A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. This chapter is a gathering... but you also get an interpretation of the prophecy! Enjoy!
Chapter Five
Almost a moon later, Tigerheart awoke to Ivystar's summons. Joining Mistyleaf, Sootclaw, and Hollyfur, who'd recently recovered and been given her warrior name, he wondered where Birdpaw and Fishpaw were. The two young apprentices should have been sitting with their mentors. He was about to ask where they were when Ivystar began to speak.
"Yesterday, Swiftfoot went out on a hunting patrol," the black she-cat meowed. "He hadn't returned by morning, and two apprentices, Birdpaw and Fishpaw, volunteered to go look for him. Neither of the apprentices has returned, and there is still no word of Swiftfoot. Ordinarily I would have sent some cat to look for them, but with what I believe is going on, I didn't dare."
Surprised yowls shook the clearing. "What's going on?" Darkspot, mother of Birdpaw and Fishpaw, demanded.
"We believe that whatever kidnapped the cats from WindClan and RiverClan has come to ThunderClan," Ivystar meowed.
Shocked meows came from almost every cat. Mistyleaf spoke up. "What will we do? Fishpaw is my apprentice, and we have to rescue her, along with the other missing cats."
"Stonefoot thinks that it has something to do with the prophecy. No one is quite sure what, though," Cloudface meowed, padding up.
"While we're gathered," Ivystar continued, "the gathering is tonight. The cats who will attend are Brightstorm, Mouseflower, Mudfur, Mossclaw, Tumbleclaw, Sootclaw, Tigerheart, Mistyleaf, Gingerpaw, Flowerpaw, Rosepaw, Cloudface, Stonefoot, and I. The rest of you must stay ready and alert for danger."
Soon, Tigerheart and his friends arrived at the gathering. "Let's see if we can find Dawnpaw," Hollyfur meowed.
The golden medicine cat apprentice was not hard to find. "Dawnpaw!" Sootclaw meowed excitedly.
"Actually, it's Dawnshadow now," she replied. "How have you been?"
"We're warriors now," Mistyleaf meowed proudly. "I'm Mistyleaf, Sootpaw is Sootclaw, Hollypaw is Hollyfur, and Tigerpaw is Tigerheart."
"But the kidnapper has struck our clan," Sootclaw meowed solemnly. "Swiftfoot and Fishpaw are missing, along with my apprentice, Birdpaw."
Dawnshadow's smile disappeared. "Yellowpaw, Smokepaw, and Cinderpaw were hunting a few days ago. Whatever the animal was, it tried to kidnap them. Treeshadow tried to stop them and was killed."
Tigerheart was stunned. Treeshadow was dead, and three ShadowClan apprentices had disappeared.
"I'm so sorry," Mistyleaf purred. Treeshadow had been Dawnshadow's mentor.
"Let the Gathering begin!" Rainstar meowed. The five cats joined the rest of the crowd at Fourtrees as they waited for their leaders to begin.
"I'll start," Fernstar meowed. "Almost all is going well for WindClan. We have three new warriors, Sandfur, Eagleclaw, and Redfur, along with two new apprentices, Ashpaw and Longpaw. But Runningstripe has been killed, apparently trying to save Talonkit, Swiftkit, and Runningkit, who have all been kidnapped. Emberclaw is now WindClan's deputy. It may be important to say that neither of our medicine cats has received more to do with the prophecy."
Fernstar stepped down and Rainstar stepped up. "RiverClan is also prospering, other than the kidnapping of Russetclaw and his apprentice Thornpaw when they were out training. Neither Wetfur nor Riverpaw who originally received the prophecy has heard more from StarClan. Good news is that we have two new warriors, Hawktalon and Fernclaw."
Whitestar stepped up. "Three of our apprentices, Yellowpaw, Cinderpaw, and Smokepaw, were hunting a few days before this gathering. All three were kidnapped. In the act of trying to save them, Treeshadow, our medicine cat, was killed. Dawnshadow is our medicine cat now. Good news is that Willowpaw, Goldenpaw and Talonpaw have become Willowcloud, Goldenfeather, and Talonclaw."
Before Ivystar could speak, a large rabbit hopped along the edge of the clearing. Suddenly, an eagle swooped down from the sky. It grabbed the rabbit and carried it off in its talons.
"Mouse-brained prey-birds," Dawnshadow meowed irritably.
"What did you say?" Mistyleaf demanded. "Prey-birds? Oh no, it can't be. It's impossible."
"What is?" Hollyfur meowed worriedly. But before Mistyleaf could answer, Ivystar began to speak.
"We have five new apprentices, two of which aren't here today. The three that are here are Gingerpaw, Rosepaw, and Flowerpaw. We also have seven new warriors, Mossclaw, Mudfur, Tumbleclaw, Sootclaw, Mistyleaf, Tigerheart, and Hollyfur. The bad news is that Swiftfoot went out yesterday and was not back this morning. Our other two new apprentices, Fishpaw and Birdpaw, went to look for him. All three have disappeared. Stonefoot has no information from StarClan involving the prophecy. I suggest that patrols should have no fewer than six cats, no cat can go off alone, and kits should not be allowed out of the nursery."
The other three leaders agreed completely. "If no one has anything else to say…" Whitestar meowed.
"Wait!" Mistyleaf meowed. All the cats in the clearing stared at the grey she-cat in surprise.
"Well, what is it, Mistyleaf?" Ivystar asked. The ThunderClan leader seemed the most surprised of all.
"When the eagle swooped down and caught the rabbit in its talons," Mistyleaf meowed, "Dawnshadow said something about eagles being prey-birds."
"And why is this important?" Thornspot, the WindClan medicine cat, meowed irritably.
"In the prophecy," Mistyleaf continued like Thornspot had never spoken. "In the prophecy it said that 'Talons of Prey from far above will come and steal those whom you love'."
"Yes, yes, we're all aware of the prophecy," Thornspot hissed. "You have no need to remind us." A glare from Fernstar silenced him.
"Those whom we love are obviously the cats that have gone missing," Mistyleaf went on. "And if the prey-bird caught that rabbit in its talons, couldn't it also have picked up a cat? So 'talons of prey' must mean prey birds, since birds are from far above."
The only response Mistyleaf got was awed stares. "I think she's right," Wetfur meowed. "There's no other explanation."
"But what do we do about it?" Whitestar asked. "And we still don't know what the mountain claws are."
"I have an idea," meowed a voice. Mossclaw began tentatively but grew more confident as she went on. "'Mountain claws' probably means something in the mountains over there." The tortoiseshell she-cat motioned towards the mountains with her tail.
"My warriors are especially smart today," Ivystar meowed. "And I have a proposition." The cats quieted down to hear what Ivystar had to say.
"I think that a small group of perhaps sixteen cats should go to the mountains and check out these 'mountain claws'. Since ThunderClan and ShadowClan have been harmed the least by this ordeal, they should each provide six cats for this quest. WindClan and RiverClan should each provide two cats."
The other leaders all seemed to like this idea. "Each Clan's chosen cats should come to Fourtrees in two days' time," Rainstar decided. With that, the gathering ended.
Arriving in ThunderClan camp, Ivystar immediately jumped atop High Rock. She gave the summons, even though most of the cats were already gathered. After explaining what happened at the Gathering, she began to talk about which cats should go on the quest. "I was talking with Cloudface on the way home," the leader meowed. "We have already decided which cats will go."
Hushed meows could be heard throughout the clearing as the cats guessed who would go.
"We have selected Mistyleaf, Sootclaw, Hollyfur, Tigerheart, Brightstorm, and Cloudface."
A/N: Should I cram everything in one book or write a sequel? I think I'll do a mini series. Three books? Maybe I'll do six and change the POV after the third. What's the best warrior name you can think of that has 'flight' in it? I can't say why, but it's important… R&R!