Chapter 13:

Firepaw's hunting went well after his short encounter with Smudge. Catching an additional squirrel and a cleanly-shot raven, he had a total of three pieces of prey that he carried with him back to the training hollow. He whistled cheerily as he went, but his good mood died the second that he entered the hollow.

Standing in the center of the clearing was Tigerclaw. The warrior had his arms folded across his chest and his jaw was set firmly. Firepaw felt fear run up his spine. He knew at once that Tigerclaw had seen him speak with Smudge.

"Here's my haul," Firepaw showed the warrior his prey, hoping that the man did not mention the short encounter he had had with the kittypet.

Tigerclaw didn't have the chance to mention it however, as Graypaw appeared with his own catch. Returning with a good-sized rabbit, the apprentice cheerily said, "I found this one near the stream! It thought that it could get away."

Graypaw joined them in the clearing and they waited for Ravenpaw to arrive. It was quiet as time stretched onwards and Tigerclaw began to look to the sun with impatience, "He's late." he said with a tone of great displeasement. "Grab your prey, you two. We're heading back to camp."

"But you sent him to Snakerocks. What if he's been bitten by an adder?" Firepaw asked.

"Then it's his own fault. There's no room for fools in ThunderClan."

The second the words left his mouth, Ravenpaw appeared in the entrance to the hollow. The boy was still carrying his bow and sheath of arrows, but he held something new in his hand. Dangling in the air as he walked was a long, diamond-patterned adder. He walked forward with an unusually proud expression to show the catch to his mentor.

"Ravenpaw! Are you okay?" Firepaw asked him, eyes searching the boy's body for any signs of a bite.

Graypaw rushed forward to examine the snake with awe, "Whoa!" he breathed as he reached out to touch its scaly skin. "Did it bite you?"

"I was too quick for it!" Ravenpaw said, then caught sight of Tigerclaw's glare and fell silent.

Tigerclaw was fixing all three of the apprentices with a cold stare, "Come on. It's time we return to camp."

As they returned to the camp again, the apprentices couldn't help but talk enthusiastically about Ravenpaw's catch. Ravenpaw gave the snake to both Graypaw and Firepaw to hold and examine in turn.

"Can you eat an adder?" Graypaw asked as they went.

"Only you'd think of trying to eat an adder, Graypaw." Firepaw laughed, poking at his friend.

"Well I wouldn't eat it," Ravenpaw said in disgust as Graypaw returned the snake to him. He held it out in front of him, making a face at the thought of what it might taste like.

"Imagine Sandpaw and Dustpaw's faces when they see it!" Firepaw said, grinning. "Are they on kitchen duty today?"

"I think they're patrolling with Whitestorm," Graypaw said, "But they should be back soon."

They continued to the camp, where Tigerclaw immediately broke away from them to go and speak with Bluestar. Firepaw watched him leave anxiously, knowing that the warrior would go and Bluestar about his brief conversation with Smudge. But from a sharp elbow in the ribs by Graypaw, he was brought back to the present and he joined his friends as they gave the adder to Speckletail. The queen looked baffled as Graypaw insisted that Ravenpaw had caught it during his assessment and that he was eager to try it. She clearly didn't know what to make of it, but she took the snake from the boy anyways and disappeared into the kitchen.

They returned to the apprentices' den afterward, where Firepaw found Tigerclaw waiting for him.

"Bluestar wants to see you in her den." Tigerclaw told him, "Now- if you can spare the time."

Firepaw nodded quickly and hurried across the camp to Bluestar's den. He knocked on the door anxiously, then entered when she called him in. Feeling a sense of deja vu, Firepaw settled down in a chair. Bluestar sat at the edge of her bed with a face of seriousness. Her hands were clasped before her. He had grown fairly used to her den after having her as a mentor, as he'd come and ask her for the day's tasks most mornings, but he couldn't help but feel as though he was in hostile territory when she looked at him with such a cold expression.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Firepaw asked, playing with the hem of his shirt despite the fact that he knew perfectly well what this conversation was going to be about.

"Tigerclaw told me that you were talking with a person from the Twolegplace today," she began quietly.

"Yes, but-" Firepaw started, only to be cut off.

"He said that you began with pointing an arrow at them, but that you knew the boy and ended up speaking with him instead. He said that you asked about your old life."

"I did," Firepaw admitted, looking downwards, "But we were friends back when I was a kittypet. We grew up together. I-I didn't expect to see him today, but I couldn't shoot him either."

Bluestar gave him a long, steady look. Firepaw grew uncomfortable in the silence and his eyes wandered to a grand Lion's pelt that was propped up in the room. It was magnificent, it's golden mane fanning out perfectly and its rounded ears unscarred. He had seen Bluestar cloaked in it several times now, a sight that made him stop and admire. It was a tradition for every Clan's leader to wear their deity's pelt to a Gathering. Firepaw could only imagine what the other leaders must look like.

"Do you miss your old life, Firepaw?" she asked eventually, "Think carefully, now."

"No," Firepaw told her truthfully, his thoughts broken by her question.

"Do you wish to leave the Clan?"

"No! Of course not!" Firepaw insisted, his hands abandoning the hem that he had been playing with. Seeing Bluestar's doubtful expression, he pushed on. "I've been here for three years, Bluestar. I've hunted and trained for ThunderClan, and I've even endured leaf-bare with the rest of the Clan. If I wanted to go back to the Twolegplace, I would have already."

She gave a long sigh, "I need more than that, Firepaw. ThunderClan needs to know that you are completely loyal. There is no room for cats who are unsure of where their hearts lie, especially now that ShadowClan appears to be stirring up trouble."

"I am loyal," Firepaw told her firmly, "I couldn't imagine living anywhere else than here, in ThunderClan. When I was talking with Smudge today, he told me that I was lucky. All he had to say were complaints about how his life is now, and how he wishes that he didn't have to go through school like me."

"But you asked him about your old life, did you not? You must have some sort of curiosity still."

"I only asked about my sister," Firepaw said, "I never told her that I was leaving the Twolegplace."

Bluestar looked at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. Her hands unclasped and she sat back more comfortably. There was a soft chirp as a white cat rose from its sleep. The feline stood up, stretched its legs deeply, then climbed into Bluestar's lap. The leader pet the cat fondly then looked back to Firepaw.

"You know, I spoke with Yellowfang this morning. She thinks a lot of you. She's a wise old cat and had much to say." Her head tilted slightly as she spoke. "If she thinks that I've made a good decision by bringing you into our Clan, then I suppose that we're on the right path. I just need to be able to trust you as a ThunderClan warrior, Firepaw. You mustn't be thinking about your old life if you wish to live here."

"I don't think about it." Firepaw promised, "Ever since I've joined ThunderClan, all my thoughts have been on training to become a warrior."

"Good." she sighed, seeming to think something over in her head. "Then, I suppose that it is time for you to take your next step in becoming a warrior. I'm sure that you are aware that most apprentices go to their first Gathering when they turn thirteen. You are fourteen now. There are a couple of reasons why I've held you back, but none of that matters now. Tonight, you, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw will represent ThunderClan during the Gathering."

"What? Really?"

"Despite what has happened today, Tigerclaw was impressed by your hunting. He reported that all three of you did well."

"What about Sandpaw and Dustpaw?"

"They will stay behind and help guard the camp." Bluestar said, "Now go and tell your friends. Be sure to check in with the elders for some coins, then be ready to go at nightfall."

Later that night, as Firepaw walked beside his Clanmates towards Fourtrees, excitement built within him. He shook one hand restlessly as he held several golden coins securely in his fist. He wondered what he could buy with them. He had heard and seen many warriors return home from Gatherings after trading with the other Clans, but his mind still wandered vividly as he thought about what there might be for him.

But his imaginings were cut short as they crested the slope before Fourtrees. With Bluestar at the head of the group, robed in her golden pelt, ThunderClan paused at the top of the hill to look down at all of the people below. Firepaw was both surprised and disappointed with what he saw.

As he had known, the Fourtrees had four corners that each signified a specific Clan. He could see that only ShadowClan and RiverClan had set up for the Gathering so far, as around each of their trees were a mass of tables and vendors who were ready to barter items. Just from where he stood, Firepaw could see the impressive glittering from the items on the tables and he unconsciously held his breath as he anticipated touching them.

What had disappointed him though, was the number of people in the clearing. He had always imagined hundreds of people walking around under the moonlight, but now he saw that it was more like a couple dozen. He felt a little silly as he realized that ThunderClan didn't even have fifty people. Why had he expected the other Clans to have such great numbers?

"Look!" Graypaw whispered excitedly as his hand grabbed Firepaw's arm. "I think that's Crookedstar!"

"What? Where?" Firepaw demanded, his eyes following where Graypaw was pointing.

Standing there, beside the Great Rock, was a man that was covered in the fur of a Jaguar. The pelt was not as impressive as Bluestar's great Lion pelt was, at least in Firepaw's opinion, but the pelt was still eye-catching all the same. Crookedstar was of average height, though strong and lean. With the head of the Jaguar pushed back, Firepaw could see that he had shortly kept brown hair and several large ear piercings. His jaw was startlingly offset as well, though he seemed to find no struggles with speaking as he talked quietly with the man beside him.

"Who's he talking to? Is that ShadowClan's leader?" Firepaw asked, eyeing the second man.

Ravenpaw nodded and whispered to him, "That's Brokenstar."

Brokenstar somehow did not match up to the picture that Firepaw had painted in his own mind from the warriors' tales of him. The ShadowClan leader was hardly taller than Crookedstar was, though he was clearly more broad-shouldered and sturdier built. Perhaps, Firepaw thought, he was missing the fear of his appearance because the man was cloaked in his Tiger's fur. The massive Tiger head was pulled over his own, casting his hair and face in shadow.

At the front of the waiting Clan, Bluestar made a silent signal with her hand. At once, the ThunderClan members started forward and made their way down the slope. Firepaw found himself walking beside Mousefur, who was helping carry some of ThunderClan's tradable items down into the clearing.

Beside their assigned tree, the ThunderClan warriors began to set up their tables and Firepaw and his friends were called over to help. The tables were set quickly and Firepaw helped place items atop them. Their items were mostly woven baskets and pottery work which Longtail, being the best pottery worker in ThunderClan, stood beside as he prepared for the night. There were other tables though, where Darkstripe and Whitestorm stood together as they presented their own offerings. Darkstripe had basic building materials out while Whitestorm was setting up his leatherworkings. Baskets and bowls of berries and herbs were on display too, with Willowpelt overseeing the sales despite neither of those being her specialty.

To Firepaw, these were everyday items that he thought that the other Clans made and owned as well. But even as they were setting up, he could see that there were people from the ShadowClan and RiverClan already wandering over to see what the night's Gathering would bring. One RiverClan warrior was eyeing the pottery, counting the coins in her hand as she did so. And before Whitestorm even had all of his offerings on display, a ShadowClan woman was already picking up one of his works to purchase.

When everything was set up, Bluestar sent the three apprentices off with the reminder to keep quiet and to remember their teachings. Firepaw stuck close to Graypaw as they moved through the small crowd and Ravenpaw walked nervously behind them. They took their time going from one table to another, nodding and greeting the tenders respectfully before they made any comments about the items on the tables.

He found that ShadowClan and RiverClan both sold, in his opinion, more interesting items than ThunderClan did. While ThunderClan sold more practical items such as pottery, baskets, leather, or building materials, the other Clans sold a different sort of collection.

ShadowClan specialized in weapons, tools, armor. Their red-painted tables were covered with delicately placed products, each blade or carefully crafted sheet of metal glinting in the moonlight. Though they were impressive to look at, Firepaw realized that they were relatively colorless and lacked decoration. He pointed this out to Graypaw, who snorted at his words.

"Well, yeah," he said as though it was obvious, his eyes looking at an intricately made shortsword with an almost greedy expression. The warrior behind the table saw the look and polished the blade with a rag until it gleamed even more impressively. "ShadowClan isn't going to sell anything if their Clan's color is all over it. It's up to the warrior who buys it to paint it."

Moving onto RiverClan, Firepaw found that they sold more of a decorative sort of collection. Their tables alone were fancy, not to mention the items. The tables were simply wood like other Clan's were, but they had thrown a soft blue cloth with delicate stitching over the top of it, on which they laid their items. Similarly to ShadowClan, these items were polished and shiny too. But instead of weapons and armor, they showed off jewelry, clothing, rocks, and shells. There were a lot of colors and shapes to take in. There were fish and crawdads as well, but he and Graypaw didn't mind that vendor much.

There was a table dedicated to only rocks and gems, and a woman stood behind it with a young girl. The woman saw them approach, and whispered, "Here comes some more buyers. Why don't you handle it this time, Silverpaw?"

The girl gazed at Firepaw and Graypaw evenly from across the table. She didn't look like anyone in ThunderClan, that's for sure. She had long, silvery hair that glinted in the moonlight and a long dress that did the same. She was pale in complexion and had upturned eyes. Her hands were clasped in front of her as she prepared to speak.

"Hello," she said with a dip of her head as they looked at her, "Would you like to take a look at the valuable gems and shells that RiverClan has presented for tonight?" She spoke quietly and with a certain grace that none of the rougher ThunderClan apprentices held.

There was an awkward lull in the conversation between them each, in which Firepaw looked to Graypaw. During their encounters with the other vendors, Graypaw had always been the one to initiate the discussion, but now he was gawking at the girl openly.

Firepaw, realizing with a jolt that Graypaw was not going to talk, took up the role instead. Remembering the formalities that he had learned during his lessons, he dipped his head politely in response. "Yes, thank you." he said, "We would like to. Could you show us what you have tonight?"

The girl's cheeks were flushed pink now and she ducked under Graypaw's open stare. With an even quieter voice, she gestured to the collections of stones and shells, each sorted by type or color before her. Even her gestures seemed foreign and graceful to Firepaw, for hers were open-palmed, vague, and untouching when ThunderClan's were jabbing or pointing with their hands or oftentimes sharp nods of their head.

Firepaw could sense Silverpaw's shyness even as she finished her short sales pitch and he elbowed Graypaw in the ribs sharply. His friend gave a pained whine but seemed to wake from his strange trance.

Looking to the stones more closely now, Graypaw gained a mischievous look, "I dare you to give one of these stones to Sandpaw." he told Firepaw with a chuckle.

"What?" Firepaw asked in disbelief, "Why would I do that?" He had been secretly thinking of Spottedleaf instead, wondering how she might react if he gave one to her. What color would she like the most? Green maybe?

"Because it'd be funny," Graypaw snorted, "The shells might just be pretty, but each stone has a meaning behind it. She'd probably smack you over the head if you gave her one."

Firepaw looked at the rocks before him. They were colorful and pretty, but no significant meanings came to his mind as he looked at them. His eyes kept being drawn to the green stones though, and he pointed to them.

"What are those?" he asked. "What's their meaning?"

The woman behind the table gave Silverpaw a nod of encouragement and the apprentice told them, "Those are stones found in the deepest waters of our swift rivers and along our shores. The color green is associated with many words, though most closely with luck, good fortune, and jealousy. It is a natural color, one that represents new beginnings. If you see a stone that you'd like and would prefer it as jewelry or on a weapon instead, we can do that too. Our warriors are very skilled and adaptable to your wishes."

Firepaw looked at the green stones, his mind still stuck on Spottedleaf and whether she'd like one of them. His stomach churned at the thought, and he supposed that if he chickened out, then he could just give it to Sandpaw as a joke instead.

"You owe me all your money," Firepaw told Graypaw, who agreed with a laugh, then paid for the biggest gem that he could afford. He counted the coins in his hand with Graypaw's help, then passed them over to Silverpaw. She recounted them just to be sure, then gave the two of them a small smile as she used a blue cloth to fold over the stone. She passed the rock to them and thanked them for their purchase with a short bow.

The boys bowed in return, then began to walk away. As they left, Firepaw glanced down at the stone with mixed feelings. It certainly wasn't the biggest in RiverClan's collection, but it wasn't the smallest either. It was a flat, oval shape that fit comfortably in his hand. If it hadn't been a pretty gem, then it would have made for a near-perfect skipping rock. He felt the smooth surface of it thoughtfully, running his thumb along it before folding the cloth around it again.

Graypaw nudged him out of his thoughts, "I'll pay you when I see you give it to Sandpaw," he said.

Firepaw nodded, having already guessed that he wouldn't get the coins until then. He looked around the clearing now, looking for the next point of interest. The moon was high in the sky and he knew that the Gathering wouldn't last for much longer.

"WindClan still isn't here. What do they normally sell?" he asked as he caught sight of the fourth Clan's abandoned corner of the clearing. Though their gray paint was splattered elegantly on their tree, there were no warriors to barter with under it and no items to look at.

Graypaw followed his gaze with disappointment, "From what I've heard, WindClan usually sells food-related stuff. They're where we get a lot of our livestock from. And during leaf-bare, they're sometimes the reason that our four Clans survive." he put a hand on his stomach longingly, "I was really wishing that they'd show up. They're always selling sweets during the Gathering. My mom used to buy them for me when I was still in the nursery."

"Maybe we could find Ravenpaw to talk to since we still have time?" Firepaw suggested. Their friend had wandered off not long after they had reached ShadowClan's table, instead interested in finding other apprentices to speak with.

"Oh, good idea." Graypaw stood on his toes as he searched the clearing for the pale warrior. Even with the moonlight and several lit candles, it was difficult to see who some of the people were. "There he is! Looks like he's telling a story."

Thank you for reading, if you've gotten this far. I really liked writing this chapter because it introduces more of the differences between ThunderClan and the others. Not only do they sell different items, but I tried to show that their appearances and even gestures are different. When we reach WindClan in the next book, I look forward to expanding on even more variations. I also introduced the tradition of each leader wearing a pelt to the Gatherings here. This lets them stand out even more from their warriors, show that they are protected by StarClan, and look even more impressive. Let me know what you think, both with this chapter and the last one. What did you think about meeting Smudge again? And did you like the new details about the Gathering?