Silverpaw stretched his legs and yawned loudly, accidentally bumping another of the apprentices that was talking to a clanmate, briefly interrupting their conversation.
Sunhigh beat down upon the camp. Silverpaw continued to fidget in his bedding before giving up on sleep, standing up and padding out of the den. The camp sprawled before him, populated with lazy conversations and wandering thoughts. Unsatisfied, he walked over to the nearest warrior he could find.
"Hey, Lightningtail!" he called out. The golden tom turned his head, "Hello, Silverpaw. What do you need?" Silverpaw stewed at his response. Why do you assume I need something from you? What if I just want to talk? He shook the thoughts from his head.
"When does the next patrol head out? I'm feeling a bit restless." Lightningtail considered this slightly, and replied in a somewhat patronizing manner, "Looks like you just missed the sunhigh patrol. The next hunting party won't be for a while now. Sorry, bud."
Silverpaw grumbled something akin to "thanks" and headed walked out of the camp. Why am I so bored? Normally being an apprentice is long, grueling work between hunting, practicing, patrolling… But I don't have anything to do!
The forest around him was harsh and humid, providing nothing of interest to sate his interest save the intense heat that felt as if it were pounding him into the moist earth. Letting his paws take him where they will, the canopy above him began to thin, and the ground became siltier. Soon he found himself standing in the middle of Sunningrocks, and he settled down near the river. The water flowed by, unpredictable yet methodical, chaotic yet orderly. He was unsure how long he had been lying on the bank when he heard a call from the other shore.
Silverpaw perked his ears and sprang up, prepared to run if his adversary was hostile.
"Hey! You!" the voice called. Silverpaw observed the cat that had addressed him. A RiverClan cat to be sure, even if he wasn't in their territory he could identify it by the smell of fish alone. He was a slender brown tom, likely about as many moons as Silverpaw, yet still exhibiting the power that RiverClan cats pride themselves on. He flicked his tail nonchalantly when Silverpaw continued to stare at him. Although it was hard to tell from this distance, he could have sworn he saw a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.
"Hello? Anyone in there?" the cat joked. "Uh, h-hi." Silverpaw stuttered in return. What is this cat doing? Should I run? Should I fight him? Is this a trap? Questions ran through Silverpaw's head.
"...ats your name?" Silverpaw blinked. He had completely spaced out.
"Sorry, w-what was that?" he offered.
"What's your name?" the cat repeated. "I'm Thornpaw."
Silverpaw struggled to make his mouth move. "Silverpaw."
Thornpaw acknowledged him with a quick, curt bow of the head. Silverpaw imitated him, awkwardly lowering his head for quite a bit longer than Thornpaw had. It's against the warrior code to make friends with cats from other clans… But here I am talking with a RiverClan cat. Am I breaking the code?... No, this isn't making friends. This is just observing the opposition, addressing the enemy. Both cats seemed to be lost in thought for some time, before Thornpaw broke the silence. "Well, I'll see you at the Gathering tonight." And with that, he casually padded away. Silverpaw was left, stunned. Huh? This cat seemed so interested in talking to me, yet he hardly said a word! And how did he know that I would be going to the Gathering? Does he know something I don't know? His mind addled with confusion, Silverpaw began to walk back to camp.
In the time that he had been out, much of the day had gone by. The sun was hidden behind the trees, and the refreshing cool of night had began to wash over the parched land.
Returning to the camp, Silverpaw started towards the apprentice's den, but thought better of it and instead turned to Rainstar's den. Mentally rehearsing his request, he pushed aside the moss covering the entrance and reluctantly stepped in. The grey she-cat was sitting in his bed, tearing apart a rabbit, and she spoke to him without looking up.
"Hello, Silverpaw. What brings you here?" Her soothing voice filled his ears and threw him off slightly. Woah. For a moment there she sounded like…
"Well.. I was wondering if I could go to th-the Gathering tonight… it would be my first one a-and… I think it would be good experience to have." She gave him an odd look, but her expression turned sympathetic after a few moments. She knows something is up… But she seems almost… understanding? How could she know why I want to go? This thought troubled him for an instant before she spoke again.
"Why, I was already planning on having you attend this Gathering. Do not fret about it, little one." He nodded in thanks and backed out of the den.
The camp was far more active now that the patrols were mostly back and the blazing heat had gone. Cats milled about, talking and carrying prey back to their dens, sharing food with their friends. Silverpaw sighed longingly, and sulked into the apprentices den.
Awoken by the sharp yowl of his leader, Silverpaw stood to join his clan in the center of camp. Rainstar stood tall at the top of Highrock, patiently awaiting for the cats to settle and stop talking.
"Tonight is a full moon, and thus there will be a Gathering at Fourtrees. I will now list the names of all the cats that will be attending the Gathering."
She listed fifteen or so names, and Silverpaw sat anxiously waiting for her to call his name. What if she doesn't call my name? What if she forgot, or she thought that I was too excited to go, or she knew that I would be meeting a cat from another clan? His worries were interrupted by the sound of his name: "... and Silverpaw. We shall set out now."
Relieved, he joined the ranks of his clan making their way to the Gathering.
Thunderclan was the last to arrive, with Rainstar cooly hopping onto the ledge with the other three leaders staring at her with a mixture of respect and solidarity.
Silverpaw scanned the crowd of cats for Thornpaw's bold brown coat, and finally saw him sitting at the edge of the clearing alone. Huh… He seemed to me like a cat who would be popular; at least someone who would have a friend at the gathering, but he's totally alone. Curious, Silverpaw treaded the circumference of the clearing to meet him. Thornpaw's eyes lit up when he saw Silverpaw approaching, and Silverpaw tried to mirror his enthusiasm.
"Hey, glad to see you could make it! Say, why don't we go into the woods to talk, these Gatherings are always boring anyways." Silverpaw was startled by the RiverClan cat's forwardness. We just met today, and he wants to skip the gathering to hang out? This cat just keeps getting stranger and stranger.
Torn between seeing his first gathering and making a potential friend, Silverpaw sat there, muzzle agape at the suggestion. "Uh…" But Thornpaw had already begun to pad into the woods. Silverpaw quickly checked that nobody was looking, and headed after the brown tom.
The two cats walked in silence along the river, neither cat daring to say a word for quite a time. Overcome by curiosity, Silverpaw finally spoke. "So… where are we going?" Thornpaw kept walking without turning his head. "To my favorite place. Don't worry, you'll be impressed."
Confused by the vague response, Silverpaw just continued to follow him through the full moon. Thornpaw soon veered away from the river towards the RiverClan camp. Oh no! What if he's taking me hostage to his camp? Should I run now? Silverpaw almost didn't notice that Thornpaw had stopped in a clearing.
"Lie down on your back here." Thornpaw motioned with his tail, before gracefully stretching onto his back. Even as he was moving to do the same, Silverpaw had doubts. Exposing my belly is a dangerous thing to do, especially with a cat from a rival clan… All his doubt faded away when he looked up.
Silverpelt shone brighter than it ever had in the night sky, or perhaps Silverpaw had never taken the time to fully appreciate its beauty. Awestruck, he had nothing to say to Thornpaw as he gazed at the magnificent display that filled his vision.
"Pretty cool, huh? I found this a couple moons ago, and I lied there for so long, I fell asleep. When I came back to camp, nobody even noticed I was gone. So, every once and awhile, I sneak away to stargaze." This cat had called to me across the river, invited to hang out at the gathering, and stole me away to his territory just to lie down and watch the sky with me? Silverpaw suddenly felt very silly for having such doubts in Thornpaw's intentions.
The Gathering took place at Fourtrees, with nothing interesting to discuss. None questioned the absence of two particular cats as they went back to their clans to settle into sleep and hope that the next day would be kinder than the present. But to Silverpaw and Thornpaw, there was just this moment. These young, springy trees, this soft earth. The feeling of a friendly presence by your side. And the starry coat of Silverpelt marched ever onward into the future.