Chapter 10
" Me and my deputy have chosen the cat's that will be going to the gathering will be Tigerblaze, Sleekwhisker, Yarrowpaw, Whiteapple, Leapaw, Wavewhisker, Nightstorm, Quillfeather, and Foxpaw! '' Swiftstar called, his gaze landing on each cat as he spoke their names.
The elder that Foxpaw refused to ask the name of gave Swiftstar an annoyed look.
What's it gonna be this time rat breath? Foxpaw thought, rolling her eyes as the elder opened his mouth to interject. She didn't really know what rat breath smelled like, but she thought it was a good enough description. Well, for now at least. She'd have to find a better one later.
" But she's - " he started, fur bristling, before being cut off.
" It's my decision. You can't possibly be expecting everyone to be happy with my every decision. " Swiftstar said, giving the elder an annoyed glance.
The elder huffed, looking like he wanted to say something back. Instead he turned around and stalked towards his den, tail lashing.
Muttering started among the gathered cats, a few glances towards her. Stare all you want. I don't care. She thought, getting to her paws to leave.
Quillfeather stopped her, nodding back at the spot she'd been sitting at. Foxpaw rolled her eyes and sat back down.
" I hope that's all the complaints. " Swiftstar said, twitching his ears.
Everyone went silent, looking back at their leader. He shook himself and leaped off the branch.
" That is all." He said after a few stretching seconds of silence, gazing around, before turning and bounding towards the elders den.
Quillfeather watched the leader leave before focusing his gaze onto Foxpaw.
" This'll be your first gathering. I'd advise you to eat something and then get some rest. " he said, tipping his head towards the fresh kill pile before getting to his paws and turning around without another word.
Foxpaw watched him walk towards Whiteapple, who seemed ready to snap something at him. Then she stopped and looked away. Maybe she thought he was someone else. But that wasn't Foxpaw's problem.
She turned around and made her way towards the fresh kill pile. She wasn't that hungry, but a mouse wouldn't hurt.
She felt like she should feel more excited about going to her first gathering, but it just felt like another thing to do.
From what she had heard about them, they seemed like a more complicated clan meeting, and she couldn't see why others were excited.
Don't get her wrong, having things to do was better than trailing around camp and entertaining herself with random objects, but…
It might be more fun than she expected. She had never been to one, but the concept seemed incredibly boring.
She grabbed a mouse from the pile and turned away, heading towards the apprentice den. Yarrowpaw and Thistlepaw were in what seemed to be a deep conversation, while Leafpaw paced around them, occasionally adding something to what they were saying.
" Oh Foxpaw! " Leafpaw said, pausing her pacing. " We were just talking about the gathering. If you wanted to know anything…" she trailed off, giving Yarrowpaw and Thistlepaw a look.
" Oh, it's fine, right Yarrowpaw? " Thistlepaw gave the tom a look, to which he just rolled his eyes.
" Sure why not. " he grumbled, giving Leafpaw an annoyed look. " Maybe ask before inviting others to a conversation. " He added, lifting his paw and licking it.
Leafpaw had a short lived look of guilt on her face in response.
Thistlepaw snorted and laid down, tucking her paws underneath her. Yarrowpaw twitched an ear, his gaze leaving Leafpaw.
" Is there anything you want to know about the gathering? " Leafpaw asked, hopping from paw to paw, her gaze fixed onto Foxpaw. " Usually me, Yarrowpaw, and Thistlepaw stick together and chat with the other apprentices, maybe you could-"
" Maybe you can ask us first before inviting others. " Yarrowpaw growled, batting at Leafpaw with one of his paws.
Foxpaw watched the group, twitching her ears. Leafpaw had batted Yarrowpaw back, and it quickly turned into a scuffle.
Foxpaw shifted, feeling out of place as Thistlepaw worked on breaking up the other two apprentices.
It was fine, really. Nothing Foxpaw wasn't used to.
And she could decide whether or not to join them during the gathering when she got there. That seemed like a good plan.
Everyone that had been chosen to go to the gathering were gathering around Swiftstar. Foxpaw gave herself a shake and trotted over, where Leafpaw was beckoning her to join.
Swiftstar scanned the group quickly, most likely checking for any missing cats. His gaze lingered on Foxpaw for a few seconds before he turned around and gave a few quick words to his deputy.
Leafpaw was bouncing excitedly, distracting Foxpaw. Yarrowpaw rolled his eyes, before focusing his gaze ahead.
" Are you ready, or are you just going to bounce all night? " he snorted, nudging Leafpaw.
Leafpaw didn't reply, and instead raced out of camp, following the group. Oh well. Here goes nothing. Can't be too bad, right? She thought, padding after the excited apprentice.
Quillfeather had slowed down so that he could walk beside her.
" This is your first gathering. How do you feel? Nervous? Excited? " he asked, flicking his tail.
In all honesty, Foxpaw didn't know. She felt like she should probably be excited, but she wasn't. Not that she had a problem with that. Just because someone else thinks you should feel one way doesn't mean you have too.
" It's alright if you're nervous. " he added, giving her a look.
" I'm fine. " Foxpaw said, speeding up a little.
Behind her, Quillfeather shook his head.
The rest of the way to the gathering was uneventful. Leafpaw had been chatting with Yarrowpaw, and Thistlepaw seemed to be more focused on walking, snatching a few glances at the other two apprentices.
A dip in the ground laid in front of them. A few bushes littered the ground, and a tree sat near the far end.
A group of cats were scattered around, chatting.
Swiftstar hesitated, twitching his ears. He casted a glance at Risingdusk, who just rolled her eyes.
Foxpaw gave herself another shake, gazing around.
Swiftstar gave a signal with his tail, and everyone started heading down.
Foxpaw followed at a slower pace, scanning the area.
A hiss sounded. A few of the other cats backed away. Foxpaw paused, twitching her ears.
A grey and white cat stalked over to Swiftstar, lashing their tail.
" Swiftstar. " they said coldly, bristling their fur.
" Froststar. " Swiftstar said, narrowing his eyes.
Sleekwhisker appeared beside Foxpaw, an unreadable look on her face. Foxpaw glanced at the she-cat, before returning her gaze to the two leaders.
" What inspired you to bring that… thing into your clan, let alone a gathering?" The IceClan leader growled, casting a glance at Foxpaw.
Oh. This was about her. Foxpaw narrowed her eyes at the Iceclan leader. She didn't appreciate being called a thing.
" I don't see the problem. " Tigerblaze hissed, suddenly appearing next to Swiftstar before he could answer.
While it was nice to see that someone was on her side, Foxpaw could deal with her problems herself. She was about to take a step forward, but Sleekwhisker stopped her.
" Best not to intervene. " she said, shaking her head. " We can sit over there. " Sleekwhisker added, nodding to the closest bush.
Foxpaw cast a glance at the arguing cats before following her.
The gathering definitely didn'tpan out like she thought it would.
The rest of the gathering was tense.
Tigerblaze had joined her and Sleekwhisker at some point.
Cats gave her glances ranging from suspicion to contempt. They could think whatever they wanted. She didn't care.
Foxpaw's apprenticeship was mentioned, but only scattered cheers came after it.
Froststar named all the new warriors in her clan. Only IceClan cats cheered the new warriors. Well, them and a few BirchClan cats.
The gathering had ended fairly quickly, and the clans headed their separate ways. Froststar had hissed something inaudible to Swiftstar, who still seemed on edge by the time they got back to camp.
Foxpaw curled up in her nest, worn out from the day. She still didn't see the points of gatherings, but she guessed they all weren't this tense.
Leafpaw had fallen asleep rather quickly. Yarrowpaw and Thistlepaw were chatting quietly.
Foxpaw shifted, lowering her head. Gatherings were more trouble than they were worth in her opinion.
Worrying about it wouldn't help her sleep. She buried her head in the moss, closing her eyes.