Another chapter already! I figured I had to make it up to you all after making you wait so long for an update. (And I had the computer for a while, mwahaha.) Still Brambleclaw's POV.
Brambleclaw went to find Birchpaw just as the leaders began to make their way over to the Great Oak. He didn't want to leave his apprentice alone in the midst of all the cats of other Clans, no matter how comfortable he had appeared.
Birchpaw was sitting beside Applepaw and her brothers still. Cinderpelt, Leafpool, and the other medicine cats had joined them. Littlecloud nodded to Brambleclaw when he spotted him.
"Has Birchpaw told you?" he mewed. "I've taken Toadpaw as my apprentice."
"Congratulations," Brambleclaw meowed down to Toadpaw. The young tom, who was long-furred and mottled like his brother, shuffled his paws modestly. Applepaw darted forward to his side. Unlike her siblings, her pelt was a bright reddish gold, and her eyes were dark amber. "Toadpaw's going to be the best medicine cat the forest has ever seen!" she announced proudly.
Cinderpelt and Littlecloud twitched their whiskers, while Icepaw let out a mrrow of laughter. Birchpaw meowed, "Well, I'm going to be the best warrior in ThunderClan."
Mothwing rolled her amber eyes. "Ambitious, aren't we now?"
Brambleclaw looked over at her. "Have you seen Hawkfrost? Did he come tonight?"
"Yes." she replied. "I don't know where he is now, though. He said something about wanting to speak to you."
Brambleclaw wondered if he should go look for his half brother, but then the yowl came from the oak for silence, so he sighed and settled in between Leafpool and Mothwing to listen to the leaders' news.
Firestar's green eyes surveyed over them all for a couple of heartbeats. "Welcome, cats of all Clans, to our Gathering. I trust that we are all settling in well. Onestar says he would like to speak first."
The smaller tabby tom immidiately leaped to a protruding branch, overtaking Firestar so that all the cats could see him. Brambleclaw saw the anger in his eyes, and his pelt prickled. He hadn't been with Crowfeather long enough to hear all of WindClan's news. Had something happened?
"A while ago," Onestar began, "One of my patrols caught RiverClan cats at the balanced rocks. We fought them, and chased them out."
There was no satisfaction in his tone, telling Brambleclaw that there was more to come. He glanced at Mothwing; by the way that her ears twitched nervously, he guessed that she knew very well what Onestar had yet to reveal.
"The apprentice Weaselpaw died in that battle," Onestar meowed. "He was crushed in the balanced rocks. He was well on his way to becoming a warrior, and his mentor Webfoot taught him well. Now he hunts with StarClan, and I know that they will honor him for all he did in defense of his Clan."
Brambleclaw's hackles rose in shock. An apprentice dead in a border fight? Onestar said he had been crushed in the rocks, so it wasn't murder, but Brambleclaw's heart thundered just thinking of it.
Mews of sorrow and horror rippled through the cats of ThunderClan and ShadowClan. The RiverClan cats stood rigid, and Leopardstar stared defiantly around as if daring a cat to suggest that the death had been her fault. Onestar paused for a moment before he went on.
"Also, my deputy Ashfoot is dead. The cold winds of leaf-bare were too much for her. She watches us with Weaselpaw now, and the greatest of our anscestors who I am sure welcomed her." He paused to bow his head, and then lifted it, meowing with certainty, "Crowfeather is my new deputy."
It was hard to tell exactly what sort of welcome Crowfeather recieved. The WindClan cat stood with his tail raised, a combination of pride and sorrow for Ashfoot on his face. Brambleclaw saw an unmistakable flash of disbelief in the faces of several cats- obviously they were shocked that such a young and inexperianced warrior could be given such a position. But Firestar, Littlecloud, and a WindClan senior warrior Moonfrost all nodded in acceptance, and a voice that was unmistakably Squirrelflight's called out, "Crowfeather!"
Cinderpelt dipped her head. "Well, I'm not surprised. He's a good warrior." Barkface mewed agreement. Brambleclaw looked over to see if Leafpool agreed with her former mentor, but the young medicine cat was staring directly over at Crowfeather, and he couldn't see her expression.
Then Blackstar and Firestar came forth to relay their own news. As Applepaw and her siblings, and Birchpaw, were announced apprentices, they nudged each other proudly. Brambleclaw couldn't hold back his own tingle of delight at having his name be announced as a new mentor.
Leopardstar came forward last. She looked directly at Onestar. "RiverClan regrets the accident at the balanced rocks as much as WindClan. That territory will stay yours, as long as I am leader."
It was a noble thing to say, and Onestar inclined his head in acceptance. Then Leopardstar's eyes flashed as she looked back over the cats. "However, that doesn't mean that RiverClan won't continue to guard our boundaries."
There were calls of agreement from her Clan, and Leopardstar seemed satisfied as she stepped back. The main part of the Gathering ended as the leaders leaped from their perches to share a few words with members of other Clans before heading back to their camps.
Brambleclaw took this opportunity to look for Hawkfrost. He caught sight of his kin more than once, but he was always flitting in and out of the crowd, stopping for brief words with a variety of cats. Brambleclaw's tail twitched in irritation as Cloudtail sprang over and meowed, "Firestar says we're getting ready to head back."
The tabby warrior shook himself. "All right."
He followed the white tom back to where Firestar and Graystripe were waiting, talking to Mistyfoot and Morningflower, a WindClan elder, as their Clan came towards them.
Then Brambleclaw felt Hawkfrost's cold blue eyes on him. His half brother was heading right towards him, and Brambleclaw opened his mouth to call out a greeting. But Hawkfrost brushed right past him as if he didn't notice him. Confused, Brambleclaw started to call after him, but Hawkfrost's hushed, hissed words made him stop.
"Come back to the island. Tomorrow night."
Reviews are appriciated, and, btw, the next chapter for My Summary should be up sometime tonight or tomorrow!
