"Wake up guys! Wake up! We have to line up for the Gathering!"
I was aroused from my sleep by Aspenpaw's high, excited voice above me and her little paw poking into my flank. I was up within instants, Gatherings had always excited me.
Moonpaw rose to her paws, yawning widely, "Okay guys. Rainpaw, Foxpaw, and I, we know the drill. But for Streampaw and Aspenpaw..." she looked over at the two younger she-cats, sitting side beside. "You'll have to just wing it. Stick by us and you'll be fine. The worst thing that can happen is that you'll get separated from us and end up stuck with a bunch of chatty WindClan apprentices."
Aspenpaw nodded enthusiastically while Streampaw smirked confidently.
"Alright, guys, we're off," Moonpaw said and led us out of the den, where the other cats were gathering, excitement in their hushed voices. Bumblepaw and Blossompaw were also coming; Bumblepaw whistled at Moonpaw and Blossompaw gave me a smile, making me blush.
As we stood waiting for Firestar and Brambleclaw to arrive, I looked around at who was invited. All of our mentors, several other warriors, Jayfeather. I felt bad for Briarpaw, left back in camp.
And then I noticed the absence of somebody. There was Moonpaw, Streampaw, Aspenpaw...but where was Rainpaw? How could I have missed her? I thought back. She hadn't been in the den ever since I woke up! How could know have noticed?
"Moonpaw!" I gasped, poking her hard, "Rainpaw's not here!"
"Rainpaw?" Moonpaw asked, getting instantly to her paws and scanning the cats, "How could she not be here?"
"I don't know!" I said, as Streampaw and Aspenpaw caught on and began to look around too. "Where else could she be?"
Moonpaw paused, deep in thought. "Well, I don't see why she'd be anywhere but the den or here with us, as Gathering's are important to her and she wouldn't want to miss it...but...perhaps her favorite place, the abandoned Twoleg nest?"
I felt sickened as I remembered what had happened last time I went there with her. I really, really hoped that wasn't where she was.
"Yeah, maybe's she just over their rummaging, like usual!" Streampaw said, for once her sassy attitude gone.
"Oh dear," Aspenpaw murmured, glancing about.
"We have to find her!" I gasped, "I cant...I cant let her be alone like that!"
"Why in StarClan not, Foxpaw?" Moonpaw asked me, sounding a bit worried, "She's often alone, out there rummaging..."
"Because...because..." I couldn't say it, even though it was swamping my mind. Images of Rainpaw, eyes dark and empty, the knife, tipped in blood, the things she had said. I stumbled backward, clawing at the sides of my head. "I have to help her!"
"Foxpaw!" Moonpaw gasped as I rocketed to my paws and bolted out of the camp, plowing through the other cats. "Foxpaw, stop!"
I could hear her paws behind me, and I struggled to outrun her. I was desperate, absolutely desperate to find Rainpaw and stop her, stop this from happening to her. I had to. I absolutely had to.
"FOXPAW!" Moonpaw bellowed, and I heard her footsteps stop and a shadow passed over me, and then her body dropped down on mine, holding me in place. I struggled violently, snarling and flailing at the air with unsheathed claws.
"Foxpaw, stop!" Moonpaw said, jerking me harshly. "Listen, we know Rainpaw. She cares about Gatherings. Wherever she is, she'll be sure to be back in time to leave for it! She wont miss it, I know, I know!"
"But...but..." I stammered, gasping for breath beneath her, "Rainpaw's been...diff..." But I couldn't say it. I realized I didn't want to make Moonpaw and the others worry. I wanted them to think everything was normal. "Yeah," I relented, "You're right."
She got off me and I followed her back to camp, head down and trail cutting a trail through the wash of leaf-fall leaves. Rainpaw, I thought desperately, wherever you are, whatever your doing...please just be normal again.
We reached the camp again and I stammered through the tunnel, apologizing to the cats I'd run over earlier. Moonpaw gave me sympathetic glances the entire way, and when we stopped back with Aspenpaw and Streampaw, they both patted me with their paws. I smiled weakly at both them.
By now Firestar had arrived, and he led the cats out of the hollow. My three friends and I stuck to the back, not talking as much as we usually did.
"Where is she?" I murmured, glancing around as if Rainpaw would materialize in the trees somewhere.
"I'm sure she's fine, Foxpaw," Moonpaw reassured me.
We continued on our way, and were nearing the lake when there was a commotion in the trees ahead of us. All four of us raised our heads, staring out, as suddenly Rainpaw burst into view, scattering leaves and grass. She was badly groomed, fur rustled and flecked and dirt. She smiled big when she saw us and bounded toward us.
"Hi!" she said, "I guess I'm a little late. Sorry?"
"Where were you?" I demanded angrily. "We were so worried!"
Rainpaw drew back, her smile fading. "I...I was just out and about...did I do something wrong?"
I was about to respond with an angry 'yes!' when Moonpaw jutted in, shoving me aside. "No, Rainpaw, you're fine. We were just worried, that's all. Next time try to get back a little earlier, okay?"
"Yeah!" she mewed agreeably, and fell into stop beside me.
I turned to her and in an undertone, so Moonpaw couldn't hear, hissed, "Really, where were you!"
She glanced at me, and her eyes seemed slightly worried, wary of me. "I said I was just out and about. I wasn't doing anything of importance to you guys."
"To us?" I said a bit louder, drawing away from her. I glanced at Moonpaw to make sure she hadn't heard; she hadn't. "Rainpaw, lately the things you've been doing do matter quite a bit to us. What did you show me just two nights ago, in the shed? That knife? You were stabbing yourself with-"
"Don't talk about that," Rainpaw snapped at me. I froze, ice freezing my blood. I stared at her. She glanced at me, and her eyebrows met above her nose in anger. But this time her eyes hadn't changed, they were normal as ever.
"I-I-" I stammered, struggling to get my paws moving again, to follow after her. "I'm sorry." I dipped my head showing her I meant it.
"It's okay Foxpaw!" She said, giving me a bright smile, "I don't mind!" She saw my wary expression. "Don't be worried!"
But I was worried, no matter how hard I tried not to be. Very, very worried.
--
"Wow!" Aspenpaw gasped as we stepped off the tree bridge and pushed through the bushes lining the island.
"Gosh," Streampaw rasped, staring around at the massive pine trees, the sharp, sandy ground, the strange cats already settled and waiting.
"So many cats," Aspenpaw rasped, sniffing the air. "RiverClan...WindClan..."
"Should we go mingle?" Moonpaw asked, "Aspenpaw, how about you go say hi to those RiverClan cats over there, Streampaw, you'll leave for those WindClan-"
"No!" they gasped at the same time, grabbing onto us, eyes huge with fear.
Moonpaw laughed. "Only joking, I won't make you do that. No, you stick with us. Let's start with WindClan. They're friendliest."
Aspenpaw's and Streampaw's excitement died down a bit as we approached the unfamiliar cats, and they stayed behind us in a nervous unit.
"Hey, look!" One of the WindClan apprentices called out. I recognized her vaguely from other Gatherings. Furzepaw, a small gray and white she-cat with bright blue eyes. She smiled as we approached, and I smiled a greeting back.
There were five other apprentices with her. A couple I recognized- Boulderpaw and Whiskerpaw, both toms. But the three others I didn't.
"Hello, Moonpaw," Furzepaw greeted our group leader. She smiled and nodded to them.
Aspenpaw and Streampaw peeked out from behind us, smiling nervously.
"Don't be nervous," Furzepaw reassured them. She pointed with her tail to the three smaller apprentices I didn't recognize sitting beside her. "Brookpaw, Stonepaw and Adderpaw are new too."
Aspenpaw and Streampaw did seem a bit reassured, and they stepepd forward a bit.
Moonpaw and Furzepaw talked as if they were close friends. I watched as Boulderpaw immediately addressed Rainpaw, giggling and poking her with his tail, complimenting her and scooting in to close. I felt my claws slide out and I clamped them hard into the ground, suppressing a growl at the large, pale gray tom.
"I think you're supposed to keep claws away at a Gathering," Whiskerpaw hissed at me. I swiveled my head to him, my gaze already locked in a glare. "What do you know?" I snapped at him.
"I know the rules," he snapped calmly, "As you clearly don't."
"Well maybe you should teach your Clanmate a few things," I literally snarled, "Like to keep his paws off our she-cats."
"Leave my Clanmates alone," Whiskerpaw snarled, standing up fast. Beside us, both Moonpaw and Furzepaw looked over, saw us glaring daggers at each other, and jumped between us.
"God, how immature can you toms get?" Moonpaw snapped, "Pull yourselves together."
I glared at her, claws still clenched into the ground, but I backed off. Whiskerpaw shot me once last glare before he too turned around and sat down.
At that moment, three RiverClan apprentices padded over. They were sleek and shiny, pelts gleaming and whiskers shining. They looked haughty and proud, which seemed to be usual for them. They nodded stiffly to us, and sat down in their own little group at the edge of our circle.
"What's up, Mossypaw?" Moonpaw greeted the lead she-cat, a very pretty brown and white she-cat.
"Nothing much," she said vaguely, flicking a bit of dirt off her pelt, "RiverClan thrives as usual."
She looked up and saw me watching her and raised her chin. I got a nice view of her long neck and was just thinking of going over and hitting on her when I realized if I didn't like seeing a tom do that on Rainpaw, I shouldn't do it myself. So I turned away and she seemed a bit miffed.
At that moment ShadowClan arrived, and their apprentices, dark and swift, headed toward us. A cream and gray tom, Ferretpaw, led the way. He skidded to a stop in front of us. "Hello," he mewed softly.
"Hi, Ferretpaw!" Furzepaw greeted with a smile, "How's everything in your Clan?"
"Quite good, actually," he said smoothly. I stared at him as he sat down and his cats mingled into the rapidly-growing circle. There was something about him, something smooth and sleek and controlled that I admired. Something that leaked confidence and strength and a cold, dangerous power. I hadn't talked much at all to ShadowClan apprentices at previous Gatherings, my instinct was to stay away from them.
He looked around at who else was already gathered, nodding at me and smiling confidently at Moonpaw, who dipped her head in return.
Rainpaw, nearly engulfed by Boulderpaw's flirting as he scooted closer and closer, glanced up, looking a bit nervous. She leaned away from him and I was glad to know she took no interest in him.
The she-cats seemed to be giving Ferretpaw and his smooth, confident, controlled attitude a lot of attention. Not only that, but he was strong and firm, lacking fluff or extra kit fat. There were muscles clear in his shoulders and thighs. I watched him a bit more and actually began to feel a bit jealous of his confidence and the attention he was getting, so I turned away to watch Blossompaw on the other side of the island. She caught me looking at her and smiled. I smiled back, shuffling my paws a bit.
Time passed and when I returned my attention to the circle of cats I was part of, I realized everybody had moved about. I flicked my ears, catching Ferretpaw's voice. I looked over and saw he was speaking to Rainpaw now. I hot rush of energy flooded through me, and I got instantly to my paws, but then sat again, realizing I had no reason to be up.
"What's your name?" He asked Rainpaw smoothly, sitting tall, "I don't think I've met you before."
"I'm Rainpaw," she responded, giving an adorable smile which he returned. I narrowed my eyes. Something about this tom both awed and irked me. Unlike Boulderpaw and his hopeless flirting, Ferretpaw had enough confidence I was afraid he could win over Rainpaw with just a few mere sentences. And somehow I wanted to watch him do it, so taken was I by both of them.
"Nice to meet you, Rainpaw," Ferretpaw replied, bending down and smiling. "I'm Ferretpaw of ShadowClan."
"Uh...I'm from ThunderClan," she said, looking down at her paws.
"How's it over there?" He asked.
"Um...good," I noticed her eyes jerked away for a moment, to a patch of thick gooseberry bushes at the edge of the island. But then she looked back up at Ferretpaw with a smile, "It really is good!"
Her own smile made his larger, something I had experienced myself many times. "ShadowClan's quite good too," he said, glancing off to the dark pine trees on the other side of the lake, "This leaf-fall came late, so prey was plentiful for longer."
"Yeah," Rainpaw said, "For us too."
At that moment Aspenpaw tapped me and I turned around and looked down at her. "Foxpaw, when's the meeting going to start?" she asked me, looking up at the big tree where all the leaders were seated and chatting.
"Any time now," I told her, "How're you doing?"
"Good!" she said with a smile, "I met lots of good cats." She looked past me for a moment, "Oh, look over there." she giggled, "Rainpaw and that tom!"
"Ferretpaw," I said, refusing to look as jealously clawed at my stomach.
"Rainpaw's really cute," Aspenpaw said thoughtfully, "I can see why so many toms talk to her."
"Yeah," I grumbled. "She sure is."
There was suddenly a loud caterwaul from the pine and the cats hushed and turned. All four leaders stood tall.
"Welcome, cats of all Clans!" Blackstar, the ShadowClan leader called out, his white fur blazing in the full moon light. "Let the Gathering begin!"
The leaders stepped foreward one at a time, each giving their Clan's status. I listened to half of it, but began to get bored as usual. I looked over at Rainpaw, sitting beside me. She was staring up at the leaders, huge blue eyes reflecting the stars and moon. I felt the need to cling on to her course through me again. And then I saw Ferretpaw sitting on her other side. He too was staring at her. He caught me looking at him, smiled smoothly and dipped his head. I shakily dipped my head back, claws sinking into the packed sand.
I had to suppress growls all the way to the end of the Gathering, and finally when the leaders called the dismissal, I jerked to my paws and stood up fast. "Come on guys, let's go," I said. Moonpaw stepped forward, saying goodbye to Furzepaw. Streampaw and Aspenpaw, both saying their farewells hurried to my side with smiles on their faces.
"Rainpaw," I said stiffly, "Come on."
I turned around. She was saying goodbye to Ferretpaw. My claws sunk into the ground again and my jaw clenched. "I'll see you...soon, then?" he asked.
"I hope," she replied with a smile, and then to my horror Ferretpaw leaned down and gently touched his nose to hers. Rainpaw seemed surprised for a moment, but then she smiled brightly up at him. "Goodbye, Rainpaw," he said.
"Bye, Ferretpaw!" Rainpaw called back and hurried to my side. "Hi guys," she greeted.
We started off, heading toward the other ThunderClan cats. "Hmm," Rainpaw said beside me, "Sometimes I wish cross-clan friendships were okay. Cats always get along so much better with people they don't live with."
No way. I stopped, almost choking on my own saliva. "Are you serious?" I snapped.
"Um...what?" she seemed confused, and she looked up at me, to see my teeth bared, paws splayed and claws out. "What's wrong, Foxpaw?"
"Nothing!" I snapped, so angry I wanted nothing more than to turn away from her. I sucked my claws and closed my mouth. "Forget it!"
"Oh...okay!" She said brightly and we hurried on.
We were nearly the last cats leaving the island, and right before we reached the bushes, Rainpaw stopped, head down.
"Rainpaw?" I asked her, voice still contorted by anger.
"Foxpaw," she murmured darkly, "I want you to stay. I want to show you something."
My heart turned to ice. No. Not here, not now, no, no, no....
"But...we have to get back," I stammered.
"I need to show you something," she said firmly, darkly.
"Oh..." I squeezed my eyes shut, panicking. "Okay."
She glanced up at me, and to my surprise her eyes still held a pupil. So maybe there was nothing wrong. Maybe she did just want to show me something. No big deal. I struggled to reassure myself as I sweated and shook.
"Over here," she said, leading me toward the patch of gooseberry bushes she'd been looking at earlier. She bent down, slithering through. I followed, growing more and more nervous the entire time. We arrived in a little area surrounded by the gooseberry bushes.
"Rainpaw, what?" I asked. She faced away from me head down. I saw her paw move, drawing something toward her. Then she bent down, touching her nose to the dirt. She raised her head again, paused, and then turned around. I stared into two cold, pupil-less eyes and a the flash of a silver blade clasped in her mouth.
--
Wow, sorry for making it so long. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. PLEASE, please please review, I really want to know what you guys think, it makes me want to keep writing.
Also, I think I'm going to make Ferretpaw a more important character as time goes on. I didn't originally plan it, but now I want to.
-Pan