Chapter 7: Gatherings
Swirlpaw was exhausted. They'd been walking threw the forest for nearlly a moon now, and still no sign of a river they could follow. There'd been wet patches to drink from here and there, but nothing to follow.
"This is all that stupid cat's fault!" Crimsonpaw complained. He'd been getting snippier as the sunrises went on. "We could be going around in circles for all we know!"
"Stop it!" came Azurepaw's voice. The others could tell that the apprentice was just as exhausted as them, but she was trying not to show it. "All of you. Now, do you want to hear the good news or not?"
"Good news?" Paddlepaw asked, his ears perking up.
"Yes. I can hear running water."
The four apprentices mewed with delight as they bounded forward, and screeching as they finally reached the river.
"Alright. Let's rest. We made it this far, we should rest until the next sunrise, then we can continue." Azurepaw insisted, and the other three nodded their agreement, before taking their fill from the river.
As the sun began to set, the four cats started telling stories of their clans. Funny stories about ClcoudClan, dramatic stories about RainClan, touching stories of MoonClan, and scary stories about SunClan.
"And then as Spottedfoot was trying to catch the rabbit, out runs Jadepaw, crying about the fact that the rabbit monster was going to get her!"
The apprentices mewed in amusement as Paddlepaw finished the story. Paddlepaw flicked his tail as the other's stopped. "I suppose Jadepaw has her warrior's name by now..."
"Yarrowpaw probably does too," insisted Swirlpaw, her head bowed. "She probably has a really pretty name."
"Stripepaw was a whole moon above me, there's no doubt he'll have his warrior's name."
Azurepaw watched the others, before nodding. "I wish StarClan would let me know more about what was happening in th*e clans. We're completely cut off out here."
"Well... If you see anything, Azurepaw," Swirlpaw insisted, looking at the blue-grey she-cat. "Tell us straight away."
"Don't worry, I will."
It was the strange noises that caused Crimsonpaw to wake again that night, the moon shining high in the sky. He turned to his left to see Azurepaw struggling in her sleep, mewing softly. The ginger tom jumped to his feet and moved to her side, nudging her with his paw a little.
"Azurepaw, wake up!" he meowed, and the she-cat woke almost instantly, her bright blue eyes shining in the moonlight.
"Crimsonfire... What's wrong?" she asked, purring a little. Crimsonpaw blinked, looking Azurepaw over.
"Crimsonfire? I'm Crimsonpaw, Azurepaw."
"Not anymore," she insisted, standing to her feet and licking Crimsonpaw's shoulder. "You're Crimsonfire. This evening Tricklestar gave you your warrior name, and Fogstar gave Paddlepaw his name... Paddlefoot."
Crimsonfire purred a little, before sitting down next to Azurepaw. "Paddlefoot, it suits him perfectly... Did Swirlpaw not get her warrior name?"
Azurepaw shook his head a little, her tail drooping. "No... But she is younger then the two of you, so it doesn't surprise me."
"What about you?" came a croaky voice as if they'd just woken up, and both cats turned to see Swirlpaw's head lifted from the other side of Paddlefoot. "Did you get your name, Azurepaw?"
The medicine cat apprentice shook her head, purring softly. "StarClan will give me my name when they're ready. I'm not worried at all."
Yarrowleaf stepped up onto the pile of logs that served as the central meeting spot for all four clans at gatherings. She looked around, trying to find some of the other apprentices she'd met at previous gathering's, when she felt a pelt move up beside her.
"SunClan aren't here yet," Dirtstorm insisted, his tail flickering. "I wonder if they'll even bother to show their tails."
Yarrowleaf tried to step away from the tabby tom, but found it difficult, especially as his brother and Crystalwing were now moving to sit with them. She looked around for Palepaw, and saw him chatting away with some other young apprentices, causing her to purr with happiness.
"Yarrowpaw! Yarrowpaw!" Came a mew from behind her, and the golden she-cat turned at the familiar voice.
"Jadepaw!" she mewed, before moving forward to rub necks with the black she-cat from CloudClan. "How's the prey? And it's Yarrowleaf now!"
"Oh! You got your warrior's name, I'm so happy for you! I did too! I'm Jadepool."
"Oh, that's a pretty name..." Yarrowleaf insisted, purring at her friend. She was about to continue talking, when another young warrior stepped up beside Jadepool, looping a protective tail around the she-cat.
"Come along, Jadepool, the gathering's about to start," the tom insisted, his eyes glaring at Yarrowleaf.
"Alright, alright Windfoot, stop being a mouse brain." The she-cat licked Yarrowleaf's shoulder once more. "I'll see you around!"
"Bye!" Yarrowleaf mewed as the two walked back over to the other CloudClan cats.
"SunClan's here!" Yarrowleaf couldn't help but hear Crystalwing mew, and the she-cat spun around, just in time to notice the brown she-cat leader step through the line of trees that surrounded the gathering area. She was followed by a fare few cats; Some that Yarrowleaf recognised from previous gatherings and some she'd never seen before.
"Well, now that we're all here," Tricklestar insisted as she stepped up the small mountain of logs in the middle, taking her place as oldest leader, "We should probably start." Yarrowleaf noticed that Tricklestar didn't seem as weary of Hazelstar as the fiesty Fogstar and Lightstar did. "I'll go first."
"The prey is running well in RainClan, new-leaf has been kind to us after a rather harsh leaf-bare. We have two new warriors with us today, Stripetail and Feathertalon!"
"Stripetail! Feathertalon!" the RainClan cats howled, and Yarrowleaf was sure she noticed two cats at the front sit up straight.
"In his absence, we have also awarded Crimsonpaw his warrior name, and shall now be known as Crimsonfire!"
"Crimsonfire! Crimsonfire!"
"And the most wonderful news of all... My daughter, Poolheart, is expecting!"
The clans mewed in congradulations, causing Tricklestar to preen and smile at the cats in front of her. She nodded her head to Fogstar, who stood up next to Tricklestar.
"The prey in CloudClan is also running well! Two new apprentices were named a quarter-moon ago, and join us here today on their first gathering. Welcome Goosepaw and Swanpaw!"
"Goosepaw! Swanpaw!"
The dark grey leader gave Hazelstar a glare, before turning back to the crowd of cats. "I would like to say that I wish all my news were as good as that... And I will announce our new warriors, Jadepool and Paddlefoot, who like Crimsonfire, got his name while away... I need to bring something quite disturbing up. While on patrol around a half-moon ago, not long after SunClan made their journeys to each clan and gave their warning... We found one of our apprentices, Coltpaw, dead on our border with SunClan."
Confused mews came up through the cats, and Yarrowleaf couldn't help but frown. This sounded a little too much like the attack on Baskrun for her liking.
"The black apprentice crossed the border," Hazelstar spoke up, her sharp voice cutting through the cats. "He defied the warrior code. As it happened on SunClan territory, you have no say in what happens. Besides, we gave you back the body. We could of just left him for crow-food."
Fogstar looked like he was going to kill Hazelstar if she mewed another word, but instead he just hissed at her. "He was my brother's son. How dare you kill my brother's son, you worthless piece of fox-dung!"
"That's enough!" came the croaky voice of Dreamchill, SunClan's medicine cat. "This is a gathering. If you wish to wage war on SunClan, Fogstar, we suggest you wait till the gathering is over."
The dark grey tom stepped back, his eyes never leaving Hazelstar. Lightstar stepped up, her own eyes staring through Hazelstar as she took her place at the top of the pile, going on like nothing had just happened. "MoonClan is also full of prey, and abundant with new warriors. Not only have Mudpaw and Dirtpaw become Mudclaw and Dirtstorm, Yarrowpaw has also become Yarrowleaf."
Yarrowleaf amost didn't hear the chears of her name going up into the crowd of cats, she was so focused on whatever it was that Hazelstar was whispering to her deputy.
"We also have four new apprentices! Beetlepaw, Nightpaw, Palepaw and Deerpaw are all welcome to the clan!"
Beetlepaw and Deerpaw, who were sitting next to each other, preened at the noises, but Nightpaw just ignored it all.
"And finally..." the white she-cat bore her eyes into Hazelstar. "One of our elder warriors, Baskrun, has had to retire to the elder's den, before his time, because of an... altercation with SunClan on their border."
"He'd be in StarClan with the hill-rat if we'd had our ways!" insisted Hazelstar, jumping up to push Lightstar away. "Here is what's happening in SunClan. We have plenty of prey, more warriors and apprentices then ever, and plenty of kits. And you know what else! THE SUN IS BACK!"
Yarrowleaf noticed that only about half of SunClan cheered along with Hazelstar. The rest were clumped together, and Yarrowleaf couldn't help but notice they were a little worse for wear.
"I won't bother explaining the details... I did that on my journey to all your clans. But I will warn you this... If any of my cats catch any other cat on our territory... You should expect to find them dead." And with that, the brown she-cat stood up, and started off the logs. "Come along, cats of SunClan. The gathering is over."
Fogstar hissed once more at the she-cat. "Who is she to say that the gathering's over!" he hissed, causing his deputy and medicine cat to come up and lead him away. Tricklestar nodded to Lightstar, before heading off with the RainClan cats towards their forest. Lightstar bounded up to MoonClan, Lasthope and Tinderfoot close behind.
"Come along everyone... Let's go home."
A/N: So, there's the first real site of the other clans. What do you think of the four leaders? I personally love Tricklestar... But that's because she's been my character right from the very start. From Tricklekit, to Tricklepaw, to Tricklestream, to Tricklestar... She used to have her own story, but I lost it...
