceded, his ears still drooping slightly. Creekwind smiled at the young tom, and picked up the moss-ball.
"Now, let's play some more moss-ball!" Creekwind exclaimed cheerfully, both of the kit's normally wandering gazes now hyper-focused on the scrap in his paws. However, before he could toss the ball, he noticed Cricketflight - who apparently hadn't left for her patrol yet - talking with a light gray tabby tom and a dark gray tabby she-cat. They were seated in the corner of camp, and Cricketflight locked gazes with him.
"Hey Creekwind!" She called, finally drawing the attention of both of the kits that eagerly waited at his paws, "Can you come over here for a second?"
Creekwind hesitated, glancing at the two saddened kittens, but when Cricketflight's gaze morphed into a glare, he gave them a hurried goodbye and trotted over to his sister. "What?" He asked, slightly out of breath.
"That wasn't very polite," The dark gray tabby she-cat half-teased, wrapping her fluffy tail around her paws.
Creekwind huffed, "Well I'm sorry, Cinderbreeze, but I was in the middle of something." Cinderbreeze just smiled at him, leaving Cricketflight to give him the customary half-amused glare. The light gray tabby tom just seemed nervous, his lashing tail-tip betraying his emotion. Noticing this, Creekwind's voice took on a slightly more serious tone "What's up?"
"The other warriors are acting really strange towards us," Cricketflight meowed, casting a subtle glance at some of the older warriors that dotted the clearing, "They're practically walking on eggshells!" The black she-cat flicked her eartips towards a brown tabby she-cat, "For StarClan's sake, Briarpelt even hissed at me when I asked about it! She never does that!"
"A-and it's not only us," The light gray tom muttered nervously, glancing around the clearing as if the Dark Forest itself was going to somehow appear from the brambles, "They're acting all weird towards Lynxpaw and Rushpaw, too." Creekwind placed his tail comfortingly on the tom's shoulder; it was very like Cloudedrain to get all nervous about every little thing.
"That's certainly… odd." Creekwind admitted, settling into a laying-down position rather than the seated position that he had been occupying.
Cinderbreeze nodded, "I'm a little concerned. They've never hidden anything from us before, so this is…," She shifted her paws, discomfort and worry flashing on her face. "Odd." She breathed out.
Cricketflight scanned the clearing. Not many cats were out, but those that were avoided her piercing gaze. "Where did Crowstorm go off to?" She asked rhetorically, arching her brow. Letting out a huff, Cricketflight lashed her tail, "If he's still sleeping, I swear to StarClan-"
"Hey, give him a break," Cinderbreeze purred, "He was on guard duty last night. You know how it is."
Cricketflight rolled her eyes, "Yeah, okay, but it's sunhigh! He should be up." The black she-cat shifted her paws with an exaggerated huff, causing Cloudedrain to flinch.
Creekwind rose to his paws, "I'll get him," He offered, trotting across the clearing to the Warrior's Den. When he poked his head inside, the gray tabby had to wait a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dim half-light of the den.
Many nests were scattered around the Warrior's den. Several well-made - and well-worn - nests were placed in the center. These belonged to the senior warriors; where the heat of the younger warriors would shield them from biting leaf-bare winds. Not like that was a problem now, but it would be one soon. Creekwind could practically taste the chill on the breeze.
Two cats were asleep in the den, curled up on the outermost edges. Creekwind picked his way through the tangle of moss until he reached a black tom on the side of the den furthest from the entrance.
"Crowstorm!" He hissed softly, shaking the tomcat lightly with one paw. "Crowstorm!" He tried again, slightly louder this time.
Crowstorm shifted over so that his green eyes locked with Creekwind's own warm brown. "What?" He half-grumbled sleepily, glaring at Creekwind.
"Cricketflight wants you," Creekwind replied, "We're having an ultimate sibling meeting!" Crowstorm smiled amusedly, remembering when they used to use that term as kits. The meetings tended to be unproductive, and, at the time, usually consisted of arguing about who would get who as their mentor and who stole the moss-ball. But still, they were important.
"Yeah, yeah," The black tom mumbled, stumbling unsteadily to his paws, "I'm up."
Creekwind's whiskers twitched with amusement, and he made his way out of the den, Crowstorm on his tail. Cricketflight beamed when she saw the tom, who stuck his tounge out in response.
When the two tomcats had sat down near the rest of their siblings, Cricketflight started talking, "Okay, so. This Ultimate Sibling Meeting-" Here both Cinderbreeze and Crowstorm snickered "-Has been called to order," Cricketflight continued with a huff, "Due to strange behavior from the Senior Warriors."
"I don't really… care," Crowstorm informed her, rolling his eyes, "Those fleabags are two steps away from the Elder's den anyways. If I was that old I would probably be acting strange too."
Cinderbreeze hit him with her tail, "Be respectful," She half-hissed, "And anyways, they aren't just acting strange. They're acting strange towards us specifically."
Crowstorm frowned, "Well that probably means we're in trouble." He groaned, "I just don't want a repeat of the bramble incident." Every cat winced, and Cloudedrain full-on shuddered.
"We don't talk about that," Creekwind muttered, bad memories flooding his mind. Every cat nodded with agreement.
Cricketflight was about to speak - again - when her name was called from the edge of the clearing. "Cricketflight," A tom's voice called, and the black she-cats expression morphed into a curious mix of disgust, disdain, and full-out hatred.
"StarClan save me," She grumbled as a gray tom trotted over to the siblings, his tail raised. "What?" Cricketflight snapped, the fur near the base of her tail unconsciously bristling.
Mistheart narrowed his eyes, "You're on the midday patrol, in case you forgot." The last words he practically spat with considerable disdain and mocking, causing Cricketflight to stand up angrily.
Before the she-cat could rip his tail off, Cloudedrain rose to his paws, as casually as he could weaving between the two warriors. "Sorry Mistheart," He apologized softly, "That was our fault. We called her over here first, and forgot that she had a patrol."
Mistheart huffed, although now it was more for show than anything. Cloudedrain had a peculiar gift for diffusing conflict, one which was unfortunately rarely used due to his timid nature. "Yeah, well, come on. Gorsewing and Briarpelt are waiting." As Cricketflight moved past Cloudedrain, Creekwind noticed her mouthing a quick 'thank you' to him.
"So, what now?" Crowstorm asked, "If there's nothing else, I'm going back to bed."
"I don't think there's anything else…," Cinderbreeze trailed off contemplatively, flicking her tail idly. She turned to Creekwind and Cloudedrain, as if asking their opinion on the matter.
"Yeah, I think that's it," Creekwind nodded, "The senior warriors are just acting kinda strange."
Crowstorm raised an eyebrow, "So what you're telling me is that you dragged me out of my nest just to tell me something that probably doesn't even concern me." He rolled his eyes and got to his paws, "Well, if that's all, then I'm going back to bed." He trotted away, leaving the three other cats to stew in an uncomfortable silence.
"You should probably take a nap too," Cinderbreeze advised, glancing at Creekwind. "You were on Dawn Patrol, right? And I know that we kept you up late with that game, so you should get some rest."
Creekwind blinked, glancing down at his paws. Now that she had mentioned it, he was actually pretty tired. "Good idea," The gray tabby yawned, lightly stretching, "I think I'll go do that." Cloudedsky shot him a friendly smile as he made his way back into the Warrior's den.
When he entered the dim half-light again, it didn't take him long to find his best. He had to step over Crowstorm to get there, but the black tom only flicked his ears and cracked one of his eyes slightly open in acknowledgment.
With a satisfied sigh, Creekwind collapsed into his nest, wriggling comfortably in the fluffy moss. He watched the small specks of dust floating in a stray sunbeam for a quiet, peaceful moment, before black spots overtook his vision and he fell into a comfortable sleep.
When the tomcat awoke, it was to someone yelling his name and twin sets of forest green eyes peering into his own. "Good, he's up!" Lynxpaw purred, her tail flicking with satisfaction behind her.
"It isn't like you to take a midday nap," The tomcat beside her teased, his whiskers twitching.
Tiredly - although he was better rested - Creekwind rose to his paws. "What time is it?" He asked blearily, noticing how Rushpaw was back.
"It's late afternoon," Said tomcat purred amusedly, "You must have been really tired to sleep that long!"
Playfully, Creekwind shot him a glare, "You know as well as I do that that was your fault! I said no, I don't want to do creek-skipping, I have Dawn Patrol tomorrow, and then you said, It'll be fine, don't worry, and then Lynxpaw said-"
"That Thrushstar is announcing who is going to the Gathering right now!" The light brown tabby interrupted, practically dragging her brother out of the den. "Come on!" She ordered Creekwind, who slowly followed her out of the den.
Indeed, the leader of ThunderClan was standing on Highledge. Luckily, it seemed like he hadn't started talking yet, as the whole Clan was not gathered in the center of camp. The powerful tom waited a few more moments before he started talking.
"As you probably know," He started off, "Tonight is the Gathering. And it happens to fall on the fifteen moon mark." All the older cats muttered amongst themselves, while the younger ones were left to glance at each other nervously and curiously. "Because of this, the cats that will be going to the Gathering are me, Reedstrike, Yarrowwhisker, Morningpelt, Larkstripe, Mistheart, Cricketflight, Cinderbreeze, Crowstorm, Creekwind, Cloudedrain, Lynxpaw, and Rushpaw."
Creekwind's ears shot up in surprise. The only cats that seemed to be going were the leader, deputy, medicine cat, and all the young cats - plus the mentors of Lynxpaw and Rushpaw. Beside him, said cats were stiff with shock and nervous apprehension. There has to be a reason for this.
Thrushstar gazed at his Clan for a few more moments, before nodding and jumping down from the ledge. "ThunderClan!" He boomed, "Come on!"
Creekwind swallowed and got to his paws, trailing after the group of ThunderClan cats. Confusion scrambled his mind and numbed his paws, but the thrill of nervousness that snaked down his spine could do nothing to stop him from following his leader. The trust he had in the gray tom outweighed the nerves clouding his senses.
As a thick and heavy silence fell over the cats, Creekwind found his mind drifting to the simple functions of movement - step, step, duck under that branch, step, hop over that bramble, weave through that bush, step, step. Before he was even consciously aware of it, the cats had made their way to the tree bridge.
Creekwind sniffed at the air, catching a fishy tang still surrounding the trunk of the tree. It looked like RiverClan had gotten there first. Creekwind also scented something like pine needles on the air, leading him to conclude that ShadowClan was not far behind them. There was no trace of WindClan, but he figured that they would show up soon.
After considering the fallen tree for a brief moment, Thrushstar crouched to the ground, his powerful muscles bunching beneath him, and leaped, his claws easily gripping the slippery bark. ThunderClan streaked after him, powerful and organized.
When it came his turn to jump, Creekwind imitated Thrushstar, crouching and leaping. His jump was a little less graceful than he would've liked it to be, but hey, it got the job done. He carefully strode across the tree-bridge, taking extra care not to fall off and embarrass himself by falling off, especially since ShadowClan had just arrived, and was waiting impatiently for ThunderClan to cross.
Creekwind lept off the bridge after a couple precarious moments. He shuddered; unlike most ThunderClan cats he was not a huge fan of climbing trees. Especially when they were wet. And slippery. And everyone was watching him.
Most of ThunderClan was already gathered in the clearing, chatting with RiverClan. Creekwind smiled when he caught Cricketflight and Lynxpaw socializing with a pair of young RiverClan cats.
"Hi Minnowpaw, hi Sorrelpaw!" Creekwind greeted them cheerfully. The cats gave him a collective amused glance, and Creekwind blinked, "What?"
"Hi Creekpaw," The gray-brown she-cat mewed pointedly.
Creekwind puffed his chest out slightly, "Actually, it's Creekwind now- oh."
"Yeah, oh," The brown tabby tom spoke up, an amused purr rippling through his voice. "Nice name, by the way."
"Thanks!" Creekwind mewed cheerfully, "What names did Troutstar give you?"
"I'm Minnowfur!" The gray-brown she-cat mewed proudly, "And that loser over there is Sorrelspring." Sorrelspring smacked his sister over the head with his tail for that comment, and she playfully swatted him back with hers.
"Oh no," Creekwind mock-sighed 'sadly', shaking his head. "Poor, poor, Minnowfur. She got the ol' fur-pelt-tail treatment."
"Hey!" Minnowfur retorted, puffing her fur up to make herself look bigger, "It's sophisticated!" She bowled Creekwind over and started tussling with him. Sorrelspring just watched, half-amused, while Cricketflight and Lynxpaw looked like they very much wanted to join in the fun.
"Now, now," Cricketflight eventually 'scolded', grabbing her brother by the scruff and slinging him away from Minnowfur, "No fighting at the Gathering. Come on now."
Minnowfur stuck her tounge out, while Creekwind just groaned painfully from where he had landed. "Get up, you're fine!" Lynxpaw called over to him, without moving a paw herself.
Creekwind groaned melodramatically, stumbling over to Lynxpaw. "Lynxpaw," He croaked, throwing himself to the ground and clutching at her pelt, "I'm dying. You're my only hope!"
Lynxpaw stared down at him, no expression in her eyes. "Then die," She hissed dramatically, shoving him off her. Creekwind wailed in 'horror', causing Cricketflight and Minnowfur to burst out laughing. It even placed a small smile on Sorrelspring's face.
Suddenly, a yowl rang out over the gathered cats. Creekwind's ears perked up from where he was sprawled on the ground, and the standing cats turned towards the tree. Four powerful leaders stood in the branches.
"The Gathering will now commence!" A blue-gray tomcat yowled. He turned to the WindClan leader, a short ginger she-cat, "Petalstar may go first."
"Thank you Troutstar," The pretty she-cat purred, dipping her head. She then turned her focus towards the throng of attentive cats. "WindClan has been well lately. We have two new warriors, Rabbitwhisker and Acorntail!"
The clearing became awash with cheers. Among the crowd, Creekwind could spot two similar-looking brown cats who both looked slightly starstruck by all the cheering.
"I have nothing else to report." Petalstar finished, wrapping her slender tail around her paws and nodding at Troutstar to go next.
"Prey has been running well in RiverClan," Troutstar began. An amused purr welled up in Creekwind's throat at the thought of running fish, but he quickly quelled it after a senior warrior shot him a glare. "Quicksplash has given birth to two healthy kits, and we have two new warriors." Cricketflight turned towards Sorrelspring with a grin just as Troutstar announced "Sorrelspring and Minnowfur!"
Creekwind yowled his friends' names very loudly, Minnowfur shooting him an amused look and Sorrelspring giving him a half-embarrassed glare. Cricketflight and Lynxpaw also cheered loudly, although they didn't do it as obnoxiously loud as Creekwind had.
"StarClan, that was the worst," Sorrelspring mumbled, right before the ShadowClan leader, Marshstar, started his speech.
"ShadowClan has been doing well," The bulky tomcat started, glancing over the crowd of cats. "We have three new apprentices - Archpaw, Sparkpaw, and Aspenpaw." Marshstar allowed the cats in the clearing to cheer for a moment, before he lashed his tail and continued, "And one new warrior, Gingerpelt."
Creekwind spotted the, well, ginger she-cat. She was standing proudly, a giant grin on her face. "Awfully sunny for a ShadowClan cat," He muttered to Lynxpaw, who huffed amusedly.
It was Thrushstar's turn to speak. The powerful tomcat leaned forwards on his branch, "ThunderClan has been doing great recently. Thistlepad has recently given birth to three healthy kits-," He paused for a moment as happy purrs rumbled across the clearing, "And we have five new warriors!" This time, amusement rippled across the clearing. Almost every cat knew who he was talking about; after all there had only been one litter of five born in recent times.
"Cricketflight, Crowstorm, Creekwind, Cloudedrain, and Cinderbreeze!" A chant went up among the gathered cats, and Creekwind had never felt so… proud. He could see Crowstorm and Cloudedrain ducking their heads, Cinderbreeze awkwardly smiling at the cats around her, and to his side Cricketflight puffing her chest out, soaking in the praise. Creekwind felt a purr rumble deep in his throat, and Lynxpaw nudged him playfully.
"Now-" Thrushstar started, right before a shocked hush fell over the gathered cats. Creekwind whipped around and there, standing at the edge of the tree-bridge was a large, imposing golden-brown tom, and at his side stood a nervous-looking, very small dark-gray tabby tom. The golden-brown tom stared straight at Thrushstar, who eventually flattened his ears and ducked his head. The other leaders did the same.
"Who in the name of StarClan is that?" Creekwind caught Lynxpaw whispering to Minnowfur. The gray-brown she-cat just shrugged helplessly in response, confusion dancing in her gaze.
Their query would soon be answered. The golden-brown tom stepped forwards and addressed the gathered cats, his voice loud and commanding. "My name is Goldstar," he proclaimed, "Goldstar of DewClan. We have come at the fifteen moon mark, as is customary."
Creekwind felt his heartbeat drumming rapidly. He was right! There was something about the fifteen-moon mark, although now he wasn't so sure that he wanted to know what it was. The tomcat - Goldstar - was speaking in a solemn and commanding voice. Creekwind felt a prickling sense of foreboding trail it's way down his back.
"Please bring forwards all cats between ten and fourteen moons of age." Creekwind's head spun, and he felt sick to his stomach. That was him, wasn't it? He felt someone tug on his tail and felt a small sense of relief when he looked back and met Lynxpaw's steady gaze. His friends and siblings would all be with him. This - this would be fine, right?
Nervously, Creekwind padded up to the base of the fallen tree. All around him young cats from all of the Clans also came forwards. Fear danced in some of the cats' eyes, however some held steady, fire sparking in their gazes. Creekwind sat down, his ears twitching as he caught a whispered argument behind him.
"What are you doing here?" A she-cat hissed. Creekwind smirked; he recognized his sister's tone anywhere. That was definitely Cricketflight.
"I'm fourteen moons, you know." Another cat, a tom, responded. Creekwind rolled his eyes; he'd recognize that haughty tone anywhere. Were Cricketflight and Mistheart really getting into an argument now?
Before Cricketflight could retaliate, the unfamiliar golden-brown tomcat from before strode up to them. "All cats belonging to RiverClan please step forwards." Creekwind caught Minnowfur's terrified gaze as she, Sorrelspring, and a couple of apprentices were shoved to the front of the crowd. Creekwind dug his claws into the ground to stop himself from doing something drastic. The way these cats were treating his friends really irked him, and he desperately wished he could do something about it.
The Goldstar considered the cats in front of him for a moment. The two apprentices huddled together, terror sparking in their gazes. The tom snorted loftily and turned away from them, instead focusing on Sorrelspring and Minnowfur. The gray-brown she-cat met him with a fiery glare, her tail lashing defiantly behind her. In contrast, Sorrelspring sat beside her, a steely coolness sharpening his gaze. The golden-brown tom nodded decisively, padding up to Sorrelspring.
"What is your name?" He boomed. It sounded more like an order than a question.
"Sorrelspring," Said tomcat replied curtly. As Creekwind eyed him, he noticed that Sorrelspring's tail appeared to be bristling slightly. It was so subtle that no one would notice it if they weren't looking for it, but Creekwind had been his friend long enough that he had picked up on that nervous tick of his.
"Hmm," The giant of a tomcat rumbled, "You'll do. " He motioned with his tail for Sorrelspring to step forwards. Sorrelspring glanced towards Troutstar, who nodded slowly. The light brown tomcat reluctantly crept forwards, sitting down right next to the small dark gray tomcat who had arrived as well. The little gray tom flashed a small smile at Sorrelspring, but Sorrelspring simply flicked his ears and turned his head away. Creekwind noted an odd sense of sadness on the little tom's face.
However, Creekwind didn't dwell on this for long. "ShadowClan!" Goldstar boomed. The only cat that nervously loped forwards was an average-sized ginger she-cat. A flash of white blazed across her chest, and she met the tom's eyes with her own light blue ones. Goldstar snorted, lashing his tail and glowering up at Marshstar. "Is this it?" He snapped, gesturing towards the she-cat, who blinked at his sudden shift in tone.
"Yes," Marshstar snarked back, "We haven't had many kits in recent times." He draped his tail over his paws coldly, arching an eyebrow nonchalantly at Goldstar, "Are you accusing me of breaking the Code?"
Goldstar narrowed his eyes at Marshstar's remark, but turned back to the she-cat. "Fine," He mewed coldly, "And your name?"
"Gingerpelt," She stated firmly.
Goldstar gestured with his tail to where Sorrelspring and the little tom were sitting. "Go join Sootflight," He ordered. Unlike Sorrelspring, Gingerpelt trotted over without a second thought, grinning breezily at the two toms beside her. Like before, Sorrelspring ignored her, but Sootflight smiled back shyly.
Creekwind jumped as something grazed his ear. "That tom's a warrior?" Lynxpaw whispered incredulously. Creekwind flicked her playfully with his tail, but nodded in agreement. He looked a little young, didn't he?
"WindClan!" Goldstar called, interrupting their conversation. Two warriors and about three apprentices padded up, and Creekwind blinked. Of the two warriors, one of them was the blue-eyed tom he had seen at the border earlier. The other cat looked identical; right down to the soft fade of her darker brown tail into the rest of her lighter brown fur. However, the she-cat sported dark brown eyes in place of her brother's piercing blue.
Goldstar glanced over the cats in front of him, and then sharply flicked his tail at the apprentices. "You are dismissed." He mewed. The apprentices nervously glanced at the two warriors, but fled back to their Clan.
"Names?" Goldstar asked the two cats. The two glanced at eachother, before the she-cat stepped forwards. "I'm Acorntail, and that's my brother Rabbitwhisker." Creekwind noted how her voice was soft and smooth - almost flowery in a sense. Acorntail held Goldstar's gaze confidently, while Rabbitwhisker simply glanced at him and looked away.
Goldstar nodded, seemingly impressed by Acorntail's conduct. "Both of you," He stated firmly, "Over there." Before Petalstar could protest, the golden-brown tom glanced up at her, "Need I remind you that this is WindClan's turn." Petalstar snapped her mouth shut and nodded, a sadness lingering in her gaze. Troutstar glanced at her sympathetically.
"ThunderClan!" Goldstar yowled, and the largest group of cats surged forwards; all Creekwind's Clanmates. Mistheart sat down with a haughty glance at the tom, seemingly unconcerned. On the contrary, Cloudedrain shook with terror, only slightly calmed by Cinderbreeze pressing comfortingly against his side. On the opposing side of the group, Crowstorm seemed a bit unsettled by the whole situation, but still attempted to project his normal nonchalant air. Rushpaw and Lynxpaw sent matching fiery glares towards Goldstar, and Cricketflight presses her muzzle into Creekwind's fur, calming him slightly. Letting out a long breath, Creekwind finally glanced at Goldstar, who was observing the ThunderClan cats with one cocked eyebrow.
"That is certainly a lot of cats, Thrushstar," Goldstar mewed.
"StarClan has been kind to us these past moons," Thrushstar replied, flicking his ears nervously. Creekwind felt surprise course through him; Thrushstar had always been cool and collected. The gray tabby had never seen him show the slightest bit of nervousness - at least, not until today.
Goldstar let out a hum, not even bothering to give a response. His unnerving eyes robes over the gathered cats. Finally, he gestured to Cloudedrain, who hadn't stopped shaking since he walked up to base the of the tree-bridge. "Dismissed," He stated coldly. Cloudedrain's ears flicked up in surprise, and Cinderbreeze gazed back at him hesitantly. "You're dismissed as well," Goldstar meowed frostily, locking eyes with Cinderbreeze, who simply dipped her head and escorted a shivering Cloudedrain away.
Next, Goldstar directed his attention towards Mistheart, who appeared to have been purposefully ignoring the golden-brown tomcat. "You're dismissed," Goldstar curtly ordered. Mistheart rose to his feet with a contemptuous snort and padded away. "You as well," He directed Crowstorm, who had been apathetically staring at him. Crowstorm nodded sarcastically and strode away, keeping an eye on the proceedings with concealed interest.
There were now only four cats left standing under the tree. Fire still ravaged Lynxpaw's gaze; however Rushpaw seemed to have somewhat calmed down. Cricketflight's tail was twitching behind her, her curiosity seeming to have won over her fear. Beside her, Creekwind's fur slowly stopped bristling as he grew curious as well. With an arched brow, Goldstar appraised the cats, finally stating , "Apprentices are dismissed."
Rushpaw turned and returned to his seat, Lynxpaw trailing reluctantly behind him. Goldstar turned away from them and appraised Cricketflight and Creekwind. "Such a shame I couldn't have picked both of you…," He muttered contemplatively.
"Pick us for what?" Cricketflight asked boldly, stepping forwards and meeting Goldstar's gaze. The golden-brown tomcat's face swiftly morphed into a sneer.
"Nothing that concerns you anymore," He hissed with an air of finality. "You are dismissed." Cricketflight gazed up at him, wide-eyed, before she spun around and raced angrily to Minnowfur, who rested her tail comfortingly on the bristling she-cat's shoulder.
Creekwind felt a prickling sense of foreboding trail it's way down his spine. Goldstar was eying him how a hungry warrior might look at a choice piece of prey on the fresh-kill pile. "Your name?" Goldstar boomed intimidatingly.
"Creekwind," He stated confidently, attempting to project a similarly intimidating air. Goldstar inclined his head and leaped onto the tree-bridge, tail lifted commandingly. "All chosen cats, follow me." He narrowed his eyes, "Or take one last look at your Clanmates, because this is the last time you will ever see them."
Creekwind's eyes widened, and he had just enough time to catch the flash of piercing brown that was Cricketflight's terrified gaze before he was shoved onto the treebridge, away from the Clans and into the unknown.