Chapter 5 ½

The evening scents filled Firepaw's nose as he went through the gorse tunnel and entered the camp. Firepaw approached the fresh-kill pile and took a vole from it. He went pass the tree stump and approached the area where the apprentices eat. Greypaw, Dustpaw, and the pale ginger she-cat were already there; eating and chatting with one another. The group saw Firepaw and Greypaw was overjoyed, the pale ginger she-cat smiled, and Dustpaw narrowed his eyes at him.

"Hey there kittypet." He meowed scornfully.

Greypaw and Firepaw looked at Dustpaw and the pale ginger she-cat glared at him.

"Pay no mind, he's just upset." She meowed.

"Pay no attention, Firepaw, Dustpaw had a bad day." Greypaw meowed.

"I can tell and my name's not kittypet, it's Firepaw." He meowed.

"Nice to meet you, Firepaw. My name's Sandpaw." She introduced.

"Nice to meet you." He meowed; smiling.

"Hey Firepaw!" a voice yelled.

The apprentices looked over and saw Chestnutpaw approaching them with a sparrow in his mouth. He laid next to Sandpaw and Greypaw and took a bite of the sparrow, then swallowed it.

"Hello Chestnutpaw." Firepaw greeted.

"So…I see you've met my brother." He meowed; speaking while eating and swallowing his food.

"Wait really?" Firepaw meowed surprised.

"Yeah. Dustpaw and Ravenpaw are my brothers. They're my younger brothers." Chestnutpaw explained.

"More like Ravenpaw's the youngest." Dustpaw muttered.

"Now, now Dustpaw, there's no need to be rude." Sandpaw snapped.

"So Firepaw, how was the trip?" Chestnutpaw asked.

"It was nice. Bluestar showed me all of the territory." He meowed.

The apprentice's eyes were wide and they looked at each other nervously. Firepaw figured what it was about, but he didn't want to be rude. Greypaw looked at Firepaw.

"So how was Bluestar?" he asked.

"She seemed fine. She was strong too, now that I think about it." Firepaw meowed.

"No, he means…how was she at sunningrocks?" Sandpaw meowed; asking.

"She seemed a bit sad, but she kept her composure." Firepaw meowed.

"That's good." Dustpaw meowed.

"I don't think I'll be hunting there any time soon." Sandpaw said shuddering.

"Why? Who was Redtail to you?" Firepaw asked.

"He was my father." Sandpaw meowed.

"My mentor." Dustpaw added.

"I…I'm sorry." Firepaw meowed.

Sandpaw and Dustpaw didn't reply. They started eating their prey and everyone remained silent. Firepaw laid down and took a bite of his vole. After a few moments, Greypaw looked at Firepaw.

"Did Bluestar say anything about us going to the gathering?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so." Firepaw meowed.

"You should be going now that I think about it." Sandpaw meowed.

"Why do you say that?" Firepaw asked.

"It's clan tradition. Every new apprentice and warrior goes except if they're injured or if they got into trouble." Dustpaw explained.

"Since Ravenpaw's injured and you've been an apprentice for two days, you and Greypaw might no be able to go." Sandpaw meowed.

"Wait, you and Ravenpaw never been to a gathering?" Firepaw asked surprised.

"No. We've only been apprentices for a quarter moon." Greypaw explained.

"But you two still have a chance, Ravenpaw will just have to wait till the next gathering." Chestnutpaw meowed.

"Firepaw, Greypaw!" a voice called out.

The apprentices looked and saw Bluestar approaching them.

"Yes, Bluestar." Firepaw meowed.

"I know that it's clan tradition to take every new apprentice to the gathering, but because Ravenpaw is injured and you've only been an apprentice for two days and you haven't learn to control your powers. I'm going to have to take Sandpaw, Dustpaw, and Chestnutpaw." She explained.

"Really?" Sandpaw meowed surprised.

"Yes. I was going to take Greypaw, Ravenpaw, and Firepaw to the gathering, but because of circumstances, you are gonna have to wait till Ravenpaw is better and Firepaw has learned how to control his powers." Bluestar explained.

"That's fine. I've only been to a gathering twice. I don't mind going for a third time." Chestnutpaw meowed.

He finished his sparrow, buried the bones, got up, and stretched a bit, then he joined the crowd of cats that were going to the gathering. Dustpaw and Sandpaw finished eating their prey and got up and buried them.

"Well, we gotta go, bye Greypaw." Sandpaw meowed.

"Bye Sandpaw." He meowed.

"It was nice meeting you, Firepaw." She meowed.

"You too." He meowed.

Sandpaw and Dustpaw joined the crowd and Bluestar led the cats out of camp. When they were gone, Greypaw looked at Firepaw.

"You want to go eat with the elders?" he asked.

"Really?" Firepaw asked.

"Yeah. Come on." Greypaw insisted.

He got up and took his and Firepaw's prey and headed to the elders den. Firepaw got up and followed him. He had a lot of questions and he waited two days for answers.

"So how does this work, are cats born with it or do they get it from something powerful?" Firepaw asked.

Both cats stopped and Greypaw put down the prey.

"In the clans, when a kit is born, they are born powerless. When the mother gives the kit a name, they have their powers and it's the leaders job to match it with their warrior name." he explained.

"So do names match the powers they get?" Firepaw asked.

"It depends. Like, if you're born with a animal name, you're given animal qualities, like Mousefur, Tigerclaw, and Lionheart. If you're born with a color name, then your power varies. Take Whitestorm, he can control snowstorms, or take Bluestar, her fur is blue and she can control fire, and then there's me. It all depends on what your name is, you know?" Greypaw explained.

"But how did this all start and won't twolegs see Ravenpaw or any other cat with wings fly in the sky?" Firepaw asked confused.

"Perhaps you learn these things from the elders themselves." Greypaw suggested.

He picked up the prey and both cats got to the elders den and went inside. As they entered, both apprentices were surprised to see that all the elders were in there. They assumed that some of the elders had went to the gathering. The elders were eating and chatting until they saw the apprentices.

"Hello there youngster. Have you come to eat with us?" Smallear greeted.

"Yes Smallear, but we thought some of you went to the gathering." Greypaw commented.

"We didn't want to go, we would rather eat in peace and go next time. So what brings you here?" Dappletail meowed.

"Well, Firepaw has some questions and he wants answers." Greypaw explained.

"Oh really, like what?" Smallear asked.

"Well for starters, what are your powers?" Firepaw asked.

"That's simple. Smallear can hear things from far away, Halftail has wings and a feathery pelt, One-eye can see into the future, Patchpelt can turn into a dog, Dappletail can camouflage, and Rosetail can grow roses with her tail. So Smallear, what can you hear?" Greypaw explained.

He perked his ears and tried to hear what was happening. Firepaw watched with anticipation. After a few minutes, Smallear looked at Greypaw.

"I hear cats talking at the gathering." He meowed.

Firepaw was amazed and he looked at the other elders. Halftail stood up and revealed his white wings and feathery pelt, Dappletail disappeared and reappeared again, Patchpelt glowed, then turned into a old dog, and Rosetail touched the wall of the den with her tail. A sudden glow appeared and a thorny rose grew. Firepaw was amazed by how strong or gentle these powers were. If he could control his power, than he would be just as powerful as them. Greypaw shared Firepaw's amusement and looked at One-eye.

"So One-eye, is there any visions the future holds for me or Firepaw?" he asked teasing.

"Very funny, but no, I haven't got any visions." She meowed.

"Hey Halftail, that wouldn't really be your name, so what was it?" Firepaw asked.

"My old name was Sparrowpelt. I lost the other half of my tail to a badger and I was loosing my balance. I retired early, because I was afraid to fall off a tree." He explained.

"And One-eye?" Greypaw asked.

"My old name used to be White-eye. I lost my other eye to a badger. It was when I was loosing my vision that I retired. Since my name used to be a color, my power varies." She explained.

"Yes, Greypaw did tell me that, but how did you guys get your powers? How did this all start?" Firepaw asked.

"I'm glad you asked. Well, in the beginning, cats didn't have powers and there were no clans. Cats came into the forest in small groups, lured into the forest for the prey, the river, and the birds in the trees. There were no borders and prey was fought over constantly; fearing they would run out. One night, the cats agreed to meet at fourtrees, but things went wrong; horribly wrong. They argued over stolen prey, claws flashed, challenging yowls rang throughout, and there was a horrible battle. A lot of blood spilled that night and many cats died. The remaining cats slept that night and woke up in moonlight. They saw their slain kin glowing like stars and they spoke to the cats. They saw a horrible future if they kept fighting and urge the cats to unite or they die. They told them to find cats with their similar strengths and abilities, find a home in the forest, and set down borders. If they did this, their leaders would be given eight more lives, they would watch over them and guide them through their journeys, and they would give them powers. Once that was said and done, the spirits kept their promise. The founders of clans had incredible powers, Thunderstar could create thunderstorms and make the ground shake like thunder, Riverstar could control the river and breathe underwater, Shadowstar could hide in the shadows and control them, and Windstar could control the wind and create wind storms; only with the exception that the clans keep their powers a secret." One-eye explained.

Firepaw was amazed, the story he heard wowed him into amazement. Greypaw shared Firepaw's amusement and One-eye smiled. A big part of Firepaw's questions were answered, but there was still some questions he wanted answers to.

"But how come twolegs can't see cats like Ravenpaw and Halftail fly into the sky or Lionheart's roar two days ago?" Firepaw asked.

"Due to us keeping our powers a secret, Starclan granted an invisible force, so cats outside of it and twolegs can't see or hear us. They also can't see the sky if a cat activates it's storm power." Halftail explained.

"So what happens if powerless cat does see our powers?" Firepaw asked.

"If they see it inside the force and they run, they'll forget. If cats leave the forest, the force makes them forget. But if a power cat leaves the clans and tries to tell powerless cats about us, they'll forget they have one and loose it completely." Halftail explained.

"But what if a cat tells another cat about us and they haven't been in the forest?" Firepaw asked.

"Usually they don't believe them, but if they did, then we would have to kill them. Don't worry dear, that's never happened before. It's just paranoia stuff." One-eye explained.

Firepaw perked in surprise.

"So that's why Bluestar and Lionheart wanted me to not tell anyone." He thought.

Firepaw nodded and for the rest of the meal, the elders told funny stories about some of their clanmates, stories of past battles, or legends the clans tell kits. When it was night, Firepaw and Greypaw left the elders den and headed into the apprentices den and went to sleep.