"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!"
Rosestar's yowl echoed across the camp. Kestrelpaw perked her ears up. After a busy day of hunting practice 'because even medicine cats need to learn how to hunt!' and gathering herbs for their leafbare stores, not to mention hearing every cat's thoughts, Kestrelpaw was ready to relax.
But often Rosestar's meetings were interesting, so Kestrelpaw dropped the robin she was sharing with her brother, Larkpaw, and padded over to Highrock. Rosestar's emerald green gaze swept the Clan. It landed on Kestrelpaw's for a moment, and the orange apprentice strained to hear what the noble BreezeClan leader was thinking.
Is she the one? It could be Rookpaw, or Larkpaw. They all have bird names. But I feel like it's her. Why is she staring at me like that? Yes, she's got to be the one in the prophecy.
What prophecy? Kestrelpaw wondered. But she didn't have to wait long for her answer. Kestrelpaw stumbled as a vision overcame her. It flooded her gaze, and she couldn't move. She could only watch as vision-Rosestar talked to a jet-black starry she-cat with the bluest eyes Kestrelpaw had ever seen. The black cat's words grew louder until Kestrelpaw could hear nothing but those words.
"While an enemy rises ready to fight, five cats will be born from the light. The first like a bird, riding the breeze, the second quiet like misty trees. The third is like ice, beautiful and bright, the fourth storms through, like a light. To find the fifth, look to the east. Then all five cats will bring the peace."
The vision ended abruptly and Kestrelpaw stumbled. What did it mean? Was that her, the one like a bird, riding the breeze? And did that mean there were other cats like her, other cats with unexplainable powers?
Kestrelpaw shrugged to herself. Maybe. She'd think about it later, after she'd gotten a good night's rest.
"Attention, BreezeClan! We are going to attend tonight's Gathering! The cats I have selected are: Briardawn, Barkmaple, Leafcrackle, Swiftstripe, Fernshade, Willowbrook, Rainfur, Kestrelpaw, Rookpaw, Winterpaw, and Larkpaw. The rest of you will stay here and guard the camp. Meeting dismissed." She finished, still staring at Kestrelpaw. Well, so much for a good night's rest! Kestrelpaw thought, but she was happy that she got to attend the Gathering with her littermates. From beside her, Rookpaw's thoughts were whirling.
This is amazing! I get to go to my first Gathering! I wonder what Kestrelpaw thinks?
"This is amazing! I get to go to my first Gathering! What do you think?" Rookpaw meowed. Kestrelpaw stifled a purr. Leave it to Rookpaw to speak her mind!
"It sounds really fun! I can't wait to go!" Kestrelpaw mewed, hoping she sounded excited enough. Winterpaw and Larkpaw purred.
"C'mon, Kessy, Rosestar's leaving!" Winterpaw yowled, and together, the four apprentices followed Rosestar as she padded out of the grassy camp clearing, with the other warriors and apprentices following her as she went.
The Gathering place was in the center of the four Clans. It was surrounded by one oak tree for BreezeClan, a misty pine tree for MistClan, an iceberg for IceClan, and a small rocky hill for StormClan. At the center, a big ancient birch tree sat there, with spots for all the leaders and deputies to sit.
Kestrelpaw gazed at the whole clearing in awe, but got shoved aside by some rude gray-and-black apprentice, MistClan by the looks of it. He glared at Kestrelpaw with his piercing yellow eyes. Kestrelpaw glared back with her yellow eyes.
Dumb BreezeClan kit! The cat thought, sniffing and whirling around to stalk off to his Clanmates. Kestrelpaw just rolled her eyes. She'd expected some other Clan cats to be rude, and this cat was definitely one of those.
She'd planned to sit next to Rookpaw or one of her littermates, but there was already a huge crowd surrounding the BirchTree. The noise was deafening. So many cats were thinking so many things. She tried to imagine the thoughts as little butterflies. They just flew away in a matter of seconds. It made it a little more bearable, which was all she needed.
Kestrelpaw found a spot next to Leafcrackle that wasn't too crowded with cats. Leafcrackle purred when he saw her.
"Hey, Kestrelpaw! I was wondering if you wanted to meet this other medicine cat apprentice from IceClan?" he asked her tentatively. Kestrelpaw purred.
"I'd love to! Where are they?" she asked, glancing around the clearing. Leafcrackle's whiskers twitched and he led her over to a large yellow tabby and a smaller pretty white tabby with dazzling green eyes. The yellow she-cat smiled politely when she saw the pair and mewed,
"Hello, Leafcrackle! A pleasure to see you! This is my apprentice, Polarpaw. And who's this?" the she-cat asked, nodding to Kestrelpaw. Leafcrackle nudged her.
"Oh! Um, my name is Kestrelpaw, and I've just become an apprentice." She meowed. The yellow she-cat purred.
"Well, Polarpaw, I'm going to go chat with the other medicine cats. You can go talk with whoever." Polarpaw nodded.
"Okay. Bye, Yarrowleaf!" she called. Kestrelpaw shifted her paws. Polarpaw nodded and smiled at Kestrelpaw.
She seems nice. I bet she and Ripplepaw would make good friends! The fluffy white apprentice thought. Kestrelpaw tilted her head to the side.
"Who's Ripplepaw?" she asked, then immediately regretted it. How was she supposed to know who this Ripplepaw was? She needed to get this mind-reading thing under control before somebody figured her out.
But Polarpaw didn't seem to notice, for she just smiled and gestured with her tail to a pretty white-and-cream she-cat standing with a blue-gray she-cat and a sable-furred she-cat.
"That's Ripplepaw! She's my best friend! Well, besides Sealpaw I mean, but she's my sister, so like... well, anyways, you should go talk to her!" Polarpaw finished, shaking her white tabby pelt out. Kestrelpaw nodded a thanks to Polarpaw, and Kestrelpaw started to pad over to Ripplepaw, but then she caught one of Polarpaw's thoughts, Well, I guess that was a short talk. Kestrelpaw inwardly slapped herself. How could she be so rude?!
"Um, my sister Winterpaw's over there. You could go chat with her, she's really nice!" Kestrelpaw called hastily. Polarpaw seemed to lighten up.
"Okay! Thanks, Kestrelpaw!" she called back, and dashed off to Winterpaw, who was chatting with a russet she-cat and a light gray tom.
Now that that was taken care of, Kestrelpaw padded over to Ripplepaw and the two she-cats. The blue-gray she-cat was saying to the two apprentices,
"So I had to collect moss on my first day! Moss!" she yowled. Ripplepaw purred, but then the small sable-furred she-cat turned her bright yellow gaze on Kestrelpaw.
"Hey! Who are you?" she asked excitedly. Kestrelpaw shifted her paws and tried to look excited.
"Er, my name is Kestrelpaw. I've, um, just become a medicine cat apprentice two sunrises ago," she finished. The blueish-gray she-cat grinned.
"I'm Bluepaw, and I was also apprenticed two sunrises ago! Only, I'm going to be a moss warrior," she purred, and Ripplepaw laughed, remembering the tale she'd told them.
"Hah! Well, I'm Ripplepaw, and I was apprenticed a moon ago, but this is my first Gathering." She explained. And finally, it was the sabe-furred she-cat's turn.
"I'm Starlingpaw, and I was apprenticed at the same time as Bluepaw and you!" she meowed. Kestrelpaw purred, and chose that time to read their thoughts.
Bluepaw was thinking something along the lines of, I bet I could teleport into enemy territory with my new powers!
Ripplepaw was thinking, I wonder if I could put a thorn in Flamepaw's bedding with my telekinesis! It'd sure serve him right for that time he put that huge hairy gross spider in my bedding!
And Starlingpaw was thinking, Zoom! Zoom! I bet I can beat even Flowerleaf! Or maybe Fallfeather, except he's really slow. Wow, I love these powers!
Kestrelpaw recoiled in shock. All these cats had powers? Like her? Well, these powers were different then hers. It seemed that Bluepaw could teleport, Ripplepaw had telekinesis, and Stripepaw had super-speed. Like in the prophecy! Which meant that there was only one cat left in the prophecy to be found.
Kestrelpaw was about to confront them right then and there, but at that moment Rosestar spoke.
"Good evening, cats of all Clans. I am here to report that BreezeClan is having a successful newleaf. Prey is plentiful, and I am pleased to report that we have four new apprentices. Kestrelpaw, Rookpaw, Winterpaw, and Larkpaw!" she meowed.
"Kestrelpaw! Rookpaw! Winterpaw! Larkpaw!" the Clans cheered. Kestrelpaw ducked her head, modesty getting the better of her. She noticed though, how Larkpaw puffed his chest out and was basking in the other cat's praise, and she purred in amusement.
From behind her, the other three apprentices were cheering as loudly as they could for Kestrelpaw and her littermates, and she dipped her head in gratitude. She made a mental note to cheer just as loudly for theirs as well.
"We encountered fox scent on the borders of our territory and StormClan's, but the scent was stale." She turned to Duskstar, who nodded.
"We will put more patrols out. Thank you, Rosestar." The black she-cat dipped her head in gratitude. Rosestar nodded to her and spoke again.
"There are no other announcements. Over to you, Larkstar," Rosestar meowed, leaping back to her branch beside Briardawn and letting the old MistClan leader speak.
"I have an announcement!" Larkstar crowed. Bluepaw looked uncomfortable.
"Um, just so you guys know, I have no part in what he says." Bluepaw stammered. Kestrelpaw gave her a puzzled look, but Bluepaw just looked at the ground.
"I have spotted IceClan warriors on our territory!" the old leader yowled. Silence followed.
Then shocked mews and outraged yowls sounded across the clearing. Thornleap and Iciclespike, a MistClan warrior and IceClan warrior who had, just moments earlier, been sitting next to each other and chatting together, were now hissing and spitting, their backs arched and fur raised.
Ripplepaw stared at the scene in horror.
"How could he accuse us of that?! We didn't do anything!" she said in disbelief. Bluepaw looked utterly miserable.
She must have known this would happen. Kestrelpaw heard Starlingpaw think, but it wasn't mad, it just sounded like Starlingpaw felt bad for the MistClan she-cat.
Ripplepaw turned to see Bluepaw's sad and dejected face and backtracked.
"Um, I mean, it's not your fault, Bluepaw. It's just your leader's fau- I mean-" Ripplepaw trailed off. Arg! I'm terrible at this! Kestrelpaw heard Ripplepaw think.
Dovestar, IceClan's leader, was staring daggers at Larkstar, who was staring defiantly at the scene in front of him. Dovestar hissed something Kestrelpaw couldn't hear at Larkstar, and Larkstar hissed something back. Finally, Rosestar pushed herself in front of Larkstar and yowled to the Clans,
"For the love of squirrels, STOP! Look at the moon!" she yowled. The fighting cats ceased their fighting and glanced up at the moon. Every cat, from the oldest elder to the tiniest kit knew that at a Gathering, if StarClan sent clouds to cover the moon, it meant that they were displeased. Kestrelpaw looked up, scared to see what the answer was.
The moon was round and full, but it had wisps of clouds beginning to cover it. Kestrelpaw breathed out a sigh of relief. Starlingpaw's thoughts were whirling.
Wow, that's lucky. I thought that StarClan would be mad. But I'm glad they're not. Wow, is that Foxpaw over there? Who's she with? I hope she's not telling anyone my secret. But she won't. What tree is she under? It's really pretty. Is that an apple tree? Like my mother? She's not an apple tree. That would be weird. But like maybe her spirit's in it. Because her name was Appleblossom. Maybe. Wow, it's quiet. I wonder why? Larkstar should announce Bluepaw. I bet Duskstar will announce me! I wonder if-
Kestrelpaw gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the endless chatter of Starlingpaw's mind. She imagined it as a butterfly. It flapped its wings and flew away. That technique seemed to help, she'd remember it for next time.
"And we have nine new apprentices as well. Please welcome Bluepaw, Palepaw, Pinepaw, Soulpaw, Lightpaw, Ravenpaw, Flintpaw, Flowingpaw, and Ivypaw." Larkstar added airily. The nine cats puffed out their chests and waited for the same cheering that Kestrelpaw and her siblings had gotten, but the cheers only came from MistClan.
Kestrelpaw could feel anger flood Bluepaw's mind. She could relate. Those poor apprentice's big moments were ruined because their leader was an idiot.
•••
The Gathering went well, besides that incident. Ripplepaw and the other IceClan apprentices didn't get cheers from MistClan, but Starlingpaw and the StormClan apprentices got cheers from everyone. After the leaders spoke, the Clan cats were allowed to socialize with each other.
Starlingpaw told the apprentices a funny story about her friend, Foxpaw, and Ripplepaw told them how she'd won a hold-your-breath contest. Kestrelpaw laughed at the stories, and even added her own story about Winterpaw's odd name.
"So that kittypet, Winter, saved my mother and her littermates from a badger when they were small, so that's where her name comes from. It's the Twoleg word for leafbare." Kestrelpaw explained. Bluepaw nodded.
"That's a creative name. Like mine. My parents were feeling very imaginative when they chose my name." Bluepaw laughed, rolling her blue eyes and gesturing to her blue-gray pelt.
"I swear to StarClan, if Duskstar names me Bluefur or Bluepelt…" she raised her left paw menacingly, and everyone laughed. Kestrelpaw was surprised at how at ease she felt with these cats, like she could say anything, even though she wasn't supposed to share secrets with cats from another Clan.
Then she remembered the BIG secret she knew about the other cats, and she tried to tell the others that she knew about it without seeming like a creep.
"Um, guys, I have to tell you something," Kestrelpaw began. Ripplepaw looked concerned.
"Yes, what is it, Kestrelpaw?" the white-and-cream she-cat asked, a hint of worry in her meow. Kestrelpaw shifted her paws uneasily. Starlingpaw patted her back comfortingly.
"Don't worry. I'm sure it's not bad. Just tell us!" her words were kind and calm, but her mind was whirling.
Oooh, what's the secret! Should I tell someone? No, I've got to keep it a secret. Oooh, this is so exciting! No, Starlingpaw. You've got to act calm. Eeeeeee! No! Calm! Right!
Kestrelpaw rolled her eyes at the young she-cat's lack of self-control. It was typical of Starlingpaw, she'd learned, to be excited all the time. Kestrelpaw opened her mouth to tell them, but she was interrupted by the sound of Rosestar's mew behind her.
"Come on, Kestrelpaw. StormClan is leaving now." Rosestar said. The StormClan leader was looking thoughtfully at the three other cats. Kestrelpaw didn't have to read her leader's thoughts to know that Rosestar was wondering if they were the other cats in the prophecy.
Well, three of the prophecy cats. Kestrelpaw still wasn't sure who the fifth was, but she'd find that cat later. For now, she hissed to her new friends.
"Meet me here tomorrow at moonhigh. I'll tell you then!" Ripplepaw looked like she was about to object, but Kestrelpaw shot her a look. Bluepaw, however, asked her,
"How are we going to sneak out?" she asked. Kestrelpaw gave her a smile.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find a way," she meowed, and winked. Then Kestrelpaw set off with her Clan to finally get a good night's rest.
