CHAPTER 3

The Gathering Hollow was a large, mostly round clearing of soft grass and moss; edged in thick undergrowth of fern and sheltered by a ring of trees. The full moon light shone down and illuminated the hollow. The moon was very nearly in the middle of the sky; this would be the signal for the Gathering to begin. Off to one side, a large fallen kauri; long dead, was where the leaders would soon sit to offer news to the clans. It almost seemed made for the purpose, this place. Clan legends said it was, of course, crafted by the tiger goddess of the earth for her warrior descendents. Dappledpaw didn't put much stock in those old mythological tales though, of course. She figured the clans simply got lucky finding such a location back in the day. The only downsides to it was it wasn't centrally located; far closer to Flaxclan than the others, with Gorseclan and Fernclan both having to travel through another clan's territory to reach it. History spoke of many disputes over that fact.

The hollow was already filled with cats. It seemed like despite leaving early, the Gorseclan party was the last to arrive. Dappledpaw could see the other three leaders at the base of the fallen tree with their deputies; Finchstar's bright ginger coat stark in the moonlight as he talked casually to young Dewstar, Swallowstar's bony form hunched off to one side. The three deputies were also chatting. Fernclan's Earthshatter dwarfed the diminutive Tinyfrost, while Harrierwind seemed to be laughing at something the larger tom said.

Icestar left her to join the other leaders, Sorrelwind meeting him as they weaved their way through the throng of cats. Dappledpaw decided she better do as was asked of her now while she had the chance before the leaders began to speak. This prelude would be her only chance. She scanned the crowd for Sedgepaw's pelt. She was sure he'd seek out the other apprentices quickly.

As she moved through the crowd in search of the usual circle of apprentices that formed at these affairs, Dappledpaw spied Rowanpaw getting tackled by that overly-energetic Fernclan apprentice; Keapaw. Apparently Keapaw had found him stuck in some bramble and wild rose thorns at the border once, and had seemed to make it her life's mission to annoy him ever since. As someone else who enjoyed annoying Rowanpaw on a regular basis, Dappledpaw could appreciate that, even if she didn't entirely understand the grey tabby's motive. She was a bit too friendly with him considering he was from a rival clan, in her opinion.

Dappledpaw rolled her eyes as Keapaw started babbling away in that annoyingly cheery way, while Rowanpaw spat back at her. He always threatened to bite her, but he never did. Maybe he was softer than he let on. That and it wasn't wise to cause a diplomatic incident by attacking another apprentice during a Gathering... Keapaw was cackling at him over something he said now. Dappledpaw looked away to continue scanning for the other apprentices. Let him have fun dealing with her… Ah, there they were.

If she was counting right, all the apprentices that were likely to have been brought by their respective clans were here together. She could see Lionpaw of Fernclan sitting off to the side by himself. He was staring with hard eyes at Keapaw and Rowanpaw. If she remembered correctly, he was Keapaw's littermate. A protective brother? She tucked that information away; you never know what could be useful down the line. Icestar wanted her to learn about the other clans after all.

The remaining apprentices were sitting in a semi-circle nearby. Sedgepaw's voice carried even over the low din of all the cats talking in the hollow. He seemed to be telling some kind of hunting story in that easy-going way of his. The final Fernclan apprentice in attendance was Sparrowpaw who was frowning at Sedgepaw's antics… ah yes, the mystery kit… Nobody outside of Fernclan knew the full story but apparently she had been found all alone on the edge of their territory one day, and the clan had decided to raise her as one of them. She was a moon or so older than Keapaw and Lionpaw. The two oldest Fernclan apprentices; Blackpaw and Frostpaw, along with the herbalist apprentice; Stormpaw, who was another littermate to Keapaw, all seemed to have missed out this time. They were at the former Gathering, so it made sense a clan with lots of apprentices like Fernclan would share it around.

All three of Tussockclan's warrior apprentices were here; three darkly furred littermates. Dappledpaw had never met any of them before as they were only announced as apprentices at the last Gathering. They sat closely together and overall seemed to be politely listening to Sedgepaw, but looked uncertain since it was their first Gathering, and likely their first time interacting with cats from another clan. These unknown entities would be worth investigating. Especially as they were more likely to be loose-lipped due to their inexperience.

Takahepaw was also the only warrior apprentice present from Flaxclan, though she could spy Sablepaw the healer apprentice up near the front of the crowd with the other healer and herbalist cats. The younger two apprentices were here last time, so the choice made sense. Dappledpaw considered herself lucky that she had attended all the Gatherings she had since becoming an apprentice; she'd only missed out on a single one, when Rowanpaw went by himself once.

Dapplepaw approached the group with her tail raised high in greeting, putting on extra enthusiasm for the other apprentices. Lionpaw didn't even seem to notice her as she passed by him; seeing that his thick fur was bristling while he watched Keapaw laughing at Rowanpaw getting increasingly angry.

The tortoiseshell nodded to Takahepaw as she took the empty space next to him, sitting down neatly. "Evening, Dappledpaw." The black and white tom said cheerfully as he turned to her; his face covered in his distinct freckle-like markings. "Your brother was just regaling us with an incredible tale of daring-do where he fought off a boar over a rabbit he caught."

"Oh is he?" Dappledpaw replied mildly, giving her brother a pointed look, which to his credit he managed to avoid looking sheepish at. He was always telling the most ridiculous tall tales at Gatherings to show off. Like anyone actually believed him!

"What did you do next Sedgepaw? Did you claw out it's eyes?" One of the new Tussockclan apprentices piped up; a she-cat with a greyish-black fluffy coat. Her orange eyes, and the amber eyes of her siblings, were massive with awe at the story. They all seemed enraptured. Well, it looks like someone believed him. Typical Tussockclan... She could already tell she wasn't going to get anything out of these three that were barely out of the nursery.

She tried very hard to drown out Sedgepaw's silly story, and focus on what was going on around them. Time was short; the leaders were already sitting up on the dead kauri… They and the deputies would exchange a bit of small talk, and then the Gathering proper would begin.

She noticed that Sparrowpaw didn't seem to actually be listening to the story either; her large ears were angled politely towards Sedgepaw as he spoke, but her eyes kept darting away to the side to where Keapaw was. A mildly interesting observation, but that alone wasn't worth noting.

"Takahepaw, how far away from becoming a warrior are you now?" Dappledpaw elected to try small talk with her neighbour for now instead.

"Gosh, it must be soon. We are about the same age after all?" He titled his head slightly, blinking as Dappledpaw confirmed with a small nod. "I think Tinyfrost is planning an assessment for not long after the Gathering…"

Takahepaw was the apprentice of Flaxclan's deputy; the apprentice far larger than the mentor, and had been for moons… Well, soon the diminutive deputy would be a diminutive leader. Swallowstar looked like a walking corpse. He was ancient. Chatting with Takahepaw would be a good chance to get a feel of the mood in the clan.

"I believe Icestar is planning Sedgepaw and I's assessments soon as well, though he won't tell us till the day of, I'm sure." She let out a little amused huff.

"He seems like he plays close to the chest." Dappledpaw could tell Takahepaw chose a diplomatic word. Maybe it wouldn't be very easy to get him to let anything slip either.

"Somewhat." Dappledpaw shrugged. "No more so than Swallowstar seems to."

Takahepaw's tail twitched, probably completely subconsciously, at mention of his leader. Dappledpaw felt a satisfaction coil through her. Got him. The tom chuckled a little uneasily. "Oh well, Swallowstar has a lot of experience to work from, after all." A non-answer. He was dodging the lead. Still… She thought. He was saying a lot with his awkwardness on the matter. Just bringing his leader up made him go from relaxed to stiff and ill-at-ease… She wondered if it was the same with the rest of Flaxclan. She was sure that Icestar had likely asked at least one cat to talk to the warriors in the same manner. Probably Cuckoofeather or Sheercrag; since they were the two elite guard members in attendance tonight.

Fortunately for Takahepaw, he was saved from further questions and probing by the start of the Gathering. The relief on his face was clear.

A yowl went up from the dead-tree. Icestar's booming voice was excellent at catching the attention of all the cats in the hollow. "Silence please! The moon hangs full directly above us. Our ancestors are watching as we come together in peace to share news…" Swallowstar, who was sitting slightly off to the edge of the tree on his own, scoffed quietly. Icestar either didn't hear or elected to ignore him. "The Gathering will now officially begin."

Cats who had been off in their little groups catching up with cats in other clans, or swapping stories, now turned to pay attention to the leaders. Rowanpaw had finally managed to shake off Keapaw, and scurried over. His fur looked a little ruffled, and he certainly seemed embarrassed, but no worse for wear. "That she-cat is completely stark-raving mad." He hissed under his breath as he joined his fellow Gorseclan apprentices, causing Sedgepaw to stifle a snort.

Dappledpaw watched out of the corner of her eye to see Lionpaw fussing over Keapaw as she too returned to his side; Sparrowpaw offering a more aloof greeting but also seeming happy to have the grey tabby back with her. The three Tussockclan apprentices seemed equally stunned by seeing all four leaders together as they had been with Sedgepaw's tale; they stared up with eyes wide.

It seemed that Icestar was speaking first, for he had not moved back after officially opening the Gathering. "I will begin by sharing news of Gorseclan. Despite the drought, prey is continuing to run well, thanks to the heavy seeding of the grasslands early in the season."

"If you bet a cat to eat a mouse every time a leader said "the prey is running well" at these things, they'd be dead by the end of the night." Sedgepaw whispered to Rowanpaw with a snigger. Rowanpaw glared at him, but Dappledpaw could swear she saw the red tom's whiskers twitch despite himself.

"We have no new deaths or births to report, though the kits in the nursery are doing well. We look forward to apprenticing Honeykit and Pebblekit in the coming moon." There were a few warm meows in the crowd at this. "We do bring news of a large group of hogs moving down from the mountains, likely in search of food due to the drought. At this stage my patrols tell me they are edging towards your territory, Finchstar." He inclined his head at the Fernclan leader. "I would urge caution."

Dappledpaw nodded along slightly with his warning, while the Fernclan apprentices exchanged concerned looks. Feral pigs could be extremely dangerous, especially boars and especially if they were hungry or felt threatened. They could destroy camps, damage a clan's territory and frighten away and devour prey. The elders told stories of them attacking the twolegs sheep and eating lambs. They also had no problem attacking something as small as a cat; even a whole patrol. Their hides were too thick to claw and bite; the only way you might have a chance to get one to back down is go for the eyes, and even then… it was always considered smartest to run; get to high ground if you could.

"Thank you for your warning, Icestar. I will ensure my patrols are vigilant." Finchstar responded with his usual calm authoritative air. There was no love lost between Fernclan and Gorseclan; they had long been rivals, regularly disputing land. However, Finchstar was always courteous at Gatherings, and had a strong reputation as a wise and noble leader.

"I have nothing else to report." Icestar dipped his head and moved back. Dappledpaw noticed he was continuing to ignore the elderly Swallowstar, while he glared claws into his back and the thick, matted fur on his spine bristled.

"Then I shall speak next." Finchstar stepped forward next. "The forest of our ancestors shelters us and our prey well from the drought for the time being." Fernclan cats buried their dead in their forest, and believed the trees and other plants that grew there were the will of their ancestors protecting them. It was all a bit silly, in Dappledpaw's opinion.

"We have a new litter of kits by Falconrush, and our apprentices are growing strong. We expect new warriors to be named by season's end." Cats started to meow congratulations to a grey tabby tom named Vinelash, who must be the father of the litter. Vinelash was the brother of the Fernclan deputy, and sported a severely scarred and misaligned jaw which he had received seasons ago in a battle with Gorseclan over a disputed section of territory near the river. Many cats told different versions of the story, but the one Dappledpaw put the most faith in was the one where he was clawed in the face, then fell back onto one of the large river stones, which dislocated his jaw. Apparently the damage to his good looks hadn't stopped him finding a mate.

Finchstar had completed his brief report and stepped back. It seemed that Fernclan had no interesting news either, but that was to be expected. Nothing but posturing on how well they were doing, which was half of these Gatherings… Next to her, Sedgepaw stifled a yawn, and Rowanpaw shoved him. "If you couldn't stay awake long enough you shouldn't have come!" He hissed quietly.

Dewstar was next, and this was one of the two leaders who held Dappledpaw's interest more. Dewstar was very young; she had only been a warrior for a short period before being made deputy, to the bafflement of pretty much everyone. The gossip-mill believed the previous leader, Rumblestar, who had also been her mentor, had a romantic interest in her, and that was what motivated his choice. Illness claimed his final life, and now Dewstar had been a leader for two moons. This was only her second Gathering as a leader. Her inexperience was clear as she stepped forward with some hesitation. Dappledpaw couldn't see from here, but she could imagine the cat shaking in her paws.

"T-the prey is running well in Tussockclan…" The cat with the unique black coat, flecked in white like raindrops, started. Dappledpaw noticed the way she was glancing at her deputy; an experienced senior warrior named Harrierwind. At least she had chosen her second-in-command sensibly. An encouraging nod seemed to bolster the young leader, and her voice steadied. "By Starclan's grace, we have two more litters of kits on the way, and our main camp has been rebuilt since the king tide." Tussockclan had a unique territory that ran lengthwise along the coastline. Their lifestyle was one of strong faith in Starclan, and highly flexible by necessity. They had a number of camps along with their main one, allowing them to easily move if storms and unusually high tides damaged it. It also made them hard to pin down in a raid.

"Gull-eating twits still have her in charge, huh?" A not-so-quiet whisper reached Dappledpaw's ears. She managed to spy the culprit out of the corner of her eye, a young Flaxclan warrior with a black coat. His yellowish-tabby companion chuckled. Nearby warriors from Tussockclan did not quickly snap in the defence of their leader like Dappledpaw would expect; instead they looked uncomfortable in silence, exchanging looks. Now that was indeed interesting.

Dewstar seemed none the wiser to the comments, and was finishing up her news with something about more twolegs stopping near the fur seal colony up the Flaxclan end of the coast. Nothing for Gorseclan to worry about… But it was what was unsaid that had been informative, after all. She was sure Icestar was stowing away what he observed up close to the other leaders too.

And then, finally, it was Swallowstar's turn.