Chapter 8
Evening fell upon the forest, cloaking the trees in a blanket of darkness. Any prey that was out during the day would have been in their nests by now. They knew this was no ordinary night. A full moon hovered low in the sky. Ravenpaw's chest swelled with excitement as she thought of what she might see at the Gathering. In the past few days she had worked hard, proving that she was more useful as a warrior apprentice than Jayfeather's apprentice. In those few days, she and Stripepaw had grown further apart, signaling the end to their sisterly bond. Though Ravenpaw was sad to see that link disperse, she knew that it would have happened sooner or later.
All siblings go their own way eventually, Ravenpaw reminded herself. Even we've parted, but we'll still be good friends in the end.
Stripepaw was sitting near the camp's entrance, allowing Cinderheart to groom her unkempt fur. Ravenpaw felt amusement wash over her as she watched them. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Blossompaw was watching her grudgingly. "I should've gone to the Gathering," Blossompaw muttered. "It would have been my second one."
"Every apprentice gets a chance to go," Ravenpaw replied calmly. She was annoyed that Blossompaw seemed to think she was better than everyone else. "Besides, what exactly did you accomplish during the past moon?" When Blossompaw didn't reply, Ravenpaw stalked away from the den. On a good day Blossompaw was fun to be with, but she had her moments when her attitude changed to an icy cold version of Lionblaze. Ravenpaw looked over her shoulder and glared before she joined Stripepaw and Cinderheart near the camp's entrance. By now the cats who were chosen to leave had already joined them: Foxleap, Squirrelflight, Sandstorm, Lionblaze, Birchfall and Cinderheart were all going. "I can't wait to see the other Clans," Ravenpaw mewed once she was away from Blossompaw's keen ears.
Cinderheart's eyes glowed with pride as she looked down at her two daughters. Ravenpaw would have ducked her head in embarrassment if it weren't for Firestar, Brambleclaw and Jayfeather's approach. All three cats looked uneasy as they led the way through the thorn tunnel. Ravenpaw was on her paws in a heartbeat after that. She felt a few thorns snare on her pelt after brushing it against the thorn tunnel, but she didn't care. Her heart was pounding with excitement as she bounded after the leaving group. "Is the island big?" Stripepaw was asking as she ran alongside Birchfall. When he nodded, her eyes widened in disbelief. "Will we be able to see-" She was cut off by Foxleap's irritated hiss.
Silence fell upon the group as they padded along the lake's shore. Ravenpaw's eyes widened in awe when she saw the island come to view. The moonlight bleached the island white, while the lake was a sheet of silver stretching across all four territories. From a distance she could see the Horseplace, where Daisy's friends lived. She wondered if Daisy had any thoughts in returning - both of her kits were almost ready to become warriors, and she had no mate. Spiderleg had pushed her away after his kits were born. He didn't know how to act like a father, and had left Daisy in a terrible state of despair. Ravenpaw shook her head at the thought. Daisy's problems were not her own, she should be concentrating on what laid ahead.
"Be careful when we approach the treebridge," Lionblaze warned over his shoulder. "This part gets tricky." Ravenpaw climbed over the treebridge, yelping in dismay when she felt her paws slipping over the bark. Lionblaze suddenly lunged and grabbed her by the scruff. "I've got you," he meowed through her fur. Ravenpaw's ears flattened in embarrassment when he dropped her on the other side. A few cats were watching in amusement. "Every apprentice has difficult their first time," Lionblaze explained. "Even I had trouble when I was at my first Gathering."
Ravenpaw gave her chest fur a few licks before she padded after him. She quickly spotted Stripepaw, who was sitting with what looked like a group of ShadowClan apprentices. She recognized the scent that came across the border every morning. She also recognized the scent of WindClan, and wondered why he wasn't part of the group. "Hey Ravenpaw, come join us," Stripepaw called. Ravenpaw bounded after them, her tail lashing across the air as she joined her sister. "This is Ravenpaw, my sister," Stripepaw explained as she dipped her head to the other apprentices. "We've been training together for a moon now," Stripepaw meowed proudly.
"Really, and I've been training for three moons," a light gray she-cat with green eyes said sarcastically. "Honestly, training has nothing to do with what we are doing now. Becoming a warrior is more important to me than anything else." Her eyes flashed for a brief moment before the larger ShadowClan cat nudged her.
"Cloverpaw, you're getting ahead of yourself," he meowed light-heartedly. "My name's Cedarpaw." His good natured mew warmed Ravenpaw as she listened to him. "Anyways, why don't you tell us about yourselves?"
"You're the one Weaselfur told me about." All four apprentices looked at the dark gray tom - a WindClan apprentice - who had spoken. "You let Cloudpaw die." His voice was filled with pain as he glared at Ravenpaw. "And I won't let you live after what you did to him." The apprentice lashed his tail and dropped into a hunter's crouch, but his movement stopped when an older cat snarled at him. "At a later time, of course," he snarled venomously.
"What's his problem?" Cedarpaw asked.
"I was fighting the fox, I could have saved Cloudpaw," Ravenpaw murmured. "I...I should have saved him before I took on the fox."
"You took on a fox?" Cloverpaw's eyes widened in disbelief. When Ravenpaw nodded, Stripepaw confirmed what she had said. Cloverpaw gaped at Ravenpaw as if she had grown wings. "No apprentice at your age has been able to take on a fox on their own!"
"Maybe she's no ordinary apprentice." Cedarpaw's reply was barely a whisper, but it was loud enough for Ravenpaw to hear.
"It is time for the Gathering to begin!" Onestar's yowl made every cat stop talking. Ravenpaw's fur grew hot in embarrassment before she turned to face the Ancient Oak. "I will begin the Gathering. We have lost an apprentice. Cloudpaw was killed fighting a fox near the WindClan border between ThunderClan. Weaselfur barely survived the attack, but we'll recover from the attack." His amber eyes flashed as he looked at the other leaders, as if he was daring them to say anything to contradict his words.
"RiverClan has fared well this past moon," Leopardstar rasped. "We have three new apprentices, Acornpaw, Duckpaw and Stotepaw are here." Ravenpaw had barely realized that RiverClan arrived. She was spending too much time with the ShadowClan apprentices to notice. "Robinwing and Beetlewhisker have also become warriors." Yowls of congratulations quickly followed her words. Ravenpaw had forgotten the stories that Mousefur or Longtail would tell about the Gatherings - that the Clan cheered over warrior ceremonies or apprentices ceremonies on occasion.
"ShadowClan is thriving, despite the cold that threatened to kill our supply of catmint," Blackstar announced. "Snowbird has given birth to her kits, and the prey runs well in our territory. I have little else to say." Blackstar looked back at Firestar, who seemed to contemplate over the words the other leaders had said.
"ThunderClan has also done well this past moon. We have two new apprentices: Ravenpaw and Stripepaw. Both are here to celebrate the time of peace." Firestar stretched the words time of peace. Ravenpaw wondered if he was worried about the Clans attacking one another. Leopardstar had given no sign of aggression, but Onestar's threat still lingered in the air. Ravenpaw knew that Onestar would likely challenge ThunderClan for the death of Cloudpaw. "This Gathering is over!" Ravenpaw felt relieved that the Gathering had come to an end. Her heart felt lighter than ever when she looked at Cedarpaw. He was already leaving, and seemed oblivious to her staring.
One day he'll be my enemy, Ravenpaw thought. I'm sure that he will think of me as an enemy as well.
