Wow, I've been REALLY inactive lately! Well, school's just started for me, so I'm pretty busy at the moment...Here's another update for ya! :D

Chapter 9

Kite plodded on through ThunderClan's territory, making sure to stick to the edge of the border as best as she could, in order to avoid running into any more Clan cats. The rain had not stopped falling, and Kite was about to give up and stop to rest for the day when she heard a rumbling noise like a thousand earthquakes. A familiar, acrid tang hit the roof of her mouth, making her draw back in disgust. Then, she knew. It was the Thunderpath! She was almost there!

The she-cat quickened her pace until the trees parted, giving her a clear view of the smelly black strip of land on which the Twolegs' monsters traveled. The scent of the Thunderpath mixed with the rain was more than the young she-cat could bear. A monster roared by quite suddenly, kicking up muddy water from the middle of the road as it did so. The water was flung into Kite's face. She spat angrily and plodded on.

The rain did not cease until that night, when Kite curled up behind a boulder that was surrounded by for tall oak trees. The full moon rose slowly into the sky; the grass beneath the she-cat's paws was uncomfortably wet. Kite knew she could have passed Highstones by now, but she had been moving slowly all day, stopping to eat every now and then.

Just as Kite was getting comfortable, a sudden voice made her jump.

"Intruder! Kittypet intruder!" Kite's eyes snapped open to see a dark gray tom standing above her, claws unsheathed and teeth bared. His fur stood on end, and his eyes glowered with hostility. "I knew I smelled something strange! Blackstar! Let's just kill it now!"
"Enough!" A large white tom with black paws marched up to the dark gray warrior's side. "The Gathering is a night for peace, not hostility and murder." He turned to face Kite. "We're going to have to ask you to leave immediately." His voice was gentle but firm, with just the tiniest hint of hostility behind it. "If you don't, we will have to take serious action, whether or not this is a night dedicated to peace."

"What are you talking about?" Kite asked, rising to her paws. "I didn't scent any borders around here."

"The four Clans gather here every full moon," Blackstar explained. "This technically is not any Clan's territory. We all share it on this night."

The gray tom sniffed the air. "ThunderClan are here," he reported, his voice rigid with wariness. A heartbeat later, ThunderClan charged into the clearing. Kite turned to leave, for fear of being spotted by her family, when a familiar voice stopped her.

"Kite!" The she-cat whipped around to face Glacier standing beside Firestar, his eyes glowing with anger. "You thought you could escape me, but I found you! I knew I would!"

"Why are you with ThunderClan?" Kite asked.

"Glacierpelt is the newest addition to ThunderClan," Firestar reported happily.

"So you just welcomed a mangy kittypet who showed up at your camp entrance and made him a warrior?" Blackstar spat. "You are a disgrace to the forest, Firestar."

"He is a fine fighter," Firestar retorted. "And he can hunt just as well as Sandstorm. He also knows many things I may never learn."

Blackstar shook his head, sighing. "Bluestar made a mistake when she welcomed you into her Clan," he meowed.

Firestar bared his teeth in the beginnings of a snarl, then quickly put himself back together. "Why don't we just start the Gathering?" he suggested. "WindClan and RiverClan have already arrived."

"Fine," Blackstar grumbled, flicking his tail in irritation. As Firestar, Blackstar, and the dark gray tom padded away, Glacierpelt sat down beside Kite, who took a few instinctive steps backwards.

"Why don't you come and live in ThunderClan?" Glacier suggested. "I think it would be best for our kits to be raised under the warrior code."

"No," Kite snarled.

"If you love me, and if you love the kits, then you'll come and live in ThunderClan."

"But that's just it!" Kite cried. "I don't love you! And I don't love the kits. I'd jump in front of a hundred monsters on the Thunderpath before I went to live with you!" She turned away from him pointedly.

Glacierpelt didn't give up. He padded up beside Kite and placed his tail over her shoulders. She pushed him away.

"Kite," Glacierpelt meowed. "I'm hurt that you would say something so ridiculous. You told me you were sorry just the other day, and offered to bear my kits."

"Stop putting words in my mouth!" Kite snarled. "I said no such thing."

"Well then," Glacierpelt meowed. "I have a Gathering to attend to. But if you ever decide that you want to come live with me, I'll be sure to make a nest for you."

Kite snarled, glaring at Glacierpelt, before turning and bounding back up the slope and out of the clearing. She continued to pad along beside the Thunderpath until she came to the border of WindClan's territory. She knew it wouldn't be wise to cross over, so she curled up under a nearby hazel bush and slowly drifted off to sleep.