Chapter 1
"White Noise."
1/1/18 - 1/2/18 - 1/3/18 - 1/4/18 - 1/5/18 - 1/6/18 - 1/7/18 - 1/8/18
~ Crowpaw ~
The jet black tom's impatience refuses to let him sit. Under the full moon, Crowpawstarts pacing around to exert the energy, but it only makes him more excited. Tigerpaw is crouched down by the boulder with Oatpaw, watching Crowpaw pace until he closes his eyes.
"Can you please stop pacing, I feel sick just looking at you."
Crowpaw stops immediately and huffs. "I just want to go! When is Heatherstar allowing us to leave?"
"Take it easy." Oatpaw pipes up. "She's got kits to look after, remember?"
"Yeah…"
Just then, Heatherstar exists the nursery to present herself before her Clan. The ShadowClan cats watch her in excitement.
Heatherstar looks at the crowd and says,
"The chosen warriors for the Gathering will be Adderclaw, Smokeclaw, Doeleap, Swallowfur, Otterheart, Fuzzystorm, Featherwing, Streamlily and Needlesong. The apprentices will be… Tigerpaw, Oatpaw, Dapplepaw and Dawnpaw."
Crowpaw feels as though he is struck by a swipe of cold claws. He wasn't going?
"What's wrong, ThunderClanner? Sad you won't see your roots?" Mudtail sneers before leaving.
Crowpaw flattens his ears, growling. "How fortunate that I'm stuck with him all night."
"Ignore him." Oatpaw told her cousin. "Fuzzystorm told me that Mudtail likes to run his mouth all day and pretend to be all important. The best you can do is turn a deaf ear to him and he'll get annoyed and leave."
"I'd like to think that he responds better to a nick on the ear." Crowpaw smirks.
"You know Foxfur won't let you." Tigerpaw points out. "And if Featherwing found out, you'll never hear the end of it."
~ Lilacpaw ~
"Please, take us with you!"
Storkkit lays his body out over Carpstream's back in an effort to weight her down. The black tom kit is getting bigger, almost reaching Beechclaw's ears, and a copy of his father - except for Storkkit's ears. Perchkit has a sleek furred, ginger pelt and a bushy tail reminiscent to a fox. Wavekit maintains a solid blue-grey fur coat, and her eyes were green as holly leaves.
"We're almost apprentices anyway." Wavekit put in. "We promise not to cause trouble!"
Perchkit coughs. "Liar!" Wavekit throws a glare at her brother.
Oakkit and Elmkit make their way in front of Carpstream as she shakes off Storkkit. Oakkit is still small, even though he's firstborn, his dark ginger fur coat is a startling red. No one in RiverClan has seen a cat with a fur coat like Oakkit's, at least no one within the Clan, and their father, Heavyclaw, would become tense whenever it was brought up. Elmkit is a bit lanky, and tall, with a sturdy frame and nicely pointed ears.
"You don't have to tell anyone." Oakkit puts in, with Elmkit nodding in agreement.
Carpstream flicks her tail on Perchkit's nose.
"The answer will always be no. But you brought up a good point, you kits are old enough to look after yourselves for tonight."
The five kits whine in protest, looking at Beechclaw for support.
"Listen to your mother, kits. Your apprentice ceremony isn't until two days ahead of time. You'll have the next Gathering to look forward to."
Lilacpaw pads away from the whining kits and accidentally bumps into her sister. Shadepaw leaps with bristling fur, blinking at Lilacpaw.
"Geez, sorry." Lilacpaw mutters.
"Oh. Sorry, I was just thinking."
Lilacpaw snorts humorously. "You were thinking pretty hard."
Shadepaw laughs, dryly. The darker brown tabby she-cat tries not to wince at the scars that Lilacpaw ran into. Although, the silver tabby she-cat couldn't help but notice a slight limp in Shadepaw's step.
"Are you okay?" Lilacpaw asks.
"Yes."
"Are you sure? Maybe we should tell Olivestar to let you stay…"
"No - I'm good! Really." Shadepaw insists. The darker brown tabby she-cat quickly trots away - standing behind Olivestar as she looks at her chosen cats. Lilacpaw sees Frecklespots padding to Applefoot.
Where's Swanpaw? Lilacpaw never sees Swanpaw leave for the Gathering without being next to Frecklespots.
"Cinderfall…"
"That is what pushes her away."
"Cinderfall!"
Lilacpaw's ears rotates behind her head, and glances at the medicine cat den. Cinderfall is twitching his whiskers while Swanpaw is shaking his head in refusal. Lilacpaw's never seen the white tom near his father before, and they seem to be in a deep conversation.
Grasspaw exits the medicine cat den and pads to Lilacpaw without glancing at Cinderfall or Swanpaw. Lilacpaw can tell by the look on his face that he's troubled.
"Didn't you see those two?" Lilacpaw points her tail to their denmate. Grasspaw looks at them, briefly, and then turns to face his sister.
"So?" He grunts. Grasspaw realizes how short he sounds, and fixes his tone of voice.
"Robinpaw is sleeping, but I think he's faking it."
"Is he still upset that he's not going?"
"He didn't deserve to." Grasspaw says. "He shouldn't have brought up Frecklespots and Cinderfall, and he certainly shouldn't have mentioned Fallenbird's kits."
"But it's not exactly a lie, right?" Lilacpaw and her littermates would always hear cats mention the fallout of Frecklespots and Cinderfall, after the dark grey tom got Fallenbird pregnant with his kits right after Swanpaw was born.
"Plus, he's been nasty to us since we were kits. It's about time that Swanpaw gets a taste of his own venom."
Grasspaw's green eyes flash.
"Robinpaw made fun of his family. How long will it be until someone goes after our family? It won't be long, I'll tell you that."
Lilacpaw is renewed by guilt, remembering being constantly compared to Ivystar.
"RiverClan, we're leaving!"
Grasspaw and Lilacpaw separate, turning to their mentors and following Olivestar out of the camp.
~ Moonpaw ~
Moonpaw strides to keep up with Sandpool, feeling the weight of the falcon in her belly. The other apprentices Tallpaw, Wildpaw, Meadowpaw and Wrenpaw were with their mentors, too, while Moonpaw's littermates remain at camp, except for her.
The scent of ShadowClan fills her nose as they approach the tree-bridge. Raventalon, who was in front of them the whole trip, stands aside and looks at Sandpool expectantly. The stout, sand brown she-cat blinks in surprise.
"Oh… Thanks! Come on, Moonpaw."
Sandpool climbs on the tree and pads across, although to Moonpaw, her mentor looks as though she's waddling due to her girth. The silvery gray tabby she-cat climbs on top of the tree, padding across while glancing at the water below her.
Moonpaw feels her front paw slip to the side before she quickly pulls her paw back and runs across the bridge and lands on the island. Some ShadowClan warriors stare at her and snicker in amusement, much to Moonpaw's annoyance.
I bet you fluff-brains were screaming like crybaby kits as apprentices when crossing over this bridge!
Moonpaw looks around for Sandpool, hoping to find a secure place with her as her Clanmates made it on the island. Her uncle, Nutbranch, is sticking close to Ambertail to fight off the chilly air.
Meadowpaw stops beside her, her amber eyes gleaming from the moonlight.
"This so huge." She whispers in awe.
"It doesn't look like it." Tallpaw said. Wildpaw shoulders his long legged brother.
"That's because you got the forelegs of a horse!"
Moonpaw catches the light brown tabby pelt of Wrenpaw as she pads towards Moonpaw. The silvery gray tabby she-cat winces, bracing for the criticism when Wrenpaw opens her mouth.
"You were here last moon. What's different so far?"
Moonpaw blinks like an owl, Wrenpaw is staring at her evenly.
Oh, right. She wouldn't do it in front of random strangers.
That was the only comfort that Moonpaw can count on, even if it's not much. Moonpaw tries to find an answer when a voice of a young tom grabs her attention.
"Uh, excuse me?"
The WindClan apprentices look towards a dark brown tabby tom is gazing at them with uncertainty, and if he hadn't looked like that his size certainly would be more intimidating.
He's almost Tallpaw's height! Moonpaw thought.
His white paws, and jet black stripes were unique to the stories of TigerClan. His green eyes flickers between them, as if he is looking for someone.
"I don't see a gray and white pelt…" he murmurs.
"Hey!" Wildpaw snaps. "Don't talk like we're not here! You were just talking to us!"
The dark brown apprentice winces, lowering his head in shame.
"I'm sorry! My denmate told me about this WindClan apprentice named Sharppaw, they met at the last Gathering."
"I think you're talking about one of my brothers." Moonpaw told him. She remembers Sharppaw mention a ShadowClan apprentice who stuck with him the whole night.
The ShadowClan apprentice blinks. "Gray and white pelt?"
"Yes, that's Sharppaw, but he's not here this time."
"Oh." The dark brown tabby looks disappointed.
"Well, you're already talking to us." Meadowpaw purrs. "My name is Meadowpaw."
Wildpaw regards the ShadowClan apprentice warily before adding his name in.
"Wildpaw. This is our brother, Tallpaw, and our denmates, Moonpaw and Wrenpaw."
The ShadowClan apprentice brightens up, smiling a bit. "I'm Tigerpaw. This is actually our first Gathering."
"Ours, too." Tallpaw adds.
"I have a sister. Her name is Oatpaw." Tigerpaw looks around the crowd of merging ShadowClan and WindClan cats.
"I think she's… somewhere. She was with Fuzzystorm last I saw her."
"RiverClan is here!"
Sure enough, the sleek, thick furred RiverClan cats cross the tree-bridge. A strong, fish smell wafts over them like a gust of wind.
"She might come out once she sees RiverClan's apprentices." Moonpaw said.
~ Emberheart ~
Of all nights that they had to be late. Emberheart couldn't stop herself from seething, even though she hides it to keep Alderpaw from copying off of her.
Finchblaze and Littlestar had gotten into an argument late in the evening before the Gathering, mostly because of Flashpad openly disrespecting Finchblaze in front of the Clan.
And bruising the dark ginger tom's ego is always the worst mistake any cat can do.
After hours of going back and forth between the two brothers, Flashpad was forbidden to attend the Gathering, but at the cost of being late. She crosses the bridge and hears the mews.
"ThunderClan is here!"
"Finally! It wouldn't be the same without the all mighty ThunderClan."
"Oh, shove it!" Emberheart hisses under her breath. Alderpaw brushes past her with Twigpaw right next to him.
I hope he didn't hear that.
Mistypaw and Briarpaw weave around the RiverClan warriors and catch the scent of pine trees when they come across a creamy brown she-cat. She maintains some fluff on her pelt and the milky scent from the nursery.
The creamy brown she-cat looks at the two sisters, slight fear radiates from her pelt.
Why is she scared? We wouldn't hurt her! Mistypaw is self conscious as to why the ShadowClan apprentice would be scared of them.
Mistypaw looks at Briarpaw, who seems prepared to start a conversation. If any cat can get someone to lower their guard, it's the social, solid brown she-cat. Before Briarpaw could approach the ShadowClan she-cat, a ginger and black she-cat calls them out.
"What did you say to Oatpaw? Are you threatening her?" The ginger and black she-cat demands.
"Nothing of the sort!" Mistypaw yelps.
"You expect me to believe that?" The ginger and black she-cat looks at Oatpaw.
"Are they threatening you?"
Oatpaw coughs. "N-Not at all. I just can't find Fuzzystorm, or Tigerpaw for that matter…"
The ginger and black she-cat, who might be Oatpaw's denmate, blinks in dismay.
"That's all? I'm sure Tigersniff is fine!"
"Tigersniff?" Briarpaw asks, seeing a chance to get on good graces with Oatpaw.
"He's my brother - Tigerpaw."
"But, she called him…" Mistypaw trails off when Oatpaw shakes her head.
"Dawnpaw calls him that, but he's the same age as us."
The one who accused them, Dawnpaw, is looking at the two ThunderClan cats sharply. Briarpaw nods to Mistypaw.
"I'm Briarpaw, and this is my sister, Mistypaw."
"I'm Oatpaw, you've already met Dawnpaw." Oatpaw nods to the ginger and black she-cat. "She has a sister, Dapplepaw, and we're from ShadowClan."
"I thought so." Briarpaw purrs. "I bet Crowpaw is thrilled with having denmates."
"We're certainly glad to see him again." Dawnpaw said. "I didn't know if I could take any more of Newtkit's complaints or Tigersniff constantly stepping on me."
"He apologized many times for that!" Oatpaw snaps in her brother's defense.
Why is she so hard on Tigerpaw?
"She reminds me of Rosefoot." Mistypaw said to Briarpaw, catching Dawnpaw's attention.
"Oh, yeah!" Briarpaw laughs.
"Who's that?" Dawnpaw asks.
"She's one of the senior warriors, over there." Briarpaw points her tail tip to a small, pinkish she cat with white, petal shaped patches talking to Featherwing. A light grey tom with cream brown ears is with her, gazing Featherwing with relief and sadness.
"Oh. My. StarClan." Oatpaw whispers. "The Paw of Earth… and the Paw of Air, right here at the Gathering!"
"I heard our elders say that she and Windstorm used to bicker all the time, though she's the one who usually starts it."
Briarpaw gives Dawnpaw a teasing smile. "She always called him Twinklepaws."
"So?" Dawnpaw sniffs. "They're mates, how is that any different?"
"They weren't mates when they were young." Briarpaw said.
Dawnpaw stares at Briarpaw, still oblivious.
"Rosefoot called him Twinklepaws, like a nickname." Mistypaw said. "It's… almost similar to… how you call Tigerpaw…"
Mistypaw really doesn't like the glare forming in Dawnpaw's green eyes.
"Are you implying…?"
Oatpaw nudges Dawnpaw with her shoulder. "I think she means you…"
"I need to find Swallowfur!"
With that, the ginger and black she-cat tears off into the crowd, leaving the three she-cats purring in amusement.
~ Streamlily ~
"You shouldn't be too close to RiverClan."
The white she-cat glares at Adderclaw. The pale brown tabby tom looks down on her, his aura reeking with faux importance.
"We wouldn't want to throw you out again, would we?"
'Bite me.' Streamlily spits.
"I wish." Adderclaw growls, his amber eyes glinting in a dangerous way. "But luckily for you, I am a warrior of honor, so I'll let you slide this time."
'Oh, thank goodness for your merciful deed.' Streamlily dips her head mockingly. Adderclaw turns away and vanishes in the crowd.
Lizard-brain.
Streamlily looks at the knot of RiverClan warriors when she sees a dark grey and white pelt making her way through.
"Hey!" Lakemist touches noses with Streamlily. "You look so much better! How's ShadowClan going for you?"
Streamlily flicks her tail tip. 'Some were lizard-brains, some were glad to have me back.'
"Are there any toms you had your eye on?" Lakemist asks with a teasing twitch of her whiskers.
'Nope.'
Though, Streamlily doubts anyone will give her a second glance after all that's happened.
'But Doeleap and Reedfur are mates now.'
"Doeleap?" Lakemist knows about Streamlily's best friend.
"Who called for me?"
The light brown tabby she-cat pads next to Streamlily and looks at a curious Lakemist.
"Ah, you must be the infamous Doeleap." Lakemist purrs. "I've heard a lot of high opinions about you from Streamlily here."
"And I'm guessing you're Lakemist." Doeleap grins. "I'm glad you took care of my little Streamlily, here."
Doeleap places her front paw on Streamlily's head, ruffling her crown.
"It was nothing." Lakemist replies, weaving her tail. "It's a duty of the Clan leader's kit to ensure the safety of her cats."
Streamlily snorts, watching the two she-cats in amusement.
"Let all cats approach the leader's tree! The Gathering is about to begin!"
Each warrior returns to their respective Clan. The WindClan warrior Echobreeze was quietly talking to Drizzlefall before parting to join her Clan. Drizzlefall gazes at Pheasantpaw, who is sitting next to Softdawn with the other medicine cats, and pads to the crowd of ThunderClan.
Littlestar settles himself on the branch and looks down below.
"I'm happy to announce that our Clan is growing. Nightsong and Petalbreeze's kitting have been successful. Nightsong has a tom and a she-kit, Silverkit and Violetkit. Petalbreeze has two she-kits and one tom, Sootkit, Splashkit and Sleekkit. We have also welcomed three cats into our Clan as warriors.
"Please welcome Tumblefoot, Blossomheart and Minkfrost."
The three cats were bashful as the WindClan and ShadowClan chant their names, RiverClan joins in reluctantly.
"That is all ThunderClan to report at this time."
Littlestar brushes past Brackenstar as he takes his spot on the branch.
"Last moon, two of our warriors, Beewhisker and Brownclaw, have gone missing after tracking a suspicious scent near the small forest. No sooner did that happen, we were attacked by rogues twice. Woollyclaw was injured, but is with us tonight."
"Woollyclaw! Woollyclaw! Woollyclaw!"
"Spiderdusk was wounded in the second attack, but is recovering in our camp as we speak."
"Yeah, right." Lightningstrike whispers to Breezefall. "I heard that Cheetahspots is holding him hostage inside the medicine cat den."
Breezefall snorts, quickly clamming up when Lionfang looks over his shoulder at the two toms.
Brackenstar continues his speech.
"Not long afterwards, Mousepelt and Kestrelstep have gone missing. The same scent is located near the forest, but we've found nothing out of the ordinary."
The brown and white tabby tom glares at Olivestar, to which the brown tabby she-cat narrows her eyes in return, but says nothing. Brackenstar looks away from her.
"We have five new apprentices in the form of Wildpaw, Pheasantpaw, Tallpaw, Meadowpaw and Wrenpaw. Pheasantpaw has chosen to become a medicine cat apprentice under Softdawn's teachings."
"Wildpaw! Pheasantpaw! Tallpaw! Meadowpaw! Wrenpaw!"
"Cheetahspots has given birth to her second litter of kits with Spiderdusk. A tom named Lynxkit and a she-kit named Lionkit."
"Cheetahspots! Spiderdusk! Cheetahspots! Spiderdusk!"
"You have a WindClan cat named Lion-kit." Olivestar comments, putting emphasis on the name. Brackenstar's fur rises along his spine, and the WindClan warriors look at each other uneasily.
"Yes, we do." Brackenstar growls. "And you have a RiverClan cat named Stone-foot."
Olivestar bristles her fur at the mention of the long dead warrior. Her son, Stonefoot, frowns and leans towards Dovesong. "What's that about?"
In which, Dovesong shrugs, unsure of what Brackenstar meant.
"WindClan has nothing more to report."
Brackenstar moves back to sit next to Littlestar. Olivestar slowly rises up, and stands halfway across the branch before addressing the cats.
"RiverClan is thriving and is stronger than ever. That is all we have to report."
Silversnow glances up at Olivestar as she steps down. Heatherstar pads across the branch.
"ShadowClan has four new apprentices with us tonight. Tigerpaw, Oatpaw, Dawnpaw and Dapplepaw. As of last moon, Lichenfall has retired from his role as deputy of ShadowClan, and I have chosen Foxfur as my deputy. We have a new warrior with us, and her name is Needlesong."
"Foxfur! Needlesong! Foxfur! Needlesong!"
"Wishfeather is nursing three orphaned kits found by Streamlily and Lichenfall, their names are Snakekit, Volekit and Stoatkit. I'm also proud to announce the birth of my three kits. Mousekit, Ratkit and Russetkit. That is all ShadowClan has to report at this time."
Littlestar nods. "If that is all, then this Gathering is drawn to a close."
~ Jasper ~
It was a difficult task to perform, but Jasper's group moved the prey mound to a street, far from Rascal's forest territory, late at night. Dogs usually live in this area, but they weren't dogs like the ones that live out of the Twolegplace by the road, so no cat enters this place.
Jasper knew she's taking a risk, but this is a chance to get away from the brutal tom.
The dark orange-red she-cat makes sure everyone is accounted for. In a bigger lot, with used couches, a doghouse, and a few cardboard boxes scattered around the lot, Scrappy is resting on the velvet couch as his wounds healed. Gretchen hides the prey mound in a box that is hidden inside a dug up hole, Fennel is out searching for good hunting spots.
"Hey, Jasper?"
Midnight approaches the dark orange-red she-cat. "Is this a permanent place for us?"
"I'm not sure. It depends on how long this feud will last."
Midnight shivers from anger. "How do we know they won't just track us? You don't know if you covered out tracks that good."
God, give me patience! Jasper's frazzled nerves itches her to smack this young tom, but she knows that won't do anything. Besides, Midnight is acting out because of his worries about his kittypet sister that lives in their former territory.
"No, I don't. That's why you shouldn't approach any strange cat, and report to me or Fennel."
"But… What about Katie?"
Jasper looks at Midnight, seeing the fear in his yellow eyes.
"If Katie is smart, she'd stay indoors and keep out the streets."
"Of course she is!" Midnight hisses in his sister's defense. Jasper flicks her ear, noting how nice it must be to defend your kin.
Fennel reappears in the lot, Jasper perks her ears with interest.
"Well?"
"I found three different hunting spots." Fennel reports. "One is in the field by the river, and I also found rats by the crow-food lot."
"Rats." Jasper shudders. "You can't expect us to eat those without risk of getting mad foam, do you?"
"We don't use that unless we're out of resources. The best spot I can recommend is an alleyway called Mouse Haven."
"For real?" Midnight asks, Jasper almost forgot he was still standing there.
"Mice are always there, families of them live in cracks in the walls and in the ground." Fennel says. "I should probably warn you that it's a popular spot for rogues, we don't know what neighbors we have at the moment."
"I'll probably have to check it out myself." Jasper replies. "If they're not willing to share, we're going to have to make a compromise or…"
"Leave?" Midnight finishes for her. "Tell that to Scrappy. He won't like that."
"He'll have to deal with it."
The dark orange-red she-cat pads across the sidewalk, the stench of dog is beginning to revolt her stomach. Jasper finds an open corridor with a dirt path, and peering through the corner, a few mice scurry in the small cracks within the wall.
Just as he said.
Jasper can pick up the different, distinct scents of other loners and rogues. She enters the alley and tries to find any stragglers to take back to the group. A screech rings in her ears, Jasper turns around - unsheathing her claws and preparing to fight.
Jasper sees an unnatural sight.
A black cat is slashing their claws on a large, blue-grey tom's face, and the tom falls limp under the cat. Jasper notes that the black cat doesn't seem to have a shine to their fur despite the bright, full moon. Their tail looks like the sharp stick that Twolegs use to cut their prey, and the eyes were a startling red color.
Before Jasper could register what kind of creature it could be, the black cat flees as quickly as it came. The dark orange-red she-cat pads out with caution, she looks down the separate streets and finds no scent… except for blood.
Jasper looks down at the dead, blue-grey tom. His eyes were covered in blood, and pieces of his fur were torn down to the skin.
Poor fool. Jasper shakes her head. I hope you didn't have kits to return to.
Jasper drags the tom by the scruff into the alley, and buries him in the ground. She sees no need in leaving it out for the Twolegs to get worked up, they seem to hate it when they find a dead cat in the street and that's when they start snooping through the alleys. Jasper abandons the alley, racing down the streets and stopping by their new lot.
The dark orange-red she-cat looks around one last time before entering, wanting to put this awful night behind her.