Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Warrior characters, books, or anything else that has to do with Warriors.

A/N: Happy 2010!! Today's a snow day for most of the people in Arizona… We've been hit by this giant winter storm! So anyways, that's the reason I've gotten this chapter out pretty fast – I've had lots of days off from school to work on it. Anyways, please, please, please review!! It would make me way happy :)

Chapter 10

"How was the Gathering?" Cinderpelt quickly pressed upon Leafpaw as to how their Gathering had gone as soon as they arrived back at camp.

Leafpaw sighed. She and the other ThunderClan cats that had attended had arrived back at camp late due to MudClan's appearance and Cloudtail's fight, causing the cats that had stayed at the camp extra anxiety. Their normally high spirits after a Gathering had been lowered due to the fight with MudClan and the lack of appearance from StarClan.

"Well?" Cinderpelt prodded when Leafpaw did not answer immediately. "Did MudClan attend?"

"Yes," Leafpaw replied. "Mudclaw didn't come for a fight, though. He just asked if there were any cats from Clans beside WindClan that wanted to join MudClan."

Cinderpelt's whiskers twitched in surprise. "Mudclaw wanted cats from other Clans to join him? Did anyone?"

Leafpaw shook her head. "Cloudtail did, however, start a fight with one of the MudClan cats over that suggestion of Mudclaw's." She raised her voice as the white warrior she was speaking of padded over to them, his wounded tail dragging behind him.

"Save it," Cloudtail muttered, sagging down beside them. "I've already been punished enough. Firestar will have me plucking ticks off the elders for moons." He sighed unhappily and turned to Leafpaw. "Could you give me something for my tail? It's stopped bleeding, but it still stings."

Leafpaw nodded, her annoyance at the white warrior for the trouble at the Gathering drifting away in moment sympathy.

"Come into the medicine cat den and I'll give you some marigold," Leafpaw instructed. "That will stop the stinging and keep it from getting infected."

She found a clump of marigold in their herb stores and began carefully chewing it to a pulp. Once done, she gently pressed it to the cut in Cloudtail's tail, making sure the healing juices seeped in.

"Thank Leafpaw," he mewed, his eyes closed in a second of pleasure. "It feels better already."

"You're welcome. And don't be too worried about your punishment," Leafpaw added. "I don't think Firestar will be too harsh on you.

"I hope so," Cloudtail nodded. He got up, giving his tail an experimental flick. "Well, I'll go talk to Firestar and get it over with. This will heal in a few days, won't it?"

Cinderpelt nodded. "It should. Come back tomorrow so we can check it for infection, though."

Once the white warrior had left Cinderpelt turned to Leafpaw. "So what exactly happened to Cloudtail at the Gathering?"

Leafpaw quickly explained the story to her mentor. "When Mudclaw asked if there were any cats that wanted to join MudClan, Cloudtail made a remark that no one would want to join them because they were all stupid furballs. Then, of course, one of the MudClan cats had to retort by calling him a kittypet, and Cloudtail jumped onto him. Dustpelt and Thornclaw got involved, as did two other MudClan cats. It turned into a fight, and Firestar had to stop it."

Cinderpelt sighed knowingly. "Cloudtail's arrogance can get the better of him at times, and I'm not surprised one of the MudClan cats took advantage of it. Were Dustpelt and Thornclaw hurt?"

"Thornclaw did have a few scratches. I hope he comes to see us soon, I should probably give him some marigold…" she trailed off, scanning the clearing for the golden brown warrior.

"He's talking to Firestar," Cinderpelt pointed out. "I'm sure he'll see us in a minute. What about Dustpelt? Was he hurt?"
Leafpaw shook her head. "He's fine." She opened her mouth to speak again, but then closed it. She was much more worried about the lack of StarClan's appearance than the fight with MudClan, and she wanted her mentor's opinion on it, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up.

"Cinderpelt…" she began. "Something happened after that fight."

Cinderpelt's blue eyes blinked calmly. "What's that?"

"Well, you know that the Gathering is a time of peace – that we're not supposed to fight there. But even during the fight the sky stayed clear. StarClan never covered the moon with a cloud. Doesn't that mean that they weren't watching us at the Gathering? That they weren't there?"

Leafpaw gulped. She had made it to root of her fear – the fear that StarClan hadn't followed them to their new home by the lake, that they would no longer have the guidance of their warrior ancestors. She didn't know what her life would become if she didn't have that guidance.

Cinderpelt was silent for a moment as she thought. "It doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't watching over you," she finally decided. "Perhaps the fight didn't last long enough for StarClan to pass a cloud over the moon to stop it. They might not have taken any action because Firestar ended quickly enough."

Leafpaw wasn't convinced. "But even if StarClan didn't feel the need to stop the fight, wouldn't they have intervened when Mudclaw asked us if anyone wanted to join his Clan? Surely they think it's wrong for there to be a fifth Clan."

Cinderpelt had an answer for this as well. "StarClan has their ways," she mewed gently to her apprentice. "Maybe they felt that it was not the right time to intervene with Mudclaw, or that his Clan will be taken care of by itself."

She brushed Leafpaw's shoulder gently with her tail. "StarClan has come with us to the lake, Leafpaw. I have no doubt in that."