I posted this a while ago, then realized my FFN was glitching so I deleted it then posted it again.
Well, here's another chapter:). Please note that this is the older version of Skyclan, back when they could have their own dens.
I-really-hope-not: Well, you could say... (I can't reveal anything, but it will end up making sense later).
For people who sent OC: Duskfrost's will have a more important role as of next chapter, Darksun and Mintfang the chapter after the next chapter, and Stormpaw in around six chapters as well as this chapter. Then they all get another role later for the _ (I'm not giving away my plot).
The plot for the next twelve chapters is planned.
I disapprove of my OCs' judgment, all the cats deserve to be treated as equals...
"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath tall-tree for a meeting!"
Icepaw woke with a start from her light sleep, filled with fading dreams, or at least all but a few, to Pebblestar's summons. Hissing as her paw caught onto one of her den's brambles, she got up, blinking the blurriness from her eyes. She was surprised to see that the first rays of dawn were barely peaking at the horizon, her breath frosting in small clouds before her. She gave her silvery pelt a quick grooming before scrambling down the tree that sheltered her small nest.
Skidding to a halt in the camp's clearing, she craned her neck to try to see what was going on before all the gathered cats, then gave up and simply listened, curiosity sparking her interest as she thought through the possibilities of reasons to be gathering before the dawn patrol even left. She knew that if it was nothing important cats would be whispering about their leader again- and not in an approving manner.
"Cats of Skyclan!" The dark grey she-cat mewed, her voice echoing through the silent forest, uninterrupted by all but the silent song of waking birds through the frosty morning dew, and Icepaw drew closer to Flamepaw, who was at the edge of the clearing, to get a better view.
"What do you think this is about?" She whispered, and Flamepaw whipped around, not having noticed her earlier.
The calico tilted her deaf pensively to the foggy outline of their leader before turning back to her, "We are talking about Pebblestar here, it could be anything." She answered.
"It's the gathering tonight." Icepaw offered.
"Announcing that so early?" Flamepaw echoed her thoughts, calico pelt fluffing out against the cold.
"My thoughts exactly," she expressed her annoyance at being up so early, especially for a gathering day. Then again, she knew that once she was up there was no way she was going back to sleep.
After that seeing the shift of anticipation in the crowd and Pebblestar bracing herself for a speech, the two she-cats silenced, siting side by side yet keeping silent.
" Amongst us are two new warriors," Pebblestar's amber eyes gleamed, "Redpaw, Whitepaw, step forward." The littermates exchanged a glace of surprise, Whitepaw bracing himself for what he knew was inevitable and a few murmurs of disapproval could be heard throughout the camp, which only seemed to add a blaze through the leader's eyes, " I'm the leader, deal with it." She snapped.
Amusement shot through Icepaw's mind as a few cats purred while others gaped in shock. Satisfied, Pebblestar continued, "I Pebblestar, leader of ri-Skyclan," the stutter went by so fast that Icepaw's attentive ears barely caught it. Was she about to say Rigerclan?! Icepaw narrowed her eyes, but only a few warriors shared a puzzled glance before shrugging it off. Turning her gaze to the far other side of the crowd, she spotted a look of surprise in Waterpetal's eye, which then changed into a look of distance.
Out of moral, Icepaw knew that questioning cats about touchy subjects never went well, and it gave her a certain mix of exasperation, annoyance, and frustration when she couldn't get the information that she sought. Out of curiosity, she knew that she would be seeking Mossflight's advice. She probably wouldn't get answers out of Waterpetal anyway. The grey tabby would just sigh and send her off again. The medicine cat supported her more than many thought was usual, but she remain secretive and cut-off from the clan.
Then came in the next issue, which was whether or not she was completely wrong off-the-top and their leader was actually crazy and she was inventing mysteries when there were none and-
So she wasn't inventing mysteries out of thin air, or at least not all of them, there was still the issue of the cats who were never giving a category. Mostly just called abnormal. The medicine cats and leaders acted as if it was normal, taking on a distant look every time it was mentioned, or a spark of fury lighting their eyes as they snapped back at a protesting cat. No, they were not to be trained, but no, they were not a danger to the clan, that rumour had been dismissed as soon as it was formed. Although judging from Riverclan's reputation...
"-Call upon my," that was the only part that Icepaw had zoned out on and she sighed in relief, for some reason she couldn't quite pin she was actually interested in the ceremony.
"-Warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Redpaw, Whitepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect your clan, even at the cost of your life?"
Names,
"I do!" Redpaw loudly stated, earning a small glare from a few of the most senior warriors.
"I do," Echoed Whitepaw, more solemnly, although his eyes glimmered in confusion and simmering anger.
"Then by the powers given to me by Starclan, I give you your warrior names. Redpaw, step forward," The reddish brown tom bounded eagerly towards the leader, "From this day forward you shall be known as Redheart, Starclan honours your honesty and skill, and welcomes you as a full warrior of Skyclan." The newly-named warriors eyes gleamed in content.
"Whitepaw, step forward," The white and black tom did not rush, walking slowly towards the leader before coming to an abrupt stop, eyes free of all but a spark is happiness, "From this day forward you will be known as Whiteclaw, Starclan honours your bravery and determination and welcomes you as a full warrior of Skyclan!" The leader lifted her head to the skies as the clan's voices mingled to form a single, slightly off-key cheer that made Icepaw's ears fold back against her head.
"Redheart! Whiteclaw! Redheart! Whiteclaw!"
Afterwards, cats began to disperse, confused at a forgotten detain while as Pebblestar back away slightly, muttering under her breath.
"Does it seem to any of you like I said meeting dismissed?" The dark grey she-cat suddenly added dryly while cats awkwardly murmured while settling back down to listen.
By now it was obvious that this would be the classical gossip hour as soon as the meeting was over, but Icepaw had no intention to stay there and listen. Whether she was going to train or she got the day off because of the gathering. If she did, she would spend some time fixing her den for upcoming green-leaf. Chances were, she wouldn't be going to the gathering, she had gone last time for her first moon of apprenticeship after all. Then, she was actually hoping to be chosen, not to be able to socialize, but mainly to be able to get informed. She liked knowing what was going on around her, perhaps it wasn't a good thing that she didn't always like minding her own business, but then again, it proved to be entertaining.
Icepaw knew what the forgotten detail was. Whitepaw. His sense of smell was of little next to none. She knew he deserved to be a warrior, but then again... The other cats would surely disapprove. The thoughts lingered at the corner of her mind, and she gritted her teeth, pelt bristling while Flamepaw spared her a small glance. She forced her fur to lie flat, annoyed at the idea of revealing her thoughts to any cat so easily.
The clan leader did do as every cat expected. She did not say anything at all about the newly named warriors. "As we all know, tonight is the gathering." She growled softly.
"The cats attending will be Tallbark, Duskfrost, Dustfur, Stonejump, White-Ember,Burrfur, Flamepaw, Icepaw, Sunpaw, the elders who want to come, the newly named warriors, and... Rosethorn."
Icepaw let out a breath of happiness, glad to be going to the gathering. She already knew a good spot to go unnoticed, although intended to visit Fourtrees more thoroughly now that she had some sense of knowledge about the night. On her first gathering, although it was not what she had intended, she had stayed close to Mossflight as if pinesap blinded their pelts. Her calico mother had not seemed bothered by this, and Icepaw had wanted to disappear underground when Pebblestar had announced her name.
She wasn't so completely unaware of her surroundings that she failed to notice a few confused glances at that mentioned, as well as the split second too long it took for the cheering to begin. She had shook it off as paranoia, but the fact was still there, it wasn't as easy as shedding fur in leaf-bare.
Seeing as the cats weren't moving, hesitantly rooted to the spot, Pebblestar let out an exasperated sigh, "Meeting dismissed! All cats going to the gathering may have the day off!" The added, "Do I need to tell you how to do everything?" And earning a few purrs of amusement as she muttered on her way back to her den, which was sheltered in an elderberry bush.
The leader completely ignored the murmurs of protest; about Whiteclaw, about the early hour, about her sanity. Icepaw averted her gaze to the white and black tom, who stood dejectedly at the edge of the clearing while a few cats glared and others purred congratulations.
Stomach churning with a feeling similar to guilt, she silently slithered back out of the crowd. She leaped up the maple tree that sheltered her den, digging her claws in the bark before leaping, and came to inspect her den. She had sealed it off with moss-bits during leaf-care, and she could see that the plants she had used were withered, all but the ivy leaves, which were now covered in blooming buds that draped over her den and swept down to the forest floor below.
Now that it was new-leaf, she would remove the moss and add fresh bracken and willow leaves and branches. That way the leaves would shelter her from the rain yet not block out the light completely, as the moss did now, although it was dried and yellow and many gaps could be seen where brown leaves drooped.
She sighed, but then again, what else was there to do? At the same time, the end result was satisfying and building could be entertaining... Icepaw set out for the forest, having mixed-feeling about spending her free day fixing her den.
On the way out she took a moment to glance at her littermate's den, which happened to be in the neighbouring tree, which still came as a mystery when cats thought about how tree needed space to grow and this one was barely two tail-lengths away. This one was in an abandoned hollow in the centre of the tree, which was miraculously free of bugs and didn't seem to stop the tree from growing strong. To the opposite, the tree had grown into the branches the calico she-cat had filled it with.
It was an advantage during leaf-bare, but it felt too isolated for green-leaf, to Icepaw anyway. Which was why she spent much time isolating her tree-space. Gazing out at the camp from the bottom of the tree, where the ground was free of grass and soft, she could see the whole arrangement of the camp.
The following was in one of the clearings in Skyclan forest, in one of the rare areas where we could see the sky openly from the ground without it being dappled by leaves. Cats had made their dens all around the camp, the only few cats staying together and only three assigned places.
Since kits could not climb yet, and no cat wanted then falling, the nursery was in a hollow underneath an oak tree, so old some of its roots could be seen, standing barely a mouse-length above ground, all the way to the middle of the camp, which was good because it offered a supporting structure for the earth above the den, making it spacious. At night the den was blocked out by a large piece of bark, keeping out any unwanted guests. This was a technique that most Skyclan cats used, especially the ones whose dens were on the ground, which was about five.
One of the other ground-dens was the elder's, which was level with a moss-covered maple tree. Or so only the bottom of the tree trunk was. Only-it wasn't the tree's trunk, and Icepaw purred at the thought of the hidden den. The moss actually only covered the gaps between roots, giving the impression of it all being part of the tree trunk.
The last assigned place wasn't exactly an assigned place, it was just a group of cats that had decided to stick together, probably because they were feared by half the clan. The older cats wouldn't speak of why and the younger cats either took example of them or comepletely ignored them, earning get half the clan a reputation of deserving to go to the dark forest.
Icepaw had asked, and asked, but of course, no cat ever said anything, perhaps hoping to end the tradition before the clans ended themselves. Waterpetal had only told her some cats were mouse-brains, and some cats were broken, before distantly sorting her herbs again. Her mother had no idea why...
Shaking her head, Icepaw gave one glance at the sky, which had began to light up with a blazing orange and a beep indigo purple, and headed out of camp just as the dawn patrol; Branchinglight, Lightheart, Mousepelt, Mallowfrost and Stormpaw, left.
Icepaw had met Stormpaw on the way back from the forest. The she-cat had been sent to collect moss for the elders and herself if possible, but when she had gotten back to camp, the elders had politely reminded her that Icepaw and Frostpaw had already done the job not long ago.
Upon seeing Icepaw, covered in plants from head to tail, she had offered to combine their den materials and Icepaw had agreed. Now they sat in companionable silence adding brambles to the dappled grey she-cat's den, which happened to be in the same tree as Flamepaw's, probably part of the reason they were helping each other.
Whereas Icepaw's den was ten tail-lengths off the ground, Stormpaw's was underneath the roots of the tree, giving her more den space. The positive was that it was easy to fix; The only gaps being the ones between the roots above-head, and although quite large, Icepaw knew that her friend blocked them out during leaf-bare using mud. The two had already greatly progressed, the earthy barriers had been removed, the bracken overhead shaken free of dust, the leaves ripped off to leave place to the newer fronds. The ground under-paw was soft with moss, willow leaves, and feathers.
"We're done." Stormpaw sighed, and Icepaw nearly jumped, startled out of her fantasizing and scenario inventions.
"My den now?" She mewed.
The two she-cats left the rest of the materials behind, climbing over to Icepaw's den. Right now it look ragged and patched, almost like an abandoned bird's nest, but she could imagine what it would look like once it was back to its green-leaf version.
The two she-cats took away all of the yellowing moss, dusted the bracken and willow branches free of dry leaves, and made sure the ivy branches were properly woven into place for when the buds bloomed into leaves. They then added some willow and bracken, and say back with satisfaction.
Icepaw knew that by leaving so many gals in her den, she was letting herself be exposed the cold, but to make up for this she packed moss onto a pine branch and made sure she could hide underneath it a night while trying to make it small enough to fit in the den, which was longer than it was wide.
By the time this was down the two apprentices decided to share a sparrow, seeing as the sun was setting and Icepaw would be leaving soon.
As Stormpaw left to go get a sparrow, Icepaw was left to look at the setting sun, bathing the sun in colourful hues, even taking on a greenish tinge towards where the startlingly bright yellow met the peaking indigo from the East.
When Stormpaw came back, she had brought Sunpaw with her. The two chatted and gossiped, with Frostpaw glaring disapprovingly at the other end of the clearing and Icepaw giving up on trying to maintain conversation, especially when the newly named Twigleap and Redheart came into the conversation with a vole and she had to call a cat's name at least a dozen times before they paid attention and answered.
When only the smallest rays of sunlight tinged the sky peachy pink, the indigo and blue slowly taking over as a bright full moon hovered into the sky, Icepaw wasn't paying attention to them anymore, she was somewhere else- or so metaphorically. That is, until she finally snapped back to reality when a gathering call echoed through the camp.
She blearily lifted her head, shaking the ruffles out of her fur and blinking the blurriness out of her eyes, which had gotten 'fuzzy' from staring off into the distance without blinking much for so long. The cats all around her quieted, then jumped up to follow their leader with renewed energy. When only a slight blur to her farther surrounding remained, one that she was used to, she nuzzled her mother, and promised Blackkit to tell her about the gathering while Flamelaw was tackled by Larkkit and Sparrowkit glowered hesitantly from the nursery before ignoring warrior's scowls and launching after his siblings.
She and her littermate bounded forward together, taking on a slight sprint to catch up to Duskfrost, who was padding forward next to Frostpaw, who stared ahead, Stonejump, who was chatting with Sunpaw, and Burrfur, who was talking to Dustfur while both cast furtive glances to make sure their apprentices were following.
Icepaw absently scanned the trees, dappling the forest floor silver while letting glimpses of stars, which seemed to be becoming a rare sight these days, or so at least according to the elders and Icepaw's rare moments of starry sky view. According to the older cats there was a time when stars set the sky alight like the greatest of forest fires or the flashing gleam of lightning, and the silver she-cat wished to see this sight, as well as another one, long lost through time and space as a legend that only Leopardclan, Tigerclan, and Lionclan themselves dreamed of seeing, and perhaps a handling of other cats. Yes, she dreamed of seeing the dancing lights of the sky.
She wondered what would be gossiped about during the gathering, with every clan being on edge nothing seemed quite so peaceful, apart from the borders, clans seemed to be avoiding each other like badgers. Her clan was sure to complain about Pebblestar, Riverclan was sure to say more things about Swallownose, Shadowclan- Shadowclan acted as though it were a secret society-, Windclan and Thunderclan...
She wondered if Shadowfern would be there; she still didn't get why Riverclan insisted on bringing her there only to shove her to a corner with all the other scorned, or half-scorned, cats. A familiar sinking feeling spread through her. Nothing good would come from this gathering.
Skyclan was the first to arrive, earning a few gleeful glances as the chose good places to settle down, but Icepaw could hear thrumming paw steps in the distance, then a powerful yowl ; Classical Thunderclan arrival. She glanced around wildly, not willing to be stuck with strangers, and jumped onto a tree stump, curling her fluffy tail over her paws and directing her attention to the rest of the clearing, where she had been told the other clans arrived.
When Riverclan came by, Icepaw couldn't tell who they had brought as they merged into the crowd and moments later Shadowclan's arrival could be detected by the faint rustle of undergrowth as they slunk quietly into the clearing. They were soon followed by Windclan, and Icepaw could feel the still night air disturbed by their movements, sending a wavering breeze near where she was standing.
The night had considerably cooled, and Icepaw was grateful for her thick fur, as a breeze started rustling through the four great oak's leaves, stinging her eyes and leaving other cats murmuring about the gathering ending early.
Sensing the attention slipping away from them, the leaders stepped forward, Blackstar speaking first, as anticipation, and perhaps apprehension could almost be seen floating through the midnight sky- or so it felt to Icepaw, who wanted to piece things together and still liked the gossiping news, although she was more listening to it than talking about it, since of course, the concerned cats ended up acting as though nothing were happening, although something was clearly happening, and if the leaders and medicine cats and whoever else knew about was happening kept silent- it was either nothing to worry about, which in theory didn't make that much sense, but could be possible if cats just decided they for for prejudice, or it was worse than they thought, which once again, clan life-apart from a few unfair detail- still went on normally so that theory could nearly be ruled out. That or something bad had happened but it only concerned certain cats, as would be more normal. Or there could possibly be things that had nothing to do with what could be seen as obvious... Doubt crashed into Icepaw and she stopped herself from letting out a hiss of frustration. Nothing could be proven without the rights facts!
Then she caught a glint of Swallownose's eyes, glinting with puzzled madness, and a similar yet less bad look spread across other faces of authority. She noticed the Shadowclan leader and medicine cat looking especially unhappy, while the other cats did not seem to have the same reaction...
"Let the gathering begin!" The older black leader yowled. The other leader's cast approving glances his way, probably indicating he could start, and he took another step forward, until he was looming seven tail-lengths over all other cats, or Five, in the case of Icepaw considering she was on a tree stump.
" Riverclan has been doing well, we have a been blessed with good prey and healthy cats, he cast a withering glare at certain cats while those cats glared indigniantly back at him, and Icepaw could nearly feel her namesake shimmering between them.
" We have chased a fox out of our territory and that is all we have to report." The black cat dipped his head to Goldstar, who took his place.
"We were recently attacked by a small group of badgers, but we chased them out with scars they're not ready to forget!" The golden tabby purred. " Prey has been practically running into our paws and that is all I have to report," If the leader's eyes betrayed wariness, her tone was light and confident,
She dipped her head to Nightstar, and the white and black she-cat stepped forward, "My clan has nothing to report," she mewed bluntly. Then ignored the confused glances cats cast her way and padded back to the far edge of the rock.
Shaking his head, Harestar stepped forward, " The prey is running well-or should I say not running well, since it's so easy to catch," A few cats purred at his words, " We also have four new warriors! Gladestreak, Meadowfur, Foxfang, and Badgertail! " Four cats looked up, eyes gleaming with pride as their names were called; a pale grey she-cat and a pale brown she-cat, both with green eyes, a ginger and black tom with amber eyes, and a black and white tom with blue eyes.
It was then Pebblestar's turn, and Icepaw only half listen as the leader informed the clan of news she already new, only pausing to cheer for the third time that day while distantly noticing few cats who knew Whiteclaw glance in confusion.
Then Goldstar stepped back up, "We will now announce this thirteenth moon's challenge competitions. First there will be-"
The golden tabby was interrupted by a clamour raining down below. Snapping back to attention, Icepaw shifted to face the deputies a little ways off. They were screeching in fury as a bristling Shadowfern looked at her laws in horror. Before her lay Tallbark, though at second glance very cat could see he was living.
Confused, Icepaw looked back at the scene, gaping like most other cats. There was bound to have been a rebel sometime, but... What if it hadn't been what it looked like. Who's fault had this been in the first place?
Blackstar then spoke, gazing approvingly- was it approval? At Tallbark, who shifted before sitting up. "Shadowfern. You are hereby exiled from Riverclan. You have until sunrise to be out of our territories."
Waterpetal suddenly jumped back up from where she was wrapping Tallbark's paw and ear in cobwebs.
"Shadowfern!" The gasp escaped the grey tabby's mouth as every cat's attention turned to her.
Oh great Starclan, Icepaw sighed.
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Constructive criticism is welcome.