Lucky

Thank you Potatotheumbreon, FrostFall37, Leafsplash, Castle, Silverstar, and Heatherstrike88 for reviewing! I really appreciate it :) And thank you for the few faves and follows I got as well!

But before I start the chapter, I kind of want to talk about Bramblestar's Storm. I haven't read it yet, but I heard from Leafy that they changed Amberkit's description to a ginger she-cat and Dewkit's to a gray and white tom. That kind of ruined it for me, since I liked them with their gray color schemes. Oh well… hopefully the rest of the book is better.

And now, on to the chapter!

Chapter Seven

The two cats approached Firepaw, their eyes narrowed to slits. The ginger tabby apprentice still couldn't understand why the two other apprentices were ganging up on her, but it must've had something to do with her almost-drowning experience.

Firepaw backed up a bit as the two apprentices drew closer, their fur fluffed up. Honestly, she was scared out of her mind. In her mind, she prayed that Bramblestar, or StarClan forbid, Snowpaw, would save her. He always seemed to help her anyways, so where was he now?

But then suddenly, the gray tabby and white apprentice stopped. "Wait a second… aren't you the one from the battle?"

Firepaw stared at him for a moment, confused, before she realized what he was talking about. So that's why he seemed so familiar! "Um, yes," she meowed a bit awkwardly.

The tom's green eyes flashed with wonder. "Wow! So that's why you seemed so tough to me!" He flattened his fur and smiled at her. "I'm Timberpaw, apprentice of ShadowClan! What's your name?"

The ginger apprentice opened her mouth to respond, but then noticed the gray and white she-cat was still approaching her, looking as dangerous as ever.

Timberpaw frowned at her a bit, but then noticed what she was looking at. "Thrushpaw, stop playing around! You're scaring her!" he exclaimed, lashing his tail in exasperation.

The gray and white she-cat smoothed her pelt, suddenly looking calm. "Oh. Sorry," she meowed, and she actually sounded apologetic. She padded back to Timberpaw's side, sitting down with her tail curled around her white paws.

The gray tabby and white apprentice shot her a grateful look, and then returned his gaze to Firepaw. In a flash, she remembered she was supposed to be answering a question.

"Oh! My name is Firepaw… I'm from ThunderClan," the ginger tabby meowed carefully. Sure, they seemed nice, but if she gave them too much information, they might use it against her in battle.

"That's a cool name! Do you want to be friends?" Timberpaw meowed lightly, bouncing on his paws.

Thrushpaw shoved him, as if telling him that she didn't agree to this, but the other apprentice ignored her completely.

"Friends?" Firepaw asked, unsure about all of this. "You almost killed me and you want to be friends?"

"Oh, we were only playing around," Timberpaw meowed, still bouncing. "So, what do you say?"

"Umm…" Firepaw meowed, looking down at her paws. "I—"

"Let the Gathering begin!" a loud voice exclaimed, interrupting Firepaw's answer. The ginger tabby apprentice looked up, seeing a small brown tabby tom sitting on the highest branch. He looked like the one who had spoken.

The tom's amber gaze skimmed the crowd for a moment before nodding. He jumped down unto a lower branch, flicking his tail at a ginger tom.

The ginger cat was the complete opposite of the tabby tom—he was a large, heavyset tom with wide paws and a long, fluffy tail. He scanned the Gathering island before opening his jaws to speak.

"Prey is running well in ShadowClan, and we have gotten three new apprentices. Timberpaw and Thrushpaw, who will be warrior apprentices, and Nightpaw, who is our new medicine cat apprentice!"

"Timberpaw! Thrushpaw! Nightpaw!" the cats cheered.

Firepaw flattened her ears, hissing in annoyance. I didn't know Gatherings would be so loud!

"Nightpaw's our brother," Timberpaw whispered to her. "I still have no idea why he wanted to be a medicine cat."

Silently, Firepaw agreed. If you were a medicine cat, you'd be cooped up all day in a den full of stinky herbs. She had no idea how Jayfeather and Lilypaw did their jobs with that stench.

"We also had a border skirmish with ThunderClan earlier," the ginger tom continued, glancing at Bramblestar. "But Bramblestar and I both agree that it was Dawnpelt's fault—she has been assigned apprentice duties for two moons."

The Gathering island was silent for a moment before low cheers erupted through the cats. Timberpaw and Thrushpaw were included in the cheering.

Firepaw leaned over towards Timberpaw and muttered, "Do you not like Dawnpelt?"

"Most cats don't," the gray tabby and white tom responded. "She accused Jayfeather of killing her brother, Flametail, on purpose. It was confirmed an accident, but Dawnpelt has never believed that. She still thinks it was a purposeful murder."

"Oh," the ginger tabby apprentice meowed. "Then how did he die?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know," Timberpaw said, flicking his tail in slight annoyance. "Nobody really talks about it anymore."

"Oh." Firepaw's ears drooped. She had been curious over how Flametail died since the border fight, but it seemed like she was never going to get the answer.

The cheering stopped, and the ginger tom flicked his tail to a blue-gray she-cat. The cat dipped her head, murmuring something before stepping onto the highest branch. In the moonlight, her blue-gray fur flashed a soft silver.

"Greetings," the she-cat meowed, her voice sounding as soft as a feather. "The fish in the river is running well thanks to the new season. And Troutstream, Mallownose, and Heronflight have chased a fox off of our territory."

"Troutstream! Mallownose! Heronflight!" the cats cheered, and it seemed like every single cat on the island was happy.

"And also, we have three new apprentices," the blue-gray she-cat continued, lashing her tail as a signal for everyone to stop cheering. "Please welcome Stonepaw, Splashpaw, and Rainpaw!"

The cats started cheering again, but quieter this time. Firepaw looked around and saw that a group of cats looked uneasy. She frowned, wondering why.

The brown tabby from earlier nodded at the blue-gray she-cat and she jumped off of the branch. The short tom took her place, fluffing up his fur.

"The prey in WindClan is running low, and Crouchpaw has become a warrior. His name is now Crouchblaze."

A few cats started cheering, but other than that, the island was eerily silent.

The short tabby frowned a bit at the quietness, but then calmly continued. "We also have a new apprentice—Greenpaw."

Nobody cheered that time. Firepaw thought she heard a hiss of annoyance somewhere in the crowd, but she could've imagined it.

The tabby looked disturbed now. "Um… t-that's it for WindClan! Bramblestar, you can say your news now." It could have been a trick of the moonlight, but Firepaw thought she saw him look troubled.

The big brown tabby tom nodded at him and jumped up to the highest branch. "ThunderClan is running well," Bramblestar announced, his loud voice echoing around the island. "My daughter has become an apprentice—everyone, please congratulate Firepaw!"

A low gasp of shock was heard nearby, and Firepaw turned her head to see Timberpaw looking at her, his green eyes wide with shock. Thrushpaw looked similar, although there was a hint of jealousy in her deep blue eyes.

"You're Bramblestar's daughter?" Timberpaw asked, shock still clearly evident in his voice.

"Um, yes," Firepaw meowed, licking her chest fur in slight embarrassment. "Sorry for not telling you."

"You're so lucky!" the gray tabby and white tom burst out, his fur bristling in excitement. "How come nobody flocks to you? You must be treated like a deputy, right?"

"Well, err, no," the ginger tabby apprentice replied, slight amusement dancing in her gold eyes. "I'm treated just like a normal apprentice."

"Oh." Timberpaw looked down for a moment before looking up again, his green eyes bright. "Well, how about—"

"The Gathering has ended!" a voice boomed, interrupting his words. "Please return back to your Clans."

Timberpaw frowned, glancing at the tree the leaders were sitting on for a moment before returning his gaze back to Firepaw. "Oh… it looks like Thrushpaw and I have to go." He sounded disappointed.

Firepaw felt a bit sad, too. "Oh, okay," she meowed. "Will I see you at the next Gathering?"

"I hope so," Timberpaw responded. He turned around and started padding away. He looked back. "Bye Firepaw!" He then quickened his pace and disappeared into a crowd of cats.

For some reason, Firepaw wanted him to turn around and come running back to her, so they could talk some more…. She shook her head. That couldn't happen—he had to go back to ShadowClan, and she had to go back to ThunderClan. With her tail slightly drooping, she walked away to go find Blossomfall.

Well, this is my longest chapter! I really enjoyed writing Timberpaw's character since he's just a really cute and lovable cat xD Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and don't forget to review!