Moonpaw
Chapter 9
The normally excited mood of the Gathering was subdued due to the aftermath of the battle with Darkclan, but Froststar listed off the names for the gathering as usual.
"For the gathering, Sandfur, Brightcloud, Branchwhisker, Thrushtail, Grayfrost, Hazelshade, Heronflight, Weaseltooth, Breezeheart, Ferntail, Shinewing, Moonpaw, Streampaw, Gorsepaw, and Windpaw."
"Yes!" Moonpaw exclaimed to Gorsepaw.
"I wish I could come…" Sparkpaw said glumly. The golden-furred tom had only just become an apprentice the day before, so it was natural that he wasn't invited.
"Well, Maybe next moon." Gorsepaw replied sympathetically, obviously excited out of her fur.
"Sparkpaw here is going to use this time for training." Snowflight meowed, resting her tail on Sparkpaw's head.
"What? Training at night?" Sparkpaw protested. Even though he had only been in Mistclan for a day, Snowflight was already pushing him harder than most mentors would.
"Well look at the bright side! You'll be able to do battle training with us now!" Streampaw added, "Although, that may not be a good thing for you!" The young she-cat swiped a paw through the air as if she was in the middle of battle.
"Yeah! I'm tired of fighting Gorsepaw." Moonpaw put in. They seem to be welcoming him. It's almost like he was always in Mistclan!
"Okay, well I'll see you guys later," Sparkpaw meowed, sighing as he was led off to the training area by a slightly annoyed Snowflight.
"Cats going to the Gathering, come with me!" Froststar yowled, jumping down from the highledge and pushing her way briskly through the camp entrance. Moonpaw fell into step beside Mossfoot, as they padded out of the camp.
"What do you think Darkclan will be like after the battle?" Moonpaw inquired, kicking a recently fallen leaf. He had never been to a gathering before, so he was excited to meet the other clans.
"If I know them, they won't want to mention the fact that they lost." Mossfoot replied smugly, clearly thinking about the fight.
"Sunclan seems like they might be a little full of themselves." Moonpaw mewed, remembering a time when Gorsepaw told Moonpaw about some Sunclan cats they had seen in fourtrees. When the Mistclan patrol asked them what they were doing there, the four cats from Sunclan, Willowwing the deputy, Buzzardshade, Dewflower, and Charredpelt hadn't given anything away. Gorsepaw did like to exaggerate, however.
"Gorsepaw ran into a particularly smug bunch of cats there. The rest of Sunclan isn't like that." Windpaw told him, padding over. Windpaw had already been to a gathering the moon before, so she knew how it worked better than Moonpaw did.
Soon the huge clearing and enormous oaks that were fourtrees came into view. Looking down into the clearing, Moonpaw saw all three other clans already sitting and gossiping.
"Go!" Froststar signaled with her tail to descend into fourtrees. Moonpaw pelted forwards after the rest of his clan, then skidded to a halt at the bottom of the slope. When the Mistclan cats stopped, they were greeted by unwelcoming growls from the Darkclan cats.
They must still be mad about the battle! We beat them! Why can't they just let it go? Moonpaw thought. He looked up at the three clan leaders perched on the small tree in the center of the clearing. Barkstar of Sunclan, Gravelstar of Stoneclan, and Shadowstar of Darkclan. Froststar bounded over to the tree and leaped into its branches. The tree's limb bent under her weight, but didn't fall. Sandfur joined the other deputies at the tree's roots, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws.
"I'm going to go look around." Moonpaw told Mossfoot.
"Okay, but don't go giving anything away to the other apprentices. The last thing we need right now is another battle." Mossfoot replied.
Moonpaw nodded to his mentor and bounded off. Where is he? He searched the crowd of cats for Nightpaw, the apprentice who saved his life in the battle. Finally, he spotted the black pelt and green eyes of Nightpaw. He pushed his way through the mass of fur until he reached Nightpaw. He was sitting in the middle of a group of apprentices he didn't recognize.
"Hey, Nightpaw!" He mewed.
Nightpaw turned to look at him, "Oh, you're that cat from the battle! Moonpaw, was it?"
"Yeah, and thanks for that! I would be dead if it weren't for you saving me." Moonpaw chirped. It seemed that Nightpaw was in a better mood than the rest of his clanmates.
"How's your training treating you?" Nightpaw asked.
"Well, battle training is pretty tough, but I'm one of the best hunters!" Moonpaw mewed, "Well, out of the apprentices."
Nightpaw mrrowed with laughter, "You know, we should have a rematch someday. One where you don't go flying off a cliff."
"Yeah, we should," Moonpaw replied with amusement. A bit of ginger fur caught his eye and he turned to see an orange tabby-tom looking uncertainly at them.
"Err, hello, my name's Flamepaw!" He said awkwardly, "Is it okay if I sit with you for the gathering?"
This cat seems really nervous. Best to be nice to him, I guess, Moonpaw decided, "Sure, why not!" He chirped. Looking to Nightpaw, he saw the dark apprentice looking irritated. "Uh, right Nightpaw?"
"Fine, he can stay." Nightpaw mewed, looking away.
"I'm new in Sunclan, so I don't completely understand all this stuff." Flamepaw told him, ignoring Nightpaw's attitude.
"What do you mean by that?" Moonpaw inquired.
"Well, I'm not exactly what you would call clanborn." Flamepaw responded, scuffling his paws on the ground.
"Just get to the point!" Nightpaw growled, turning to the ginger tom.
"Yeah, I'm getting to it!" Flamepaw retorted, "Basically, I was a house-cat, er, kittypet, but I ran away from my twolegs and became a loner."
"Really?" Moonpaw's eyes were wide, "You ate kittypet food?"
"Yeah, I guess I did, although I can't remember it now." Flamepaw told him, "Now to how I joined the clan."
"Finally." Nightpaw mumbled.
"I was being attacked by a dog, but then a patrol of Sunclan cats leaped out of the forest and sent it running away, squealing like an injured mouse!" Flamepaw explained, clawing the air.
"Must've been a small dog." Nightpaw muttered.
"Then I got to go back to camp. They showed me around, and Barkstar said that I would need to prove myself to join." Flamepaw continued.
Barkstar? Moonpaw thought. Oh, right, the Sunclan leader. He looked up at the brown tom sitting on one of the higher branches of the trees.
"Bet you didn't have to prove much." Nightpaw continued his passive-aggressive mumbles.
Flamepaw, impervious to Nightpaw's comments, continued his story. "Then, with some surprisingly good timing, the same dog showed up at the camp and started attacking. A bunch of warriors attacked it, and for some reason, so did I!"
"That wasn't very smart." Nightpaw mewed.
"I managed to not die, so Barkstar let me become an apprentice." Flamepaw finished, panting after talking for so long.
"Well, that's all well and good, but the gathering is going to start soon, so I'd recommend you stop talking." Nightpaw put in.
"Can I sit here?" Mewed a voice from behind them. Moonpaw turned around to see a light brown tom. He soon recognized the cat as Reedpaw, one of the apprentice medicine cats from Stoneclan.
"Shouldn't you be sitting with your mentor?" Nightpaw asked, apparently recognizing the cat as well.
"Ashnose said I could talk to some other cats." Reedpaw replied simply.
"Well then I don't see why not!" Moonpaw mewed cheerfully. Reedpaw nodded his thanks and sat down.
While Nightpaw seemed fine with the new arrival, Flamepaw was not quite overjoyed, "I don't want him to sit here…" The ginger apprentice mewed.
Do they know each other somehow? Moonpaw wondered. He turned his attention to the clan leaders when he heard Froststar's yowl.
"It's time to start the gathering!" The white she-cat announced, "I shall go first." She stepped forward and began to describe Mistclan's current state.
"Since when did she rule the forest?" Nightpaw muttered to Moonpaw.
"Yeah! Why'd she get to go first?" Flamepaw agreed. The look on Nightpaw's face told Moonpaw that he'd rather take back his comment now that Flamepaw had agreed with it.
"Shh! You'll get us into trouble." Reedpaw reminded the three apprentices. Moonpaw turned back to the leaders where Froststar was still speaking.
"This has been a good greenleaf for us so far. It has brought us good prey and high spirits. We also have two new apprentices, Moonpaw and Streampaw!" Moonpaw puffed out his chest as cats called his name. "Our warriors are recovering well from our battle with Darkclan," She continued, "And we are ready to fight off a counterattack if one is to come." There was an edge to her mew, and she looked at Shadowstar when she said it.
Shadowstar moved forwards, out of the shadows. The moon struck his dark pelt, making him look silver. "That's good to hear, Froststar, but are you sure we can't negotiate over that territory?" He kept his cool, even after Froststar's threat.
Really? He thinks we'll give them our territory? He tried to see what Nightpaw might be thinking, but the apprentice's face revealed nothing.
"We owe you nothing, Shadowstar. Why would we hand over territory to cats who tried to take it from us by force?" Froststar challenged.
A Darkclan warrior named Mosseyes rose to his feet. "How dare you? Darkclan has assisted you in the past!"
"The past is behind us now." Froststar told him. Mosseyes sat back down with a low growl.
"Froststar!" Ferntail was calling from the roots of the tree, "I need to speak with you!"
"Please excuse me," Froststar addressed the cats in the clearing. She leaped down from her branch and started discussing something with Ferntail.
"I wonder what they're talking about." Reedpaw mewed quietly.
"Probably the best strategy to fight Darkclan." Nightpaw snarled.
"At a gathering?" Flamepaw mewed, "No way!"
"Guys, Froststar is talking again." Moonpaw pointed out. The three other apprentices looked up to the tree here Froststar had jumped back up to her perch.
"Ferntail has told me that we need herbs, so I might be willing to exchange a small stretch of our territory for the herbs we require." Froststar declared. A ripple of mixed emotions rippled through the cats of Mistclan. It seemed that some agreed and some disagreed with this decision.
Shadowstar exchanged a glance with Toadeye, the medicine cat, and looked back to Froststar, "What herbs do you need?" He sighed as he spoke.
Ferntail stepped forward to make her voice more clear, "We are running low on dock leaves and marigold, and it couldn't hurt to have some extra catmint as well."
Toadeye began to speak, "I shall bring them over to your camp at dawn tomorrow, but only if you give us the territory."
"Do you expect us to go back on our word?" Froststar challenged,
"I wouldn't dream of it, Froststar." Shadowstar replied coolly. Froststar nodded her head and stepped back, clearly done speaking. "Then it's done." Shadowstar finished.
Now that Mistclan and Darkclan had negotiated it was time for Sunclan to speak. Barkstar stepped forward.
"This season has been good to us. Prey runs well, and our warriors are healthy." The brown tom mewed, "We have also welcomed a new apprentice into our clan. Flamepaw, stand up."
Moonpaw turned to see the ginger tom rising hesitantly to his feet, looking embarrassed. I know how he feels. Moonpaw had even felt embarrassed at his apprentice ceremony, so he knew how it must be for Flamepaw.
The clans cheered half-heartedly for the new apprentice. It seemed they were confused as to where he came from, considering none of them remembered an announcement about kits.
"He was a rogue." Moonpaw heard a Blackstripe of Sunclan whisper.
"Really?" Weaseltooth, an irritable, bad tempered Mistclan warrior mewed back, turning to look at the dark tom.
"Yes." replied Blackstripe, "And before that, he was a kittypet!"
"So Sunclan is so weak they are accepting rogues into their clan?" Weaseltooth challenged, leaping to his feet.
"Flamepaw earned his place within the clan by helping us fight off a dog that entered our camp. His bravery proved him worthy of being part of Sunclan." Barkstar replied, slightly irritated by Weaseltooth's boldness.
"Was it bravery, or stupidity?" Nightpaw mewed under his breath.
Why does Weaseltooth have to be so annoying? Moonpaw wondered, "Sit back down!" he yowled, rising to his feet. He received a stern glance from Froststar, so he sank back to the ground.
"Hey? Where'd Flamepaw go?" Reedpaw asked, looking around for any sign of the small ginger apprentice.
Moonpaw scanned the group of cats, and saw the flame-colored tom sneaking up behind Weaseltooth. As he watched, Flamepaw slammed his paws down on the Mistclan warrior's tail, and vanished back into the crowd. Weaseltooth whirled around, ready to attack, but Flamepaw had already disappeared. Moments later, he plopped down next to Moonpaw, acting like nothing had happened.
"I can't believe you just did that!" Moonpaw mewed, stifling a fit of laughter. He saw Flamepaw doing the same.
"Look at the moon!" Speckleface of Stoneclan yowled. Moonpaw glanced up at the moon, and saw dark clouds partly obscuring it, casting a large shadow across the clearing of cats.
"Starclan is angry!" Ripplefur, also from Stoneclan meowed. The arguing cats quieted down at this, and looked back to the clan leaders. Slowly, the clouds drifted away, fully revealing the moon.
Gravelstar decided that he would speak next. "Stoneclan has plenty of prey, but some of our cats are suffering from whitecough. However, Ashnose, Mintleaf, Reedpaw, and Swallowpaw have cured all but one of the sick cats." Moonpaw glanced at Reedpaw, to see him bouncing up and down with excitement at being mentioned at a Gathering. "That is all."
"If that is all you feel the need to say, Gravelstar, then I will speak next." Shadowstar mewed. "Darkclan is recovering quickly from our battle, and prey is running well. We have named two new apprentices, Quickpaw and Runningpaw." He waited for the cheering to die down, then continued. "There was fresh fox scent near the border with Sunclan, so keep an eye out for it."
"Thank you, Shadowstar." Barkstar dipped his head to the Darkclan leader.
"Every clan has spoken! The gathering is over!" As soon as Gravelstar yowled those words, the gathering dispersed into the four clans.
"Bye, guys!" Moonpaw called to the other apprentices.
"Bye…" Nightpaw muttered. "Hopefully I won't see you later."
"See you!" Flamepaw replied.
"Till next time!" Reedpaw mewed cheerfully. With that, Moonpaw bounded over to his clanmates. Windpaw, Gorsepaw, and Streampaw were all discussing the gathering.
Windpaw turned to him. "Hey, where were you? We couldn't see you anywhere!"
"I was… with some other apprentices." He explained awkwardly. "Anyways, I'm really tired. I feel like I could pass out anywhere right now!"
"What about on top of a monster?" Gorsepaw challenged.
"Totally."
"No way!" Streampaw protested. "No cat would do that. What if it wakes up and attacks you?"
"Er, I could fight it off!" Moonpaw chirped, motioning an attack to a monster's hard muzzle.
"Yeah, right!" Windpaw mewed with amusement.
"It's time to go!" Froststar stated, flicking her tail. She started out of the clearing towards Mistclan territory, followed by the rest of her clan.
I wonder when I'll see them again. Satisfied by his first gathering, Moonpaw followed his clan into the undergrowth.