"Let all cats old enough to climb mountains gather here around the pool for a Clan meeting." Cedarleaf heard the distant yowl from the gather room.
He had just been out hunting and had seen Burnshadow return with Cloudpaw. He knew that Cloudpaw had just passed his warrior assessment and assumed this was his warrior ceremony. Cedarleaf was worried though, was Goldstar well enough to be naming a warrior? Cedarleaf was one of the very few cats that knew that this was Goldstar's last life, if he lost his last life, he would never come back.
"Cloudchase! Cloudchase!" The clan chanted over and over. Cedarleaf felt a glow of happiness when he thought about how he would get to chant Scorchpaw's name and congratulate him when he became a warrior.
"Cedarleaf!" He was snapped out of his thoughts as Scorchpaw hissed to him from across the room, Cedarleaf slid across to him unnoticed and followed him to one of the hunting caves, "What is it?" Cedarleaf mewed
"There's something I should have told you a long time ago," Scorchpaw explained. "Of course you know Burnshadow." Scorchpaw shifted nervously
"He is very popular with the other warriors, he's a good cat. Wait. If this is some nonsense about how all cats should get the same amount of attention or something like that, then you'll be cleaning the elders in the morning."
"No of course not." Scorchpaw mewed.
"Well what is it than?" Cedarleaf was starting to get annoyed. Was it so bad he couldn't tell his mentor? "I don't want you to criticize a good cat, besides everyone seems to like him at gatherings." Cedarleaf mewed.
"That's the thing though," Scorchpaw explained slowly, "He is not 'popular' with the other warriors, he, well, he controls them,"
"That's impossible, no cat would or could do that."
"But it's true, I promise," he whimpered
"You know that's not true, now go get new bedding for the elders, I heard Brightleaf complaining." Cedarleaf mewed
"Fine." Scorchpaw meowed angrily
Cedarleaf turned to the gathering cave to join a patrol but stopped; he had seen the warriors and even the apprentices looking reluctant when they were around Burnshadow. What if Scorchpaw was right?
Cedarleaf whirled around and yowled to Scorchpaw who was stalking down the elders tunnel, "Wait come back!" Scorchpaw turned instantly around and raced back to him.
Cedarleaf mewed, "Tell me more."