"Will all cats who are attending the gathering please come to the camp entrance!" Wickerstar called, her yowl echoing through the camp.
Roused from her sleep, Nightpaw stood, stretched, and joined the growing group of cats.
She looked around for Halfpaw or wolfpaw, but saw neither of them.
Suddenly she bumped into someone, and he looked up.
In front of her, Lightpaw turned and stared at her with her hackles raised.
"Watch where you're going Mousebrain! I don't want your stink all over my fur!" She snarled.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you." Nightpaw said, clearly still distracted by her search.
"You call that an apology? You're not even looking at me!" The golden apprentice screeched furiously.
When Nighpaw didn't respond, She hissed and with her claws unsheathed, swiped her paw in front of Nightpaw's face, causing the Brown-striped cat to jump back.
Before Nightpaw could retaliate, Lightpaw turned with a vicious hiss and disappeared into the crowd of cats.
"Whoa. Lightpaw's seriously got a temper, eh?" Someone mewed in Nightpaw's ear, making her whip around to see Skypaw standing next to her.
"Oh, yeah, I really wish she wouldn't though." She muttered to the smirking apprentice
"Hey," Nightpaw said, Perking up."Have you seen Wolfpaw or Halfpaw anywhere?"
Yeah, they're coming. Greenmane was yelling at the both of them. It seems that they messed up his herbs. Again" Skypaw snickered.
"Oh wow. Well, hopefully they'll be here soon. We're about to leave I think." Nightpaw responded, her tail flicking towards the leader, who had leapt down from her ledge and moved to the front of the group.
The leader and deputy nodded to each other as they passed, and Heatclaw gave a loud last call for the gathering group.
Nightpaw saw Greenmane pad out of the medicine den with the two apprentices she'd been looking for bounding out from behind him to join her and Skypaw.
After a moment more, Whickerstar flicked her tail and disappeared through the stone tunnel out of camp.
In pairs, The group followed her out and they made their way to rockpool.
The group ran through the forest, all cats at a full, silent pelt.
Nightfall and Halfpaw run side-by-side, both occasionally glancing at each other as the clan stops just below the hill that leads up to the clearing.
After a moment of hesitation, Wickerstar leapt up the hill and everyone followed her onto the flat clearing where the other clan cats were chatting nonchalantly with each other around the five tall boulders in the center.
"Whoa!" Halfpaw muttered under his breath as he lept up next to her.
Nightpaw glanced at him, an amused smile on her muzzle.
"What, never been here before?" She asked.
Halfpaw shook his head distractedly as he took in rockpool, and the amounts of cats that were there.
"Guys!" Wolfpaw calls, butting between the two apprentices.
"What?" Nightpaw asked.
"I want you to meet the other Medicine cats!" He meows excitedly.
"Yeah!" Halfpaw said, snapping out of his stupor.
"Sure I'll come too!" Nightpaw said.
The two cats followed wolfpaw as he bounded towards the group of medicine cats.
As they got closer, Wolfpaw called out to the group.
"Hey guys, what's up?" He called as he came to a jittery rest at Greemnane's side.
"Aye, Wolfpaw. Here e' is. I was jus' tellin' Featherfoot how well you've been doin' lately."
"Yes." Featherfoot said in a soft voice."I've heard that you bound a cat's leg at some point as well. You've been getting better at healing cats I bet."
"Yes! I did bind a cat's leg as a matter of fact! I was my friend, Nightpaw!" Wolfpaw responded, jumping up and rubbing up against the startled black apprentice.
"Nightpaw? Well, how did Wolfpaw do? I hope he fixed it well." Featherfoot said, standing and sniffing Nightpaw's hind legs.
"Uh, yeah! He did great. My legs work as good as new. He's a fantastic medicine cat." She said, stretching her legs to prove her point.
Standing again, she nodded approvingly to Wolfpaw, who started purring loudly as he sat proudly.
Greenmane chuckled lightly as he groomed his chest.
Suddenly Featherfoot looked up.
"Ah, Moonshadow. Good of you to join us."
Nightpaw and wolfpaw turned to see a black she-cat with brown stripes over her back. Her Silvery-white eyes locked on Nightpaw's, and she stopped.
Nightpaw stood up slowly, her eyes narrowing.
"Moonkit?" Nightpaw said slowly.
"Moonshadow." She corrected. "What are you doing here you traitorous kit? Weren't you a rogue?"
"It's none of your business other than the fact that I belong here." Nightpaw said smoothly. "I'm here with my Clan." She stressed the last word.
Nightpaw could see the fur on Moonshadow's back beginning to rise.
Wolfpaw seemed to notice as well, and walked between the two hostile she cats.
"Hey Nightpaw, weren't you and Halfpaw going to go do something?" He meowed loudly, causing the brown and black cat to stop his conversation and pad over.
He immediately caught on to the tension, and gently laid his tail over Nightpaw's back, somewhat startling her.
"Come on Nightpaw. Let's go find Skypaw."
After a moment longer of Their hostile staring contest, Nightpaw turned and followed after Halfpaw as he lead her away.
"You okay?" He asked, glancing at her.
"Fine."
He lead her away from the medicine cats to a mostly uninhabited spot. He stopped and looked at her.
"You're not ok. What's going on? Who was that cat?"
Nightpaw grit her teeth.
"It was my stupid traitor of a sister. Moonki-, Moonshadow. She was part of the reason that me and my mom were kicked out of Onyxclan."
"Oh." Halfpaw said, sitting beside her, his fur against hers in an attempt to comfort her.
Nightpaw hissed under her breath as she looked at her sister sitting slightly away from the other medicine cats.
She glanced up and bared her teeth at Nightpaw and Halfpaw, her white muzzle wrinkling as she snarled at them.
Halfpaw, wanting to distract his friend, called over skypaw who brought three cats from other clans with her.
"Hey guys!" Skypaw said cheerfully. "Have you met my friends yet?"
Nightpaw shook her head.
"Well, this is Puffpaw and his brother, Gravelpaw. They're from Quartzclan."
The two grey apprentices nodded, and Gravelpaw smiled, revealing a muzzle of crooked fangs.
"And this is-"
"You!" Nightpaw gasped as a familiar tom with a torn ear stepped out from behind Skypaw.
"Oh? You know Strikepaw?"
Strikepaw stood and stared at Nightpaw, clearly confused.
"I've met you? I don't remember." He meowed gently.
Pointing at his ear with a paw, she said,"I was the one who accidentally did that to your ear that day I was hunting with Emberpelt."
"Oh, yeah, that's where I got that from! Huh, I thought a mouse came and bit it off in the middle of the night!" He purred with amusement. "Well, Don't worry, it's fine. Think of it as a battle scar!"
Nightpaw have a nervous smile.
"Really? You don't mind?" Nightpaw asked.
Strikepaw shook his head with a smile.
"Well, that's good. Anyway, My name is Nightpaw. I'm a Rubyclan apprentice!" She said, puffing her chest out proudly.
"Yeah, and I'm Halfpaw. I was apprenticed recently too." He interjected, not one to let the black she-cat take all the glory.
Suddenly a loud screech sounded behind them, and they all turned to see a brown blur slam into Halfpaw.
With a yowl of surprise, Halfpaw fell to the ground on his back as the brown blur took the form of a small fluffy-tailed brown she-cat.
"Halfpaw! Guess you didn't see that coming!" She said as she jumped off of him.
Skypaw laughed and nudged Nightpaw.
"That's Tuftpaw." In a lower voice she added,"Halfpaw Looooves her."
Both she-cats snickered.
Halfpaw stood up and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, The four clan leaders had leapt on top of the boulders and had called for silence.
Their deputies took their places just below them on a jutting platform orf rock or a smaller boulder, and the medicine cats lined up in front of everyone on the ground.
Once everyone was situated, the gathering began.
The first to speak was the Sapphireclan leader, Lionstar, leaping from his rock to the tallest boulder in the center to speak.
"Prey is running, and swimming, well in Sapphireclan. Though both Rubyclan and Quartzclan cats insist on trying to cross the border and steal prey, our clan stays strong."
Multiple cats from both of the clans Lionstar mentioned grumbled in annoyance at his words.
Strike paw leaned over to whisper in Nightpaw's ear.
"I think Lionstar is too paranoid. A lot of our clan are. When I'm leader, we won't be afraid. Other clans would never step foot onto our territory."
Nightpaw didn't respond. Instead, she took notice of the fact that Tuftpaw's tail was loosely wrapped around Halfpaw's.
"Other than that," Lionstar continued,"We have new warriors and apprentices. For the warriors, Spiderpaw had earned the name Spiderfang, and Umberpaw, Umberpelt."
Chants of "Spiderfang!" and "Umberpelt!" rippled through the gathering place.
"And three kits have reached three moons, Leekpaw, Reedpaw, and Dustpaw."
Nightpaw looked over and saw one of the three apprentices, a white she cat with silver markings lick her chest in embarrassment as the apprentice's names were chanted.
Next up was Yewstar of Quartzclan who reported only that there were two new warriors, Kestrelfoot and Harenose.
Nightpaw swallowed as the next leader took the place of Yewstar. It was Foxstar.
He stood silently, his green eyes flashing as he waited for silence from the gathered cats.
Sensing Nightpaw's rising unease at her former leader, though not entirely understanding it, Halfpaw separated himself from Tuftpaw, and pressed his fur against the black apprentice.
Tuftpaw shot a resentful look towards him, but said nothing.
"Prey has indeed flown well in Onyxclan. Our newest warrior is Rosewind, and we've gained three new apprentices in Baypaw, Flakepaw, and Shrewpaw. However, it seems that we've lost a valuable kit to Rubyclan. My deputy's poor daughter was stolen away by fox-hearted excuses for cats. I would be quite grateful if Wickerstar would be so kind as to tell her thieving clan to give her back."
As Foxstar leapt down off of the center rock, the gathering place was silent.
Wickerstar leapt back up onto the rock, unshaken by the ill-hidden threats of the Onyxclan leader.
"Prey has run well in Rubyclan territory. Our newest cat, Nightpaw, has only recently been apprenticed." She said clearly, looking pointedly towards Foxstar,"This clan will not be wavered by your threats Foxstar. She will not be returned to you. Especially since she came to rubyclan being chased by your deputy with full intent to kill her?"
Those last words echoed through rockpool, the silence thick as some cats turned to Nightpaw, and others turned to look accusingly at the Onyxclan cats.
Suddenly Thornfur stood.
"I say take her. We don't want her."
"I'll second that. Take her back to where she belongs!" Called out Greyfang.
Next was Iceclaw and Lightpaw who both cried out against Nightpaw.
Slowly, each Rubyclan cat gave their opinion, and with each negative one, Nightpaw buried her muzzle deeper into Halfpaw's fur.
Suddenly she heard Greenmane silence every cat with a loud yowl.
"Cats of Rubyclan! This ain't the way we do things round' ere'. It's up to the Leader and er' deputy! Not you blundering group of fleabags."
His speech done, he looked up to his leader, who was sitting calmly on the center boulder, her light brown tail wrapped neatly about her paws.
"Indeed, This decision does come down to the decisions of me and my deputy. Heatclaw, do you believe Nightpaw should stay, or leave?"
"No!" Nightpaw whispered frantically, looking up to Heatclaw, her red eyes flashing with panic."He hates me! He even tried to force me back one time. He'll say he wants me to go back to Onyxclan!"
Halfpaw's tail wrapped around hers.
"He won't. He won't force you back." Skypaw said as she pressed against Nightpaw on her other side.
Nightpaw looked up, and realized that Heatclaw was staring directly at her, the moonlight setting his pelt aflame.
He opened his mouth to speak.
"Nightpaw should stay with Rubyclan. I will not let a cat so young become unfairly spilled blood. She can become a great warrior."
Heatclaw nodded to the apprentice then sat down, His eyes roving over the gathering cats.
"Then it is settled. Nightpaw will not return to Onyxclan." Wickerstar said, jumping down to her rock then to the ground.
Suddenly, as the other clan leaders leapt off of their own laces, Foxstar leapt up onto the large middle stone again and called out, catching the cats attention again.
"Wickerstar of Rubyclan, do not let a kit begin a war so much bigger than it's life is worth."
He leapt down and slipped away into the forest, his clan melting into the shadows with him.
The rest of the the cats watched them go, and once they were gone, broke into whispers and chatter between the rest of the cats.
The leader and deputy of Rubyclan leapt to the ground together.
Heatclaw padded towards Nightpaw and looked down at her.
"I never knew how you truly came around to Rubyclan. I'm sure Emberpelt will turn you into a fine warrior. I will be watching with great interest, and should a Shadowclan warrior attack you, your clan will be by your side." He said before giving the apprentice a small smile And turning away, his tail flicking as he joined Emberpelt on their way out of the gathering.
A short silence followed his words until Tuftpaw cleared her throat and stood.
"Well, I guess we'd better be going, huh?" She stood up, rubbing her fur against Halfpaw's, causing him to stand and walk with her as they walked off, the rest of the apprentices following as they all joined their rest of their respective clans.
A few foxlengths away from the entrance to rubyclan, Nightpaw slipped away from the rest of the group near a large boulder.
She trotted off and found herself in a small clearing with bushes on all sides.
For a moment, the apprentice paused, an image of her mother and her playing in a clearing just like this the day Blackfur found them.
She sat and curled her tail delicately over her paws.
"Mom? Tigerstripe? Are you proud of me? I hope you are mom. I love you." She whispered to herself. "I Miss you."
"So is that the reason you left Onyxclan?"
Nightpaw leapt up with yowl of fear, whipping around to come face to face with Halfpaw.
"Whoa. Are you ok?" He asked, recoiling slightly at her reaction.
Calming down, Nightpaw sat again and furiously licked her fur to flatten it again.
"I'm fine. Did you follow me?"
"Kinda. I saw you leave, and I wanted to make sure you were ok."
For a moment, the two stared at each other, red to blue and green.
"So what did happen? Is there a reason you came to this clan?" halfpaw asked after a moment, his eyes leaving hers.
Nightpaw sighed.
"I guess I can tell you."
Halfpaw perked up with a half smile.
"Really? I didn't think you would. It seemed a sensitive subject at the gathering."
Nightpaw's tail flicked, beckoning Halfpaw to sit by her side.
Sitting together, the black apprentice looked up to the stars and began to tell Halfpaw her story.
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Ok, holy wow this was a LOOOOONG chapter! Huh. Well, I guess it's here now!
I can't be allowed to do this. Do I make chapters too long? I might. Well, to anyone who reads this story, do you like the chapter length? or would you rather have it be shorter? I feel like these would come out faster if I limited myself with chapter length. Ah well.
Anywho, I've finally started post again! In't that great? I'll try to keep updating and not leave this thing to fester for like a year./span/span/span/p