Chapter Four
Stonetail paced the edge of camp anxiously, the full moon glittering in the dark night sky. This would be his first gathering as a warrior. On top of that, Stonetail was eager to see what PineClan had to say about the recent battle; the one that had taken Shellskip, Creekpelt, and Goosefur's lives. Heronwing sat nearby, her yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness. Stonetail knew that his sister was just as anxious as he was, since Goosefur had been her mentor.
As the chosen cats gathered at the entrance of camp, Willowstar emerged from her den. The ReedClan leader had suffered a fatal injury in the battle; which had taken one of her lives. Despite this, the cream-furred tabby strode forward confidently. Icespirit dipped his head to their leader, before sweeping his piercing red gaze among the cats chosen to go.
The three apprentices—Ripplepaw, Troutpaw, and Mistypaw—had been chosen, excitement in their gazes as they waited to leave. Only Snowblossom and Rushwing—two of the elders—had decided to make the trek to the gathering. Aside from Minnowstripe and Heronwing, the other warriors coming along were Mosspool, Blueclaw, Pebblefoot, Marshpool, Dapplefoot, Spottedfern, and Beechtail.
Reedsplash hurried out of his den, joining Willowstar and Icespirit at the front of the gathered cats. Stonetail followed his leader out once she gave the signal to leave. The tension was thick in the air as they crossed the river downstream from the LeafClan border. Emerging onto the sandy shore, the cats were quickly nearing the Hollow Ravine. Willowstar stopped at the edge, staring down into the clearing.
Icespirit narrowed his eyes. "Seems only BreezeClan is here so far."
"Good," Willowstar meowed. "Let's go."
Leading the way, Willowstar led the Clan down into the clearing below. The BreezeClan cats already gathered glanced towards the ReedClan cats with wary glances. Stonetail flinched when he noticed the warriors all bared wounds from battle. Where did they get those wounds from?
Ryestar was already perched on a branch of the Great Oak, staring down at the incoming cats with narrowed eyes. Willowstar scrabbled up the trunk to find her place on another branch, while Reedsplash bounded off to speak with BreezeClan's medicine cat Deerspots. Stonetail glanced around the clearing, wondering if he should approach any of the BreezeClan warriors. Before he could decide, the smell of LeafClan wafted through his nostrils. Eaglestar led his Clan down into the clearing, and the air grew thick with hostility. The BreezeClan cats glared at the incoming warriors, and Stonetail realized there must have been a battle between the two Clans, as LeafClan bore wounds of their own.
The LeafClan leader paid no mind to the hostile snarls of the BreezeClan cats, as he found his place on the Great Oak. Even LeafClan's medicine cat, Whispersong, looked uncomfortable as he joined the others among the tree roots. Lastly PineClan appeared, Lavenderstar in the lead. The sleek-furred blue tabby glowed silver in the moonlight as she climbed onto the Great Oak. Stonetail narrowed his eyes at the PineClan warriors. They all bore wounds from the recent battle, and their fur was ruffled as they joined the Clans in the clearing.
"Let this gathering begin!" Ryestar's raspy meow rang through the clearing. "BreezeClan is fairing well after losing our deputy, Houndfang. Sandstone has taken his place as deputy. We have one new warrior, Antfang."
Stonetail glanced over at the new deputy. Sandstone sat rigid, his blue eyes raking through the clearing. Hard muscles rippled under his pale ginger tabby fur. Definitely not a cat I would like to battle any time soon, Stonetail thought with a slight shudder. The coldness in the BreezeClan deputy's eyes felt unnatural.
Eaglestar stepped forward, shooting a pointed glance at Ryestar. "LeafClan has been well this past moon. We lost two elders—Mallowfoot and Russetpelt—along with two warriors, Embernose and Sweetmist, from a bout of greencough. However our medicine cat has worked hard to rid our Clan of the disease. We also two new apprentices, Softpaw and Lionpaw. LeafClan has also gained two new warriors, Silversky and Foxchaser."
Silverpaw! Stonetail scowled at the thought that she had been a warrior. He hadn't forgotten the encounter with the bad tempered apprentice at the border a moon ago. Glancing over towards the LeafClan cats, he spotted the silver tabby beside her sister as the Clans welcomed the new warriors. Growling a little, he looked away pointedly.
Lavenderstar spoke next. "PineClan has been blessed with a litter of new kits. Their mother, Cloverleaf, is doing well. We also welcomed three new apprentices—Slatepaw, Dewpaw, and Tawnypaw. Three new warriors were also made, Beetlenose, Leafdapple, and Lizardtail." She waited for the cheers to die down before continuing. "I must also sadly report that our medicine cat, Spiderskip, has passed away. Crowflight has done well to follow in her mentor's pawsteps, however."
"ReedClan has also been blessed with a new litter of kits, born to Milkweed and Twigfur," Willowstar reported when Lavenderstar finished speaking. "Three new apprentices were also made—Troutpaw, Ripplepaw, and Mistypaw. We also have three new warriors, Stonetail, Minnowstripe, and Heronwing."
Stonetail raised his head proudly as the Clans cheered him and his littermates new names. As the cheers died down, he noticed a cat had pushed himself to the front of the cats. Stonetail instantly recognized the dark brown tabby pelt of the LeafClan warrior Hawktalon. The large tom looked furious, his yellow eyes glaring at the BreezeClan deputy.
"Is that it?" he snarled defiantly, shooting a hostile gaze at the Clan leaders. "Are we just going to ignore the fact that this warrior," he spat out the word like venom as he pointed to Sandstone. "Murdered my brother? How he broke the warrior code, and is now being rewarded with the rank of deputy?"
There was outrage in the warrior's snarl, and Stonetail stared at them in horror. Yowls of defiance broke out from the BreezeClan warriors, hissing at Hawktalon as they faced him. LeafClan stared at their Clanmate with wide eyes, clearly shocked by this outburst. Ryestar bristled angrily, staring at Eaglestar with a searing gaze.
"Does LeafClan not know how to control their warriors?" he challenged.
Eaglestar met his gaze levelly. "Does BreezeClan teach their warriors honor?"
Hawktalon rounded on Sandstone, unsheathing his claws angrily. The deputy's eyes glowed with an emotion Stonetail didn't recognize. Echopool pushed between the two warriors, staring at Hawktalon with horror in her eyes.
"Stop! This is a gathering!" she pleaded.
Hawktalon snarled. "An even better time to get my point across."
"Enough!" Willowstar yowled above the chaos. "Do either of your Clans know how to control your warriors? You should both be ashamed! This gathering is over!"
Leaping down from the tree, Willowstar began to herd the ReedClan cats out of the clearing. Stonetail stole one more quick glance at the quarreling warriors. Hawktalon had turned away from Echopool, while Sandstone watched them both with cold contempt in his eyes. Shuddering, Stonetail hurried to join his Clanmates. Whatever had happened between these cats, Stonetail wasn't keen on finding out.