Chapter 10
Stormfire padded along side his clanmates, frost glittering at his paws. My first Gathering… he thought, his fur bristling. It was leaf-bare, snow falling gently from the sky. It crunched underneath Stormfire's paws, chilling him to the bone. His clanmates clearly felt the same; they were all huddled closely, their fur fluffed up against the cold. Stormfire thought of joining them, but quickly banished the thought. He would most likely be met with glistening claws and teeth. Besides, he was much better here; at the back of the group.
I don't even want to be here, he thought. The thought of so many cats in one place made him uncomfortable. He hoped nobody tried to talk to him. The only reason he had agreed to join was to see Applepaw. I hope he's here.
Stormfire padded into the clearing after his clanmates. Moon light shone brightly on all cats, so much it made Stormfire's eyes hurt. After his eyes got used to the gloom, he found a spot to sit, ignoring all cats around him that were conversing.
Scanning the clearing for Applepaw, Stormfire saw the ginger apprentice on the other side of the clearing, talking to a knot of BoulderClan cats. Stormfire headed in the direction of his friend, brushing past cats as he went.
"Hey, watch it!" a cat exclaimed. Stormfire turned to see a light brown tabby tom, his amber eyes staring crossly at him. "Wait a minute…" The tom peered closely at him. "I don't know you. Who are you?"
Stormfire stared at the tom, reluctant to answer. He didn't feel like talking to strangers; he just wanted to talk to Applepaw. Finally he answered, "I'm Stormfire. I'm from DarkClan."
"Stormfire…" the tom thought a moment, narrowing his eyes. "Hey, I know you! You're the one that snapped that one apprentice's arm! What was his name? Brackenpaw?"
"Uh… yes." Stormfire answered, shuffling his paws.
The tom padded closer to him, sniffing his pelt. "Hm… you don't look so tough." He commented, flicking his tail.
Anger began bubble inside Stormfire, and his pelt began to bristle. These cats didn't know the first thing about him, and they were already making accusations! "Why don't come and see just how tough I am?" he growled, unsheathing his claws.
The tom's eyes widened, he took a step back. "But, t-the truce." He stammered, flattening his ears against his head.
"I don't care about the truce." Stormfire snarled, baring his teeth. "Keep talking and you'll find that out the hard way!"
The tom backed away, disappearing into the crowd of cats. Stormfire padded on, his anger fading as he padded towards Applepaw. As he approached, Applepaw's head perked, and he turned around.
"Stormfire!" he mewed happily, eyes flashing with excitement. Applepaw flicked his tail on his friend's shoulder. He then turned his attention back towards the other cats that were crowded around him. "Hey, guys! This is my friend, Stormfire."
Several eyes turned on the silver tabby, and he felt hot beneath his pelt. He never was one for attention. He felt his fur beginning to bristle, but he forced it to lie flat. He shuffled his paws, unsure of what to do.
"Whoa," one of them mewed, amber eyes raking over Stormfire's pelt. "How'd you get all those scars?"
Stormfire was at a loss of words. How could he explain how he'd gained his scarred pelt? His mind whirled, desperately searching for an answer. He was about to mew a reply when Applepaw interrupted him.
"How do you think, Shellpaw?" he asked, flicking his tail at the cat who'd spoken; a white she-cat with amber eyes. "He's been in more battles than there are trees in the forest!" As he spoke, he gave a wink at Stormfire, and the silver tabby breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wow." Another gasped, blue eyes sparkling.
Stormfire backed away, heading into the crowd of cats. He didn't feel like talking; it made him uncomfortable. He didn't even know any of these cats! Whispering a hasty 'goodbye' to Applepaw, Stormfire padded back into the crowd.
Dark clouds wisped overhead, illuminated by the moon's light. Stars twinkled in the night sky, cold air gently stirring the cats' fur. On the Great Rock, the leaders padded over to stand at the edge. Stormfire sat near the back of the crowd of cats – a place where no one would talk to him. He waited for the meeting to begin.
Tornstar let out a yowl, and all cats fell silent. His brown glowed in the moonlight, his green eyes shimmering.
"The meeting has started," he declared. "Let the Gathering begin."
"DarkClan is doing well. As you know, leaf-bare is upon us, and prey is scarce. Besides this, though, we are doing well."
Tornstar said no more. Retreating from the rock, he let another leader take his place.
He didn't mention me, Stormfire thought, flicking his ear.
The leader that approached was a tom, his light-brown pelt rippling with muscle. He stood at the edge of the rock.
"LeafClan is also well." he meowed, sweeping his gaze across the clearing of cats. "We are proud to announce to announce that we have a new apprentice; Driftpaw."
Stormfire craned his neck to see a gray she-cat with brown splotches along her fur. She ducked her head in embarrassment, though Stormfire could see her eyes shining.
The rest of the Gathering went by quickly, with BoulderClan reporting a fox near their territory and MoonClan announcing that they had two new kits; Starkit and Silverkit. Once the meeting was over, the Clans began dispersing, few cats saying last minute goodbyes to each other. Stormfire scanned the clearing for Applepaw, but to no avail. Joining back with his Clan, they padded silently home.
The journey was a long one; cats' paws crunching the snow, pelts fluffed, bodies shivering. Finally, they reached the camp, Stormfire padding straight for the warriors' den. Tornstar had finally agreed to let him sleep inside the camp, and he was grateful. The forest would be especially cold; sleeping outside would be a nightmare. Curling into his nest, Stormfire let himself drift into sleep.
Instead of finding himself in the mist of the Dark Forest, Stormfire could see he was in a grassy clearing. Bright sunshine came down from above, dazzling his eyes. Cool wind ruffled his fur, clouds swirling overhead. Trees and bushes rustled gently in the breeze, creating a lush, peaceful environment. Prey-scent flooded Stormfire's nostrils, and his mouth began to water.
Where am I? he thought.
"Hello, Stormfire."
Stormfire whipped around, staring at a silhouetted shape hiding behind a bush. The cat's scent was achingly familiar, but he couldn't quite put his paw on who it might be.
"Who are you?" he growled, unsheathing his claws. If this cat posed any threat, he'd rip them to shreds. Stormfire dropped into a crouch, his tail swaying from side to side.
The cat padded out from behind the bush, and Stormfire gasped. He instantly sheathed his claws and relaxed his crouch, eyes wide with disbelief. His tail stopped swaying, instead freezing in mid-air at what stood in front of him. Eyes welling with tears, he almost at once recognized the shimmering, golden pelt, white paws, and icy blue eyes.
It was Featherheart.
Alright, Stormfire… You've suffered enough; I'll cut you a break.
Hope you guys like the chapter! Tell me what you think of Featherheart's reappearance! Plenty more is going to come out of this story, so get prepared! And don't think I've forgotten about Darkflower's words, or Stormfire's revenge against Tornstar…
Anyway, I want to thank you guys for all your support; it means a lot! You all get a hug! Especially you, Storm – you inspired me to write this. You get a BIG hug. Like seriously… I squeeze the life out of you… XD
Furthermore, if you haven't checked out my rewrite for Silver Legend, titled A Twisted Path, you should definitely go see that… I know what it says, but I might change it. Maybe I'll do that and this story together – I don't know. I might not delete it, instead writing it alongside this. But if I do, and you decide to read both, don't complain about me making that so much better than this. I realize that this story could really use a rewrite, so that's what I'm going to do.
Anyway… I look forward to your comments! More chapters for The Sweet of Amber and Legend of Bloodclaw coming soon! Until then, I will see you guys, when I see you guys…
Toxic out!