Chapter 2
the Gathering

Fallstar followed the Dawnclan cats, wondering how much farther they had to go before they reached the gathering place. Every time she stopped, she had to resist the urge to pace. She couldn't stop thinking about the coming gathering. She planned to introduce her clan to Dawnclan and Duskclan, and she couldn't help but wonder how they would react. She knew her clan was a lot to take in.

Behind her, five cats followed. She had decided to bring her deputy because of tradition. She had also brought her medicine cat, to show the clans that they were similar in many ways. Three other warriors followed. These were her senior warriors; Mystictail, Wolfclaw, and Brackenclaw. They had been with her the longest, and had put their past behind her. She shuddered to think what might happen if she had brought a younger warrior.

Rowanstar paused, and the Dawnclan cats following her paused as well. They had stopped near a thick wall of long-stalked plants. Rowanstar waited a moment, and then she moved through the plants. As the last Dawnclan cat disappeared through the grass, Fallstar allowed her cats to follow.

As they stepped through the plants, Fallstar found herself on the bed of a small river. On the other side of the river were three large rocks, each slightly taller than the last. Cats were already milling about the rocks. Some sat conversing, but it seemed the cats were split into two groups. Fallstar could pick out the scents of two separate clans, and quickly realized the two clans seemed to be refusing to mingle.

On one of the rocks, a broad shouldered gray tabby sat with his tail curled around his paws. Rowanstar moved up next to Fallstar and meowed, "The leaders address their cats from those rocks. That tom is Cinderstar, leader of Duskclan." She then flicked her tail for Fallstar to follow, and then moved towards the rocks.

Before Fallstar followed, she turned to her cats. "Go ahead and mingle, just be careful; try to avoid fights, please," she instructed.

"I'll watch them, Fallstar. They'll stay out of trouble," Oakfur meowed sincerely. She nodded and then followed Rowanstar to the rocks. The tabby she-cat had already joined Cinderstar up on the rocks. The two leaders sat on opposite sides of the rock, not meeting each other's eyes. Clearly, they did not get along. Feeling a bit out of place, Fallstar jumped up onto the rock with them.

As she sat near Rowanstar, she could feel Cinderstar's gaze on her. She glanced at him, and he stared back, curiosity and maybe a bit of hostility showing in his gray eyes. "And who might you be?" he meowed. His words were calm, but they held a slight disgusted tone. No doubt he was already picking out the differences between her clan and his. He probably also feels like I'm invading a bit, Fallstar thought.

"I'm Fallstar, leader of Chanceclan," she replied calmly. She met his gaze, silently challenging him to question her authority, or right to join him above the clans.

"Chanceclan? I know of no such thing," Cinderstar sneered.

"They're new in these parts, Cinderstar, and you would be wise to respect her position. The clan has been created by Starclan themselves," Rowanstar said, surprising Fallstar. She turned to the tabby, nodding her gratitude.

"Don't tell me what to do," Cinderstar spat, obviously not liking being put in his place by the Dawnclan leader.

"Are we going to have a gathering, or are you going to continue to argue like a kit?" Dawnstar asked, her words still calm. Cinderstar growled but turned away. Fallstar lowered her head to the cats below in an attempt to hide the smirk growing on her face.

Dawnstar stood and yowled for silence. Eventually the groups bellow quieted. She stepped forward, starting the meeting. "Cats of Dawnclan, Duskclan, as you can see, there is a new clan with us tonight. Chanceclan was recently established by Fallstar, who was guided by Starclan." She flicked her tail at the dark leader at her shoulder. "I'm going to let her introduce her clan. I must warn you... they are different, but they are meant to be. I hope we can overlook our differences and allow peace to continue." As she finished, she stepped back, and turned to look to Fallstar.

Knowing it was her turn to speak, Fallstar breathed in deeply, and then stepped forward. "Thank you, Rowanstar. Cats of Dawnclan and Duskclan, you have probably heard of the Dark Forest- the place where wicked cats' spirits are sent to live because of their wrong deeds. Lately, Starclan has noticed that many cats who live in this dark place eventually come to regret their past deeds. Some Starclan cats began to feel sorry for those cats, and have been hunting for a way to give these cats a chance to fix what they have done wrong..." she paused here as her nervousness returned. What she was about to say she knew would be the hardest part for them to understand. She pushed away her nervousness and forced herself to continue. "Their answer, was Chanceclan. Named for the second chance these cats are given, Chanceclan cats are the reincarnation of cats that were sent to the Dark Forest, and have sot a way to redeem themselves. Myself, my deputy, Oakfur, and my medicine cat, Aquasky, were all chosen from amongst Starclan to lead this clan. The cats that I have brought with me today are all senior warriors. When born into Chanceclan, the cat has no clue what they did in their past lives, or who they were, but over time, they come to remember that they were sent to Chanceclan for a reason- to try again." Ripples of confusion and surprise passed through the crowd. All eyes seemed to be glued to her or her warriors. She looked to Mystictail, Wolfclaw, and Brakenclaw and silently begged them to remain strong. When she saw they didn't waver under the many cats curious gases, pride filled her. They had come so far from their dark past, and she was proud of them.

"So this is why you smell of death," Cinderstar sneered from behind her.

She turned to him. "Yes, sadly. The smell will fade in time."

"It speaks of this clan's true nature. You are abominations! No cat should live twice, and nothing so corrupt could have been created by Starclan." Cinderstar's words hurt. Fallstar tried not to flinch away, but she really wanted to. She didn't want to face the large Duskclan leader and try to explain herself to him, but she knew she had to be strong for her clan.

Before she could come to her clan's defense, someone else spoke up for her. "Starclan did create Chanceclan, Cinderstar. I asked them myself," Rowanstar meowed.

"Then you are not of Starclan either," Cinderstar spat, his gray eyes turned on the tabby warrior at Fallstar's side.

"How dare you say that of my clan!" Rowanstar hissed, becoming angry for the first time sense Fallstar had met her. She then forced herself to calm. In a gentler tone, she meowed, "There is no reason to jump to conclusions, Cinderstar. Ask Starclan, you will find out the truth. For now, let us continue the gathering. Should I go first, or do you wish to?" Cinderstar just grunted, so Rowanstar stepped forward again. "In Dawnclan, prey is good, and are apprentices continue their training. Soon several of them will become warriors. One of our queens has two kits, and there will be more kits soon. One of our warriors retired, because she has become blind. She asked her name to be changed. She shall now be known as Cloudedeyes. Our clan shall always be grateful of her service." She paused, as if thinking over what she had to say, and then turned to her rival. "Cinderstar?" she said, telling him it was his turn.

Cinderstar stepped forward. "We have a new apprentice, Clovepaw, and Whispaw has become Whispspirit, a warrior." Clearly he was proud of his clan, and his pride was evident in his words. He then shrugged. "Other then that, life goes on as usual." He then turned and stared at Fallstar. "I will have you know, I can see what you and Rowanstar are doing. Starclan sent or not, I'm still considering Chanceclan a threat." He then jumped down from the rock, signaling the gathering was over.

Rowanstar stayed next to Fallstar for a moment. "Don't listen to him. Cinderstar's a brave warrior, but he's mostly all talk. He probably won't act on that threat." Fallstar nodded, and then went to jump down from the rock. She paused again, and then turned and asked, "I trust you can return to your territory on your own?"

"Yes Rowanstar. Thank you for your support," Fallstar told her. Rowanstar nodded, and then allowed herself to jump down onto the ground below. Fallstar remained on the rock above, debating over the results of the gathering. Clearly, Rowanstar's leader accepted her, but she knew some Dawnclan cats held suspicions against them. Duskclan, on the other hand, would probably reject them mostly, like Cinderstar had. We will have to watch our border, despite what Rowanstar said... something tells me this may not just be an empty threat, she thought.

"Hey, Fallstar, you coming?" The black leader blinked and looked down to meet Oakfur's gaze. He stared up at her, worry shining in his yellow-green eyes. The rest of the Chanceclan cats had gathered around him.

"Yes, I'm coming." She stood, and jumped from the rock. Walking past her cats, she took up the lead, and followed Dawnclan's pah out of the gathering place. The walk back was troubling for Fallstar. She couldn't get rid of the feeling that Cinderstar meant to fulfill his warning. She sighed, hearing the words of her former mentor from her life before; Threats must be eliminated. Every great leader knows this. She couldn't help but hope that Cinderstar wasn't the type of leader her mentor had been referring to.

Oakfur came up next to her, and then matched her pace. "So, what do you expect from Cinderstar and his clan?" he meowed, breaking her train of thought.

"Trouble, to say the least. Clearly he's searching for a fight. We will have to be careful." She then glanced back at the warriors behind her and meowed, "We can discuss the details when we reach camp." He nodded, seeming to understand that she didn't want to upset the warriors.

When they finally reached the camp, she waited in the center for her warriors to disappear in their dens, but instead the cats that had been sleeping emerged to meet them. "How did the gathering go?" One cat asked. Fallstar turned to see her sister, Darksong.

She moved to gently touch noses with her, and then meowed, "As expected, I'm afraid. Dawnclan seems to have accepted us mostly, but Duskclan... their leader sees us as a threat, so we shall see them as a threat." Her sister nodded, seeming to understand. "You should rest. We can discuss all of this tomorrow."

"With all due respect, Fallstar, we cannot rest. We all want to know what is happening now," her sister meowed. Ripples of agreement passed through the crowd.

"Alright..." not bothering to call a gathering, she began to explain what had happened at the gathering. "In response, I want more border patrols, and I want everyone to be on their guard." She sighed. We are too young for this. Our clan is not ready for such a confrontation. "That is all. Get some rest." This time, nobody protested.

"I'll make sure the clan is ready for anything, Fallstar." Oakfur meowed as he padded up to her. She nodded gratefully to her deputy, knowing she could count on him. She then slipped off to her den and allowed herself to sleep.


ALLIANCES

Dawnclan

Leader

Rowanstar- Brown tabby she-cat with white markings and golden eyes.

Deputy

Sablestorm - Tortoiseshell tom with golden eyes.

Medicine Cat

Heatherwhisker - Dark copper tabby she-cat with white markings.

Warriors

Sandstone - Sand colored tom. Apprentice, Wolfpaw.

Gingerclaw - Ginger colored tom. Apprentice, Shadepaw.

Braveheart - Once timid black she-cat. Apprentice, Lightningpaw.

Silverwing - Pretty silver she-cat with a small scar above her eye. Apprentice, Squirrelpaw

Apprentices

Wolfpaw - Dark gray and black tortoiseshell tom with blue-gray eyes.

Shadepaw - Black tom with dark eyes.

Lightningpaw - pale golden tabby tom.

Squirrelpaw - squirrel colored she-cat.

Queens

Rippleshine - Siamese she-cat.(mate- Sablestorm)

Hazelleaf - Golden she-cat. (mate- Gingerclaw. kits- Owlkit, and Sunkit.)

Elders

Cloudedeyes - old gray she-cat. Blind.

Duskclan

Leader

Cinderstar - Broad shouldered dark gray tabby tom.

Deputy

Willowhisp - Blue and white tabby she-cat with emerald eyes.

Medicine Cat

Moonsoul - Dark blue point she-cat with pale blue eyes.

Warriors

Whispspirit - Blue and white tabby she-cat with gray eyes.

Thornmouth - Older, battle scarred brown tom with a very short temper. Apprentice, Clovepaw

Apprentices

Clovepaw- Dark brown tabby tom.

Chanceclan

Leader

Fallstar- Completely black she-cat with golden eyes and a long, jagged scar along her left side.

Deputy

Oakfur- Dark brown tabby tom with yellow-green eyes and a scar across his chest.

Medicine Cat

Aquasky - Long haired blue she-cat with yellow eyes.

Warriors

Mystictail - dark blue, almost black she-cat. She looks black with a blue sheen. Senior warrior. Apprentice, Poppypaw

Wolfclaw - Brown and gray tom with long, abnormal sized claws. Senior warrior. Apprentice, Quickpaw

Brakenclaw - Bracken colored tortoiseshell tom. Senior warrior.

Darksong - Black she-cat and sister of Fallstar. Senior warrior. Apprentice, Reefpaw

Maplefur -Red tabby she-cat with aqua eyes. She's blind in one eye, and a scar crosses that side of her face.

Shadowleap - Black and gray tom. Fallstar's brother.

Singinglark - beautiful golden tabby she-cat with a white chest, belly and paws, and piercing, icy blue eyes.

Firestripe - brown tom with white and orange calico-like markings and green eyes.

Echocliff - gray tom with dark blue eyes.

Shadedmoon - Shadedmoon is a long-haired light silver she-cat with darker patches. Her voice was damaged in the fire that killed her in her previous life, and so it's very raspy, and sometimes when her throat is dry, she can't talk at all.

Apprentices

Poppypaw - Dark orange she-cat with black patches and yellow eyes.

Quickpaw - black and white tom.

Reefpaw - pale cream colored she-cat.

Queens

Whitebird - white she-cat with pale brown speckles. (mate- Echocliff. Kits- Lightningkit and Juniperkit)