Chapter 2
The loud meowing of furious cats filled the air as Redstar climbed to the top of a branch on the great Yew tree. Emeraldclaw sensed Autumnwind glaring at him from across the camp. What!? Are you still mad about that? Grow a spine and get over it, birdbrain!
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Yew tree for a clan meeting!" Redstar called. "I wonder what our leader has to say about all this…" Lionleap meowed, taking a spot next to Emeraldclaw. But Emeraldclaw didn't respond with anything other than a tiny grunt of acknowledgement. Lionleap was about to say more but quickly hushed himself. Heh, they know not to bother me when I'm in a bad mood.
"As you all know…" Redstar started. "We were attacked by Silverclan on the border. Lunarpelt herself was leading the patrol, and one of our warriors, Owltone, has been heavily injured by the conflict. I'd like to thank our fellow emergency patrol for rescuing our troubled clanmates in their time of need." Yowls of approval rose through the crowd.
"However, as you may know. Tonight is the night of the gathering. That means that Riverstar is most definitely going to bring this up at the meeting…" Redstar continued. "This in mind, I want to ask everyone not to get angry or riled up when he does. We're not here to start any more conflicts." Emeraldclaw rolled his eyes. If any cat gets in my way, I'll shred them to mouse bits.
"Anyway, that's all I had to say. Stormfall will come around and appoint people to go to the gathering. We'll depart at sunfall!" Redstar dismissed the clan with a swing of his tail as cats started going back to normal routine.
"Hey Emeraldclaw. Gathering tonight. Oh, and you too Lionleap!" Stormfall simply called.
"Got it!" Emeraldclaw replied. Lionleap silently dipped his head in acknowledgement. It was no question that Emeraldclaw would be admitted to the gathering, as he was one of the best fighters in the clan. He felt oddly powerful.
Emeraldclaw's mood began to gradually increase as the day went on. He loved gatherings. He really didn't care much for his clanmates, but special cats would always be at the gatherings. Those he considered his true friends. I'll get to see them again! He smiled.
"Woah! It's weird to see you in a happy mood!" Leafshine teased as she padded up beside him.
"What? Is it weird to be happy once in a while?" He grunted.
"Hey, hey, keep your fur on. I was just joking," she purred. "I'll see you around." She flicked his whiskers with her tail before padding away towards the fresh kill pile. She thinks she's so cute with her antics. Emeraldclaw suspected she had a crush on him. Or rather, it was seemingly obvious. But he didn't care either way. She wasn't interesting enough for his concern.
"Alright everyone! Are you ready? It's time for the gathering!" Stormfall called from the middle of the camp. Emeraldclaw looked up and realized that the night was already starting to begin. Time goes by so fast, huh… Emeraldclaw took his place in the line of cats and started heading out. Redstar took the lead, followed by Stormfall. Whistleleaf, the clan's medicine cat, and her apprentice Firesoul, were just behind them.
As they continued trekking towards the Noble Stones, Emeraldclaw caught scent of Silverclan. He bristled as the Silverclan cats ahead glared at them with vicious eyes. "Don't pay them any mind" Stormfall's voice caught his ear as he noticed his deputy has slowed his pace a bit to stand by him. Surprisingly, Emeraldclaw didn't feel the need to argue.
"Sure thing," Emeraldclaw meowed, as he scanned the Silverclan cats for a particular feline. By the time they had entered the stony hollow, Goldclan and Stoneclan were already there. Rainclan had been the last to arrive after Silverclan. Despite all the tensions in the air, Emeraldclaw wasn't fazed by it. He rushed forward into the crowd of clan-mixed felines. He was so distracted that he didn't even immediately realize it when a cat bumped into his side.
"S-sorry," the other cat replied. It was a slender white tom with Goldclan scent. Get outta my way! Emeraldclaw hissed and shoved him aside, heading towards the deputy's area. Ahead were the four deputies of the clans. Stormfall from Rainclan, Ripplewind from Goldclan, and of course…
"Lunarpelt! Amberflare!" Emeraldclaw called in greeting. The two he had named left their station for a bit to greet him. As Lunarpelt approached, her beautiful silver pelt glowed in the moonlight, while the brown and black haired tom, Amberflare, followed.
"Hi Emeraldclaw!" Lunarpelt purred and rubbed her cheek against his. Amberflare also gave a purr in greeting. Lunarpelt and Amberflare were the only two cats Emeraldclaw really cared about.
"I'm so happy to see you guys! I was waiting all day for this gathering!" Emeraldclaw purred.
"That's all well and good but, remember, we are in different clans so…" Amberflare meowed.
"Argh, you always do that Amberflare. Lighten up a bit!" Emeraldclaw gave Amberflare a friendly nudge. It was true though. His two best friends were of different clan. And they were the deputies none the less. But Emeraldclaw didn't really mind. "To me, you two will always be clanmates!"
"Oh, you never change. But you should try maybe getting along with your own clanmates. You know you have a terrible reputation in your clan," Lunarpelt commented. "I always hear your clanmates complain about you at gatherings." For a second Emeraldclaw bristled, but then took a deep breath and let his fur fall flat. Who cares what my stupid clanmates think of me? They should know I'm a better fighter and hunter than all of them!
"Their pathetic plights don't interest me!" Emeraldclaw simply grunted.
"Also…. I'm sorry about the whole border skirmish that happened earlier…" Lunarpelt meowed. "I can sometimes lose my cool a bit." Oh yeah! I forgot about that whole thing. Why did it start in the first place, again?
"It's okay. Riverstar, your amazingly tactful leader, will find a way to twist the story around to where it was Rainclan's fault, I'm sure" Amberflare let out a sarcastic mrrow of amusement.
"Hey there! I don't need any of that from you!" Lunarpelt retorted, but not angrily. "By the way. How is your clan doing? I heard that your clanmates were pretty annoyed when you were appointed deputy." Amberflare hung his head and sighed.
"I'm working on that. It's honestly annoying. They all wanted Troustmist to be the deputy, because he's so cool and strong and all that. But just because he's been a warrior way longer than me doesn't mean I'm not capable," Amberflare meowed, pride starting to come back to his chest. Emeraldclaw felt pity for him. From what he heard last gathering, Stoneclan cats were disobeying Amberflare's orders intentionally and not listening to him despite the orders of their leader. Man, Stoneclan really isn't in good shape right now. I'm glad my clan isn't like that…
But he could hardly blame Stoneclan cats for how they acted. Their leader Shadestar had a pretty dark past. Many moons ago, he had apparently almost taken over the whole forest when he tried to conquer the other clans. His ideology was to help his own clan while ignoring the needs of the others. Emeraldclaw thought it was a miracle that such a leader could remain clan leader. From what he heard, Shadestar tried to walk the road to redemption after a huge war had erupted and tried to re-earn his respect amongst the clans. And while most cats forgave him, no one ever forgot his past deeds. Shadestar had been known to become very quiet and subdued since then.
"Well if it's any consolation, I think you're an amazing deputy!" Emeraldclaw purred.
"Hey, what about me!?" Lunarpelt remarked. "I've been a deputy much longer. And all clans fear my amazing, talented battle skills!" It was true. Lunarpelt was probably the strongest fighter in all the clans. Emeraldclaw has seen her fight many times on the battlefield. She's swift, reads her opponents well, and her moves are so elegant it's almost like a battle dance. Emeraldclaw sighed as he remembered the fight that happened earlier. He didn't wanna help Autumnwind because it would have required him to fight Lunarpelt, who he considered a best friend.
"Alright. Without further ado! Let's begin the gathering!" Dawnstar's voice rang out above all. All four clan leaders were perched on a giant stone that was in the middle of the clearing. The stone reflected the light of the full moon brilliantly, which is why this place was called Noble Stones. "Goldclan is doing quite well…" she began. Emeraldclaw ignored most of what she said, since the usual speeches at the gathering were just the same old speeches about how the clan has good prey, new apprentices, etc. What he, and most of the cats, were waiting for was the inevitable drama that would be brought about by Silverclan's leader, Riverstar. "And we hope that the prey runs just as well during the upcoming leafbare!" Dawnstar finished, taking a step back. Next in line was Shadestar.
"S-stoneclan is doing fine as well. We've recently driven a small nest of foxes from our t…territory… We also have two new apprentices….Duskpaw and Birdpaw…" Shadestar commented. His voice was very shaky and subdued as always.
"Birdpaw! Duskpaw! Birdpaw! Duskpaw!" The crowd of cats in the gathering yelled their name. Emeraldclaw looked over to the Stoneclan cats to see two young cats holding their heads up with pride. That must be the new apprentices.
"A…and that's all I have to report…" Shadestar silently walked to the back without meeting the gaze of the cats below him. Riverstar was about to step forward until Redstar immediately rushed forward.
"As for Rainclan!" Redstar began. Riverstar shot him an annoyed glance. "Our prey has been running well. We've recently found a new source of catmint, leaving us well prepared for the coming leafbare." At that comment, Whistleleaf and Firesoul seemed pleased. As much as Emeraldclaw didn't care for his clanmates, he had to admit, these two were a great asset to Rainclan, and among very few he really respected.
"Yeah, yeah… that's great and all. Now when do I get to speak!" Riverstar sarcastically meowed. Emeraldclaw rolled his eyes. Here we go again…
"I was just finishing my report. Feel free to take over from here." Redstar impressively didn't seem bothered by Riverstar's remark, and stepped back to let the Silverclan leader speak. Time for him to bring up that stupid border scuffle. Emeraldclaw sighed.
"For many years, our clan has flourished in the rich gift that Starclan bestowed upon us. That gift is the gift of water, which is a gift of life! However, despite the usual stormy climate of our forest, we've been lacking rain recently." Riverstar began. "Therefore, our clan has gotten very parched and have a request for our dear friends of Stoneclan!" At that comment, Amberflare seemed visibly distressed. What? What does Stoneclan have to do with anything!?
"What are you going on about now!?" A stray voice yelled from the audience. Emeraldclaw couldn't tell which clan that comment came from. He assumed it was from Stoneclan, though.
"Now, now there. Please hear my plea. Shadestar, I ask of thee to bestow upon us the Glittering Springs!" Riverstar meowed. Shadestar sighed.
"I understand your plight. But all of our clans are thirsty. The river that borders you with Rainclan should be enough to suffice, shouldn't it? And don't forget, your clan camp borders a lake shore," Shadestar calmly replied.
"In ancient times, the spring used to belong to us. Shouldn't it right that we reobtain access to such a valuable asset to our clan? After all, it was your ancestors that greedily stole the springs from our clan," Riverstar commented.
"That was then, not now. Our clan has no desire to steal anything from you," Shadestar remarked.
"I bet you'd know all about stealing wouldn't you Shadestar! Especially when it comes to territory!" The voice came from a Silverclan cat. Shadestar bristled. Emeraldclaw sighed. Bringing up Shadestar's past was the easiest way to make him angry.
"Urgh! That's enough! I'm not stealing anything! That's ridiculous. The territory is ours! You got that, Silverclan fleabags! If you want the springs from us, then fight us for it. Is that clear, Riverstar?" Shadestar's usual timid nature seemed to have made a complete 180. I guess no matter how good someone becomes, they never really lose their old temper.
But Riverstar didn't seem upset. He simply smirked. "You'll regret those words, Shadestar. You'll regret them…." He flicked his tail at Shadestar before jumping down the stones. "Alright, Silverclan, let's head back. This gathering is as good as done." Riverstar slowly led his clan out of the gathering spot.
"Hey, sorry. But that includes me. I gotta go now…" Lunarpelt meowed as she passed Emeraldclaw. Amberflare was standing beside her.
"Of course. Wanna meet later tonight here? The three of us?" Emeraldclaw said in a hushed voice. Amberflare and Lunarpelt looked at eachother for a second, before reluctantly nodding.
"Fine… but be careful. I'm not going to be caught meeting other clanmates. You know Troutmist will use that as ammo against me," Amberflare commented, turning away and heading towards the leaving Stoneclan cats. Lunarpelt whisked his ear with her tail before heading out also. Emeraldclaw smiled. These cats really are the only ones that matter to me…