ME AGAIN,
I know. It's been a week. But listen up! Even though I have no life IRL, somehow I find myself unable to update more than once a week. So that's how often it's going to be updated. EVERY WEEKEND, MMKAY? IN BIG SCARY LETTERS SO EVERYONE SEES IT.
Replies to reviews:
Lightningstrike: Well well well. I guess I'm going to have to step up my writing if I want to pull off... more... love triangles. Wavepaw's got ambition. In lots of ways. Anyway. I guess he doesn't come off as that creepy, but he's not... totally in touch with reality when it comes to Lightningpaw.
Snowcrystal: Again, maybe not creepy, but he's SUPER delusional.
Echo of the Whispering Wind: Welcome! Um... you do what?
ivyyleaf: Why hello, stranger ;)
Chapter 12.
Oh, it's fine. Just ignore little old me over here. I'm not important. Not your sister or anything. Darkpaw glared balefully at the hind-quarters of the other apprentices.
"Hey, Darkpaw! Come walk with us!" Her scowl faded as Lionpaw invited her over.
Where was that friendly invite when we were back at the camp? Darkpaw tried to hold onto her annoyance, but it lessened under Lionpaw's sparkling golden eyed look.
"Fine." She grumbled, sliding over to join them.
"When was the last time you groomed your pelt?" Primrosepaw eyed Darkpaw's ruffled pelt disdainfully.
"Oh, hush." Lionpaw shoved the mouthy smaller apprentice with one black forepaw. "At least Darkpaw can fix her pelt. Yours, on the other paw, will never be soft. Pricklier than a thorn!"
Darkpaw joined in.
"Are you talking about her personality, or her fur?" She teased the ginger and white apprentice.
"Hey!" Robinpaw interjected. "It's not that bad!"
"Tell that to Olivepaw!" Lionpaw indicated with a flick of her golden tail the gray apprentice, whose green eyes glimmered with hilarity at what he was about to say.
"I think Lionpaw meant both." Olivepaw burst out, glancing from Lionpaw, then back to his irritated sister.
"Very funny." Primrosepaw snarled, but her green eyes betrayed her amusement. "Just trying to impress Lionpaw, aren't you? That crush is so obvious it's pathetic."
"What?" Lionpaw and Olivepaw exclaimed at the same time, glancing at each other.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Lionpaw growled, staring Primrosepaw down.
Tension crackled between them as green eyes met gold, and Darkpaw shrank away.
Are they mouse-brained?! They can't get into a fight now! We're almost at the Gathering! What will the other Clans think? Darkpaw racked her brain for something to say.
"If I'm in love with Lionpaw, Darkpaw's in love with you!" Olivepaw snapped at his sister.
"What?" Primrosepaw's eyes went as wide as the full moon shining above them.
Seizing her chance, Darkpaw sidled up to Primrosepaw, and closed her eyes a bit.
"Well, who's saying that isn't true?" Darkpaw asked Primrosepaw, nudging the other apprentice's flank lightly.
"Me!" Primrosepaw jumped away from Darkpaw as though she was on fire. "You can't be in love with me! You're a she-cat!"
Darkpaw spotted Robinpaw's eyes widening a little in hurt, and anger.
"So?" Darkpaw kept her eyes on Robinpaw, gauging his reaction.
"You- I- It's- It's wrong!" Primrosepaw spluttered.
What's got his tail in a twist? Darkpaw wondered, watching Robinpaw's mismatched eyes darken.
"I think what Primrosepaw means," Robinpaw cut in, his fur rising along his spine. "is that her narrow view of the immediate world she sees is so small and feeble, she doesn't understand anything that doesn't fit into it."
"What are you going on about?" Olivepaw narrowed his eyes at his brother in confusion.
"Look! I see the island!" Primrosepaw threw the attention towards the rapidly approaching log-bridge.
Very clever. Darkpaw glared at Primrosepaw. But something's going on here, and I want to find out what it is.
"Come on! I promised Mudkit and Poolkit I would tell them about it, so I need to see all of it!" Lionpaw raced ahead.
"Wait up!" Darkpaw dashed after her sister's bobbing golden tail as it retreated into the all-encompassing darkness of the night.
She forgot about the tension between the apprentices as she coursed after her sister. Great StarClan, she's fast! She thought, breathing hard as she watched Lionpaw reach the fallen tree many fox-lengths before her. Not fair!
"Ha! I win!" Lionpaw cried triumphantly.
"Not... all of us... are Wind... Clan cats..." Darkpaw gasped for air.
"As if!" Lionpaw rolled her golden eyes. "I'm ShadowClan through and through."
Darkpaw didn't even bother replying, just collapsed onto the pebbles that made up the lake shore.
"I can cross first if you like." Lionpaw glanced down at her panting sister.
"Go... ahead." Darkpaw wheezed.
How weak am I? Lionpaw's obviously not WindClan, so it must just be that I'm a failure. Of course. Darkpaw thought frustratedly. No. Don't think like that. Remember the dream. I'm going to be deputy. Then leader. And I don't need to lead my Clan out of the darkness. We are the darkness. And I will be the leader of the darkness, Darkstar. Someday.
...
"Darkpaw! Darkpaw! It's your turn to cross!" An annoyed mew snapped her out of her daze.
Ugh. Sootfire. Darkpaw thought grouchily. He was renowned as the grumpiest cat in ShadowClan. His son and daughter, Ratpaw and Pinepaw, weren't as grumpy, but made every cat uncomfortable for reasons they couldn't explain. The trio were avoided as much as possible.
"I'm going, I'm going." Darkpaw hissed under her breath, leaping onto the soft bark of the fallen tree.
"See that you do." Sootfire growled.
It'll take more than a fallen tree to stop Darkstar! She thought, clenching her puny muscles as she took a pawstep forwards. Then another. Then another, then another, then another, until she had reached the other side. Take that, dumb log.
"Good job, Darkpaw!" Lionpaw bounced up to her. "I was so scared, but you looked fine! I love it here! It's so open to the sky, and surrounded by the glittering lake, and StarClan is-"
"Yeah, yeah." Darkpaw interrupted her sister's yammering. "It is pretty here, though."
Lionpaw opened her jaws again, then apparently thought better of it and snapped them shut.
"I remember my first Gathering." Pinepaw slithered up to them, green eyes glinting. "I was no more than a kit..."
Lionpaw and Darkpaw turned to the older apprentice.
"Hello, Pinepaw." Lionpaw dipped her head cordially to Ratpaw's sister.
"Yes, hello." Darkpaw pushed out through gritted teeth.
I'm not going to be pleasant towards a cat whose father and mentor was just rude to me. Darkpaw snarled internally to Pinepaw.
"Well, I hope you kits have fun." Pinepaw revealed her teeth to them.
Darkpaw's tortoise-shell fur rose a little along her spine. Lionpaw straightnened, her broad golden shoulder reaching past Pinepaw's muzzle.
"You know you're only three moons older than us, right?" Darkpaw hissed to Pinepaw.
"Three moons... I'll be a warrior in three moons. And you'll hardly be apprentices." Pinepaw sniffed haughtily and visibly tried to stretch up to Lionpaw's height, and failed. "Just because I'm not as fat as you are doesn't mean I'm not as strong."
"Um..." Darkpaw trailed off as Pinepaw strutted away to join her brother.
"What in StarClan's name was that about?" Lionpaw asked, bewildered.
"I have absolutely no idea." Darkpaw replied, her eyes still following Pinepaw across the clearing.
"Huh." Lionpaw padded away to join Primrosepaw and the others.
Leaving me behind again. Darkpaw thought, irritated. She followed Lionpaw, but stopped short before she reached them, so they wouldn't try to include her in their conversation, but she would still be able to hear what they said.
"And I said to Robinpaw, 'Of course WindClan aren't here yet, they're slow', and he said, 'But aren't they supposed to be the fastest Clan?' And I said, 'I'm being ironic, mouse-brain.'" Primrosepaw recounted to Lionpaw. "But it is true, where are WindClan?"
"WindClan's here!" Some cat yowled.
"Right there." Olivepaw visibly stifled a purr of amusement at his sister's confounded expression.
"Well, naturally." Primrosepaw blustered.
Mouse-brains. Darkpaw rolled her eyes at the siblings.
A loud splash rocked the air.
"No!" A muffled shriek, that of probably an apprentice of about seven moons, rang around the clearing.
Then more two splashes of water.
A strange humming sound began in her ears, drumming out important, important, important. She felt as though her life was about to change.
She didn't like the feeling at all.
Darting a glance around the clearing, she raced to the edge of the island, where the fallen tree met the pebbly shore.
What's going on?! She demanded silently, staring across the rippling water. Even though the night air was still, free of wind, the waves from the lake lashed the shore.
Three heads burst above the agitated water.
Who are they? She watched the silver, gold, and dark brown heads bob on the water. Are they alive? What Clan are they from? What happened?!
"Someone save them! Where's RiverClan?" Alarmed calls rang out from the log.
None of the cats in the water even seemed to notice the voices. It was far, but she thought she could make out their eyes, all staring at each other. The golden one darted their glittering green from the dark brown one to the silver one. The dark brown one seemed to be unable to peel their golden eyes off of the golden one. The silver one stared with burning blue eyes at the golden one.
What's happening? She thought, pain building behind her eyes. Not another head-ache! It's not the time!
She stared as the silver one struck back out towards her, and the golden one began to help the dark brown cat back to the island.
He's getting closer! Darkpaw's eyes widened. I've got to hide!
She dashed back towards her sister and Primrosepaw and her brothers.
"Who was that?" Primrosepaw demanded.
"What happened?" Lionpaw interrupted.
"Who fell in?" Olivepaw cut in.
All three pairs of eyes stared at her.
"I don't know, I don't know, and I really don't know." Darkpaw snarled, retreating to a dark corner in the shade of a tall oak tree.
"Who are they?" Primrosepaw demanded to no one in particular as they all watched two apprentices, both toms, pad over to them.
He was one of the apprentices that fell in. Or jumped in, but he smells like rabbits. Probably WindClan. Darkpaw thought decisively as they approached.
She inspected them silently, noting the golden tom's black paws and tail-tip- He looks like Lionpaw! She thought- and glittering green eyes. She barely bothered to cast her dark eyes over the other tom, who was brown and white with amber eyes that shone with innocence, not nearly as dark as her own.
"Hey!" Lionpaw greeted the WindClan apprentices. "I'm Lionpaw! Who are you?"
Of course she's friendly. She's always friendly. Darkpaw snarled silently, watching them.
"And why do you look like her?" Primrosepaw demanded, looking from the golden tom to Lionpaw, then back again.
Of course she's grouchy. She's always grouchy. Darkpaw stifled a purr of amusement. Some cats never change.
"Coincidence." The brown and white tom shrugged his broad shoulders. "I'm Rabbitpaw, and this is Breezepaw."
"WindClan." Olivepaw hissed, staring down the apprentices.
Alert the medicine cat, Darkpaw thought wryly. Olivepaw has clearly been blessed by StarClan to have such knowledge and perception. Who would have realized that apprentices that smell of the moor and rabbits were WindClan?! Well, Ivystar, might as well make him a warrior immediately!
"Play nice, Olivepaw." Robinpaw chided. "I'm Robinpaw."
"Wow, your eyes are so cool!" Rabbitpaw stared into Robinpaw's mismatched blue and amber eyes. "I wish I had eyes like that."
"Thanks!" Robinpaw exclaimed.
Primrosepaw shot a poisonous look at the WindClan apprentice out of narrowed green eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. You're special." Primrosepaw rolled her sparking eyes. "I'm Primrosepaw."
Breezepaw muttered something to Rabbitpaw, whose amber eyes sparkled with delight, and he purred something in agreement.
"Care to repeat that?" Primrosepaw dug her claws into the earth.
The golden tom took a tiny paw-step back.
"Just saying that you remind us of my sister, Jaypaw." Rabbitpaw burst out, his amber eyes widening at Primrosepaw in innocence.
Ouch. If they have to deal with any cat that's like Primrosepaw, I pity them. Darkpaw thought.
"That had better be a compliment, Rabbits." Primrosepaw glared at him.
"Ouch. Primrosepaw, don't be mean." Lionpaw snickered.
Ha. That's impossible, she's Primrosepaw. Darkpaw rolled her eyes.
"Too late." Olivepaw added, green eyes flickering with amusement.
Breezepaw's green eyes found her, swallowed by the shadows.
"Hey." He crept a little closer to her.
The nearer he got, the harder she found it to breathe. What's wrong with me? She thought, sucking in a pained breath.
"Hey." She forced out.
"Those your siblings?" He asked, seeming a little nervous.
"Just the golden one with black paws, Lionpaw." She breathed, feeling her words get lost in the air. "She looks like you."
"Yeah, I guess." He glanced over at her.
Darkpaw's paws prickled with something unidentifiable. She wanted to reach out a slender paw and tilt his head back to her.
"I think the leaders are starting." She choked out, glancing at Ivystar, who was clearing her throat.
"Clan cats! Gather 'round!" Ivystar called.
She stared at him piercingly for another moment.
"I'm Darkpaw." She whispered, then dashed away.
What's the matter with me?! She demanded to herself, feeling strange excitement pricking her near-bushed out fur.
"I'll begin." The ThunderClan leader mewed.
Who is he? Well, he's Breezepaw. But who is he? She wondered, picturing his burning green eyes.
The leader announced some apprentices, and the Clan cats began to call out their names.
Great. More apprentices. Why does any cat want to cheer for them?! It just means more enemies! She thought.
The ThunderClan leader finished and dipped his head to the other leaders.
"WindClan will go next." A black-and-white leader stepped forwards, her green eyes glittering with an unseen emotion.
Ivystar? No, Ivystar's white patches are bigger, and see, she's there. Darkpaw thought, confusion dragging her paws.
Spottedstar announced Breezepaw, and Darkpaw called out his name quietly, trying to welcome him without drawing attention to herself.
"We have one other thing to report. RiverClan has been trespassing!" The leader yowled.
Of course they have. Darkpaw rolled her deep amber eyes to herself. Need to stir up trouble, don't you, WindClan? Scrawny rabbit chasers.
Spottedstar continued her accusation, but Darkpaw didn't listen, choosing instead to stare out across the still lake.
"StarClan agrees with me!" Snowstar, leader of RiverClan, shouted.
Oh, hush. No cat cares. Darkpaw thought, annoyed.
Ivystar stepped in, resolved the conflict, and then began her announcement.
"ShadowClan will share our news next." Ivystar shot a burning glare down at the gathered cats. "We have five new apprentices; Lionpaw, Darkpaw, Robinpaw, Olivepaw, and Primrosepaw."
Yeah, yeah. I'm an apprentice. Big deal. She thought, but a happy expression wormed its way onto her face.
She lifted her head, feeling tired, but pleased, as the calls of the cats rang to the sky.
Snowstar cut the cheers short, reporting that his Clan had four new apprentices and a warrior.
You can try to stop me, but I'll go further than you ever dreamed. Darkpaw thought to no cat in particular. This is just the first you'll hear of me. I'm not stopping until I'm there.
AND DONE. *Pants* Well, that took way too long. Okay.
Sorry if you wanted to read the whole Gathering thing again, but it was getting way too repetitive for me to write for the FOURTH TIME. Ahem. Don't forget to leave a review! 30Th reviewer gets a special chance to get any scene involving the four main cats that they request! It's only going to be about 1000 words though. (Edit: Contest Closed, congrats to Rainmist!)
Pondfrost