Flintpaw

FlameClan Apprentice

Ginger/Grey Tabby

25 Moons

Although there were only three clans in the combined Clans' territory, all of them had large numbers, due to the plentiful prey that seemed so keen on being caught this Greenleaf.

The Gathering took place at a large hilltop, where they could look over a large portion of each of their territories, and be much closer to StarClan. At the hilltop, there was a massive rock with a flat surface, which had been there since before the oldest Clan, MistClan, had formed.

The party of cats from FlameClan padded up the slope, tails and whispers twitching in anticipation. "Woah…" mewed Flintpaw. "What is it? We haven't even reached the Gathering yet," Robinpaw asked, cocking his head curiously as the band of cats walked. "Listen," responded Flintpaw. Robinpaw focused, straining his ears and blocking out the sound of pawsteps. The faint sound of many Clan cats carried on the wind. "That's odd," remarked Cedarsun. He had overheard their conversation.

"Shhh," the FlameClan leader silenced the three, preventing them from speaking any further, "We're nearly there."

Sure enough, several heartbeats later, they reached the top. To see several cats. The mixed scent of FlameClan, MistClan, and DuneClan was in the air, though Flintpaw couldn't distinguish each. Numerous cats were in clumps, some were off on their own, or sharing tongues with others, all around the Slashtree. It was the remnants of a massive oak, which had stood tall. In ancient MistClan myths, it had been cut in half by a lightning strike that had struck it exactly where it was cut.

Emberstar gave the clearing a swift glance, and moved his tail side-to-side to signify that they could all go ahead. Flintpaw followed the FlameClan leader, silenced by the sheer multitude of all the cats visible. "Amazing, right?" mewed Robinpaw. This was the brown tabby apprentice's second gathering, causing a little bit of envy to stir up in Flintpaw. Nothing major though. "Yeah…" Flintpaw murmured the response, keep his belly to the ground in case he fainted by the sheer daunting factor of the gathering.

Smoothly, the group broke into groups, Flintpaw following Robinpaw since the tabby apprentice already knew the land here, and Flintpaw didn't want to be a straggler. Emberstar leapt up onto the massive stump in the middle of the clearing, his tail and head held high. There were two other cats on the stump. There was a silver-grey Bombay she-cat with icy blue eyes, and then there was a pale, sand-colored tom whose amber eyes shimmered. At this distance, Flintpaw couldn't tell what the odd leader's intention was.

"Meet the new apprentice, Flintpaw," he heard Robinpaw mew, pulling him out of his thoughts. He had been so distracted by the leaders that his body seemed to have a mind of its own. He was facing three other cats. Flintpaw gazed at Robinpaw, flicking his tail curiously. "This is Palebreeze," Robinpaw introduced the Warrior, gesturing at her with his tail. Palebreeze was a she-cat, and true to her name, her pelt was a pale grey color. She had questioning green eyes, and she dipped her head in greeting. "And this is Drippaw and Thawpaw," the two apprentices were obviously littermates, mirroring each other with their names and appearances. They both puffed out their chests, as if trying to impress Palebreeze. "And this is?" Palebreeze asked, gesturing to Flintpaw. "Oh, that's my new friend, Flintpaw," grinned Robinpaw, playfully batting at Flintpaw's ears with his tail.

Flintpaw mock-glared at Robinpaw, purring quietly. "Hey, Palebreeze!" shouted a voice from behind. The aforementioned Warrior glanced back, and began to let out a loud, rumbling purr. A brown and khaki tom raced to Palebreeze's side, looking out of breath and disheveled. "Oakleg, what took you so long?" Drippaw asked, his tail flicking sideways. "Had to talk to Eagletalon – he was putting on airs," Otterback responded.

Otterback had long legs, thick with muscles. His tail had long fur hanging from the skin, making it look like his tail was twice as big as it would've normally been. The tom had glowing amber eyes that seemed to pulsate, and had massive paws that were as big as half a kit.

"Who's Eagletalon?" Flintpaw asked, cocking his head curiously. Otterback grinned, "You'll see."

An abrupt yowl from the top of a stump called all the cats' attention. The group of cats turned their heads to see the three leaders standing proudly on top of the stump. The first leader, the silver-blue one, stood forward. She held a sort of regal atmosphere, her stance rigid yet not unfriendly. "That's Cherrystar," whispered Robinpaw into his ear. "MistClan has suffered the death of two of its elders; Raincoat and Dewtail," the diplomatic leader held her head somberly, "they will be honored by their Clan, and will hunt among StarClan now."

The whole clearing was quiet for a few heartbeats that seemed to stretch for a lifetime. "With the bad news out of the way, I can jovially say that MistClan has gotten a new litter of kits, and a new deputy; Eagletalon," her voice conveyed genuine happiness as the cat that Flintpaw guessed was Eagletalon stood at one of the gnarled roots of the stump. He was a huge tom, with a sand-colored tail and paws. His eyes were morning light grey, and his ears were fairly small. Eagletalon whipped his tail back and forth, either from pride or anxiety.

Cherrystar then padded backwards, into the middle of the stump. A sand-colored cat came forward, his eyes narrowed, as if the two other Clans would attack him at any moment. "DuneClan brings both sad and good news. Our leader, Vulturestar, has died," the cat gave no gesture of sadness, nor anything to respect the wise, old leader, as was customary, "I have taken up the mantle of being leader of DuneClan as Dunestar."

Some cat in the back yowled out, "Wasn't your name Rockpelt?"

The leader hissed defensively, his hackles raising up on his back. "Calm down, Dunestar – we wouldn't want to anger StarClan, now, would we?" the leader had lost her diplomatic atmosphere and talked more like a mother. Dunestar ignored Cherrystar and glared at the back, trying to find the cat who had said that. For a couple of heartbeats, he narrowed his eyes, searching, but gave up. "I was originally called Rockpelt – but I believe that my name change would be more appropriate for DuneClan," he growled through gritted teeth.

"Any good news to bring?" Flintpaw heard Emberstar interrupt, uncharacteristically hostile. Dunestar shot a glare back at the FlameClan leader, his amber eyes glimmering with irritation. "Yes – but irrelevant," the cat said carefully.

He then turned to face the mass of cats below the stump, and inhaled, as if building up suspense. "Nofurs have been scented in our territory!" he yowled, throwing his head back. Flintpaw was surprised. From the stories the elders had told him when he was a kit, DuneClan lived in the sandplace, a seemingly endless land of sand. It was already hard enough for the Clan to live there, as it was extremely arid, but nofurs? They were about as stealthy as badgers! And they seemed to drink as much water as a whole Clan. Why would they be in DuneClan's territory?

"Maybe they were simply stragglers who wandered off a footpath?" suggested Emberstar helpfully, his hostile demeanor gone. "I doubt it – they were scented at the edge the ravine. For all who don't know, DuneClan camp is situated inside a ravine, in the heart of DuneClan territory. We have scented the occasional straggler near our boundaries, but they were usually only a couple of fox-lengths within it, and they were few and far between," meowed the DuneClan leader. "But what would Nofurs want with DuneClan territory? There is barely any food there, and far less water," mewed Cherrystar, voicing Flintpaw's thoughts.

"It doesn't matter what they want – it's what they'll do that matters," pointed out Emberstar. Dunestar abruptly stalked back to the center of the stump, between the FlameClan leader and Cherrystar. The aforementioned orange-and-grey tabby seemed a bit surprised, but got over it relatively quickly. He padded forward, sitting down at the edge. "FlameClan has good news; the naming of new apprentices," Emberstar started. Flintpaw then felt Robinpaw urging him forward with his paws. "C'mon – this is where you go up to the stump!" the apprentice whispered into Flintpaw's ear. The newly named apprentice's throat went dry, and was hesitant, but his paws seemed to overrule his mind. He found himself weaving through the mass of cats, and sitting down on the gnarled roots of the stump beside his two littermates, Dawnpaw and Amberpaw.

His two littermates sat proudly, their chests puffed up and their heads and tails held high. "Dawnpaw, Amberpaw, and Flintpaw are new apprentices of FlameClan," Emberstar mewed regally, his eyes shining with pride. At this, the clearing broke out in cries of their names. It was mostly FlameClan and MistClan, but there were also some DuneClan cats joining in. FlameClan was the most well-liked Clan of the three, having an allegiance with MistClan regarding food.

Flintpaw, who had originally felt increasingly anxious, now felt prideful and lively, puffing his chest out to match his littermates, his eyes narrowed with pleasure.

The calling eventually calmed down, and the three newly-named apprentices returned to their original spots. "Great performance up there! Just look less anxious," Robinpaw teased him. Flintpaw purred in amusement, flicking his tail at Robinpaw's ear.

"This Gathering is done," Dunestar growled, lashing his tail in a gesture for his cats to follow. The DuneClan cats looked a bit confused, and some even reluctant, but it was their leader. They had to obey, and obey they did. Emberstar and Cherrystar stared after Dunestar and the band of DuneClan cats, Emberstar whispering something to Cherrystar that Flintpaw couldn't catch over the loud mews of conversation.

"Did you see that?" Robinpaw abruptly whispered into Flintpaw's ears, making Flintpaw jump since he had been pulled into his thoughts. "What? The whispering?" Flintpaw asked, his ears twitching with curiosity. "Yeah… what do you think that's about?" Robinpaw mewed in a hushed tone. "I don't know…" Flintpaw admitted, "But I know one thing – it doesn't concern us."