Sorry I took forever to update. Some people wouldn't get off the computer (glares at sister).

Review!

-Lilith

Time seems to be much faster when you're late.

As I ran, my legs working on autopilot, I felt as if I had been hours late instead of merely minutes. Even worse, I didn't know exactly where I was going.

When I reached the border, I stopped and sniffed the air. A WindClan patrol had been by not too long ago, but that was all I could smell besides the overwhelming heather. Pacing along the border, I looked around, trying to catch a familiar scent or the flash of a pelt.

"Hey!" A voice said, so faint I thought it was the wind. I looked around, wondering what had just made the sound. "Down here, Thymepaw."

I glanced down, only to find a pair of bluish-green eyes staring back at me. "Skypaw?" I asked, surprise making my voice louder. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't forget us," another voice whispered, and I saw that underneath the bracken Skypaw wasn't alone. Two more pairs of eyes, one amber and one green.

"Who are you?" I asked, not recognizing them right away.

"Hollowpaw of ShadowClan and Blazestorm of ThunderClan."

"Blazestorm?" I was surprised that warriors were entangled into this mess as well.

"Don't sound so surprised: about half of every clan is going to this meeting." He said with a chuckle.

Half of every clan. How many cats should I be expecting? Would Ravenpaw and Nuthatchpaw be there? Greentail and Flintpaw? Willowstrike? Rosethorn? Firetail and Strongheart? It never even occurred to me that it may not just be a small meeting.

"It's her first time, Blazestorm. Give her some time to digest this. You don't even know where it is, don't you?" She said, and one look at my face said it all. "That's what I thought. This way, then."

Thankfully, they didn't cross over the border, but instead began to lead me down it. I kept shooting worried glances at the moon, which seemed to edge even faster towards to the right, like it was starting to set even though it was only midnight. I couldn't afford to be late to this.

"This way," Skypaw said, and I realized that we were right in front of the Twoleg barn. She began to shimmy underneath the Twoleg contraption that served as markers to show that we weren't welcome. She ignored it though, and after she pulled herself out from underneath it, Blazestorm slipped under as well. "Are you coming or not?" She said, and wordlessly I pressed my stomach to the ground and crawled beneath the contraption.

We waited for Hollowpaw, and then began to walk across the sand towards the barn. It was so weird to walk across something so unstable, to nearly sink through it with just one step. But I tried to keep up regardless, sticking close to Skypaw. When we stepped through the entrance of the barn, I almost fell over in shock.

Cats milled about the small space, and with one sniff I could tell that cats from ever clan were present. I could smell the woodsy scent of ThunderClan, the heather of WindClan, the pine smell of ShadowClan, even the tang of dampness of RiverClan. Several pelts I recognized just from the outskirts of the crowd: I saw Honeypelt and Rushpaw, Suntail, Mistysong, Redfur, Jumpflame, Rowansong, Speckledpaw, Owlflight, Yellowfur, Dustfoot, Rabbitstorm, Streamear, and even a few queens and elders. As we began to melt into the crowd, I saw other faces as well: Blackfire, a ThunderClan queen, Fernlight and Snowheart with their apprentices, Pinepaw and Seedpaw. So many cats that I couldn't count.

Most of them faced a certain direction, looking at something with conflicted eyes. As I got closer, I tried to peer over their heads but failed. But I could tell that it was an argument, and caught snippets of the conversation.

"All I'm saying is that we should start holding meetings at other locations so we don't get caught." A familiar voice said, and I recognized the speaker. Firepaw.

"Well, this is our home, and if we move into other territories, those who don't know about the meetings will send us off the territory." Another familiar voice said, but I didn't know this one.

"I agree with him. We must stay here, where no cat who is faithful to the Code and doesn't know of our meetings will not dare to venture." A much deeper voice spoke up.

"Speaking of those who don't know of our meetings, where is Thymepaw? I thought you said you would bring her." The voice in which Firepaw was arguing with asked.

"I told her to be here." She said.

Heads turned to search for me, and I wanted to melt into the ground. I still hadn't decided if the meeting was friendly or not, and I knew that choosing if it was could very well affect my decisions.
Suddenly, a cat nearby yowled out. "Here she is!" And right at that moment, I felt heads turn, and wanted to bury myself into the dirt floor beneath my paws. But before I could, there was a soft murmuring, and then the cats began to split up, making a path. Cautiously, I began to walk past, looking at their faces as I did. Why was I such a big deal?

As I got closer to the end of the path, I found where the voices had come from. A huge dais took up the middle of the room, keeping the other cats at bay. On it, I saw Firepaw, gazing down at me with fierce satisfaction and pride that I didn't understand. When I reached the edge, she trotted over and grabbed me by the scruff awkwardly, hoisting me up. As I clambered up, I saw the other cats on the dais.

One of them looked strangely like Yellowfur. Her eyes were the same yellow, her fur the same inky black color. But something about her told me that she was a completely different cat. Then I spotted it: her eyes. They flickered around the room nervously, something even apprentices were taught to suppress when in unfamiliar territory. It gave a cat the appearance of fear, which is never wanted in enemy territory.

The third cat was Petalpaw, and by her side, I could see three much smaller heads poking out. One of them was a tortoiseshell, and as I shot Petalpaw a confused glance, she mouthed "I'll tell you later."

The fourth and fifth cat I recognized, and as I stared into their almost identical eyes, I felt hope flutter in my chest.

The fourth and older cat was Ashclaw.

The fifth cat was Twigpaw.

So finally Thymepaw and Twigpaw meet.

Why are all the cats at the meeting? What do Firepaw and Petalpaw have to do with it and why are they important? Why does Petalpaw have kits with her? (That question can actually be completely solved in The Aftermath: Petalpaw, which I have already posted up the first two chapters of.)

Also, I want to give a shout out to jaydenquire again, since jayden is a loyal follower of mine. I hope you follow your dreams!

-Lilith