Here's chapter 6! Enjoy and R&R!
The assault began with Ferncloud standing up from where she had been laying, ears pricked and eyes trained on the bundle grasped in Cloudtail's jaws. Robinkit had been jostled by her mother's movements and she followed Ferncloud's gaze, curious to know why she had been awakened. Spotting the kit, her eyes widened and she hopped to her paws, bounding across the clearing, excited to see the tiny newcomer.
Sandstorm had leapt down from the ledge where she and Firestar had been lying together in the sun, looking over the clearing. The she-cat approached Cloudtail warily, her tail slightly bristled, but as she neared her tail smoothed out with ease. Cloudtail leaned down and plopped the kit onto the ground and Sandstorm sniffed it, her tail twitching.
"Cloudtail's found a kit!" Mousepaw muttered aloud, gazing over the top of Redpaw's head.
"Actually," Cinderpaw countered, her eyes shining with excitement, "I found him. He was all alone near the WindClan border, poor thing. There wasn't any sign of its mother around, not even a faint scent, so Cloudtail decided that we should bring it back to camp. Isn't it amazing!"
Dawnpaw's gaze flickered to Cinderpaw for a moment, but then it returned to the kit. She was mesmerized. The kit reminded her so much of Cloudwhisker; the pattern of white and gray splotches was nearly identical to the image of the tom that she remembered from her dream. Even the slight long length of his fur was reminiscent. It can't be though, Dawnpaw thought. I saw him only just several nights and days ago. This kit looks to be a quarter-moon old!
"Cloudtail! Where in StarClan's name did you find a kit?" Firestar followed slowly in Sandstorm's wake. His ears were pricked and he studied the kit at Cloudtail's paws. As Cloudtail told his Clan leader the whole story, Ferncloud had wandered closer. She shooed Robinkit back to the nursery and hunched protectively over the kit, lapping gently at his fluffy pelt.
Brambleclaw joined Firestar in conversation and the two quietly spoke away from the Clan entrance. It wasn't long of a wait until the two broke apart and Firestar gave Ferncloud a nod. The gray flecked queen lifted the kit from the sandy ground of the clearing and she padded back to the nursery where Daisy and Brightheart followed her into the den with Robinkit on their tails.
Dawnpaw got to her paws and, ignoring the voices of her denmates asking her where she was going, she paced herself across the clearing and she ducked into the nursery once again. Inside, Ferncloud was allowing the kit to suckle from her belly as the other queens and Robinkit looked on, the brown she-kit nestled beside the small tom, the size difference being astounding.
"Dawnpaw?" Daisy looked up at her, surprised at her appearance. "I wasn't expecting you to come and visit the new arrival anytime soon."
"I was curious. Cinderpaw told me that she had found him near the WindClan border," Dawnpaw meowed. She leaned closer to Ferncloud's nest and took a closer look at the kit. Its fur was incredibly fluffy, but that was to be expected from a young kit. The gray coloring atop the white base of his fur was arranged in a similar pattern to Cloudwhisker's pelt, but there were slight differences in the formation of the patches. Dawnpaw sighed quietly in relief. She looked up at Ferncloud. "What will his name be?"
The gray-flecked queen looked surprised at her question and she took turns looking to the other queens. "I hadn't thought about that, actually. What do you think, Daisy?"
Daisy thought for a moment, staring intently at the kit. "What about Snowkit?" Brightheart cut in before Daisy answered. "His patched fur reminds me on Sunningrocks when it would snow, and his pelt is so soft."
Ferncloud purred while Daisy nodded assent. "I like that name," Ferncloud meowed. She brushed the tip of her tail along the spine of the kit. Dawnpaw curled her tail up in amusement as Snowkit squeaked and he stopped feeding, curling into a tight ball close to Ferncloud's belly. Robinkit laid herself out beside him, looking over Snowkit with a proud gaze.
"I'll tell the apprentices," Dawnpaw meowed and exited the den, leaving the comforting surroundings behind. She trotted across the clearing and her denmates looked up at her expectantly as she neared.
"Did you see him?" Honeypaw asked with a gleam in her eyes. "What did the queens name him?"
"His name is Snowkit," Dawnpaw told them and as Honeypaw turned to Hazelpaw with a delighted gleam in her eyes, Redpaw approached Dawnpaw. His dark red fur shone a fiery color in the sunlight the muscle on his shoulders rippled as moved. For the first time, Dawnpaw saw just how much he looked like Brambleclaw, besides the fur color, their build was the same, eye color, and even the menacing hooked claws had been passed down to him. Dawnpaw shivered involuntarily. I sure feel bad for any cat that will meet him in battle, Dawnpaw thought, taking in his large size. He looked to be almost a young warrior rather than an apprentice halfway into their apprenticeship.
When Redpaw gave her shoulder a slight push with his nose in the direction of the nursery, Dawnpaw narrowed her eyes, gazing quizzically at him, wondering what her brother was up to. With an exasperated sigh, Redpaw meowed, "Just come on. I need to talk with you. I'd rather not have the other apprentices overhear us. I found a place where we can talk without any disruption, it's behind the nursery."
Dawnpaw, curious as to what he wanted to tell her, followed Redpaw across the clearing and they slid around the side of the nursery, coming to a small clear area secluded to the rest of the camp. Even the queens would not be able to hear them through the thick bramble walls.
Once they were settled, Dawnpaw asked, "What did you want to talk about?"
Redpaw hesitated, but he meowed, "You were approached by Tigerstar, am I right?"
Dawnpaw blinked, her jaw dropped open in surprise before she was able to recover from the initial shock of Redpaw's question. Unsure of whether or not to answer truthfully, it took Dawnpaw a few heartbeats to settle on a reasonable reply to his query. "Yes, he did, why would you ask that?"
Redpaw's amber eyes darkened. "He visited me last night."
"Oh," Dawnpaw breathed. She was quiet for a moment before her eyes widened. "Do you think that he'll go to Bravepaw and Birdpaw in their dreams? Should we tell them not to stay with Tigerstar?"
Redpaw flicked his tail. "I don't know, but I'm sure that StarClan wouldn't let them be with Tigerstar. Spottedleaf stopped me before I could agree to it."
The spark of suspicion toward Cloudwhisker's character was beginning to ignite and Dawnpaw wondered why Redpaw had been saved by a known StarClan member, but she got stuck with a cat she had never heard of. Dawnpaw just nodded in agreement to Redpaw's statement, preferring not to share her visit with her brother, a retelling that would surely arise questions that Dawnpaw either didn't know the answer to or questions that she had been wondering herself.
"Shouldn't we tell Brambleclaw or Firestar?" Redpaw asked. "After all, we all know that Tigerstar was never a friend of ThunderClan."
Dawnpaw shook her head, following his line of reasoning. "What would they be able to do about it? It isn't as if they can stop Tigerstar from visiting all of us."
"They could make sure that no ThunderClan cat could accept his offer!" Redpaw exclaimed, sounding frustrated.
Dawnpaw sighed in defeat. Her brother was just as stubborn as she was at times, but at least she could admit defeat. Though, one of the reasons she did not want to share her experience in the Dark Forest with her father or Firestar was because they might ask about the cat who had deterred her from the path of darkness. At the moment, she wanted to keep her memories of Cloudwhisker a secret for the same reason she refused to tell Redpaw of him.
"Fine," she told him, "You can tell him. Just have Firestar call on me if he needs me to testify."
Dawnpaw began to move past him and back into the clearing but Redpaw barred her way with his tail. She turned her head back to him and found that he was staring at her with a concerned gaze. "You didn't accept Tigerstar's offer, right? Some StarClan cat got you out of there before you could, am I right?"
"Of course," Dawnpaw replied, slightly surprised by his questions. Then she felt a little hurt. Did he actually believe that I would betray my Clan like that? That I would join that cold-blooded cat with ease?
The full moon rode high in the sky and shadows were cast behind the ThunderClan cats traveled together to the tree bridge providing a passageway onto the island where the Gatherings occurred every full moon. Dawnpaw padded at the center, surrounded by her Clanmates. Birdpaw and Bravepaw were at her side and Dawnpaw could see Redpaw trudging beside Leafpool and Squirrelflight.
Redpaw had told Firestar about the problem with Tigerstar, but the Clan leader had ultimately dismissed it, providing a shock to every memory that Dawnpaw had reserved of her kin. Despite Redpaw's reveal, Firestar had allowed him to come to the Gathering. Craning her neck, Dawnpaw could see Firestar padding at the head of the Clan with proud stature.
"What do you think WindClan will say about the battle?" Birdpaw asked Dawnpaw.
"It was a provoked attack," Spiderleg growled from behind them. Dawnpaw glanced back at the tom, unsure that that excuse would be suitable for Onestar. The WindClan leader had been adamant to be enemies with ThunderClan for as long as she could remember being a kit in the nursery and the queens and warriors talking about it.
Soon they came to the tree bridge after rounding around the lake shore. The log was devoid of any other Clan so Firestar hurriedly leaped onto the trunk and he slinked over the dark water. Dawnpaw opened her mouth and drew in the scents around her. The aroma of her Clanmates was the most powerful, but as a breeze swept over the cats she could distinguish the strong odor of ShadowClan on the island.
One by one, the cats crept over to the other side of the tree bridge where the other half of ThunderClan waited patiently. Brackenfur leaped onto the trunk in front of Dawnpaw and after he had gone a considerable distance, she followed suit. She sunk her claws into the tough bark and she gradually made her way to the other shore, avoiding the small limbs that stuck up around the tree. With a sigh of relief that everything had gone smoothly, Dawnpaw jumped down onto the pebbly bank of the island, where she joined Redpaw as she waited for Bravepaw and Birdpaw to join them.
When every cat had crossed, Firestar led them to the edge of the trees and bracken that surrounded the clearing beyond. For a few heartbeats everything was still, but then Firestar flicked his tail and the ThunderClan cats surged forward and descending down the slight incline. Dawnpaw raced on with her fur brushing her brothers' and the clearing opened up before them.
This was her second Gathering and she was nonplussed by the size of ShadowClan. There were few cats and Blackstar was gazing with contempt at the flood of ThunderClan cats. Dawnpaw slowed to a trot and she headed for the knot of ShadowClan apprentices milling about away from the warriors. She spotted Ivypaw and Owlpaw among the other apprentices, two cats she had met at her first Gathering.
Flicking her tail, Dawnpaw padded across the clearing with Birdpaw while their brothers went off to mingle with a few warriors. "Hi," Ivypaw greeted with a twitch of ears. Dawnpaw waved her tail and she turned to Owlpaw.
"How's the prey running?" she asked with friendly intentions. Owlpaw didn't answer but he just glared continuously at her and Birdpaw, his eyes narrowed to slits.
His behavior prompted Ivypaw to roll her eyes. "I'm sorry he's being so grumpy tonight. His mentor had him cleaning out the elders' den all day today."
Owlpaw growled a warning and he stalked away from them with the tip of his tail twitching in agitation. Dawnpaw stared after him for a heartbeat before she turned to the other apprentices who were strangers to her. Birdpaw was talking with a gray tabby tom and Dawnpaw pricked her ears to listen, hearing about a pine tree that had fallen into their camp, narrowly missing one of their warriors.
"That's Sootpaw," Ivypaw told her, and then she blinked when she caught hold of their conversation. "And he's being awfully kind to share that story…"
The tortoiseshell she-cat stalked over to her Clanmate and broke up their conversation featuring a recent fight between two ShadowClan warriors. Dawnpaw's whiskers twitched in amusement and silently prayed to StarClan that none of her denmates shared too much information to the ShadowClan cats.
A yowl startled Dawnpaw and she jumped as WindClan entered the clearing, streaming through the tree trunks with Onestar at the lead. With a quick survey of the clearing, Dawnpaw noticed that most of the ThunderClan cats sidled away from them with vengeful glares cast in the direction of the moor cats. Having never found out which cat had attacked her, Dawnpaw studied the WindClan cats. Some of them were large in size, but none of them seemed to be the right cat. He or she must have stayed at their camp, Dawnpaw reasoned.
Averting her gaze from the WindClan cats, Dawnpaw turned back to the other apprentices to find that her other denmates had joined them and Ivypaw was holding a jumping contest with Berrypaw and Poppypaw. Padding closer to them, Dawnpaw watched as Berrypaw leaped into the air. He cleared the ground at nearly four tail-lengths but he nearly tumbled on the landing, tottering as his paws met the ground.
Poppypaw reared higher than him and landed gracefully, flicking his tail over Berrypaw's ears and receiving a dark look from him. Ivypaw snorted and she pressed her belly against the ground. Her hindquarters wiggled and she sprung off the grass, mastering an impressive feat. When she had landed effortlessly, she raised her chin, declaring herself the winner.
"That was amazing, Ivypaw!" Birdpaw praised the ShadowClan she-cat with enthusiasm. Ivypaw dipped her head in thanks, eyes gleaming with triumph.
"I can jump the highest in my Clan, but I'm sure that most WindClan cats can jump higher than me, with their long legs," she meowed, her tail flicking agitatedly. "Those rabbit-chasers act as if they own the whole lake," she added, her gaze trained on the WindClan cats that stayed within their own Clan, warily watching the ThunderClan and ShadowClan cats milling about.
Before any of the other apprentices could say more, a yowl echoed throughout the clearing as Leopardstar led her Clan from the trees. The spotted she-cat leaped into the tree with the other leaders, settling on a branch below Firestar. She glanced to the other leaders and gave a slight nod.
"Let the Gathering begin!" Firestar silenced the other cats and the ThunderClan apprentices bade farewell to the young ShadowClan cats. Dawnpaw weaved through her Clanmates and she came to a stop between Sandstorm and Brackenfur so that she was surrounded by her Clanmates.
"Cats of the Clans," Firestar began and Dawnpaw looked up at him, "ThunderClan has been thriving throughout newleaf and this past moon was no different. The prey has been running and we are well-fed. Any threat to our borders will be treated with hostility." His last words caused a slight shift in the atmosphere and Dawnpaw shivered as she glanced at the WindClan leader, seeing his cold gaze sweeping over the crowd of ThunderClan cats.
As Firestar retreated into the shadows, Blackstar shifted forward on his branch. "ShadowClan has been well this past moon and we welcome Sootpaw here at his first Gathering." There was a brief murmur of congratulation for the new apprentice and Dawnpaw remembered the tom that had been talking with Birdpaw. "We have also been blessed as Dappleshade has given birth to a litter of two healthy kits."
The tension had been momentarily forgotten at Blackstar's announcement of the new litter, but it quickly returned when Onestar took his place in the moonlight, eyes gleaming. "Warmer weather is coming and hostility is expected, though some of us seem a little…eager to cause friction."
The ThunderClan cats shifted and Dawnpaw's eyes narrowed, her claws unsheathing and sinking into the ground below. Anger bubbled inside of her, but no matter how strong her desire to reply to his antagonism, she swallowed her spiteful words.
Firestar ignored the jab, his mutual gaze unchanging. Onestar, his lip curling at the beginning of a snarl, turned his head to the fiery-colored leader. "WindClan is ready for a fight and we have recovered from before. You will not find us on the surprise the next time."
"Keep your warriors on your side of the border and I shall keep mine in ours," Firestar replied without a hint of malice. Dawnpaw wondered briefly how he could be so calm in a moment as such, especially with Onestar being so deliberately hateful.
Onestar growled, followed by most of the WindClan warriors, but he said nothing more. He slipped from the light and allowed Leopardstar to begin her announcements. "The river is full of fish," she meowed, "We are well-fed and are content for the time being. Meanwhile, Rippletail has been given his warrior name and is here for his first Gathering as a warrior!"
There was barely any praise for the newest RiverClan warrior and Dawnpaw felt a stab of sympathy for the tom, praying to StarClan that her warrior announcement would not be as shadowed with tension as Rippletail's.
"Is that all, Leopardstar?" Firestar asked and the spotted leader nodded assent. Leaping from his branch, he flicked his tail over his back, signaling for the ThunderClan cats to follow him. Dawnpaw fell in step beside Bravepaw, merging into the crowd.
The crossing over the tree bridge was quick and the ThunderClan cats swiftly retreated back to their designated territory before the WindClan cats could ever catch up with them. Dawnpaw relaxed as they trudged into the forest, her surroundings once again being familiar.
By the time they had reentered the camp the moon was descending in the sky and tiredness dragged at her paws, but she was surprised to find that Daisy was pacing outside the nursery, looking anxious. As the cream she-cat looked up at the return of the rest of the ThunderClan cats, she exclaimed hurriedly, "Leafpool! Brightheart is kitting!"
I'M SO SORRY! Don't kill me for giving you another cliffhanger! I felt that the chapter would be too long if I carried on, and I needed something interesting to keep you all interested!
Anyway, I need some suggestions as to which names I should use for Brightheart's kits: Lilykit, Hailkit, or Tansykit? (I plan on having three kits for Brightheart, but I've already decided on Cloverkit.
