Runningstar gingerly set his caught prey down and was just about to pick up a chaffinch before Weavepaw came racing towards him. There was a look of worry etched across her face.
"Runningstar, Runningstar, please come here!" She yowled at the top of her lungs.
"What's wrong?" Asked Runningstar. "Did Mossflower tell you to come get me?"
"No, she was too busy, but I knew I just had to come and get you!" She wailed.
Runningstar said nothing more and hurried for the medicine cat's den. He knew it had something to do with Shadownight.
He stuck his head through the gap in the rocks and waited for Weavepaw to come catch up to him. She hurried to the back room, where Shadownight was, and gestured for him to follow her.
Runningstar sat down beside the medicine cat apprentice to see, to his horror, that Shadownight was not the only one to be laying on the ground, sickly, but so were two other cats: Spottedfoot and Thistletail. They both had the discharge coming out of their eyes and noses, and Thistletail, with her dull pelt pressed to Shadownight's, paused to hack up some more blood.
Runningstar cringed away from the three sick cats. This was turning into a problem. A huge problem. Apparently, this sickness was extremely contagious, and now Thistletail and Spottedfoot, who had come in as Shadownight's visitors, were going out as horribly sick cats.
Mossflower came up behind them. "Good, Weavepaw, you fetched Runningstar for me," She mewed wearily. "I see that you've found out how horrible this disease is. Now three cats have it, just from laying down next to Shadownight!" She shook her head. "I feel so horrible about this…"
Weavepaw ran her tail along her mentor's shoulders. "Everything will be okay," She whispered softly. "We'll find a way to fix this."
Mossflower gave Weavepaw a weak smile.
"Have you tried everything possible?" Asked Runningstar.
Mossflower sighed. "I can't. If I go in there, I am taking the risk of getting the disease myself."
Runningstar finally realized that Mossflower was right. If this disease was as contagious as Mossflower thought it was, then it was wise to not get close to them.
"I guess there's nothing else to do other than let them die…" Mossflower mewed. Tears started watering up in her eyes. "I hate to see such good warriors go, but if they spend the rest of their lives in the back den…perhaps then the sickness won't spread anywhere."
Runningstar nodded and nuzzled the medicine cat. "See? Everything will be okay."
Mossflower pulled away uncomfortably. "No, it won't be okay. I'm letting three great cats lay in that tiny den until they die. I'm the worst medicine cat ever."
"No you are NOT!" Hissed Weavepaw. "Don't you understand? I believe in you! I've admired you since I was old enough to walk! Can't you see that?" She snapped. "You aren't a bad medicine cat! You aren't!"
Mossflower sighed. "I'm sorry, Weavepaw. I'm probably not the best mentor for you. You should be apprenticed to a warrior instead."
Weavepaw shook her head, her blue eyes blazing. "No," she mewed coldly. "You're doing fine. Letting these cats die is probably the only choice we have."
Mossflower smiled down at her apprentice. "I knew you'd make a great apprentice to me," She purred. "I remember just when I was coming down to help Ratfur give birth to her kits. You got so excited watching me giving her those poppy seeds."
Weavepaw smiled up at her mentor. "Thanks, Mossflower."
Runningstar decided to go away, giving the medicine cat some time of her own, and noticed that the sun was slowly starting to slip into the sky.
He raced for the Highrock and jumped to the top, his mind whirring with the rats, the sickness, and the cats he would invite to go to the Gathering.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" He yowled.
Soon enough, cats were looking up from sharing tongues and eating prey. Trailpaw seemed to be the first one under the Highrock. He looked up at his mentor with great admiration.
"It is almost dark," Runningstar called out, "And it is almost time for us to leave for the Gathering. The cats that are going will be Chasewind, Deerstripe, Trailpaw, Pineclaw, Longwhisker, Starfur, Bloodflower, Owlclaw, Oakpelt, and Stripewhisker."
"I cannot go," A voice piped up from the crowd.
Runningstar scanned the group of cats to see who had spoken, and saw that it was Deerstripe that had just said she couldn't go. That was surprising, since she was always keen on going to Gatherings.
"Why don't you want to go, Deerstripe?" Asked Runningstar curiously.
Deerstripe flattened her ears and kneaded her paws. "Well, it's not that I don't want to go, it's that I can't go. I'm-" She swallowed hard. "Please forgive me, Runningstar, I'm pregnant."
Runningstar was surprised. Deerstripe was pregnant at such a young age? Who was the father? And why had she said, "Please forgive me"?
Apparently, many of the Clan were taking wild guesses. "That traitor!" Spat Flamemoon. "She's bearing Mudpelt's kits!"
Many hisses rose up from the audience, snarling and spitting and directing their glares straight at the young tabby and white she-cat.
"Stop at once!" Yowled Runningstar. "How do you know that Deerstripe is having Mudpelt's kits? They could be…Oakpelt's, for all I care!"
Oakpelt spat with surprise and rage.
"We aren't just guessing, Runningstar," Spat Autumnpelt. "We know that Mudpelt and Deerstripe were mates before Mudpelt killed Ashstar!"
Moonpad shook her head. "Who knows how evil these kits will grow up to be?"
"Moonpad is right! How do we know that these cats won't grow up to have Mudpelt's ambition and willingness to kill cats to get what they want?" Yelled Chasewind above the crowd.
"Deerstripe should not be blamed for having kits," Growled Skycloud. "A cat should be able to have a mate in their own Clan." He must have been remembering how his mate, Summerheart, had once been in his own Clan, but he had mated with her while he was in ShadowClan.
"But not a cat in their own Clan that was evil!" Spat Oakpelt.
"Be quiet!" Howled Runningstar. "We will not blame Deerstripe for having kits. She probably mated with Mudpelt before she knew he was a bad cat."
"That's a bad excuse!" Hissed Oakpelt. He seemed to really dislike Deerstripe ever since she was made a warrior before him. "Mudpelt was bad before Deerstripe was even made an apprentice! Remember, he killed a RiverClan cat!"
Runningstar sighed. How had Oakpelt found that out? Perhaps gossip was spreading around the warriors faster than he thought…
"Silence!" Runningstar caterwauled over the other cats. "Deerstripe has done nothing wrong. She is pregnant with Mudpelt's kits, end of story. Now, we should for the Gathering before it is sunrise!" He got up and jumped down from the Highrock with stressed thoughts running through his head. He worried for Deerstripe very much.
The cats that he had assigned to go to the Gathering sheepishly followed their leader. Trailpaw and Pineclaw came up and stepped briskly right next to their leader, trying to comfort him as they matched him step for step.
Pineclaw sighed. "This Clan is getting way too much out of hand," He mewed sadly.
Runningstar grunted with agreement and said nothing the rest of the way there. The only speaking was of two warriors sharing gossip about Deerstripe.
Finally, the Clan arrived at the top of the clearing. Runningstar hesitated before leading his Clan down to Fourtrees, down to where three other Clans were waiting for them to join them and start the Gathering.
He turned to his cats. "There will be no talk of Deerstripe to anybody," He growled coldly.
One of the warriors that had been gossiping coughed nervously and turned to another cat.
Runningstar, with his heart dragging by his paws, plunged into the clearing of four oaks and led his Clan to the Gathering.