Okay, here's Pinenose.
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Pinenose washed himself carefully, preparing himself for the gathering that was only moments away. He, his two brothers, Crowtail, Badgerfoot, Spruceleaf, Goldbrook and Owlpaw and Cinderpaw would be attending, along with Lionstar and Scarletspirit. This night was frosty and gusty – Pinenose shivered as he straightened and looked around.
Aside from the cats that were clustered around the entrance, waiting for Lionstar's command, the members of ThunderClan were huddled inside their dens, escaping from the frigid approach of leaf-bare.
"Cats of ThunderClan, it is time." Lionstar emerged from his den at the foot of the Highledge. He nodded to Scarletspirit, to his son Owlpaw, and then pushed through the crowd to the tunnel. "Come, the gathering begins soon."
Without another word, Pinenose and his companions streamed out of the tunnel, racing through the undergrowth at Lionstar's tail. Pinenose's tabby paws flashed through the wet leaves, thudding almost inaudibly against the moist and muddy ground. After a moment, Cinderpaw fell into step beside him, keeping up his pace effortlessly.
"Your fast," Pinenose commented absent-mindedly, his ears tilted forward to listen for Lionstar's mews.
"Thanks. So are you," Cinderpaw meowed cheerily. Pinenose glanced at her and smiled briefly before turning back to the ground in front of him. He leaped effortlessly over a log, his long legs stretching out in front of him before he pounded into the ground again and was off and running within the second.
It took a moment for Cinderpaw to catch up, but she did.
"Big log, couldn't jump it, like you," she meowed.
Pinenose didn't respond, focusing on Lionstar's lithe golden shape at the head of the group.
"So, um, when are Pondfroth's kits due?" Cinderpaw asked slowly, an edge to her voice.
Pinenose murmured, "Erm…something like a moon, Bloomfrost said."
Cinderpaw nodded. "That's great. Congratulations."
"M-hm," Pinenose muttered, only half listening.
"Look, all I want to say is-" But Cinderpaw never finished. Lionstar flicked his tail and the whole company of warriors halted in their tracks, watching, waiting, and then a moment later, they were moving again, flowing to the log, one by one padding across, until as a group they flooded the meadow, spreading out in all directions. Pinenose stopped running and caught his breath, meowing a greeting to Stripethroat and then heading off across the hollow.
"What an amazing night," Stripethroat murmured as the two brothers padded alongside each other through the grass. Cats of all sizes, shapes and colors were milling about, and a chorus of happy mews filled the hollow.
"Yeah. Gatherings are always amazing. All of the Clans together, no longer enemies…like the old stories of Firestar's time – The Great Journey."
Stripethroat nodded. After a moment Pinenose mewed goodbye and slipped away, gazing around at the cats crowded around him. He wandered over to a friendly-looking group of RiverClan toms who were all engaged in a conversation about battles they had fought. But it wasn't like an elder's story, these were battles with new techniques that Pinenose had learned as an apprentice. He settled down to listen for a while.
"…And then I flipped him over onto his back, like Redwing had taught me when I was an apprentice, and gave him a good whack to the side of the head. He was knocked out like a freshly caught fish. I just had to teach the move to Granitepaw."
"That's great, Shrewtail! I should try that sometime!"
The conversation went on for some time – Crowtail joined them for a while, and then suddenly Pinenose noticed all of the leaders perched on the tree, and he stood and trotted away, meowing goodbye over his shoulder.
"Let the Gathering begin!" Yowled Tanglestar, leaning forward on his tree branch. The other leaders looked like cats of StarClan, shining in the pale moonlight, hung in the branches of the Great Oak like fallen stars. It was a sight to remember, Pinenose thought to himself.
"Froststar, would you like to speak first?" Tanglestar meowed to the silver she-cat. Froststar nodded curtly and raised her head a little bit, her eyes glittering.
"RiverClan is well fed and happy – we have had little sign of Twolegs on the lake as the weather gets colder, and the fish are jumping well in the river. Our warriors are strong and our apprentices are well-trained – I would like to see ShadowClan try to steal our prey again."
Pinenose watched in surprise as Gravelstar's lip curled slightly and he glared at Froststar without speaking.
"Froststar?" Lionstar questioned, raising an eyebrow. "What talk is this of stolen prey? Gravelstar, what do you have to say for yourselves?"
Gravelstar opened his mouth to speak, but Froststar cut him off harshly. "We caught a ShadowClan patrol snooping around our border a moon and a half ago, with prey buried not far away, inside their border, that smelt clearly of RiverClan. There was even a water vole that we dug up. Ha, water vole straying into the swamps indeed. Gravelstar, I never thought that you and your warriors would stoop so low."
"Liar!" Gravelstar snarled, but his voice was slightly strained. "We did no such thing. My warriors are honorable and we have no need of food."
Lionstar cast a quick glance at Tanglestar, but the WindClan leader only shrugged.
"Froststar, if Gravelstar has nothing more to say in his defense, I think it is safe to say that he did indeed steal prey from inside the RiverClan border. Gravelstar, what have you to say about this offense?" Lionstar asked mildly.
"ShadowClan –" Gravelstar paused, and then went on diligently, "…is starving. We have had little or no food since green-leaf; the Twolegs have overrun out territory and trampled the undergrowth – we were nearly forced to abandon our camp. I am truly sorry, Froststar, but the kits and Queens will die without food."
Lionstar's tail twitched. "Gravelstar…if this is truly that case, then I have no intention of being so forward, but…ThunderClan has neither heard nor seen any Twolegs since the very beginning of green-leaf. Our territories are right beside each other – don't you think it probable that these Twolegs also affected us?"
Gravelstar stood rigid and silent, his eyes nervously shifting back and forth from Froststar to Lionstar. "I cannot imagine that you have not noticed the Twolegs, Lionstar. They have nearly driven us from our home."
Lionstar didn't seem moved by Gravelstar's words. "I believe that there is something behind this that has nothing to do with Twolegs. Gravelstar, stealing prey when leaf-bare grows nearer is dishonorable indeed – can you promise that it will never happen again?"
Gravelstar seemed about to comply, when Froststar barked, "Lionstar! You really think that this ShadowClan scum would listen to your soft words? He means no such thing, to keep a promise! It would be the day when a ShadowClan traitor kept a promise!"
Instantly, as if time had sped up for a few seconds, there was silence, and then one, lone voice cried out, "How dare you! ShadowClan is starving!"
And then, like a flood breaking through a barrier of mud, chaos erupted in the hollow. The ShadowClan warrior who had spoken leapt screeching at the nearest RiverClan warrior. A WindClan tom stepped forward to drag them apart – and then every Clan was battling for their lives.
Pinenose was forced into the tumult of the battle, his paws flailing at the nearest cat. Every nerve in his body, his whole being, screamed for him to stop fighting, but then a claw would rake down his cheek and he had to spring forward and defend himself.
Once or twice he caught sight of Redstorm flashing past, his teeth bared in a snarl, blood streaming down his side, and then the red fur would disappear beneath a pile of howling warriors. Just as Pinenose was beginning to be afraid that a life might be ended in this stupid battle, one cry, loud and clear, rang out over the grassy meadow.
"Stop! In the name of StarClan, I bid you all stop this madness! We are breaking the truce and mangling the very heart of StarClan's power!" It was Lionstar. He had leaped onto a branch of the High Oak, his golden coat ruffled, blood soaked into the fur across his shoulder, long claw marks down his side. Pinenose's breath caught in his chest at the sight of his leader so horribly wounded.
Below him Scarletspirit wobbled on three legs, her left hind-paw lifted gingerly off the ground.
"Go home, all of you! This Gathering is over. We have disgraced the tradition of StarClan in every way. Go home and thank our ancestors that no worse came of this foolishness. Gravelstar, do not think that this is the end. You and your warriors will have justice done."
With that, Lionstar dropped from the tree, stumbled, then slowly loped to his Clan.
"Redstorm, lead them home. Neither Scarletspirit nor I are in any shape to be at the head of the Clan tonight."
Pinenose felt a chill sweep down his neck. Redstorm, lead them home…he already talks to Redstorm as if he's deputy. Next he'll be asking Redstorm to perform the ceremonies, and he will mentor Redstorm's children over any others. Including mine.
Pinenose shook his head, rage boiling in his heart, but followed Redstorm back to camp, watching the red tom with hatred in his eyes.