AN: Normally, I do not approve of continued use of time-skips. But, alas...

C h a p t e r 9

He crouched, his belly fur brushing the dry leaves that littered the forest floor; in the daylight, the leaves above glowed gold, red, and orange; tonight, under the absent light of the new moon, they were all but invisible against the dark, star-studded sky.

Petalcloud had told him not to come back without catching anything; that had been hours ago, but the prey was mysteriously absent. He hadn't even noticed the sun setting; now the new moon hung, unseen, above his head. He knew Petalcloud probably wouldn't be angry if he came back without anything, at least not too angry; she was probably pacing her fur off waiting for him to come back, imagining him being eaten by badgers or something. But he didn't feel like going back without prey in his jaws; it was like admitting defeat, weakness. If there was anything he hated, it was admitting weakness.

Finally, his eyes widened as he caught the scent of a vole; his ears pricked, and he heard it moving over the dry, rattling leaves. He smirked to himself; he was eager to return to his nest, for the night was unseasonably cold. He resisted the urge to shiver; it would only alert his prey, and he would have to continue his search.

He continued to creep forward, ears pricked for every noise; it was almost impossible to spot his prey, so he was forced to rely on his other sense for this catch. He crouched, eyes narrowed, as he thought he made out a shape in the dim light; his twitching ear told him that he was correct. He let out a low, almost silent purr, knowing that his prey was well in reach. For once, he was glad for his pelt; he was practically invisible in the shadows of the night.

He let out a hiss as a twig snapped loudly in the darkness. The vole sprang away with a squeal; he sprang forwards, but he was too late to catch it as it disappeared into the shadows.

He turned, furious, green eyes burning, peering through the darkness. A flame-like pelt met his eyes.

"Firepaw?" he demanded, fur bristling. "What was that about? You scared off my prey, you big lunk!"

Firepaw's amber eyes gleamed in the darkness, and he took a step forward, his face still hidden by the shadows. "Oops." He took another step forward, then let out a low hiss. "At least that little vole gets to fulfill its destiny now. Maybe it'll be thought of by the other voles as a hero. Maybe as the legendary vole that saw a cat and lived. Maybe they'll even make that vole a warrior."

Spiderpaw's tail lashed from side to side with agitation. "Look, if this is about your sister-"

"Of course it's not about her. Why would it be? It's not like some snot-nosed kit decided to get in the way of her becoming a warrior!" He let out a low, rumbling growl.

"It's not my fault she wasn't ready," he spat. "You chased my vole off, you idiot! You're the reason I haven't found any prey yet, aren't you? You've been scaring it all off on purpose!"

Firepaw shoved his muzzle in Spiderpaw's face, eyes flickering like flame. "Yeah? So what if I am? What's a pipsqueak like you planning on doing about it?"

Spideraw let out a furious hiss, unsheathing his claws, only for his ears to flatten as he saw the gleam of more eyes in the darkness; he didn't have to see them to guess who they were. Redpaw and Jaypaw, of course; they were Firepaw's friends. He knew that if he picked a fight with Firepaw now, Redpaw would join in; Jaypaw might only watch – he wasn't the violent sort – but ever since their last encounter, he hadn't exactly been friendly, either.

Firepaw smirked as he saw that Spiderpaw knew he was outmatched. "That's exactly what I expected from a little worm like you," he sneered. "I'll let you off this time...but you had better hope that I don't have to stay an apprentice for another moon after this. I'm not leaving Blackpaw behind."

"How noble," Spiderpaw muttered under his breath. Firepaw's ear swiveled towards him as the ginger tom turned away, but he said nothing, simply flicking his tail to the other two apprentices. Spiderpaw's face burned underneath his dark coat as he watched them disappear into the shadows of the forest.

. . .

"Spiderpaw, you didn't catch anything? You were out there for hours!" Petalcloud sounded exasperated, and his ears flattened.

"I just told you I didn't," he snapped. "It's not my fault. There was only one vole in the entire forest, it seemed like, and I missed him."

She shook her head. "I'm disappointed, Spiderpaw. I at least expected you to come back with something. A butterfly would have been better than nothing!" She frowned at him.

"I just told you it wasn't my fault!" he spat. "It's cold out there, okay? The prey is probably all hiding, or something!" His tail lashed. "Get off my back. I'm going to bed."

"Yes, and you're going to be on the dawn patrol first thing tomorrow," Petalcloud said firmly. "I can't have you slacking off, Spiderpaw. We're not sliding back into that, understand?"

He turned to glare at her, and opened his mouth, but she was already heading for the warrior's den; she would probably be the last cat to curl up for the night, it was so late. He spat in disgust, stalking into his own den.

He stopped, then blinked. "Who took my moss?"

None of the cats moved; his ears flattened as he saw Firepaw, Jaypaw, and Redpaw, all feigning sleep.

"Hey, furballs! Who took my moss?" he yowled.

"Quiet down, Spiderpaw, jeez," Robinpaw groaned. "Quit being so loud! You can sleep without moss for one night, can't you?"

He felt like raking his claw over her muzzle as she blinked at him blearily with one green eye open, before she rolled over and curled back up again. He snarled furiously, but there was nothing he could do; at least one apprentice knew who had done it, but none of them were speaking about it.

He let out another hiss, finally flopping down onto the hard dirt, curling up so that his tail tickled his nose just slightly. Annoyance and anger prickled over his pelt, but he had no idea which apprentice had taken his moss; there was no way to prove anything, and accusing anyone would just end up in a brawl.

This is just great. How am I supposed to be rested for the dawn patrol like this? He thought. Let's review my current standing with the apprentices, shall we? Sootpaw barely speaks to me now; she's depressed about not having a mentor. Firepaw's mad at me because Blackpaw isn't a warrior; Redpaw's mad by proxy. Jaypaw and Robinpaw are still angry about that outburst of mine. Blackpaw hasn't spoken to me either...but she never really does anyway. Bluepaw and I are on decent terms, but she's always busy with her medicine cat junk. I don't know how Blizzardpaw feels about me...we haven't really spoken. I always thought he was one of Firepaw's friends, but he wasn't there tonight...Not that I care about him anyway.

That only leaves Leopardpaw, I guess, and she's a rogue if I ever saw one. I don't trust her at all. There's something funny about her, something that's off...and I'm going to find out what that is. He shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position, but his hip was still grinding against the hard dirt. Not that any of it matters. They don't have to like me; I don't need friends. All I need is respect. They don't have to like me, so long as they respect me. And respect is easy to earn when you deserve it.

. . .

He slept as badly as he had anticipated, rolling and shifting his weight trying to find a comfortable position, but failing; he was awake for several hours before exhaustion finally carried him away into fitful dreams, and even then his sleep didn't seem to last nearly long enough, before he awoke to a gentle nudge.

He blinked into Blizzardpaw's blue eyes, and his own eyes narrowed. "Forget the dawn patrol," he growled. "I'm not coming. I'm tired."

Blizzardpaw's gaze was carefully guarded as he stared down at the black apprentice. "Petalcloud won't let you off with just that, and you know it. Come on." He flicked his tail. "You're only going to get into more trouble if you're stubborn."

Spiderpaw glowered at him, then scowled; he knew Petalcloud would be angry with him if he didn't go. All that he could hope was that it would pass quickly, and that no one asked him to do anything that required any effort.

He forced himself to his paws, wincing at the stiffness in his shoulder from the rough night. Blizzardpaw padded out of the den, then stretched as the morning sunlight warmed his fur; Spiderpaw ignored him, padding towards the entrance of camp. Darkstorm and Frostfeather stood at the entrance, waiting impatiently; Spiderpaw glared at Darkstorm, and smirked as the black tom flinched; apparently Spiderpaw still looked like a kit to him.

Frostfeather touched Darkstorm's flank with his tail, before padding out of camp, with her sort-of mate at her side. Spiderpaw glanced at Blizzardpaw, but the white apprentice said nothing, following the two warriors. Spiderpaw looked longingly at the fresh-kill pile, before stalking out of camp behind them.

Frostfeather and Darkstorm said little; Darkstorm seemed intent on ignoring Spiderpaw, which suited him just fine. Frostfeather spoke a little to Blizzardpaw when he asked her questions, but beyond that the patrol was almost silent.

It was only when they were nearly home that Blizzardpaw addressed Spiderpaw again.

"Frostfeather, I think I smell a vole over there," he meowed, flicking his tail. Frostfeather opened her mouth, and nodded.

"Do you want to catch it?"

"Actually, I'd like to watch Spiderpaw do it. He's really good at hunting now," Blizzardpaw purred. "I always seem to scare voles away."

Frostfeather glanced at her nephew; he looked back at her stonily. Then, she nodded. "That sounds fine. Go ahead, but try to hurry; I want to show Leopardpaw some new moves today."

Blizzardpaw nodded quickly, flicking his tail to Spiderpaw. Spiderpaw shot him a glance, wondering what sort of trick he was attempting to pull, but decided that it would be best to just ignore him; he still didn't know whose side the white apprentice was on.

Spiderpaw slid into a crouch, creeping forwards, with Blizzardpaw at his side; Spiderpaw had to grit his teeth together to stop himself from hissing at Blizzardpaw for his clumsiness; the white apprentice was indeed rather loud, and it was no wonder that he scared most of his prey away.

The vole was finally in range; Spiderpaw shot a quick glance at Blizzardpaw, wondering if he intended to spook the vole before Spiderpaw could catch it, just as Firepaw had done, so that he would have to return to the other warriors with nothing. But Blizzardpaw was motionless, his blue gaze set firmly on the vole.

Spiderpaw sprang forward easily, landing right on the little creature, snaring it between his claws and crushing the life out of it before it could make a sound.

"Nice catch," Blizzardpaw purred. "It didn't stand a chance."

Spiderpaw's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What do you want?"

Blizzardpaw looked confused for a moment; then, his ears flattened slightly, and guilt came over his face. "I just wanted to talk to you, away from the others," he meowed. "That's why I volunteered to go on this patrol. Firepaw hates the dawn patrol."

"Why?"

Blizzardpaw looked down at his paws. "I'm the one who took your moss." Spiderpaw bristled, and the white tom added hastily, "You should be thanking me for it, though. Firepaw wanted to get a bunch of thorns and put them in your nest so that you'd cut yourself the whole night while you thrashed around. You're almost as bad as Sootpaw, in that respect; it must be genetic. But I managed to talk him out of it; I said that it would be better just to take your moss."

Spiderpaw's pelt prickled uncomfortably; he was still confused. "I don't get it. Whose side are you on, exactly?"

Blizzardpaw gave him a small shrug. "No one's, really. I mean, I like Firepaw well enough; he's a good cat at heart, despite his temper. You're not either, you're just different from the rest of us. I don't want to be on either side; it's not really my place, I'm not really involved. It's too bad that Blackpaw couldn't be made a warrior, but she just wasn't ready. But Firepaw...well, he's really angry about all this, as I'm sure you can gather, and in his mind every other apprentice is either with him or against him, and quite frankly it's a bit dangerous to be against him in this matter."

"So you were just saving your own pelt, is that it?"

To his surprise, Blizzardpaw chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. But I was trying to look out for you too, on the nest thing. It could have been a lot worse for you if I hadn't talked him out of it. I've got to be careful, though, or I might find some thorns in my nest."

"But why's he so angry about it all of a sudden?" Spiderpaw demanded. "It's been half a moon since Blackpaw failed her assessment. He's been mostly keeping out of my way since then. Why's he starting all this foxdung now?"

Blizzardpaw sighed quietly. "He's just worried, I guess. Blackpaw isn't improving very much; he thinks she might fail her assessment again, and he wants to be a warrior really badly. He's not sure if he can wait another moon to see if she'll catch up. He doesn't want to make that choice again, because he's not sure which side he'll pick. He doesn't want to betray his sister, though, so he's scared. And in typical Firepaw style, he's turned that fear into anger, and the only one he can blame is you." Then, he perked up slightly. "But I've been trying to convince your dad into helping Reedrush and Blackpaw. He's a really good fighter, and an awesome mentor, too. If anyone can help her, it's him."

"So...you just wanted to apologize, or what?"

Blizzardpaw shrugged. "Yeah, I guess...and to kind of warn you, too. If Blackpaw isn't getting better in her training, then, well...Firepaw's only going to get angrier, and things are only going to get worse. It might be a little beneficial to have some friends on your side." He seemed to be hinting at something, but Spiderpaw wasn't taking the bait; he watched the white tom through narrowed eyes.

"Robinpaw's not really all that mad at you," Blizzardpaw said finally. "She's a really good friend of mine, so I know, believe me. She's less angry about the stuff you said, and more concerned that you never apologized to her. I mean, you guys are cousins; she expected a little courtesy, you know? She kind of thinks you're, ah, a rude furball. Her words, not mine."

Spiderpaw bristled. "It's Jaypaw's fault in the first place! He was yelling at me, so I got mad! Jaypaw's the one who should be apologizing!"

Blizzardpaw shrugged his shoulders once more. "Like I said, I'd rather not pick sides in all of this. I'm just trying to help you out. If you apologize to Robinpaw, she'll forgive you, and Jaypaw might come around too. And with Jaypaw's support, Firepaw might seem a little less menacing. Okay?" His ear twitched. "Frostfeather and Darkstorm are probably getting angry that we're not back yet."

Blizzardpaw turned to go, pushing through the brush; Spiderpaw hesitated, before picking up his vole and following him.

. . .

He paused at camp only long enough to leave the vole in the fresh-kill pile, before he left again to get some more moss from his nest. When he returned, Petalcloud was waiting for him.

"Spiderpaw, I've been looking for you all day!" she meowed. "Where have you been? Hurry up and deliver that moss to Jaggedclaw. We've definitely got some training to do, since you didn't catch anything at all yesterday."

"This isn't for Jaggedclaw!" Spiderpaw growled. Petalcloud frowned at him.

"Spiderpaw, he can hardly go and get it for himself. Deliver it to him, and hurry." Then, she blinked. "What happened to your own nest?"

Well, your idiot of a son has decided to be a huge pain in my tail, so he enlisted his buddies in stealing it! Spiderpaw wanted to yowl. Oh, and he's the reason I didn't catch anything either! Thanks for completely doubting me, Petalcloud!

However, for once he chose to remain silent; he knew that Petalcloud was fiercely protective of her two foster kits, and she had enough to worry about with Blackpaw's delayed warrior ceremony, let alone Firepaw's antics. Still burning under his fur, he padded towards Jaggedclaw.

"About time you got here," the elder grumbled as Spiderpaw dropped his moss in the entrance. "If it wasn't for your sister, I'd be starving to death. Hurry up with that nest."

"I'm not in the mood for this," Spiderpaw snapped. Jaggedclaw blinked at him slowly, almost curiously with his single eye.

"What's got your tail in a knot today? Was your sister breathing too loudly? Did Petalcloud dare question your impeccable hunting skills? Oh, let me guess, the sun just isn't bright enough for you?"

"Well, where should I start? First, Firepaw and his buddies were trailing me the entire night, making sure I didn't catch any prey. Then, one of them stole my nest, when it was too dark to go and get a new one. And, oh, Blizzardpaw just informed me that Firepaw's going to get even worse, because Blackpaw's training still isn't going well. So I think I have a pretty good reason to be angry, unlike you! All you ever do is lie around and growl at everyone."

Jaggedclaw blinked slowly. "Firepaw's giving you trouble?"

"Yeah, he's mad at me because of his stupid sister. Not that it's my fault Reedrush is a crappy mentor!"

Jaggedclaw eye narrowed. "You best watch your tongue, apprentice, when you're talking about her," he spat.

Spiderpaw tensed, fur bristling, but the scarred tom didn't move. Spiderpaw waited a moment longer, before he started shaping the moss into a nest in silence.

"Sit up," he said quietly, sliding the moss underneath the massive tom, wincing as he always did as Jaggedclaw came crashing back down on his side. "Can't you ever just try to sit down slowly?"

"Can't. Too stiff," he grunted, resting his head on his large paws. "You can go away now, before Petalcloud comes over and yells at you."

Spiderpaw's eyes narrowed, but he glanced over his shoulder, and sure enough Petalcloud was watching him, impatience in her gaze. He sighed quietly, and padded towards her, his ears flat against his head.

. . .

The rest of the moon proceeded with much of the same; it seemed that every time he glanced over his shoulder, Firepaw or one of his cronies was watching him with narrowed eyes. The forest was mysteriously devoid of prey whenever he went hunting by himself; Petalcloud grew frustrated with him bringing back nothing day after day, and he could tell that she was as frustrated with herself as she was with him. The other apprentices mostly avoided him; sometimes Blizzardpaw would give him meaningful looks before gesturing to Robinpaw, who almost always seemed to be at his side, but Spiderpaw would ignore him.

He had to replace his nest at least eight times.

But none of that seemed to matter; none of it seemed to faze him in the slightest. He had his gaze set on the Gathering; after all, it would be the second in his life that he was old enough to attend, and surely his father would allow him to meet PeakClan this time? He hadn't done anything particularity notable, but that didn't matter; neither Blackpaw nor Firepaw were attending the Gathering – Firepaw said he didn't want to face them again until he had his warrior name, and Blackpaw was simply too ashamed – which would surely boost his chances.

"You still haven't apologized, have you?" Blizzardpaw asked, coming to sit beside him; Spiderpaw flicked his ear in irritation.

"No, I haven't, and I'm not planning to," he growled. "Quit bugging me about it."

Blizzardpaw blinked at him. "It's okay to admit that you're wrong sometimes, you know. No one will think worse of you. Some might even think better of you for admitting that you can make mistakes."

"Shut up, leave me alone, and stop stealing my bedding," he growled in reply.

Blizzardpaw looked surprised. "Me? It's not me."

Spiderpaw rolled his eyes. "Riiight. You stopped doing it because your poor conscience caught up to you, right?"

Blizzardpaw blinked slowly. "No, Firepaw just hasn't asked me to do it again. I don't know who's doing it, I haven't really been around...do you want me to help you get some more?"

"No one took it today," he meowed. "It's just every couple days. It'll probably happen tomorrow."

Blizzardpaw nodded slowly. "Well, would you like my help tomorrow?"

"I don't need anyone's help! Leave me alone, okay?" Spiderpaw spat. "I'm just waiting for Father to come out and tell everyone who gets to go to the Gathering!"

Blizzardpaw's ears flattened. "Okay," was all he said, as he rose to his paws and padded over to Robinpaw and Jaypaw, who were sitting together facing the BranchPile, probably waiting for Eaglestrike's announcement as well. Robinpaw glanced over at Spiderpaw curiously, but he ignored her, and she quickly looked away again.

Finally, Eaglestrike appeared from the medicine den, looking troubled. He padded towards the BranchPile slowly.

"Silverstar and I have made our decision as to who is going to the Gathering tonight," he said softly, his gray coat looking almost silver in the moonlight. "Reedrush, Petalcloud, Darkstorm, Frostfeather, Ravenwing, Blizzardpaw, Robinpaw, and Jaypaw."

Spiderpaw's fur bristled; he glanced over at Blizzardpaw, and saw that the white tom was beaming and chattering away excitedly with Robinpaw. His eyes narrowed as he saw that Jaypaw was staring right at him, his amber eyes narrowed in cold dislike, before the gray tom looked away.

Hissing curses to himself, Spiderpaw rose to his paws, turning to go; then, there was a surprised ripple in the crowd, and he turned to see that Silverstar was standing in the entrance of the medicine den.

She padded out slowly, almost gingerly; Eaglestrike blinked down at her in surprise. Her fur was unkept and ruffled; her blue eyes seemed almost hollow. She did not face the Clan; she looked up at the BranchPile and her deputy silently.

Forestheart quickly emerged from the medicine den, pressing his pelt against hers, murmuring something in her ear; she glanced at him as well, before saying softly,

"I will lead AshClan to the Gathering tonight."

"Are you sure, Silverstar?" Eaglestrike sounded anxious, and his son did not blame him; Silverstar looked as if a gust of wind would bowl her over. She blinked at her deputy with almost glazed eyes, then nodded, coughing quietly.

"I've kept my duties waiting for two long; tonight is the sixth Gathering since...well. I need to be there. Stonestar needs to see me. I have heard that there are rumors concerning my health." She coughed again, and Spiderpaw's ears flattened; did Silverstar really think that going in such a state would help the Clan at all?

Eaglestrike's ears flattened, and he looked to Shimmerfrost, who was standing in the den entrance as well. She gazed back at him with icy eyes, before wordlessly going back inside.

Finally, he nodded. "Okay, Silverstar," he meowed, and too Spiderpaw's surprise he actually smiled. He sprang down from the BranchPile, touching muzzles with her gently. "I'm glad you're feeling up to it."

Silverstar gave him a small nod, before fixing her Clan with her blue eyes, and flicking her tail towards the camp entrance. Wordlessly, the Clan – Forestheart included, although he had not been named in Eaglestrike's announcement – followed her.

Spiderpaw seethed; he had been passed over again, but there was little he could do about it now. He would like to watch this Gathering, especially with Silverstar representing AshClan, but he was certain that PeakClan's deputy had seen him last time, and it wasn't wise to risk it again. Scowling, he stalked into the apprentice den, only to blink with surprise.

His nest was gone.

Anger crackled over his pelt, and he let out a furious hiss. Let the PeakClan deputy see me, then. I don't care!

He headed for the camp entrance. No one tried to stop him.

. . .

He crouched, peering through the ferns, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he gazed at the moonlight-bathed cats. His gaze flicked over the group; there was that golden apprentice again, Northstar's son. A similar-looking cat was sitting next to him – his sister, perhaps? - but she rose to her paws and sprang towards Bluepaw with a grin on her face. His eyes narrowed in jealousy.

Medicine apprentices get to go to Gatherings just because they're special, he thought enviously. Stupid Bluepaw.

He lied down amongst the ferns, resting his head on his paws, his eyes slightly narrowed as he surveyed the scene; his gaze quickly found PeakClan's deputy, and the tip of his tail twitched nervously, knowing that if Northstar had truly seen him last time, he might be in some serious trouble.

Who cares? I'm already in trouble all the time anyway, he thought angrily. And it's not like I'll go to the next Gathering, either, especially not if Blackpaw fails to become a warrior and Firepaw continues to pester me.

He pricked his ears, trying to pick up some of the chatter, but there were too many cats, and everything seemed to blend together into one giant roar. He nibbled on one paw impatiently, keeping his eyes on the large rock where the leaders sat, hoping that the important part of the Gathering would begin soon.

Then, he went rigid as his gaze met Northstar's. The white tom's eyes narrowed, and Spiderpaw felt his heart thud wildly in his chest; there was no question that he had been spotted. Northstar made a small movement with his tail; Spiderpaw blinked, confused, as Northstar did it again. It was a simple tail-flick, but instead of moving towards Northstar as most beckoning tail movements did, this one was pushing away from the white tom.

Go, Spiderpaw thought. He's telling me to go.

Northstar made the movement again, then twitched his right ear; Spiderpaw's head sank.

I have to go now, or he's telling Silverstar, Spiderpaw realized. His eyes narrowed; this was a Gathering that he absolutely could not miss, and he wasn't going to let PeakClan's deputy get in his way.

I'll just circle around and hide somewhere else, he thought. He can't watch me forever.

Northstar flicked his tail one last time, then looked almost as if he was going to rise to his paws; Spiderpaw's heart caught in his throat, and he quickly began to move backwards, wiggling out of sight, only to pause as Stonestar's voice rumbled over the Gathering. Northstar's attention was instantly diverted to his leader, and Spiderpaw let out a sigh of relief, scooting back up so that he could see.

"We shall begin the Gathering," Stonestar growled quietly. Then, to Spiderpaw's surprise, he smiled at Silverstar. "It's good to see you again, Silverstar. There were rumors about your health."

"Thanks for your concern, but it's not needed," Silverstar mewed, but her weak voice seemed to secure the opposite impression. Stonestar nodded slowly.

"PeakClan is still doing well," he said quietly. "We have a few cases of whitecough, but nothing very serious. Emberflight's kits are doing well, and our apprentices are all learning quickly. The prey is still running well, so I think that this leaf-bare will not be nearly as hard as the last."

We've still got some time before it's leaf-bare, stupid. Don't be counting your prey before you catch them.

Stonestar continued to speak, but Spiderpaw wasn't paying attention to him; his focus was on Silverstar. The silver leader looked almost as though she wasn't even paying attention; she was staring on her paws with a faintly hollow look in her eyes, looking almost like a silver statue. Only the faint twitching of her flanks as she coughed quietly showed that she was still alive.

Finally, Stonestar stopped speaking, looking at Silverstar expectantly. But she said nothing, still staring at her paws silently. Stonestar glanced at Northstar, but neither of them said anything; finally, Eaglestrike reached up to touch her flank with his tail; she blinked with surprise, coming out of her reverie.

"I'm finished," Stonestar said quietly. Silverstar nodded quickly.

"AshClan is...doing well," she said slowly; she only managed to look up for a moment before her gaze fell back down to her paws. She continued to speak, mumbling too quietly for Spiderpaw or anyone else to hear. Northstar and Stonestar exchanged glances once more.

Then, Silverstar's quiet voice gave way to violent coughing; her back arched as she wheezed for breath, gasping for air as the coughs shook her frail frame. Stonestar's eyes widened in alarm, and he took a step back; Eaglestrike sprang up to Silverstar's side, saying something urgently that couldn't be made out over the force of her coughing.

Shimmerfrost and Bluepaw broke away from the cats they had been talking to, springing forwards; Silverstar looked as though she was still trying to force out words through each cough. Spiderpaw's pelt prickled with alarm as he watched his leader look around wildly, her blue eyes seeming huge in her silver face, before her lids suddenly fluttered closed and she sagged to the side. Eaglestrike managed to catch her, propping her upright with his shoulder before grabbing her scruff.

The Gathering seemed to explode with anxious voices; Stonestar, Northstar, Eaglestrike, and the medicine cats all huddled around Silverstar, until she was no longer visible; her wheezing breath seemed to fill Spiderpaw's ears. With trembling legs, he scrambled to his paws, and gave the Gathering one last look before plunging into the undergrowth, running as quickly back to camp as his fear would allow.

AN: Maybe now it's time for our plot?